RIP William F Buckley: 1925-2008

At the age of 82, while doing what he loved (writing) William F Buckley departed the planet this week.

Buckley was truly an original and someone who stuck to his principles no matter what. Very likable, witty and approachable, simultaneously outspoken and someone that conservatives looked up to and even his detractors/opponents felt a genuine respect for the man. His talent for commentary, principle and outspokenness manifested itself early in his life when at age 6 he wrote a letter to the king of England demanding that it repay its war debt. Buckley had an amazing command of the English language and his "Buckley-isms" are iconic and legendary.

After Army service in WWII, and getting an education from NYU, in 1955, Buckley founded The National Review magazine, a leading journal for conservative thought, which he oversaw until 2004 (unfortunately, the magazine was hijacked by the Neo-Cons). He was a prolific commentator and author writing everything from spy novels to memoirs of those he knew and respected. In addition, he created and hosted the long running "Firing Line" political debate program that went from 1966 to 1999.

Buckley's views and commentary were tempered by deep thought and being able to differ respectfully, something that so many of the current bunch of so-called "conservative pundits" have absolutely ZERO cognition of (certainly the Fox News bunch like Limbaugh, Hannity and O'Reilly need to repeat first grade on this one, as well as insufferable blowhards like Glen Beck and Michael Savage). Buckley lived his life to the fullest, enjoying time on a yacht occasionally and other pursuits.

This man is truly irreplaceable in the marketplace of ideas.

An excellent Wikipedia article HERE

And a few classic Buckley-isms HERE

The Cult of Fox News (Monkey See, Monkey Do)

Oh how we love to hate Fox News, let us count the ways. Many charge that Fox News is biased to the GOP and "conservative" positions. I do have to take issue with the pundits on one point, that the GOP AND Fox News's viewpoints are NOT really conservative to begin with but that's another discussion by itself.



1) The Sheer Hypocrisy: "Fair and Balanced", "We Report, You Decide" trumpet their marketing taglines. Sounds good might say the casual observer, that is until you get a generous (or I would call it, mind numbing) dose of their programming. For instance, a 2006 study conducted by the Project For Excellence In Journalism of their programming has shown that their news stories contain a whopping 68% personal opinion, as opposed to, say 27% for NBC and a surprisingly low 4% for CNN. In this VIDEO CLIP from the excellent documentary "Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" Note at the 7:12 mark, the countdown of days until Bush is re-elected, I mean, if THAT isn't one sign of obvious bias, I don't know what is, let alone everything else that comes to light in this one clip. I HIGHLY recommend either buying or renting this excellent documentary/expose' on Fox news' rather suspect ethics and practices.




2) Information Control: The very fact that Fox News went out of its way to ban and exclude presidential candidate Ron Paul from one of its sponsored presidential debates and the resulting public uproar says volumes by itself, let alone NUMEROUS incidences of people like Rush Limbaugh cherry picking and "editing" quotes from those he opposes (for instance, a recent Bill Clinton quote regarding greenhouse gases and economies. In essence, Clinton stated that slowing down an economy is one way of thought, but that it would not work. Limbaugh chopped up the wording to make it sound as if Clinton advocated slowing down an economy to fight global warming, when in fact he didn't) to make it say what Fox News wants it to. MSNBC"s Keith Olbermann called him out on it on one of his "Countdown" segments. I am NO fan of Bill Clinton (and don't intend to ever be) but fair is fair, and what Rush Limbaugh (among others) did was typically Fox News and an example of sensationalism driven fake journalism at its worst..



3) "Some People Say": Normally, a technique in journalism to advance a story while citing an anonymous and ACTUAL source of information. However, Fox News is INFAMOUS for its OVER USE of this tactic not to mention MISUSE, in that it is more often than not, a prelude to n all-out attack on an interviewee or an opportunity to put forth more official/personal opinion and advance the party line.



4) Journalism Schmournalism!; It may well be safe to say that FEW TO NONE of those in Fox News' employ in the visible realm have ANY real journalism experience, training or knowledge. We certainly know that to be true in the case of Sean Hannity (whose previous claim to fame was a local college radio show in Santa Barbara CA where he ran his yapper (and failed miserably), and later bamboozled his way into a Fox News gig based on his PERSONALITY and presentation (which one Roger Ailes rather liked), in addition to hyping and spinning his college radio experience, and in typical FN fashion, they bought it hook line and sinker! Rush Limbaugh, another example of a radio DJ/yapper who with ZERO actual journalism experience/knowledge/training conned his way into the gig at FN. And don't get me started on Bill O'Reilly, professional blowhard/loudmouth/punk kid in an adult's body whose idea of a journalistic credential is that he was born in humble circumstances and came from Levittown NY (he DID however bother to get a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, a lot of good it did!) .



