Episode 4 Recap of the Real Housewives of DC!"The Grape Stomp of Wrath"

Episode Synopsis: The ladies’ collective relationships start to break down for the worst as all of the ladies are invited to participate in a “Grape Stomp” at the Salahis’ vineyard!

Segment 1: We’re at the apartment of Lynda, who’s cooking bacon and other breakfast fare for half-her-age boyfriend Ebong. “You look so cute in your apron,” he tells her. Lynda’s daughter and son, Jessica and Mihran, then arrive in the kitchen in their PJ’s. Lynda says again that she’s looking for a house because the apartment is just not big enough for all of them.

At Stacie’s house, she’s entertaining three sorority sister lady friends – Arvia, Tanya and Suzanne. They are in DC for the Howard University homecoming. Stacie talks with them about the search for her birth father, saying (like last week) that she has found her birth mother, who has been reluctant to put her in contact with her birth father.

Stacie reveals that her birth mother is Caucasian (a new fact). She says mama wants their new relationship to be secret, since mama’s regular family (which is entirely Caucasian) has no idea about Stacie (whose birth father is Nigerian, it’s also revealed). Stacie says the fact that mama has a long-lost kid from a black father would apparently be a real issue for mama’s regular family (it shouldn't be, but apparently it is). Stacie says her birth father and mother met in the Peace Corps, where daddy was a teacher of the volunteers. Stacie also says that daddy does not even know that she exists. Stacie says she’s hurt by the fact that mama wants to keep Stacie a secret, not to mention that mama won’t give her any info on daddy.

Mary is in DC and about to arrive at the soon-to-open Hela Salon of Ted Gibson (celebrity hair stylist). Michaele Salahi shows up immediately before Mary (Michaele’s apparently supplying wine for the grand opening of the salon). Also hanging around is Jason Backe, the celebrity colorist at Ted’s salon. Mary off camera says she’s excited to be helping Ted make it in DC. When Mary arrives, she seems a bit taken aback that Michaele and Ted are so engrossed in conversation that neither seems to notice Mary’s arrival. Finally they notice Mary and the threesome exchanges hugs. Mary and Michaele then their hair done at the salon. Good grief (as I’ve noted before), Mary really should not allow herself to be shot without any makeup on! Mary talks to Ted about a charity event she wants to organize for November to raise money for Children’s Hospital. Ted agrees to be involved. He also smoothes over his failing to notice Mary upon her arrival today.

Later it’s the Grand Opening event for Ted’s salon. There’s a decent crowd on hand. Cat is there and talking to Michaele. Cat is complaining (as always about something or the other) that the room is too hot. Next Lynda arrives with Ebong. Lynda and Michaele, despite the recent fireworks between them, exchange pleasantries and are generally cool with each other on this day. Off camera, Mary complains that Michaele and hubbie Tareq use the wine from their vineyard (as they are here) as a “bartering system” to get to know important people (i.e., “if we’re invited to the event, then we’ll supply the wine”). To Cat, Mary accuses the Salahis of being “social climbers” who use charitable and other events to promote themselves. Mary also insinuates that the Salahis lack the “integrity” to "make it" in DC social circles.

Segment 2: At Mary’s house, she’s talking to daughter Lolly about Lolly’s new job. No longer waitressing, Lolly has started working as an executive assistant. Mary, who has issues with Lolly’s dog, Kona (sp), says that the best part of Lolly’s new job is the fact that she can take Kona to work with her. Lolly is also looking to move to her own place in the near future. Mary wants Lolly (who is 23) to move out on her own, but Mary is not being overly pushy about it, citing the fact that Mary herself once as a young married woman had to move back home with mama and daddy for a spell.

At Cat’s house, Michaele has just called Cat on the phone. Michaele invites Cat and her husband to a “grape stomp” this weekend at the Salahis. Off camera, Michaele says she’s inviting all of the show’s other ladies to the event. Cat in response says that she was planning to hang around with Ted Gibson’s “colleague” Jason Backe on Saturday, and Michaele says that Cat can bring Jason along. Then SLAM TIME: Referring to Cat’s prior visit to the Salahis’ estate, Cat spouts: “Have you got some wine for us this time, or are we drinking beer again?” Michaele confirms that wine will be flowing this time around.

Michaele is next on the blower with Lynda to also invite her to the grape stomp. But Lynda says that “unfortunately” her son has a football game on Saturday. Lynda extends regrets, saying she would like to attend, and that she “misses my old Michaele.” This is in reference to Lynda’s belief that Michaele has changed for the worse since marrying Tareq. Michaele clearly does not appreciate that remark, but hides her sentiments as she ends the phone conversation with Lynda. Off camera, Lynda reveals that she would attend the event if only “Michaele had been a true friend to me.” Says Lynda: “I prefer to reserve my time and energy for people that I love and care about.”

It’s now nighttime, and Jason Backe, Cat and Mary are together and arriving at Contemporaria, where they meet up with owner Deborah. This is a “contemporary furniture store” in Georgetown, and Mary says that Deborah is a good friend of hers. Mary tells the others that she wants to paint her dining room “high gloss black.” It’s a part of her master plan to turn her house white and black and “infused with some funky pieces” of furniture. Cat seems horrified at these ideas (just looking at her facial expression), and Jason seems a bit turned off as well.

Cat expresses that she thinks Mary should be decorating with pieces a bit more “luxurious,” and Mary (again just reading facial expression) is NOT at all happy with Cat’s remarks. But Cat won’t leave it alone, telling Mary: “I wouldn’t want to sit in any of these chairs for more than 5 minutes, especially with my ‘nobbly’ (sp) bottom.” Mary tells her that this is her bestfriend’s store (meaning “shut the **** up”). Cat’s response: “Well, should I just say I love everything then?” But at least Jason lends an ounce of credibility to Cat’s opinions, as he’s in general agreement with Cat. But Mary is not happy with his comments either.

Then it’s Salahis Story Time! The foursome (Mary, Cat, Jason Backe and Ted Gibson, who's also arrived) sits down for a drink, and Jason launches into a story about the Salahis. He says the Salahis invited he and Ted Gibson to go to a Congressional Black Caucus dinner, which he attended and found to be amazing (apparently President Obama was there). Mary comments that such event is a huge weekend for the African-American community in DC. However, Jason says there was a gliche. Apparently he showed up with Ted, but the invitation supplied by the Salahis only admitted one person to the event. The Salahis told Jason and Ted not to worry, because they would still be able to both get through security at the event. And sure enough, the Salahis were able to get both of them inside the event.

At the event, according to Jason, it became clear that the Salahis are basically crashing the event (as they infamously did at the White House state dinner in November 2009), telling Jason and Ted that they should all scope out the joint for tables with no-show chairs in which the four of them can sit. Jason says he started panicking following the Salahis’ “find a spot” advice. Finally, there’s something Cat and Mary can agree upon, i.e. the embarrassing nature of the Salahis’ conduct in this story.

And the story gets better! Jason says that Secret Service agents next approached the Salahis and escorted them from the premises! But even as the Salahis are being shown the door, they were still laughing it up and schmoozing with attendees at the event! And the story gets even crazier: After getting kicked out, the Salahis snuck their way back in, weaseling their way into the VIP section with the foreign dignitaries, where they hung out the rest of the evening! But truth be told, what’s the more pathetic thing here? The Salahis or the keystone cop-like Secret Service that would permit such shenanigans in the first place?

Segment 3: Stacie and her husband Jason Turner (not to be confused with Jason Backe from the prior segments) are riding in a stretch limo on the way to the Salahis’ Grape Stomp event at the Salahis' Oasis Vineyard. They swing by and pick up Mary, Cat and Jason Backe. Off camera, Michaele says this is the first Grape Stomp event they’ve had at the winery since Tareq’s mama sued to try to take away Tareq's ownership interest from the joint (a nice healthy mama-son relationship, you might say). She explains that mama lost the lawsuit (reading between the lines, it sounds like the judge dismissed the case).

