“LUKE! I am Your Father“, Said Darth…

…SMALL?

Cool dad, regardless.

What’s Bigger

The iPod Nano or the Tata Nano

Amidst all the glitz, glamor and horsepower that surround the Detroit auto show, we’d almost forgotten that a motor show was being held in New Delhi, India. The most notable unveiling, Tata’s Nano, is designed to carry a price tag below $2500 – and is virtually the antithesis of anything being shown in Detroit.
Looking not unlike the offspring of a Ford Th!nk and a Mitsubishi i, the Nano is a small, five-door, four-passenger hatchback. By small, we mean small; the car measures in at just under 3.1 meters (11 ft) long, and 1.5 meters ( 5 ft) wide. Nanos will be powered by a 623-cc gasoline engine (how many cylinders is currently unknown) capable of 33 horsepower. Coupled through a four-speed manual transmission, the micro car supposedly can reach a top speed of around 105 km/h (65 mph).

Looks like the engine is a 2 cylinder monster.
Who needs AC in India?

“Weekend at Bernie’s”

Moron edition.

The corpse in the chair was a dead giveaway
Two men wheeled a dead man through the streets in an office chair to a check-cashing store Tuesday and tried to cash his Social Security check before being arrested on fraud charges, police said.

UPDATE: Heh.

“Hell’s Kitchen has a rich history,” said Paul J. Browne, a police spokesman, “but this is one for the books.”

Thou Spongy Fen-sucked Vassal…

…Bingley!
(I’d forgotten how much fun this was.)
(That is all.)

Don’t You Know

…we could use more like him? Just for the honesty alone.

…”There’s an attitude everywhere else that people are smarter than they are in New Orleans and in Mississippi. They’re not,” the 60-year-old general said at his office at Fort Gillem, just outside Atlanta. “What happened in New Orleans could have happened anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard.”

Thank you, sir.

And the best of everything to you.

For Those People Think Professional Golfers Are Pussies…

This will only serve as more proof

DRUG LIST: Toward the end of the U.S. PGA Tour’s anti-doping program manual distributed to players last month is a section that lists examples of medications that are permitted, such as antibiotics, hemorrhoidals and muscle relaxants.
It was surprising to see vaginal preparations as the final entry.

Hehehehe.

I Guess They’d Never Heard

…of ‘New’ Coke.

1977
Leading Import in the U.S.
Sales skyrocket in the U.S. as Löwenbräu becomes the leading import.
1980s
Formula Changed in U.S.
Löwenbräu is reformulated in the U.S. to compete in domestic category.

Dolts. But take heart purists ~ we learned something we didn’t know.

2002
Löwenbräu is back.
Back by popular demand, Löwenbräu reintroduces Löwenbräu Original Lager in the US , importing it directly from the Löwenbräu brewery in Munich.

Glad to hear he got his roar back. Shame you can’t resurrect that market share.
UPDATE:

That’s not much for getting the word out. Most disenchanted folks already thought it was.

Why is This Picture Now So Completely Appropriate?

Think big, inert gasbag.
What I can’t believe is that it took so long.

Finally Someone Takes A Good Long Look At Ron Paul

And I’m shocked, shocked! at what they found

If you are a critic of the Bush administration, chances are that, at some point over the past six months, Ron Paul has said something that appealed to you. Paul describes himself as a libertarian, but, since his presidential campaign took off earlier this year, the Republican congressman has attracted donations and plaudits from across the ideological spectrum. Antiwar conservatives, disaffected centrists, even young liberal activists have all flocked to Paul, hailing him as a throwback to an earlier age, when politicians were less mealy-mouthed and American government was more modest in its ambitions, both at home and abroad. In The New York Times Magazine, conservative writer Christopher Caldwell gushed that Paul is a “formidable stander on constitutional principle,” while The Nation praised “his full-throated rejection of the imperial project in Iraq.” Former TNR editor Andrew Sullivan endorsed Paul for the GOP nomination, and ABC’s Jake Tapper described the candidate as “the one true straight-talker in this race.” Even The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper of the elite bankers whom Paul detests, recently advised other Republican presidential contenders not to “dismiss the passion he’s tapped.”
Most voters had never heard of Paul before he launched his quixotic bid for the Republican nomination. But the Texan has been active in politics for decades. And, long before he was the darling of antiwar activists on the left and right, Paul was in the newsletter business. In the age before blogs, newsletters occupied a prominent place in right-wing political discourse…
…But, whoever actually wrote them, the newsletters I saw all had one thing in common: They were published under a banner containing Paul’s name, and the articles (except for one special edition of a newsletter that contained the byline of another writer) seem designed to create the impression that they were written by him–and reflected his views. What they reveal are decades worth of obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays. In short, they suggest that Ron Paul is not the plain-speaking antiwar activist his supporters believe they are backing–but rather a member in good standing of some of the oldest and ugliest traditions in American politics.

