A common argument from conservatives has been that all those who question the war are questioning the resolve of the troops and, by logical extension, the troops themselves. By default, one’s patriotism and allegiance to the nation have also been slandered by hit-and-run conservatives seeking to discredit those who would criticize this war. Well, not only is a clear majority of the nation now seriously questioning the war (including godfather of conservatism William F. Buckley), a whopping 72 percent of troops surveyed in a recent Le Moyne College/Zogby poll believe we should get the hell out of there within the year.
So the question begs to be answered. Are these “defeatist” troops “anti-troop?” Or will conservatives use the caveat of “within the year” to twist the basic message that even the troops are fed up with this playful excursion? Are the troops hunting down the Iraqi “terrorists” while complaining about their missions anti-American? If they hate their country so much, then why “defend” it in a war thousands of miles away that is a “serious battle” in the elusive “war on terror?” Would those troops rather “fight them over here so we wouldn’t have to fight them over there?”
As usual, Bush is in denial about the impending civil war in that pathetic nation:
Asked what Washington would do if civil war broke out in Iraq, Bush told ABC News: “I don’t buy your premise that there’s going to be a civil war.”
He said he had spoken to leaders of all Iraqi sects and “I heard loud and clear that they understand that they’re going to choose unification, and we’re going to help them do so.”
Bush is speaking in the future tense when he’s speaking of a civil war. Perhaps if he’d get his nose off of the powder-stained mirror he’d realize it’s already full-on civil war in Iraq. The only thing missing is the formal declaration between the two ill-fated groups of religious nutsos.
Related: Pansy-ass troops need counseling when they come home. Counseling? Is it Socialism when the troops want adequate healthcare? Nope, just workers’ compensation.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Common Sense at 8:21 PM PST
Talk dirty to me »
Bank of America announces it will open its first retail banking branches in Delaware…
…to be immediately followed by the closing of its corporate offices throughout the state!
What’s the salary cut for a Bank of America IT rep downgraded to drive-thru teller?
Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 10:02 PM PST
1 Comment | Gimme some more »
Apparently, Hillary Clinton thinks Karl Rove spends too much time thinking about her:
Reacting to a new book quoting Karl Rove as saying she will be the 2008 Democratic nominee for president, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that President Bush’s chief political strategist “spends a lot of time obsessing about me.”
The former first lady also said she believed Rove, national GOP Chairman Ken Mehlman and other Republicans are using her to divert attention from Republican problems as the 2006 congressional elections approach.
The question is: Does Rove spend as much time leaking in his Jockey’s while thinking of Hillary as he does leaking the identities of CIA agents?
Related: Ryan at Jokers to the Right discusses the possibilities of a Hillary 2008 candidacy.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Filth at 9:50 PM PST
Talk dirty to me »
I’m with Morrissey:
Morrissey claims the United States and British intelligence officials have interviewed him after he criticized U.S. President George W. Bush, the war in Iraq and the British government in recent years.
The former lead singer of the Smiths tells British music paper NME that he believed he had been interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and British intelligence agents because he was deemed a threat for speaking his mind.
“They were trying to determine if I was a threat to the government, and similarly in England,” NME quotes the 46-year-old singer as saying. “But it didn’t take them very long to realize that I’m not.”
In June 2004, Morrissey came under fire for interrupting a Dublin concert with news that former U.S. president Ronald Reagan had died, adding that he wished Bush had died instead.
So, also WISHING the president was dead is punishable by a visit from US authorities? If that’s the case, then those bureaucratic skullfucks should have been knocking down my door years ago!
Reminder: Morrissey’s new album, Ringleader of the Tormentors, drops on April 4. Not that any of you care. You’re probably too busy listening to some Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5, Laffy Taffy or emo shit. And watching American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Music at 4:33 PM PST
3 Comments | Gimme some more »
Not that it really matters, but Queen B. herself is in a bit of a tizzy regarding proposed extra fees state governments will have to chip in to keep Amtrak running. Never mind that homely Governor Minner and her number-1-license-plate-having-self probably hasn’t set foot on a train since the east coast met the west coast. The only reason I could see Delaware (and other states) footing larger portions of the railway expenses is because Department of Transportation officials specifically have passengers like Ruth Ann Minner in mind when sloughing off expenses. Fat people: We just have to pay more! More weight on the tracks=higher prices at the ticket kiosk!