For some reason, the Salahis appear to have a small army of private security personnel manning this event (not to mention freely roving Doberman Pinschers!). Michaele explains that the security is present mostly to prevent the media from showing up, alleging that Tareq’s apparently vindictive mama often calls the media and tells them to attend events hosted by the Salahis. Tareq then leaves a message with the throng of attendees in the limo explaining this situation, and Stacie and the others can’t believe what they’re hearing as they listen to Tareq’s voice mail. At the suggestion that “security” will have to let the limo in, Stacie remarks: “What the hell!”

Inside the winery, we are introduced to Jen, Michaele’s hot assistant (what’s with all the personal assistants on this show being much hotter than the women for whom they assist!?! – recall Lynda’s hottie assistant, Robin, as well!). Jen and the Salahis are making final preparations for their guests’ arrival.

Inside the limo, Jason Backe hilariously can’t help himself from again telling the story of the Salahis sneaking themselves and he and Ted Gibson into the Congressional Black Caucus dinner. This is the first time that Stacie and hubbie Jason have heard this story, and they are NOT AT ALL amused by the Salahis’ alleged conduct on that evening. And a new fact emerges!: Jason Backe says that due to the ticket shortage situation, he and Ted and the Salahis had to sneak into the event through a side door where the bus boys were entering! Stacie is beside herself, finding the Salahis’ behavior to be extremely rude and disrespectful to the African-American community.

Stacie is livid! She comments that she thought she knew the Salahis well following their recent French excursion, but that this story totally flies in the face of her whole impression of the Salahis. She’s also concerned that Stacie's group has to go through some sort of security clearance to attend the Grape Stomp. Stacie resolves that she needs to call Tareq to talk more about the current situation. She reaches Tareq on the speaker phone, and Cat asks him whether it’s safe to show up at the Grape Stomp. Tareq’s connection promptly goes dead.

Segment 4: Lynda is out at dinner with BF Ebong (which is very weird in terms of show flow, since the other events are occurring in the middle of the day). She’s preaching to him that all the men in her life have always “needed bootcamp; they’ve just needed simple training; they’ve needed someone to get in their face and say here’s all the reasons why you need to behave.” Memo to Ebong: With girlfriends like Lynda, who needs enemies, dude. Turns out that what brought all this on is that Ebong allegedly wasn’t reading all of Lynda’s text messages. Oh, The Shame! Then dude tries to sweet talk Lynda out of her rant. PW’d: Such an awful site to behold. Methinks Mr. Ebong could use to read a little Independent Rage blog. Open up his mind! But I digress.

Segment 5: The Guests arrive for the Salahis’ Grape Stomp! Off camera, Cat remarks how off-putting it was to see all the security personnel and Dobermans upon the limo’s arrival. One Doberman is right at the limo to greet the occupants! Then the greetings between the Salahis and the guests ensue. All of them do the ol’ fake kiss on both sides of the face. As a private aside, who the hell does that in real life! I’ve personally met plenty of “important” folks in my day, and never once has one of them purported to try to give me that sort of hucklebuck. Sickening, frankly. But again I digress.

True to her word, Michaele and hubbie are actually serving wine to the guests this time instead of beer (if I'd been in attendance, gladly serve me beer). Off camera, Cat comments that this whole scene (with the security people everywhere) is very uncomfortable. On camera, Cat confronts Tareq and asks what the hell’s going on. Michaele tries to change the subject, saying that she and hubbie are happy to have “that” behind us. In her brash way, Cat responds, “it was only 15 minutes ago, so it’s not that far behind us.” Stacie, hubbie Jason and Mary immediately try to lighten the mood, saying, “Can we have some more wine, please?”

Tareq then tries to steer the attendees’ attention to the Grape Stomp at hand, and he’s even carrying a whistle. He explains that each participant has exactly 2 minutes to stomp grapes. Cat comments that she doesn’t much care for someone blowing whistles at her. She also says that she won’t be stomping, but only spectating. At that, Tareq blows his whistle at her again (a definite friction has developed between the two). Tareq tries to lighten the mood again by telling Cat that he’ll ask her to blow the whistle too down at the Grape Stomp. Next the group heads down for the stomp. On the way down, Cat reveals to Jason Backe that Tareq’s bossy behavior is what has set her off (the whistle and all).

Down at the grape stomp pit, Tareq blows the whistle again at Cat and directs her to come over to tute the whistle herself. Cat tells him, “let’s have some manners.” Tareq doesn’t appreciate that remark. Michaele tries to smooth things over, but Cat indicates that she’s still peeved. Michaele says, “let’s love everybody,” to which Michaele's hottie assistant Jen chimes in, “love is better than being bitchy towards everybody.” OH MY: CAT HEARD THAT ONE! And Stacie and hubbie Jason too! Jen basically just called Cat a bitch! And to his credit, Jason Turner remarks off camera that Cat was essentially being a bitch. (I like Stacie’s hubbie – always have since the inception of this series -- he seems like a REAL dude with whom I could hang out in real life).

Now Some Grape Stomping! Stacie and Mary are the first in. THEN SCANDAL! Mary and Cat immediately recognize the grapes as being SUPERMARKET GRAPES RATHER THAN VINE GRAPES! Oh, The Humanity! [Personal Aside: WHO makes such observations? I sure as hell wouldn’t. But then again, I’m not an aristocrat. But if you try to sell me falsely on something I know, such as Nattie Ice instead of Keystone Ice, THEN we'd have some real talking points! But yet again, I digress.]

At any rate, Mary and Stacie start stomping away, with Cat actually blowing Tareq’s whistle to get them started. Michaele jumps in with them too. Mary is offended that Tareq tries to insert a competitive angle into this whole equation, measuring the amount of grape juice that comes out the bottom of the pit by the end of the 2 minutes. And quite hilarious, too, is how this idiot Tareq just can’t seem to help himself from blowing off that damn whistle for no good reason about every 10 seconds! I appreciated that BS – that made me literally "laugh out loud"!

The Salahis take note of the fact that Cat doesn’t participate (apart from her initial whistle blast). Then Cat starts ranting about “bollocks.” Only knowing this British word from the context of the Sex Pistols’ famously titled punk album, “Never Mind the Bollocks,” I felt compelled to google search the word tonight. Apparently it means falsehood, fakeness, lies, deceit: Implying Cat’s sentiment that this was another totally fake and phony Salahis event.

Then some additional drama on the side: As the grape stomp ends (although not the entire event – there’s still dinner left), the guests get cleaned up, and Cat continues with her rants, commenting again how the grapes were supermarket variety. Mary previously had the very same observation, but she’s clearly become perturbed at Cat’s incessant complaining. As Cat complains again, Mary says right to her face: “W-H-O C-A-R-E-S.” Then Mary remarks that “I had fun,” and methinks Cat (who is often oblivious) definitely gets the bad vibe emanating outta Mary!

Next Cat commits yet another faux pas, choosing to leave the entire event with Jason Backe. It seems Jason had another event to attend, but Cat didn’t – she just left (using Jason as her excuse). As she and Jason exit the scene, Cat is heard yelling “bollocks” a few more times just for good measure! Stacie and Mary both take offense to Cat’s sudden exit from the Salahis. Remarks Mary: “Cat does not care if she’s offensive. I think it’s best that she goes home.”

Dinner Time at the Salahis! The conversation quickly centers on Cat’s departure. The Salahis didn’t much care for Cat leaving early like that. Mary tells them, “She says whatever the hell she wants and she forms opinions very quickly.” Now THAT is very true, and it’s been why I have been very slow to cast judgment on Cat, because she sometimes reminds me of myself. She’s also a Brit (unlike me), and I think a lot of her cultural background very much clashes with the American culture (which I also don’t hold against her). She’s also exhibited a definite bigoted streak, which I could not eschew more. But I still can’t bring myself to denounce the lady! Like I said, her Independent streak (if not her bigotry) is very close to my own heart.

