Yes, I stole this from Doffmaster, but the humor is worth the theft.

I don't get the Rightist WarBloggers. Folks like Instapundit seem to be writing like they channeling the thoughts of Bob Novak circa 1967. I am beginning to confuse them with neo-conservatives. If they spent half of the time of bashing everything they call leftist and instead bashed the right wing a little, I might believe they were somehow not just neo-con's in libertarian clothing.

Golly gee Wiz kids! I've been declared Typical. Is that possible? Does lightning strike twice under an Oak Tree? Well, you better bet your plastic Jesus, cause papa's gonna beat the odds. I just made the grade and was declared typical, but I am shooting for slightly better than average next! I think I'll have to write that one in my scrapbook!

For the record: Christian Rock Music sucks. Now, when I say "Christian Rock Music" I mean music by musicians who define it as such, generally meaning that the music's lyrics are intentionally evangelical. Why does it suck? Simple: when composition is more about its message than about the art, it generally sucks. Bob Dylan's music is not listened to because it had a social message; it was good music and super poetic lyrics, which also had a message.

The other knock on Christian Rock is in using trite religious lyrics, not enough time is spent on creating good music. All of the music they produce seems to be just cheap imitations of what ever is the popular musical form, be it rap, grunge, rap-metal, or boy bands, at the time. They just change the lyrics to fit the propaganda they want to get across, and rush the CD to every Christian Book/Music store in America. The Bottom line is there music is nothing more than a bad clone of other popular General Rock groups. They are just desperate to keep their young people from falling pray to intellectual and artistic freedom, and hope to keep control of them at least through their college years.

I have someone else, Right Wing News (Conservative News and Views), thinking the same thing I did three hours earlier. Where is the US media on the Russian Hostage situation? The BBC does not have coverage that I would think it would. The BBC World Service and Radio 5 have on regular programming.

Chechen gunmen seize Moscow theater
Why is this not getting more coverage on US television news? Instead we are watching a special live episode of "Ground Force" in Tacoma, Washington, removing tree stumps and digging out someone's backyard.

Scholars: Oldest evidence of Jesus?
What total propaganda and sensationalistic blather. If in 2000 years they find a casket that reads: Jeb, son of George, brother of George, then that means it is the Governor of Florida’s casket? This is immense propaganda and a way for CNN to appeal to the Fox News dominated Christian viewers.

'Gooooood morning, Afghanistan!'
Robin Williams showed class by flying out to Afghanistan to visit the troops. Will the right-wingers try and co-opt him or ignore him?

UPDATE: FOXNews also picked up the story.

I think my political philosophy is close to a clone of WarLiberal.com.

What is Idiotarianism?
The word Idiotarianism, and more commonly anti-Idiotarianism, has been the rheotorical rally point for the right leaning bloggers for quite some time. I do not know who coined the term, or if it even predates the Blogosphere itself, but I have sought the derivation and meaning of the word ever since I first read it in a blog, and until recently have found nothing. I ran across this defintion as part of the new "Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto"

WE DEFINE IDIOTARIANISM as the species of delusion within the moral community of mankind that gives aid and comfort to terrorists and dictators operating outside it.

This definition seems to need further definition. I have to wonder what is meant by "aid and comfort." In the post 9/11 atmosphere aid and comfort of the enemy often means to the more rabid Republican any dissent against the policies of any Republican in public office. I therefore don’t believe the manifesto correctly portrays the underlying meaning of the term.

Idiotarianism I think is better defined as "Themism," meaning the beliefs of "them." "Them" are those the "Us" are against. If you are not with "Us," then you are with "Them." Anti-Idiotarians are therefore just anti-Them. They are not "Us." We are not "Them." I am not me, and she is not him, so lets call the chauvinism off.

