If you're interested, I put together a nice post over at All Things Democrat discussing the ghost the conservatives have cobbled together feigning chaos in the Democratic party by insinuating there's a big decision between Biden and Hillary in the works. Spoiler alert: They're lying.
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the SCOTUS nine that day:
The score stood five to four, with some at yes and some at nay.
And then when Kennedy went right, and Roberts left, for shame,
A sickly silence fell upon us as the judgement came.
There is too much too much to talk about, so I'll start with the bar.
My local haunt just up the road from home was my first stop after a full day of "work." (Of course I say "work" because like Republican Congressman Mike Pence, I too likened the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act to 9/11: I was ineffective and nothing but a media consumption machine.) I needed to stop in because another regular to my spot is an outspoken Limbaugh/Hannity parrot (let's call him Dolton) and I was hoping he was angry and loud so I could just soak it up.
I broke with my swear-off of right wing radio just for one day and I was not disappointed on the ride over. Hannity was moderating a discussion and who-knows was shouting about how it was going to destroy America and everyone was audibly upset, like they'd just lost Reagan again but this time he killed himself after Obama whooped his ass with a tire iron. It was a jumbled cacophony of angry and fear and consolation and denial and atta-buddy and "We'll get 'em next time!" because Roberts is a brilliant Constitutional lawyer - he just got it wrong.
The way it unfolded couldn't have helped. Fox and CNN got it wrong and it was such a major issue, such a grand event that knowing how disappointed I was and how much higher I got when the big reveal came, I can only imagine the emotional depths to which the anti-Obamacare folks fell.
Here's my representative, Ohio's Jean Schmidt, freaking the hell out in a joyous explosion in public:
(But there was one interesting nugget provided by Gawker about how Roberts totally did this intentionally because he has a wider game stance and is plotting something really big.)
And some comeuppance is due as well. O'Reilly had said he'd apologize for being an idiot if the ACA was upheld by the Supremes:
Limbaugh said in 2010 that if this all went through, he'd move to Costa Rica. Unfortunately for him, Costa Rica has universal health care. D'oh. Speaking of idiots, Buzzfeed did a lovely collection of tweets from those railing against socialized medicine and who had had enough - so they were moving to Canada. Where there is socialized medicine.
Palin was in on the action, Rubio needed no cue to jump in front of a camera, and the overwhelming talking point is "OMG - it's a TAX on America's working class!" Unless you're Rep. Phillip Gingrey who simply said "I don't want to have a beer with Justice Roberts today."
Which brings me back to Dolton.
I walked into the bar, sat in my usual spot - far from him. I was expecting him and his cronies to be long drunk by 5pm and hootin' and a-hollerin' about how this was the end of America. Dolton looked drunker than usual, but he was alone, slumped somewhat over the bar, and staring at the non-stop coverage on the big-screen. On MSNBC.
He briefly glanced at me as I sat and ordered a vodka grapefruit and a shot of Rumple Minze, his mouth slightly open as though he might say something but could find no words. He went back to the TV, his Miller Lite, and his doubles of Jägermeister. Dolton was a broken man yesterday, as though part of his soul was leaking out in place of the tears he wouldn't let come in public. I really almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
Yes, "America" we call it - don't let the Repubs find that out.
In light of the asshole from the Daily Caller who decided it was cool to interrupt POTUS during a Rose Garden announcement on immigration (seriously? I guess respect is only implied if the prez is a white Republican), I went wandering from Drudge to a couple Daily Caller articles and it took about five seconds to find some demonstrative comments at which to become aghast.
I guess they speak for themselves, but a bit of background makes them that much worse:
(Bill Maher said Drudge was racist - see my last post for that confirmation - Daily Caller reported on it, Drudge posted it. Ironic, dontcha think?)
(Jon Stewart makes fun of Romney for making lotsa money, but Jon Stewart makes lotsa money too [please ignore that Stewart is not trying to pretend he's not rich and create some sort of "relational" facade; he's a comedian, not running for president], so you know ...money and Jews.... [which is such a strange juxtaposition: Entertainment & Jewish: nasty Shylock; Israel & Jewish: stop the anti-Semitic rhetoric, them's the only desert people holdin' back them terrorists!])