THEN BOMBSHELL: The Salahis ask about the limo ride out, and Mary brings up Jason Backe’s story about the Salahis and the Congressional Black Caucus dinner! Then Stacie’s hubbie Jason starts in, and it’s hilarious (have I said that I really like this dude?): “It’s a little difficult for some white folks to, like, sneak into the Congressional Black Caucus Dinner, undetected, I mean, that’s like me and Stacie sneaking into the Daughters of the American Revolution dinner: I’m going to sneak in through the kitchen!” To their credit, the Salahis find Jason’s statements hilarious too.

But funny thing is, Jason’s whole funny speech seems to have completely let the Salahis off the hook to explain the particulars of the Congressional Black Caucus dinner night! No explanation is forthcoming. Then Michaele raises with Mary the subject of Lynda confronting Michaele in recent weeks about Michaele’s lighter weight. Mary defends Lynda, claiming that Lynda “always has the best intentions for everyone.” Mary further says that Lynda’s comments about Michaele’s weight were likely out of “love and concern” for Michaele.

To that suggestion, even Stacie rolled her eyes! Says Stacie: “I don’t think Lynda is trying to be malicious, but to say that Lynda has Michaele’s best intentions [at heart], that’s Bull$hit!” [Couldn’t agree more, Stacie.] Michaele tells Mary that Michaele was very hurt by Lynda not attending today’s event at the Salahis. Then Michaele says enough about all this already and changes the subject, and Mary has a very sour look on her puss (face, of course I’m referencing).

Segment 6: We’re still at dinner at the Salahis – Mary brings up the recent dinner the ladies had with Ted Gibson. Mary, apparently becoming a bit drunk (which she tends to do, not that there's anything wrong with that), confronts Michaele over an alleged statement that Michaele told Ted, which was, “Ask Mary, she likes to talk about people.” Michaele says she doesn’t recall saying that. Mary tells Michaele that she doesn’t want people speaking negatively about her, since (she claims) she never speaks negatively about others (yeah right). Then Michaele says that she recalls Mary, Lynda and Cat making fun of her (BTW – the stress the in the room at this moment probably could not be cut through even with the sharpest of knives!).

Stacie then speaks a bit to Michaele’s defense, recalling Lynda’s statement at the dinner that Lynda did not want to be seated next to Michaele. Mary (a good friend of Lynda’s) is now on the full defensive, trying to change the subject by saying that she doesn’t want to dwell on negative energy. She also claims she was in the bathroom when Cat and Lynda were trashing Michaele, to which Michaele calls full Bull*hit! [Because, of course, how does one know she’s in the $hithouse when certain statements were being made without having been present for the making of said statements! This stuff’s hilarious!]

All the dinner attendees then grow very, very quiet (too quiet, as the old movie cliché goes). Finally, Mary breaks the silence, and proclaims to Tareq Salahi: “You have something to say!” AND THEN, OH MY GOD: SO CRASS ON BRAVO’S BEHALF: What Tareq has to say is rolled into the previews for upcoming episodes!? WTF IS THAT! Very Cheap. But regardless, the minutiae revealed from the preview of upcoming episodes reveals that Tareq has something to say about federal authorities and Mary’s daughter, which makes Mary start crying. Very Weird, Zany Stuff. But completely CHEAP of Bravo to roll a cliff-hanger into previews of upcoming episodes. That’s the first time I’ve EVER seen anything quite like that on any reality show, which is saying something.

Program note: Be sure to return here next Thursday night for my next Recap of the Latest episode of The Real Housewives of DC!

Dem Death Wish? Lawmaker Says Nancy Pelosi May Soon Drop Dead. Funny Business or Outrage? And Is It Accurate?

Today's odd story from the political arena centers upon democrat congressman Bobby Bright from Alabama. It's being reported that at a local Chamber of Commerce affair yesterday, Bright spoke of the potential for Pelosi's untimely demise as an attempt to duck a question about whether he would vote for Pelosi in the future to retain her House speakership. Reportedly, Bright answered the question by saying Pelosi "might get sick and die" and that she "could fall ill and die in coming months," thereby preventing Bright from needing to vote for or against her. (Link to full story at bottom). Bright, BTW, previously has voted against a lot of the dems' legislation, such as the health care bill.

I've noticed that the general coverage of this story (such as the linked example) has repeatedly referred to Bright's comments as just "joking," and have pointed out that the audience laughed at his remarks. I guess nothing says barrel of laughs quite like death wish jokes. I'm trying to imagine (and it isn't too difficult) what the media's reaction would be if one of the deranged right-wingers had "joked" around in such fashion. Just look up the term, "field day," in your Webster's dictionary.

But regardless of whether Bright was just joking around or not, the next issue is whether there might be any accuracy to his apparent prediction? Methinks not. Once Pelosi stops showing up for her regular botox treatments, then we'll know something's up with her health. Nope, I can definitely see her hanging around the House (even if not as speaker/leader) for another 15-20 years or more and possibly into her '90s. I certainly don't want to see that, but it wouldn't surprise me, especially given the fact that it would be virtually impossible for her to lose her seat in the ultra-liberal San Francisco district from which she hails. Bright should have told a joke about Pelosi losing her seat in November. Now that would have been a good one.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/115941-dem-congressman-says-that-pelosi-could-get-sick-and-die

New Adolph Hitler DNA Analysis Concludes: "Der Fuhrer" Should Have Sent HIMSELF to a Concentration Camp!

...at least if he was going to be consistent. This new analysis, which comes from Europe and uses DNA from 39 living Hitler relatives, suggests that the infamous German dictator and all-around sleazewad had both Jewish and African roots! (No pun intended). So much for the ol' Aryan theory!

I only wish that scuzbucket (perhaps the most evil man in the history of the civilized world) could somehow still be alive today to get the good news! Instead, I guess we'll just have to settle for watching him being torn apart by machine gun fire in Inglorious Basterds. [BTW, I didn't see that film in a theater and have wondered what the reaction was to that scene from live audiences. I would hope there was at least some cheering!]

http://www.thirdage.com/news/adolf-hitler-dna-samples-suggest-jewish-african-roots_8-24-2010

Inspired By the Last Great American President, JFK, Should The Independent Rage Run For Pres Too If The Folks Support It!???

Since I eschew the 2 parties, and am completely Independent, I doubt I'll gain much traction. However, as an Independent Voice speaking for the Mainstream of America, I could at least make a difference, even if I only garner about 10% of the vote or less. For example, I would love nothing better than to get into a few of these debates with these dems and repubs in order to stir some real **** up! But anyway, I'm just floating the idea! Look Out World! ;)

Glad CBS News Is Around to Tell Us These Things! They Compile List of Crazy & Outlandlish Things Never to Feed Your Dog. Hard Hitting! Investigative!

I noticed it reported today (first link at bottom) that CBS Evening News (with the illustrious Katie Couric) tied an all-time ratings low last week. Glancing at CBS News' website today, it's perhaps not so difficult to figure out why (completely apart from CBS' undeniable slant to the left in its coverage and the fact that Couric is about as exciting and cutting edge as watching the whitewash dry on an Alabama $hithouse).

For example, one ludicrous item I saw (second link at bottom) was a supposedly informative -- but instead unintentionally obvious and even comical -- list of food and beverage items to make sure you never, ever, feed your dog. I read that thing and was asking myself, "some fool actually got paid for compiling this?" Here are some highlights:

-Coffee, soda, chewing gum and macadamia nuts: CBS News first indicates that it's perfectly natural for people to want to give their dogs these items. But don't do it! Says CBS News: "Some otherwise responsible dog owners think it's cute to allow their dog to finish the last inch of a cold Starbucks." Further, "some people like to give dogs chewing gum." Last but not least, CBS News reports that many "people" like to go on vacation and bring home macadamia cookies to feed the dog.

