Archive for May, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor is a member of the National Council of La Raza, or, as former congressman Tom Tancredo calls it, a “Latino KKK without the hoods or nooses.” (Exasperated sigh)
Wow.

Enjoy unfounded, small-minded, fictional arguments against Sotomayor.

Adam Feser

Something to give a nice laugh…actually I nodded my head through the whole thing!

I voted Democrat because
I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want.
I’ve decided to marry my horse.I voted Democrat because
I believe oil companies’ profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are
obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas
at 15% isn’t.

I voted Democrat because
I believe the government will do a better job of
spending the money I earn than I would.

I voted Democrat because
Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

I voted Democrat because
When we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what
they are doing because they now think we are good people..

I voted Democrat because
I’m way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local
police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

I voted Democrat because
I believe that people who can’t tell us if it will rain on Friday can
tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if
I don’t start driving a Prius.

I voted Democrat because
I’m not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long
as we keep all death row inmates alive.

I voted Democrat because
I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care,
education, and Social Security benefits.

I voted Democrat because
I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for
themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to
the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit.

I voted Democrat because
I believe liberal judges need to rewrite The Constitution every few
days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas
past the voters.

I voted Democrat because
My head is so firmly planted up my butt that it is unlikely that I’ll
ever have another point of view.

A new tape that has been released reveals that Senator Roland Burris, the guy selected by crazed, corrupt Rod Blagajevich to take Obama’s seat, offered Blagojevich money and a fundraiser to keep him in mind for the nomination. Burris claims to have done nothing wrong because he didn’t actually pay any money.

On the tape, Burris worries about how to conduct a fundraiser so that it doesn’t look bad. Here is a telling quote: “God knows number one, I wanna help Rod,” Burris said. “Number two, I also wanna, you know, hope I get a consideration to get that appointment. And however that goes, it would dictate, you know, how the press treats it.” He obviously knew he was doing something wrong.

Another gem of a quote: “I know I could give him a check,” Burris said. “Myself.”

I cannot believe this man was allowed to take the seat of President Barack Obama. Ridiculous.

Enjoy “Jim Cain” by Bill Callahan. Best song in some time.

Adam Feser

President Obama has chosen Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.

She is the daughter of Puerto Ricans, meaning she would be the first Hispanic member of the Supreme Court. Obama cited her story, in addition to her experience and intellect, as a large reason he decided on Sotomayor. She was raised in public housing projects in the Bronx. Her father died when she was young, and her mother worked six-day weeks to send her children to Catholic school. Sotomayor eventually went to Princeton, then Yale Law, where she edited the Yale Law Journal. Her story reminds may remind you of someone else’s story (hint: Barack Obama).

Her nomination may be somewhat contentious, but I can’t imagine it will be too wild. She has made some statements that will provide fodder for Republicans, but it does not appear that she has made many controversial decisions. Her most famous decision contributed to ending the baseball strike in 1995.

There may be enough votes to block a filibuster, and it’s not obvious that Republicans will go after her. Her statements leave her open to attacks, but it could be politically risky to block her nomination. Hispanics are by no means solidly in one party or the other, and there is excitement in the community about having their first representative on the Supreme Court. Attempting to stop this nomination may hurt Senators and the GOP in general.

Though there may be some controversy, even Republicans admit they are not likely to stop this nomination. Unless some unknown story pops up, it is likely that Sonia Sotomayor will be the next Supreme Court Justice.

Enjoy Mauer’s power surge.

Adam Feser

Senate Democrats appear to have had a change of heart. They refused to fund the closing of Guantanamo Bay. In the face of the fuss Republicans have been raising about terrorists in America, Democrats have folded. They are always afraid of appearing soft on anything.

Harry Reid says “that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That’s very clear.” What on earth is he talking about? Who said we should release terrorists? Reid wants Guantanamo closed but says the detainees cannot come to the U.S., which means Guantanamo cannot be closed. This is silly. We want European countries to take on our burden that we aren’t even willing to take on.

And why are people arguing that terrorists shouldn’t be allowed in our prisons? Aren’t we the best country at imprisoning people? Are there murderers and rapists there? Do they not spread terror? I know serial killers scare the heck out of me. What about Timothy McVeigh and all the other terrorists we have jailed/are jailing? Also, the courts have ruled that Guantanamo constitutes American soil, so aren’t they already on American soil?

If the HBO show Oz (a show about a less-than-upstanding prison) has taught me anything, it’s that life in an American maximum security prison is not easy.

Enjoy the tough guy talk.

Adam Feser

Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker and NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison will yet again skip a visit to the White House. This time (he also skipped a visit in 2006) he received a lot of negative attention for his decision, but he stands by his it. He cannot understand why this time there is being such a big deal made of it.

He assumes, and this may partially be the case, that the increased attention is due to the fact that he went from a relative unknown to the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. I believe it has more to do with his reason for skipping. Apparently, Harrison is upset that Obama has only invited them because they won the Super Bowl. Harrison claims that Obama would have invited the Arizona Cardinals had they won the title and believes Obama should invite the Steelers when they don’t win it if they want his presence. I could have sworn this was common knowledge, but the president only invites the winning team to the White House. If he invited every team from every sport to the White House every year, it might add up to the amount of vacation time W. took (zing).

