|link| Posted 4:05 PM by Brian Linse

Horowitz Gets Berube'd

This just in from the Fish in Barrels Department: David Horowitz has been making an even bigger ass of himself than usual with a McCarthy-esque gallery of "Leftists". Having llistened to Horowitz on the radio here in LA many years ago when he was still making some sense, it is usually with some sadness that I read his bizarre, weakly-argued rants. This time, however, Michael Berube takes him apart with such style that I'm just getting a good chuckle out of it.

Cross posted to Horowitzwatch.

|link| Posted 1:59 PM by Brian Linse

Condi Slash Fiction

Can you guess which is the slash fiction?

Rice boldly eschewed the typical fare chosen by powerful American women on the world stage. She was not wearing a bland suit with a loose-fitting skirt and short boxy jacket with a pair of sensible pumps. She did not cloak her power in photogenic hues, a feminine brooch and a non-threatening aesthetic. Rice looked as though she was prepared to talk tough, knock heads and do a freeze-frame "Matrix" jump kick if necessary. Who wouldn't give her ensemble a double take -- all the while hoping not to rub her the wrong way?

-or-
Condoleezza Rice wore all black. She also wore high-heeled boots. And gauntlet-knives. Oh, and she carried a fully-loaded Uzi onstage and proceeded to unshackle an Islamist. Setting the Uzi in the middle of the stage, she and the Islamist started each thirty feet from the gun, began running towards the gun, and proceeded to fight using a mixture of taekwondo and hapkido to defeat the Islamist. After the fight, grinning with brilliantly white teeth, she ripped his head off with his bare hands and threw it to a legless veteran in the audience.

She then broke the Uzi in half with her bare knee, and gold coins poured out. She has changed the way we think about national security. Forever.

I'm gonna need a cold shower...

|link| Posted 3:59 PM by Brian Linse

Goodbye, Hello

It appears that Talon News, their purpose as a fake news service for the GOP having been "exposed", has decided to call it quits and shutter their site. Goodbye Talon, we hardly knew ye.

But wait! Say hello to Talon's primary 8+ cut tool, James Guckert, who has re-launched his site as a blog under his White House press name of "Jeff Gannon".

If I could make shit like this up I'd be the hottest guy in Hollywood...

|link| Posted 3:06 PM by Brian Linse

Rappers - They're Just Like US !

Josh Levin explains that rappers and bloggers were Separated at Birth.

This is really funny stuff, mainly because of the many truths it reveals.

UPDATE: I guess Atrios and his commentariat don't think it's funny. I think they are taking out their general dislike of Slate on the author of this harmless little piece of humor. Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was both funny and flattering to bloggers - and I don't like Rap music.

|link| Posted 10:40 PM by Brian Linse

Hello, Goodbye

I wish I believed in reincarnation. If I did, it would be impossible not to think that the birth of Ken Layne's son and the death of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson within 24 hours of each other was not coincidence. We are thrilled to say hello to the young Mr. Layne, and so sad to have to say goodbye to the good Dr. Thompson.

Mr. Wolcott points us to Steve Gilliard's thoughts on HST, and Patrioboy directs us to a nice post at Rox Populi. Read Digby's post, too. And Rev. Tony Pierce here and here.

Somehow I am comforted today by re-reading Dr. Thomson's vicious obituary for Nixon in '94. In an era when journalism is largely sycophantic "news product", it's glorious to remember that there was once honesty and passion within the profession. Bloggers of all political stripes owe a great deal to Dr. Thompson, though I fear we don't yet deserve to align ourselves with his legacy. Perhaps one day we shall earn it.

Rest in peace, good Doctor, you will be missed but never forgotten. Say hello to Warren for us...

UPDATE: Matt Welch has posted his thoughts on Thompson over at Reason Online.

|link| Posted 1:17 PM by Brian Linse

NHL UN-Canceled?

Wow. I guess both sides must have been paying attention to the negative press these last few days, because talks have resumed between the NHL and the NHLPA, with Wayne Gretsky and Mario Lemieux repping the owners, and Trevor Linden repping the players. High level dudes from both sides are involved, but Bettman and Goodenow are not directly involved in the talks.

UPDATE: No progress, and no further talks set. NHL statement page is here, and the NHLPA statement is here. Read the immediate reactions to the press from both sides here, and mark my words: the NHL is intending to break the NHLPA union. I may have watched my last-ever professional hockey game and not realized it, for there is no way I would support, in any way, an NHL with replacement players.