First question: Where did CBS News find all these so-called "people" they're talking about, at the local insane asylum? Or down on skid row, maybe? And make no mistake, as CBS News tells us: You should never, ever, feed your canine any of these things. For example, they report, those cookies can give the dog "rear leg paralysis" (even while apparently having little or no impact on the dog's front quarters). And note well, says CBS News: Caffeine & dogs just do not mix! Who'da Thunk! OK, on to some more items:

-Ice cream: CBS News says never, ever, feed your dog ice cream treats -- "even if your dog is OK with milk" and isn't "lactose intolerant." Gosh, and I thought Dairy Queen was OK for my dog since he's never once exhibited as much as one ounce of lactose intolerance!

-Chocolate: Again, this is a real no-no. Eating "an entire milk chocolate bar" can be a "real danger" to a dog, CBS News reports. I just thank God they finally got around to telling us this. Otherwise, it might have been a very sad Halloween for me this year.

-Alcohol, including beer: CBS News tells us that a canine (believe it or not) can get alcohol poisoning just like a human can. Learn something new every day. And no word yet, BTW, on whether non-alcoholic beer might be a safe alternative for those dogs who really like to get their drink on after dark.

-Raisins and grapes: Gee whiz, let me think here: Raisins turn my system inside out if I eat very many of them, but I never would have thought that this would apply equally to the dog. Well, no more Raisenets for him!

-Potato chips and other salty junk food: CBS News tells us to watch out you don't give the dog too many potato chips. And if the dog happens to have a heart condition, then CBS News says don't give him any potato chips at all!

-Onions and garlic: CBS News says that these foods can destroy the dog's red blood cells. But what if the dog's a real pasta lover? Are you going to be the one who tells him he can't have another bowl of lasagna or spaghetti ever again?

-Guacamole dip/avocado: These are the final items on the list, and they present a real problem for me. You see, my dog will not eat his Chili's fajitas platter without guac and sour cream on the side. He just plain refuses. And don't even get me started on trying to withhold his tabasco sauce!

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/evening_news_ratings/cbs_evening_news_ties_alltime_low_171613.asp

http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10004610.html?tag=page

The Great Fleecing City of Philadelphia? Philly Lowers the Boom on Bloggers, Demanding $300 for Business License! And Can Other Cities Be Far Behind?

I'm sure the rotten City of Philadelphia will be shaking down little kids' lemonade stands next. It's reported today (link to full story at bottom) that the city is sending nasty letters to bloggers demanding that they buck up $300 for a business license, not to mention that they also pay wage taxes, business privilege taxes and net profits taxes.

The most outrageous thing about this sort of overbearing, government-gone-wild behavior is that the city is apparently trying to bully anyone who made as much as one red cent from a blog. For example, the linked story has the account of one dude who made a paltry $11 over two years from his blog, but is now being asked to pay the $300 plus the various taxes.

The real scary thought is that with the current economy and all of the highly cash-strapped American cities out there at the moment, how long will it be until we see other cities following Philadelphia's lead? I'd give it about a week, at most.

But there may be a solution, at least for people starting up new blogs or having relatively new ones. That would be to do what I do: No ads and no income whatsoever. I just do this to express myself and to have fun (as usual), and not to try to make the tiny amounts of money that most blogs bring in. And by doing so, how in the hell is any city going to demand that I pay for a business license? What freakin' business, after all? Kiss my a$$, overbearing cities!

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/philly-requiring-bloggers-to-pay-300-for-a-business-license-101264664.html

Harry Reid Throws Penalty Flag, Calls Personal Foul on GOP Opponent, & Plays the Satan Card All in One Fell Swoop!

This one was just too plain oddball to pass up, even if I may think that Slimy Harry is a scuzwad career politician and political thug. Reid, the current U.S. Senate majority leader and highly unpopular in his home state of Nevada, is facing the fight of his political life, as he'll try to keep his Senate seat in November against GOP nominee Sharron Angle (pictured next to Reid above). The general theme of Reid's campaign is fairly simple: "You may hate me, but that woman's a dangerous extremist."

And so it was that a recent newspaper column in Nevada's Pahrump Valley Times played right into Reid's hands. More on that in due course. Anyway, the column suggested that Angle in 1991 opposed a local high school football team's switch to black uniforms on grounds that the uniforms' color would be "too Satanic." The columnist is named Bill Roberts, who himself looks like a bad cross between Don Imus and ol' Lucifer incarnate -- noteworthy is how his column picture is cropped at the top so as not to reveal whether or not he sports actual horns on top of his melon.

But I digress. Roberts' column says that he personally recalls the "Black Unis = Too Satanic" sentiment as being the position of a group of locals (which included Angle, although Roberts says Angle was not the leader of the group) that opposed the uniform switch. (See first link at bottom for Roberts' column and picture).

The backstory on the uniforms deserves a mention as well before I proceed on to Slimy Harry: It seems that the local Tonopah High School "Muckers" (short for muckrakers? did Slimy Harry name this team?) had a football game in 1991 on the one-year anniversary of what was considered the most humiliating football loss in school history. The Muckers' uniform colors were red and white (apparently bright red, for some reason and unlike black, passes muster under the "Hell" test).

But the head coach wanted the team switch to black unis just for the anniversary game in order to motivate the players (with the thought being that the black represented their "darkest day," i.e. the game the year before). Roberts' column says that the opposition group that included Angle ultimately prevailed in its viewpoint, and the black unis, although purchased, were not used. But some good news: The Muckers, wearing their regular red and white, did win the game (their only win that season, says Roberts).

So that's the background, but what about Roberts' claim that the group of locals that included Angle was motivated by a "Black Unis = Too Satanic" sentiment? Well, Angle says the story is simply not true (see second link at bottom for Politico's full story). But obviously an unequivocable denial is not going to be enough to stop Slimy Harry! His campaign has had a field day with this, printing up and distributing T-shirts that say, "The Devil Wears Shoulder Pads" (obviously a takeoff on the 2006 film, The Devil Wears Prada). No word yet on whether the T-shirts are black, but I think that's quite likely.

But let's not stop there! The backside of the T-shirts spouts, "Extreme Views, 15-Yard Penalty". So yes, Slimy Harry is actually throwing a personal foul flag on Angle based on the Satan card! My take on all this zaniness? I assume there is another side to this story, even if Angle isn't providing it by virtue of giving nothing more than a blanket denial (although truth be told, leaving it at a denial and trying to move on is probably the smartest thing politically that Angle could do here).

Reid's actions here are certainly sophomoric, but admittedly entertaining to a small degree (at least from my warped perspective -- and I still hope he loses). And what if Roberts' account is true? Well, it certainly makes Angle look very deranged. But what's the shock there? I don't call them deranged right-wingers and loony left-wingers for nothing, after all!

http://pvtimes.com/opinion/angle-strove-religiously-against-black-jerseys/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41321.html

Small "Potatoe" Or Real Issue? Ben Quayle, Dan's Son, Gets Lambasted by GOP Rivals for Writing for "Raunchy" Website Containing Racey Nightlife Photos

Republican Ben, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, is running for Congress in Arizona and has recently been embroiled in controversy surrounding his past writings for "gawdy, sex-themed" website TheDirty.com. And his GOP rivals are having a field day! (Link to full story at bottom).

It seems that other republicans in the field, in advance of next Tuesday's GOP primary, have been bombarding the airwaves with TV ads attacking Quayle for his connection to the website, which reportedly devotes itself to wild nightlife photos from across the country. Quayle has admitted to previously writing and contributing material to the website under the pseudonym "Brock Landers" (the name of a fictional porn star from the film Boogie Nights). He now says he just wants to move on.

So what's the big deal here? So the dude used to write material for some over-the-top website with a lot of racey photos. (That sounds vaguely familiar.) I think it's cool that he used to do that. Only in the land of the deranged right-wingers known as the republican party could such a matter be turned into some big campaign issue. What's the next big bombshell these freaks are going to try to drop? That Quayle once looked at a Playboy? That he actually once watched Boogie Nights? Please.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41305.html

Episode 3 Recap of the Real Housewives of DC!Strange Bedfellows, Old Rifts!