I can agree with a majority of the Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto, but I just can’t agree with groupthink. I don’t need to join along with the popular viewpoint to oppose another viewpoint. I also don’t want to conform to a platform that advocates independence for all people, except those who do not conform to the platform. Those who don’t conform are then guilty of providing “aid and comfort” to the terrorists, which is actually against the law. The anti-PC crowd has completed the circle back to Political Correctness. Those who do not sign on to guns in the cock-pit cannot sign this manifesto, those who don’t see any direct threats to the USA from Iraq cannot sign this manifesto, and those who do not see why the Bush Administration wants to kill Saddam Hussein for trying to get nuclear weapons, but only wants to negotiate with North Korea for having nuclear weapons cannot sign the manifesto. This neo-PC crowd ferments the idea that those who do not conform to the conservative/libertarian agenda are part of “them,” and therefore their ideas and thoughts should be opposed and wiped away from the political discourse of the nation and the world.

James Lileks at Media Minded comments on the Press coverage of the Bali bombing. He and his original subject got it right. The media were neglect in providing coverage on what James calls one of the biggest stories of the year. His contention that geography played a part in the slow reaction has validity. However, the geography cannot account for the void of coverage of the grief and torment of the Auzzie people expressed in the Australian media. Our media conglomerates would have not had to expend any great fees to recycle ABC coverage of the event, but I saw little on any of the major media outlets, especially TV. This event was the Australian 9/11, but the U.S. media was sleeping, or were busy snipe hunting.

CharlesMurtaugh claims to have noticed an increased level of left-wing homophobia? What is this guy smoking?

Christian Coalition: Vote and vote conservative
What a theocratic scumbag Inhofe turns out to be:

"Get the few liberals out. If you don't do it, it ain't gonna be done," Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, told the crowd at the Washington Convention Center. "You will be doing the Lord's work, and he will richly bless you for it."

How can a respectable Christian claim that his/her god wishes to vote for conservatives and not liberals? I am one to clearly keep all religion out of politics and government, so I find this disgusting, but could any person, no matter what religion, defend this horrible attitude, this political crusade? I would think a “true believer" would find this to be a perversion of his/her religion.

BBC NEWS | Talking Point | Bali terror: Were you there?
This reminds me of New York City right after the WTC attacks. The missing posters and pictures hit me in the gut then, and these posts do the same. I hope these people's family and friends are ok. I think there is much more hope since a large number of tourists are in Bali.

Headline News Gets In The Groove
Is this funny or just sad?

Texas on the Tigris
Yes, it is good. The anti-Dowdists will scream and moan. Nothing unusual.

Chris Parnell was Bush on SNL. I give him a B-. The show over all lacks balls. They are holding back. There is no edge to what they are trying. Ether that or I am getting old.

Finland mall blast 'killed bomber'
More explosions that are slowly termed terrorism. Yemen, Indonesia, and now Finland. Are they related?

Yahoo! News - Bali Nightclub Bombing Kills 58
This story has been slow to develop. One report said westerners almost exclusively visited the bar that was attacked. I guess the government is closed for the weekend to comment on it.

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that up to 118 people are believed to have been killed.

While Listening to the News Conference regarding the Washington Area Sniper, I think I heard Gearldo Rivera ask a question and get knocked back by the Police Chief saying "you are entitled to your opinion, sir." CNN has brought in Bill Hemmer. The networks must view this as a big story that is going to break soon.

They are reporting now that the "Truck" that is being sought is more of a moving truck or delivery truck, not the Chevy Astro Van reported at the scene of at least one of the shootings in Virginia.

Via Tapped, this from CalPundit beats down "fisking." I would agree, however I have done a version of that myself, but from my own biased perspective my "Dowd Laws Defense" was hardly comparable to a "fisking." The main problem with this method is that it kills the context of the original piece. The fisker trashes much of the context of the original author's piece, which is a distortion. I will try and avoid using this blogging method. I am not above lowbrow blogging, but I will do my best to keep it semi-harmless and respectful of context.

From Scrubs: "Front butt, its like the grail."

A response to my Dowd Defense in The Eleven Day Empire. This quote I think illustrates my law one translation well.

That's not really what Chafetz says; what he said is that, when dealing with matters of life and death (rather than matters of what the meaning of "is" is), caricatures and nicknames aren't good enough; and that goes directly to...

