Not My Amalgamated!

Interesting day on the stock market. If you've lost a ton of money in stocks, I'm sorry for you, but not very sorry. This is overdue.

Asshole.

This is my local Representative, James A. "Jim" McDermott. He voted in favor of H. R. 3997 (The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008)- you know the $700 BILLION dollars, that would surely top a TRILLION in short order, with no limited oversight or accountability. Yeah, that fiasco.

Well, despite my pleadings, Representative Warbucks here voted in favor of the damned thing. Here's an easy rule of thumb- If this President wants it, it's bad for you. If Fox News is trying to scare you about it, think twice. Or three times, even. The Dems made good on all the lobbyist money they took in, and were it not for the Republicans (holy shit- can that be right?) this fleecing would have passed. I just can't believe there are so many DEMs that supported this.

Representative McDermott, you lost my vote, asshole. I wish I'd know you better, because I'd have campaigned against your sorry ass.

Oh, and if you want to see if your own Representative tried to sell you out, here is the link to the vote roll call.

I see some Colorado names on the AYES list. Assholes.

Little Pink Pup Tents, For You And Me...

Welcome to Nickelsville, population as many as 1000. That's Nickels, as in hizzonner Seatte Mayor Nickels. He's dealing with the homelessness problem by hassling the homeless so they will what? Leave? I can't say what the wisdom would be. For sure, by catering to the big money developer types and ignoring the perpetually full and woefully inadequate homeless shelters (or is it "shelter" as in singular?) he's earned the name for the squatter town.

I know nobody likes crazy dirty homeless people- particularly if they are nearby. But hey- you religious types need to remember "there but for the grace of God...". Me? I know that these people need help, and very probably the kind of help I'm unable to provide- mental help, drug addiction treatment, etc. I know nothing about these things, but I'm just not as "Grinchy" as the Mayor. I would not make their lot in life worse, and I would try to think up some solutions.

Tell you what I do know, though. We have lots of homeless people sleeping under overpasses and bridges. Guess what else we have a lot of? Shipping containers. Call me crazy, but I think we can work something out here. There are architects and builders doing amazing things with these containers, and I'd bet that you could refit some old 20' boxes into basic shelters cheaply. Matson has a shitload of the smaller containers that they never seem to use, stacked all the hell over their space in Harbor Island. See if they'd like a tax break or charitable credit for donating some of these and move them to a safe place. Maybe even have the homeless donate the labor? You could move them if you had to and not lose anything. Build a handful of them with toilets or showers, and the homeless could get back to being human beings again.

You know- in case that's the goal.

Get Bent

As it's Schmoopie's birthday, I bought myself a treat. That's how it's supposed to be, innit? I got a recumbent bicycle from Actionbent, a local (comparatively cheap) seller of 'bent's. Boy howdy are these things:

a.) Spendy
b.) Different from regular bikes in terms of handling
c.) easier on the ass/wrists/neck/back than a regular bike
d.) a workout for different muscle groups than a normal bike
e.) wicked fun

We went down tonight to Alki beach and rode around for fun. The sunset made the water sort of a salmon color, and it smelled good. Heard the seals squawking out on the buoys. Very nice night, don'tcha know?

And my loins are tender...

No Really- Everything Is Fine

McCain says the "fundamentals of the economy are sound". Feel better?

Extra Special Helping of Irony

So Emperor Pope Palpatine was in Paris and what did he have to say? He condemned the love of money and power. One of the richest and most powerful guys in the world says this? Uh huh. Maybe if it was such a problem he could lead by example? Heh. What the hell was I thinking?. Don't you have some altarboy to bugger, hat-boy?

Titicaca Files

I am secretly still 8 years old. I must be- I still laugh at things like:

WONGDOODY?

And these:

DONG FANG? I want one! Either a shipping container like that, or an actual "Dong Fang". Well, hang on. My luck, I'd have a buck-toothed cock. I'd need dick braces for a long time. Flossing could be fun though.

Further Signs of Decline

Remember when the Army tried to lure suckers young males into joining up with promises of tuition benefits? Well, that clearly isn't working anymore as no one appreciates education. Maybe it's not that bad. Perhaps it's a result of young people smart enough to be thinking about higher education are defacto too smart to join the Army. In any event, this is the new angle.

As a separate irony, anyone (like me) that has actually had their own small business as a primary source of income can tell you how the very same government that regularly short changes the poor saps heroes in uniform has also stacked the deck against small businesses. Or hey- maybe they can buy a home. If they can get a loan, like through the VA? Maybe? Those that survive their enlistment without armor, or you know- fresh water, can then come home and lose all their benefit money trying to start a small business or in the volatile housing market. Insult to injury.

Nope. Not Buying It.

Sarah Palin is not the mother of Trig. She is the grandmother of Trig. Whether or not you think this is a big deal/off limits/etc. is secondary to my point. This is a lie, and it's one that she (or the campaign) brought up. Here's my take:

Bristol Palin gets preggo in late July or more likely August 2007, and is 16 at the time. I don't think anyone was planning on an abortion, as I think they are serious about their fundie beliefs. I'd bet that they were thinking of profit, er... adoption. By December 2007 Bristol begins a five month leave from school because she allegedly has mononucleosis. I had a severe case of mono (ended up in the hospital) and missed about a month of school, and I was milking it a bit.