Read the whole thing. And if you have the stomach for it read the comments, as the Ronulans are out in force.
The MSM have been so under the thrall of their BDS that anyone with a (R) next to their name who was anti-Chimpster was A-OK with them. It has amazed me the love affair and free pass that this whack job loon Paul has gotten so far.
Kudos to The New Republic; this story will go a long way to help restore their reputation.

When You WORK for an Organization

…signed a contract that says you “can be required to serve anywhere in the world under penalty of dismissal with limited exceptions”, still take your paycheck home every other week and use your bountiful benefits, you DON’T get to decide you suddenly aren’t available because the CEO needs you someplace sucky. And maybe you don’t agree with why, but you should have said something at the beginning and then quit out of principle…

Nearly half of U.S. diplomats unwilling to volunteer to work in Iraq say one reason for their refusal is they don’t agree with the Bush administration’s policies in the country, according to a survey released Tuesday.

…especially since we all know you’d be in Europe like a shot if they needed to send you there.
And if I were a colleague who volunteered to do YOUR job so the business of the United States could go forth? First off, you’d best not get promoted if you’re lucky enough to remain employed. Secondly?
Dang. There just might be harsh words in the girl’s room.

Dear GOD

60% reporting and she’s still got a 2 point lead. Old girl may just be on the verge of pulling this out of her support hose.
Chingao…62% and she’s back up to a 3 point lead. Obama JuggerNOT.

Who loves ya, pretty momma? I guess New Hampshire does.
Carville and Begala back to the mad bad-dog kennel for the moment?
UPDATE: Whelp, they’ve called it for her.

Clinton defeats Obama in N.H. primary

Add that one to the exit poll circular file. (Man, I wish Fred! had had the $$’s to compete. There might have been a surprise or two in those exit polls, too.) So who starts chewing off their arm first thing tomorrow, eh? Hillary’s going to be knew-it-all-the-time smug: that’s a given. It’s gonna be interesting watching the little wheels spin and spin.
9:45 CST Especially since the spread keeps cracking a little wider ~ now it’s 40-36 with 71% in.
Another positive that contradicts the polling? Ron Paul has 8% vice the 15% predicted. Thank Xenu some of those voters were just little jokesters when it came to interview time.
10:14 CST Women apparently broke big for the old girl and I’m finding a little ring of truth in one of the comments.

Not only did the media attack Hillary for her eyes welling, but in households around NH, husbands were telling their wives “this is why a woman can’t be President,” or “see, women can’t help but cry all the time.”

Oh, I’ll bet they were. (They were doing it all over the RW blogs, even though they were also saying it was vintage, calculated Clinton thespianism.) And guaranteed, nothing will get a rise out of the little woman like being told to get another log or “is that all you can do? Cry?” Even in a loving, joking manner. (Like you guys always claim you meant it when she starts turning colors.) Close as the race was, every pissed-off granddaughter or housewife casting a “Oh yeah? Take THAT!” vote counted.

“Whatever Possessed You…”

“…to go running off into the paddy like that?”
“A Marine”
“How do you mean?”
“He’s a Marine. I’ll take care of him.”

I Am Dying

…here.

“Protecting the Earth’s environment will require many human sacrifices. But what sort of sacrifices, and by which people?”

Behold, PETA maiden!! The Goreacle approacheth!!!

When my sides stop aching, I’ll say thanks.

So New Hampshire Democrats

…are plumb running out of ballots, huh?

Even at this late stage, ChimpyMcBushhitler and his Rovian Republican toadies will do ANYTHING to steal an election.

Presented Without Further Comment

Ken passed this along to me

Women and gay men are likely to be the worst drivers, a new study has shown.
Be afraid: Women or gay men could be behind the wheel of any car
Research has revealed that both perform poorly in tasks involving navigation and spatial awareness when compared to heterosexual men.
The computer-based tests were carried out on 140 volunteers, and demonstrated that gay men, straight women and lesbians navigated in a similar way, sharing the same weaknesses.

