I Support the President

i.e. this President:



If we lose the House, Obama may be better positioned for 2012. If we lose both the House and the Senate, we're in for a lot of trouble. Vicious stuff all aimed at slowing any follow-through change for our President, who's been delivering it too fast for the right and too slow for the left.

It's not worth the risk. Get out and vote for any Democratic fed that you can. Otherwise don't whine after when your health care reform gets strangled.

Uh-oh

Meg Whitman may have an immigration problem.

Beverly Hills Tea Party

Pat Boone is leading the "citizen's revolt" in Beverly Hills. That's funny on the face of it!

But even better is this clip of Pat vs. Jamie Court of Consumer Watchdog, who is smart and plain-speaking enough to completely dismantle and counter Pat's no-nothing presumptions that the Tea Party is (a) anything close to the majority will of the people (that was the last Presidential Election, actually, when Obama won a clearer mandate than Bush Jr. or Clinton ever did) and (b) that their anger is properly directed, as well as (c) that it's all a spontaneous citizen's revolt rather than something heavily influenced on the idea and financing level by big oil companies:



Pat keeps looking off camera left whenever Court nails him with the truth (often), which I expect is to a buddy he's with who shares his reactionary views. It's such a smug expression every time, like "get a load of this guy," the kind of avoidance look that seeks reinforcement of his pre-existing views rather than fair and open consideration of the other man's argument.

We've seen this smug smile before, on the face of El Presidente Bush back when he was in the White House. This goes to how Conservatives and Tea Partiers hold their assumptions and communicate in shorthand to each other their innate "rightness" when faced with real questions or counterarguments in the real world outside their Fox hollow.

It's the type of assumptiveness regarding, say, their self-serving interpretation of the Constitution that goes back to the Confederacy, when the nation faced the exact same kind of rightwing (and regional) obstruction that we are saddled with now by self-proclaimed Chancellors like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), who has "a standing hold" on all Senate business unless he sees fit to let it come to a vote.

There's another word for what Sen. DeMint is practicing. It starts with "F."

Sadway

Tragic, yes, but oddly ironic:

Multi-millionaire Jimi Heselden, the owner of Segway Inc. since December 2009, has died after reportedly driving a Segway scooter off a cliff and into a river.

Okay, maybe not that oddly.

District of Colbert

Stephen and Congress. Pure gold.

He had to go through this:



To say all this:



Best line is a tie between his reference to the Gospel of Matthew and his slipping in the Iowa cornpacker gag!

Double Trouble

I was prepared to continue touting the Democratic Party's chances in the next election, until this and this. So the Dems punt on the incredibly popular vote to let the Bush tax cuts on the rich fade while keeping them for the rest of us, and the Obama Administration loses the gay vote for at least this cycle maybe more. WTF -- DC insider thinking?

Here's the thing: we want something to fight about. The Teapublicans have something. Even the establishment Republicans. They want power. They want to defund the entire Federal safety net, roll us back into the Robber Baron era. But Obama and the Dems aren't rallying the base. They aren't whipping up the enthusiasm. They aren't making me want to fight for them -- not today.

We still remember how El Presidente Bush didn't care what the law was, he just did what he and puppetmaster Cheney wanted. I don't know the details behind the Executive Branch obligation to defend laws the Congress has passed against judicial review, but why not just let it slide? Bush would have, if he didn't believe in it.

Yep, the GOP are worse. The Dems are vexing, but they aren't equivalent, not if they let the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire and take the Middle Class out of the hostage position. The Republicans have already brought down our banking and housing system, and their only ideas are the same ones that got us there. Paul Krugman's review of their "Pledge" (I prefer the furniture polish) is blisteringly accurate on the direct threat to our Republic if they regain power:

On Thursday, House Republicans released their “Pledge to America,” supposedly outlining their policy agenda. In essence, what they say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.” The document repeatedly condemns federal debt — 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade — about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals.

True, the document talks about the need to cut spending. But as far as I can see, there’s only one specific cut proposed — canceling the rest of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which Republicans claim (implausibly) would save $16 billion. That’s less than half of 1 percent of the budget cost of those tax cuts. As for the rest, everything must be cut, in ways not specified — “except for common-sense exceptions for seniors, veterans, and our troops.” In other words, Social Security, Medicare and the defense budget are off-limits.

