So you’ve noticed I’ve failed to more-regularly update the site these past few days. Well, I’ve been doing a ton of cooking and I’ve worked every day this week. In short, I’ve been VERY busy. I’m trying out some new stuff with the site in terms of writing styles and angles from which I can report on the various stories I choose to discuss. So that’s taken up some time as well.
I’ve got a small catering gig for Sunday…so you probably won’t hear much from me until early next week. However, if I have some free time, I’ll try to update as much as possible. So, keep me on your blog rolls and favorite places lists! I’ll be back…with more BS than you can tolerate!
In the mean time, send me some delicious hate mail. I have yet to add my email to the menus to the right. I’ve got to insert the code into the template. In short, it’s too much work. Or, rather, I’m too lazy. So, my email is mxmat2@aol.com.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Personal at 8:43 PM PDT
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I don’t know what took me so long, but I’d like to offer my condolences to the friends and family of the great News Journal columnist Norman Lockman, who died April 18 after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Though I worked freelance for The News Journal for several years, I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Lockman. I’d always been a fan of his weekly column, though I certainly disagreed with him on some issues.
The Journal sums it up perfectly in the sub-head of the article: Columnist tackled tougest issues. He did indeed, as the host of passionate letters to the editor in response to his columns proved. No matter your political persuasion you knew where Lockman stood.
Lockman was only 66. May he rest in peace.
Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 8:36 PM PDT
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OK, ever since I read that Rosie O’Donnell had a blog, I’d seriously considered getting rid of my own. I mean, Rosie O’Donnell? Who’s next? Regis and Kelly? A Ricki Lake blog?
Anyhow, if you can get past Rosie’s annoying prose writing style, then perhaps you’ll see some sense in this post discussing Texas’ ban on gay foster parents. Say what you will about Rosie (I know I have), but this is one issue on which I will stand firmly with her.
Included in the bill is a provision to possibly investigate and take-away those children already in foster care with homosexuals. How tragically depressing would that be to have children taken away from those they see as their parental figures?
From Rosie’s blog:
Eva Thibaudeau (pictured above), who with her partner of eight years is a licensed foster parent, said she was in shock over the amendment. During the past eight years, she and her partner have adopted four kids and fostered 75 children. “I am just so hurt and surprised, especially now [when] we are facing an ongoing crisis of not having enough resources to take care of foster children,” said Thibaudeau, a social worker.
This seems to be one particular sect of conservatism that advocates such harsh discrimination. My conservative friends and family members have no problem with gays and lesbians who want to relieve the stress from an overpopulated foster system. While I understand and hesitantly accept the whole “children-should-have-both-a-father-and-mother” argument some conservatives offer up, it’s true there are thousands of children living in child protective services without the luxury of either a mother or father.
OK, I know you conservatives all hate the idea of gays getting married. I strongly disagree, but why do you possibly think gays adopting can be bad for our society? Don’t come at me with any Bible “truth” or any other nonsense. I want some facts. I’d be willing to bet kids would come out more screwed up after 18 years in some facility as opposed to an environment where love is the order of the day. No matter if it’s a man and a women, two men or two women.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Conservatism at 7:59 PM PDT
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While I anxiously await the Tuesday release of Bruce Springsteen’s newest album, Devils & Dust, I’ve been taking a listen to several gems from Aimee Mann’s latest, The Forgotten Arm, due to be released May 3.
For those interested you can head over to Mann’s official site, where she is streaming the FULL album for your listening pleasure. I’ve only heard three songs, as I’m rather anal when it comes to holding off until I have the actual CD in my hands. What I’ve heard sounds great, so be sure to check it out. If you like, please support Mann and buy her album.
Of course, Mann’s album was produced by the insanely awesome Joe Henry, so my bias is a bit hard to hide.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Music at 7:17 PM PDT
Talk dirty to me »
If I’d known escaping my alma mater was going to be this difficult I would’ve requested my address and phone number be deleted from its database immediately. In the past week I’ve received no less than four phone calls, two emails and two letters begging for money. They say that I, as an alumnus, have a responsibility to make a contribution so that the fine goings-on at Temple University can continue for years to come.
The email the school sent me today waxed poetic on “Realizing the Power of One.” What a dumb slogan. If they really think the measly five dollars I would send them would unleash some sort of god-like “power of one,” then I don’t think Temple should call itself an institution of higher learning.
Most insulting was the school charging me and my parents a $250 per semester technology fee, only to have the bureaucratic asses in the library and any other tech facility deny me the ability to print a page. A $250 fee and I’m not allowed to use the damn printer?
So, unless I get all Bill Cosby-rich, I don’t think my alma mater will be seeing a dime from me any time soon. I wonder, do public universities have to honor the Do Not Call Registry?
Posted by Mike Matthews in Personal at 6:07 PM PDT
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Phyllis Diller falls out of bed and injures her head and neck. This broad is still alive? The article claims she’s 87, but I’m thinking more like 107. I guess this incident will get her back on a couple talk shows to hawk her new book Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse. That’s if the old crow can wiggle out of bed.
In related, but equally unimportant, news, I’ve had no eye crust when waking up these past few days and I swear the impacted cerumen in my right ear has decreased dramatically.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Dumb stuff at 8:43 PM PDT
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The statements made in this post need to be no longer than that of the subject line above. The death penalty is serious retribution for serious crimes, no doubt. However, I’ve always believed that the death of one innocent person is not worth the death of 10 guilty. Simple as that.
Moreover, I’ve always been fascinated by the likes of those in the Christian-crowd always chanting for more death of convicted murderers. What Would Jesus Do, indeed. The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. Simple as that. You can come at me with any rationale you like, but my opinion will remain: State-sponsored murder via capital punishment is nothing more than premeditated, cruel and unusual punishment.
And now comes word, from Texas, no less, that an innocent man may have been executed 14 months ago.
From the story:
Fourteen months after Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in the nation’s busiest death chamber, a renowned arson expert and Willingham’s lawyer told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee that they believed Willingham might have been innocent but found nobody willing to listen to their claim in the days before the execution in February 2004.
Now, I refuse to call this story until a full investigation has completed (though it seems I may have in jumping on it so early). However, my skepticism and thesis on the death penalty in most states will never waiver: Poor suspects often receive inadequate legal representation at trial. Though I don’t know the economic condition of this now-deceased man, I’m doubting he had Mark Garagos-scratch to pay for an adequate defense.
State-appointed legal representatives are often unprepared or uninterested in offering up a reasonable defense for so many future death-row inmates. So, should it come as any surprise of the possibility that several people over the past few decades have been innocently murdered by the state?
Conservatives have long-aligned themselves with the “deterrence” theory for supporting the death penalty. That is, the death penalty alone will scare the hell out of the populous so that less murder will be committed. Unfortunately, this detailed report on deterrence by a Columbia Law School professor outlines why such beliefs are false. Those arguing for deterrence often forget that a large chunk of murders are committed as “crimes of passion,” which would mean the crimes would be quite difficult to stop.
To be sure, there are those who I’d like to see tried under our legal system and be put to death. The list is short, though: Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and Britney Spears, to name a few. Unfortunately, the life of one innocent man seriously taints an untaintably-cruel system of justice in the land of the free, home of the brave.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Political Landscape at 6:20 PM PDT
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I’m tired of reading politics. No more Chomsky for me. Instead I’ve rediscovered fiction! In the past month I’ve read four (!) James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. They are particularly fun reads while at the gym and they’re not too long.
The ones I’ve read thus far are Casino Royale (the next Bond flick), Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (my favorite) and From Russia With Love. The reissued editions from 2002 are quite handsome and make for easy handling to and from the gym.
I just finished From Russia With Love and have started on a new book, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Though only a few chapters in, I’ve been totally taken by this shockingly brutal look at the future and just what the possibilities could be should our country ever head into Christian-fundamentalist territory. In fact, this review, by Library Journal via Amazon.com sums it up perfectly, especially the Schlafly/Falwell reference.
