Hmmmm….David Duke Sees Promise in the Tea Party

Frankly, he probably resonated with Tea Party types until he went anti-Jew. Dissing Muslims, Blacks and Mexicans is easier to get away with. But many on the right are not anti-Semitic; many WANT Israel to rebuild their Temple so as to hasten the “rapture”.

That antisemitism is far less tolerated by the right wing than anti-”other stuff” is shown here:

If there’s one outcome of the Juan Williams firing that should surprise no one, it’s that the right has jumped to his defense and condemned the desecration of his first amendment rights by the evil left-wing NPR, (which, by the way, should be investigated for something or other, and who even cares what he said about Muslims because everyone was thinking it anyway).

But what many of these conservative pundits have forgotten is how they sang a slightly different tune when certain other journalists were let go for making comments that offended the right.

Let’s take a look back…

Since June, several reporters have been dismissed after media controversies over their offensive comments. Helen Thomas was forced into retirement in June after she said that the Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go home.” CNN forced out Octavia Nasr in July for tweeting her condolences when a spiritual leader of Hezbollah died. And Rick Sanchez was let go from CNN in October after calling Jon Stewart a “bigot” and suggesting that CNN is run by the Jews.

Today, Williams was fired from NPR after these comments on The O’Reilly Factor last night:

Well, actually, I hate to say this to you because I don’t want to get your ego going. But I think you’re right. I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality.

I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

So what has the right said, then and now?

Glenn Beck, in typical hyperbolic Glenn Beck fashion, was outraged today on his radio show that the “voices are being silenced” by “the jack booted thugs of the left.” He also said: “Juan Williams was put up against a wall and NPR shot him”

23 October 2010 Rehabilitation

I decided to keep it relatively short with the 30 miler looming next Saturday.

It poured down rain. So I warmed up 1.5 miles on the indoor track, walked my 5K in 31:36 (10:12 mpm pace); I tired out and slowed down towards the end. There were huge puddles, leaves, acorns and other slippery things on the road.
I finished 32 out of 41 runners.

Then I did the arm bike (4 miles in 15 minutes, easy resistance) and rotator cuff weights.

Knees: my right knee wasn’t close to being straight; I can’t straighten it all the way at rest without having pushing on it first. I’ll have to give up on judged racewalks.

Shoudler: slight ache in the early morning; I worked it hard yesterday. I find that I have to watch how far I extend my arms on the bike.

Navy vs. ND in Football: payback time?

Well, going into the game, Navy had won 2 of the last 3. But this year, ND had played a harder schedule (so I thought) and deserved to be favored by a 6-7 point margin (so I thought), though I thought the game would be close and winnable.

Going into the 4′th quarter, it is 35-10 Navy. This is very different than the previous 2 games, when Navy had to win in the last 2 minutes.

ND threw two interceptions and Navy converted.
The stage was set on the opening drive; ND drove to the Navy 1 but failed on 4′th and goal; Navy then drove it 99 yards for the first score.

It was then 14-10 when ND threw its first interception; Navy took it in to go 21-10.

Then in the third, Navy struck with a 70 yard plus drive to go up 28-10; then Navy got another interception to stop a ND threat and drove it again to make it 35-10.

This is a butt-kicking and is beginning to make up for some of those big scores that Navy lost by for so many years.

Ok, it is 35-17 but only 6:12 remains; ND needs 3 scores. Navy needs a long, time eating drive. So far they have 415 yards with 344 on the ground.

It ends…35-17 Navy…a complete whipping.

Texas is struggling and losing to Iowa State 21-6 in the 3′rd quarter. I didn’t expect this..but there is still time for a rally.

Oh goodness; 28-6 Iowa State. Texas has struggled in Austin; remember this is where they got trounced by UCLA.
But Texas responded with a quick TD and 2 point conversion. 28-14 Cyclones.

Illinois leads Indiana 29-13 going into the 4′th quarter (2 interceptions; one run in for a touchdown)
Make that 36-13 with 3:50 to go…so I am turning it to the Northwestern-Michigan State game which is 28-27 Spartans with 1:44 to go.

The Illinois game ended 43-13 (two TDs off of interception returns); MSU got an insurance TD to win 35-27.

Texas-Iowa State: it is now 28-21 Iowa State… Over 3 minutes remain. Well, Texas had one final drive that got nowhere. It is a final.

Wisconsin-Iowa 31-30 Wisconsin; time ran out on the Hawkeyes at about the Wisconsin 35. Fake punt, missed extra point, long drives, bad snap on a field goal…lots of drama and hard hitting. Hell of a good game.

(photos from yahoo)

23 October 2010

(weekly address)

The NRSC (National Republican Senate Committee, or the enemy’s version of the DSCC) ran this ad:

I responded by donating to Alexi for Illinois. I sent some love to DK Hirner and Pat Quinn too.

22 October 2010 PM

Science
I don’t have much patience for those who have strong opinions on topics that they know very little about. This video (10 minutes) sums it up nicely:

So, tonight (or tomorrow), I’ll watch this hour long video:

(hat tip: 3 quarks daily)

Politics
Ok, I really don’t want to come off this way:

So, I’ll look at the bad news: it appears that the Republicans can “expect” to pick up 50 House seats, as in “expected value” from statistics. But there is a huge caveat here: the variance is huge and the confidence intervals are very wide. That is, we could well see the Democrats hold the House or lose up to 80 seats!