Episode Synopsis: The episode's entitled “Foreign Relations": Strange bedfellows emerge, as Michaele & Stacie appear to strike up quite the start of a friendship on holiday in France, only to have it threatened by the sentiments of Lynda and Mary. Plus Cat, in rather ugly fashion, continues having problems fully connecting with the American culture.

Segment 1: At Cat’s house, Linda Culman (Cat’s book editor) is talking to Cat about her upcoming book, entitled “Inbox Full,” which details Cat’s wild times as a single woman in London (for example, it’s been previously reported that Cat once made out with the much younger Prince Harry of England!). Cat is up against a book deadline a few weeks away and is worried about that deadline.

Stacie and her family arrive at Sugarleaf Vineyards to meet Jerry and Lauren Bias, who are good friends and the owners of the only African-American owned vineyard on the east coast (Sugarleaf). [Lauren is gorgeous, BTW.] Stacie says that “Obama [her term for him] served them [the Bias’] wine at the governors’ ball,” whatever that means. They start in on some red wine from the vineyard.

Then Michaele and Tareq Salahi (who always like to make a big entrance) show up at the vineyard in their typical stretch limo (like dorks). Comments Lauren: “I think we need to expand the parking lot.” The Salahis are dressed fairly formally (“fabbed out”) while Stacie and her family and friends are dressed informally in jeans. The Salahis also own a vineyard and winery, and Tareq presents Jerry with a bottle of the Salahis’ wine as a present. How nice.

The group heads indoors to meet Daniel Neumeister, a winemaker at Sugarleaf. Stacie, husband Jason and the Salahis then engage in a little wine tasting. Tareq immediately starts in with blathering comments about the wine he’s tasting, trying to act like he’s the real wine expert here. Jason does not appear impressed.

The foursome then heads out for a walk in the vineyard. They start talking about Obama. Tareq says he’s excited about Obama’s positions on a possible "two-state solution" regarding Israel and Palestine. Michaele says that Obama is about bringing us all together, but then she starts rambling into a bunch of largely incoherent drivel about “changing mindsets” and mixing “red and blue” into “red, white and blue” and such. Off-camera, Jason spouts: “WHAT!?” My question too, exactly, Jason!

Stacie changes the subject and says that Jason’s brother (a hip hop artist) has the #1 single in Paris. Stacie says there is to be a big album release party in Paris and that she and Jason are flying over for it. She says the Salahis should come over for it too. “Be careful what you wish for,” remarks Tareq ominously. It’s clear the Salahis are interested in going. Stacie says off camera that she will be very impressed with the Salahis (who will be “big ballers”) if they show up in Paris with only 3 days’ notice.

Next we’re with Lynda at Saks Fifth Avenue in DC. She’s with Kelly, Saks’ retail coordinator. They are talking about Saks’ annual VIP shopping night and modeling event to benefit breast cancer awareness and research. Lynda says that her modeling agency (T.H.E. Artist Agency) donates its models for the event (which is cool). Next we see Lynda with her very hot assistant, Robin, and with Heather, the head of marketing and PR for T.H.E. Then Mary Amons shows up looking quite right in a very tight sweater. [BTW, Mary seems to be about a foot taller than Lynda, and I previously commented that Lynda’s 6’5” BF Ebong looks like he’s 2 feet taller than her. Gal must top out at around 4’5”, as I commented last week, but I digress]. The T.H.E. models then head to the runway, which goes great.

Then Mary asks Lynda about the blow-up on last week's episode between Lynda and Michaele at Paul Wharton’s birthday party. The argument related to Lynda talking to Paul about Lynda’s alleged belief that Michaele has an eating disorder. Lynda tells Mary that Lynda’s genuinely concerned about Michaele’s health, but frankly I don’t buy it for a second. I could be wrong, but I think Lynda’s motivations here are grounded in her dislike of Michaele and her desire to break Michaele’s balls about something or another. This is only reinforced by Lynda then complaining to Mary about how the Sahalis are starved for attention. Lynda definitely does not like Tareq, and she blames him for “changing” Michaele and “suffocating her soul.”

Segment 2: Readying for Paris: At Stacie’s house, she and Jason are in the process of getting packed for Paris. Meantime at the Salahis’ house, they have decided to go to Paris too and are also getting packed as well. Michaele is taking three huge suitcases, while Tareq is taking only a little duffle bag. [I admire folks who travel light, which I’ve always been bad at – but THREE suitcases!]. When Stacie and Jason learn the Salahis are going too on such short notice, they are most impressed.

Cat and Lynda meet up at Lynda’s modeling agency. Lynda implores hot assistant Robin to fetch them some wine. The purpose of the meeting is for them to talk about Cat’s book cover, which is to feature (what else) a picture of Cat. Cat tells Lynda that the book is about her (apparently largely sexual) escapades in London, including her many self-described “inappropriate lovers.” Cat says her husband Charles hasn’t wanted to read the draft version of the book (for obvious reasons). This portion of the segment ends with Lynda getting drunk and spouting about how much she loves “happy endings.”

Next Mary and husband Rich are at Equinox. They talk about how friend Ted Gibson (who owns a hair salon in the Big Apple) will be back in DC the following week, and that they will be hosting a dinner for him. The occasion is a private dinner that Ted is having with others and with top clients. Mary says one purpose of the dinner is to help Ted get introduced to important people in DC. BTW, Rich’s whole way of speaking and carrying himself once again reminds me this week of Gary Cole’s “Bill Lumbergh” boss character from the cult classic comedy Office Space, except that Rich is a nice guy as opposed to an a$$hole, but again I digress.

Rich also has a propensity for getting off some funny blasts. In reference to Tareq Salahi last week pointing his champagne bottle and shooting the cork at Lynda, Rich quips that the whole experience was like “hunting with Dick Cheney.” Mary then criticizes Michaele for her role in the spat with Lynda, clearly believing that Michaele started the whole thing (which is very much up to debate). Obviously foreshadowing bad things to come, Mary comments that she is devoted to the upcoming Ted Gibson dinner having “no drama.”

In the Village of North Chevy Chase (how about that name?), established 1924, we return to Cat’s house, where hubbie Charles is there with Cat and the two girls. Cat off camera comments that she and Charles tend not to see a lot of each other lately because of their schedules (he’s a White House photographer and does other photographer work as well). For example, Charles is about to head off for five days to do a shoot at Goldman Sachs in New York City.

Conflict: Charles' 5-day assignment in New York will prevent Charles from shooting Cat’s book cover! Oh No! Cat starts complaining to him about how hard she has to work around the house when he’s gone. Their two girls are hilarious, BTW, as they second and repeat all of Cat’s complaints as soon as they come out of her mouth! Charles is not happy with this frontal assault, and it’s clear that his away-from-home schedule is putting a real strain on the marriage.

Segment 3: Deadbeat Salahis? At Paul Wharton’s apartment, he’s meeting with Charlotte, his publicist. She tells Paul that before Paul’s recent birthday party, she received a call from the Salahis attorney, who told her, “I want you to put in writing that my clients the Salahis are not going to have to pay for this party” or else the Salahis would not attend the party. I must say that I don’t fully understand the situation here, but as best I can tell: Paul thought the Salahis had agreed to host and pay for this party, and he thinks they tried to welch on that by showing up late and acting as if they were only guests by bringing a single bottle of champagne (i.e. the one that Tareq used to shoot Lynda in her tiny little ass). This whole angle was not exposed on last week’s episode, but it’s the best I can piece together from the stray comments of Paul and Charlotte. [See below, as Mary provides better context later in the episode].

TO PARIS! Stacie and Jason are on the ground near the Eiffel Tower. They walk into their hotel, and it’s revealed that Stacie speaks no French, but that Jason speaks a little (which is about 10000 times more than I do!). Fortunately for them, most folks in Western Europe, regardless of country, speak English, as does the hotel front desk attendant. [Another digression: One of the saddest aspects of the American educational system, among myriad problems, is the lack of emphasis upon our people learning more than one language. Becoming fluent in multiple languages is a key to enlightenment, intelligence and a full understanding of other cultures. My failure to ever fully follow through and become fluent in Spanish -- a language I studied for 3 years in high school and for 15 hours in college -- is perhaps the biggest regret of my life.]