5) The Memo From On High: It's NOT a rumor, EVERY MORNING without fail, electronic memos come down from the top brass at Fox News dictating what stories will be covered and HOW they will be slanted. And no matter WHO appears on Fox News and no matter what time of day it is, THE EXACT SAME story and its slant, nearly word for word is repeated ad-nausem. Very cultish, very creepy.



6) If They Had Shred of Honesty of Integrity--: They would change their name to something like GOP TV or The Republican Channel, at least you'd know what you were in for up front.





7) Other Obviously Cult Like Traits: A very insular mentality, NOT wanting to interview of give voice to opinions different than its own, the insistence that they're the only ones giving you the straight story or being "Fair and Balanced", rigid control of presentation of stories, demonizing/shouting down ANYONE who disagrees with their opinions even over small things (the classic reactionary, simplistic binary "Anyone who disagrees with us is an evil liberal communist terrorist supporter" rhetoric). And the EXCESSIVE veneration/adoration of one person, in this case George Dubbaya Bush. It was SICKENINGLY obvious during the 2004 presidential campaign, that just about EVERY DAY Fox News would either cut to a live appearance by Bush somewhere, or show him doing something somewhat notable (or at least having the APPEARANCE of such). And to cap it off, the slick, flashy attention getting graphics are a rather convenient distraction, and not to mention the sensationalist/over-the-top alarmist headlines it employs and runs on it's on-screen ticker are quite typical of cultish organizations. And of course, the whole enterprise was founded and presided over by a fiercely partisan megalomanaical control freak by the name of Rupert Murdoch who put his lapdog Roger Ailes in place as its CEO. See HERE for a list of traits of a cult.



8) Oh Really O'Reilly?: This is just ONE instance of Mr O'Reilly's abject dishonesty and Fox News' condoning of such. In 2005, Bill O'Reilly did what SHOULD'VE gotten him fired and public ally disgraced, but as is typical of Fox News, they gave him a free pass. In a heated discussion with General Wesley Clark over wartime atrocities and mistreatment of prisoners of war (O"Reilly was actually DEFENDING it) good 'ol Bill completely revised history for the gullible. Referencing the Malmedy Massacre of WWII, Bill not only revised history but defecated on the memory of a number of American soldiers who gave their lives fighting the Nazis. O'Reilly told the story completely WRONG (and KNEW IT!) saying that American soldiers massacred Nazi troops, when in fact THE EXACT OPPOSITE was true! Nice going genius! He has YET to make any kind of a REAL apology for his blatant act of journalistic, historical and intellectual dishonesty. This Wikipedia Entry lists just a few of the ways Bill has gotten himself in hot water with his ignorance, egocentric bluster and outright dishonesty. I'm sure there are many more chronicled from various sources.



What I have put forth here just barely scratches the surface of why Fox News cannot and SHOULD NOT be taken seriously or at face value. I'm not an acedemician/media analyst but I do know one thing, I HATE being intentionally lied to by a so-called "news channel" whose sole reason for existence is to push the hopelessly bankrupt and incompetent agenda of a GOP completely beyond redemption (as I've said many times, it's NOT the same GOP we once knew as the Party of Lincoln. I dare say, Lincoln and Ronald Reagan both would have VERY HARSH words for the current GOP), I would hope that you the reader would be prompted to do your own research and investigation into whether Fox News is giving you the real story or is it pushing an agenda. The danger of relying on only ONE news source to begin with should be clear to ANYBODY with half a mind, but the sheer stupidity and folly of relying only on Fox News should be clear to nearly anyone.

