Obama on Romney: "He's a Bullshitter!"

Pot meet kettle, Obama.  Two words: "The Video."  Good grief already.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/obama-calls-romney-a-bullser/2012/10/25/e07e4bae-1ec7-11e2-9cd5-b55c38388962_blog.html

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

democrat party Reportedly Offers Up Free Pizza to Students to Vote. But No Free Pizza Is Going to Buy My Damn Vote...

The "free pizza" allegation was made this week by Colorado right-winger gop-ers, who say democrat party people were too close to an early voting station at Colorado State University and were offering free pizza to students to vote (see sign/table above), in violation of state law (link below).  Of course, college students (when they vote) vote overwhelmingly for the democrat party.

Now I must say, what a completely cheap way to try to buy a person's vote.  How completely crass and inappropriate.  Not that I might not have a price for the Million Dollar MAN, myself (sorry for the double negative, Jeeves).  Wanna offer up a free White Castle Crave Case (with cheese) for my vote, democrat party?  If so, you gots me at hello over here.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/10/23/state-gop-file-complaint-against-obama-campaigners-at-csu/

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

October Sur-Slimes: Right-Winger Donald Trump & Leftist Gloria Allred Set to Try to Unleash Alleged Dirt on Romney & Obama Today, Less Than Two Weeks Before the Election. Creep-Jobs!

As I first flagged in this space on Monday, leftist 20 percenter attorney Gloria Allred is poised to try to spring an "October Surprise" on Mitt Romney -- and reportedly as early as today as she heads to court in Massachusetts to try to bully a judge into unsealing Romney testimony (and lifting a witness gag order) from some past court proceeding.  Meantime, crazy right-winger Trump similarly says he has an "October Surprise" of his own in store for Obama today -- reportedly in the form of past divorce papers of Barack and Michelle Obama.  (Links below; obviously no coincidence both of these two rotten so-called "stories" are jumpin' off on the same day).

This sort of thing is truly slimeball stuff.  Not only tabloid-style material on the substance (or at least it would seem), but also information upon which these two partisan pariahs of attention-grabbing have apparently held on to until the last minute to try to have some small, pathetic lout impact on the election results.

Worse yet, perhaps, is the highly predictable response that will come from most leftists and right-wingers, with each side applauding the jackass on their side (Trump or Allred) while feigning outrage over the jackass on the other side for the very same actions.  Our two illustrious political parties of sleaze and hypocrisy on full display.  And I'm the fool for choosing to be an Independent!

[Late Monday Postscript:  The Trump end of this turned out to be a lot of nothing: Trump promising to donate $5 million to charity if Obama releases his educational records.  What a joke.  The Allred matter, in contrast, seems a lot more real, but is still ongoing, with another court hearing within a day or two on the issue of whether Romney's testimony from a divorce proceeding of a friend years ago will be unsealed.  Best I can tell, the testimony (if unsealed) would give Obama new material for PAC ads (accusations of Romney not being honest concerning the value of a company in order to help a friend), but not much more than that.  Interestingly, the Romney camp is claiming at this point that Romney doesn't even oppose the release of the testimony.]

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/10/gloria-allred-mitt-romney-october-surprise-gag-order
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222070/Donald-Trump-reveal-divorce-papers-Michelle-Barack-Obama--claims-respected-financial-pundit.html

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST. 

Final Presidential Debate Was a Tale of 3.5 Debates: Romney Gets the Win Overall From 2 Parts Huge Stalemate on Foreign Policy, 1.5 Part Clear Romney Victory When Obama Foolishly Opened the Door Wide Open on Domestic Issues...

I.  Debate Commentary

The first third and most of the final third of this debate focused almost exclusively on foreign policy (in what was supposed to be a foreign policy debate), and I found it to be mostly very boring (with Romney with an apparent strategy to agree with Obama on a lot of points) and a complete stalemate -- both guys scoring points equally.  On that score, I thought it was a big mistake for Romney not to take on Obama's Libyan disaster and the Obama administration's obvious dishonesty during the course of that ugly sequence of events and explanations.

But I thought Obama made a big mistake himself by opening the door wide open in the second third of the debate (and in the final half of the of the final third) on domestic economic issues, which I thought Romney clearly won.  In those portions, Romney was his very solid self as he was in the first 2 debates, while Obama was mediocre and somewhere between (1) his rather weak and (2) much improved performance on domestic issues in the first 2 debates.  My question for Obama would be:  If you weren't as prepared to go lively on domestic issues tonight as you were obviously prepared to go aggressive on foreign policy (where you had plenty of canned, prepared, rehearsed one-liners ready to go about bayonets and "same rules" [errr, wait!]), then why open up the door so much on domestic issues, particularly in the second third of the debate?

At the end of the night, I thought Obama tonight could've really used his first distinct victory of the three debates in order to repel some of the recent Romney momentum, but Obama simply didn't get that.  And Romney, too, didn't knock the ball out of the park either, although he won by default through the domestic, economic portions of the debate, not to mention having an incessantly pleasant look on his face and in his tone in contrast to Obama's constant split-screen sneering (see pics at top) and occasional rude interrupting and condescending smiling (which I thought did Obama no favors, although he also didn't take things to the extreme like Biden did).  [Sorry, leftists, but my fellow Independents will decide this election outcome (whatcha gonna do, try to "kill" us all?), and this paragraph very much gets at some of those Independent sentiments.]

