Soob

"And that's the way it is..."

Via Whited Sepulcher

The G-8 is little more than a collective of international leaders who meet, trade platitudes, express their dismay at the current crisis du jour, raise their eyebrows, shrug and leave with the agreement that "something is extremely fucked" and that the offending "something that is extremely fucked" will be atop the agenda the next time they waste space, time and media attention. At best of times the G-8 is garnished by a maelstrom of young, bored, leftist and generally ignorant protester's who aren't sure of why they're waving fists and screaming but are happy to do so because it's in direct disagreement with whatever the well dressed authority figures of the G-8 have decided.

This bit of political gossip broke a few days ago and has since grown to just below political nightmare for the Obama administration. Beyond the willy nilly selection of dealers that seem to ignore whether or not said dealer is profitable, this bit from Reuters:

Lawyer Leonard Bellavia, of Bellavia Gentile & Associates,
who represents some of the terminated dealers, said he deposed
Chrysler President Jim Press on Tuesday and came away with the
impression that Press did not support the plan.

"It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom
of terminating 25 percent of its dealers," Bellavia said. "It
really wasn't Chrysler's decision. They are under enormous
pressure from the President's automotive task force."

Earlier it was reported that the Obama Administration may have targeted GOP donors in deciding which Chrysler dealerships would have to close their doors.
** Last night it was discovered that a Big Dem Donor Group was allowed to keep all 6 Chrysler dealerships open.... And, their local competitors were eliminated by Obama's task force.
** The closings also tend to be in "Red" Counties where Obama lost.

Via the New York Times:

North Korea said it had successfully conducted a nuclear test on Monday, raising the explosive power and level of control of its nuclear device to a new level, its state media said. 

"We have successfully conducted another nuclear test on May 25 as part of the republic's measures to strengthen its nuclear deterrent," the North's official KCNA news agency said.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency also quoted a ruling party official as saying that a test was conducted.

US Geographical Survey recorded unusual seismic activity near the site of North Korea's previous test in 2006 shortly before the NK government's claims:

Unusual earthquake activity was reported in North Korea's nuclear test area on Monday morning, the United States Geological Survey reported. The agency said the earthquake, which happened at 9.55 a.m. local time, had a preliminary magnitude of 4.7.

The timing is interesting as it comes a day after the suicide of South Korean ex-prime minister Roh Moo-Hyun. 

"Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage. I can only wonder about the impact on the Taliban. Just imagine seeing that - a guy in pink boxers and flip-flops has you in his crosshairs."

Via NPR.

Early last month my home state, Vermont, became the first state to legalize gay marriage via statute. Our governor, Jim Douglas opposed the bill citing first, the states civil union law (passed a near decade ago) as a sufficient legal measure to extend same sex unions legal benefits similar to traditionally married couples and later vetoed it, citing the ever important economic crisis as a matter of priority. In the end the Vermont legislative branch overrode the governor's veto and same sex marriage was legalized. The state of Maine has followed in similar suit today and New Hampshire is on the brink.

I'll be honest and admit that I, during the heated and much publicized governmental battle, remained largely ambivalent regarding the outcome. My personal perspective on this was (and remains) that any lifestyle that doesn't directly threaten my personal safety, the safety of my fellow citizens or the general structure of the civilization on which the latter two depend upon for their existence, should be accepted socially and legally.

That said, I am an activist in only "all things me and mine" and, given my lack of personal identification with it, this cause simply didn't fall into the narrow confines of "matters to be critically considered." Someday I may have to answer for that bit of selfishness but in the meantime life is complicated, busy and very much not in accordance with what I'd resigned myself to years ago. So you'll excuse me if, upon hearing of the reversal of governor Douglas' veto, I didn't lift a fist in celebration or whoop it up, rather merely nodded and thought "makes sense."

I've had discussions on this topic both online and off and never have I met a coherent argument against gay marriage that didn't include either religious prejudice or blatantly subjective bias. No argument has ever convinced me that, on the whole, the recognition of gay marriage is an inherent danger to me, my fellow citizens (beyond their selective and imaginative discomfort) or my society. Now, a decade after legalized civil unions and a month after legalized gay marriage, I've yet to see even circumstantial evidence here in my state to support the cause of those in opposition, much less anything strictly empirical.

I welcome any contrary (or supportive!) views as this subject, despite the addition of (essentially) two states, is far from being a historical matter. There are already concerns in Maine regarding a referendum which may well reverse the statute.

This is where twenty bucks and too much time on your hands can lead:

A British 19-year-old has officially changed his name to "Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined."

The Glastonbury, England, teenager -- originally named George Garratt -- said his new name, which is thought to be the world's longest, has so outraged his grandmother that she is no longer speaking to him, The Telegraph reported Monday.

The teen said he used an online service to officially change his name for a $20 fee.

"I wanted to be unique," Captain Fantastic said of his name choice. "I decided upon a theme of superheroes."

On Britain's tax policy:

"The Government has taken tax up to 50 per cent, and if it goes to 51 I will be back in America," he said at the weekend. "We've got 3.5 million layabouts on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6am to go to work to keep them. Let's get everybody back to work so we can save a couple of billion and cut tax, not keep sticking it up."

You have to question the judgment of whomever it was that decided a low fly by over NYC for a photo op was a good idea.



Via purpleslog on twitter.

What began as a grass roots initiative in true libertarian form has become a partisan pundit hump fest. What looked to be a breath of fresh air in the ascent of new, non-traditional third party politics was quickly devoured by right wing ideologues and, naturally as the sun sets in the west, left wing flame throwers piled on.

Oh their message is reminiscent of the noble, early efforts; fair taxation, a government of the people, by the people, etc. However, the tea party's new custodian's bring some baggage. The now infamous rants of some imbecile suggesting we burn the books, "The ones in college, those, those brainwashing books," at an event sponsored by Glenn Beck. Or the populist, anti-rich melody of John Rich serenading a Hannity tea party crowd on the evil yankees of Wall Street being responsible for the demise of Detroit's automakers (which I watched live and so you'll have to hunt down those lyrical moments on your own.) Apparently waning interest in massive SUV's and unsustainable, union driven wage and healthcare demands make for less romantic country songs.

Once the coup was accomplished and the tedious blowhards stepped to the helm, the leftwing firebreathers held forth with their own salvo. Two infamous examples:

The pathetic bit of "journalism" espoused by CNN reporter Susan Roesgen, who may well have Shepard Fairey's "Hope" tattooed on the small of her back. Her indictment of Fox News for it's political impartiality is a clear case of pot, kettle, black.

The racist rant of Jeneane Garofalo on the Lord of Vanity's tedious effort at "news analysis" recently and the simpering of the host, which exceeded that of a bad case of salmonella in it's nauseating quality. In Garofalo's world (a world in which one suffering from advanced stage neurosyphilis might find themselves) any who disagree with the President's stimulus package hate black people.

The problem with the tea parties is that they've been boosted by the status quo on both sides of the traditional partisan extreme. Any revolutionary magic they held has been eviscerated by political hackery and partisan static. The third party message has been hijacked by little more than shallow, partisan, populist combat between the two parties that libertarian's view as the root of America's manifold political maladies. Now "owned" by right wing punditry and shat upon by their left wing counterparts the tea party has become a caricature. And that's a damn shame because it'd be nice to finally see the American people divided from traditional partisanship in mass dissent demanding genuine change.