Corcoran Brothers

John Tomase is a douchebag. If I knew how to google-bomb, I would try to organize a campaign wherein his name typed into google would result in the top 5-10 results being women’s products.

Arlen Specter is an expurgated unprintable. He is a socialist and should retire and go home to Pennsylvania, where he can conspire and plot on ways to make life miserable for the rest of us.

I won’t link to either of them or their nonsensical ramblings. The Boston Herald has pissed me off incredibly, but since I get their product for free on the intartubes, I’m not sure how I can show them my displeasure besides maybe a sternly worded letter to the editor.

UPDATE:

See comment #3 below, then read here:

Nice article about Okajima-san, but you write that he’s “literally
off to one of the hottest starts in history”. You mean he is
“figuratively off to one of the hottest starts in history”,
otherwise I’d like to see data saying that the temperature of the
stadium, his pitches, or his body was higher than any previously
recorded. You’ll hear a lot of this from other grammar Nazis like
me. Try to use the word “literally” only when you could use the
word “figuratively” and it still makes sense. Example, if A-Fraud
hadn’t pooped for three weeks and was in danger of having sepsis
from the backup of faeces in his system, you could say that he was
“literally full of shit”. If none of that were true, but he said he
doesn’t like dudes, you could say that he was “figuratively full of
shit”. Cheers!

To which he responded:

Umm, yeah. I’m not doing that. I meant literally. I’m fine with colloquialisms
and the colloquial meaning of “He’s literally off to a hot start,” is “it is
not an exaggeration to say he is off to one of the hottest starts ever.” Shrug.

Let the grammar police come. I’m barricading myself inside the walls of our
fine tabloid, armed with split infinitives and dangling prepositions. Bring it
on!

Cheers!

John

This seems familiar:

England’s health secretary proposed to declare everyone a postmortem organ donor unless they officially register their refusal. The British Medical Association agreed. France, Italy, Spain, and other European countries already presume you’re a donor. Rationales: 1) People aren’t donating enough organs to save others in need. 2) Polls show 70 percent of people want to donate, though only 20 percent register to do so. 3) “Safeguards” will prevent abuse. 4) If we don’t do this, people will increasingly buy organs from live donors overseas. Rebuttals: 1) “The state does not own our bodies.” 2) You can’t presume somebody’s consent based on a random sample. 3) People exaggerate their altruism in polls. 4) If you freak people out, you’ll cause an uprising against the whole medical system.

I remember writing just such a proposal on the pages of this here blog, but can’t bloody well find it.

The Boston Herald columnists can now be read again without having to pay for a subscription.  This is friggin’ gorgeous, because Howie Carr is the definition of a real columnist.  He shits on everybody: Republican, Democrat, Idiotarian, etc.  He is a muckraker, through and through, but he actually does his research.  If I were governor of Massachusetts, I’d hire Howie as my “Hack Whacker General”.  He’d do his thing and figure out what layabouts are scamming the gub’mint and then I’d fire ‘em.  Viva El Papi!

From Newsweek by way of MSNBC:

If movie trailers are supposed to cause a reaction, the preview for “United 93″ more than succeeds. Featuring no voice-over and no famous actors, it begins with images of a beautiful morning and passengers boarding an airplane. It takes you a minute to realize what the movie’s even about. That’s when a plane hits the World Trade Center. The effect is visceral. When the trailer played before “Inside Man” last week at the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, audience members began calling out, “Too soon!” In New York City, where 9/11 remains an open wound, the response was even more dramatic. The AMC Loews theater on Manhattan’s Upper West Side took the rare step of pulling the trailer from its screens after several complaints. “One lady was crying,” says one of the theater’s managers, Kevin Adjodha. “She was saying we shouldn’t have [played the trailer]. That this was wrong … I don’t think people are ready for this.”

Is it too soon? Are we ready? I think that is up to each individual, but I can’t fault either the filmmakers or the people who are not prepared to see this.

I personally think that it important to remember what happened, and a lot of folks have forgotten. Never mind debates about OEF, OIF, the Patriot Act, or whatever. I think everyone just needs to remember what happened that day, and never forget.

The trailer itself can be seen here.

