My brain is entirely too fubarred to come up with a witty snappy introduction, so I'm diving right on into the business at hand.
I'll note a couple of "this day in history" items for today. On this date in 1898, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland under the pen name Lewis Carroll, died in Guildford, England, at age 65. Around 70 years later, some dirty stinkin' hippies recorded their own take on the story! :D
One of Keith's BFFs is celebrating a birthday today; happy 42nd birthday to Jason Bateman! He's in a few recent movies that quickly went up my all - time - favorite list, including Juno & Up in the Air.
Time to get SPARKy! :D I heard this story during my drive into work this morning - the things you can do with dryer lint! I prefer this artistic interpretation of the event in question.
I can feel my arteries hardening just READING the ingredients in this omelet. These guys didn't get the memo about too much of a good thing!
Finally, here's yet more evidence that tea baggers just don't "do reality." Sometimes, ignorance can be bliss, but, contrary to some "people," being willfully ignorant is not a badge of honor!
Let's Countdown!
Keith is still ailing, so we thank Chris Hayes for pinch – hitting until Keith rests up & doesn’t have to spend so much time up close & personal to the porcelain throne. :D Get well soon, my dear!
Full disclosure, I had a $hitacular day at work today & enjoyed some wine when I got home, so I’m coming off a wine buzz; y’all have been warned!
#5 "The Civil Right" AKA "Back to Business" AKA - Congress will go back to work on Monday with trying to repeal HCR. Rep. Mike Pence actually wanted to call the repeal legislation "The Government Takeover of Health Care Bill"?! HA! Again, I am damn damn DAMN glad he’s not my Rep in Congress. Most Americans in a Marist poll want the HCR changed to do MORE; huh, and I bet Congress critters in the House will miss that memo. Senator Mike Lee is trying to use a child labor law to repeal HCR? Huh?! His magic underwear must not be so magical these days. Ah $hit!! We’re not gonna have Michael Steele to kick around anymore??!! DAMN IT!! Does that mean I have to retire this image?!
Ugh...well, the FNG better do something damn dumb soonest, or his comedic value’s gonna go right down the terlet. There is now a Cheese Head as the head of the RNC! I forget how many guns he owns. Reihan Salam is here to talk civility; he’s from the National Review. O...K... He wants states to be able to act like individual countries? Huh?! I actually heard quite a lovely quote about civility in political discourse on NPR this afternoon, and I’ll be damned if I can’t find a transcript of the mother sparker. Ezra Klein gets to talk the politics of HCR repeal – or lack thereof. Guess what? HCR doesn’t kill jobs! And, in another shocker, not being civil is good for ratings!
#4 "Gun Safety Debate" - As much as some brave Congress critters are trying to make headway in gun control legislation in light of what happened in Tucson this past Saturday, it’s turning out to be about as popular on both sides of the political aisle as I would be in Boss Limbaugh’s EIB studio, and President Obama’s probably not going to be a real big source of support on the issue, either.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy is introducing legislation to eliminate high – volume magazines that were used in Tucson last week. She thinks the tide of support is growing. Rep. Peter King’s gun control legislation has already been nixed. Gun sales have actually gone up in the last week? A gun show IN Pima County is still going on tomorrow. Huh, y’all heard of a little sensitivity, ya’ jack a$$es?!
Duh, who am I kidding? No, they haven’t. Dennis Henigan is here to talk gun control – or lack thereof. He thinks momentum is building on this issue, too; man, I wish I could be that hopeful. Too many Congress critters on both sides of the political aisle are sucking on the NRA teet.
** A Moroccan guy is pulling a bunch of vehicles with his hair. And, the question is, "Why?!" An American tried clearing the snow off his roof by climbing on his roof and beating the snow with a shovel, and gravity took over. **
#3 "Home Sick" AKA "Foreclosure Crisis" - More Americans lost their homes last year through foreclosure than in any other year in history; this year will probably be worse. Over 1 million homes were foreclosed last year. Well, home ownership ain’t all it’s cracked up to be; I’d be back in an apartment tomorrow if I had a choice. And, 2010 could’ve been worse except for a downturn in foreclosure proceedings at the end of the year because they were told to. But, JP Morgan Chase is doing quite well, thank you very much! *&^%$#@!
Some group wants Congress to intervene. Ugh, they do enough damage, thank you. Mike Konczal is ‘splaining how foreclosures affect all kind of people – even people who aren’t at risk of losing their homes. He thinks bankruptcy courts need to play a bigger role in the foreclosure crisis; they need the power to decrease "primary debts" – like mortgages.
#2 "Mannity Time" - The Mannity gets to interview $aint $arah from Wasilla next week; he’ll get to play with himself under his table AGAIN!
OK, if I feel like I’m going to have a Technicolor revisit of my dinner, I may have to bail on this segment. Maybe they’ll both get waterboarded! But, then again, the Mannity might get a little too "excited" seeing $aint $arah from Wasilla in anything wet. I love Dave Weigel’s definition of "Hannitized!"
(verb) to clean up a messy situation with a softball interview, typically one conducted by Sean Hannity.
HA! :D And, look at all the examples on videotape.
#1 "Not So Lame" AKA "Lame Duck Comes Home to Roost" AKA "GOP Eats Crow Over Lame Duck" - We, the people, loved loved LOVED the lame duck session of the 111th Congress to the tune of 77%! Ugh, we got to revisit all the lovely lame duck GOBP rhetoric. *&^%$#@! Again, the GOBP TurdBlossom memory forgot that President Clinton was impeached in a lame duck session; the GOBP didn’t have a problem with doing THAT!
E.J. Dionne gets to talk about the lame duck session being not so lame.