And as part of our JACKBOOTED TACTICS in celebration of our crushing triumph, Christians WILL NOW BE COMPELLED … uh, maybe to look at an occasional ad on a bus? Or just look the other way, I guess.
Behold the horror:
In situ (almost) pics here.
(h/t: Jerry Coyne via thprop | pic. source)
... when they finally shut you down for good, you will have to admit that a big chunk of the last of your money went into paying Jonah Goldberg to write for you ("119 articles since 2000," and that's what you're willing to admit to).
This Jonah Goldberg:
SHORTER JONAH GOLDBERG: Liberal scientists want us to die, so they're wasting time on this global warming baloney when meteors are the real menace. Here, intern, put in some P.J. O'Rourke-type similes and send it to TownHall. But don't make them too good -- we don't want anyone to catch on.
(The worst part for me is knowing the hee-haws it's going to get from the dimmer half of denialist set (yeah, there are dumbers and dumberers); e.g., when the killer meteor is compared to the size of John Edwards's house. And, oh yeah, the only reason he didn't use the house belonging to the person you'd think he would have was because he wanted to name-check him thus: "… no time to defrost Al Gore's frozen head …")
This Jonah Goldberg:
… the spectacle of Jonah Goldberg citing "science writer Gregg Easterbrook" (I wish I were dead) …
(And if you don't know from Easterbrook, see here and especially here.)
This Jonah Goldberg:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, JONAH GOLDBERG:
Unmockable. Just read it. Holy shit. Holy shit.
That Doughy Pantload.
[Added] Doghouse Riley also weighs in.
[Added2] And follows up.
The consensus is clear. Democrats are headed toward modest pickups in both chambers in 2010. But the geniuses at the Politico stand above common sense and reality …
--Markos Moulitsas
As Kos notes, the rePubOLITICO story smells of a desperate bid to attract a Drudge link, in light of the reality that their traffic is down by over a million readers per month since February.
Win the morning! Win the afternoon!
(h/t: Twin, via PM)
I posted about a critical security update for Flash a short while ago, and then got to blogging about all manner of nonsense, which pushed the Flash post way down the page, so I am putting this nag notice friendly reminder up here at the top, because it's very important that you do this upgrade. And not just Windows users -- everybody. Won't take you more than a minute or two. Go.
[Added] Oh, and as long as I'm here: For Windows users only, did you do the emergency Microsoft patching that I mentioned on Wednesday? Ah, good. Good for you.
(Some news from last week. Apologies if you've already been there, read that.)
Some people are not happy about Bill Maher winning the Atheist Alliance International's 2009 Richard Dawkins Award. PZ Myers defends the selection. Here's an excerpt:
Let's be clear about something else. This is atheism: we have no dogma, we have no infallible leaders, everyone is naturally flawed, and we recognize that within our ranks there is a huge diversity of opinion. Our strategy for dealing with these ideas is the same as the scientific approach — constant, relentless criticism. There is no Atheist Supreme Leader. There is no Atheist Pope. There is no Godless Ruling Council, no Atheist Inquisition, no Freethought Dogma.
PZ Myers is, of course, my personal Jesus.
Jason Rosenhouse also defends the selection. Orac is one of the unhappy ones.
Here's what the front page of the NYT looked like, forty-five years ago today (click image to enlarge):
The lead article (way cool -- among other things, the images were captured by a Polaroid camera taking a picture of a painfully slowly built up television transmission) and more "On This Day" notes are available.
(Of course we know this is just the wall of a Hollywood studio, hidden in Roswell, New Mexico. But play along, for fun.)
... first one up against the wall is Bill Finley:
Nihei (pronounced NEE-hay) was not the first person to show up at the track and decide it was the life for them …
Argh. Get the fire ants and grape jelly. A bullet is too good.
Why not ...
Nihei (pronounced NEE-hay) was not the first person to show up at the track and decide, "This is the life for me!"