That being said, this debate was no "game changer," and I still predict an extremely close election result two weeks from today -- with me continuing to surmise greatly a popular vote victor (very perhaps, Romney) who does not win the electoral vote.  Truth be told, regardless of who wins, I don't want to see a split decision like that.  I think that's disastrous for the country (much like 2000), lends ammunition for partisan extremists on both sides to go around claiming "illegimate president" for four years, and it's the reason why I'd like to see an end to the electoral college.

II.  Obama Lines That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

Regardless of what you thought about the outcome of tonight's debate, Obama -- likely the most left-wing president in American history -- continued his penchant for making me laugh out loud (not an easy thing to do, as oft-stated by me) at all of the crazy leftist 20 percenter and disingenuous things that come out his mouth.  To wit (as usual, these are based on notes, and not necessarily word-for-word, but pretty close):

-"We can't do nation building [in the Middle East.]"  [This after Obama got us involved militarily in Libya to effect regime change, not to mention continuing to keep us involved in an inherent "nation building" effort in Afghanistan, which has now become the longest foreign war in American history].

-"America remains the world's one indispensable nation."  [Giving token lip service to American exceptionalism, Mr. "President," does little to make me believe your words, or to think you're anywhere in the league of the last great American president (JFK), or to counter the Mittster's direct quotes from your so-called "Apology Tour" in the Middle East for alleged past American transgressions.  I noticed how you completely changed the subject once King Flipflopper hit you with those direct quotes.  Busted!].

-"We have engaged in unprecedented cooperation with Israel."  [Mr. "President," we know you don't care a whole hell of a lot for our Israeli brothers, and your actions of the past 4 years have only established and reinforced that truth.  Equally making me laugh tonight was Obama pointing to a pre-presidency trip to Israel (in 2007 or 2008) as the greatest example of his outreach to our Jewish friends in Israel.  Pretty pathetic stuff, dude.]

-"We refocused our efforts on Afghanistan when we came into office!"  [This was particularly funny, since Obama did absolutely nothing on Afghanistan during his first year in office, offering up no plan for our involvement there through that extremely bloody year there that took countless lives of American boys of all races and ethnicities.  He should've been a leader one way or the other:  Either gotten us the hell out of that shithole immediately or at the very least had a plan from Day 1 to stop the killings of our American Warriors.  Hundreds of American killings later, Obama suddenly showed some interest in a "surge" there.  That's not leadership.  That's one of the two worst presidents of my lifetime (along with W Bush) in full effect.]

-"China needs to play on a level playing field and play by the same rules as everyone else!"  [Here, a tiring Obama, towards the end of the debate, seemed to be mixing up his tired old domestic policy talking points with foreign policy.  I was just waitin' over here for him to accuse the Chinese of not paying their "fair share" of taxes!  This one had me really rolling, quite like the entire Obama presidency has accomplished.  Thanks for all the bad memories and big laughs, Obama -- really though!]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PRESIDENTIAL_CAMPAIGN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-22-22-06-16

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST. 

With Mittster Suddenly Even or Up on Obama in the Polls, There's Noise Over the Weekend About an Obama "October Surprise" in the Form of Left-Winger Attorney Gloria Allred Trottin' Out a New Client Against Romney or Ryan...

The buzz in certain circles on the Net this past weekend has been that the aforementioned attorney Allred may be posturing to try to help out a slowing Obama campaign through a good ol'-fashioned "October Surprise" in the form of Allred coming forward with some new broad client who has supposed dirt (e.g., disgruntled employment situation, alleged extramarital situation, etc., etc.) on Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan (much more likely, Romney) (see link below).

Allred, a well-connected democrat party leftist, has previously and famously stuck her beak into and significantly influenced political races (and reportedly had a sit-down meeting with Obama earlier this month).  To wit:  "During the Republican presidential primary, Allred represented Sharon Bialek, whose claims of sexual misconduct against Herman Cain helped to push him out of the race. In 2010, Allred represented the illegal immigrant former housekeeper of then-Republican California gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman."

Now down to brass tacks -- a right-winger gop-er asked me on the Net over the weekend whether his ilk should be concerned over all this chatter.  My exact response to the guy:  "In a word, dude, yes."

http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/19/gloria-allred-mum-on-drudge-october-surprise-speculation/

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Iranian Slimeball: "How Long Can Debt-Laden U.S. Remain World Power?" I'd Say that Opinion Is "Not OPTIMAL," If Also at the Same Time Most Biting...

That Persian creep adds that "U.S. influence in world affairs is waning due to massive debt and loss of legitimacy."

You know it's a pretty rotten and sad state of affairs in the United States when even a disgusting sleazebucket like Iranian "President" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can spot and articulate the biggest crisis currently facing America, and in accurate, yet less-than-optimal terms -- while the individual in charge here is completely oblivious to our massive debt and its consequences.

But look what we got over here:  A "president" of our own who on Jon Stewart this week characterized the Libyan Benghazi terror attack as a situation where, "If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal."  Wonder what he'd say if 10, 20, 30 people had been killed?  That it's "less-than-perfect"?  Or maybe, "not so ideal"? 

Not to mention, of course, if maybe only one person had been killed, or perhaps if there'd just been a few good maimings, or maybe if the male ambassador had only been raped, things would've been a decent amount more optimal.

Or also more optimal it would be, methinks, if Barack Oblivious could still credibly blame the Benghazi attack on a spontaneous demonstration sparked by "the video."  Now that would be pretty freakin' optimal!  But when dishonest cover stories head way south:  You get stuck with Bizarro World optimal, unfortunately.
    