So what’s left? Howard Gleckman of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has done the math. As he points out, the only way to balance the budget by 2020, while simultaneously (a) making the Bush tax cuts permanent and (b) protecting all the programs Republicans say they won’t cut, is to completely abolish the rest of the federal government: “No more national parks, no more Small Business Administration loans, no more export subsidies, no more N.I.H. No more Medicaid (one-third of its budget pays for long-term care for our parents and others with disabilities). No more child health or child nutrition programs. No more highway construction. No more homeland security. Oh, and no more Congress.”

Drown it in a bathtub. Right.

And then there's that GOP propensity to paint our President as The Other. Bitter Palin spewing "Barack Hussein Obama" as her evil tentacles grow. Quitter Governor Reality Politics Star as harbinger of the apocalypse.

As Jon Stewart said in response to a question from Bill Reilly, Obama ran as a visionary but appears to govern as a functionary. I don't think that is entirely fair, and I think in retrospect the Obama Administrations accomplishments will add up to visionary.

But did he have to file in support of DADT?

A First

Here's a first for Nettertainment: I'm linking to Erick Erickson at RedState because he's slamming the "new" GOP "Pledge For America" for being milquetoast garbage. While I diverge from Mr. Erickson on political issues (all?), I admire his integrity here towards his own side. As he closes, "I will vote Republican in November of 2010. But I will not carry their stagnant water."

And, of course, in the Internet Age we find out immediately that:

In a draft version of The Pledge that was being passed around to reporters before the official release, the document properties list "Wild, Brian" as the "Author." A GOP source said that Wild -- who is on House Minority Leader John Boehner's payroll -- did help author the governing platform that the party is unveiling on Thursday. Another aide said that as the executive director of the Republican leadership group American Speaking Out, Wild's tasks were more on the administrative side of the operations.

Until early this year, Wild was a fairly active lobbyist on behalf of the firm the Nickles Group, the lobbying shop set up by the former Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Don Nickles. During his five years at the firm, Wild, among others, was paid $740,000 in lobbying contracts from AIG, the former insurance company at the heart of the financial collapse; $800,000 from energy giant Andarko Petroleum; more than $1.1 million from Comcast, more than $1.3 million from Exxon Mobil; and $625,000 from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc.

I actually don't find the Democratic water at all stagnant. I like that there are healthcare reform benefits going into effect tomorrow. I like that Obama/Clinton have Middle East peace talks going again. I'm all for rescinding the Bush Tax Cuts for those who are doing estimably well while so many Middle Class and less fortunate Americans are not. I was delighted to hear Obama's old friend from Harvard grad, Elizabeth Warren, on NPR today talking about how she's setting up the new Consumer Protection Bureau to help average families across America keep more of their money from unscrupulous and predatory business practices.

California is a state without the media narrative enthusiasm gap. Jerry Brown is pulling ahead of Meg Whitman in the polls, while she's spending upwards of $115 million. Barbara Boxer is looking good against Carly. We need to keep the enthusiasm growing, beat back this reactionary threat that wants to (in the Pledge itself) dismantle the very health insurance reform advances we'll start experiencing this week. (And yes, there will be glitches, dodges and learnings as it works through the system -- and that's important to go through as well, pragmatically.) Their agenda is something the Dems and the White House should run against: it's a rollback agenda.

American moves forward, GOoPers. It's what's took our nation from frontier to superpower.

Give it a rest.

The Horror

The most essential video yet:



Get ready for worse to come.

Obama vs. The Tea Cowards

Why won't the Tea Party candidates -- Christine O'Donnell, Rand Paul, Sharon Angle -- appear on mainstream news shows? Why are they following Sarah Palin's advice to "speak through Fox News," which is about as bald-faced an admission that it is simply a propaganda machine, nothing like news in the real world -- before Fox News boss Roger Ailes' former employer, Ronald Reagan, had the Fairness Doctrine conveniently repealed (1949-1987 -- a parting gift of the Reagan Administration and their FCC to the moneyed rightwing interests in America and, with Rupert Murdoch, Australia.

