Archive for November, 2008

If page 6 is to be believed, notorious loud mouth Ann Coulter has broken her jaw. It wouldn’t be worth reporting if she didn’t use her jaw to say things like “I have never seen people enjoying their husbands’ death so much” about 9/11 widows. If only there could be a way to stop her from writing. Here is another quote that helps explain what is wrong with her: “We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens’s creme brulee. That’s just a joke, for you in the media.” Now let’s look at this quote. First of all, she speaks of poisoning a member of the Supreme Court. With her politics, I believe that is grounds for “enhanced interrogation.” But what is really revealing about the quote is that she believes it is a joke. I think this has been her problem all along: she has confused shock value with comedy, and it’s not even shocking anymore. Why is saying you want someone dead a joke? Why should we be shocked at anything this hack says or writes? At least we don’t have to listen to her for a while. I’m sure she’s concocting some new way to get attention by offending a large number of Americans. She has to get attention somehow. Maybe she’ll say something racist about Obama. That would be a sure-fire way for her to return to the news. It doesn’t seem like calling liberals America-haters will work now that Obama has rejuvenated the country. Then again, maybe this experience will cause a revelation and Coulter will heed her own advice: “You want to be careful not to become just a blowhard.”

Enjoy the thought of Coulter unable to give speeches.

Adam Feser

I’ve had trouble explaining this idea to people in the past. Torturing terrorists and, at times, civilians we think are terrorists does not help our cause. It actually helps Al Qaeda. Tough talkers like McCain have never made Al Qaeda afraid, because people like him and Bush ensure that they will have plenty of new recruits. The biggest threat to Al Qaeda is an America that people respect and look up to; and America with the moral authority to lead. After the recent election we are regaining this respect. It seems as though Al Qaeda is already threatened. Here is the link:
Al Qaeda Threatened

Enjoy Friday.

Adam Feser

“I think across the board he’s led the party to its current position, which means losing both houses of congress and now the White House,” Stone said. “How can you be conservative and justify wiretapping people without a warrant? We’re supposed to be the party of personal freedom and civil liberties. Big brother listening in on your phone calls—I got a problem with that.”

The he referred to is George W. Bush. This is just one of the memorable quotes Roger Stone told The Daily Beast. There are several other points of interest, including how Stone feels some guilt for all of the deaths that happened as a result of the war in Iraq. Stone played an important role in the 2000 recount in Florida and is a notorious political hit man. Not one you’d normally associate with a guilty conscience. Here is the full link:
Stone regrets his role in the 2000 recount

Enjoy flannel pajamas.

Adam Feser

I always considered the gay marriage ban nothing but a distraction used to rally fundamentalist voters to the polls, but states have been passing them independent of the federal government. There are many states that have considered and passed same-sex marriage bans, but California was surprising. It showed just how far away homosexuals are from receiving equal rights in this country. It’s okay to watch them on TV, but it’s not okay for them to enjoy the same rights other Americans do.

I never understood why so many fundamentalists made denying homosexuals rights their main goal. Did Jesus ever mention homosexuality? No. If you want to revert to the Old Testament, didn’t Jesus overturn many of those rules? If Leviticus is good enough reason to spew hatred at homosexuals, you should probably keep kosher. No more pork, I’m afraid.

Now that I’ve put that argument forward, I’ll move on to the American one. Two of the best and most innovative principles devised by our founding fathers are freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. The only reason I have ever found for people being against gay marriage is religion. This is not nearly justification enough to deny Americans equal rights. One person cannot force his or her belief on another. If your personal belief is that gay marriage is immoral or a choice, it’s okay because you are free to choose not to marry someone of the same sex. There is no reason for you to force your will that no homosexuals marry on others. We don’t have a state religion, we don’t force people to go to church on Sundays, and we shouldn’t deny Americans rights.

That’s why I mourn the passing of Proposition 8, as well as all the other bans. The history of America has been one of progress. Oppressed groups fight for years and years in order to get the basic rights everyone else in the country enjoys. History is not kind to those who try to block progress (unless you’re Strom Thurmond). I am amazed that we, as a country, have not learned from our past.

Gays and lesbians are just people who deserve to be treated that way.

Adam Feser

Tom Daschle has apparently accepted an offer from president-elect Barack Obama to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. It appears Daschle will have some additional pull in drafting legislation, as well. Here is a link:
Daschle Accepts Offer

Enjoy the return of a legend.

Congratulations, Secretary Daschle,
Adam Feser

Mike Huckabee appears upset with several Republicans. In his book, Do The Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America, Mike “names names.”  I wonder why he would tout what I assume is his movement when it couldn’t make it out of the primary (I thought Obama was the common sense move), but Huckabee thought it was necessary.  I wonder if he could have even called it a movement if not for the Colbert Bump.  It appears he had more in mind than telling the story of the movement that’s bringing common sense back to America (might want to reconsider the name).  Huckabee calls out Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John Hagee, and some others for various things.  This certainly is not going to help bring the GOP together.  His beef with Hagee is that he couldn’t get a straight answer about who the Lord told him to endorse. Here is a link, and there may be more to come:

Huckabee’s Revenge

Enjoy the coming onslaught of Christmas song parodies in horrible advertisements.

Change is a-comin’
Adam Feser

My aunt, Sue Fliehs, let me know about a note written by her nephew, Travis Walter Baily. I thought it was excellent and touched on something we all to often forget. I’d like to thank Travis for letting me post this. Here it is:

Something I think we all have forgotten during this election..

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 10:49am
During the last 20 or so months, I’ve run into alot of people, talked to alot of people and got to know alot of people I otherwise would not have gotten to know had it not been for this election. These people came from all different backgrounds. People of ALL religions, races and creeds. People of which I agreed with in theory but not in principal.. People I have agreed with in principal but not in theory. And there are those people I have disagreed with 100% on their political views.