My point was that conservatives do not like people to make fun of Bush in a time of "war", because they like to pump up the importance of his image. They like they guy, trust the guy, and think he is sincere when he talks about issues of "life and death". Call me cynical (Hi cynical), but I don't trust Bush anymore than I trust any politician. I also do not have any problem with anyone saying what ever they wish about Bush in this supposed time of "war." I don't need every single columnist to treat this situation like brain surgery. Neurology can only go so far. Sometimes you have to hit your funny bone on purpose. I guess these Dowd-detractors can't stand it when someone does not see the "war on terrorism" as an Apocalyptic Armageddon. I am not shaking in my boots at the sound of OBL’s voice. If we are really in great danger, one would think the President would be asking the American people to do something more than just bend over and take his agenda, then asking us to go shopping.

SNL's first 20 minutes are subpar.

Bush: War with Iraq May Be Unavoidable
"There's no negotiations; there's nothing to talk about." If this is what Bush is saying, then it is clear we are going to war. If he does not make news on Monday night in Cincinnati, he really is wasting our time.

Picture of the Day

One, Two, Three, Four...We will shave our pits no more!!!

The Immutable Laws of Maureen Dowd
Wow, it is so obvious why conservatives and Bush-fans no longer like Maureen Dowd. However, it is only obvious to those who can understand conservative rhetoric, let me translate the laws “ordained” in this Weekly Standard Column:

Law One Translation: You can make fun of Bill Clinton all you want, but you can't make fun of George Bush, after all we are in a war.

Law Two Translation: Life is Black and White. Either you are with “us” or with “them.”

Law Three Translation: Coherence is best illustrated with Dick and Jane. Literary devices are only for the intelligent, and the magnanimous thinker must lower oneself to the lowest common denominator. If you must use things like satire, make sure it is obvious enough for uneducated blue state voters.

Law Four Translation: Consumerism and truth are only good if you are buying from a conservative who is selling the word of “God.”

Law Five Translation: Non-Monarchist Europeans are bad, except for the Spanish and Italians who elected conservative governments.

The bottom line here is that if you are a popular columnist for one of the greatest newspapers in the world, that happens to have a liberal editorial page, and your opinions do not agree with the conservative viewpoint, you are not a good columnist, no matter how many Pulitzers you win. This widespread attack on Ms. Dowd by conservatives is just an element to their propaganda campaign to profess the myth of a “liberal political bias” in the media. The more they say the media has a “liberal bias;” the more people will think it is true. The more they say she is incoherent; the more people will think it.

U.S. Supreme Court asked to hear N.J. ballot flap
The at least 6 if not all 7 members of the NJ Supreme Court were appointed by Republican governors. The GOP can't really complain much, but they will. If SCOTUS takes this case quickly, it will rule along party lines again. That will create a firestorm that could change the race in several congressional races.

Bush: Don’t tie my hands on Iraq
If Bush wants a resolution that will not tie his hands, then there is an obvious choice he can make. Ask for a
Declaration of War!!!
The idiot makes his mark again. Why are the neo-Cons allowing him to play PC with his language? Screw the use of force language; let the hollow suit and his blood lust roam free with a declared war. That will not muck up anyone's intentions. Bush clearly wants to change the government of Iraq. The only honest way to do that is to ask Congress for a Declaration of War. His honesty here is not something I can locate. I see the same politics of every modern President. He is only fooling the fools.

Viking Kittens: Hide your women and children!

NBC: Boomtown
I recommend this new show. You have to watch the whole show to know what is going on. It takes a different tact like FOX's 24. The only negative was that it played to the PC crowd by making the rich white kid as the wanna be gang-banger, while the black kid was the innocent kid who got sucked into the crime. That same black kid did not turn the shooter into the police, and even ran from them when confronted, but he was the tragedy of the story. I hope they do not make that a regular theme. If that is the case I may not watch the show any longer.

Why? Because We Can
Once again, so all of the Blogosphere can hear:
BRILLIANT!
Dowd does it again.
I hope James DiBenedetto heard that especially.