I'm Often Told: "You Need to Pick a Side, Pick a Party!" To Which I Say, Why in the Holy Hell Would I Ever Do That?

What reason has either of these two parties ever given me? A new Louis Harris national poll reports today that 57% of American republicans believe that Obama is a Muslim, and that 45% of American republicans believe that Obama was "not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president" (link below). Translation: You've got a republican party full of right-wing nutjobs and loons. Yeah, I'm chompin' at the bit over here to run out and join them!

Which brings me to the democrat party. There -- as has been on full display for 14 months now -- you have a party controlled by far left-wing goofs and freaks -- hell bent on growing the size of the federal government and taking over just as much of the private sector as they possibly can against the Will of a clear majority of the American people. They don't care what we think because they think we are all stupid, racist right-wingers to the extent we disagree with them on anything. Where can I sign up for that wonderful party?

So just keep tellin' me, you deranged right-wing fools and loony left-wing weirdos, that I need to pick a side and one of these two parties. To you I say, No I Do NOT. And I haven't. And I won't. Stick that in your out-of-touch extremist pipe and smoke it.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/199166.asp?from=blog_last3

Dem PA Gov Ed Rendell Says Americans Are Primarily Angry About Obama & The Dems' Health Care Bill Because of Republican Rhetoric Opposing the Bill!

I must say, out of all the outlandish and mindless democrat party words and actions over the past 24 hours, this was the first one that truly enraged me. (Rendell spouted it on tonight's O'Reilly show). Certain things (or, more precisely, a certain item) was promptly flipped towards my television screen upon hearing such silliness. The very classic liberal mentality that would result in such a statement by Rendell is the very same mentality and world view that resulted in this massive monstrosity of a bill being foisted down the throats of the American people on Sunday Bloody Sunday. That is, folks: A basic tenet of the liberal and even more radical progressive world view is that people are stupid and are unable to digest the full marketplace of ideas and reach their own conclusions as to the truth of a particular issue.

That far left viewpoint is exhibited everytime one of these liberal buffoons like Rendell shows up on TV insinuating that the American people have merely been hoodwinked by republican talking points. And it's also exhibited when Obama & The Dems ram-rod this widely unpopular bill right up our behinds -- They don't care what we think, because we're just a big stupid populace who needs liberal elites in Washington to take care of us, regulate us, and make our decisions for us. It's a purely anti-democratic (and frankly, anti-intellectual) notion. And it's one that I will fight against for the remainder of my days, even if for me, the far-right-controlled republicans most of the time are just as full of B.S. as these radical progressives who have hijacked our federal government.

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY

Today and tonight, House dems -- with most of the media off on a Sunday and the nation focusing on the NCAA basketball tournament -- have ram-rodded through Obama & The Dems' massive and widely unpopular heath care legislation on a straight party line vote, with only use of the "nuclear option" (reconciliation) remaining in the Senate next week before this legislative monstrosity heads to Obama for signature. (And if Senate dems have any trouble next week using reconciliation for the "fix it" portion of this legislation, then Obama will simply sign the Senate bill which the House has passed tonight -- either way, this legislation will be foisted upon us).

Never before in American history has such a sweeping and significant piece of legislation and massive restructuring of the American economy occurred with so few people celebrating and so many people outraged and angered. Count me in the latter group, obviously. To Obama & The Dems: We Independents will see you in November. We're looking forward to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4vblG6BVQ

SHOCK: Panthers Choke the Chickenhawks!

The #1 ranked University of Kansas ("KU") Jayhawks fall today 69-67 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to the Northern Iowa Panthers from the Missouri Valley Conference. This may be the most embarrassing and heartbreaking loss for KU Fan that I can recall, since KU was favored to win the entire tournament but lost in the second round. Today is surely worse for KU Fan than even those first round losses to Bucknell and Bradley, since KU wasn't considered the odds-on favorite to win it all in those years. And just to add insult to injury, the loss assures that KU gets no farther in this year's tournament than their bitter, hated rival -- the University of Missouri Tigers. Ouch. Nice day to be a Tiger!

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAB_20100320_NIA@KS/northern-iowa-69-kansas-67?tag=coverlist_footer;coverlist_photo_content

More Apparent Disingenuousness From Obama & The Dems on Health Care: Any Claimed Deficit Reduction From Their Bill Appears to be a Fraud & a Joke.

Bare with me here: There are two parts to this, but I think it's fairly easy to understand:

First, from the Associated Press today (first link below): In the dems' original House health care bill, there was a provision often referred to as the "doctor fix" or "doc fix," which would roll back "a programmed cut in Medicare fees to doctors." Put another way, the Doctor Fix would prevent doctors from suffering severe cuts in Medicare reimbursement.

The problem: The Doctor Fix would cost over $200 million and severely undermine the leading democrat allegation and talking point that their health care legislation will reduce the deficit. In short, deficit reduction has been one of (if not the most) prominent arguments that Obama & The Dems have tried to advance in favor of their massive and widely unpopular health care monstrosity (just today, for example, Obama was trumpeting the dems' health care legislation as one of the biggest deficit reduction bills in American history). So since the Doctor Fix would negate their deficit reduction claim, House dems cut that provision from their bill.

Today the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the Doctor Fix roll back would cost $208 billion over 10 years, "wiping out all of the deficit reduction, leaving the legislation $59 billion in the red." More simply put, the deficit would increase, not decrease, if the Doctor Fix is enacted into law. But, you might ask, what's the issue here since the provision has been eliminated by the dems?

Well, that's the kicker here and the second aspect of this. From today's Politico.com (second link below): Obama & The Dems plan to introduce a Doctor Fix provision separately and later, after they ram through their initial health care legislation. Dems today would not deny this, and they actually admit they "are working with doctors' groups to introduce a 'doc fix' after reform is finished" (that from a Nancy Pelosi spokesperson). (BTW, it's not like I'm getting this stuff from Rush Slimebaugh or Glenn Beck -- Politico.com is as down-the-middle a news website as I've been able to find, and the Associated Press is, frankly, very left-leaning, in my opinion.)

So bottom line: It would appear that Obama & The Dems' great "deficit reduction" claim for their health care legislation is a giant fraud and shell game, since every appearance is that they have every intention of adding to that legislation with subsequent legislation that will completely wipe out any and all alleged deficit reduction (instead adding $59 billion to the deficit).

But here's my thing: What difference did any of Obama & The Dems' apparent outright dishonesty about deficit reduction really make? Poll after poll has consistently shown for months that a clearcut majority of the American people (and a decided majority of my fellow Independents, not to mention practicing, non-academic physicians across the country) reject Obama & The Dems' health care legislation even despite all the propaganda about deficit reduction. So none of it worked!

To me, as a result, this is just another example of awful, outrageous and perhaps even outright fraudulent behavior on the part of Obama & The Dems. Where's the shock? We've been watching this sort of thing over and over for the past year. And it's the reason why so many Independents are going to kick these people the curb this November. Just take me: I can't recall the last time I've ever voted for a republican. I certainly have never voted for one for President. I virtually always vote for third-party candidates as a protest vote against two parties that I feel do not represent me nor the majority of Americans. But make no mistake: If Obama & The Dems jam through this health care nightmare in the days to come, this November I will be looking for every single Republican I can find on the ballot. And I won't be alone.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Medicare-fix-would-push-apf-2700343586.html?x=0&.v=2
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34728.html

Obama & The Dems' Reconciliation Bill Finally Released Today. Looks Like Another Sweetheart Deal for One State -- This Time North Dakota!

And just for good measure, dems have tossed in student loan reform legislation (an item obviously very closely related to health care). What I can't tell from the early coverage is whether dems still intend to pursue the outrageous procedural gimmick of "deeming" the original Senate bill as "passed" without voting on it. I assume they likely are still pursuing that, but I'm sure it will become more clear as the day progresses. The vote on the reconciliation bill (very predictably) is to occur Sunday when most of the media is off and everyone and their mother will be watching the NCAA tournament. Read more:

http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/BREAKING__Reconciliation_bill_posted_.html
http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/North_Dakota_bank_gets_a_carve_out.html

What a Great Group of Folks, These Far Left Progressives!

It's reported today that Bart Stupak and his family members have been the subject of abuse and harassment at all hours of the day and night due to Stupak withholding his decision on whether or not he will vote on Obama & The Dems' massive health care monstrosity (link below). Wouldn't ya just love to hang out with a room full of these progressives -- The Fun! NOT! Although, it's not as if the prospect of hanging out in a room full of conservatives strikes me as exactly a barrel of fun, either. And I'll also say this: Whenever I've had the occasion to hang out with some liberals and conservatives at the same time, I've found them to be much more tolerable as a general proposition. But good grief, the venom that some of these people (on both extremes) are capable of with respect to anyone who disagrees with them on anything! I've never understood it and never will. But then again, I'm not a partisan ideologue, so what do I really know or understand about much of anything, right!?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34630.html

Hello Porky! Earmark-Lovin' Missouri Republican Senator Kit Bond Named to Politico.com's "Proud Porker" Wall of Shame Today.

As a lifelong Missourian (currently living in the smelly state of Kansas), Bond (pictured far right above) has in the past garnered an ounce of respect from me for not being some doctrinaire, rabid conservative like many other Missouri politicians of his era, such as John Ashcroft. That being said, Bond is a political fat-cat -- a career politician who's never seen an earmark or piece of pork that he didn't find scrumptious. Politicians like Bond speak to the need for term limits in the legislative branch. I've never understood any compelling reason for our American political culture being devoted to term limits in the executive branch, only to completely eschew term limits in the legislative branch. I say, limit the terms of all of these politicians, regardless of office, party or persuasion. And feel free to start with Porky Bond.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34541.html

Look For the "Great Bracket Bust-Out" Later This Week From Obama & The Dems If Pelosi Manages to Coerce Enough Votes to Ram Health Care Through.

If that person is able to wrangle up the votes through the propaganda and thuggery of her & her minions, then expect a repeat of what we've seen from these people over the last year: We watched the House's version of the bill pass on a Saturday night last fall when there was little evening news coverage and most of the nation's attention was focused upon college football games and the regular Saturday night activities (shopping, going out to restaurants and bars, etc.). Then we watched the Senate dems ram through their version of the bill on none other than Christmas Eve ("Black Christmas," as I referred to it in this space) -- when obviously hardly anyone was paying any attention to Washington DC. This week, if the tone deaf radical-leftist creature known as Pelosi can get her votes, then expect a late night vote on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday -- When most everyone nationwide is going to be focusing upon the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and their own personal Tournament brackets. You can see this one coming like a wino up Main Street, like stink in a Mississippi $hithouse.

BTW, I'm still putting the chances of Pelosi getting her votes at 50%, as discussed last night. And for the record, "The Great Bracket Bust Out" is my own phrase. I don't have a link to it or anything -- I just invented it. To use another of my phrases that I've used often the last 6 months, these are truly Scary Days, but this week those very concerns are completely coming to a head. Folks, I'll follow the NCAA Tournament just as close as most of you will (Go Mizzou!), but don't lost sight of what's going on in Washington this week. The full court press is ON by Obama & The Dems to jam through this unpopular monstrosity of a health care bill. Pay attention to it. Follow it closely. And if they ram-rod it through, remember it come this fall.

Hollow Threat? Obama Reportedly Tells Dem Lawmakers That He Won't Campaign For Them in the Fall If They Vote Against Health Care.

(Link below). Obama's apparent threat begs the question: Would any of those dem lawmakers even want Obama anywhere near their re-election campaigns this fall? Methinks likely not. We're already starting to see some of this "dem distancing" (to coin a new phrase) from Obama. In just the past few weeks, we've seen prominent dem politicians in Missouri most conspicuous by their absence from an Obama appearance in St. Charles. If I'm a dem House member and Obama calls me up and threatens not to campaign for me, then right about now I'm saying, "Mr. President, can I get that in writing, please?"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7450237/Barack-Obama-threatens-to-withdraw-support-from-wavering-Democrats.html

Downgrading the Dems: Obama & the Dems' Chances of Ramming Through Health Care Now at 50%.

In recent days, I had given an upgrade, with respect to Obama & The Dems' chances of jamming through their desired health care legislation, to more likely than not (which I set at 55% last weekend, up from the previous 45% that I had assigned). However, based upon everything I've read and heard today, I think the dems are still a number of votes short, and all of this blustering about being "close" is just rhetoric. Now, this upcoming week is going to be a flurry of activity and there's as good of chance that the dems will find their House votes as there is the chance that they won't, in my estimation. If you read this space, oppose the dems' health care desires, and are in a congressional district with a representative who might vote either way, then you can still make a difference by calling and e-mailing your congressperson with your viewpoint.

Myself: I'm in a Kansas congressional district represented by a rather pathetic creature known as Dennis Moore (whom I have tried to contact before) who is quitting Congress this year and therefore does not listen to or interact in any way with his constitutents and will vote for anything Obama & The Dems stick in front of him because he has nothing to lose -- a truly pathetic individual. But my point: There's little I can do about the current events except for ranting and blathering on this blog (which I'm fairly decent at), but you might just be in a position to make an actual difference. Dick Morris, a bloat-faced Fox News right-winger dude, whom I generally dislike and find to be rather creepy, nonetheless has some excellent info on his website how we can still fight the ram-rodding through of this massive and unpopular piece of legislation -- link below.

http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/

Lady Gaga Banned on MTV! The Day I'm More Liberal Than MTV Truly Signals the End Days!

OK, well maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit. But I cannot believe that MTV is banning Lady Gaga's "Telephone" video (sure it would have to be edited a bit to appear on regular TV in front of the kids, so why not do that?) -- such video is linked in the right sidebar portion of this space at the top of my Ladies Panel. I watched the video this weekend, and is it over the top? Damn right it is. But that's Lady Gaga's whole thing. She is 24-7 over the top and extreme. MTV needs to pull its head out of its Pat Robertson and lighten up. Like I said, an edited version of "Telephone" would need to be the version aired, since make no mistake, the video is not appropriate for the kids. But to just outright ban it is very unbecoming of MTV in my view. Did Rupert Murdock purchase MTV at some point, and I just missed it?

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/03/14/lady-gagas-bloody-nun-outfit-debut-video-causes-uproar/?test=faces

San Fran Nan This Weekend: "We're On the Verge of Making History!"

Two components/issues involved in such statement: (1) Will the dems soon be successful in ramming through their massive and widely unpopular health care legislation; and, (2) If so, will the same "make history"?

As to (1), I'm terrified to say that based upon everything I've read in recent days, the chances are now greater than 50% that the dems will be able to jam this thing through pretty soon. As to (2) -- there Pelosi is completely correct: History will be made. Since never before in American history has such a massive overhaul of the American economy and American system been ram-rodded through the Congress using procedural gimmicks, on a straight party-line vote, and against the Will of the American People. History indeed. Of the very worst kind. Never let it be said that everything coming out of Nancy Pelosi's mouth is inaccurate or wrong. Because she completely nailed it with her "making history" comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100314/ap_on_go_co/us_pelosi_health_care_7

So What Makes a Dude Officially "Undateable"? (And Why Can't I Wear My Sunglasses at Night?)

That's the subject of a new book (titled, you guessed it, "Undateable") that comes out on Tuesday (link to New York Post story below). Apparently according to the book, some of the things that can make a guy undateable include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

-Crude and/or out-of-style clothing.

-Wearing sunglasses at night or indoors.
-Use of satin sheets.
-Ed Hardy wear.

-"Girlie," emo, Gothic or faux-hawk hairstyle.
-Gold chains.
-Repeatedly swiping condiments from restaurant tables (but apparently once or twice is OK).

-Sporting guylights, mandanas and/or jorts.

-Using bluetooth outside your car.
-Novelty belt buckles.

-Cellphone holsters.
-Jean shorts.

-Bad toupee.

Interesting list. For the record, I would never wear a toupee. But apart from that, I got no comment over here.

http://www.newyorkpost.com/p/entertainment/is_this_man_undateable_92X52CeXguYO7AquZhO9tM

Delusional.

I note that the new talking point that seems to be coming out of Obama & The Dems today goes something like this: "Since republicans keep trying to give us advice and tell us that it will be bad for us in November if we pass health care, then that must mean that the opposite is true and that the American people really want this bill."