Thanks for sticking up for us, Governor. Next time I’m in a bar craving the scent of pure nicotine I’ll have a shot just for you!
Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 2:50 PM PST
2 Comments | Gimme some more »
Uppity college students at the University of Delaware! All over some racist skinhead who puts out really bad music. Apparently, minorities at UD can’t handle free speech.
UD PhD candidate Robert T. Huber is a white supremacist, to say the least. He’s a member of several neo-Nazi hardcore bands fronted by Final Stand Records, a “Newark-based website that promotes skinhead concerts, sponsers racist Internet chat rooms and peddles neo-Nazi and racist skinhead music,” says The Wilmington News Journal. A member of the Skinhead Hall of Fame, Huber has been at this game for quite some time, having joined a Mississippi-based skinhead movement in his early teens.
UD minorities (and, presumably, a large population of whites) are outraged that this racist hasn’t yet been sacked by UD President David P. Roselle. In my opinion, this is where “political correctness” truly rears its ugly head on college campuses: stifling one’s free speech to enhance or maintain the “comfort” level of those offended by it. Huber has been convicted of no crimes. As far as I’m concerned, he’s merely upholding his own First Amendment rights to free speech by participating in these personal, albeit disgusting, activities. One student in Huber’s class has said “Huber wore long-sleeves while teaching to conceal his tattoos and never talked about race or politics.” This is enough for me to take Huber’s side on this issue. He hasn’t made his extracurricular activites an issue in the classroom, so why should students be making such a fuss? Hanging swastikas and burning crosses would be one thing.
One would have to wonder if blacks would be up in arms if whites objected to a black professor because he celebrated the likes of Molefi Kete Asante, a noted Black Nationalist who takes a rather hostile approach toward caucasians. But, I forgot. It’s OK for blacks to hate whites because they’re, um…white. That’s not racism. That’s just anger over 300 years of neglect. But, should a white use his or her right to freedom of speech to spout some anti-Black or anti-Jewish rhetoric, tar ‘em, feather ‘em and sack ‘em!
I know I’ll get hell over that last paragraph, but I feel it’s some unadulterated truth that needs to be put out there. No, I’m not a racist. I’m an American who believes that, yes, racists are Americans and racists come in all colors. I believe it’s the right of all individuals to be whomever they choose when it comes to exercising their First Amendment rights. When Mr. Huber begins paintin’ the town brown with swastikas or posting David Duke posters in his physics class, then perhaps worried minorites will have a logical and necessary complaint. But this is America and, as far as I’m concerned, racism is protected speech.
PolitaKid takes an opposing perspective, with some thoughtful commentary by his readers.
The hottie over at Cute Conservative takes on the issue, as well.
Al Mascitti makes some sense of it all.
Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 12:26 PM PST
22 Comments | Gimme some more »
I’ve expanded my Delaware blogroll. I think it’s fairly comprehensive. Let me know if you’re a Delaware blogger without a coveted spot on my humble blogroll. I’ll be glad to add you.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Friends at 11:20 AM PST
2 Comments | Gimme some more »
Dana’s got a great post up about South Dakota’s recent congressional ban on abortion. Dana’s dead on in questioning the “conservativeness” of those who would seek to take ownership of a woman’s body.
Even better is the political cartoon featured at the bottom of his post. Terri Schiavo would be proud.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Political Landscape at 11:06 AM PST
1 Comment | Gimme some more »
Buckley comes out swinging, admitting our “objective” in Iraq has failed:
“I can tell you the main reason behind all our woes — it is America.” The New York Times reporter is quoting the complaint of a clothing merchant in a Sunni stronghold in Iraq. “Everything that is going on between Sunni and Shiites, the troublemaker in the middle is America.”