The Salahis next show up in Paris and meet the Turners (Stacie and Jason) at their hotel. Up on an outside balcony, someone has ordered a $1000 bottle of Dom Perignon. As Tareq grabs the bottle, Jason brings up the fact that the last time Tareq had a champagne bottle in his hand, he shot off the cork at Lynda's ass. They all have a big laugh over it. [BTW: It is HILARIOUS how every person on this show has a different pronunciation of Michaele’s name. Just having heard Jason’s, that was about the 10th or 12th different one that I’ve heard!]

It’s clear from the off camera comments of Stacie and Jason that while they can tend to be off-put by a lot of the Salahis' behavior, there is also just something about the Salahis that they like. [And I can generally agree with that – I think the Salahis are full of themselves and totally shallow, but they also seem fairly harmless and very much in love with each other. However, the whole alleged deadbeat angle is a different matter. That's very not cool, for lack of a better phrase.]

Back in DC, Mary is on the phone with Paul Wharton, and we get some additional new information on the threat that Paul’s publicist (Charlotte) says she received from the Salahis’ attorney last week. Paul tells Mary about that threat, and Mary reveals that DC “etiquette” and practice dictates that if one agrees to “host” a party (which apparently the Salahis did here), then it’s also an agreement to completely pay for the party. This has been a recurring theme on the show, i.e. the Salahis not paying for things. I have no inside information, but the best read of the entire situation is that the Salahis are likely over-extended financially as a result of the lifestyles they try to maintain. Indeed, Mary next claims that the Salahis paid for NOTHING at the party, and Mary really gets irritated when she compares that with the fact that they have just flown off to Paris on a whim.

BACK in Paris: We’re at the Elysee Montmartre, a famous music and boxing venue in Paris. Stacie and Jason meet up backstage with Jason’s brother, Adam – AKA Beat Assailant, an extremely popular hip hop artist overseas. Stacie tells Adam’s story, which is truly inspiring: He's a completely self-made man, who went to college in the ATL and then picked up and headed off to Paris, not knowing a word of French. Now he’s one of the biggest pop culture icons in that country. Great story! BTW, you’d never know BA (I started calling him BA even before I heard the people on the show calling him that) and Jason were brothers just to look at them. Jason is much taller and bigger, while BA is just a little fart. But as Jason says, BA was always the little younger brother, whose diapers Jason used to have to change.

BA’s concert starts! He raps in the English language, and he is GOOD. Great sound. Meantime, Stacie and Jason are impressed with how much fun Michaele and Tareq are having at this concert (and who wouldn’t have fun at this concert?!).

Segment 4: "Sexting": We’re at Mary’s house, where she talks to daughter Meghan (age 14) about “Sexting.” Meghan used the word in front of mama, but claims she doesn’t engage in "sexting" herself. Mary says she’s not ready for Meghan to even be talking about this. Meghan says, “You put me in public school!” WOW. I would have thought that all of Mary’s kids were in private school. Perhaps another couple on this show is just a bit cash-strapped as well? Just speculating. [Man, what a short segment. Fine with me though. The more commercials the better – these hour-long reality shows are SO time-consuming to recap!, and I’ve stated way too many times on this blog.]

Segment 5: Cat’s Photo Shoot for Her Book Cover! She meets photographer Anton Papich. She again comments how husband Charles can’t be here to shoot her himself since he’s off in New York on assignment. Cat poses in shades and a very hot black dress with numerous shopping bags draped on her bent elbows. She doesn’t look quite as good as she did in last week's episode on the horse riding segment, but she’s looking as good as she has otherwise. And Cat doesn’t seem too enamored with the shots that the photographer is taking and expresses her mixed emotions.

THEN HUGE-ASS SURPRISE TIME! HUSBAND CHARLES SHOWS UP AT THE SHOOT! At least it seemed like a huge surprise. But Cat doesn’t seem that surprised! “Hello, Darling,” she spouts dryly. Something tells me he must have told her previously that he might just show up out of the blue. But the show certainly made it appear as a huge surprise, at least until we saw Cat's vanilla reaction. BTW: Charles wears New Balance tennis shoes! As do I (nothing else). Very cool. Anyway, Charles doesn’t take over the photo shoot or anything, but it’s strongly insinuated that he has a shoot in mind for his lovely bride!

Again, Back to Paris: Stacie and Michaele are wrapping up a day of shopping, and both seem happy about the day's results. Stacie shares with Michaele that she (Stacie) was adopted at a young age, and that Stacie has been trying to find her birth parents. Stacie reveals that she’s made contact with her birth mom, but that communication has broken down based upon Stacie’s insistence to learn more about her birth father. Michaele seems genuinely supportive of Stacie’s quest.

Now to Ted Gibson’s Party, Hosted by Mary! At the Dupont Hotel in DC, Ted Gibson arrives to meet Mary, to settle into his hotel, and to talk about the party that Mary is hosting for him. Ted has a very close friend called Jason Backe, and it’s strongly insinuated that they are a gay couple (not that there’s anything wrong with that – who gives a rat’s ass – but since I know such things are of general interest to the reading audience, I just mention it in passing).

Mary, BTW, has the biggest gamut of looks of any of the ladies on this series. At times she looks so positively HOT, and at other times, not so good at all (with this segment being an example). Then Mary sits down for a hair and makeup job from Ted and Jason, and Jason reveals that he was at the Paul Wharton party and that Tareq Salahi told him that he (Tareq) was spending a whole lot of money on that party! Oh, The Scandal! [Since Mary says the Salahis paid for nothing]. Mary is very taken aback, as you might expect. Meantime, Ted is giving Mary a new do -- long straight reddish-blonde hair (quite unlike any look for her hair that I’ve seen before), and frankly I like it!

Party On! Ted's party begins, with Stacie arriving first. Then Cat shows up, and it’s an awkward meeting between her and Stacie since Cat has rubbed Stacie the wrong way the last couple of times they’ve been together. Then Lynda shows up too. Part of the party’s goal is to give all of the Real Housewives of DC a hair and makeup job from Ted and Jason, and so Lynda, Stacie and Cat sit down for theirs. All of them now in close quarters, Lynda breaks out some of the anti-Michaele talk with Stacie's hubbie Jason. Stacie hears this and (just having struck up a pretty decent friendship with Michaele in Paris) is a bit perplexed (especially since Stacie had not heard any of the Paul Wharton party talk about Michaele prior to this).

Now Everyone’s in The House! All of the hair and makeup jobs being done, the Real Party begins. Michaele finally shows up with Tareq in tow. [Mary, BTW, has another tight top on, although the sweater from the first segment was even better!] Adding to this very combustible situation is the fact that Paul Wharton is on hand, in the presence of the Salahis, who allegedly just deadbeated his entire birthday party! Lynda and Michaele express off camera that it’s their desire to largely stay away from each other and not to engage in another verbal altercation as occurred last week. Paul Wharton, meanwhile, had a definite beef with Michaele, but he (to his credit) says that this is Ted’s Big Show, and so he doesn’t raise any issues with Michaele.

At one table, Cat is trying to mend fences with Stacie, and is also socializing with Lynda, who says off camera that she totally loves Cat. This is consistent with my view of Cat: She has rubbed people the wrong way, but I largely chalk that up to her being a Brit who has had some difficulty adapting to American culture (in much the same way I likely would have adapting to British culture, which is why I have never judged her). Lynda, Mary and Stacie all declare Cat to be their new “soul sister,” but then things break down (i.e. the normal course of things in the reality series world!):

As the ladies toast Cat's “new soul sister” moniker, Stacie’s friend Erika says that “apparently we have a new black girl in the group!” Cat doesn’t like that too much, off camera stating: “Oh my God, where did that just come from!” To me, an American, who views such a comment from Erika to just be a funny, non-serious remark that's a part of the joy of the moment, I was taken aback by Cat’s comment. But as observed in my coverage of this series before, Cat is having a tough time assimilating to our American culture. Her attitude in the States would be widely panned as bigoted (and probably deservedly so), but I still maintain that she’s from a completely different culture than us, and so I refuse to outright judge her at the moment.