Say what? Regardless, it's not just those vile, awful republicans who are warning how bad it will be for the dems in November if they ram this legislation through against the will of the American people. I note a piece today by two democrat pollsters, Doug Schoen and Patrick Caddell (link below), sounding the very same warning. Here's an excerpt:

"Their blind persistence in the face of reality threatens to turn this political march of folly into an electoral rout in November. In the wake of the stinging loss in Massachusetts, there was a moment when the president and the Democratic leadership seemed to realize the reality of the health-care situation. Yet like some seductive siren of Greek mythology, the lure of health-care reform has arisen again. As pollsters to the past two Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, respectively, we feel compelled to challenge the myths that seem to be prevailing in the political discourse and to once again urge a change in course before it is too late. At stake is the kind of mainstream, common-sense Democratic Party that we believe is crucial to the success of the American enterprise."

So will Obama & The Dems listen to a couple of their own? Yeah right.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031102904.html

Rush Slimebaugh Today Says the University of Missouri Has "One of the World's Great Marxist Journalism Schools." Them's Fightin' Words!

(BTW, he lumped the J-Schools of Columbia University and one or two other schools into the same description). So what's the best way to debunk the mindless and outlandish accusations of a far-right freak like Slimebaugh (or, for that matter, a far-left freak)? Well, through the facts, such as the observations of an individual with first-hand, personal knowledge of the very situation to which the allegation pertains. That would be Yours Truly, a proud 1990's graduate of the oldest and best journalism school in the country -- the one located at the University of Missouri-Columbia ("MU").

I will start by saying that apart from the copy of The Communist Manifesto that we received at the start of MU J-School (not!), I oddly enough never received any Marxist training at the MU J-School, nor did any of my many professors there ever talk about Marxism or Marxist principles. They did talk a lot about journalistic principles -- principles that I often complain in this space are way too often ignored these days, at least at the national media level. It was at the MU J-School that I learned that while we all have our own opinions, biases and perhaps certain ideologies, a journalist does his/her best at all times to divorce those items from his/her news coverage (unless of course he/she is providing editorial commentary or news analysis clearly labeled as such).

It was also there that I was exposed to a broad diversity of world views and perspectives from my fellow journalism students, ranging from thoughtful, intelligent conservatives to equally thoughtful and intelligent liberals. I was basically a kid then who had done very little thinking for himself, and frankly you could pretty accurately describe me as a liberal back then. I still can recall those wonderful political discussions and arguments with my good friend and devout republican Brett (a huge Rush Slimebaugh fan, BTW) down at Shakepeare's Pizza after our Friday night KBIA shift. Good friend Josh would go with us, and Josh and I would kind of gang up on Brett, but he damn sure always held his own very well. And he gave me reason to think, and at times to re-evaluate, and more importantly to realize that viewing the world through the lense of partisan blinders is a very anti-intellectual way of going about things. Other conservatives there like a certain larger-than-life, Elvis-loving figure named Strauss had the same impact. Did they ever convert me over to the Dark Side? No. But they played just as big of a role in the person that I am today as anyone ever did. And I thank them for that.

To summarize, my experience at the MU J-School was a highly fun period of years of being exposed to entire panoply of human ideas and world views. It was wonderfully educational and character-shaping. Were there likely more left-leaning folks there in total than there were right-leaning folks? Probably so -- the same as at most newsrooms across the country. And there's nothing wrong with that. If you endeavor to always aspire to the core principles of good journalism, then I don't give a rat's behind what your political persuasion happens to be.

And just one final note in retort to Slimebaugh's drivel from today: Of the literally hundreds of folks -- both future journalists and professors alike -- whom I met and got to know during my years the MU J-School, I can honestly say that I did not so much as run across even one Marxist! Actually, I would have liked to, because it would have been fascinating to know such a person, even if I think such a world view is so completely wrong, dangerous and out-of-place for an intelligent human being. But I would have listened, probably laughed at him/her a fair amount, and would have tried to express to him/her why I think that world view should be eschewed. Hey, I always like meeting new kinds of people! But unfortunately, meeting Marxists and being exposed to Marxist thought is simply something that never happened at the University of Missouri-Columbia Journalism School. Sorry, Slimebaugh.

You Say Tomato, But I say OUCH!!!