SUNDAY UPDATE: An article from a Toronto Sun writer suggests that the problem was Bettman in cahoots with a minority of "losers" - unfortunately including my beloved Chicago. Here's an article that puts the blame more on the owners greed, and here's one that calls for Bettman to go.

|link| Posted 8:02 PM by Brian Linse

Gannon / Guckert on CNN

CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed Jeff/Jim Gannon/Guckert tonight. Crooks and Liars has the video, and AMERICAblog.org has an assessment.

|link| Posted 1:50 PM by Brian Linse

Get Well Insta-Wife

Glenn Reynolds' wife Helen, the oft-referenced "Insta-Wife", has been hospitalized with heart problems that will require a pacemaker. Our thoughts are with Helen, Glenn, and their family, and we send wishes for a speedy recovery.

|link| Posted 11:15 AM by Brian Linse

Gannon/Guckert Traction

AMERICAblog.org is the one-stop shop for all things Gannon, and today there is more evidence of the story gaining traction in the mainstream press. There is also a story that, if true, makes it inconceivable that Gannon/Guckert could have been operating without high level cooperation from someone in the Bush administration.

|link| Posted 10:40 AM by Brian Linse

(Literally) Shooting the Messenger

Roger Ailes links to a post at The Nation that argues for some reconsideration of Eason Jordan's now-infamous and career-ending comment about the US military targeting journalists.

While the piece doesn't present conclusive evidence, it does seem to indicate that, as in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, policy of the US military may have contributed to some abuses by soldiers in the field. This story may not be over.

UPDATE: Via Atrios, Fafblog explains what is going on: Treason: Hurting America's Feelings

|link| Posted 12:02 PM by Brian Linse

Short Cuts

Here are a few quick links to some interesting things on the radar here at BadDude HQ:

Go read (am I really doing this?) Peggy Noonan's take on the influence and future of blogs, seen in the context of the current MSM frothing against our efforts. [via Vodkapundit]

Ezra Klein reads Hugh Hewitt's awful Blog book so you don't have to.

Gannon/Guckert: Atrios has links to some MSM coverage (finally!) of the fake reporter/gay male escort who has been the focus of the lefty blogs and the pink elephant that nobody talks about in the clubhouse of the righty bloggers. Also see Joe Conason, MoDo, Digby, and please don't miss The Poor Man:

The story is that God exists.

Think about it: what are the chances that a media whore like Gannon would turn out to be an actual whore? It's impossible. It boggles the mind how infinitely unlikely this is. It's like if you found someone pirating CDs, and it turns out he actually had a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder and sailed around the Caribbean saying "arrrrrr!" and plundering booty. You wouldn't believe it. But there it is: impossible, but true. Impossible truths are miracles, and only God can work miracles. Ergo, God exists. Q.E.D

Jim Henley warns of the coming "anti-Guckert" campaign, and points out that the Gannon/Guckert story is rendered even more serious by the comparison. "Go Ahead Jeff" - Tony Pierce has the link to an amazing video of Gannon and WH press sec Scotty Mac playing "softball". Lean Left discusses the reason that the Dems are shying away from the Jim/Jeff scandal. (Update: And sweet jeebus, don't miss this one by Ken Layne!)

Kevin Drum explains how Brit Hume made up false FDR quotes to support the Bush plan for Social Security privatization. Will there be a Hume-gate to mirror the Rather-gate? Don't hold your breath.

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has a blog. [via Doc Searls]

John Cole calls bullshit on his own party with regard to their stance on marriage - gay and straight. I usually disagree with John on almost everything, but there is a reason he is on my Daily Run blogroll: he's an honest and intelligent thinker - one of the good guys on the "other side".

Go help Susan at Suburban Guerrilla spring for a ride so she can keep her day job.

|link| Posted 11:56 AM by Brian Linse

NHL Disgrace

The 2004-2005 NHL Hockey season is now officially dead.

Professional Ice Hockey was, for me, the last pro team sport that I could stomach. Basketball and football lost me so long ago that I can't even remember giving a shit about them, and Baseball lost me more than 10 years ago when greedy players fought greedy owners, millionaires vs billionaires, and there was no World Series.

Now a similar game has played out in pro hockey, and the NHL gains the ignominy of being the only North American team sport to lose an entire season to a labor dispute. In the months to come it is certain that both sides will blame the other for the impasse, and that there will be plenty of blame to go around.

How can the league face their customers in light of the fact that they allowed their business to get into such a state that they required such extreme concessions in order to maintain a viable business model? If I ran a business for years, and then showed up to an employee meeting to tell them that their offer of a 24% pay cut wasn't enough to keep the shop open, and that I needed them to tie their compensation to revenues, I would rightfully be considered incompetent and presumably be put out to pasture by the Board of Directors. I would, in short, be an idiot-asshole, and if I worked for the NHL my name would be Gary Bettman.

And how can the NHLPA face their fans in light of Bob Goodenow's 11th hour decision to cave on the issue of salary caps? If this was, in fact, not a deal breaker, then why was the player's association not willing to negotiate the issue months ago? The NHLPA needs to find a capable poker player to replace the dipshit that currently represents them.