Coincidence? Fox News would have been illegal in 1986. Why the hell do you think they revoked the rule?

So when say President Obama is "The Other" and smear him without either listening to what he says or snipping and twisting his meanings for their own political or emotional satisfaction, I hope non-Beckified Americans turn it around and ask who these Teapublicans really are, beyond their most recent stint as a Faux commentator or self-certified dentist or hypocrite living off her husband's federal pension.

Thank goodness we're seeing the President everywhere now, after a summer of well-timed underexposure, battling it out in the marketplace of actual ideas, explaining his Party's accomplishments over the past eighteen months and taking on self-aggrieved Wall Street greedmeisters like this one:



Does this particular hedge fund manager have any social conscience? A friend of mine in a similar position told me, prior to Obama's election, that he knew his taxes would go up, but it had to be Obama. We needed a smart, determined, persistent adult at the top of the nation. I haven't polled him recently, but after what could have been, Wall Street should be thanking Obama -- maybe earning less millions and even billions, but not suffering like an unemployed auto worker with a re-fi and a family in Detroit.

And, thank you, here's Obama calling out the Teapublicans as all thinking Americans should in the very same CNBC town hall:

"The problem that I've seen in the debate that's been taking place and in some of these Tea Party events is, I think they're misidentifying sort of who the culprits are here," said Obama. "As I said before, we had to take some emergency steps last year. But the majority of economists will tell you that the emergency steps we take are not the problem long-term. The problems long-term are the problems that I talked about earlier. We had two tax cuts that weren't paid for, two wars that weren't paid for. We've got a population that's getting older. We're all demanding services, but our taxes have actually substantially gone down."

"So the challenge, I think, for the Tea Party movement is to identify, specifically, what would you do?" he added. "It's not enough just to say get control of spending. I think it's important for you to say, I'm willing to cut veterans' benefits or I'm willing to cut Medicare or Social Security benefits or I'm willing to see these taxes go up. What you can't do, which is what I've been hearing a lot from the other side, is we're going to control government spending, we're going to propose $4 trillion of additional tax cuts, and that magically somehow things are going to work. Now, some of these are very difficult choices."

But we know their platform. Dismantle the government. No social safety net. The establishment GOP has only one platform: less taxes and less regulation = prosperity, no matter the evidence to the contrary. The Tea Party is even more extreme. And in the end it would just provide huge openings for the type of exploitation by private interests that would hearken back to the 1890's, the Robber Baron era, the forces of which which all of the progressive legislation of the 20th century was designed to blunt.

I'm looking forward to the repeal of child labor laws.

Poison Tea

It turns out that a highly experience Republican operative, Sal Russo, is both funding of Tea Party Republican candidates and reaping the big bucks for himself:

Unlike many of the newly energized outsiders who have embraced Tea Party ideals, Mr. Russo, 63, is a longtime Republican operative who got his start as an aide to Ronald Reagan and later raised money and managed media strategy for a string of other politicians, including former Gov. George E. Pataki of New York. His history and spending practices have prompted some former employees and other Tea Party activists to question whether he is committed to, or merely exploiting, their cause.

Mr. Russo’s group, based in California, is now the single biggest independent supporter of Tea Party candidates, raising more than $5.2 million in donations since January 2009, according to federal records. But at least $3 million of that total has since been paid to Mr. Russo’s political consulting firm or to one controlled by his wife, according to federal records.

Yep, those 'baggers are so good with money. That's why Republican Senate nominee for Delaware, Christine "Li'l Sarah" O'Donnell seems to make all her income off of running for office and could be indicted for how she's has misused previous campaign funds for her personal expenses:

Now, the FEC, the Federal Election Commission, allows you to spend money after a campaign to retire debt, but not to add to the debt. And she has lots of debt from 2008, which troubles a lot of people. They think it's hypocritical, because -- because she wants America to spend what it has. But let us show you some of these checks. You can decide for yourself if she should have written these checks from her campaign money. For example, a check for 475 bucks, she labeled it as mileage reimbursement. Remember, this is three months after the campaign is over. This means she drove hundreds of miles and she submitted this with campaign funding.