Honestly, if I keep this up, I'm going to have to massage the title of the post or they'll all read that way.
To paraphrase The Simpsons: "Romney 2012. Not racist, but the choice of racists."
I guess Drudge has it: Obama will win the election on the legalization of marijuana. You know minorities and their penchant for the chronic, right? They'll come out in droves to make it legal so all them jigaboos can blaze up right on the street, right?
I am not being hyperbolic. Here's a screenshot from Drudge today:
Note how we have a pimp-hat pic of our president with something - OMG, is that a joint? - in his hand. You know, them negroes and their reefer. That's what Drudge is saying.
But aside from my snark, we do have good news in this vein: 7 states have the shot at legalizing (somewhat) marijuana this year and further hurting the fool's errand we call The War On Drugs.
And Ohio's one of them! W00t!
So bad news:
Black people smokin' joints is still something that can polarize the stupid.
Good news:
We're getting closer to killing those stereotypes that led to the prohibition of marijuana and legalizing a substance that is not only less harmful than alcohol, but will significantly end some of our border violence by being a US product.
Awww, shit. It was to happen eventually: the powers that be on the Right would have to make a move to determine their candidate outside the electoral process. As the above image shows (click to embiggin), a stand has been made. Drudge has picked up the pitchfork (or had it handed to him) and figuratively killed the Gingrich campaign by invoking the Holy Ronald and calling up from the depths the Newt-flavored betrayals on the "Real Conservatives'" hallowed Saint. Drudge is the Kraken and he has been released.
They couldn't shut him down personally, could not point out his multiple stands on multiple issues, could not address his personal manifestation of the antithesis of morality. They had to say "Dude dissed RayRay!"
The supposed high-brow political discourse that Gingrich stood for is dead. Long live low-brow political discourse.
President Hu of China stopped by D.C. today to have a meeting with Obama and let him know - wink wink nudge nudge - that they and Walmart will eventually crush us and if that doesn't work, the army they have will do it physically, though many of them are only 9, but hey, if they can make our Nike's and fuck our tourists, by gum they can shoot a shoddy rifle!
Seriously, though, Matt Drudge thought it important that his headline link to an article about how China's going to rule the world. But Matt did something MUCH more interesting; he used this image as the headline:
You may recall that the conservatards on the teevee and the ay-aym were hard at work to spread the word that the Nuclear Security Summit in D.C. in 2010 was not only going to take away all our nukes, but that the logo itself was like one of those Islamic moons (not an abstract atomic model, not at all).
So Matt Drudge has created an ignorant conservative propaganda night terror: Obama (they're gonna take our guns and democracy), China (they're gonna take our jobs and financial stability - hey, let's go to Walmart), "Red dragon" (Godless communists gonna take our Pledge), Nuclear disarmament reminder (they're gonna take our nukes), and ...something about Islam (they're gonna take our Christianity). And Obama's head is slightly bowed! OMG! He's already surrendering!
If this man knows what he's doing, he is horrifying. Sweet dreams.
Russia nears arms pact approval, warns on pullout - If you're pulling out of a treaty on reducing nuclear weapons, we've got a little more to worry about than you pulling out of a treaty on reducing nuclear weapons.
So Drudge decided to post some college kid's poor camera film of raw satellite that's like 7 minutes long and entitled Katie Couric RAW: Leaked footage of Couric Making Fun of Sarah Palin (FULL). OMG it's gotta be so crazy nasty and KC's going to lose her job over it OMG! Um, no. There's one reference that Katie makes while reading Sarah's kids names: "Where the hell do they come up with...?" And that's all. Yeah, that's it. But the comment-trolls fresh from Drudge act like it's apocalypse: She's an Obama tool, she can barely read, she thinks she's such hot shit. There's a special place in hell for Repub myrmidon trolls.
Speaking of apocalypse - as in the retarded "end of the world" version and not the "revealing" that it really means - the sun kinda exploded the other day. Seriously. Okay, not totally exploded. That'd be like saying I explode every time I have a coronal mass ejection. But that only happens sometimes.