It is my hope that as this sorts out over the next few months it will become clear that the majority of the blame will fall on the owners - that this was a clusterfuck caused by the idiot-asshole Bettman and the dipshit Goodenow, and the players are somewhat innocent.

But if this turns out to be a replay of the Greed vs Greed situation that ruined professional baseball for me over a decade ago, I will be completely and forever finished with professional team sports.

UPDATE: This guy thinks that it was Goodenow who screwed the pooch, while this guy thinks Bettman's numbers are suspect. (BadDude Dad, who knows a thing or two about both Hockey and finance, told me yesterday that Bettman was full of shit.)

I think both are right, but at the end of the day it seems likely that the league may never have wanted to settle this dispute. Could this all have been a dance the NHL has done to distract from what is simply a union-busting, long-term play? The league is very candid about the fact that the CBA that they signed to save the 94-95 season was a bad move, and the rhetoric since the Bettmen press confrence tells me that they intend to dismantle the current NHL structure one way or another.

This may actually be the end of the NHL as we know it. Perhaps that will be a good thing for the sport, but it can only be seen as tragic it terms of the grand history of the NHL, the Stanley Cup, and the legacy of the greats like Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, and Bobby Orr.

Mo' UPDATE: A Forbes writer puts this on Bettman, and goes into some detail about how the commissioner's experience as a Basketball man failed to serve him well in Hockey. The author suggests Wayne Gretsky be named to replace Bettman. It'll never happen, but the idea behind why it would help is a solid one. More on BETTMAN: BusinessWeek seems to have thought Gary was a fuck up even before the season was cancelled, listing him as one of the "Worst Managers of 2004".

|link| Posted 3:14 PM by Brian Linse

Wanna Buy A Bridge?

Thw Washington Post editorial board appears to have bought another load of crap from Bush, and Kevin Drum calls 'em on it.

And while you are bent over and grabbing your ankles, Atrios points out yet another way the Preznit plans to fuck you.

|link| Posted 8:55 AM by Brian Linse

Arthur Miller

One of America's greatest playwrights has died.

It was a performance of Death of a Salesman that first awakened me to the power of the theatre. Even though Mr. Miller was neither prolific nor successful in the later decades of his career, this is still a huge loss. This is one of those passings that shames us as it reminds us that we just aren't making 'em like this guy anymore.

|link| Posted 1:16 AM by Brian Linse

Owned

James Wolcott owns Michael Medved.

Professor Juan Cole owns Jonah "Genius" Goldberg.

|link| Posted 1:10 AM by Brian Linse

Republicans Pressure Bush On FCC Pick

Daily Variety (subscription) just posted an article reporting that 33 GOP reps delivered a letter to Bush on friday asking for an FCC chairman who will fight against indecency.

The letter arrived at the White House after Bush told a C-SPAN interviewer last week that parents should play the primary role in protecting children from indecent material. "While we acknowledge the importance of parental controls over children's viewing habits," the letter said, "Hollywood and certain media companies work to ensure that children are exposed to it whether they or their parents like it or not."

Looks like the GOP god squad doesn't want to let Mr. Bush off the hook on this one.

"The next FCC chairman will oversee an important time in our nation's history, and they must be ready to aggressively enforce the laws that Congress has passed. We encourage you to nominate an individual of boldness, strength, and vision who will continue the work already begun. We must not let immorality become normalized nor federal laws ignored."

The letter originated as a collaborative effort between Reps. Joe Pitts (Pa.) and Charles Pickering (Miss.). Among others signing it were Dave Weldon (Fla.), Steve King (Iowa) and Jim Ryun (Kan.). No Democrats signed it.

This was posted at 10pm PST on the Variety site, and so far there is nothing else on the radar. I'm sure that by tomorrow morning there will be more info, and perhaps Jeff Jarvis will have something on it. This topic has been one of his specialties.

UPDATE: Jarvis has more here. Variety still seems to be the only source with the story of the letter. I wonder why...

|link| Posted 6:33 PM by Brian Linse

Why Not Kinky?

Well, it is now official. My dear friend Kinky Friedman will run for Texas Governor in 2006.

Kinky made his announcement today at The Alamo, and has already picked up the endorsement of James Wolcott. Of course, we here at BadDude World Domination HQ are behind the Kinkster 100% as well.

I'll be blogging this as the campaign proceeds, but for now, go check out Kinky's official site and support him any way you can.

Texas could use a few years of Kinky administration, and as the Kinkster himself says, "How hard could it be?"

Full disclosure:I spoke to Kinky two days ago and may be helping him with the internet/blog side of his campaign. If I do lend a hand, it will be as a volunteer without compensation, though I'm sure I'll be able to weasel a few cigars out of him.