Some Monday Madness--------------

1) Rethinking One Of My Own Maxims: One principle I've held dear is this, "Never drink anything that you can run a car or airplane on". Well, I think one Richard Branson, maverick entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Air and visionary about to make sub-orbital flights available to the public, has made a mockery of that maxim and done something again very pioneering. This past weekend, one of Branson's Virgin Atlantic Air 747's made a historic flight from London to Amsterdam utilizing bio-fuel (in this case, a mix of coconut and babassu oil). And yes, it worked just fine, no modifications needed to the engines whatsoever. Don't expect a major retooling just yet but it does hold promise if in fact a way can be found to grow the necessary crops to produce these kind of fuels without detriment to the human food supply (but after all, if the oil companies had HALF a brain and could kick their addiction to Arab oil wouldn't it make sense to start special farms and grow your own?). Bravo and kudos once again to Richard Branson! If only more CEO's had your vision! London Daily Mail story HERE

2) I DID NOT watch the Academy Awards, and my world did NOT collapse, the sun set and rose as usual and better still, Mariah Carey DID NOT make another movie! Quite frankly, awards shows in general bore the hell out of me.

3) People I'd Like To See Appear On "Dancing With The Stars"

• William Shatner - Question is, will he tango--- like--- he TAAAAALLLLKKS?
• Former US Atty. General Janet Reno: About 2001, there was a club/dance hit out called "Murder On The Dance Floor" by Brit Sophie Ellis Bextor (now is THAT a screamingly British name or what?), well, if Janet Reno takes to the wood, that will LITERALLY come true, scorched wood, NO SURVIVORS if she has anything to say about it.
• Bob Dole: Can he loosen up with the aid of Viagra? Will he constantly resort to referring to himself in third person? You make the call!
• David Byrne: Former Talking Heads mastermind I bet would come up with some very interesting and quirky moves, a lot like he did onstage during the Talking Heads' heyday.
• David Letterman: 'Nuff said!

No Joke, It's Friday!

Yaaaayyy! It's Friday at last, and things are NEVER dull:

1) Sound Disturbingly Familiar?: John McCain hasn't even been officially crowned king , 'er I mean nominated for the GOP and already he's on shaky ground, this time over an alleged improper relationship with a telecomm lobbyist (is there any other kind?) whose company later benefited from McCain's doing favors. Well folks, keep this in mind, McCain was part of the original Keating Five, a bunch of miscreant Senators that acted illegally on Charles Keating's behalf during the Savings and Loan Crisis of the late 80's and early 90's and if the current allegations are true, it shows that Insane McCain hasn't changed one iota! McCain did serve his country nobly as a soldier but that does NOT mean that he is fit to be President. Quite frankly, my opinion of McCain is that he'll be a COMPLETE Bush clone, granted with more brain cells, but we CANNOT afford another GOP presidency riddled by unhinged and shameless brazen incompetence, idiocy, corruption, arrogance and undue influence by lobbyists, corporations and unfriendly foreign interests like Saudi Arabia or China. Story HERE Another one where McCain defends his lobbyist ties HERE GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

2) Meanwhile, On Safari With George Bush--: Our Hapless Buffoon In Chief is currently on a five country swing through Africa, and as you can guess, he's VERY out of his element. Coming to Liberia, good 'ol GWB thought that they'd welcome him like a conquering hero. First thing he sees, a good number of people with "Obama '08" signs (ROTFLMAO!!). And as that wasn't enough, check out this VIDEO of GWB trying to "bust some moves" (or more like busted moves).

3) Vote For World's Oddest Book Titles: It's down to 6 finalists in the British publishing industry magazine "The Bookseller" contest for world's oddest book title,, for example, "Cheese Problems Solved" by P.L.H McSweeney; or "If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs" by Big Boom; see HERE for more details.

4) Bizarre Ironies #687: In Ottawa Canada, a notorious drunk driver saved his local police department a fair amount of trouble and expense by actually parking his car RIGHT AT THE POLICE STATION and wandering into the nearly empty lobby! This is CLASSIC, see story HERE

5) RIP Teo Macero 1926-2008: A jazz composer, saxophonist but most notably, a record producer like no other. Teo will be best remembered as the producer of a number of groundbreaking recordings from the late 60's to early 70's by Miles Davis. Teo and Miles worked together in a fashion that outraged some jazz purists but was truly original in the jazz realm. That is, Miles and his cohorts would record voluminous improvisations, sketches and ideas, then, with Mile's vote of confidence would edit, reassemble and reconstruct these recordings into a cohesive whole., essentially using the studio as a compositional device. Teo died after a long illness, more details HERE.