I've noticed in recent days that you can't find a decent price on full-sized fresh tomatoes. I don't like to ever pay more than $2/lb. for tomatoes, but at present I can't find any for less than $2.25 or $2.50/lb. Well, the explanation has emerged over the past day. It seems there was a February freeze in Florida that ruined 70% of the tomato crop (link below). (BTW: February freezes in Florida? I think the U.S. Senate really needs to focus on ramming through the Cap'n Trade bill, as Obama is apparently quietly pushing now. Yeah right, what a priority! But I digress).

The tomato price hike is bad news for me, since I eat tomatoes like they are going out of style. They are one of the healthiest foods out there, and I couldn't make my Slimeball Sandwiches without them. The linked story says there will be no relief in these high prices for at least 4-6 weeks. For any fellow tomato lovers out there, here's one suggestion: For now, you might go with the smaller Roma tomatoes. Their price has risen a bit too, but they are (as is typically the case) cheaper than full-size tomatoes and even this week I'm seeing them at some places for only 99 cents/lb. Looks like it may have to be a steady diet of Romas for me for a few months.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/taste/shopping/stories/DN-nf_inseason_0310gd.State.Edition1.4bf3f05.html

If You Happen to be a Christian Currently Observing Lent & Have the Friday Fish Eatin' Blues, Here's a Little-Known Fact: You Can Eat Beaver!!!

I just stumbled on this little factoid over the past day, which I had never heard before (from the below Wikipedia link):

"In the 17th century, based on a question raised by the Bishop of Quebec, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that the beaver was a fish (beaver flesh was a part of the indigenous peoples' diet, prior to the Europeans' arrival) for purposes of dietary law. Therefore, the general prohibition on the consumption of meat on Fridays during Lent does not apply to beaver meat."

But alas, here's the dilemma: Where in the hell can I buy some Beaver? If you happen to know where I can get me some Beaver, please advise. What sauce or condiment does one even put on a Beaver? Does Beaver taste like fish or like chicken? Or am I just pullin' a Ward Cleaver and bein' a little too hard on The Beaver? You decide. Out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver

What's Good 4 the Goose is Good 4 the Gander: I Criticized Newt Gingrich Over Comments Aimed at Nancy Pelosi Last Year, & Today I Say the Same to Her

Gingrich's spewings last year accused Pelosi of being a liar, despicable, dishonest, vicious and trivial. Today's comments from Pelosi accused resigning New York Congressman Eric Massa of being "a very sick person" (first link below). You'll find that I'm an Equal Opportunity critic over here, and in that spirit, I say today to San Fran Nan the same thing I said to Gingrich last year: Pots really should not kettles black. It's just not overly becoming of them.

BTW, check the second link below for my Gingrich/Pelosi post from last year -- a link which also (and much more significantly) sets forth my recipe for a personal culinary invention of mine: The low-fat Slimeball Sandwich. I invented those babies in college (the high fat version), but in recent years have tailored the concoction to a much healthier version. And either way, They Are Delicious!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJYii1K41DOE
http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2009/05/gingrich-blasts-pelosi-talk-about.html

Postscript: I watched an interview that Massa gave today to crazy right-winger Glenn Beck, and I gotta tell ya -- Massa is, at a minimum, a bit nuts. But what I did appreciate was his use of a new funny phrase that I have not heard before: "The Whole Schmazole" (sp.). I love that! That's the one of the best ones I've heard since "Jeezal Peezal," circa 1986, from old school baseball Coach Petrillo! And lest we forget as well, "Can of Corn!!!"

"I Was Naked As a Jaybird!" Outgoing NY Congressman Accuses Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel of Accosting Him in a Shower About His Health Care Vote.

Recently resigning Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) today accuses Obama's Rahm Emanuel of approaching him in a U.S. House gym shower, when both were "naked as a jaybird," to try to bully Massa over his opposition to Obama & The Dems' health care legislation. Massa also accuses Obama & The Dems of "orchestrating his downfall because he voted no on health care reform" and because he remained a deciding vote on health care. Predictably, the far right is jumping all over this today (link below).