... hmmmmmm???
Yeah, yeah, I know. Some supposedly famous dude used them as a singular pronoun back in the sixteenth century or whatever. Spare me. Finley's on The List.
Oh, but go look at the picture article. Great arms on that woman Really interesting story.
Fixt:
Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee on Thursday became the sixth
Republican"WISE LATINA"-LOVING RINO!!!1! to announce hissupport for Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Courtdesire to be torn limb from limb by the base of his party as soon as he returns home.
Kidding aside, a salute to Sen. Alexander for his decency and courage on this one.
KK, via email:
Some said that Sarah Palin would be a great candidate. But I think she turned out to be an optical Aleutian....
Brian Krebs reports:
Adobe Systems Inc. today issued a security update to its Flash player to plug at least a dozen security holes in the software, including some that hackers have been using in to break into vulnerable systems.
Some of these holes have been getting lots of discussion in the past few days, which means they're by now being widely exploited, which means you should do the upgrade as soon as possible. (It's easy.)
The latest version number, for Windows, Mac, and Linux, is 10.0.32.18. To check which version of Flash you currently have installed, visit:
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
Assuming you need an update, visit the link labeled Player Download Center, right on that same page (or by clicking my link).
Important: You'll have to do the upgrade separately if you use different browsers, once for Firefox/Opera/Safari and once for Internet Explorer. After I did these two, my version of Chrome showed that it was updated to the latest version -- I expect that happened during the Firefox installation. In any case, to be safe, you should revisit the above "About" link with each browser that you use.
Also note: the Internet Explorer update is done in place, and you'll be offered the chance to install the Google Toolbar at the same time. Uncheck that box before proceeding if you don't want the toolbar. The update for Firefox, et al, is done by downloading an installer file, closing your browser, and double-clicking the downloaded file.
In both cases, for me, the update was painless and only took about a minute per browser.
Krebs also says to upgrade your version of Adobe Air, if you have that installed. I don't, so I can't comment on that, but he's got a link if you want it.
There's a valuable article on Salon and a related post on ScienceBlogs, both of which take the HuffPo to task for the large amounts of woo posing as "alternative medicine," etc., that regularly get published on that site.
I like and respect Arianna Huffington a lot, but she does have some blind spots, and this is a big one. Shoutouts to Rahul K. Parikh and Mike the Mad Biologist for making the efforts, and thanks to Gawker for calling them to my attention.
From Joe. My. God., via Wonkette and The Awl:
TheObamaFile.com, one of the most widely-read anti-Obama and birther movement sites, has posted a "closed for lack of support" notice.
[...]
[Site owner Parker] Shannon says he spent 60 to 70 hours a week on his efforts and received only $240 in the entire two years despite displaying prominent donation buttons.
But yes, Lou Dobbs: Please continue to huff about this "controversy," because clearly, SO MANY PEOPLE CARE ABOUT IT.
It gets better. About that "$240" figure? Here's an update from Mr. Whiny Pants himself (emph. added):
You all deserve an explanation. No, Obama, nor the Obots shut me down. You guys did.
[...]
But, I've had a PayPal "Contribute" button on my site for over a year. Every day, I get 200 to 300 emails. 50 Of them from folks that tell me I'm a patriot, or they're praying for me, or the site is invaluable, blah, blah, blah. None of those emailers ever clicked the PayPal button.
I've been reading those emails for months, and instead of making me feel good, they disappointed me. I spend 8 to 10 hours a day at this -- 7 days a week, and with the exception of a local guy who sent me two $100 hits a year ago, I have received from my loyal readership $40 in contributions in the last 16 months …
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), believer in the Stealth Return of the Fairness Doctrine and a well-known global warming denialist, has now identified himself as a Birther, too.
OOOOO-kaaaay.
Roy Edroso takes a look at the growing schism between establishment conservatives and the lunatic fringe called the Birthers base of the Republican Party (noted yesterday), and most amusingly catches a bunch of conservative bloggers trying to have it both ways.