But seriously, how is he surprised that comments so silly would be a big deal? And if you don’t want to go, don’t talk about it. Apparently he doesn’t like to fly. Say that. But then he went ahead and questioned the neighborhood of the White House. Really? “It’s not a good neighborhood over there,” he said. “It’s a bad neighborhood.” At this point, you really have to wonder if he’s joking. Does he really fear for the safety of entire football team surrounded by Secret Service and White House Security? I have a feeling they won’t get mugged.

When I think of Harrison, his awesome interception return should come to mind before a bunch of ridiculous comments.

Enjoy breakfast for dinner.

Adam Feser

I thought I would include The Daily Show’s report on the controversy surrounding Obama’s speech at Notre Dame. Obama’s cool demeanor and mature discussion of a contentious issue made Jon wonder who exactly Barack Obama is. He turns to Wyatt Cenac for the answer, and it should have been so obvious.

Enjoy Star Trek, more than once if necessary.

Adam Feser

Who cares.  That is my thoughts on it.

If I am a student at ND regardless of political offiliation, I am going to be pretty excited that the president wants to speak at my commencement.

As someone I know said about the issue that has people at the college all fired up, “Do you think that the president is going to convince thousands of graduates to change how they feel about abortion.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I have decided that since things have gotten pretty heated around here, we are due for some laughs.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy any spirited debate that stays on topic, which the torture debate has.  But there comes a time when you just need a laugh, which has been a focal point of this blog.  It is in this spirit that I present this post.

In case you missed it, here are some videos from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It is one of the most fun political times of the year. It is the only time up-tight politicians sit back and laugh at themselves.  This year’s key-note speaker was Wonda Sykes.  A favorite punch line seemed to be Biden and his propensity to say whatever comes to mind.  I’ve included some of my favorite moments in case you don’t have the time to watch the videos (which total over thirty minutes), though I thoroughly recommend it.

Some of my favorite jokes from Wonda’s speech:

• “It’s funny to me that they’ve never caught you [Obama] smoking but they somehow always catch you with your shirt off.  I know you into this transparency thing, but ah, I don’t need to see your nipples.”
• “Proud to be able to say that, you know ‘The first black president.’  That’s unless you screw up.  Then it’s gonna be ‘What’s up with the half-white guy?’”
• A very funny part of the speech is at about 5:37 into part 1.  Most camera cut-aways are to people laughing hysterically.  But during a Secret Service joke, they cut to an actual member of the Secret Service, and he looks very serious and, frankly, a little pissed.  I thought that was pretty funny.
• “What’s up with all these governors not wanting to take the money?  Who turns down money?  Maybe you get Oprah to give it away.  Oprah’s like, ‘Okay governors, look under your seats!’”
• “Governor Palin, she’s not here tonight.  She pulled out at the last minute.  Somebody should tell her, ‘That’s not really how you practice abstinence.’”
• Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails, so you said ‘I hope America fails…’  To me, that’s treason.  He’s not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying.  You might wanna look into this sir because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the twentieth high jacker but he was just so strung out on oxycontin he missed his flight… Rush Limbaugh, ‘I hope the country fails.’  I hope his kidneys fail, how ’bout that?”
• On Sean Hannity, “He can’t take a waterboardin.’ I can break Sean Hannity by giving him a middle seat in coach.”
• Another great moment is at about 4:12 into part 2.  Glenn Beck doesn’t seem enjoy the Dick Cheney jokes.
• “Dick Cheney is trying to defend torture.  He goes, ‘Yeah, well, they should release the memos that show all the good information we got from our practices.’  You can’t defend torture.  That’s like me robbin’ a bank and then goin’ in front of the judge and going, ‘Yes your honor, I robbed a bank, but look at all these bills I paid.’”

Some of my favorite jokes from Obama’s speech:

• Referreing to Mother’s Day, “This a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he’s not used to saying the word ‘day’ after mother.”
• “Michael Steele is in the house tonight, or as he might say, ‘The Hizzie.’”
• “These days we could not be closer.”  Referring to Hilary Clinton, “In fact, the second she got back from Mexico she pulled me into a hug and gave me a big kiss; told me I better get down there my self.”
• “During the second hundred days, we will design, build, and open a library dedicated to my first hundred days.”
• “Finally, I believe that my next hundred days will be so successful that I will be able to complete them in seventy-two days, and on the seventy-third day I will rest.”

Pretty funny stuff, huh?

Enjoy the smell of fresh-cut grass (and some antihistamines).

Adam Feser

Although probably still respected in Washington, Sen Spector will lose his seniority on the committees that he is on after his switch to the Democratic Party. Probably a minor detail, but then again maybe a major one with his election coming up in 2010. Newest rumor for his opponent: Former Homeland Security Director and PA Gov. Tom Ridge.
hmmm…he could have a fight on his hands!