One can’t doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed. The same edition of the paper quotes a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Reuel Marc Gerecht backed the American intervention. He now speaks of the bombing of the especially sacred Shiite mosque in Samara and what that has precipitated in the way of revenge. He concludes that “The bombing has completely demolished” what was being attempted — to bring Sunnis into the defense and interior ministries.
Good show, Mr. Buckley. Buckley gives credence to the idea that it is we, America, who fucked up the already-fucked-up nation of Iraq. Say what you will about the villian that is Saddam Hussein. Rape rooms and torture chambers. He kept those crazy Muslims in check. Maybe he ruled the way he did because he knew democracy would never work. Perhaps he was a gift to his own pitiful nation.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Conservatism at 10:38 PM PST
5 Comments | Gimme some more »
CNN’s Lou Dobbs, hardly a liberal by any standard definition of the word, has gone all Fahrenheit 9/11 on George Bush’s ass! He’s dared to connect the Bush family to The Carlyle Group. Haven’t seen Fahrenheit 9/11? Don’t know what The Carlyle Group is? Do some homework by renting the film. Or read this transcript detailing how Bush’s family has very strategic and noted economic interests in seeing the Dubai Ports transaction go through smoothly.
I haven’t commented on this latest blogburst yet. Mostly because it doesn’t interest me. I’d rather make fart jokes and talk about Johnny Weir and Dianna Abdala, both of whom are dramatically driving up my site’s hits. In short, politics have bored me lately. The whole game is so damn cyclical. See Bush lie. See Bush act on lies. See Bush lie about acts. See Bush cover up. See Bush apologize. It’s all the same. All the fuckin’ same.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Common Sense at 4:18 PM PST
8 Comments | Gimme some more »
Omnisoul, the object of some of my scorn last year, is returning to Delaware after wrapping up recording of its major-label debut. Signed to Wind-Up Records (home to new porn-star Scott Stapp), this quintet of guys will be playing Kahuna’s Concert Stage on Friday, March 3. Featured, I’m sure, will be the band’s ubiquitous WSTW-Top 40 hit “Waiting (Save Your Life)”, that seems to have been played at least as much as the 1823 Kelly Clarkson songs that have been in rotation since last year.
The band’s music has appeared on the soundtrack to last summer’s megahit Fantastic Four as well as the since-canceled CBS series Joan of Arcadia.
Tickets to the concert are available now on Ticketmaster, at the Kahunaville Box Office, and at Unique Impressions in Newark, DE. Doors open at 7 pm and Omnisoul hits the stage at 9 pm. The concert is all ages and 21 plus to drink.
Thanks to local concert-diva Kathy Cammett for this press release. Some of the content of this post has been directly lifted from her release. Be sure to check out Kathy’s MySpace page for a comprehensive listing of her shows at Kahunaville and around the Wilmington area.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Music at 3:41 PM PST
3 Comments | Gimme some more »
Those offended by “hyperbole” and all the vicious “moonbattery” to follow should beware! I’m in a particularly caustic mood today.
PS…I’m open to some “Bill Clinton’s America” contributions. Grump, Amy Olga? Step on up! This is YOUR sounding board!
Posted by Mike Matthews in General at 3:08 PM PST
3 Comments | Gimme some more »
In George Bush’s America, a “strong” economy is relative. Because in George Bush’s economy peoples’ earnings don’t go up with out-of-control inflation. Nope, nope. In George Bush’s America, inflation takes hold of everything except peoples’ salaries.
Posted by Mike Matthews in ODB (Our Dumb Bush) at 3:06 PM PST
1 Comment | Gimme some more »
In George Bush’s America, wars are executed with careless ease. Emphasis on the careless. In George Bush’s America, unnecessary wars are handled as top-priority issues. In George Bush’s America, foresight into probable civil war in a majority-Muslim nation is never discussed. In George Bush’s America, “Mission Accomplished” is afforded an entirely new meaning.