[Added] And speaking of wingnuts who like to pose as intelleckshoowuls, but can't stop trying to keep hope alive with this birfer business, Instaputz gives us Hugh Hewitt.
Oh, and Howard Kurtz is a spineless tool. But you knew that already.
Attention Windows users: According to Brian Krebs, Microsoft has made available some security patches that they have deemed critical enough to release now, rather than waiting for next month's regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday. If you don't have Automatic Updates turned on, fire up Internet Explorer and visit update.microsoft.com, ASAP. And don't use IE for any other purpose until you do.
Sam Stein reports at HuffPo:
Rep. Neil Abercrombie, (D-Hawaii), has introduced a resolution "Recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State." It's one of the typical non-controversial obligatory matters that so often show up on the congressional agenda.
Only in this case, the implications of the resolution are much further reaching. That's because, as part of the 456-word resolution, Abercrombie is including the following line: "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii..."
In no short order, H.R. 593 has become what one Democratic operative described as the "counter-birther" bill.
Forces those Congressional Republicans to put up or shut up, doesn't it?
Greg Sargent at The Plum Line:
“In the language of the resolution, there is a statement that Hawaii is the birthplace of the 44th President of the United States,” Abercrombie spokesman Dave Helfert confirms.
That confronts House GOPers with a choice: They can vote for the measure, and endorse the idea that Obama was born in Hawaii, which could earn the wrath of birthers. Or they can vote against commemorating the 50th state’s joining of our blessed Union. Or GOPers can skip the vote, but that could look nutty.
“Far be it from us to try to stir things up,” Helfert said puckishly. “The president was born there, so what are you gonna do? Not mention it?”
Heh.
In updates to Stein's post, it turns out that Michelle Bachmann blocked a vote on the resolution, but then the full House met later and the resolution passed unanimously (including a "Yea" vote from Bachmann), thus proving once and for all that "President" Barack Obama is an illegal alien and the conspiracy to cover this up now extends to every member of the House GOP (including Michelle Bachmann). Sounds like those ACORN-Census Bureau-FEMA death "reeducation" camp threats are really working!
(h/t: Jim Newell/Wonkette)
Some more on the Final Lap of the Iquitarod …
Best short review (Alex Pareene via Ken Layne):
It's like Peggy Noonan, Jack London, and William Faulkner wandered into the woods with three buttons of peyote and one typewriter, and only this speech emerged.
And she wrote this speech! In advance, on paper! What does any of it mean? It is amazing. Twenty years ago she could competently descibe a dog race, three years ago she could articulate a position on the abortion issue, and this weekend she composed a resignation speech by throwing culture war stock phrases into a hat and dumping it upside down on a copy of The Paranoid Style in American Politics.
Best performance art interpretation: William Shatner treats it as poetry (bastards at Hulu won't offer an embed option, sorry).
[UPDATE] Found an embeddable version over at HuffPo:
[UPDATE2] Which doesn't seem to be playing at the moment. Oh, well. Try the Hulu link above if it's still broken when you're reading this. Sorry.
[UPDATE3] Another try at an embeddable version:
Think I got it -- if this one doesn't work for you, right-click in the video window, click "Settings," and uncheck "Enable hardware acceleration." Could just be my ancient machine.
Big-time conservative website National Review Online has posted a big-time distancing of itself from the Birthers, and the Freepers are none too happy about this big-time sellout! See your Wonkette for details and links.
Also, I see that "TOTUS" (Teleprompter Of The United States -- big laffs!) has lost its power to tickle the basement-dwellers of Greater Wingnuttia, and "POSOTUS" is the new acronym of choice. I haven't seen it spelled out anywhere, but from occasional renderings as "POS OTUS," I think it's a safe bet that the first three letters stand for Piece Of Shit. Classy as ever, our frustrated, impotent, and hate-filled wingnuts!
Oh, and speaking of the good guys, here is your newest, favoritest Senator speaking before he cast his vote. It's about five minutes long.
Not too shabby, coming from "a clown," huh?
(h/t: Twin, via PM)
Snark aside, a salute to your courage, Senator. I can't promise any more than that, but maybe down the road, if a Full Metal Wingnut tries to unseat you in your next primary on the strength of this vote of yours, I might send your campaign a few bucks, if it looks like it's getting close.
Headline and lede from the NYT:
Senate Panel Endorses Sotomayor in 13-6 Vote
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 13 to 6, on Tuesday to endorse the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, easing her path to likely confirmation as the first Hispanic member of the tribunal.
As expected, all 12 Democrats on the judiciary panel voted for Judge Sotomayor, after praising her intellect, character and inspiring personal history. But among the seven Republicans on the committee, only Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voted in favor.
The committee action sends the nomination to the full Senate, where her confirmation by a comfortable margin seems to be assured.
Gotta figure that the Wasilla Windbag was none too happy about that cop and Prof. Gates getting all the ink and spotlight the past few days. Anyway, she gave her farewell address, I guess we'd call it, and really, the only way to watch it is over at Wonkette, while reading the comments, because they are Teh Awesome.
(Earlier, I noted some of my favorites elsewhere, if you just want a taste.)
[Added] Coupla funny pix from the good people at Mudflats, embedded in this post and this post. Oh, and the second-to-last at the bottom of this post makes all the scrolling worthwhile. (Or just go there and search for "snazzy backpack!")
I've mentioned TFN Insider, the blog of the Texas Freedom Network, before -- it's a valuable resource if you're interested in things like the ongoing attempts by creationists and other Christianists to take over all matters of education down in Texas. And you should be -- as Texas goes, so goes the nation, in things like textbooks for grades K-12.
Anyway, I had occasion to refer to them in the middle of a screed on the Bh.tv forums answering questions like, "So, what's so bad about debating creationists again?" This led me to check my link (because I'm obsessive like that), and I have to say, the latest post is especially well worth reading. It's an update on the previously-noted social studies kerfuffle going on down there (yeah, it's not just all creationism all the time -- the fundies would like more Jeebus served with everything these days), and among other things, it features Tucker Carlson lying and being a dick.
All together now, class ... No one could have predicted.
At least, according to member of The Family Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Obvs.).
Sam Harris has some thoughts on the appointment of Francis Collins, an unarguably stellar scientist and administrator, but also an evangelical Christian, to head the NIH.
(h/t: Me&theboys)
The latest edition of "This Preposterous Week! Paul Slansky's News Index" is now available for your clicking and snickering pleasure.
(h/t: Riley Waggaman, which is a name that should probably be spelled in all caps if it's going to be underlined. Oh well, next time.)
... of why, despite quibbles about details of domestic policy and differences in priorities, I am still very glad that we elected Barack Obama to be President of the United States.
Mr. Obama, according to the survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, enjoys greater confidence among Germans than does Chancellor Angela Merkel, and among the French than President Nicolas Sarkozy. His election in itself, pollsters found, helped restore the United States’ image abroad to levels unseen since the Clinton years.
Improved attitudes toward the United States were most marked in Western Europe, but also evident in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as some predominantly Muslim countries.
[...]
Europeans, in particular, seemed to be responding positively to Mr. Obama. The number of Britons saying that they trusted the American president to do the “right thing” in world affairs soared to 86 percent this year, under Mr. Obama, compared with just 16 percent last year, under President George W. Bush. The increase was slightly larger in both Germany and France.
[...]
For the first time since Pew began making the comparison, people in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria and Indonesia — all predominantly Muslim nations — expressed greater confidence in the American president than in Osama bin Laden.
Bobby Jindal is the new Sarah Palin.
(h/t: Wonkette)