6) Further Proof The GOP As A Whole STILL Doesn't Get It: Republican Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona got himself a nice little 26-page indictment today on extortion, wire fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, kickbacks and other charges relating to a land swap scam in AZ. OK, now let me see, this guy gets paid beau coup bucks for supposedly representing the electorate and that's STILL not enough for him? Just add him to the lengthy list of GOP criminals, miscreants, traitors and losers we've all come to know and expect. Story HERE. And a side note, I am NOT a fan or defender of the Democrats either (who I find equally as corrupt and largely amoral as the Republicans), it's just that I come down a lot harder on the Republicans because they STILL loudly and FALSELY boast that they're the good guys who stand for morality and decency. Yeah sure, and oil mixes with water.

7) The Special Circle In Hell Award-- Goes to Karl Rove, the icy, amoral, ruthless, arrogant, manipulative pile of horsecrap that was often called "Bush's Brain" (the results speak for themselves) and now, a pundit/commentator for good 'ol False News of late (not unexpected by any means). Karl has proven himself the near complete embodiment of evil time and time again between getting away scot-free in the Valerie Plame case (he was in danger of facing obstruction of justice charges among other things), his closed door speeches to college students where no media coverage is allowed whatsoever (the students and parents alike are largely reported to be none too impressed with Rove on much of anything), his hateful and arrogant reply to a question that singer Sheryl Crow asked at a White House event ("I don't work for you, I work for the American People"), and more recently, allegations surfaced from a former Republican campaign worker that Rove demanded that she get photos of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman (currently incarcerated on bribery and corruption charges) in a compromising sexual position, going to desperate lengths to prove that Siegleman was having an extramarital affair. Rove of course denies this, and no evidence of an affair was ever found. All this came to my attention by way of an AP News report by Ben Evans dated 2/22/2008. Whether Siegleman was guilty or not is not really the central issue here, but rather, the issue is that one such as Karl Rove seems to feel that it's his God-given right to manipulate, control and interfere with criminal investigations and other undertakings that could produce a favorable outcome for his whims or that of the hopelessly corrupt (and in my mind CRIMINAL) GOP. For this he definitely deserves A Special Circle In Heeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!! More HERE

8) OK, You Can Put Your Umbrellas Away Now: Late Wednesday/early Thursday, our boys in the Navy succeeded in blasting to smithereens, the dead bus-sized spy satellite that was threatening to plummet Earthward. Great work everyone and thanks for making our skies just a bit safer! Story HERE

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!

Meet the REAL Robo-Cop

And right here in Atlanta GA no less!

No,, it's not like in the movie but it is a mechanical device, weighing about 300lbs, remote controlled and comes in real handy for getting rid of drug-dealers, shiftless panhandlers, car thieves and other miscreants at close range. Rufus Terrill , owner of O'Terril's pub in downtown Atlanta is an engineer by training, and being outraged enough at crime seeping into his neighborhood and the police either understaffed or unwilling to deal with it, channeled his anger into building a machine from a 3 wheeled scooter, a meat-smoker and equipping it with spotlights, a speaker system (utilizing a walkie-talkie) and a water-cannon, all tied to a remote control box. Late at night, he sends out the robot to patrol the area surrounding the pub and a local day care center (that gave him written authorization to do so),

People for the most part have been very appreciative of his efforts to control neighborhood crime, the Atlanta PD, somewhat hesitantly though (a spokesperson saying that using the water-cannon on anything other than a low setting could constitute an assault, which in this Owl's opinion is COMPLETE BS!), I'll bet at some point the ACLU (American Criminal Liberties Union) and not to mention that Dynamic Duo Sharpton & Jackson will pounce and come in playing a full deck of race cards.

Regardless, I have to tip my hat to this man for doing what the police are either unable or unwilling to do. I hope more and more people do things like this, or that even a line of security robots could be devised. I 'll even be so bold as to suggest a few additions:

1. A taser and/or knockout gas for incapacitating criminals, making it easy for the police to bag the miscreant
2. A specially modified .44 Magnum for extreme emergencies, save the taxpayers a few bucks by putting some of these punks 6 feet under.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone or anyTHING that injures maims or even kills a criminal in the act deserves a medal and our deepest thanks!

See the story HERE, along with PIC's and VIDEO

Have They No Decency?

Leave it a bunch of warped, hateful and utterly misguided sorts like the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka KS to do something utterly cruel, tactless, crass and uncalled for as picketing the funerals of recent victims of a series of senseless shootings at Northern Illinois University last week.

The first thing I'd like to know is what in the workd do they think can be accomplished by their actions, and what good could possibly come of it? This Owl believes, NONE WHATSOEVER!

This group is really NOT a legitimate Baptist (or ANY kind of) church (in fact, many Baptist conventions have condemned them), but rather a cult of warped, misguided hate-mongers who have ZERO compassion for those who are hurting or are in need. These fools were brazen enough to picket military funerals and such with their hateful propoganda.

First Amendment aside, these people have gone over the line so many times that even some localities have justifiably passed specific legislation ordering them to keep their distance from funerals and such.

Founded and presided over by the unhinged Fred Phelps , a once disbarred lawyer, this group feels there's no depth low enough to plunge to in order to inflict misery and pain on others,

To Fred and his bunch of loonies, you might try ACTUALLY READING A BIBLE, the answers may shock and unnerve you and make you quiver with fear, as well they should. Story HERE

Shivering Icebergs, It's Friday- QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK

No, it's NOT Dick Cheney in the picture, it's just good 'ol Burgess Meredith as The Penguin (from the old Batman series).

It is Friday though, and time to look at a few oddities and absurdities:

1) Life Imitating Art # 555,128: A Swiss automotive firm took a cue from a certain James Bond movie ("The Spy Who Loved Me"), and has created an actual submersible sports car called the sQuba. So far, able to achieve a maximum depth of 33ft, it is propelled underwater with 2 rear props and water-jets up front (all electrical). Don't hold your breath for a regular production model just yet, and speaking of which, it's NOT an enclosed cabin, you have to wear scuba gear when going down under, more HERE and a video from the Auto Channel HERE and another HERE

2) And Speaking Of Amphibious Cars: There was the ill-fated German Amphicar produced from 1961 to 1968. Not exactly a great success (though a novel idea), between it's whopping 43 horsepower engine and rather inadequate waterproofing and a bad tendency for water to get in the engine compartment. However, to this day, there are a number of car collectors the world over who still have a jones for this quirky little hybrid. You can see some video footage HERE of one of the beasts in action.

3) Kudos For Keith Olbermann, The Anti-O'Reilly: Nothing like some commentary that will have you laughing your ass off and thinking about events at hand at the same time. Special kudos go to the ferociously funny and ever insightful Keith Olbermann now on MS-NBC for his "Countdown" segments of news and commentary. Originally making his reputation as a sports journalist for a number of networks (ESPN, Fox Sports, the ABC radio network and more), Keith evolved into one the most incisive, witty and brilliant commentators I've seen in years. I admire him for actually researching his facts, having a no holds barred/take no prisoners approach in his commentaries (peppered with TONS of humor and wit) sticking to his guns and maintaining a sort fo integrity rather foreign to a lot of US media anymore. Plus, ANYONE who can routinely skewer False News with as much style and biting wit like Keith does is VERY cool in my book! One of my favorite parts of his "Countdown" segment is the "Worst Person In The World" segment where he profiles a well-known buffoon deserving of his brand of ridicule (like "comedian Rush Limbaugh" for instance). He doesn't play favorites (although Fox News does get the lions share of ridicule, and rightly so for its rather pathetic attempts at journalism) liberals and GOP-er's (I DARE NOT call them conservatives) alike will feel his humor-laced wrath (with JS Bach's "Tocotta & Fugue in D Minor" playing in the background). His "BUSHED" segments are priceless too! But don't just take my word for it, check him out yourself, tear yourself away from Fixed News long enough to get a good dose of laughs and biting commentary. Keith has a blog called The News Hole HERE, and of course, you can watch him online HERE. Also a good article on his life and career HERE

4) Hilary Is Losing Support In Droves: I LOVE THIS!! Hitlary Clinton is on the ropes about now in this nail-biter of contention for the Democratic party nomination. In the grand scheme of things this Owl opines, that could only be a good thing. Where once she looked like a shoo-in for the Dems, now the tide is turning in Obama's favor so far. She has two crucial primaries in Texas and Ohio to win if she has even a slight hope of coming out on top. However, I think her power-hungry nanny-state message and her still icy/domineering manner and of course the baggage of her trailer-trash ex-pres husband aren't helping her case terribly much (one could hope at least). One perspective HERE

5) Beware Of Falling Spy Satellites: Gotta love this, a bus-sized spy satellite, completely non-functional and carrying an incredibly toxic type of fuel onboard (hydrazine) is wobbling out of orbit. This has caused enough concern for our Smiling Idiot In Chief to give the order to shoot it down with a missle. So about this Wednesday or so, a modified missle will be launched from an aircraft carrier, on orders from George Dubbaya. Hooo Boy! So then, does this mean that the Space Station will get shot down instead? Will the missle fall back to Earth and hit New Jersey? Whooo knows. In any case, get out your umbrellas folks (it worked for Wile E. Coyote, didn't it?). More details HERE

But despite that, HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Is Someone In Congress Growing Some Cajones?

Let's hope so! In this late-breaking development, after MONTHS of threatening, the House is moving to issue Contempt of Congress Citations against Josh Bolton and the eminently incompetent Harriet Miers (who praised George Dubbaya as the smartest man she's ever met, HAHAHAHAH!) in regards to their stonewalling and refusal to testify before Congress and hand over subpoenaed documents relating to the rather suspicious firings of 8 US Attorneys last year. Predictably, House Republicans (or is that Replicants as they ALL have an unquestioning adoration of George Dubbaya) threw a temper tantrum about like that of a 10 year-old and walked out. Add to this, the fact they're in a snit over their fellow legislator's reluctance to grant the Bush administration unlimited powers of surveillance and spying on American citizens. WAAA WAAAAA WAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAA. IT'S NOT FAIR MOMMY!!

If anything, this Owl hopes they'll not only follow through on their threat, but that they absolutely FLAME BROIL these two Bush-worshiping miscreants

More details HERE

Science and Fairy Tales

I NEVER put it past the scientific community to investigate the oddest most preposterous and most unlikely of phenomenon, which is a VERY good thing. Looks like the fairy tales we heard as kids are under the microscope of late, or at least certain aspects of them.

Could carpets fly? According to some, they could if thin enough and had air pulses vibrating underneath them at the right frequency.

Could a witch mute a mermaid? Possibly if she was able to surround the victim with certain materials that would bend sound waves around and redirect ehm.

These and other phenomenon are examined in this ARTICLE on Live Science.com

Never Fear, Friday's Here!

What a week folks, what a week, between Super Tuesday and the near coronation of John "I'm NOT A Liberal" McCain, Bush's bank-busting budget proposal and much more, never a dull moment in this country;

1) Further Proof That There Is A God: The Spice Girls cut short their reunion tour. Hmmm, could it be due to extreme lack of interest or the rather limited shelf-life of talentless pre-manufactured pop bands? Nyaaahhhhh, the usual "family and personal committments" they say, story HERE


2) She Just Can't Catch A Break: Poor Cynthia McKinney, first she gets national headlines for slugging a Capitol police officer, then gets soundly defeated in here home district (Fulton County GA) by another Democrat in a runoff election, then she angrily leaves the Democratic Party for the Green Party, moves to San Francisco, only to be dealt ANOTHER humiliating blow, she LOST the Green Party's nomination for President to none other than Ralph Nader. Hooo boy, you can bet she'll be spewing her usual high-volume/no content inflammatory racist/anti-Semitic invective and epithets. More HERE

3) The Never Ending Farewell: What is is with Cher? After a nearly 3 year Farewell Tour, she supposedly "retired". Well, in the world of extreme-glitz spectacle entertainment, retirement is just a code word for " coming up next, a slickly marketed comeback for the 50 thousandth time. Appears that Cher is taking a cue from the Sireen Dijon playbook and doing a run of show in Las Vegas, promising to be even more over the top than her previous spectacles that almost dwarf Ringling Bros! Well, as long as those surgeries and such work, more power to her. But wait, is it REALLY Cher or an Animatronic one? See video HERE (she's still her smart-ass self as always, would you have it any other way?)

4) McSweeny's Lists: This is some HILARIOUS stuff! A compilation of humorous lists on far flung subjects like "James Bond Movies for the George W Bush Era" (ex - "You Only Have to Show Your Boarding Pass Twice") , "If Alan Ginsberg Wrote Popup Ads", "Rejected Introductions to Days of Our Lives" and so much more hilarity ensues, http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/

5) Tough Love #251: This ABC News story was a real attention getter for me. A mother, having disciplinary problems with her second-grade son gave him a stern yet humane punishment he'll likely remember for a long time, She forced her son to stand in public with a sign admitting that he behaved badly in school and that he promises to make better choices next time. I dare say that Bill Cosby would get a kick out of this one, the kind of purposeful discipline he talks about in his recent book "Come On People". This Owl applauds the mother 100%! See video HERE

ON THE PLAYER:

Nostalgia 77 Octet: Weapons of Jazz Destruction

This 2007 release is from 8 feisty young Brits (4 horns, piano, bass, drums and guitar plus an occasional vocalist) that combines the grit of funky old-school R&B with equally gritty old-school 60's Blue Note style jazz with a number of twists that will surely grab your attention. "Journey Home" with it insistent rhythm, snaky melody line and colorful horns is a real highlight.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

George WMS Bush: Financial Wizard (or 2+2=5 on alternate Wednesdays)

Ever grasping at straws, our Smiling Idiot In Chief is sending a 2009 Federal Budget to Congress that to put it mildly is just nightmarish! Such that ONLY a complete moron like Bush could've dreamt it up.

All told, it's for the staggering amount of 3.1 TRILLION dollars, and you can bet a good chunk will be for this continuing pointless fraud of a war that he's still pursuing in Iraq. Of course, there's that proposed bailout of people caught up in the morass and aftermath of the sub-prime mortgage debacle (which I hate to say, a lot of people got into this mess because they weren't using their heads to begin with), and of course, there's money wasting entities like Homeland Security, Dept. of Education and others like that. Worse yet, Bright Boy proposes this outrageous amount AND THE INCOMING REVENUE IS FAR LESS! (approx 2.7 trillion) Do you see the inherent idiocy here?

Yes, I do think that tax cuts are good and necessary to stimulate our economy, no argument there. But the GOP are so damned stupid because they DON'T cut unnecessary spending which incurs these obscene deficits in the first place! Part of me I admit is mad as hell for the Nixon administration's braindead decision back in the 70's to start printing money with NOTHING to back it up, which certainly has NOT helped any and gave us odious inflation.

'Ol George seems to think he's Lyndon Johnson, who presided over a whopping 39% increase in government spending in his 1 term presidency. George's LBJ-wannabe tendencies sure came out when he was first running and promised big budget SURPLUSES by 2010 and abalanced budget EVERY year of his presidency. Only thing that happened is we got a huge surplus of BS, lies and inexcusable waste and fraud. Plus, Bright Boy again has the dubious honor of having his administration start and end in the shadow of a recession (to be fair, he didn't start it, it was already happening in the tail end of the Clinton administration).

The irony is, 'ol George blasts the Dems for excessive taxaton and spending (no denying that) but dang, the GOP are determined to outdo them at every turn. COnservative? Not on your life!

A story HERE

Storming The Mad Scientist's Castle

You GOTTA love this, in late January, one of False News's resident blowhards, Sean Hannity got a dose of justice, New Hampshire style. Bright boy made the mistake of entering a restaurant full of Ron Paul supporters and found himself being chased out of the premises by an outraged mob of Paul's supporters (keep in mind that Ron Paul himself DID NOT endorse this or have anything to do with it), who are understandably angry at False News's blatant attempts at censorship and information control, not to mention their pathetic and reprehensible attempts to manipulate and control the outcome of the presidentiaol elections this year. It's a lot like a famous scene in the original Frankenstein movie where the villagers, angry and fearing for their well-being, take up torches and pitchforks and go after Dr. Frankenstein and the monster.

I'm not sure I can completely get behind mob-justice (though it IS certainly understandable and deserved in some cases), I do applaud this crowd for their collective outrage and taking a VERY visible stand. See Keith Olbermann's commentary and the actual footage HERE,

Another bit of footage HERE

Longer version HERE with a feature about False News blowhard Bill O'Reilly getting a bit of much deserved outrage thrown at him too.

EEEEEEEEK IT' S FRIDAY!!

Yes, it's back again, The Dreaded Friday Follies!

1) 105 Stories of Complete Uselessness: Ya gotta love Kim Ill Jong and his ever whacked parade of wonders in Communist North Korea. As quite the showpiece, a 105+ story Ryugyong Hotel was built in the capital city of Pyongyang financed with 2% of the gross national product. To this day, the 105 story monstrosity REMAINS unfinished, unnocupied, unopened and will most likely NEVER, EVER open. Nice going there geniuses, you've given us yet another reason to believe that Communism/Socialism really DOES NOT WORK! More sordid details HERE


2) Notes From The CamPAIN Trail: My thoughts on the Republican debate this past week hosted at the Reagan Library by CNN:

• I'd LOVE to punch Anderson Cooper in the nose for his excessive control of the whole affair, namely that Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul got extremely little time to speak and articulate their points. I couldn;t help but cheer when Mike Huckabee quipped, "Thanks, I'd really like to be here tonight".