Segment 6: Dinner Time at Ted's Party: The Erika and Cat rift is now accentuated! Cat, not appreciating Erika's "black girl" remark, walks right out of the party! Paul Wharton follows her. Cat views Erika as a “guard dog” designed to keep Stacie from getting too close to Cat (which, BTW, I think is utter and complete nonsense). Then Cat blasts out to Paul Wharton, “I am Not Racist!” Obviously, that reminds me of Tricky Dicky’s “I am not a Crook” line. When it gets so bad that you have to start spouting out such incredible denials, it typically means you are the very thing you are denying to be. I think Cat is likely bigoted, and that's something she really needs to work on ("racist" is an extremely harsh term which I rarely use and which is rarely appropriate – wish our two political parties would follow the same lead).

As a final note on this whole scene, Cat is trying to make nice with Paul Wharton, and she tells him, “you’re gay and your colored.” Memo to Brits: “Colored” has not been an appropriate word for at least 30-40 years in our country. Paul -- God love this cool gay dude -- disregards all of Cat’s British faux pas and apparent bigotry and still hangs around with her and befriends her. I really respect that.

Finally, we’re at the dinner table with an obviously drunk Tareq Salahi trying to deflect eating disorder rumors about his wife by claiming that she promptly put on an extra 20 pounds once they got married. Everyone off camera is going off on the Salahis (except her new friend, Stacie). Also off camera, Lynda comes right out and says, “Get rid of your husband, Michaele.” Personally, I think that comment from Lynda is very overbearing, because while I don’t like the Salahis at all, I do think they are in love. So what’s Lynda’s agenda? Seems obvious: She pretty much hates them both, and so she will say anything negative she can to try to break them up. In a nutshell: The Salahis are superficial and mindless, but Lynda seems dastardly destructive. Better watch out going forward, Salahis. End of episode.

Be sure to come back again next late Thursday night for my coverage of the next Over-The-Top Episode of Real Housewives of DC!

Everybody's Talking About It: A New Time Magazine Poll Finds That 24% of the Country Believes Obama Is a Muslim.

You want a succinct reaction for once? OK: The Time poll just goes to show that at least 24% of the people in the country are idiots. Now, that does not make me a liberal democrat. The liberal democrat believes that most of the people in the country are idiots. [How's that for quick and to-the-point?]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011799,00.html

Free Speech Outrage: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Calls for an Investigation of Those Who Oppose the Building of the Ground Zero Mosque.

(Full story linked at bottom). Does this mean that Creature Pelosi is prepared to investigate 70% of the American population? Let's get down to brass tacks right from the shoot: Threatening to investigate people for expressing a political viewpoint is about the most un-American act of which I can conceive. It's a direct assault on one of our most important and fundamental rights as human beings -- the freedom of speech, as protected and guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution.

When you threaten repercussions upon someone expressing a particular viewpoint, such a threat is sure to have a chilling effect upon free expression, which should be intolerable under the First Amendment and in any free society. Such threats are purely Nixonian in nature -- harkening back to the dangerous days of the Tricky Dicky. It's also the type of device you'd expect to see utilized in a totalitarian regime. That just ain't America, folks.

But alas, I've noticed a very frightening pattern of this sort of thing from the far-left democrats who've controlled Washington DC over the past few years. From Obama's White House calling on citizens to report other citizens who have a "fishy" viewpoint on health care, to Pigsnout Waxman threatening to hold congressional hearings on companies reporting the increased costs they will face from the dems' health care monstrosity, we've seen this type of thing over and over. And it's as utterly outrageous and un-American as it gets.

Which brings me to my final point. If you've read this space from time to time, you may have noticed me sometimes referring to the present time as Scary Days and other similar phrases. I do not do so lightly. Never in my almost four decades on this planet have I seen something in Washington DC as truly scary as what I've seen the last 2 years: An extremist-controlled, out-of-touch party with an iron grip on power, coupled with a hapless opposition party content to just say "no" while rarely proposing any serious, concrete ideas or plans for what should be done.

This the same angst that so many in the country feel these days. This burning feeling down in the gut that it's all just slipping away -- that the America in which we grew up and have loved for our entire lifetimes may soon become a thing of the past, buried under the weight of massive government debt, social and economic collapse, and the disregard of basic and fundamental human freedoms. I didn't start this blog for no reason, and I don't say these sorts of things for no reason. Scary Days.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2010/aug/17/audio-rep-pelosi-calls-investigation-wtc-mosque-op/

Bullseye or Bull$hit? Target Gets Targeted, But Will Far-Left Group MoveOn.org Also Call For a Boycott of Obama For His Opposition to Gay Marriage?

Earlier this month, this space discussed Target's public apology -- in the face of pressure from groups on the left -- for having contributed $150,000 to a group supporting Minnesota gubernatorial Tom Emmer, who's a conservative republican and an opponent of gay marriage. (See first link at bottom). Apparently that apology wasn't enough for some, however, as MoveOn.org has started bombarding the airwaves with a new TV ad encouraging shoppers to boycott Target. (See second link at bottom).

MoveOn's boycott cry begs the question: Will the leftist group also call for a boycott and/or public denunciation of one President Obama for his identical opposition to gay marriage? Answer: Of course not! Because let's get this straight: To most of the American left, if you're a liberal and prominent member of the democrat party, opposing gay marriage is OK. But if you happen to be a corporation or a non-dem, then it's not OK. It's a form of mindless hypocrisy grounded in the blindness of political ideology and so common to those on both the far left and far right. And most of the time, they are largely oblivious to it. Must be an awful way to go through life.

And as for the boycott itself: If MoveOn.org is behind it, you can pretty much be damn sure (regardless of even what the underlying issue may be) that I'm going to be looking to do more shopping at Target than I otherwise would. I don't go there that often, although they do have some decent grocery prices. Methinks I may need to avail myself a little more frequently of those good buys. Stick that in your hypocritical little boycott and smoke it, MoveOn.org.

http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2010/08/target-apologizes-for-contributing-to.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41160.html

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service:France Surrenders to Social Conservatism?Or Is It Just Typical French Snootiness?

Reports from France are saying that French authorities have starting levying fines on tourists who traipse around in public without a shirt (link to full story at bottom). The stated reason of the cops and tourist town locals who support the fines: "They were sick of seeing Brits and other tourists displaying their 'hairy chest' in the streets."

But it doesn't stop with the hairy dudes: Female tourists are also being fined for wearing bikinis in public without a shirt on top. Apparently, however, at least the ladies get a warning to cover up before receiving a fine. And France isn't alone in these types of measures, as similar reports out of Spain and Italy have cops in those countries detaining and harassing tourists wearing bikinis or walking around shirtless.

So circling back to my question at the top: Is this France Surrendering yet again, this time to mindless social conservative sentiments, or is this just your typical French snobbishness towards non-French peoples? I think it has to be largely chalked up to the latter, since apparently it's non-French tourists who are being singled out for the cop harassment.

In other words, there's no indication that Frenchmen and their French lady counterparts are facing the same restrictions (even despite how stench-filled their shirtless bodies might happen to be in some or many instances). I've actually never had any real desire to go out of my way to visit France, but if I ever do then one thing's for darn sure: They will get to see me shirtless in all of my lily white, George "The Animal" Steele glory! (And I generally don't even like going around without a shirt -- never have!)

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/french-police-to-fine-tourists-for-taking-off-shirts-dpgonc-20100816-fc_9199313

Kansas City Grandpa Packs More Than Geritol, Goes Dirty Harry, and Greets Would-Be Robbers at Front Door With .357 Magnum!

