The Mountain Goats

You ever find out about something - a show or a band - and wonder how it was that you missed this and begin to question your level of competence when it comes to your understanding of popular culture? (Yes, that would include my post on Little Britain.)

I counter that feeling of complete despair and shame by - instead of burying it deep inside and hiding in the corner of my room in the dark - tearing it wide open for the whole internet to see.

The Mountain Goats - This Year


I would like to thank Dino Stamatopoulos and 44 days of Moral Orel for bringing me to the light.

We Did It!

Our 44th President of the United States

I'm elated. Excited. Floating. Tired. Still on the tail end of a mild hangover. After the thrill of yesterday, after an emotional draining, today is a little low, held up by the "pinch me" reality that we got out the word we got involved and for some, they simply got out and voted. America has spoken. And I am proud.

And the rest of the world breathes a sigh of relief that in January, the USA will stop being such a dick.

Speaking of which, Bush had some interesting words of congratulations for Obama:

What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters.

You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself.

Yes, one of those great journeys of life that we all --wait. I guess it's one of those great journeys of life that only 43 people in the history of the world have gone on? Really; what the hell is he talking about? I will miss that big lug, if only for the comic relief.

Amanda Palmer "Oasis" Music Video - Dedicated To Sarah Palin

Delicious.

Vote!

h/t C&L

Election Day: Spot the Dirty Tricks

From the Obama Campaign:



Keep your eyes open. Ask questions. Don't accept fleecing. And look out for everyone. Just because it's someone else getting harassed by questionable people doesn't mean you don't need to speak up. Hell, even though I'm not expecting a lot of shenanigans in my polling place, I'm taking a camera and anything odd will get flash-photography. Protect your right and the rights of others.

Ignore the polls and make your voice heard. Vote. If it takes four hours, vote. If you have to get up at 5:30am, vote. If you have to argue or question then get in there, do your battle, and vote!

And, no, I don't care who you are voting for, though I'd hope you'd vote for Obama. But everyone has that right. Every citizen over 18 who is not a felon: VOTE!

Republicans and Blocking the Vote - a Couple Days Early

From this weekend:

Another day, another Republican attempt at suppressing the vote.

Because of the incredible interest and enthusiasm for early voting we're experiencing here in Ohio, Democrats called an official meeting yesterday to extend the hours for early voting in Franklin County [Columbus Area]. But two Republican members of the board -- Doug Preisse and Michael Colley -- refused to show up for the meeting, blocking the effort to help people vote.

Listen to the right wing on the radio, on the television, and they're constantly dismissing any idea that Republicans have any desire to suppress the vote. And then you look at their fucking deplorable actions. They laugh when we say they can be racist and wonder why all the African Americans aren't flocking to the right, yet the voting changes and restrictions and caging and scare tactics overwhelmingly disenfranchise minorities.

To the Republicans: this election is not about partisanship but about facilitating the largest voter turnout in a generation, allowing people to have a voice in unprecedented numbers. Putting up the wall now and on Election Day is exactly the behavior that will knock your ass out of the political arena. This time, there are a lot more people to piss off. And we will notice.

Real Life Parenting - Trannies

Little Shambles: You know X's mom is a lesbian?
Me: Yeah, you kind of told me that twenty times ago.
LS: Her mom's got a boyfriend.
Me: Hu-huh?
LS: He's one of those trans-genders, so he's really a lady.
Me: Uh-huh.

It only hit me later: is he really a male transing to female or a female transing to male?

Either way, it doesn't matter, and I'm kind of proud; my daughter didn't freak the hell out and raise an alarm. She just mentioned it casually. And I guess that makes me proud not just of her but of myself and Mrs. Shambles; we've fostered a open comfort level that allows our daughter to talk about trans-sex individuals without freakout "they're the devil" or other hate language.

Whew! I need a beer. Oh, there you are!

To: Obama and Democrat Fools

From Flickr via Brent-who-still-refuses-to-start-a-blog:


Joe the Plumber Envy
Click for whole 4x4 experience

Even some of the pickup truck crew for McCain are already conceding the election - but not without unfounded fear and a little pout!

Libby Dole: Hatin' n Lyin' on Kay Hagan

Having spent a few years in North Carolina, I almost puked when I saw this video:



Even if I had not spent any time in North Carolina, I would have almost puked.

The implication, obviously, is that Kay Hagan is an atheist and that is her voice at the end of the commercial.

So Hagan asked Dole to pull the offensive ad and Libby said "go pound salt." And now Kay Hagan is filing suit to have the ad forcibly removed: defamation of character, et. al. And good for her. Perhaps she could ad "socking Libby Dole in the kisser" to the resolution of the suit.

When conservatives conflate stories and imply false charges, it's "everything is factual," but if liberals skew the smallest detail: "Absurdist fabulist socialist Marxist Communist Nazi tofu-eating propaganda!"

I cannot wait to see the egg on the face of every Fox News troll next Wednesday.

[Side note: maybe it's the visual or a consistency issue, but the phrase "egg on the face" always reminded me of blowjob aftermath in a cheap porno. Anyone else?]

[Side note 2: did I just only now add hypocrisy as a label? Think it would come up more often...]

Obamercial = Obama-tastic!