Also, $157 on a phone bill from Verizon Wireless; by all indications, this is her personal phone. Also, $28 at a gas station -- the gas station in the town where she's originally from -- Moorestown, New Jersey. She still has family there. This is campaign money. There's no campaign going on.

Six hundred dollars for her utility bill paid to Delmarva Power. Also, there are little piddly expenses, but increasing her debt. And these are very telltale. You wouldn't need to spend this for any campaign, let alone a campaign that is not going on anymore.

$19 at a place called the Pike Lanes. The Pike Lanes is a bowling alley. That would pay for about eight games of bowling.

Also $26 for a meal at Ruby Tuesday's restaurant -- campaign money once again.

And then she even used campaign money for a $2.84 charge at Staples. In addition, she paid rent money with her campaign funding.

Maybe that's why O'Donnell cancelled Sunday morning appearances on both CBS' Face the Nation as well as Faux News, where Chris Wallace went to the unusual length of - gasp - criticizing her as well as Bob Schieffer. Or maybe it was her "dabbling" in witchcraft?

How about 'baggin' Republican Senate nominee in Alaska, Joe Miller? Miller has been on the Federal payroll as U.S. Magistrate for half a decade but is touting his Constitutional interpretation of enumerated rights to say that unemployment benefits are unconstitutional -- and refused to answer any questions from, again, Faux News anchor Chris Wallace on what in hell he'd actually do to help all those Americans suffering due to the economic crisis:



It all seems like a witches brew of bad tea to me.

Moneybombed

If you are one of those Dems sitting back counting chickens, sit up and take notice of what extreme rightwing Palinite Tea Party Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell raised the day after her Republican primary victory in Delaware:

Reports emerged shortly thereafter that O'Donnell herself raised more than $1 million online on Wednesday, a staggering total that could go a long way in a state like Delaware.

Here's her opponent, a very good guy, Chris Combs:



You can help combat her out-of-state donations with yours here.

Crazies

Any politician or scam Fox pundit who calls Barack Obama anti-American is at best a cowardly McCarthyite liar, at worst pure evil doing Satan's bidding. That's Christine O'Donnell, Republican Party Senate nominee for The First State, Delaware:



That's today's GOP.

Any two-bit fascist who says that, if elected, he will use his powers as Governor of The Empire State, New York to make suddenly, single targeted, authoritarian use of eminent domain to keep Cordova House from being built, make it a war memorial, and block any buildings of an Islamic tint from any place in NYC that the dust from the World Trade Center bombing reached, is at best a major league reactionary or, at worst, the Devil walking the earth, i.e. the Republican nominee, Carl Paladino:



And any candidate who still thinks Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional at around eighty and forty years down the line and who's platform is basically to end them is at best a buzzkill and at worst Lucifer made Galt, Republican Senatorial nominee in Alaska, lawyer Joe Miller:



or Nevada Republican Senate nominee Sharon Angle:



Or Colorado Senate Republican nominee Ken Buck.

They aren't the GOP, they're the Republican Party on steroids, led by the 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee. This is the Party coming home. This is people power in that Party, and it is like the mask ripped off to reveal rubes who have turned the tables. It's hilarious that Karl Rove is feuding with them, because he fed them his red meat and his bosses' red meat every day for eight years and more before that.

There is no moderate Republican Party in this election. Any power they get is power to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) who could be the next Senate Majority Leader, if the same people that elected Barack Obama let these candidates win.

Because any or all of these candidates could win their races in the November mid-term election. This is serious stuff, threats to the Republic.

If you want to be petulant, if you want to be apathetic, if you don't see that as flawed as it may be, it is a clear choice, and elections are all about choices, then you're being reckless.

Then you're just as crazy as they are.

Tea for Who?

So the GOP has been turned over to the extremists of the Tea Party tonight in Delaware, New York and possible New Hampshire. Even Karl Rove is upset.

Meanwhile the astroturf organization behind the Tea Party, Dick Armey's Freedomworks lobby, wants to bring African-Americans, Hispanics and Jews into the fold. Good luck with fellow teabaggers like this:



Ah, blackface is so 19th Century.