"On 1 August, almost the entire side of the Sun that faces the Earth erupted in a blaze of activity known as a 'coronal mass ejection'." Holy shit! The "entire side of the Sun?" And that's the limit of the confirmation because we couldn't see the other side? Aurora as far south as Michigan? And that was just a low-powered glancing blow? Fuck, I think we've got a nasty peak activity cycle coming.
Oh, and Janet Napolitano has lied to you and saved and turned your nekkid airport scans into her personal shower-quality masturbation material. Sorries! I wonder if she's one of those women who, you know, ejects coronal mass when she explodes. Now that I might incorrectly call Apoca-lips.
That's right: "They." And by "they" he's referring to all them dark-skinned folk protesting the new law in Arizona.
If you claim to be a media mogul, please don't claim to be completely ignorant of the "they" rhetoric, the "they" that are the minority, the "other," the "under." You are either a moron or a racist. I'm putting my money on both.
And the Right wonders why the "unfair" racist rap?
I was scanning through the Drudge Report today and one column of links struck me as quite funny:
GINGRICH: Obama 'most radical president ever'...
LIMBAUGH: Obama 'inflicting untold damage on this great country'...
MARK LEVIN: Civil disobedience is coming...
PALIN: Obama's Nuke Stance Like Kid Who Says 'Punch Me in Face'...
LIZ CHENEY: Obama Putting America on 'Path to Decline'...
HANNITY: Obama 'Is a Socialist'...
SAVAGE: 'Obama The Destroyer'...
Gingrich is the most sane of the band and the rest are known right wing radical news-spinners, liars, and/or absolutely nuts. I know Drudge is not now nor has he ever professed to be balanced about anything, but damn. I guess good on him for putting his ignorance and bias front and center.
This post brought to you by the number 0 and the letters F and U.
And completely unrelated was this other Drudge link:
Muslim woman strangled by her burkha in freak go-kart accident...
...which is why Muslim women shouldn't be driving in the first place. I thought they already had a law against that. Sheesh.
That biased fool pushes every blurb of "colder than thou" at every chance he gets.
Today? "OMG It's snowing in Colorado in October!" Guess what? It usually snows in Ohio in October, but today's an unseasonably warm 74 F in Cincinnati. Colorado has fucking mountains. Surprise! It snows there! It's altitude!
I need to calm down. I'm pushing my exclamation point quota through the roof.
Point: Drudge is farting a biased view of reality carefully crafted to that everyone who's conditioned to believe him will eat his feces and say it tastes like yummy stew.
A BILLION THANKS FOR MAKING JUNE 2009 -- TOP JUNE IN DRUDGEREPORT'S 14 YEAR HISTORY! PAGE HIT 675,406,736 VIEWS FROM 129,922,878 VISITS... TRAFFIC ROSE 21% FOR MONTH OVER YEAR AGO [+39% OVER JUNE 2007]...
Matt Drudge is again dumping bullshit down the throats of his readers. While the site is popular (hell, even I visit it almost daily), the numbers he is reporting are NOT what they seem to be. And more people need to raise the call that he is duping everyone with his numbers.
I wrote pretty thoroughly about Drudge's fake numbers about a year and a half ago, so I won't get all that detailed. I will reiterate that the auto-reload and link loading in the same window is deliberately designed to inflate his metrics and mislead people into believing that he is getting much more traffic than he actually is.
(And much of the rise can be attributed to the increase of use of browsers with tabs that can let a page float [and reload] all day long.)
If you visit his site, get in and get out. Be informed about and not fooled by these engineered rankings.
Found this on Drudge. No, do not let it come to this. What is "this?"
Bad Photoshop. Obviously a ditch superimposed with a gun that is completely out of place and poorly 'shopped into the ground.
Does this look natural to anyone?
Lesson: no matter what message you are pushing, get professional help. Hack jobs like this make your message and purpose stink of douchebaggery and, more importantly, appear laughable.
Friends don't let friends hire a cousin who took a Photoshop class to make an ad.