But it looks as if the Democrats will (barely) hang on to the Senate, at least as of now.

Presidential Job Approval
The numbers don’t make sense to me; the Gallup has him down to 42 percent (50 percent disapproval) but Newsweek has him up at 54?

My best guess is that the Gallup is a mild outlier and the Newsweek poll is a larger outlier in the opposite direction. The “average” appears to be more accurate.

A link worthy of a post………

Click on the thumbnail to be lead to a cool post by an athletically active woman about…her butt.

I love it!

It reminds me of something that happened during a muddy 50 mile trail race: I usually walk these 100 percent of the time and often get passed by runners. One woman came running by with a friend; she joked to her friend: “did you get a picture of my butt?” It turns out that she was wearing shiny spandex tights and had slipped and “butt-kissed” the trail. Her friend said “yes…” and she replied “did you use a wide angle lens?”

I spoke up: “be nice to that butt of yours…it is taking you 50 miles!”

22 October 2010 Rehabilitation

Shoulder: my getting off of Naproxen was a hasty decision; a sore shoulder last night (didn’t wake me up) reminded me that I am not well, but improving.

Training: walked about .8 miles, then about 2 miles with Lynn (a friend) then 1.2 more, all in the dark. The company was fun.

PM: 15 minutes on the arm bike (4.4 miles at 15:05) and then stretch band.

Note: the head cold is much, much better.

Opinion: Negative Political Ads

People frequently complain about negative political ads. (example):

Like most of us, I am sick and tired of these ridiculous, hateful, vicious, slanderous, mud-slinging, mean, nasty, juvenile, big expensive load of crap, negative campaign advertisements.

In addition to the fact that these ads are disgusting, just think about the MILLIONS of dollars these people are spending so fling this $hit crap around.

How about you asshats tells us what you’re going to do for us.

That question has an easy answer: politicians will lie and over promise.

For example, were I to run for political office, I’d say: “hey, I am going to reduce your taxes, cut waste, balance the budget but maintain your favorite services!”

See? That was easy, wasn’t it? Of course, it would be a damned lie too, and my political opponent would be negligent if he/she didn’t point that out.

In all honesty, a political opponent of mine SHOULD point out my lack of qualifications: I haven’t served on many boards or committees; I generally hate such things and my volunteerism tends to be stuff I can do alone or with 2-3 others. And, to be blunt, I don’t like most people and my views ARE out of the mainstream (except for places like, say, Austin, Texas or Berkeley, California).

And, if my opponent had done bad things or done a bad job at their previous offices or has sought (or accepted) the support of bad groups, I should point that out.

So, my problem isn’t with negative ads; it is with FALSE or MISLEADING negative ads, such as this one:

Here is what was going on:

Oregon Ducks: their uniforms still suck

Oregon is looking very impressive tonight…in terms of play. They are up 29-3 and about to go up by more with 1:31 to go in the first half. Ok, make that 32-3 in the first half.

But their uniforms are still…well, weird. This set isn’t ugly but has nothing to do with yellow and green.

21 October Social Stuff

Germany: Leonard Pitts writes:

Multiculturalism has completely failed.

That’s the assessment of Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, in a recent speech before the youth wing of her conservative political party, the Christian Democratic Union. The idea that disparate peoples can “simply live side by side and live happily with each other” has failed, she said. “Utterly failed.”

Merkel insisted that Germany still welcomes immigrants, particularly those whose high-tech skills make them valuable workers. But she conditioned that welcome upon a warning: “We feel bound to the Christian image of humanity — that is what defines us. Those who do not accept this are in the wrong place here.”

To put that another way: Muhammad go home.

Merkel’s words have yet to gain much traction on this side of the Atlantic, but they have roiled the political landscape in Germany which, like much of Europe, is struggling to manage an influx of immigrants of Arabic origin and Islamic faith. The U.S. State Department reports that Germany is now home to 3.5 million Muslims. [...]

I suppose this is one aspect of the United States that I accept: we have no “historical” Americans; all of us (save a few Native Americans) came from other places. Sure, we have arguments about what it means to be an American and the Republicans appear to claim the right that THEY get to decide this.

More close to home: a community (Coral Gables, Florida) is considering a ban on leaf blowers! I wish we had one; here they are mostly used by paunchy old men who are blowing leaves off of their sidewalks.

People of WalMart: yes, this is a website which is devoted to making fun of those who shop there. I like it because they sometimes show women in skimpy attire. Here is a shot of a women whose blue jean shorts are hiked up far enough to expose her gluteal cheeks. In all honesty, I didn’t find this too appealing. But then there is this bikini shot:

Surf to the comments; some guys like it, some don’t, and some say “hey, she isn’t a model but I’d have her”. I posted this on facebook and asked “how many of you ladies would go to Wal Mart dressed like this”. One said “I would”; another said “I like bottom garments that creep.”.

Personally, I have a “wow…she is daring enough to wear that” reacting which has a type of appeal. And yes, I love big butts.