Somewhere before month 7 (Late January/early February), they learn that the baby has Downs Syndrome. At first I'd taken this to be somewhat in line with an aging mother but then upon further investigation I find that mothers of any age can have Downs babies, and the odds spread with age is less than 4%- that is to say mothers between 40-45 have a 3.75% chance, and young moms have less than 1% chance. Women under 35 account for 80% of Downs babies. I didn't find any stats on 16 year olds, but it could well be that there is an inverse bell curve at play. So, I'm back to thinking it could still be Bristol. Normally a triple screen would be done earlier than this, but with a not-fully-developed mother (a la the 16 tender years) I don't know that the results would have been clear in any result. They probably waited a bit and then had an amniocentesis. Downs-shit. Okay, well that adoption payday is gone. Fuck. Guess they'll need to come up with something. It's been too long to now say she was raped. If it gets out that Bristol's going to have a baby at 16/17, that'll alienate the fundie friends and voters. Okay- it's going to be Sarah's baby. Damn, it's too bad we don't believe in sex education.

So Sarah announces that she's preggo and that it's a Downs baby and everyone thinks- "yeah, I can imagine- what is she 45?" Great. Except that there is a lot of photo evidence that does not show a 7 month old preggo lady here. No worries you say- everyone is different. Maybe she doesn't bump out till later. Perhaps, but then there are the photo's from previous pregnancies where she's big and big early. Plus, there isn't an expected amount of weight gain. Still no worries- no one is going to pry into this- right? It's a private family matter, right? Well, almost right.

Things continued to not make sense. April 17th, 2008- "A month early" (or not, as I suggest) some Palin or another gives birth. Sarah was in Texas, and allegedly had her water break. So, she goes to the nearest hospital and... no wait- she flies to Seattle, then to Anchorage? And the flight attendants don't notice the big preggo woman? Ohhhh- right- a fake preggo belly would probably get the attention of the TSA retards, and we don't need that kind of attention. So no belly- fly home really fast and then go to some tiny hospital near nothing. Funny the hospital didn't list Trig on the birth announcements though. Maybe they can't lie about the mommy in the records or something. And funny too that the doc that delivered Trig doesn't work there anymore. But that'll happen when you get some cushy govenment job thanks to the Governor.

Two days later, Sarah is back to work, seemingly fit and raring to go. She's just like that you see. No post partum nonsense for her. Bristol can spend all her time holding (and nursing?) the baby- like from here on out. Yeah- why not?

"Okay- we dodged a bullet there. We hid the pregnancy and got all the neocon sympathy, and hey- the guys in this nearly-all-male state like the idea of a hottie governor that puts out.

August 29, 2008 - "Oh Shit. Vice President?"

"Okay, we can do this. What? Bristol is pregnant AGAIN? What is it with her? Like a rabbit I tell you. How are we going to manage this? I can't lie about this AGAIN. Damn it! Okay- step one, let's tell everyone that Bristol is preggo this time, but hey- let's announce that's she's FIVE MONTHS PREGGO- that way it'll be impossible for her to be Trig's mom- right? You can't get double-pregnant, while you are in your third trimester- it's the perfect defense. No- no one will think it's weird to be announcing HOW LONG she's been preggo- trust me, people don't think about things."

"Oh, and clean up that brainpan, Levi. That mulletheaded babymaker is going legit. If he bitches, tell him you'll buy him a Trans Am. Oh- and get the lawyers. We have some work here. Levi and his sister have MySpace pages that need to go away like yesterday. All those pictures that show Trig with Bristol and Levi's family- lose them. Make sure they are out of Google too. If any reporters look into this- threaten them. Threaten their network and revenue. The GOP will help if needed by setting the Department of Justice on them."

So far only the foreign press seems to be able to look into this. Perhaps the National Enquirer will join them.

In the end, if these were liberal/Democrats, I wouldn't give two shits, nor would anyone else I expect. Libs would not have had to deny the girl any choice regarding an abortion, lied to cover it all up and fake the parents, or worry about losing support from their base- which is really why this is significant. This is worthy of scrutiny, not just because Palin is a train wreck, but because she and her "base" are the ones trying to force a set of "values" on the rest of us. Libs don't care what you do until the baby is born, and Cons don't care what you do after. Yes, that's a sweeping generalization- but it makes the basic point clear. The GOP is demonstrably the "Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do" party, and for that they deserve a media driven colonoscopy.

There are many other reasons to point and laugh (and be worried) about a McCain/Palin ticket, but this one is the one that will appeal to the Britneyesque culture here. Obama may be interested in the high road, but I'm not- and don't lie- neither are you.

UPDATE:
Not directly related to this, but if you are a single-issue voter (that is to say, if you vote based SOLELY on an issue like abortion or gun control or "Wars" on something inanimate), you are a fucking retard and you don't deserve the right to vote. Greedy people, and single issue voters are the reason why we're in a new Dark Age, where we have shiny fucking toys that are made in China and the Bill of Rights is being dissolved. I can only hope that this Dark Age will be short lived and followed by an Enlightenment, where people like single issue voters, and those who refuse to think are shunned as the cancers to a society that they are.