It is pretty dang cold here in Cincinnati. My Weather Channel widget says 12 F, and wind chill is about -3 F.
Note to all news media:
I understand that things are a little dry news-wise until Obama's start next week, with about 1000 dead in Gaza and us still sending Americans to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, but please keep in mind that during Winter months it gets fucking cold. Surprise! It's mid January and it's fucking freezing. Shit! Just like last year and the year before that and, well, as far back as I can remember. Why? It's winter! And it won't go away until March - or May if you live in Cleveland.
So take the icicle out of your puckered asshole, take a breath, and stop making everyone so batshit crazy over something that's normal.
And don't even get me started on the OMG-it's-cold anti global warming asshats. Yeah, Drudge, I'm talkin' to you.
I read the Drudge Report every day because it's a delicious slushpile of all things evil and conservative. Today, Matt Drudge released his periodic "I'm so damned awesome!" rankings by Hitwise Media Weekly Report:
The Rankings
And if this blog were #9 on a media list, on par with FOX News for internet traffic, I'd be peeing my pants and shouting from the mountaintops too. But Matt Drudge is fiddling in trickery and blindly fooling millions.
Here's a logic puzzle: How does Matt Drudge, with one single web page (and the occasional all-caps DEVELOPING page), gain parity with the FOX News website, which has thousands of pages of varying news?
What Is Actually Being Measured
What are being measured are "hits," and that means that any time you or any person goes to Matt Drudge's front page, it registers a hit. If you visit again later that day, another hit, etc. It does not measure each individual visitor, which is a viable and available statistic, but every time the page is accessed.
The Trickery
The trickery occurs in two ways:
The Back Button: When you go to Drudge's site and click on a link, instead of opening another window or tab, you are taken to that page. Read the story and want to see another one? Back button to Drudge's site, log another hit. Rinse and repeat. This can easily ring up 10-20+ hits by just one person in a matter of minutes.
Refresh Code: I won't go into the techie details, but Drudge's site has a javascript code built into the page that will automatically refresh the page every three minutes, each time accessing the page again, each time clocking another hit. Basically, this means that if you go to Drudge's site and just leave the page open in a browser window or tab, you will tally 20 hits/hour for the site by doing nothing at all.
But How Do I Fight Such Kung Fu?
Like a ninja, of course. Here's what I do to avoid giving Mr. Drudge hits he does not deserve:
Go to the Drudge Report.
Hold down the CTRL key.
Quickly scan and click the stories you would like to read - using Firefox, this opens the stories in new tabs while keeping Drudge in the current window. I believe Internet Explorer works the same way.
As soon as you're done, close the Drudge window.
Leisurely browse the other stories.
If you're a quick reader/clicker, you can probably get this done without a single refresh, only logging one hit for Mr. Drudge.
Matt Drudge, everyone's favorite, lovable, not-gay wingnut has done it again. I've grown used to the anti-science on the site (Today: it's cold in NYC...and it's August! OMG!!11! [implied: global warming is bullshit]), but this pushes it a little far in my estimation. On the site today:
But in Norway's Moose Population in Trouble for Belching, the actual quote in the article is "Bacteria in a moose's stomach create methane gas which is considered even more destructive to the environment than carbon dioxide gas." The actual methane produced is the same as a car that travels 13,000 km (8077.8 mi) - this being a Dane study, I'm guessing they don't include many excessively-low mpg vehicles. The information I was able to scrape up was that the average person (American) drives about 15,000 miles per year, nearly double the impact of a single moose.
Am I seriously comparing a moose to a car?
Yes, I am. Because the moose/cow methane argument is commonly used to justify all the filth we're dumping into the atmosphere: "Well, if a cow's farts are hurting the environment, then my sweet Escalade's just fine." No sense of balance, of avoidable consequences vs. nature. These are the same people who see that it's cold in NYC today so global warming's a lie, and the same people who will take Drudge at his quote, not read the article, and poop the "moose worse than car" argument as fact over and over.
Thought I'd take the time to let everyone know it's bullshit so when you do run into that person, you're well prepared.