All About Her

Miriam M. Netter.

Movingly Put, Mr. President

It doesn't get better than this, from today's POTUS press conference in response to a question from the Fox reporter:

"I think I've been pretty clear on my position here. And that is, is that this country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that they have certain inalienable rights; one of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely. And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site...

"We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam to engage in their destructive acts. And we've got to be clear about that. We've got to be clear about that because ... if we're going to successfully reduce the terrorist threat, then we need all the allies we can get. The folks who are most interested in a war between the United States or the West and Islam are al Qaeda. That's what they've been banking on.

"And fortunately, the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world are peace-loving, are interested in the same things that you and I are interested in: how do I make sure I can get a good job, how can I make sure that my kids get a decent education, how can I make sure I'm safe, how can I improve my lot in life. And so they have rejected this violent ideology for the most part, overwhelmingly.

"And so from a national security interest, we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. It's a handful, a tiny minority of people who are engaging in horrific acts and have killed Muslims more than anybody else.

"The other reason it's important for us to remember that is because we've got millions of Muslim-Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country. They're going to school with our kids. They're our neighbors. They're our friends. They're our coworkers. And, you know, when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?

"I've got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan, in the uniform of the United States armed services. They're out there putting their lives on the line for us, and we've got to make sure that we are crystal clear for our sakes and their sakes: They are Americans. And we honor their service. And part of honoring their service is making sure that they understand that we don't differentiate between 'them' and 'us.' It's just 'us.'"

Check out the passion and thoughtfulness for yourself:



Need I say, Gobama?

Mimi

ALBANY, NY (08/11/2010)(readMedia)-- The Intellectual Property Law Section Fellowship, administered by The New York Bar Foundation, has been renamed to honor distinguished attorney and section leader, Miriam "Mimi" Maccoby Netter. The program goals for the 'Miriam Maccoby Netter Fellowship, created and funded by the Intellectual Property Law Section' are to increase the representation of lawyers in intellectual property law (IPL) and to provide students with an opportunity to experience IPL practice.

The New York State Bar Association's IPL Section Chair, Paul Matthew Fakler (Arent Fox LLP, New York), said, "The Intellectual Property Law Section owes a great debt to Mimi Netter for her singular and extraordinary contributions that have helped to advance the Section's success and growth. She has been an inspirational leader in the area of Intellectual Property Law and the Section's executive committee voted unanimously to recognize her accomplishments by renaming this Fellowship in her honor."

Netter's continuing overriding interests in law have been influenced by her dedication to education for all, keeping current with emerging areas of the law, and mentoring of attorneys. She has placed an emphasis on women because of their difficulty in gaining access to many areas of legal practice. She became an early member of the New York State Bar Association's IPL section in order to share her early knowledge of IPL and to learn from others in similar situations.

"Mimi Netter is an exceptional lawyer who has worked tirelessly to strengthen the position and standing of the Intellectual Property Law Section within the legal profession," said M. Catherine Richardson (Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC, Syracuse), President of The New York Bar Foundation. "Her dedication to the law has only been enhanced by the many hours she has devoted to public service and the Greater Capital Region community. The Foundation is pleased to join the Intellectual Property Law Section to acknowledge her with this honor."

More including background and other honors here.

Start Packing

As readers of Nettertainment know, I'm a big fan of our current President. However, I'm less and less a fan of the U.S. being in Afghanistan and hope he starts/sticks to exit plans. You've got that President Karzai trying to stop investigation into his corruption, you've got interpreters who don't know the language, and now you're starting to get the freaky, evil, Casualties of War-type rogue U.S. soldiers targeting civilians and collecting fingers for sport:

Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven others are accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking hashish stolen from civilians.

In one of the most serious accusations of war crimes to emerge from the Afghan conflict, the killings are alleged to have been carried out by members of a Stryker infantry brigade based in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

According to investigators and legal documents, discussion of killing Afghan civilians began after the arrival of Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs at forward operating base Ramrod last November. Other soldiers told the army's criminal investigation command that Gibbs boasted of the things he got away with while serving in Iraq and said how easy it would be to "toss a grenade at someone and kill them".