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=288322
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/262901-obama-on-benghazi-when-four-americans-get-killed-its-not-optimal

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Civility: Following Tuesday's Presidential Debate, Twitter "Explodes" with Tweets from Obama Supporters Threatening an Assassination of Mitt Romney If He's Elected President...

As stated in my last post, I thought it was a pretty close debate. I gave a slight edge to Romney, while many nationwide called it a tie or gave a slight edge to Obama (also reasonable takeaways). Then there were the leftist 20 percenters, who uniformly called it a spectacular, knockout victory by Obama (what debate were they watching?).

But then I see this story (link below) about an avalanche of tweets from Obama supporters following the debate threatening to whack out Romney if he gets elected.  (This on the heels of a wave of similar recent tweets from Obama supporters threatening to "riot" if Romney wins).

Murder? Really? Seems to me that Romney must've hit pretty close to home with some of his debate lines in order to garner such a deranged, violent reaction from Obama supporters -- which, of course, very much belies the groupthink verdict of those same supporters that Obama destroyed the Mittster in the debate.

Or, alternatively, perhaps leftist 20 percenters and democrat party partisans (1) really believe Obama kicked ass but (2) are just naturally demented and hateful enough to still want to push a button on opponent Romney? Either way, when I say that these leftists scare the hell out of me as a general matter, you now gotta see where I'm comin' from over here.

http://www.infowars.com/threats-to-assassinate-romney-explode-after-debate/

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST. 

2nd Presidential Debate: Two Good Performances, w/ Obama a Fair Amount Better, But Romney Better Too, Than the 1st Debate: I Think Slight Edge to Romney in a VERY Close Debate...

As expected, Obama was a lot more engaged in this second debate Tuesday night.  And Obama did a lot better.  But I was not one who thought Romney had some awesome victory or performance in the 1st debate:  I thought Romney won that one, but not in knockout fashion (although so many on the right and left apparently disagreed with me in the days afterward).  I actually thought Romney was better tonight than the first debate...

I.  The Debate 

For that, I thought Romney got a very slight win tonight, but there wasn't a huge differential.  For anyone claiming this was a tie or a slight Obama win, I would not engage in a pissing match with you, because I think those would be very reasonable and defensible views (even if I slightly disagree).  But as I commented to a hot lady friend this week, the problem for Obama is that Romney tends to be fairly solid in debates, and debating is not an Obama strength (he's OK, but that's about it), such that about the best Obama would be able to do in these last 2 debates would be a stalemate (absent some huge Romney gaffe).  And that's pretty much how it played out tonight.

The other problem for Obama was the apparent perception nationwide that Romney absolutely schooled him in the first debate (which was not my opinion), such that Obama would need a knockout in the final debates to even the score.  That simply didn't happen tonight.  Frankly, both these partisan cats were pretty damn good tonight.  At least that was refreshing, giving some of the debating assclowns we've had to watch in recent years, such as Old Man McCain, W Bush, Al "Finish This (and Sigh)" Gore, etc.

II.  "The 47%"

Now, before getting to my obligatory "Obama Lines that Made Me Laugh Out Loud," I'd like to raise one fascinating purely political angle that played out near the end of the debate.  Obama was absolutely excoriated by his leftist 20 percenter base after the 1st debate for not even mentioning Romney's prior gop-er fundraiser comments about writing off 47% of the population as people who will not vote for a gop-er (pathetic comments, in my opinion)...

Tonight Obama had an obvious plan to save any mention of the "the 47%" until his end-of-debate remarks when Romney would have no chance to respond.  But apparently, somehow, Romney got wind of this and used his closing remarks (which preceded Obama's) to fire a preemptive strike against "the 47%" issue and plead that he is (he claims) a person that cares about all 100% of the American people.  What gives?

Guess possibly Romney had a plan to launch the preemptive strike if Obama said nothing previous in the debate about the issue, but I find that a bit hard to believe:  Almost seems like Obama had this distinct strategy, and then someone turned rat and leaked it to the Romney camp.  Regardless, I'm fascinated by that kind of slimy political angle shit.  Look forward to reading more about this from the political pundits on Wednesday.

III.  Obama Lines that Made Me Laugh Out Loud

As a closing note and special added attraction, I give you my potpourri of Obama Lines (as in the 1st debate, from my notes and not word-for-word) that Made Me Laugh Out Loud (this leftist dude is always good for several laughs anytime he shows up and opens his mouth somewhere):

-"We've seen increases in coal production."  (Obama HATES coal energy -- any increases have been despite him!  LOL!).

-"We've built plenty of pipeline already [definitely not a word-for-word quote, but pretty accurately paraphrased]."  (As if that was some sort of supposed justification for Obama's outrageous leftist opposition to the Canadian pipeline!).

-"I am ultimately responsible for what happened in Libya [i.e., unanswered calls to the Obama administration for more Libyan consulate security in advance of the rape and murder of the male American Ambassador and three other Americans through an orchestrated Al Qaeda terrorist attack on 9-11]."  (This after Obama and his minions over the past day pressured Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take full responsibility for the same sick state of affairs.  Hilarious how the very politically powerful Clinton family allows this president to toss them under the bus over and over again with nary a hint of opposition -- Flunkies!).

-"I'm the president, and I'm always responsible."  (This from the leftist president who blames Bush and everything else under the sun for 100% of just about anything that goes wrong on his watch!).