For anyone who's read this space from time to time, you'll know that I rarely talk about the Second Amendment -- it's just not one of my big issues. But I do fully support that part of our Bill of Rights, which I believe protects, at the very least, our right to own and possess firearms for use in self defense and third-party defense in our own homes against all the scuzbuckets out there who would love nothing better than to break, enter, steal, rape, maim and kill therein. And so it is tonight that I saw this story out of my hometown of Kansas City about the gun-toting Grandpa who sent two sleazewad robbers scurrying away with their cowardly tails between their legs (link to full story at bottom from my local KCTV-5's website).

This story begins with grandson Travis Keller heading into a local QuikTrip convenience store one night about a week ago for a chocolate bar and a pop (I call it soda, but I'm using the local vernacular). He made the mistake of paying for said items with a C-note. Likely receiving something like $97 back in change, Keller quickly drew the attention of a couple of sloths in the QT, whom Keller says attacked him outside for the dough. And they beat they holy hell out him too.

Just to add a little slimeball insult to injury, Keller says these two creeps hid in a ditch like the sub-human turds that they are, and emerged to again acost Keller as he struggled to try to walk home. Keller says they wanted inside his home and ordered him to take them there. But these two scums weren't expecting the likes of Grandpa Gordon Douglas!

Arriving at his front porch with the two crumballs, Keller made a polite little knock on the door, knowing that Granddaddy never answers the front door after dark anything less than fully tooled up!!! When these two jackwagon criminals got a load of the sight of Grandpappy at the door sportin' a .357 Magnum, those two slimes made a beeline for the hills faster than a couple of rats in the LA sewer system! (BTW, no arrests yet in these incidents, but I have a feeling arrests are not far off.)

I gotta say, this Grandpa is a real man, and certainly a man after my own heart. His words after the incident: "I'm very protective of my family. I don't get in anybody's business. I don't bother anybody, but if they come to my house where my family's at, come in my house -- they are very fortunate that they left alive."

Nice! Legendary pro wrestler and all-around tough guy Arn Anderson had a similar way of putting the same sentiment. 2B-A would always say back in the day, "When you mess around with family, it gets real personal real fast." Words to live by.

As a final salvo, I will leave you with Grandpa Gordon's wonderful last words from this story, as he talks about his beloved .357 Magnum and its complete usefulness for the purpose for which he intends it: "It's 158 grain, and it'll stop you with one."

http://www.kctv5.com/news/24638481/detail.html

A Nation Gone to the Dogs (& Other Animals)? What Gives w/ All the Human Beings Recently Enduring Leashes, Dog Collars & Riding Crop Beatings?

Recently, as covered in my Ladies Panel (scroll down a little bit in the righthand sidebar column), we had Star Magazine publishing photos purportedly showing Angelina Jolie traipsing around in a dog leash. And lest we not forget the recent story out of Kansas (as covered in this space -- first link at bottom) about the daycare worker beating children with a riding crop. Now ABC News is reporting on another similar alleged incident:

ABC is airing a report this weekend concerning former aspiring Olympic swimmer Jancy Thompson, who has filed the fifth among a string of sexual abuse/misconduct lawsuits against USA swimming in recent months (second link at bottom). Jancy says that she was previously abused by her swim coach in Cali. She alleges that coacher would force her to don a dog collar and leash, and that he would even make her practice in such attire, holding said leash while she swam laps around the pool. Very pathetic stuff.

Seriously -- What is wrong with the people in the country these days (and for at least the past 10 years, perhaps coinciding with the meteoric rise of The Net in the late 90's)? Is mindless 2012 Doomsday prediction worry setting in full bore, or is it the equally paranoid apprehension over Hindenburg Omen scenarios of the imminent collapse of the stock market (third link at bottom)? Yawn.

I recently in this space reached a point where it has even started to become difficult to predict the typically very predictable moves and positions of the American far left. Frankly, I recently haven't been able to make heads nor tails of precisely what it is (if anything) that is currently motivating those people.

My suggestion was for across-the-board frontal lobotomies for democrat party loyalists everywhere. But the more I think about it, the more I think maybe the lobotomies and shock therapies should extend to an ever larger swath of the population! (Yes, all of these suggestions are largely tongue in cheek, but What the Hell already?). Get a grip, American nation. The world is not coming to an end, nor are we human beings regressing into lower species (even if the anecdotal evidence to the contrary may be aplenty).

[Postcript: How about me working in the JYD photo above? May the legendary Junkyard Dog, a.k.a. Sylvester Ritter, rest in peace. THUMP!]

http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-you-i-oughta-pound-you-with-riding.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/brian-ross-investigates-usa-swimming-sex-abuse-scandal/story?id=11396970
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10835851/1/hindenburg-omen-is-a-stock-market-crash-imminent.html

Obama Tonight Defends The Building of a Mosque Near Ground Zero. I Don't Agree and, Moreover, It's Very Dumb Politics.

Tonight, at a White House dinner to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, Obama is defending the construction of a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero (hit Politico.com link at bottom for full story). Since I have viewed the mosque story (much like the recent California gay marriage decision and the Arizona immigration statute) to be primarily a matter of concern for an individual state in which I do not live, I have not commented previously in this space on the Ground Zero mosque. But with the national angle of Obama himself commenting on the mosque, I think it's now very fair game and I'm going to express my opinions (which I did set forth once recently on Facebook, but not here).

First, I don't think a mosque has any business being placed anywhere near Ground Zero. That location and area is a place of remembrance, not a place of worship. There shouldn't be any religious symbols or structures there. That includes mosques, synagogues, churches, temples and any other assorted worship site. The same goes for the pictured Ground Zero cross which apparently stood at one point there. To be blunt: Keep religion the hell out of Ground Zero!

Obama's stated justification for defending the mosque: "I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country." What a completely phoney and B.S. justification! I've read that there are many (I believe dozens) of mosques in New York City. No one is preventing Muslims in the Big Apple from freely practicing their religion, as guaranteed by my beloved First Amendment.

It's also clear that this mosque is being built not out of some noble motivation of providing another place of worship for local Muslims, but rather with the provocative intention of sticking it in the face of the millions and millions of Americans who view 9-11 as the most shocking and saddening event of our lifetimes and who do not blame America for 9-11 occurring.

In short, the intentions are all wrong, the location is all wrong, and construction of this mosque is all-the-way wrong. That said, I'm not going to get all emotional, lose sleep, or rant and rave endlessly about this issue as I've noticed the conservatives doing the past few weeks. Suffice it to say that I don't agree with it at all, and I'll leave it at that.

I'm personally more intrigued by politics involved here. With the November midterm elections just a few months off (and speaking now from a purely political perspective), I think tonight's statements by Obama are incredibly stupid politically. As Politico recites, a recent CNN poll found that 68% of those surveyed opposed the construction of the Ground Zero mosque.

Although obviously Obama is not up for re-election in November, taking more actions and spouting more words that go against the clear will of the majority of Americans does absolutely no favors for the dems facing House and Senate elections in a few months. And Obama even had an easy out here: Continue to remain silent on the issue or simply say it's largely a local issue in which he does not wish to stick his nose.

Even more fascinating is trying to figure out what the hell is going on behind the scenes at the White House these days. When press secretary Robert Gibbs last weekend made his statements criticizing the "professional left" (i.e. the hard left and ultra far-left "elites"), it was my very strong suspicion that those statements had been very planned and choreographed by the White House as the first step in disingenuously trying to come across as more "centrist" during the run up to the November midterms.

And I still think that probably is, indeed, the case. But that certainly doesn't jive with Obama's statements tonight. Perhaps try as he might, Obama is simply incapable of suppressing his leftist self for any sustained period of time? Your guess is as good as mine, but one thing's for sure: The next 2.5 months are certainly going to be a lot of fun to watch regardless of your political persuasion (or lack thereof).

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/41060.html