To Get To Tool About Town…

In a 50 year old hand built race car

Call me old-fashioned, but I like a car to have a few niceties about it. I don’t expect sat-nav or even electric windows, but seat belts and some sort of heating system I consider the bare minimum requirements – neither of which were found in the 1956 Lotus Eleven Sport I was recently invited to drive.
To be fair, I knew it wouldn’t come “suited-and-booted” with a leather and walnut interior. It is, after all, the actual car which was assembled and raced by one the greatest motoring legends of his era: Graham Hill…
…The “Yellow Peril”, XJH 902, is steeped in so much history it is impossible to ignore the importance of the role it played in post-war British motor sport. Hill built the car when he was working as a mechanic at Lotus Engineering in Hornsey, London, and raced it in the 1,200cc class of the Autosport Production Car Championship. To save money, the relatively impoverished future world champion would drive it to race meetings, compete in it, and then drive it home.

How cool is that?
Tim will be awfully jealous.

Just for Sir Rob of Crab Lane, Appleton:

In the absence of sacrificial poultry, the major and I have stuffed ourselves full of Louisiana’s finest…

…to assist (in spirit) the efforts of your favorite team…

…no sacrifice being too great for a friend.
I hope the juju is good.

Just a Note Reality Check for the Clown

I don’t care if your baristas steam up java made from vermin poo served in golden arches cups: the closest I will EVER get to McDonald’s is the drive through. And, oddly enough, I DON’T think I’m just speaking for me.

McDonald’s brings on baristas
The Hamburglar has his eye on the Grande Mocha Latte.
McDonald’s (MCD, news, msgs) will install coffee bars with baristas — experts in preparing coffee drinks — at nearly all of its 14,000 restaurants in the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported.
The move is part of the fast-food chain’s continued effort to challenge Starbucks’ (SBUX, news, msgs) dominance in the coffee market.

The truth hurts, eh kid?

Um…

OUCH.

…The Clinton industry, encrusted with the beneficiaries and acolytes of the first and probably only Clinton presidency, has turned Hillary into a product whose sell-by date has passed.

UPDATE:
When it comes to dissecting Hillary’s ‘who-did-her-in’…

…Ignoring Obama
In some ways, Obama isn’t quite the outsider and systematic change agent that he claims to be. Yes he is an African-American who now calls the South Side of Chicago home – and that will always make him an outsider to some extent. In many other ways, however, he is just a new wave of what Bill and Hillary were years ago – an on-the-make, Ivy League-educated, Democratic lawyer eager to seize power in Washington. If Hillary was going to say that, she needed to have done it months ago. She did not.

…I guess “The Love Boat” has sailed.

A concerned Democrat asks…

“Can’t we all just get along?“

There Are Rescue Drops

A British deep-sea fishing boat which has been wedged in Antarctic pack ice for two weeks was running again last night after receiving an emergency airdrop.
Two previous attempts to deliver a spare piston had failed…
Yesterday a US air force C-17 Globemaster finally managed to drop the replacement part on to pack ice beside the ship from 120 metres (400ft) overhead.

And there are RESCUE drops.

…”The US air force was fantastic. They offered to drop the package on the deck but I had visions of it smashing through the bridge.

“So they dropped it nearby on the ice with a large buoy and put a 20lb box of chocolates inside.”

Life is like that.

Pffft

…”I just wanted to help my daughter write a compelling story,” she said. “There is no more compelling story than the struggle and sacrifices of our military and their families.”

Oh, gag me. And on the Today Show, no less.
Selfish, stupid bitch.

Is That Why It Comes

…in a plain brown wrapper?

…That is not what this DVD is about. What it is exactly is hard to pin down. On the surface, it looks like a yoga video – for about the first 15 seconds. It starts to get weird immediately after words proclaiming “Beginning exercises” appear on the screen.
I’ve taken a fair amount of yoga classes and I have to say, most of these poses were foreign to me. Particularly the ones where you need two other naked ladies to be your partners. Particularly if all of the participants are doused in glycerin that is supposed to look like sweat. Particularly if the three of you are on a giant rotating disc. And especially if you have trouble seeing each other because of the fog machine.

As Obama Rewrites History in Iowa

…tucked into a teeny AP blurb in the local fishwrap, it appears scribbling fingers are doing the same in New Jersey.

NJ Nears Undermining Electoral College
New Jersey is close to entering a compact that would eliminate the power of the Electoral College to choose a president if enough states endorse the idea.
The state Senate voted Thursday to approve delivering the state’s 15 electoral votes for president to the winner of the national popular vote. The Assembly approved the measure in December and needs Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s signature to become law.
“The bill is subject to a thorough review, but Gov. Corzine has long been a supporter of this concept,” Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner said.
The measure could result in the electoral votes going to a candidate opposed by voters in New Jersey, which has backed Democratic presidential candidates since 1988.