If you missed it or chose not to watch it, do yourself a favor and hit that embedded video below.



It was well-produced, well-balanced, and well-spoken. I'm guessing it brought some folks down off the fence last night. I cannot imagine even the staunchest McCain supporter being at least temporarily aback by the video. Unless they were only half-watching while plotting to kill black people. Then maybe not so much.

Cindy McCain Claims She’s ‘Just Like Any Other Female Human’

Cindy McCain Claims She2019s 2018Just Like Any Other Female Human2019

Ricky's Wisdom Today, 10/29/08

If humanism were right in declaring that man is born to be happy, he would not be born to die.

- Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Harvard Address

Palin Horror Pumpkin Show

Holy shit!



Political Pumpkins via C&L.

Did anyone ever see Pumpkin with Christian Ricci? Good damn movie.

6 Days to GO

I think that during the next six days, everyone better hold onto their colostomy bags.

Every bit of filth and fear and fakery will be flowing down the McCain pike as the desperation and desertion set in. McCain/Palin infighting, polls flying in Obama's favor, and this morning: McCain struggling in his home state of Arizona.

Election night will probably require a bottle of Jameson.

I'm already succumbing to a giddy nervousness, an excitement of anticipatory success mixed with a fear that the excitement of anticipatory success will turn to assumption and keep people home next Tuesday.

"I got that 'excited/scared' feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense, it's so - confused. I can't really figure it out."



I saw a clip yesterday with a large bus pulling into an arena with McCain waving, the "Straight Talk Express" sign taped to the front, lest you forget. The bus was moving more slowly than the Popemobile, slower than a man using a walker.

Is this interpretation of the word "express" helping him?

Michelle Obama, Pat Buchanan, SNL

Pat Buchanan, getting all sanctimonious, spews forth drivel in asking What if 'SNL' mocked Michelle Obama?

Oh noes! They're making fun of teh Palin!

And then Sarah Palin shows up on SNL and in doing so, validates them, invalidating Buchanan's whiny argument before it was even made.

Lucky for Pat Buchanan, an answer to his question started making its rounds today:

A "Saturday Night Live" alum could be coming back to spoof Michelle Obama!

The hilarious Maya Rudolph is said to be working on her impersonation of America's potential First Lady.

The SNL folks tell ET there's "no official confirmation" but her appearance is "likely."

So there ya go, Pat. Quit yer bitchin'.

In Short: Palin's Makeup Artist

From Huffington:

If Palin's $150,000 shopping spree had Republicans disgusted, then the report that her makeup stylist cost $22,800 for the first two weeks of October should have them livid. The stylist, Amy Strozzi, was apparently paid more than any other McCain staffer during that period.

What the hell are they doing over there?

Ashley Todd is a Damned Liar

Yesterday, if you missed it, brought us news of Ashley Todd, originally from Texas, who was volunteering for McCain in Pittsburgh. Something about getting money from an ATM, a 6'4" black man, her McCain bumper sticker, him taking her money and carving a B on her face for "Barack" and I guess he grabbed her tit too.

This is Ashley Todd after the "incident:"



As soon as I heard this story, my initial reaction was Fuckin' morons on both sides. And then, after about 30 seconds of stewing: This is a total hoax.

First off, if you have not noticed, Ashley's B is backwards, as though she scratched up her face in the mirror without the requisite intelligence pertaining to the magical properties of mirrors. And why "B" when "O" is the graphic symbol associated with Obama and his campaign?

Then the police noted she was inconsistent in her story. Then they noticed she was absent from the ATM security tape. Then they gave her a polygraph test.

AP, you're up:

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh police say a McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being robbed, pinned to the ground and having the letter "B" scratched on her face in a politically inspired attack.

Maurita Bryant, the assistant chief of the police department's investigations division, says 20-year-old Ashley Todd is being charged with making a false report to police.

Todd, of College Station, Texas, initially said a black man robbed her at knifepoint Wednesday night and then cut her cheek after seeing a McCain sticker on her car.

Because the McCain camp needs a little more negative press about race. Schadenfreude is yummy.

McCain Backer > Craigslist > Creative Services

It has since been removed, but thanks to Jen, I captured it in time:



It reads:

Ill be the first in line in a fight socialism melitia go usa

Why are the loudest voices the most ignorant?

Another nod to Idiots For McCain. Or for Obama. Or whatever the fuck he's saying.

ACORN Hate

Good morning. Ready for hate?

This is a link to ACORN's answering machine messages.

These are McCain's Supporters.

Click and do not drink any liquids while listening. You may just spit through your nose and then vomit and then punch the vomit telephone and then tear out to scream at your local RNC office, flinging fist/phone vomit on the person you speak with.

And, sadly, I keep hearing Cincinnati and the 513 area code. I only do what I can here; ignorance permeates the air in Southwestern Ohio. But I must also say that the Obama lawn signs are almost as prevalent as McCain. There is hope.

I fear for Barack Obama when he's elected in 12 days.

I fear for America.

Sheep Go to Heaven, Goats Go to Hell

Rep. Virgina Foxx spoke about anti-American energy. "We're gonna pretty soon separate the sheep and the goats." Huh?



One of my favorite bands, Cake, has a lovely song about just this: