Presidential Debate Drinking Game

For tonights debate. This comes from an ongoing dialog leading up to a Debate Party tonight. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments.

found online:

1. Drink anytime John McCain says the phrase "my friends… " . I suggest shotgunning two glasses of white wine and capping it off with a terrorist fist bump.
2. Drink if the name "Carly Fiorina" is mentioned. Pull out the beer funnel, close your eyes and drink until the election starts to make sense.
3. Drink anytime a candidate LOOKS like they want to use the word 'recession' but instead says 'crisis'. I suggest a full bodied red wine with just a hint of panic.
4. Drink anytime either candidate gives the other a compliment so backhanded, you start looking for a bruise. I'd go with a spiced rum for this one.
5. Anytime you wish Tina Fey was a candidate, down 2 tequila shooters and google her SNL performance.
6. Drink anytime the word "inexperienced" comes up and you suddenly realize candidates need to come up with a new word to throw at each other because you are really tired of hearing that one.Double drinking if you get depressed and/or scared after realizing that you are choosing between two candidates who both have had that word thrown at their campaign and one of them will be leading the country very soon. I suggest doing a keg stand, followed by a cartwheel.
7. If anytime just hearing the name "Governor Palin" makes you want to drink, DRINK. Drink whatever is nearest to you, as long as it's not the stove cleaner. And then carefully re-apply your lipstick.
8. Drink anytime you start to feel that Jim Lehrer sounds like your grandfather. Obviously you are going to have to drink vodka for this. (It's my g-pop's drink of choice. It's the Ukrainian in us).
9. Anytime people start listing off acronyms for Federal departments and you don't know what they stand for- drink your neighbors drink. And realize that you are not alone.
10. If at any point, you find that you are replying to the debate (this includes yelling at the candidates) and are awaiting a rebuttal, slam back a martini. Then congratulate yourself for slamming back a drink that's not often slammed.
11.Drink if you start daydreaming what you would do with $700 billion dollars. Drink homemade moonshine with a chaser of your no-brand soda you bought because it was on sale.
12.If the phrase "I will follow him to the gates of Hell" is used, drink whatever the hell you want. And then have another drink for me.
13. Anytime the media is blamed for everything that is wrong, kick back with a shot of whiskey while clutching your Keith Olbermann 8×11 you printed off just for the occasion.
14. If at anytime you yell 'booyah!' after a particularly good retort, stand up, smack your own ass and pour yourself a gin and tonic.
15. Anytime you realize that you don't care about the debates, you know the issues and you know who you are going to vote for- stop drinking, congratulate yourself and go to bed.

additions:

GENERIC RULES THAT SHOULD APPLY TO ANY DEBATE:TAKE A SHOT:
-When the buzzwords “change” or “maverick” or “hope” are used
-When someone says “I voted for or against” or “He voted for or against”
-When McCain refers to Obama’s “inexperience”
-When McCain stammers and looks like he might have a heart attack
-When McCain somehow works in his personal story as a POW during Vietnam
-When McCain refers to the moderator as “my friend” or the audience as “my friends”
-When Obama somehow works in his personal story of being raised by a single mom and his grandparents
-When Obama makes a smirk, shakes his head, and says, “Now wait just a minute…” or “hold on there…”
-When Obama makes the case that McCain and Bush are one and the same or uses the phrase “more of the same”
-When Obama talks about “multi-tasking” or having to address more than one crisis at a time as president
-When anyone brings up “suspending the campaign”
-When either one lays claims to being “bipartisan” or working “across the aisle”
-It’s a Social when Sarah Palin is mentioned!
-Finish whatever you are drinking if McCain loses his temper!

ECONOMY SPECIFIC RULES:TAKE A SHOT:
-When someone mentions the “Bailout” of Wall Street
-When someone mentions Wall Street and Main Street in the same train of thought
-When someone starts quoting dollar figures (for example: 700 billion)
-When someone talks about mortgages/foreclosures/homeowners

FOREIGN POLICY SPECIFIC RULES:TAKE A SHOT:
-If anyone uses the words “surge” or “victory”
-When anyone mentions a particular nation as being a potential “nuclear” threat
-When McCain talks about Islamic Radicals/Terrorists
-When Georgia and/or Russia are mentioned
-When Iran and/or Iraq are mentioned
-When Afghanistan is mentioned
-It’s a social for al Qaeda or North Korea!
-Finish whatever you are drinking if anyone delivers specifics on how to get out of Iraq “safely and responsibly”.

Dews Tuesday rundown

Things seem to get more and more sporadic around here as apparently our good Dr. Gonzo has passed away, SayHey is thrown into a new job that has him globe-trotting and Dewey is also on the job-hunt (or I should say, deciding upon the new possible direction?).

I don't necessarily have those excuses except that my job can be kind of all-consuming in some respects (when I'm not having shit stolen out of my office.... grrrr), so this site kinda goes to the wayside then.

Anyway, on to the news!

Iraq (Yes, THAT Iraq), is insisting that any security deal with the United States must now include a timeline for withdrawal.

The comments by Mouwaffak al-Rubaie were the strongest yet by an Iraqi official about the deal now under negotiation with U.S. officials. They came a day after Iraq's prime minister first said publicly that he expects the pending troop deal with the United States to have some type of timetable for withdrawal.

So, does that make Iraq a country full of Democrats then since any timeline for withdrawal has been shunned by any and all repubby's? Not a sermon, just a thought...

I am now officially excited to see "Bruno" by the illustrious Sacha Baron Cohen if this stunt in Arkansas was in fact staged by him:

Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others' clothes off and kissing — a stunt suspected of being orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen of "Borat" fame. "We had a contract for cage fighting. We were deceived," said Dwight Duncan, president and CEO of Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, where the first of two Arkansas fights raised suspicions last month.

Seriously, to stage a wrestling match, then have it turn into a less subtle homo-erotic display in the middle of Arkansas takes some serious cajones, so I for one am looking forward to whatever else he intends on doing for this movie...

In some more happy "News of the Sheep" (yes, our fine Americans everywhere), Congressional approval numbers are down yet again, only this time to historic lows:

The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month.

Lost of course in the shuffle of all of this is just how blind we all for electing the same damn people to Congress every year, yet fail to see the connection between re-electing the same people and performance overall in Congress...

Ahh well, you get the Democracy you deserve America, live it up! :)

One Less...

Tim Russert, died today at age 58...

Known as a constant thorn in the side of any politician that would have rather dealt with the softball type of useless questions a Larry King might throw out, Russert was a fixture in Political Media/Spin/Universe for decades and had been expected to be so for decades more.

My hats off to you Russert for your wonderful career, despite how much I may have disagreed with you on numerous occasions.

We lost an interesting one today, that is for sure...

Feeling Inspired...

This video really made me stop and think...

Then I sang "God Bless America", had some whiskey, and decided to change my affiliation to the Good Ole Boy club of the GOP.

Enjoy...

Dews Thursday review

(Picture taken from Vermont, probably today)

I must again apologize for my absence from the blog, but my company's move will be officially OVER with after this weekend, freeing me up to finally contribute at my usual daily, or at least several times per week clip.

That being said, there have been some interesting developments throughout the political and economic stages globally that I've wanted to at least touch on.

Leading off, senior Obama advisers are apparently leaking information about HRC's (Hillary Clinton) intention of muscling her way into the ticket by way of a VP nod.

Now, two things immediately pop out to me regarding this story.

One, I doubt its even true. It just smacks of "false positive" type intelligence that is meant more to weaken what little back-alley methods HRC has left at her disposal to have a chance at the nomination (main selling point being she is more popular in the so called "battleground states"). I could totally be thinking too far into this, but if you are able to sink a candidate by hinting that they are essentially using you (the voter) as a pawn to gain their own spot on a ticket, then why not?

Two, it is far too late for this to happen. There has been far too much bloodshed on both sides for this to be a viable ticket (in my humble opinion) anymore. There may have been a chance about a month ago to reconcile the two sides and create what people were calling the "Dream Ticket" (yuck), but that ship has long since sailed.

Now, having talked with some of my former colleagues attached to both sides of this war, the overall feeling is that Clinton is not running for this election but instead to sink Obama's chances against McCain to arrive as the "savior" of the party in 2012 (which, coincidentally will be the second title year in a row for my Washington Redskins!). The death by a million cuts that Obama has received thus far are not going to help him going into what will already be a tough battle with McCain, so most people I've talked with have conceded they believe that has been Clinton's plan for at least the past month and a half.

Its politics as usual of course, which makes it dirty and fun :)

In unrelated news, I have finally discovered why Tuesdays are so difficult for me:

Being deprived of sleep even for one night makes the brain unstable and
prone to sudden shutdowns akin to a power failure - brief lapses that hover
between sleep and wakefulness, according to researchers.

I mean, its not like I didn't know it was unhealthy, but this is actually pretty interesting as to the actual reaction of the brain's functions too sleep deprivation.

And finally, I'm starting to have second thoughts about actually going home for my High school reunion in June with this little bit of info...

There's nothing like a little fresh snow and lots of old mud to liven up an
early summer hike.

Which is exactly what people are likely to find near the peaks of Vermont's higher mountains this Memorial Day weekend, due to the snowy winter and some fresh flurries this week.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, 18 inches of snow remained on the ground near the top of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak. The snow cover includes some of the 3.5 inches of fresh fluff that descended on the mountaintop Monday. More light snow is likely over northern Vermont summits today and Thursday, the National Weather Service in South Burlington said.

Seriously guys.... I'm really not getting all that excited for my first trip back in 5 months...

Dews Defrost Monday

Yes, I do mean defrost... Friday night I spent curled up in the fetal position underneath two blankets praying for some sort of warmth after (being the incredibly gifted genius that I am) dancing around in this monsoon drinking excessively with SayHey and some others at a campsite near the West Virginia border.

Saturday night I was promising folks that I would hunt down a damn bear and drag it into my tent to stay warm if I had to, but thankfully it was a bit warmer that night, so that wasn't necessary.

Sunday night I was treated to an amazing Radiohead show at Nissan Pavilion by a certain lady friend that happens to live pretty close to me. This was a lot of fun (and again a great show), but the monsoon like conditions combined with the bitter cold all around us caused me to lose feeling in my feet even before the opening act was finished, care to wager how bad it was after the first encore?

Needless to say, I'm still thawing out from this and will undoubtedly require some medication for the sickness I"ll be dealing with shortly.

Anyway, I'm basically looking for pity, but I realize there probably isn't much forthcoming :).

On to the News!

Ron Paul supporters are apparently planning a none to subtle revolt at the GOP Conventions in Minnesota (doncha know).

Ron Paul supporters have been relevant for about 5 minuts of this entire presidential race as it is, but with this story you can add another minute and a half or so I guess.

The situation in Burma (or Myanmar, whatever), continues to get worse with military forces within the ruling Junta continue to intercept international aid, while the possible death toll is not being estimated to reach well over a million deaths if aid (mostly in the form of medicine and medical equipment) does not reach the people soon.

In a kind of bizarre twist, near where most the LSWTF staff were camping this weekend rednecks are STILL buying the old crap that was being spread about Obama months ago:

“I heard that Obama is a Muslim and his wife’s an atheist,” said Mr
Simpson, drawing on a cigarette outside the fire station in Williamson, a
coalmining town of 3,400 people surrounded by lush wooded hillsides.

Normally I'd but in some snide comment about the rednecks there, but as we learned this weekend, they have automatic weapons, and enjoy shooting random trash they've collected, so I am not going to question their motives for this belief :)

Finally in all seriousness, yet another huge catastrophe courtesy of mother nature in Beijing today, when a massive 7.8 point earthquake rocked the city, causing massive damage and a constantly rising death toll.

Forty-four aftershocks have been reported since the quake, which was the
strongest to hit Sichuan province in more than 30 years, Xinhua reports.

Currently the toll is at 8600, but it has been climbing by easily 1k people every hour...

Strangeness

It seems to occur everywhere at all times, but it almost seems like it happens in bunches on rare occasions...

These last few days are probably a great example of just that happening around here and within the national scope...

Take for example the supposed "Unbeatable Obama campaign" machine barreling through each primary taking control of big name endorsements, huge fundraising opportunities and basically making Hillary's (HRC) campaign look like a whiny "hanger-on" that just can't seem to admit when she's lost...

Well, going into Pennsylvania, this perception has the chance to be radically changed, as a source through Drudge has leaked numbers indicating an 11-point lead by the Hillary Campaign in Pennsylvania!

This all coming on the heels of yet another new round of negative campaign ads from both sides in the state, as well as rumors of a push by Democratic Party Chiefs to end this primary before things get too ridiculously destructive:

The party leaders' aim: To thwart the Clinton campaign's vow to fight all summer long to a final, nationally televised round at the Denver convention, so the party can get on with the battle against the likely Republican candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain. Convention fights in past decades -- notably in 1968, 1972 and 1980 - left deep divisions that contributed to the nominees' losses and hurt lesser candidates on the ballots.

All of this of discourse happening within a party known for disorganization, poor planning and absolutely horrendous nominees of course...

While all of this is going on, McCain has been able to tour the country, speaking often of economic woes, the war, kissing babies, etc, but in addition to all this he now has a new attack vehicle. Connecting Obama to Radicalists:

William Ayers — a former member of the Weather Underground, which embraced bombing in its effort to end the Vietnam War — became an issue in the Democratic nominating race at last week’s debate. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said Obama’s past meetings with Ayers are part of a “larger set of concerns about how we are going to run against John McCain.” Republican sources said McCain plans to make a major issue of the connection in the months ahead.

Asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he has any doubt that Obama shares his sense
of patriotism, McCain brought the subject up.

“I'm sure he's very patriotic. But his relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question,” McCain
said.

“He became friends with him and spent time with him while the guy was unrepentant over his activities as a member of a terrorist organization, the Weathermen,” McCain said. “Does he condemn them? Would he condemn someone who says they're unrepentant and wished that they had bombed more?”

Look, the "Weathermen" were a radical organization in a time when there were thousands of desperate radicals trying to find a way to end what they viewed as an incredible waste of human life brought on by ideals they did not support. It was a different time period altogether...

That being said, we are going to have a lot of political leaders for the next 10-20 years that could have been connected to some radical idea or another. Obviously the Weathermen used bombs and terror as part of their "message", but are we going to automatically rule out future leaders because of a possible connection to a group that may have had some strange ideas while said leader was probably getting high in college?

C'mon people, we just elected someone that had a history of chemical abuse and now that leader's own party is using the past to sink another candidate? Its a tired line guys, you need new material...

Dews Tuesday Rundown...

Interesting twist of fate in New York for Mr. Spitzer obviously...

If you get a chance, read Dana Milbank's article in the Washington Post about "Client 9" and his adventures including such lines as "ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe."

Mr. Spitzer, you dog....

The HRC vs Obaminator debate continues to rage away within the democratic circles, without a clear winner it seems. On the one hand Obama is labeled as not being qualified to be president (from the HRC folks), but on the other he would make up the VP end of a "Dream Ticket"???

I must say I'm pretty torn on this issue as I really dislike both these candidates (and can't possibly vote for a spineless party lap-dog like McCain at this point), but if I had to vote, I think Mickey Mouse would again be my write-in candidate (or perhaps a last second Gore - Hagel ticket???? PLEASE???).

Finally, in all seriousness, it seems that with all the tense political drama in our own nation, South America seems on the brink of something even more catastrophic.

No, I am not speaking of the supposedly solved border issue between Colombia and Venezuela, I am speaking more about the Travelocity Gnome going renegade...

A town in South America is living in fear after several sightings of a
'creepy gnome' that locals claim stalks the streets at night.

The midget - which wears a pointy hat and has a distinctive sideways walk - was caught on video last week by a terrified group of youngsters.

Our hopes and prayers go out to our brothers in Argentina...

Dews Tuesday Rundown...

Ok, just came across this from a LSWTF.com fan and had to share:

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com

I can't tell you how much this screams Bethesda/Potomac/Kensington Maryland to me, but to those of you that have not been to our richest, most elite suburb of Washington DC, I can imagine you at least have an idea of the type of money and influence the area has...

Can't tell you how many cocktail/bbq parties I have attended there where someone gave me a drink order... But thats a whole 'nother story.

I'd like to add to the list something like "Fascination with small supposedly liberal states" too. We have tons of these damn suburbanites coming up north to go to UVM and smoke themselves stupid all the time.

I think Dewey said it best to me via chat "Judging by this blog, I'm not very white". Neither am I Dewey, neither am I!

Anyway... On to the other news of the day...
>>>>

Things are getting ugly for the election, as well as the party's loyal followers:

According to cops, Ortiz, 28, stabbed Sean Shurelds last Thursday night in the kitchen of an Upper Providence Township home. According to a criminal complaint, a copy of which you'll find here, the 41-year-old Shurelds, an Obama supporter, told Ortiz that the Illinois senator was "trashing" Clinton (apparently in regard to recent primary and caucus results). Ortiz, a Clinton supporter, replied that "Obama was not a realist." While not exactly fighting words, the verbal political tiff led to some mutual choking and punching. And, allegedly, a stabbing in the abdomen.

Hey, at least they're getting into this election... Haven't seen this kind of "Election Fever" in a while!
>>>>

Huckabee is quoted as saying the McCain story is "best thing that could happen" for McCain as a candidate.

He's no fool though, the Huckster is totally right on this. By finally running this story, the New York Times has given people like Rush Limbaugh an easy out on their stance against McCain for being "too liberal", since its a paper like the New York Times running it (aka Liberal War Machine to the Right Wing).

Not like it wasn't going to happen anyway, but this speeds up McCain's nomination and the Hucksters dropping out I'm guessing.

>>>>

And finally to finish off, a new study on the effectiveness of anti-depressants was released pointing to little or no noticeable difference between clinical improvement over non-chemical options.

In a related story, pets are now being prescribed Anti-depressants...

No, this is strictly a coincidence I'm sure. Nothing at all to do with profit margins...

Dews Wednesday round-down

Of course the two big stories of yesterday continue to linger.

Between Heath Ledger's death, and Tom Brady's gimpy ankle, the women of the world have been on the edge of their seat for the past 24 hours I'm sure. At least you all will have Project Runway to watch this evening, with hopefully Victoria getting kicked off... But I digress...

(And yes Dewey, I watch Project Runway, and yes I am also ok with my sexuality...)

Leading off we have the rapidly declining chances of Governor Huckabee of Arkansas after a poor showing in South Carolina. A significant portion of his staff is apparently forgoing pay for the time being until the money "Hopefully" starts rolling back in:

The former Arkansas governor promised to remain in the race through next
Tuesday's Florida primary, telling about 50 people, mostly University of Florida
fraternity members: "We are taking a look at everything daily. But we will be
here every day in Florida until next week."

Quite honestly, I think the writing is on the wall for Huckabee's campaign at this point. He captured lightning in a bottle with an impressive showing in Iowa and then an enormous push nationally, but I think the establishment is starting to circle the wagons around McCain. It's pretty much a certainty that Fred Thompson, aka "The Conservative's candidate" will undoubtably endorse McCain shortly to possibly be the VP on the ticket...

>>>>

The crap just keeps getting piled on between the two "Candidates" (according to national media that is). As we've made pretty clear on this site, we've had just about as much as we can take of this behavior, but apparently the American people have not made that leap yet.

The twist (and wild card) in this situation is good ole Bubba, who seems to be helpful, but then horrendous to his wife's campaign.

"I know you think it's crazy, but I kind of like to see Barack and Hillary
fight," he said lightheartedly. "They're flesh-and- blood people and they have
their differences - let 'em at it."

I know this is almost sacrilege to suggest, but I'm honestly getting tired of Bill in this whole thing too. He isn't bringing a tone of civility to this race, but certainly is adding to the strife on both sides...

>>>>

Finally, on a more serious note, when are we going to finally crack down on China for its human rights violations? Every day I read article after article of abuses directed at its own citizens and yet we continue to plug away with our trade agreements as if nothing has happened...

Well, this has gone too far this time:

Chinese police have shut down a Web site selling real-time porn and arrested
33 people, state media said on Wednesday, part of a campaign which led to the
shut-down of 44,000 Web sites and arrest of 868 people last year.

China launched a crackdown on online pornography and "unhealthy" Web content
after Chinese President Hu Jintao said the country's sprawling Internet posed a
threat to social stability.

People of China, the time has come for you to rise as one and stop this tyranny!!!

HuckaBadAss

In the Republican race to "see who the strongest is in foreign policy", which unfortunately equates to talking shit about foreign countries (I blame the voters, not the candidates for liking this, but whatever), Gov. Mike Huckabee has found time during the most recent debates to emphasize just how strong he can/could be on such a foreign policy:

"Be prepared, first, to put your sights on the American vessel. And then be prepared that the next thing you see will be the gates of Hell, because that
is exactly what you will see after that."

Very strong words for Tehran whom I'm sure is enjoying the PR spin they are having to do with this all(and lets be honest here, they have no business playing into Bush's hands by being anywhere near those ships, regardless of whether it was their territory or not).

It is interesting though to see Huckabee finally deviate a bit from the compassionate conservative mold that he has crafted very well for his campaign. As far as his campaigns concerned, this could be his "Hillary crying" moment, where he shows that no matter how genuine he comes off as caring about people and issues, he is ready to let loose the "Dogs of War" should he need to in a very decisive and forceful way (something us Americans love, not that we're compensating for anything...).

Will be especialy interesting to see if this jars loose some wishy washy McCain fans that are realy only backing him because he is viewed as the safest candidate with as little baggage as possible, but also because he has the best foreign policy and really any experience of any of them, outside of executive experience that is.

The next Primary should be most telling as to whether we are looking at a McCain resurgence and a possible real candidate, or if perhaps NH was really a sign of Huckabee just hitting a speed bump on his way to the southern primaries and their wealth of evangelicals!

Quick Update Latest Polls in SC (by way of AP):

THE NUMBERS
John McCain, 25 percent
Mike Huckabee, 18 percent
Mitt Romney, 17 percent
Fred Thompson, 9 percent
Rudy Giuliani, 5 percent
Ron Paul, 5 percent

Dews Tuesday round-up

Was thinking I would do a quick analysis of the Choral Arts Society performance last night at the Kennedy Center, being the cultural attache of the blog (I guess?), but other then a very sad Finnish song they played towards the beginning, and one guy's bell not working (he looked a bit confused) it was an amazing show.

I'm not usually the "christmassy" type mind you, but was a very well put together performance and would highly reccomend people see it while it is in town.

Anyway! On to the business at hand, random stuff around the world!

We lead off with more christmas news as a 33-year old woman in Danbury CT apparently likes Santa a bit too much, and doesn't care whether its reciprocated:

A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday
after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.

Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault,
according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael.

"I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told
a reporter, referring all other questions about the incident to Cherry Hill
Photo, the company that runs the Danbury Fair mall Santa photo setup.

Indeed, took the words right outta my mouth Mall Santa...

>>>>

Turkey has finally pressed their troops into Iraq proper, possibly eying Tikrit and Kirkuk as bases of operation for larger scale "projects". Those two cities being typically majority Kurds and Kirkuk being one of the largest oil producing hubs in Iraq making them very high visibility and valuable targets to the Turkish government.

>>>>

Last but not least, McCain looks to be making some sort of return in Iowa for the GOP Nomination. Though he is doing so with a politician I have just as much disdain for as I do for him in Mr. Joe Lieberman...

The Mac is Back," said a hand-painted sign on the wall of the packed
American Legion post where Lieberman announced his endorsement on Monday, a
newly optimistic tone after a bumpy campaign year for the Arizona senator.

The decision by the Senate's best-known independent to snub the Democratic
Party could help McCain win a bigger share of the tide of independent voters who
have been expected to flow to the Democratic field in New Hampshire's
first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 8.

I guess I should kind of expect these two to be in bed with each other... They've made the end of their careers surround the idea of selling their souls to whomever they think will buy them and back their political ideas (of which they are also easily manipulated to the highest bidder).

That's about all to report for the time being, but I'll be sure to check in again soon with some more...

Amazing developments...

Don't look now ladies and gentlemen, but we've got ourselves a whole new race in the GOP primary!

Latest numbers from a Rasmussen report show none other then Governor Huckabee taking the lead in Iowa over well kept, reserved, mormon Governor Mitt Romney!

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Iowa caucus finds former
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 28% of the vote, former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney with 25% support, and everyone else far behind. National
frontrunner Rudy Giuliani gets just 12% of the vote in Iowa at this time while
former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is the only other candidate in double
digits at 11%.

Really is a pretty shocking turn of events as Huckabee has truly come on strong recently as his visibility seems to go up by the week. He certainly has distinguished his views and his persona from the rest of the crowd at this point, but maybe this is a sign of the GOP electorate wanting someone that won't base all their responses off the latest polls?

Should be an interesting race to watch now...

Especially for our good friend that will hook us all up if he wins the Presidency :).

Dews Wednesday wtf?

King of all media and everything that is good and pure about entertainment Carson Daly (pause for dramatic effect), has apparently decided to defy the current writer's strike and begin production on his wildly successful massively influencial TV show "Last Call with Carson Daly".

Obviously this move was far overdue given the warm enlightenment we've been missing out on from not seeing Carson's never-aging TRL face, so I can forego any worries about the poor writer's getting their needs met...

Sorry, he may be funny, but to me he's still that jackass on TRL...

---
Venezuelan President and Dubya confidante Hugo Chavez is apparently convinced that CNN is out to instigate his muder:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday CNN may have been instigating his murder when the U.S. TV network showed a photograph of him with a label underneath that read "Who killed him?"
The caption appeared to be a production mistake -- confusing a Chavez news item with one on the death of a football star. The anchor said "take the image down" when he realized.

This is of course shocking, given that attempts have been made on President Chavez's life numerous times by our current administration, which, I do not believe follow CNN's advice or suggestions, but I could also be way off base here as well.

---
In an interesting twist of political news, a new article by the McClatchy Newspaper (not exactly an unbiased source), compares current Democratic candidates proposals on Universal Healthcare to that of (you guessed it), Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon.

Nixon was quite possibly the smartest president we've ever had regardless of his views on any particular topic. He combined the ruthless determination of an FDR with the political savvy of an LBJ (as well as the craziness of an Andrew Jackson perhaps...), so I have to at least respect the mans ability.

That being said, the comparisons they seem to draw in this article have not been historically vetted very well. Nixon may very well have "wanted" to provide some sort of universal healthcare when the evidence presented itself that such a system should be put into place, but he certainly DID intend on that system being primarily a for-profit industry for a sizable chunk of his political backers. The Nixon tapes speak to as much in several interviews he decided to "archive" in the oval office.

---
Finally our savior in the form of a corporation (GOOGLE), is branching its operations into alternative energy!

As part of a project announced Tuesday, the Internet search leader and its
philanthropic arm will pour hundreds of millions of dollars into a quest to
lower the cost of producing electricity from renewable energy sources such
as wind and the sun.

Ok, seriously, I have a serious crush (man-crush?) on GOOGLE. Everything they do is the greatest thing in the world and they have yet to let me down. This branching off into alternative energy can only mean that they mean to save us from the error of our ways and show us "the way".

All Hail GOOGLE!
(Having serious formatting issues with Blogger from this machine, so bear with me... It likes putting "div layers" freakin everywhere....)

Update: Senate Fixture to retire

UPDATE 11/27/07: Granted this was via Keith Olbermann (love him to death, but he's not exactly "fair and balanced" either), but it makes sense.

As of January 1st the rules for former "members" becoming lobbyists (members being any member of congress, whether Senate or House), will state that there is a 5 year waiting period for them before they can become a lobbyist...

This obviously would put Lott in a tremendous position to become a lobbyist BEFORE that cut-off date, as he still holds enormous sway with both sides of the aisle.

Apologize if I've "bumped" any articles...
-------Old article underneath-------

Thats right, the distinguished gentleman from Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, former GOP figurehead in the Senate for years, will be retiring before the end of the year.

Lott, 66, scheduled two news conferences in his home state later in the day
to reveal his plans. According to congressional and White House officials, who
spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement, Lott intends to
resign effective the end of the year.
No reason for Lott's resignation was given, but according to a congressional official, there is nothing amiss with Lott's health. The senator has "other opportunities" he plans to pursue, the official said, without elaborating.

Obviously this comes as a bit of a shock to anyone connected to the workings on "The Hill", otherwise known as political geeks, but the reasoning behind this is still puzzling.

Obviously no reasons have been given yet except the generic "to pursue other opportunities" (slightly better then the "I want to spend more time with my family" crap that is usually dished out though), but let the speculation begin!

Just throwing out my two cents here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him with a sweet analyst job on Fox sometime soon. He is quite the smooth talker and could very easily make the jump to network "talking head" pretty easily. Something about the southern accent just makes it easier to believe that whomever has it actually believes what they're saying. Maybe thats just the naive Vermonter in me though?

Dews Monday Wrap-up

Hope everyone is finally recovering from the typtophan poisoning over the holidays, because whether you like it or not, today you are stuck back in your wonderful job that did not allow you to sleep in, regardless of how much you wanted to, or prayed to some deity to allow to happen...

Yes, even us here at LSWTF.com do have to get up and be all "respectable" come morning time for "The Man", but thankfully we have this wonderful outlet to keep our minds from turning to jello. Thank being said, lets take a look at what's in the news today.

Strange evidence is surfacing that Wi-Fi, as well as high levels of heavy-metals in the bloodstream (heavy metal toxicity and no that is not a band that I know of), are linked to child-hood autism.

Dr Carlo said, "These findings tie in with other studies showing adverse
cell-membrane responses and disruptions of normal cell physiology. The
electromagnetic radiation apparently causes the metals to be trapped in cells,
slowing clearance and accelerating the onset of symptoms."

Really fascinating to see some of the technology we take for granted having such a profound effect on our health, though can't really say as I'm totally surprised... Anytime I use my cell phone for more then 20 minutes I feel like I've grown a tumor of some sort.

The interesting part of this story to me is how we are learning how various technologies are interacting with the brain (for good or ill). Always fascinating to hear we've found something that directly effects the functions of the brain, when we don't utilize close to 10% of it to begin with.

Great article in politico.com about how the New York Times (the apparently bastion of liberal commie pinko minded folks and all), sat on a story about a joint US-Pakistani Nuclear weapons operation for 3 years... Really hammering the point home about how biased these supposed papers are with their liberal agenda and all.

Regardless of how much the UN may have gotten their numbers off on HIV spreading globally, it has hit our little town (for some of the LSWTF.com staff) of Washington DC especially hard. According to latest research numbers it has hit the African American community the hardest.

The numbers most starkly illustrate HIV's impact on the African American
community. More than 80 percent of the 3,269 HIV cases identified between 2001
and 2006 were among black men, women and adolescents. Among women who tested positive, a rising percentage of local cases, nine of 10 were African
American.

Really shocking to see the numbers on this, especially given how are we have supposedly come as a society. You'd think these numbers would have to come down from everyone and their mother knowing the risks of X, Y and Z to prevent contracting HIV, but seemingly this just isn't the case here in the Nation's Capitol.

Finally, Mike Huckabee is making a lot of sense. That line alone will go over well with other writers here, but Huckabee's latest interview on CNN was really spot on when he spoke at length of the Saudi royal family's influence on America as a whole as well as our indifference to their notably long list of human rights violations.

"The United States has been far too involved in sort of looking the other
way, not only at the atrocities of human rights and violation of women,"
Huckabee said on CNN's "Late Edition."
"Every time we put our credit card in the gas pump, we're paying so that the Saudis get rich - filthy, obscenely rich, and that money then ends up going to funding madrassas," schools "that train the terrorists," said Huckabee. "America has allowed itself to become enslaved to Saudi oil. It's absurd. It's embarrassing."