Corzine/concept ~ why am I having a problem with that?
Leaving aside the constitutional questions, the basic thrust is, as one Pennsylvania voter pointed out…

…He [Vermont State Representative Christopher Pearson] was questioned by skeptical Allegheny County House Democrat William Kortz, who raised the possibility that under the proposed compact agreement, one presidential candidate could get every single Pennsylvania popular vote but still lose the state’s electoral votes:
(Kortz:) “So, our vote wouldn’t count. Pennsylvania’s vote wouldn’t count, theoretically. Am I correct?”

In typical socio-political weasel-speak, the answer was “Yes and no”, until pressed.

(Pearson:) “And the answer is no. You’re incorrect. Pennsylvania’s votes count because your popular votes are added into the aggregate total of the nationwide popular vote.”

So that’s the ‘compact’s’ argument. Which means nothing besides proving that New Jersey’s shit isn’t only confined to covering the beaches.

UPDATE: If you want to read some crap, attend to Joreko in the comments. He appears to be a flunky for this cabal of State Legislatures. My answer?

Smug talking points, per my ‘weasel-speak’ assessment above. If the National Popular Vote is so, well, POPULAR, then a Constitutional Amendment to CHANGE/eliminate the Electoral College shouldn’t be a problem, right? But, no. That’s NOT how you’re choosing to do it. A constitutional amendment vote would allow ALL voters to make their choices known/HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD, vice the State Legislatures now colluding to massage your pet project AROUND/CIRCUMVENT/skitter on the edges OF the Constitutional requirements…

…Political supporters of the Agreement have been curiously reticent to discuss the validity of the Agreement under Article I, section 10. Although some similar proposals would be invalid under section 10, the Agreement adopted in Maryland does not abuse the structure of the Electoral College, nor does it disrupt the balance of power among the states or between the states and the national government.

…which strikes me as implicitly underhanded and denying me my vote.
Sorry. You REEK of sneaky weasels.

If the National Vote was the will of the people, you’d think after 2000 that schmaybe, just schmaybe we’d be voting on an amendment by now. But we are NOT. I have no intention of letting my state legislature strip me of my CONSTITUTIONAL rights through intrigue and prevarication. I want to see the list of states comtemplating this end run.
Wake the f*ck up, people.

Iowa Thoughts

First off, I need to say it seems insane to me the amount of attention and weight given to the votes of 116,00 people on the Republican side (and I’m assuming a similar number for the Democrats) in a nation of 300 million. It’s just ludicrous that this has the effect it does…but in this era of 24 hour hyper-hyping news porn that we live in, sadly it does.
So what have we learned?
On the Democratic side, people just don’t like Hillary. Given the choice between 2 inexperienced Senators and a slick lawyer they prefer the warm and cuddly inexperienced Senator Obama over the nasty Hillary and the too-slick Edwards. In general I agree with that, mainly because I really dislike the dynastic turn that our Presidential politics has taken over the past 20 years; it’s a horrible development for our republic. However, there is a part of me that whispers that in a major crisis we could count on Hillary to use the military in a forceful way and I just don’t have that confidence about Obama.
On the Republican side, again it seems that cuddly prevailed in the form of Huckabee. And he’s a guy that I agree with on a number of issues: school vouchers (against), abortion (against but it’s an issue for the states, not the federal government). But on the issues that are to me the most important: national security, illegal immigration, 2nd Amendment, limiting federal government; the only candidate that I agree with is Fred Thompson. Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, McCain were all in favor of that horrible Immigration Bill, and are squishy on securing the borders. Romney and Giuliani are in favor of tighter gun restrictions. Huckabee greatly increased government size and spending, Romney taxed the bejeebus out of everyone, and I can never forget McCain’s role as a Keating 5 member.
So I am officially declaring myself for Fred. In fact, I even contributed to his campaign this morning (a first for me). I agree with Bryan; Fred needs to now step up the pace.
Did I forget to mention Ron Paul?
Well, that’s because he’s a Nucking Fut.
Update: you know, it’s amazing. You just put the words “Ron Paul” on your blog and within minutes someone has visited your site via Technorati. These Ronulans are a devoted bunch, ain’t they?

In Honor of Global Warming

…and the frozen Iowa Caucusoids, I give you balmy Bangla-cola…

…on a typical Thursday morning.
Keepin’ it real*.
In the Sunshine State.
(*Polar bears not included.)