Posted by Mike Matthews in ODB (Our Dumb Bush) at 3:06 PM PST
Talk dirty to me »
Only in George Bush’s America can a conservative so easily define a “culture of life” as being free from the “murder” of “innocents.” Because in George Bush’s America, a woman’s right to do with her body what she chooses is considered “immoral” and “against Jesus.” Because we’re a nation of Jesus, I suppose. A Jesus Nation, perhaps.
In George Bush’s America, the word “activist” is used by many to slander “liberals” with idealogical biases. In George Bush’s America, South Dakota legislators aren’t “activists,” but participants in the “culture of life.”
In George Bush’s America, Bob Cesca rocks!
Posted by Mike Matthews in ODB (Our Dumb Bush) at 3:05 PM PST
2 Comments | Gimme some more »
In George Bush’s America, homosexuals are relegated to second-class citizenship by not being allowed to marry. Equality is alive in America, indeed. Just don’t think you’ve got some unadulterated right to marry whomever you choose.
In George Bush’s America, “filthy fags and dykes” aren’t afforded the opportunity to adopt from the thousands of orphaned children. In George Bush’s America, common sense may not be so common.
Posted by Mike Matthews in ODB (Our Dumb Bush) at 3:05 PM PST
2 Comments | Gimme some more »
I forget where and with whom, but I had a discussion with a friend of mine on the topic of domestic abuse. Male on female and female on male abuse. We covered the gamut of abuse. Then, I was reminded of an opinion article a friend of mine wrote for our high school newspaper, of which I was the editor. One needed to look no further than the headline:
The best way to a woman’s heart is through her broken ribs
I used some of that elusive self-control and decided not to run it, though my author friend made several great points.
I thought it was funny. Even some of the girls in the class thought it was funny, seeing how the headline was used purely for irony purposes.
Needless to say, the female friend with whom I had this discussion didn’t find it quite so funny.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Dumb stuff at 10:52 PM PST
5 Comments | Gimme some more »
Law and order in Iraq is “police uniform” wearing Shi’ites seizing 12 Sunnis from a prison and murdering 11, with the last in critical condition. This reeks of being an inside job.
The law taking the law into its own hands. Sounds like the situation is ripe for civil war. Oh, yeah, and a 1200-year-old holy site was destroyed by insurgents. Looks like Bush’s “mission accomplished” has some wholly new dimensions.
Thank you, Mr. President!
Posted by Mike Matthews in Political Landscape at 7:26 PM PST
7 Comments | Gimme some more »
It seems everyone in the DE Blogosphere is doing it lately. Time to send your links to me so I can update my blogroll. Leave a comment and I’ll add you. I’ve noticed quite a few new DE blogs of late. Make sure you all leave me your sites. It’s nice seeing my fellow Delaware bretheren (and sisteren, conversely) coming out and spreading their filth on the web! Just like me.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Friends at 9:25 AM PST
Talk dirty to me »
Anyone else wanna see some hot pics of a pre-menopausal Betty White, the sand-paper mouthed lady-in-her-eighties who once starred in The Golden Girls?
Viewer discretion advised. Hot content ahead!
Betty White in the Buff!
Posted by Mike Matthews in Filth at 9:42 PM PST
10 Comments | Gimme some more »
Michelle Malkin waves her unhinged-wand in mysterious ways, having labeled Delaware’s own Johnny Weir as a “moonbat” just this morning.
Malkin also makes a jump when she asserts Johnny is anti-troop. She links to another right-wing blog endorsing figure skater Sasha Cohen as “pro-troops.” Funny how those conservatives qualify everyone’s “patriotism” using the “pro-troops/anti-troops” litmus test.
Hey, Michelle…wanna get some REAL info on Johnny Weir that’s not your usual right-wing, no-humor-havin’ material? Check here, here, and here.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Johnny Weir at 2:49 PM PST
6 Comments | Gimme some more »
The coolest, hippest cat in music, Joe Henry, is on MySpace! Add him as a “friend” should your musical tastes expand somewhere deeper than Top 40 radio.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Music at 10:52 PM PST
1 Comment | Gimme some more »
Perhaps I’ve been on this computer too much this weekend, but I feel I’ve given you all some adequate entries. Why not let you know what I’m about to prepare for tonight’s dinner?