Quite honestly, that is the smartest and gutsiest thing I've heard any candidate go out on a limb and say. Major Kudos to Governor Huckabee for establishing the fact that he may be the only candidate NOT already deep in Saudi interest. At the very least, he has at least demonstrated that he's not afraid of taking a wildly different stance on foreign policy then the "business as usual" approach that hasn't worked for 20 years. That and I actually met someone that used to work for him and she seemed totally normal, so he can't be nearly as crazy as he's made out to be...

Dews Policy Ideas...

Saving the world, one idea at a time!

Random ideas for a wednesday, though I had discussed some of these with our Legal analyst DC&H, so hopefully he'll chime in with his thoughts on the subject as well.

First up, a nation-wide high speed Mono or mag rail line system. Powered exclusively by new nuclear plants placed throughout the route (back off hippies!). Obviously this is going to be extremely expensive, so I propose we take social security and use the funds as an investment "in ourselves", ie the national infrastructure. Think its a smarter investment then T-bills anyway...

Honestly, I don't see people giving up their ability to be mobile and drive everywhere and anywhere, so the only way I see us combating the more frivolous wasting of fossil fuels is by giving a fast, safe and cheap alternative. Hell, the average trip time with these trains in Europe is not all that different then flying.

Why not show some initiative and get our country to actually DO something again? We haven't had a national project since FDR it seems, but also doesn't seem like we're inclined to do anything until its too late.

Thoughts?

Al Gore, officially too qualified to be president...

Its official.

The rumors had been circling for weeks if not months that it would happen, but Former President (yes I'm aware of the horrendous job the "Supremes" did, so I will refer to him as such) Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The win is also likely add further fuel to a burgeoning movement in the United States for Gore to run for president in 2008, which he has so far said he does not plan to do.

Now, this is quite a mixed blessing for a lot of different reasons... First off we are all incredibly proud of Former President Gore for continuing on this quest of his that started so long ago and finally seeing some fruits of his labor come to bloom. This is not to take anything away from this journey that he has been on most his life...

But damnit Al... You just made yourself way too damn smart for the average american to vote for you... I mean, you were already there when you ran against the idiot boy king but you still could have pulled that election off if you hadn't listened so damn much to those idiots around you. Granted, Shrum and company did wonders for Clinton when they WERE genius minds in the political spectrum, but they lost that ability soon after and just assumed they were still geniuses (which, was so pathetically false).

It is really sad, but the second Al ran for office, the right-wing political machine will go back to reminding people how little they would have to talk about with Al at the dinner table, or while watching a football game while knocking back a few "Buds" (I resisted the urge to mention that stupid event in which a bunch of glorified truck drivers keep making left hand turns all day, whats it called, NeckCar?).

I mean, we get the democracy, and the government we deserve. In a lot of ways, that is why we are demeaned so much overseas, since those idiots in power reflect extremely poorly on us (but damnit, we put them there!).

I'm still hoping for a last second Al Gore run here... If only because I don't think I can stomach the leading two options in Clinton or Obama... Edwards would be fine for me, but something about the treachery of the Democratic party in its "selection" phase (Howard Dean anyone?) tells me that anyone that gets in either Clinton or Obama's way will be dealt with with another malfunctioning Microphone...

No more Snow Jobs

(Picture taken shamelessly from Breitbart)
Faux news expert turned political hack Tony Snow has apparently made his mind up on moving on from the most difficult job he's had to do in the last 20 years. Not that his abilities in lying through his teeth didn't come in handy as the President's spin-doctor, just that he wasn't able to be so blatant in his representing the "Prez" and all.

Snow, citing health as well as being a greedy whore that needs more then 168k a year in salary, will probably hit up the speech circuit at universities and events, being booed heavily most everywhere I'm sure.

We'll miss ya Snowy.

Spank you, I'm outta here!

Embattled (to use the phrase very VERY lightly) senator Craig of Idaho is likely to resign from office today.

This new level of hypocrisy is expected to set off a well-spring of "Thank Gods", and "Its about time" on Capitol Hill, but is this really appropriate given the situation?

Case in point, Senator Craig had committed a misdemeanor, then abruptly plead guilty to the crime when caught.

This in comparison to the likes of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska who continues to be investigated for bribery given his high ranking position on the Appropriations committee (The dudes with the money), and Senator Vitter's issues with prostitutes...

These arguments taken from a wonderful comment made here by a Melanie Sloan, on Google, but she is just so ridiculously head-on to the issues here I had to show it.

She's totally right though. Why the hell do Stevens and Vitters get a pass on these, yet Craig has to resign?

Strange times we live in when someone can defraud the American people, or solicit a hooker and keep not only their job, but their high ranks on these powerful committees, while some dumbass that is uncomfortable with his own sexuality (thus has to "creep") is about to lose his job.

Eh, guess you reap what you sow, but still... Stevens and Vitters should be next on the chopping block.