So what's the truth here? Who the hell knows. That Emanuel might engage in such thuggery is, frankly, no surprise or shock to me. This guy's made a political career of being an complete a$$hole and a bully. But can you trust Massa's account? Not really. This is a guy who recently voluntarily resigned from the House amid accusations that he sexually harassed a male staffer. So there's not a great deal of credibility in his implied accusation that dems are "forcing him out." Nobody held a gun to his head to resign, and if there was no truth the harassment allegations, then why is he running away? At the same time, and as noted, nothing would really surprise me when it comes to the behavior of Emanuel. My best guess: Some incident between Emanuel and Massa likely occurred, with there being both some grains of truth and some embellishment in Massa's account.

But at the end of the day, what does it really matter? Even if this event did not occur, and even if Massa's charge of dems "bringing his downfall" is a complete red herring, I still say what I've been saying for months, and even since the election of Scott Brown: If you think that the radical-left-progressive-controlled democrat party will not try or do anything it takes to ram through a massive and unpopular heath care bill, then you have not been watching the same group of folks that I've been watching over the past year.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34096.html

"Go Ask Alice, When She's 10 Feet Tall" -- Motion Picture "Alice in Wonderland" Shatters Several Box Office Records This Weekend.

(See first linked story below). And just goes to show, what goes around always come back around in American pop culture. The last time "Alice in Wonderland" was cool was the late 1960's (as might be expected -- and no, I wasn't around back then), and its current resurgence immediately brings to mind for me one of my favorite Sixties songs, Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" (with lyrics based upon "Alice in Wonderland"), which famously made an appearance in the interim on the Platoon soundtrack in the mid-1980's (yes, I was around then). Airplane's recognizable version of "White Rabbit" on the old Smothers Brothers TV show is the second link below. BTW, Airplane's lead singer, Grace Slick (pictured immediately above with the rest of her band), was one of the most notorious Rock'n'Roll wild childs in the history of that genre, and she would give even your more contemporary Britney Spears and Courtney Loves of the world a definite run for their money.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1633345/story.jhtml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0

I'm Having Too Much Fun. But on a Serious Topic, Folks, Watch Out for the Propagandist Media Websites on Both the Far Right & Far Left.

The linked Politico.com story describes two such outfits, the far-left Media Matters (its founder, David Brock, is pictured on the left above) and the far-right Breitbart.com (run by radical right-wing slimeball Andrew Breitbart, pictured on the right above -- the lovely guy who went around tweeting that he was glad Teddy Kennedy was dead on the same day the Old Liberal Lion died -- slimey stuff). If you happen to ever visit and/or read any of the material on any of these far left or far right websites, just make sure you take every single thing they say with a grain of salt. Because it's all cast in spin and in ideology. In other words, the dictionary definition of propaganda. And it spews equally from both extremes. So what would I recommend as a fairly straight-arrow and non-biased source of political commentary and news? None other than the linked Politico.com. Great web site. Even some of my right-wing and left-wing acquaintances agree on that one!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34016.html

Glee: "Sick Soccer Mom" in New York Is Ecstatic to Discover She Could Afford a Hit Man's Price to Whack Out Her Hubbie.

(Seems she had previously "lamented she could only afford to maim him"). But the Glee Turns to Glum when she finds out the hit man she propositioned was actually an undercover cop. (Aren't they always? Damn pesky police.) And just for good measure, it's alleged she was Bangin' the Boss at work behind hubbie's back. I wonder if Boss was to be the next hit (since he had apparently just given the woman her walking papers -- the ingrate). In the immortal words of Sheriff Buford T. Justice: "Nice Lady."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588247,00.html?test=latestnews

Mickey Rourke: "I Slept With 14 Women --- All in the Same Night!"

I can only guess that Rourke's lifetime achievements must not quite stack up with the recent revelation that Warren Beatty allegedly bedded almost 13,000 women over a 35-year-period, and thus Rourke found it necessary to brag up his single night record rather than his career totals. By the way, if you actually found the time and energy to sleep with 14 women in the same night, wouldn't you start to lose the precise count after awhile? That's what makes the 14 figure seem a little bit "fishy" to me (and it has nothing to do with health care or the ocean). A bit more credible would have been a claim that "I bedded over 10 ladies one night" or "I slept with around a dozen gals one evening." But what do I know. Maybe dude has one of those photographic memories.

http://www.newyorkpost.com/p/pagesix/rourke_bedded_women_in_one_night_iaA7gNOpk4BLspC5JZRl1M