Pan-fried herbed chicken cutlets
Rosemary-asiago smashed red potatoes
Brussels sprouts sauteed in crisped pancetta
No dessert. Dinner is being prepared quite fortuitously anyhow.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Food and recipes at 6:56 PM PST
Talk dirty to me »
Dianna Abdala, a 24-year-old Boston attorney, rocks. In a series of hilarious emails, she totally brushes off a Boston lawfirm that hired her, only to have her renege on the offer. Unprofessional and likely insane? Sure. But pretty damned hilarious, nonetheless.
Check out the exchange here.
Bla, bla, bla bitches!
Posted by Mike Matthews in Dumb stuff at 6:07 PM PST
6 Comments | Gimme some more »
OK, all of you fucking losers (present company included) can move on. Someone has won the $365 million Powerball lottery. Some lucky bastard out in Nebraska. Annuity payment is around $6 million. Full cash-out is $177 million before state taxes.
Let’s hope a large chunk of those taxes can pay for a couple more hours of our ongoing Iraq adventure. Or Dick Cheney’s hunting trips.
Give me some applause, folks. It took me more than a week to have some fun at the expense of our befuddled vice president!
Posted by Mike Matthews in General at 4:49 PM PST
1 Comment | Gimme some more »
Stephen King’s new book, Cell, is really, really good. In what is clearly an homage to zombie-king George A. Romero (the book is even dedicated, in part, to the master), Cell finds most of civilization flipped over in a second after a mysterious transmission is sent to billions of cell phones around the world, thus infecting their users with a sort-of brain virus that causes them to run amok.
This endorsement comes from a once-frustrated former King fan who gave up on the master after reading his vacuous Rose Madder in the summer of 1997. Maybe I should check out some of the stuff I’ve missed over the past decade. Any suggestions out there?
Posted by Mike Matthews in Books at 10:40 PM PST
2 Comments | Gimme some more »
When I phoned local radio host Rick Jensen’s show yesterday to discuss the Johnny Weir “controversy,” I was shocked to find the conservative host held the same opinion as me. Not that this should have been a shock, though. I tend to agree with quite a few things Jensen says, especially on those days when I’m in a particularly libertarian or pseudo-conservative mood (yes, it happens every now and then).
I only caught Jensen and co-host and liberal Gerry Fulcher because I was on an extended lunch break from a hellish day of substituting for a full-day kindergarten class. And I was glad I did. Jensen not only agreed with much of what I had to say (and vice-versa), he also plugged my site several times during the five-minute phone call. Let’s face it: I’m a publicity whore. And I’ve been pimping out Johnny Weir quite a bit this week, much to my satisfaction as shown in my site’s statistics.
What Jensen had to say about Weir basically confirmed what I’ve written here. His off-ice antics are just that: hilarious and hardly meant to be offensive. I agreed with Jensen that I felt it unimportant and ridiculous that people took offense to Weir’s choice of a Soviet “CCCP” jacket as part of his rehearsal apparel. Weir is indeed a fine skater, but I think he more often embodies the characteristics of a rock star who is, first and foremost, out to gain a larger audience through his provocative rhetoric.
Our discussion eventually took a turn toward some of the nasty comments made by former Olympian Rudy Galindo, in which Galindo criticized Johnny Weir for not being forthcoming regarding his sexuality. Galindo, an openly-gay former figure skater has been quite revealing in his attempts to “out” Weir:
“He’s drinking tea with his pinkie finger in the air, and he’s so over the top and feminine, why is everybody asking him about his `style’ and not just ask him if he’s gay?” Galindo told the Tribune. “It’s the funniest thing to watch.”
Maybe Weir is double-jointed? Seriously, though, as an openly gay man, it would seem appropriate for him to not be in the business of attempting to “out” folk?