-"The suggestion that anyone on my team would play politics on Libya is offensive!"  (After Obama and his lackeys just spent the last month playing politics on Libya!!! -- a special LOL for that one!). 

-"I believe in the Second Amendment!"  (Obama, the quintessential American leftist 20 percenter, here made me laugh because he spoke in direct contradiction to what so many leftists have told me over the years, i.e. that the Second Amendment is meaningless, really (despite its plain language) doesn't afford any protection whatsoever to private citizens' gun ownership rights, and truly only applies to the ability of local "militias" to bear arms.  LMFAO!).

-"I believe in self-reliance, individual initiative, and risk-takers being rewarded."  (Enough already, Obama!  I'm bustin' too many guts for my own positive health and welfare over here!!!).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/obama-romney-presidential-debate-photos_n_1972368.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012 (Great pics at the HuffPo!)

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

If This Happened in KC, They'd Have About 250 People There For the Chiefs Games: Bar Tosses Outrageous Mulleted Man Out on His Ass for Freak-Like Hairdo!

Here in KC, it's frequently referred to as "Camarohead."  It's "officially" Arrowhead Stadium (home of the NFL's Chiefs rather than "The Brave," by choice) -- an aging, excruciatingly face-lifted, 80K-seat heap of concrete out in the middle of nowhere with a huge surrounding parking lot typically full (come Sunday 6:00 a.m.) with an army of drunken louts and some of the absolute worst mullet hairstyles ever seen outside of Lawrence's apartment on Office Space...

But apparently Camarohead and the Chiefs -- one of the very worst NFL franchises over the past 40 years -- have garnered a whole new generation of Mullet-Head fans.  I mean, just get a load of this goof in Australia named Davis Hoogland (pictured at the top)...

Boobland reportedly took his long, flowing mullet locks down to a local rooftop bar recently in Perth (link below), lasting all of about 20 minutes before the joint kicked his mullet melon to the damn curb for no other reason than him offending the general decency standards of the bar (i.e. a pesky rule against CaveMan-like hairdos).

That's correct -- he got the boot for his boob-like haircut.  Nothing inappropriate about his dress.  Or his conduct.  And he wasn't there long enough to get shit-faced and raise a ruckus. Nope -- the joint gave him the hook simply for Boobland's horrendous hairstyle.  I find that quite entertaining.

And BTW, Booby, it's not as if you're without other options to get that ol' drink on, you down-under dolt:  You'd not only fit in at Camarohead -- hell, I could see them idolizing you in the form of a statue there someday entitled, "The best living example we can find of how human forms used to look the last time the Chiefs made the SuperBowl."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/david-hoogland_n_1957757.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

What Gives? "Disgusted Passengers Share Photos of Their Airline Food Disasters." But These Look Perfectly Good Enough to Eat to Me...

I mean, what the hell's wrong with these?  What are they expectin' on an airline flight, filet mignon with foie gras and truffle sauce served up by Giada De Laurentiis?

Now, some might say that my overall standards with respect to the culinary graces are a tad bit lower than your Average Joe.  And yes, for example, I do have a Sunday dinner tradition of boiling up a big pot of Ramen noodle soup (Maruchen brand Lime Chili Shrimp's my favorite flavor) as I watch all my DVR'd TV shows from the prior week.  Not to mention, I also invented the Slimeball Sandwich (http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2009/05/gingrich-blasts-pelosi-talk-about.html).

But again, I come back to the point:  Location, location, location -- Where are these people?  On a damn airline flight, thank you!  Just as you wouldn't try to dial up a Caille en sarcophage platter in an Alabama shithouse, likewise you shouldn't expect 5-Star cuisine on American Flight Number Nine.  That is, leastways, unless you're some kind of Mitt Romney or Barack Obama aristocrat over there.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2204818/Microwaved-meat-ancient-looking-fish-unidentifiable-veg-Disgusted-passengers-share-photos-airline-food-disasters.html

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Vice Presidential Debate: Joe Biden Wins First Half; Paul Ryan Wins Second Half. But Tiebreaker Goes to Ryan, Given Biden Acting Like a Loony Lout Every Time Ryan Started Talking...

Gotta give Joe "They Gonna Put Y'all BACK in Chains" Biden some bona fide credit tonight:  Dude was like 10,000 times more engaged than Obama was in the first 2012 presidential debate.  You're never gonna get skunked in a debate when you're as "into it" as Biden was most of tonight.  But that said, the old guy faded down the stretch and did himself no favors with his split-screen, Beavis and Butt-head-style giggling behavior (often at very strange moments) seemingly every time Ryan had a chance to speak...

I thought Biden came out roaring to a certain extent and clearly won the first half of the debate.  But the old man seemed to get tired towards the end, while the young-un' Ryan (much like his gop-er convention speech) really picked up his game in the second half of the debate.  Might've called this a tie if not for that damn pesky split-screen, and Biden's highly visible and laughably rude behavior just about any time Ryan was speaking...

What we saw tonight on the split-screen -- whenever Ryan was speaking -- was Biden incessantly smiling, laughing, rolling his eyes, shaking his head, interrupting, talking under his breath, grimacing, panting, sneering and mugging for the camera.  In short, instead of acting like a sitting vice president, Biden acted like a jerk any time Ryan had a chance to speak.  I might've found this behavior funny on a pro wrestling telecast, but truth be told, we're talking serious stuff here when it comes to these debates and the current state of the country.

And not only that, but much of the jeering, smirking and laughing came at extremely odd moments, such as when Ryan was asserting that we shouldn't raise taxes on small businesses and that the American economy has been growing more slowly this year than even it did in the past two rotten economic years.

Now, while all the stupid grinning and that sort of third-grade-style foolishness will doubtlessly play big with the leftist 20 percenter base of the democrat party, I doubt it will garner much of a positive reaction from my fellow Independents and other swing voters who will decide this election.

It begs the question:  Did Biden even have any idea that there was a split-screen on TV for about 90% of the debate?  I think he probably did, and perhaps even came into the debate with a "strategy" to act like that for whatever reasons.  Maybe the leftists have been reading too much of This Blog: I frequently laugh at Obama for the crazy assertions he makes -- but I do that sitting in the privacy of my own home and not while appearing on a nationally televised debate.

Bottom line:  Leaving aside 1960, folks don't vote for vice presidential candidates, and vice presidential debates have little effect on presidential races.  Biden -- at least when he was speaking -- did better than I thought he would, and Ryan was uneven between the two halves of the debate (as referenced above). Still, I can't call it a slight Biden victory or even a tie given all Biden's smirking and laughing at very odd, strange moments. But very odd, strange leftists (and right-wingers) do tend to go around shooting themselves in the foot like that.  Can't help their zombie, group-thinkin' asses, it seems!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82313.html

Postscript:  One substantive comment that I just can't ignore tonight:  Biden towards the end of things claiming that a Romney administration would appoint right-winger U.S. Supreme Court Justices who would "outlaw abortion."  I found myself yelling at the TV, "you freakin' Idiot!"  This ain't rocket science, folks:  If the Supreme Court ever overturns Roe v. Wade and its progeny of subsequent cases, that will return things to the pre-Roe v. Wade state of the law -- meaning every state will make its own determination of whether abortion is illegal, with a fair number of states saying "yes" and a fair number saying "no."  In that event, abortion would not be "outlawed" across the country by federal judicial mandate.  A sitting vice president of the United States asserting to the contrary is very sad stuff.  First-stage dementia from the old codger, perhaps?

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Well, Wasn't Expectin' THAT: "Nashville" on ABC Is Easily the Best New TV Show I've Seen This Fall Season (Including "Last Resort"). What a Piece of Work!

"Dallas" On Steroids -- that's my best pithy description of this new show "Nashville" on ABC (season premier last night). But please allow me to back up just a bit...

Despite something I read today about "Nashville" being one of the most heavily promoted new fall TV series over the past few months, I'd didn't even hear about this show until the past week (and little escapes the Rager's ear).  Even that said, I made a note of the new show, but I didn't have much in the way of expectations from the trailer I saw.  Figured I'd give it a one-episode watch and then forgettaboutit like so many other shows that I sample. But then I watched the damn thing Wednesday night...

And I must admit I was somewhat blown away.  Talk about a Tennessee Tour De Force!  Well-written (with plenty of laughs like any talented drama will always provide), exceptionally acted, quickly paced and edited, artfully shot (loved the use of hand-held cams, not to mention all the shots of old Nashville river bridges!), and great-sounding country music blaring throughout.

In a capsule, the show tells the story of three established or soon-to-be country music divas:  (1) A legendary aging one (Connie Britton/pictured at top -- I'll miss her from the new season of FX's "American Horror Story"); (2) a rival conniving, hot and young "crossover" one (Hayden Panettiere/pictured immediately above) whom oftentimes seems like she can barely sing a lick; and (3) an upstart cocktail waitress (Clare Bowen, playing the niece of the Britton character's ex-lover) who can probably out-sing (and write) 'em all.

Dotting the landscape of the male actors on the show are various pretty faces that I know I've seen before, even if I can't place them.  With two exceptions: First, Powers Boothe has a prominent role on the show, heapin' plenty of helpings of his prototypical larger-than-life (and completely scummy) self (classic!).  Second, "Bunny" from "The Wire" playing a mayoral candidate!  (Great to see that actor again).

I'll close with my favorite line of the first episode:  "Thank God for Auto-Tune!"  Is there perhaps a more appropriate phrase that could be uttered for the sorry state of popular music in the 21st Century?  Viva la Nashville!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_%282012_TV_series%29

Only the News Fit to Print: "Mitt Romney Poses for Photographs with Students of Fairfield [Va.] Elementary School," Crows the Associated Press...

No, "Mr. President," the Mittster was not giving that teen the full moon, nor (apparently) was the girl even staring at his posterior (but rather to the right of it).  But that didn't stop the left-slanted Associated Press from giving that very impression this week with the above picture and caption (appearing in quotes at the top).

A very big deal?  I don't think so, not really.  I suspect little more was involved here than a few non-Romney-fan AP employees (i.e., just about anyone working over there) trying to get in few chuckles down at the ol' copy desk.  However, would the Associated Press ever run with such a picture and caption portraying Obama in a similarly unflattering light?  Methinks: Not in a million freakin' years.

Consistency and non-advocacy: It's about all I ask from the news media. So sad that we rarely get anything even close to that anymore.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/09/ap-publishes-unflattering-pic-romney-bending-over/#ixzz28oWagHMk

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Twitter Erupts Protesting Hottie African-American/Latina Actress Stacey Dash For Endorsing Romney for President. Women & Minorities Voting ANYTHING Other Than democrat party: Can't Have That! [PLUS Independents Favor Romney By 16 Points?!?]

Good Grief, That Broad's Hot!  But if there's anything a staunch democrat party voter or devoted leftist 20 percenter absolutely cannot stand, it's a woman or minority in the public spotlight daring to vote for anything other than the democrat party (i.e. those special folks with the "D" Next to the Name!).  Women and minorities aren't "supposed" to do that, you see.  And when they do, they best get ready for a bona fide shitstorm!

For the lastest example, just look at the venom that Clueless Obama supporters heaped upon this hot little number Stacey Dash -- an African-American/Hispanic actress who had the unmitigated gall to endorse Mitt Romney for president Monday on Twitter.  Here's a sample of the brilliant, high-level responses that came back Dash's way (link below):

-Several suggested that Dash should just "kill herself."

-"She's an indoor slave . . . You ready to head back to the fields, jiggaboo?"

-"You a Romney lover and you slutting yourself to the white man only proves why no black man married u."

-Several tweet responses said that Dash isn't "black enough."

-"She's probably been thinking that she's a white woman since her 'Clueless' days."

-"So Stacy [sic] Dash buck tooth ass really voting for Romney!!"

BTW, "jiggaboo"?!?  Sounds like Archie Bunker and George Jefferson have risen from the grave just in time to join the other mindless zombies on Sunday night's season premier of "The Walking Dead."  And when the hell did we lapse back to 1972, anyway?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/twitter-explodes-after-black-actress-endorses-romney-as-the-only-choice-for-your-future/

[Postscript: On a different topic, I saw a national poll today saying Romney leads Obama amongst my fellow beloved Independents by 16 points.  If that's accurate, and if it holds true, then Obama's toast.  Because We Independents decide your elections.  But I have reason to question that particular (Pew, I believe) poll and its numbers.  My own gut (and reading) tells me that Independents probably more likely favor Romney by 5 to 9 or 10 points, which won't necessarily tip the election.  Regardless, I at least wanted to say a word about that Independent-related headline this day since being an Independent is the whole basis of this highly original, must-read Blog, of course.]

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Brain-dead Blame Game: Leftist 20 Percenters Blame Obama's Poor Debate Performance on Everything But Bush! (And Why Not Bush Too?!?)

As the old Don in The Godfather was accused by The Turk, I think they're "slipping."  They've always had a most talented penchant for blaming awful president W Bush for just about anything bad that ever happens, but they can't even conjure up a Bush excuse for Obama's rotten performance in the first debate?  Regardless, however, these leftist 20 percenters sure as hell conjured up everything else under the sun as an excuse in recent days!

Here are just some of the completely preposterous leftist excuses that I've heard (going from memory):

1.  Romney "cheated."  Something or another about him slipping a foreign object into and out of the fray when no one was lookin'!  More specifically, a phantom sheet of "crib notes"!  The sneaky stand-for-nothin' bastard!

2.  Blame the Moderator!  They've also attacked moderator Jim Lehrer for this, that and the other -- which I can only assume reflects their disappointment that he actually acted even-handed and not like a total media shill advocate for the democrat party person, as we often see from these debate moderators.  I credited Lehrer for his work after the debate, and I stand by my comments.  [Course, the deranged right-wingers also attacked Lehrer for their own bullshit reasons, but hey -- that's what blinded partisan extremists go around doing, regardless of side.]

3.  Blame the Debate Prep Guy!  Over the weekend, the leftists ate one of their own, blaming Massachusetts Senator (and former democrat party presidential nominee) John Kerry for not adequately preparing Obama for the debate (Kerry played the role of Romney in debate prep sessions).  The leftists say Kerry has his eye on a cozy cabinet position and therefore took it easy on Obama in debate prep.  It would say "laughable," but that would be an insult to that particular word from the Queen's English.

4.  Blame the Altitude!  Another fairly recent assclown democrat party presidential nominee was also involved here, in the form of Al "Take Care of This" Gore.  The bloat-faced buffoon Gore actually took to the TV airwaves to blame the "Mile High" Denver altitude for Obama's zombie-like, non-engaged, mail-it-in performance!  Obama didn't have enough time to get acclimated, suggested Gore!  Gotta say -- W Bush started the process of running this country into the ground, but would that idiot Gore have been any less destructive?  Doubt it.

At the end of the day, is there any bad result, bad performance, bad event, or case of the common cold that these democrat party leftists 20 percenters won't blame on anyone, anything other than themselves?  It's a rather scary way of going through life, and it's one small part of why that group scares the living hell out of me.  The right-winger gop-er partisans aren't any kind of reasonable alternative, but that still doesn't make the American left of 2012 any less scary.

For-example link:  http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/10/06/Obama-Blames-Kerry

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

First 2012 Presidential Debate: No Knockdowns; Rather Romney Wins By Decision. But Is That Good Enough for Him? Or Is It All He Really Needed to Accomplish?

So much for the pundits predicting we "might see some fireworks tonight!"  No real fireworks.  (Also no major gaffes by either guy).  You might even call the whole affair a tad bit boring (except for Obama making me laugh several times as usual -- more on that later).  I thought both men were way too wonkish and "down in the weeds" much of the time, and that sort of thing is always going to favor the incumbent...

That said:  Overall, I give Romney a win here because he seemed more engaged and a fair amount less stiff than Obama.  Yet, I thought the Stand-for-Little gop-er Mittster missed a huge opportunity to hammer Obama a lot more over so many of the rotten attributes of the Obama presidency.  A bit too nice, Romney was (although admittedly with a number of good lines aimed at swing voters, which lines are likely to resonate)...

But is this (a workmanlike win) all that Romney really needed to accomplish tonight?  There's a school of punditry thought (primarily from the right-wingers) that all Romney needed to do tonight was show up and reassure the American audience that he's not (in contrast to the Obama campaign machine narrative) a scary Dick Cheney or Newt Gingrich-like Darth Vader figure.  Well, as W Bush might say: "Mission Accomplished" on that front.  But...

Not sure that's nearly enough, given that Romney, while close to Obama in national polls, is still distinctly behind (though only slightly or "not overcomingly" -- I just invented a new word) in several of the so-called "battleground states" that will ultimately decide this election in the electoral college.  Regardless, I do predict Romney will get a small bounce from tonight in those same states.

And speaking of missed opportunities as I did above, Obama missed a huge one by not even alluding to Romney's prior statements seeming to write off 47% of the American population as not being worth the effort to try to connect with (sorry Jeeves for ending sentence on a preposition).  However, I think that may (who knows) have been because Obama didn't want to open the door to Romney commenting on newly released portions of a highly divisive Obama Virginia college speech in 2007 (see last night's post).

Final thought:  Although I did find Obama to be fairly stiff tonight, I'm still hesitant to trash his performance to any significant degree since (as those who've read me know that I always appreciate) he made me laugh out loud (literally LOL) several times tonight, albeit completely unintentionally on his part.  It ain't easy makin' me laugh, and you score brownie points when you pull that off (again, sorry Jeeves).  I mean, this leftist 20 percenter Obama had me rollin' over here!  To wit (based on my notes; not precise word-for-word):

-"I share a deep interest in encouraging small business growth."

-"We don't want to blow up our deficit."

-"The basic structure of Social Security is sound."

-"Private insurance companies have to make a profit. There's nothing wrong with that. That's what they do."

-"I had 5 seconds before you interrupted me, Jim" [prior to Obama going on for another 30 plus seconds].

-"Governor Romney has not had the ability to say 'no' to some of the most extreme people in his party."

Thanks, Obama, for the comedic relief!  The Good Lord knows we can all use it these days!

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-live-obama-romney-presidential-debate-2012,0,3871379.story

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

POSTSCRIPT:  A Final, Final important note:  I didn't come into this debate having an overly high opinion of the debate moderator, Jim Lehrer.  He's a devoted leftist, in my view, who often wore that slant on his sleeve as a PBS "anchor" and commentator.  But I thought he did a great job as moderator tonight!  He did the job any debate moderator (or any decent journalist) should do:  Checking his own viewpoints at the door.  And also loved the debate format that Lehrer presided over:  No rigid rules and plenty of unscripted back-and-forth between the candidates.  That's called a debate, and quite unlike the way most of these events unfold.  A BIG Rager Kudos to old battle axe Jim Lehrer on this night (very seriously).

Right-Wingers Go Ape Tuesday Night Over Newly Released Portions of Obama's So-Called "Other Race Speech" from 2007. But as to Both Obama's Remarks & the Right-Wingers' Behavior Here, Only One Word Comes to Mind: Ugliness.

The joint, mutual release of this video (from a 2007 Virginia college speech) was an ugly, highly coordinated effort among several different right-winger "news" outlets (aren't they supposed to be competitors against each other to break news?), including Fox News/Sean Hannity (noodle pictured above), The Daily Caller (link at bottom), and The Drudge Report.  And these same right-wing goofs go around complaining daily about the "mainstream" media's obvious leftist bias and conspiratorial behavior!

Not only that, but I'm sure (not) these right-winger outlets just happened to stumble on these "new" portions of the 2007 speech in the past few days!  Had nothing to do with the election being about a month away or the first presidential debate being one night away, of course!  Please.  [Legitimate news outlets report news (which this is, since we haven't heard it before) when they first have the story; in contrast, partisan advocates hold on to news until a politically propitious moment to release it.]

And then there's Obama's actual remarks here, which contain plenty of ugliness in themselves.  Although, to me, there's nothing highly shocking or surprising about them.  Obama's a far leftist, and he's (albeit typically through his minions and surrogates) a blatant race baiter.  He's not a "uniter." He's not a man of high moral conviction. He's not a hero.  He's just another slimy politician who constantly tries to hide what he really believes and wants to do. Like there's anything new about any of that (as least to me).

In Obama's remarks, he talks (frankly, often rants and wildly gestures) in this exaggerated Southern-style accent that he rarely (if ever) has used in his public speeches, sounding like something out of a bad pro wrestling Rock interview ("Where's yo' dolla's?!?, screams Obama!) -- I was just waiting for Obama to break into a "Can Ya Smell What Barack Is Cooking" catchphrase!

As for the content (his words, not mine):

-"The people down in New Orleans [Hurricane Katrina victims] -- they [the Feds] don't care them about as much!"  This insinuation here was that the federal government under Clinton and W Bush cared more about disasters where more white people were allegedly involved -- Hurricane Andrew and 9-11 (both referenced by Obama).  But of course!  White man presidential administrations are always gonna care more about their own race!  It's only natural.  But so much for Bubba being the first black president, I suppose.

-Obama then accuses the feds under those prior administrations of only paying attention to disasters affecting African-Americans (e.g., Katrina, the LA Riots) when "they wake up" and suddenly realize that "black people angry!"  Even then, according to Obama, the federal response is just a wink and a nod and "some aid money [that] we don't always know where it's going" until "the news coverage quiets down."  Again, any prior administration (whether gop-er or democrat party) inherently hates black people as a fact of life, Obama insinuates.  But also again, the "Big Dog" (Clinton) gets tossed under the bus -- the same slimeball (Clinton) who was Obama's featured speaker at the democrat party national convention last month!  And I like to call Romney Mr. Stand-For-Nothin'!

-Obama makes a point to give a "shout out" to his "friend" and reverend, Jeremiah Wright, whom Obama credits with providing "counsel" to him and the Obama family.  Wright -- best known for his previous radical "white racist under every bed" and "God Damn America" rhetoric -- has always been claimed by Obama and his surrogates to be little more than an irrelevant local preacher whose church Obama just happened to attend for many years:  As the democrat party narrative went, Obama wasn't particularly close to Wright, and there shouldn't be any "guilt by association."  Two words:  False narrative.

-For good measure, and in classic leftist world-view style, Obama insults lower income Americans as being too stupid to ever possibly look out for themselves, even needing training and help with the most mundane of everyday lifestyle tasks, such as "showing up for work on time."  Said Obama: "We can't expect them to have all the skills they need to work. They may need help with basic skills, how to shop, how to show up for work on time, how to wear the right clothes. We have to help them get there!"  And I thought Romney was (and have criticized him for being) the one who writes off huge swaths of the population as being utterly helpless!

-Finally, for an infrastructure sort of guy who believes that government-funded roads, bridges and highways built your small business rather than you, Obama sure seems to dislike certain aspects of that same infrastructure:  "We don't need to build more highways out in the suburbs [insinuation: where all the white folk live] . . . We should be investing in minority-owned businesses, in our neighborhoods, so people don't have to travel from miles away."  Right!  No minorities live in suburbs!  And only minorities live in "our neighborhoods" -- where they're forced to drive around on mud roads sans even a mere sprinkle of gravel!  No damn wonder they need training in how to get to work on time.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/02/obama-speech-jeremiah-wright-new-orleans/

I'M THE RAGER, AND I APPROVED THIS POST.

Chinese Joint in Kentucky "Forced to Shut Its Doors After Allegedly Serving Up Roadkill"! Would Sure Hate to See that Menu...

While I'm certain this joint didn't put any of its culinary roadkill delights (allegedly) on the published menu, I can only imagine the "Off-Menu" cuisine one could've specially ordered at the now-shuttered "Red Flower" Chinese restaurant in Williamsburg, Kentucky (last seen with an employee allegedly wheeling a dead deer in the back before it closed) (link below).

Indeed, here's a potential sampling of some of the putrid possibilities:

Just For Starters:

-Crab Raccoon
-Cantonese Cat Splat
-Frog Leg Rolls
-Lemon Buzzard Lo Brien
-Mu Shu Muskrat
-Snake Dropped Soup
-Curry Furry Back

Dinner Entrees:

-Garlic Goose Gullet
-Beijing Beaver with Broccoli
-General Tso's Just Like Chicken
-Double Dog Delight in Chef's Hot Pepper Sauce
-Sweet and Sour Skunk
-Sesame Street Carcass
-Twice Killed Coyote
-Deer with Roadster Sauce
-Ginger Dead Rabbit
-Cashew Rat-chew
-Kung Pao Possum

Little wonder I always spend half the next day in the shithouse anytime I eat Chinese for dinner.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/19682381/kentucky-restaurant-shut-down-after-road-kill-found-in-kitchen

Good Thing He Didn't Have a Glass Eye: Florida Broad Allegedly Snatches Off Ex-Boyfriend's Prosthetic Leg & Gives Him a Good Beatin' With It in Custody Fight Over Son!

I'm not pulling your leg: This dame's cold. Not only does she give the Ex a major league beatdown with a blunt, heavy object, but she reduces him to hoppin' around on one leg to defend himself (allegedly)!  Talk about employing dirty tactics to garner a leg up...

The first leg of this story (links below) began with 23-year-old Jadian Hatfield (pictured above/below) being none too happy with the ol' custody arrangements with respect to the two-year-old son of her and ex-boyfriend Brandon Fleming (pictured above). So Jadian allegedly fired off a text threatening to put the Ex "six feet under" if he didn't shake a leg and turn the boy over to her.

And when that didn't work, Jadian reportedly tried the more personal approach to get a leg over on the Ex. That meant showing up at Ex's joint at 11 p.m. with a couple of goons to try to take Sonny away (allegedly).

Then, like something out of a bad episode of Monday Night Raw, Jadian allegedly had her two louts wrestle around with the Ex and hold him "while she pulled off his prosthetic leg."  From there, this hotheaded little number allegedly beat the living hell out of the Ex with his own leg!

When even that apparently didn't persuade the Ex to give up Sonny, Jadian for good measure allegedly pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun from her car "and threatened to kill the 25-year-old [Ex] if he did not let her leave with their child."

With the kid then finally in tow, Jadian and her two creeps allegedly legged it the hell out of there before cops could arrive.  But this sick incident is still likely to cost Jadian both an arm and a leg, since cops have slapped her with a whole string of criminal charges.  And from the sound of things, it may be her, ironically, who has nary a leg to stand on if this thing goes to trial.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/okaloosa/deputy-woman-beats-ex-with-prosthetic-leg
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2201732/Woman-beat-ex-boyfriend-prosthetic-leg-threatened-kill-shotgun.html