Here’s the review:
In a startling departure from her previous novels (Lady Oracle , Surfacing), respected Canadian poet and novelist Atwood presents here a fable of the near future. In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right Schlafly/Falwell-type ideals have been carried to extremes in the monotheocratic government. The resulting society is a feminist’s nightmare: women are strictly controlled, unable to have jobs or money and assigned to various classes: the chaste, childless Wives; the housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, who turn their offspring over to the “morally fit” Wives. The tale is told by Offred (read: “of Fred”), a Handmaid who recalls the past and tells how the chilling society came to be. This powerful, memorable novel is highly recommended for most libraries.
For those of you unaware, Phyllis Schlafly is a very far-right conservative who advocated against the perennially-unsuccessful Equal Rights Amendment that failed to be ratified back in the 70s.
Jerry Falwell, of course, needs no introduction. He’s been known to spout off such delicate morsels like this:
And, I know that I’ll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say “you helped this happen.”
So, just as a reminder. Never stop reading. I did for a while and finally realized what I’d been missing.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Books at 7:11 PM PDT
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So, it seems the great, locally-produced The Hott Spott may be coming to an end.
Host JayRock and co-host Amie mentioned the show would continue, just without Jay. Amie mentioned open auditions. Hmm…maybe I should try out. I’ve no broadcasting experience, but I am a news junkie with a somewhat skewed point of view on just about everything.
We shall see where this website leads me. Hopefully somewhere with a paycheck.
Posted by Mike Matthews in The Hott Spott at 10:38 PM PDT
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As politically incorrect as it is, Bush has said what’s needed to be said in regards to Social Security: Raising the retirement age is a serious possibility.
Of course, Bush wouldn’t have dared to say this on the campaign trail, where both he and wuss John Kerry waffled back and forth on the issue. Nevertheless, it’s needed to be said over the past few years. And it’s only logical. Americans are living well into their 80s nowadays. Does it not make sense to raise the retirement age when life expectancies make such dramatic improvements as the decades pass?
I still despise him, but at least President Bush said it. But, he still hasn’t rid himself of that BS privatization rhetoric.
Posted by Mike Matthews in ODB (Our Dumb Bush) at 8:49 PM PDT
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Received this Slate.com link from a friend.
I don’t think I have much to say in response to this brilliantly written piece of satire, so I just wonder what you all have to say? Again, it is with a sense of humor that one must view things like this.
Some awesome passages:
Where is God’s incentive to behave? He gets credit for the good things and no blame for the bad. Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is fond of thanking God for keeping America safe since 9/11; Ashcroft never asks why, if God has fended off terrorist strikes since 9/11, he let the hijackers on the planes on the day itself. Was God caught off guard the first time around, like the U.S. government? But he is omniscient and omnipotent.
As well as:
It is a sad fact of human relations that unqualified adulation often produces from the adored one contempt and a kick in the chops, rather than gratitude and kindness. Apparently, the same applies to human-divine relations.
Good stuff.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Religion at 8:09 PM PDT
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Yes, it’s true. From time to time I surprise myself into self-amazement bliss. And tonight is one of those nights. Not knowing what to have for dinner I called upon a versatile staple for assistance: risotto.
I’ve made risotto only a few other times, as it’s generally a pain-in-the-butt to prepare. But, tonight I tried something new.
After completion I quickly crowned this work of art my new piece de resistance (no, I didn’t feel like finding the html code for the properly accented French letters). My mother concurred and I’ve been munching in bliss the past 15 minutes. So, I thought I’d share.
There’s no title for the recipe, so just pay attention!
One TBSP olive oil
Four cloves garlic, chopped
One medium onion, chopped
One pound ground beef
Eight cups chicken broth
Half an ounce of dried porcini mushrooms (found in the produce section near the, umm…mushrooms)
One and a half cups arborio rice
One cup frozen peas, thawed
One quarter-cup heavy cream
One quarter-cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in a large saucepan
2) Add pound of beef and cook. Transfer beef into dish lined with paper towel. Drain excess grease. Do not wash pan
3) Add three cups of broth and bring to a boil. Add the porcini mushrooms and allow them to reconstitute in the boiling liquid for about five minutes.
4) Remove mushrooms and rough chop them on a cutting board. Return to the boiling liquid.
5) Add arborio rice. This is the REALLY tedious part. Stir constantly for about 20 minutes, continually adding ladles of broth every couple of minutes until the rice has “sucked it all up.” You should end up using most of the chicken broth. Continue adding liquid until the rice’s consistency meets your approval. It should be tender, not mushy.
6) Add cream, parmesan cheese and peas. Stir thoroughly another minute or so, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add more chicken broth if mixture seems a bit dry. End result should be a creamy blend of goodness.
You’ll love this. Let me know what you think should you make it.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Food and recipes at 7:48 PM PDT
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I don’t mind a good protest. In fact, I firmly believe most protests nowadays are totally acceptable forms of telling the government all the ways it’s screwing up. Unfortunately the government’s doing such a good job of screwing up on its own that the protestors have little effect in changing the system.
My only problem is that many of these idiot protestors just aren’t willing to go far enough for their causes. George Carlin has a great skit in which he says protestors should go back to the days of setting themselves on fire to more passionately get their point across. I agree.
So, it’s with protests like these that I say…what the hell? A hunger strike? What kind of hippies are these wusses?
Perhaps it’s because of my enormous size, but I would never consider going on a hunger strike for anything short of some ass attempting to steal my James Bond DVD collection. Food is too important to me. George W. Bush could advocate killing and eating babies for breakfast and I still wouldn’t go on a hunger strike. Congressional Republicans and Democrats could vote to invade another sovereign nation. You know what? I’m still eating.
I guess these protestors did something right, as it seems the school’s chancellor has agreed to meet with them. If I was the chancellor I would’ve waited until at least one student died. Then I’d know these kids mean business.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Craziness at 8:00 AM PDT
Talk dirty to me »
I attended my first gala event last night in support of my alma mater, Cab Calloway School of the Arts.
While hobknobbing with the rich and (possibly?) famous, I felt severely out of place. I purchased two tickets for my guest and I. The cost was considered a donation and was applied to the school’s new, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Cab Calloway School Fund.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Mike Matthews in Personal at 2:47 PM PDT
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Queen Conservative Diva Michelle Malkin has provided me with an ample dose of inspiration today. Unfortunately, my trackbacks to her site still don’t work. I’d be interested in hearing what some technologically-advanced individual could offer me in regards to this. Is she able to ban certain domains from tracking back?
Anyhow, on to the topic at hand. Malkin today gave a big, fat “unbelievable” when she read the United Nations was funding a videogame “to educate youngsters about hunger and the work of the aid agency”.
Is this a silly idea? Absolutely, but I wonder if Malkin has commented on the US Army’s long history of funding violent video games to attract new recruits. Equating violent and bloody war to a simple, inanimate video game in order to boost recruiting numbers is questionable, as well.
So, Michelle, what say you on this?
Update I: Another blogger writes about the Army using video games as recruiting tools.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Craziness at 5:40 PM PDT
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Michelle Malkin always shouts out about the need to be more politically incorrect in these “politically correct liberal times.” But, she wants to stay all safe and protected from what really offends her: Anti-Bush paraphernalia.
Malkin recently posted a screed lashing Café Press for selling shirts that read “Kill Bush” on them. OK, so perhaps they’re a bit questionable. But, now Malkin seems to indicate she wants ALL the anti-Bush goodies trashed.
Sorry, princess. But politically incorrect is politically incorrect. You can’t have it both ways. I’m sure Malkin approves of this anti-Kerry bumper sticker. But, Kerry isn’t “her guy,” so no harm.
Michelle can do no harm in my eyes, though. Generally, hot chicks get a pass from me even if they’re conservative.
On a side note, I’m hoping my trackback to Malkin’s blog will be accepted. The last few haven’t, so I’m wondering if Malkin doesn’t like me or if she doesn’t accept trackbacks from liberal blogs after all.
Update I: The excellent, media-heavy Crooks and Liars has a third-party account of some things the Wingnuts (short for “right-wing nuts”) were threatening against Café Press employees should they fail to remove the anti-Bush paraphernalia:
Talking to a source at Café Press, I was told that they received numerous death, bomb and even Anthrax threats if they didn’t pull off the anti-Delay T-shirt, and Kill Bush products.
I’m always skeptical of reports like these, but I’ve found C&L to be fairly reputable over the past few months. Check out the site and bookmark it. They’ve always got some cool media files on hand for liberals like me to view.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Conservatism at 5:52 AM PDT
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi today gave House Republicans in general and Majority Leader Tom DeLay in particular the bitch-slap they’ve so richly deserved.
Via Atrios I was linked to this release from Pelosi’s office.
Conservatives can bitch and moan about Pelosi all they like, but they can’t ignore the stunningly honest point she makes a mere one sentence into the release:
The Republican majority promised after the 1994 elections to manage the House in a way that fostered “deliberative democracy,” which they defined as the “full and free airing of conflicting opinions through hearings, debates, and amendments.”
Pelosi needs to go no further than this point. Whether through attempting to knockdown the filibustering process or “stacking” the Ethics Committee with Republicans, as Pelosi says, Republicans have shown ZERO ethics since the commencement of the 109th Congress. Many Democrats are fairly lax in this area, too…but I’m trying to make a point here.
The continued protection and defense of slime like Tom DeLay, whose special-interests past is now coming to light, remains a stain on the fabric of our nation. Here’s hoping more of these corporate-interest-loving whores are brought out of the closet.
The American government is not for sale. Though most conservatives (and some liberals, for sure) may disagree, I don’t feel our senators and representatives should ever be bought.
To Rep. DeLay: a big, fat “EFF YOU!” How’s that for articulate and reserved?
Posted by Mike Matthews in Political Landscape at 7:19 PM PDT
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Like I said, I will not stop talking about religion on this site. So, time for some more.
The Associated Press today reported on the decline of men becoming priests around the world. Severely declining in the case of the U.S., as “numbers have fallen about 20 percent” since Pope John Paul II came to head the papacy in 1978. That 20 percent is way above the international 3.7 percent drop since 1978.
More on the compositional make-up of priests around the globe:
While recruitment to the priesthood is thriving in Africa, Latin America and Asia, it’s nearly fallen off the map in Ireland, which for generations was a leading exporter of priests. The average age of priests here is nearly 60.
Hmm…funny. I guess it’s true that most men are turned off from wearing the cloth because of strick celibacy rules. Believe it or not, that’s the truth. Men like to have sex. There, I said it…they like to screw.
Likewise, because our global community has become more tolerant of homosexuals, gay men no longer need to hide under that cloth. And what a great thing that is for people to live so open and honestly.
Which brings me to my point, so eloquently debated with my family this past Sunday at a delicious dinner at the Fair Hill Inn in Fair Hill, Md. (My uncle owns this little slice of heaven.) The dinner conversation offered a large chunk of time to Catholic traditions. We spoke of the polls coming out in which American Catholics are hoping for the Church to change its position on a host of issues, from birth control to allowing women to preach and allowing priests to marry. While some in my family firmly hold on to these ideas of tradition, I was shocked to learn that some indeed were interested in seeing some change.
Though I have no right to say so (as I’m not currently practicing Catholicism), I feel tradition is nothing more than ideological babble meant to convey positive images to those involved. Well, sorry to burst your bubbles. Tradition is BS. We’re in a constant state of cultural evolution on this planet. Tradition may be nice in theory, but it’s totally impractical.
Tradition has proven to be a major Achilles’ Heel to Catholics. Continue the tradition of hiding up sexual-abuse allegations and I’m sure they’ll be ready to tinker with their precious tradition.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Religion at 6:30 PM PDT
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