Or is Galindo pissed off at Weir because he believes Weir has copied his style?
Galindo, who is HIV-positive, said he doesn’t have respect for Weir because the three-time national champion was copying him.
“We’ve built up this animosity,” Galindo said.
Copying or not, it’s not Weir who has built up the animosity, in my opinion. It’s Galindo’s continued railroading of Weir on this issue that has caused the animosity. As Jensen said on yesterday’s show, why should Weir’s sexuality have any bearing on his ability to put on a helluva show on ice? It shouldn’t. So Weir thinks he’s “princess-y” and perhaps likes to dip into some haute couture faster than I ever could. Weir’s situation reminds me of the great 2000 film The Contender, starring Joan Allen as a woman whose sex life is thrust into the spotlight as she seeks confirmation to become the first female vice president.
In short, Allen maintains her position that it is within no one’s rights to question her sexual activities. From the film, Allen’s Laine Hanson says:
“I just can’t respond to the accusations because it’s not okay for them to be made.”
The same applies to Johnny Weir. Ruthless vultures out to pigeonhole Weir as a “type” of something are nothing more than attention-seekers looking to capitalize on the sudden and advancing fame of another. No shock, then, that when I performed a simple Yahoo! News search using “Rudy Galindo” as the search parameters, most of the entries that popped up were in reference to Galindo’s pestering of Weir. Rudy Galindo is using Weir to put himself back out their into the mainstream. Perhaps if he made his intentions more explicit I wouldn’t find his actions so stupid.
Weir has made himself explicitly clear in a reply to an online question regarding his sexuality:
People talk. Figure skating is thought of as a female sport, something that only girly men compete in. I don’t feel the need to express my sexual being because it’s not part of my sport and it’s private. I can sleep with whomever I choose and it doesn’t affect what I’m doing on the ice, so speculation is speculation. I like nice things, and beautiful things, so if that is the only way people are determining that I swing one way or the other, then to me, that’s sad. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover, ever. I never get angry about things because it’s human nature to be jealous and rip people to shreds if you don’t like them, regardless of the subject. I am who I am, and I don’t need to justify anything to anyone.
The sad thing is it’s not just Galindo getting off on playing the guessing game with Weir’s “preferences.” You’ll find below a list of search terms –mostly from Google– used by those seeking out information on Johnny Weir. All these stats were logged by StatCounter, the application I use to track my site’s hits. Using any one of these combinations, people were eventually led to my site. In many cases the words were totally exclusive to each other, meaning that when combined with the words “Johnny” and “Weir,” the conjoined words were irrelevant:
“Johnny Weir gay”
“Johnny Weir fag”
“Johnny Weir princess”
“Johnny Weir CCCP”
“Johnny Weir sucks”
and, most interestingly, “Johnny Weir Nazi”
So it seems people enjoy playing these guessing games as they pertain to one’s sexuality. But does it matter? And, if it does, why should it matter? Rick Jensen made it clear yesterday that he thought it shouldn’t matter and that he could care less. I quickly agreed. What’s most interesting is that people complain about folks who overemphasize their sexuality while in the spotlight. Celebrities like Madonna, Prince and Britney Spears have been roundly criticized for such overt sexual activities over the course of their respecitve careers. If people are so offended by sexuality in America, then why are they so interested in seeking out information relative to it?
Johnny Weir rocks. Heterosexual. Homosexual. Bisexual. Metrosexual. Who-gives-a-shit-asexual. I base my judgements on character alone. And I don’t mean character in its most simplistically defined sense: “good” vs. “bad.” Character to me is an amalgamation of qualities, in particular being able to assert one’s own abstract opinions on a world more interested in tangential bullshit celebrity gossip instead of contextually appropriate (and, likewise, inappropriate) and provocative commentary. We should all be thankful we’ve got some Johnny Weirs out there who keep us going with such entertaining ear candy. The status quo is no fun. Johnny Weir is.
Posted by Mike Matthews in Johnny Weir at 8:51 PM PST
2 Comments | Gimme some more »