I saw the trailer last week in the theater, and I found it very moving, but in one place, disturbing. At the end, they have the following words show up on the screen: “On the day we faced fear…we also found courage”. Upon my first viewing, I thought that somehow implied that what the courageous folks did on Flight 93 meant that somehow we (the American people) were courageous, and it pissed me off good. We weren’t heroes. The people on board that flight who did what they had to do were heroes. Upon a second viewing, I think it means we looked for and found courage during the course of the events, rather than internally. I hope thats what it means, but maybe they should change it anyway.

I’ll tell you why this is a good thing.

Rights. Constitution = individual rights, superior to states rights in turn superior to federal law.

BREITBART.COM - Bush disagrees with South Dakota abortion ban
The bill, which recently gained final approval from South Dakota’s House of Representatives, directly contradicts the precedent set in 1973 when the US Supreme Court ruled that bans on abortion violate a woman’s constitutional right to privacy.

The bill grants no allowances for women who have been raped or are victims of incest. Doctors who perform abortion would be charged with a crime. It also prohibits the sale of emergency contraception and asserts that life begins at fertilization.

The governor of South Dakota has indicated he is likely to sign the bill.

You can’t strike down an evil/foolish/wicked/immoral law until it is enacted AND enforced. I hope this thing passes. I hope it passes fast, and I hope they arrest the doctor and the patient. I hope the doctor is a country doctor, mid 50’s who mostly works delivering babies. A hearty country guy who’s ancestors where moonshiners and family still don’t take kindly to revenoors.

He puts up everything he has, along with his patient, and fights it to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court then disregards Roe v Wade. It hears all the facts and sides with the rights of the individual.

Constitution = individual rights, superior to states rights in turn superior to federal law.

End the bad law arguement of Roe. Negate States rights over Federal precedent. Side with the individual. This is a tough tough issue. The dumbasses who conceived this law have no patience and no guile. They should have learned from the anti-smoking crusaders. But no, they want to jump right in feet first and shoot the whole wad now. I am grateful for that. They are convinced if Bush put them on the court, they have the majority now, and can get their instant gratification. They are dead wrong.

I truly believe that these idiots will do more good (without meaning to) to solidify a woman’s right to choose than any other group. It will backfire in their faces and it will be beautiful to watch.

Out of respect for Miracles’ apparent wishes and opinion, author shall not use first-person singular nor name for fear of being seen as egotistical maniac with no desires outside of increasing own self-importance.  Author wishes to express apologies in advance for any form of arrogance or ego creeping into post.  Author is mud on shoe.

Libertarian breakthrough, of a sort:

Banks give away millions of dollars in charitable donations and loan guarantees to the underserved each year, but BB&T may have just become the first bank in recent memory to withhold money from developers who don’t line up with the bank’s view of eminent domain law.

The North Carolina-based bank, which employs more than 28,000 people in 1,400 branches in 11 states, announced last month that it would no longer approve loans for developers who want to pursue commercial enterprises on land seized by the government using the power of eminent domain, or taking private property for public use.

The ultimate demonstration of libertarianism, whether intentional or not.  Using capitalist forces to disagree with something threatening liberty, rather than lobbying government.  Author thanks Fark for pointing author to article on normally-shitty Foxnews.com, as author is dirt under heel of internet forces with no desire to seem petulant with overbearing analysis, indicating an undeserved sense of self, allowing one to use the first-person singular with narcissistic abandon.

Yeah, they always call in sick, and they take all those extra breaks. Fuck em.

local6.com - News - Councilman Wants To Ban Smokers From City Jobs
Current workers would not lose their jobs but applicants would be asked about tobacco use and smokers would be dropped from consideration, according to the report.

The reason given for the policy is to cut on health care costs, according to the report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said smokers ring up $1,600 more per year in medical bills than nonsmokers and they miss more days of work.

A final decision on the policy is months away, according to the report.

And parents! Especially Moms. Fuck moms. Their snot nosed lil bastards get sick, they have to stay home! Fuck moms, I ain’t hiring them. And Vietnamese! I bet I could find me a study that shows how them damned vietnamese are always late! Ya know, cause of the 2 other jobs they work so hard at. They don’t deserve no city jobs! Fuck them too.

Tell you what spanky, why don’t you start with the drinkers, then talk to me. Even when I do bang in sick, I don’t really cause I work from home. Suck my balls. I can find a reason to not hire any group you want, why not take on the moms or blacks or jews, or some other bullshit. What? Oh, thats not politically worth while, but fucking with smokers is? Fuck you.