One soldier said he believed Gibbs was "feeling out the platoon".

An amazing story, if proven to be true, brutal. Read the rest, and I'm sure there's more coverage of it to come.

Bye-bye.

Wild Fires

When they start burning books in America, it's time to shun or, where applicable, arrest the book burners:

The government turned up the pressure Tuesday on the head of a small Florida church who plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, warning him that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans everywhere.

But the Rev. Terry Jones insisted he would go ahead with his plans, despite criticism from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department, as well as a host of religious leaders.

Jones, who is known for posting signs proclaiming that Islam is the devil's religion, says the Constitution gives him the right to publicly set fire to the book that Muslims consider the word of God.

These American Taliban Christianists endanger national security and our soldiers abroad in the name of their own PR and, no doubt, donations from the hateful faithful.

Gen. David Petraeus warned Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence." It was a rare example of a military commander taking a position on a domestic political matter.

And at a time when fire is costing people their homes in Boulder, even wilder in Detroit.

Obama Coming Back

More of this, please, as coupled with his new $50 billion infrastructure plan:



Here's some deets:

Administration officials said the transportation plan's initial $50 billion would be the beginning of a six-year program of transportation improvements, but they did not give an overall figure. The proposal has a longer-range focus than last year's economic stimulus bill, which was more targeted on immediate job creation.

The plan calls for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads; building and maintaining 4,000 miles of rail lines and 150 miles of airport runways, and installing a new air navigation system to reduce travel times and delays.

Obama also called for a permanent funding mechanism, an infrastructure bank, to focus on paying for national and regional infrastructure projects. Officials provided few details of how the bank would work.

Obama said the proposal would be fully paid for. In an earlier briefing for reporters, administration officials said Obama would pay for the program by asking lawmakers to close tax breaks for oil and gas companies and multinational corporations.

Best of all, the attack begins:

Bottom line is, these guys refuse to give up on the economic philosophy they peddled for most of the last decade. You know that philosophy: you cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; you cut rules for special interests; you cut working folks like you loose to fend for yourselves. They called it the ownership society. What it really boiled down to was: if you couldn't find a job, or afford college, or got dropped by your insurance company - you're on your own.

Well, that philosophy didn't work out so well for working folks. It didn't work out so well for our country. All it did was rack up record deficits and result in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

I'm not bringing this up to re-litigate the past; I'm bringing it up because I don't want to re-live the past. It would be one thing if Republicans in Washington had new ideas or policies to offer; if they said, you know, we've learned from our mistakes. We'll do things differently this time. But that's not what they're doing. When the leader of their campaign committee was asked on national television what Republicans would do if they took over Congress, he actually said they'd follow "the exact same agenda" as they did before I took office. The exact same agenda.

So basically, they're betting that between now and November, you'll come down with a case of amnesia. They think you'll forget what their agenda did to this country. They think you'll just believe that they've changed. These are the folks whose policies helped devastate our middle class and drive our economy into a ditch. And now they're asking you for the keys back.

Don't give up, Dems. Labor Day has now officially passed.

Time to join the fight.

The Shat

He's so the man, profiled in this week's New York Times Magazine, in the Kentucky horse world he loves so dearly, with stuff like this:

What makes him content, besides the money, is the adulation he gets from his fans. People thank him for the years. Six-year-olds, 20-something bloggers, old ladies. “Bloggers think I’m cool,” he said. “I wish I knew what it was about me that was cool so I can repeat it. I’ve been in front of people their entire life. Oh, there are so many iterations of William Shatner.”

Nice accompanying video as well:

Love. That. Shat.

Hard Sci-Fi

This one is definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK viewing, but shockingly funny, especially if -- like me -- you were a big fan of legendary science fiction writer Ray Bradbury back in high school. It's just too good not to share with you, valued reader:



S if for Space, L is for Love. Of course!

Think young comedienne Rachel Bloom might have made her own breakthrough to stardom?

Fingers Crossed

First day, Hamas predictably tries to derail, but they haven't stopped the talks yet.

Gobama?