• McCain and Romney could invoke the name of Ronald Reagan all they wanted but their stances on most things strike me as obviously VERY liberal, I'm just not buying their act. Their playground taunt/sniping didn't exactly enhance their credibility in my eyes either.
  Ron and Mike both deserve extra kudos for making the best of a dismal situation, being that when their turn came up, they did it for all it was worth, cutting through the BS and getting to the issues in the limited time they were allowed. At least CNN allowed Ron Paul to take part in a debate, Fox (False) News should be pilloried, pelted with tomatoes and lynched for their pathetic efforts to exclude Ron Paul from the previous debates, he's got just as much right to be there as anyone.



• I particularly liked Mike Huckabee's quip about Rush Limbaugh's routinely idiotic pronouncement that Huckabee is dumbing down conservatism (when in reality, I tend to think it's idiots like Rush, the GOP and the whole False News mafia that are doing that). Got news for ya Rush, the GOP has been dead since Ronald Reagan, the last ACTUAL GOP conservative left public life. After he retired, the GOP just went straight to Hell in this Owl's opinion when the Neo-Con liberal punks moved in. Personally, I think the GOP needs to change it's nickname to the LID, Liberals In Denial.



• Besides Huckabee and Paul, I thought Nancy Reagan was a true class act the whole night. Her beloved Ronnie definitely married smart that's for sure!
  

And of course there was George Dubbaya's Annual State of The Onion Snoozefest this past week, just more irrelevant rambling from a clearly generic script trying to paint himself as the Good Guy, not much in the way of gaffes and Bush-isms (wait, was that ACTUALLY Bush or an Animitronic one?). and of course ZERO in the way of any substance whatsoever. I watched the thing on a local PBS affiliate (kudos for keeping the chatter to a minimum BTW), and I could not help but notice that Hitlary Clinton looked absolutely bored out of her skull, and Nancy Lugosi alternated between looks of abject despair, wanting to cry in her drink and "PLEASE GOD, KILL ME NOW! while Dick "The Penguin" Cheney did not blink and hardly even moved (although I was half expecting him to whip out an umbrella loaded with sleeping gas, put Congress under and quacking maniacally about taking over the country, QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK).

And in a rather amusing plot twist, the New York Post SNUBBED Hitlary (for VERY good reasons) and endorsed with some reservations, Barack Obama, see HERE

3) My Kind of Sheriff: Well, they don't get any more old-school and tough on criminals than in Maricopa County AZ. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is definitely a MUCH NEEDED return to tough law enforcement and incarceration of criminals of all sorts. He's definitely looking to bag more than a few miscreant celebrities that the LAPD routinely allows to get away with murder since the Superbowl is taking place in his jurisdiction this year (Phoenix to be exact). You get busted by this man's boys in blue, here's what you can look forward to:

• NO square meals a day, ONE baloney sandwich is all you get per day, PERIOD!


• Chain gang duty


• If the jail is crowded, you're camping out in a HOT tent in the parking lot, HEAVILY GUARDED.


• You steal prison issued underwear, you'll be wearing PINK underwear as punishment.


• He LOVES vintage clothing, which means prisoners WILL wear the old-fashioned black and white striped prison duds of yore!
  

Even though the criminal-coddling liberals hate this guy, Joe has gotten elected FIVE times because he just won't take any crap from criminals, period, which is how it should be. Wonder if he'd have any qualms about using Brian Nichols for target practice? The story HERE

4) Amazing What You Can Do With Lego's #5823: This particular Lego project has become the stuff of legend, someone actually went to the trouble of building a somewhat playable harpsichord out of Lego's. It has to be seen to be believed, but the sound, GOOD GAWD, it's enough to scare Lurch! See HERE

5) Could It Be That NYC's City Hall Is Cursed?: Rudy Guliani is just the latest victim of an ancient curse on NYC"s city hall, or so some would have you believe. But one has to wonder given that EVERY SINGLE former NYC mayor who ever ran for president, governer or other higher office got knocked out of the race pretty early on, a story HERE.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!