Or maybe keeping up with that boycott thing…

FT.com / World / Europe - Reprints of ‘offensive’ cartoons spark Islamic rage
“Any insult to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is an insult to more than 1bn Muslims and an act like this must never be allowed to be repeated,” said Hamid Karzai, Afghan president, strong western ally and moderate Muslim leader.

Gunmen in Gaza surrounded the local European Union office and threatened to kidnap citizens of countries where newspapers had published the cartoons.

Threatening to kidnap people is a very, very grave choice of a threat, given recent activities.

Here’s the cartoons they are so hoping mad about:

Yeah …. Thats worth killing some Euro-trash

Compare that reaction to this:

But the writer had big problems with a painting by Harlem artist “Tafa”. It depicts an upside down Christ-like figure with a face strongly resembling Osama Bin Laden. The email read in part, “This is outrageous. This is an attack against my religion. How can an artist go so low? Most people are outraged, most Christians.”

On the phone with me, the artist declined to do an on-camera interview, telling me the work speaks for itself, but adding, the resemblance to Bin Laden was no accident.

The art show’s producer Josh Wainwright, insisted he hadn’t even made the Bin Laden connection. “Knowing what you know now would you have barred the painting from being part of your show?” I asked. “Absolutely not,” he replied. Wainwright says he’s a military veteran and despises Bin Laden, but he added, “I don’t think it’s anyone’s job or vocation to limit the expression of artists.”

According to Breitbart: 

Iraqi and U.N. health officials said Monday a 15-year-old girl who died this month was a victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the first confirmed case of the disease in the Middle East. Tests were under way to determine if the girl’s uncle, who lived in the same house, also died of the virus. He died 10 days later after suffering the same symptoms, officials said.Iraqi health authorities began killing domestic birds in northern Iraq, which borders Turkey, where at least 21 cases of the deadly virus have been detected. Turkey and Iraq also lie on a migratory path for numerous species of birds.”We regretfully announce that the first case of bird flu has appeared in Iraq,” Iraqi Health Minister Abdel Mutalib Mohammed told reporters in the Kurdistan city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad. 

Mohammed made the announcement after receiving results from a laboratory in Egypt that conducted tests on the girl, who died Jan. 17.

 

Much like a Fark contest, I want someone to tell me how to blame this on George W. Bush; not any further spread of the disease, as that is too easy the prospect of a bird flu outbreak in Iraq is especially alarming because the country is gripped by armed insurgency, but rather the initial infection and death of this girl and maybe the uncle.  Jake, I’m counting on you to come up with something good! 

If anyone hasn’t heard about the whole Joel Stein fiasco, then skip reading.  Maybe Google his name and see what’s what.  Long story short, he wrote a semi-humorous piece in the LA Times about how he doesn’t support the troops.  The right-wing blogosphere erupted on him.  The left-wing blogosphere apparently didn’t get the memo.  Whatevs.

Here’s the deal: there was nothing wrong with what he wrote.  He said what right-wingers have been pointing out for a long time: that it is hypocritical to support the troops while cursing the war in which they fight as imperialistic/for oil/misguided.  So what happens?   He gets pilloried and called unpatriotic.  That’s foolish.  He is being truthful and confirms the ranting of conservative pundits, yet they get angry at him for telling them they are right. Joel Stein was correct.  It IS hypocritical to be against the war but hold up those who fight in it as the bees knees.  Not supporting them is completely different from protesting them as people, calling them baby killers, and making a fuss outside of Walter Reed.  That earns a mofo a satchel speedbagging in my opinion.  But to be against the war and still have a yellow ribbon magnet on your car is asinine.  I disagree with Mr. Stein about the necessity for the war, his dislike of parades, and some of his comments on I Love the 80s, but other than that, he’s shiny.

PS: I really don’t care if someone has a yellow ribbon on their car, or a bumper sticker, or anything.  That doesn’t indicate to me that they are more patriotic, understand the military more, or any of that. The only ones I notice are those that say ”Half My (Heart) is in Iraq”, or something similar, because they deserve special treatment.  I can tell you that being deployed is far easier than being at home whilst a loved one is deployed.  Those stickers I notice.

PPS: I’ve conducted some unscientific research and it truly freaks us out when people approach us and thank us for what we do.  I’ve confirmed this with 10-15 other soldiers.  I don’t know why, but it is scary.  Save the adulation for Audie Murphy.