Same As it Ever Was

Ted Rall gives us his review of a cheery new book out concerning the current affairs of our police state. Now keep moving and get back to your programmed activities.

Train In Vain

Andrew Bacevich finds some light at the end of the tunnel.

Would it were that I was as optimistic...

Middle Of The Road

Obama continues to placate the middle to no avail. Even E.J. thinks so...

Friday Random Ten

Heavy Metal -- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Crawling From The Wreckage -- Dave Edmunds
Violin Concerto In F Minor (The Four Seasons) -- Vivaldi
Glory -- Liz Phair
Debra -- Beck
She Said She Said -- The Beatles
Doginabag -- The Fratellis
Love Is Expensive And Free -- Fastball
We're All Mad Here -- Tom Waits
Put It On -- Bob Marley

Bonus cut for no good goddamn reason...

Teenage Pregnancy -- Cake

Matt Taibbi

Okay, I admit, I've been all wrong about Sarah Palin. Matt's spot on in his new piece about Michelle Bachmann. She's the real threat.

Take a few minutes and read his article.

It's funnier than shit and scarier by more than half.

The money quote for me was..."Bachmann's anti-gay rhetoric at times features a campy, over-the-top quality that makes it hard to tell her apart from a tranny cabaret act.

Brilliant.

I think I'll take the rest of the Summer off...

It would appear that Snowbilly Grifter is taking her talents back to Alaska for the duration of the solstice. She comes from a long line of Quitters.

The Prisoner

Nah, Universal Coverage is socialism, right? Let them eat cake...with a file in it.

News I Can't Use

I was driving around this morning and heard a piece on the WCLV noon news that Monster.com has released its top Metropolitan Statistical Areas for jobs and growth and Cleveland came in fifth. What the what?!

I'm fast approaching my 4th anniversary of non permanent employment. I've got a B.A., a Masters in Management, a killer resume with some big name corporations and tons of tangible real world experience. Plus, I'm charming as all fuck. Yet...nothing.

I got home and found the story that I had heard on the news. Here it is.

While I was looking about for this news release on the inner Tubes, I came across Prof. Krugman's recent post which has a vastly different take on things that seems to align far more closely to my reality. Sigh.

All I want is a job to go to everyday where someone will pay me a living wage to be the best and most enthusiastic employee in their office. Evidently that's just far too much to ask in today's free fall Depression 2.0.

Juan Cole

I don't know if anyone saw this elsewhere, but it turns out Juan Cole was a person of interest for Cheney's goons a few years back.

Here's the good doctor's terse response to the potential spying on his private life.

Criminal stuff, indeed.

However, as Paul Newman was famously quoted after discovering that he was on one of Nixon's Enemies Lists, "Being on President Nixon's enemies list was the highest single honor I've ever received. Who knows who's listening to me now and what government list I'm on?

In that light, I congratulate Dr. Cole for being a burr under the saddle of the Cheneyites. Regardless, I'm still calling Sherrod Brown's office and voicing my complaints about the Patriot Act.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

This is pretty friggin' stupid.

Listen, I was never as much a fan of Obama as I was a fan of whomever won the presidency of NOT being George W. Bush. For that, I am grateful that Obama got elected.

Had Hillary Clinton not been married to the Clenis, I was vastly more fond of her moxie and political savvy than Obama, but I'm still certain that Hannity, Rushbo and their ilk would've made more hay with her persona than they've done to Obama.

Either way, hes' gonna get my vote in 2012. And besides, WTF did I know, look who I initially supported way back when...

Friday Random Ten (Birthday Weekend Edition)

No Future Shock -- TV On The Radio (best album of the year)
Cracking Up -- Rockpile
No One Listens -- Ray Davies
Red Rain -- Peter Gabriel
King Penguin -- Home & Garden
Beautiful Dreamer -- Mates Of State
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #2 In C Minor -- San Francisco Symphony
The Beast In Me -- Nick Lowe
Smoke Along The Track -- Dwight Yoakum
Theme To Wendell Stivers -- Spoon

Bonus Nearly Summer Solstice Cut:

I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement -- The Ramones

Gene, Gene, the prognosticating machine

Eugene Robinson declares The Mittster DOA. I needn't have to tell you who is always just a few polling points behind Romney.

Friday Random Ten

Feel Again -- Nick Lowe
Conditioned Soul -- Eurythmics
Whatever It Takes -- Fleshtones
Floaty -- Foo Fighters
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa -- Vampire Weekend
Scumbag Blues -- Them Crooked Vultures
Paint It Black -- Rolling Stones
No Language In Our Lungs -- XTC
Post Rock Defends The Nation -- Bon Savants
Bob -- Drive By Truckers

No bonus cut. Just because.

Mr. Fish

Your American tax dollars at work. (clickin' it makes it bigger.)

Friday Random Ten

Hang On In There -- John Legend & The Roots
L'Espirit D'Escalier -- JET
Where's My Everything? -- Nick Lowe
Black -- Pearl Jam
I Dig You -- The Iguanas
She Really Wants You -- Aimee Mann
Pop Song 2006 -- Razorlight
Shake That Devil -- Joan Osborne
Stop The World And Let Me Off -- John Doe and The Sadies
I Need To Know -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Bonus 70 and Sunny cut:

Guns Of Navarone -- The Skatalites

Same As it Ever Was

The insights of several former World leaders and American statesmen obviously doesn't mean diddley to the "head in the sand" US policy makers.

Lather, rinse, repeat.