In talking to all these people, one thing has struck me. Something I have always thought about, but never truly understood exactly what I was thinking about. ALL these people, no matter what, were all the same. Maybe they didn’t look the same, maybe they didn’t think the same on many levels. Many of these people would never have been able to sit in the same room with one another without quite an angry conversation beginning. But to the root of them, ALL of them, they all were the same.

By that I mean, all of them were striving for the same thing. They all wanted to better themselves, and their family and the people around them. They all had different ways of getting there, but one way or another, in the end, everything they thought and believed in was because they thought that was the best way to get where they wanted to be.

It appears to me, that in such tough times in this Nation, we have forgetten that we all have a commitment to one another. One to make the world a better place for not only ourselves, but our neighbors as well. All over this country, people have fallen on hard times and they need our help.

All of us, regardless of political party belong to something bigger. We belong to a community, we belong to a country. There are millions of people all over this country who need us. I believe that no matter who we are or what we do or what we believe in, we all have an obligation to each other, to serve and protect one another. How you do that, that is on you. But there are so many ways that can be done.

I have made no secret about my Support for Barack Obama. But no matter who you support, if we all can keep that commitment to each other, to seek justice, to have enough strength to try and make the world a better place for ourselves and the generations to come..

Then it doesn’t matter who win..

Because if we have a world like that, we would have already won.

That’s the world I want. That’s the world I hope for. And I hope we can someday achieve that world.

Anyone who knows me, even a little, knows that The Simpsons are one of the most important things in my life. If I’ve had a bad, I can watch it and feel better. If I’ve been talked into watching some grotesque movie like Hostel, The Simpsons bring me back down. Guess what makes me feel better after a horrible Huskers loss? My car was just stolen? The Simpsons. My house has exploded? The Simpsons. Nuclear holocaust? The Simpsons.

Now that we’re all caught up on my love of The Simpsons, I can get to my point. This season (20) and last season (19) have been nearly as good as the early seasons.

I have heard enough of the people that stopped watching The Simpsons because “It’s not as good as it used to be.” The argument is that seasons 1-10 (maybe 3-10) are the cream of the crop while the seasons after are somehow not as good. As Matt Groening points out, most of these people haven’t watched it in so long that they have no grounds to make this claim.

Season 11 just came out on DVD. I watched it and wondered how someone arbitrarily decided that season 10 was the cutoff line. I also think of some of the other problems people have.

One thing you’ll hear again and again is that people bemoan the lack of continuity. My response is this: “Are you kidding me!” It’s a cartoon series in its 20th season in which the characters stay the same age but they still make current pop culture references. There can be no continuity. People were upset about the ’90s episode because of this, but it was a classic.

There have been several classics in later seasons. The term “Jebus” was coined in season 11. “The Debarted” episode came last year. “Jaws Wired Shut” came in season 13. In this season, Homer and Flanders teamed up as bounty hunters. How great is that?

These last two seasons have been amazing. They are even returning to some of the heartfelt moments they’ve strayed from. I recommend everyone either start watching on Sundays at 7:00 or watch the episodes at fox.com. If you haven’t seen it in a while, be prepared for a treat.

When will I learn? The answer to life’s problems aren’t at the bottom of a bottle, they’re on TV.
– Homer Simpson

Woo-hoo.
Adam Feser

I was cruising around The Onion, as I sometimes do, and thought maybe you all would get a kick out of some of these joke articles.

Articles:

Bush Done

Tough Break for Obama

See you later, Working Joe

Video about Obama’s preparation:

Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

Video about a fictional upset:

Voting Machines Elect One Of Their Own As President

I’ll close with a random sports article for all you Vikings fans who wonder what happened to Daunte Culpepper before he got picked up by the Lions:
Daunte’s Retirement

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did. If you ever need a laugh, stop by theonion.com.

Enjoy the fake news.

With Hope,
Adam Feser

Not all of the races are decided, but it’s close enough to see how I did. Here we go. Predictions are on top and actual results below in italics.

State Senator District 2 – Jim Hundstad

Jim Hundstad

State Representative District 2 – H. Paul Dennert; Daniel Kaiser

H. Paul Dennert; Elaine M. Elliott

State Senator District 3 – Al Novstrup

Al Novstrup

State Representative District 3 – Mark Remily; David Novstrup

Dennis Feickert; David Novstrup

President/Vice President – Barack Obama and Joe Biden (55%, 356 – 182)

Barack Obama and Joe Biden 53%, 364 – 174 (I think)

United States Senate – Tim Johnson (59%)

Tim Johnson – 62.49%

United States Representative – Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (63%)

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin – 67.56%.  Not too shabby.

Public Utilities Commissioner – ?????

Gary Hanson.  I guess I forgot to guess on this one.

County Commissioner at Large – Dale Kurth

Burt Elliott; Duane Sutton

Constitutional Amendment G – No

No

Constitutional Amendment H – No

No

Constitutional Amendment I – No

Yes

Constitutional Amendment J – No

No

Initiated Measure 9 – No

No

Initiated Measure 10 – No

No

Initiated Measure 11 – No

No

Minnesota Senate Race – Al Franken (41%)

Pending

Total Senate Seats – Democrats – 59 (including independents who caucus with dems.)
Republicans – 41

Democrats – 57      Republicans – 40    (3 still pending)

Total House Seats – Democrats – 250
Republicans – 185

Democrats – 255        Republicans 174   (6 still pending)

I think I did a pretty good job.  We’ll see just how close I was with my guesses on Congress eventually.

Enjoy a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Yes we did.
Adam Feser