Jericho: Goodbye Tigger

One of our cats, Tigger, has been sick for about two weeks. This last week she got pretty bad. She's been skinny for about six months now. We figured since she was around 13 (we didn't know her actual age) that she was just getting old. She never carried much weight to begin with.

Turns out her kidneys were failing. We took her to the vet. Her kidneys had gotten so bad her retinas had detached - she was effectively blind. She wobbled when she walked, which got worse and worse. She soon stopped eating.

We put her down today. I miss her already. But, she died a week or more ago. The cat we put to sleep today was no longer her.

I did the video below a year or so ago. Yeah, it's crap, but it shows Tigger the way I want to remember her.

Goodbye Tigg.

Max: Peter Schiff Predicts Economic Collapse

It turns out Chicken Little was right.

Max: When Food Fights Back

Max: Alan Sherman

Max: "In Praise of Idleness," by Bertrand Russell

"In Praise of Idleness," by Bertrand Russell

Immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous.

...

First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid. The second kind is capable of indefinite extension: there are not only those who give orders, but those who give advice as to what orders should be given. Usually two opposite kinds of advice are given simultaneously by two organized bodies of men; this is called politics. The skill required for this kind of work is not knowledge of the subjects as to which advice is given, but knowledge of the art of persuasive speaking and writing, i.e. of advertising.

...

This is the morality of the Slave State, applied in circumstances totally unlike those in which it arose. No wonder the result has been disastrous. Let us take an illustration. Suppose that, at a given moment, a certain number of people are engaged in the manufacture of pins. They make as many pins as the world needs, working (say) eight hours a day. Someone makes an invention by which the same number of men can make twice as many pins: pins are already so cheap that hardly any more will be bought at a lower price. In a sensible world, everybody concerned in the manufacturing of pins would take to working four hours instead of eight, and everything else would go on as before. But in the actual world this would be thought demoralizing. The men still work eight hours, there are too many pins, some employers go bankrupt, and half the men previously concerned in making pins are thrown out of work. There is, in the end, just as much leisure as on the other plan, but half the men are totally idle while half are still overworked. In this way, it is insured that the unavoidable leisure shall cause misery all round instead of being a universal source of happiness. Can anything more insane be imagined?

Max: Pete Drake and His Talking Guitar

Jericho: The Weird Turn Pro

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Max: Sammy Hagar-Cosmic Universal Fashion

Max: Obama has more threats than other presidents-elect

Obama has more threats than other presidents-elect - Yahoo! News


Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

I don't know what's more sad, that this is happening or that it doesn't surprise me? Just goes to show that for every Obama there is a Blunt to balance out the bell curve.

Max: God Speaks

Max: MO's Outgoing (Crappy) Gov Disses One Of My Favorite Profs From SLU

MO's Outgoing (Crappy) Gov Disses One Of My Favorite Profs From SLU

St. Louis University political science professor Ken Warren says he remains disturbed over Gov. Matt Blunt’s assertion last week that Warren was wrongly accusing rural voters of being “racist” because most did not support Democrat Barack Obama, now the president-elect.

“I think that Gov. Blunt owes me an apology for making demogogical comments about what I said, for political gain,” Warren said. “He knows what I said isn’t what he said I said.”

Read the Governor's lies here.

This pissed me off enough that I had to send a letter of protest;

I am deeply disappointed with the Governor's misleading characterization of statements made by Prof. Ken Warren. I had the pleasure of taking several of Prof. Warren's classes during my time at SLU and always found him to be thoughtful and fair-minded. When I read the Governor's characterization of Prof. Warren's comments, I knew something was amiss. So I checked. What Prof. Warren said was that a SMALL number of racists could be a deciding factor in a race as close as Missouri's, not that everyone who voted for McCain is racist. You owe not only Prof. Warren an apology for misrepresenting his comments, but also the people of Missouri for having used your position as Governor to spread your lies.

Max: P(e)OTUS Goes Moof

Obama uses a Mac

Max: Joe Lieberman

I don't like Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman was the only reason I didn't vote for Al Gore in 2000. He's a cynical opportunist who works mainly for his own power and aggrandizement. In other words, he's a typical US Senator. But should he be punished for his support of John McCain by being stripped of his Chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee, perhaps even by expulsion from the Democratic Caucus?

Consider this; Jim Jeffords was a loyal Republican until the Spring of 2001. He supported Shrub and his fellow R's through the 2000 elections, much as Lieberman supported McCain and several other Republican candidates in 2008. Yet he was welcomed into the Democratic Caucus when he changed his (R) to an (I). Why? Because he's a nice guy? Because he's a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and he threatened to kick Tom Dascle's ass? No. He was accepted because his lack of partisan loyalty gave the Dems control of the Senate from 2001-03. And he's a nice guy and a black belt.

I will admit that this is a different situation. The D's control the Senate and will do so even without Lieberman. But simple majorities don't always carry the day in the Senate. Even though he's been a Neocon on foreign policy and Shrub's extra-Constitutional power grabs, he has a solid record of voting with the Dems on domestic issues; and we have a shit load of domestic issues that need to be dealt with. We may not like Joe Lieberman, but can we honestly say that we'll never need his vote? Are we so certain that the help average Americans desperately need, and most R's oppose, will never be filibustered? Or that enough R's will cross the line to invoke cloture?

Now let's consider further the few remaining members of the Senate Republicans' Mod Squad -- moderate Republicans --, or as the right calls them RINO's -- Republican In Name Only. What if, unlikely as it is, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Spector or any other member of the Mod Squad came knocking on the Dem Caucus door? Would they be cursed for having supported fellow Republicans in the past? Would the be mocked for the obvious partisan disloyalty that led them to switch sides? Or would they be welcomed with open arms, maybe even rewarded with a Chairmanship?

And what would we have the Republicans do with members of their party who supported Obama? Would you applaud the sanctioning of them by their party for their disloyalty? No? Then to call for sanctions on Lieberman is the epitome of hypocrisy.

If Lieberman wants to continue to caucus with Senate Democrats, then he should be allowed to. If he does the job well, he should keep his chairmanship. To punish him for supporting the candidate he felt was best qualified would be to shit all over President-Elect Obama's message of bipartisanship, healing and national unity.

Joe, this independent Democrat of questionable loyalty who stands far to the left of you and finds you to be an unpleasant human being wants to welcome you back to the winning team. I hope most of my fellow D's agree.

Jericho: Bailout GM? Sure. But ... !

General Motors is asking for a huge government bailout, much like the banking and insurance industries are currently pursuing.

They are giving many of the same reasons for this bailout; a slow down in the economy and a banking crisis. However, they seem to miss a key factor. When fuel prices skyrocket, people don't drive as much. They also don't buy brand new, huge, SUVs and other gas guzzlers. Matter of fact, there has been a huge trend of people buying tiny, used, fuel efficient vehicles. That trend can only negatively impact GM's bottom line.

So, in this time of financial crisis, should we bailout GM? Sure. There are hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs that are wrapped up in the American auto industry. A bailout at GM is good for the American economy and the American working class.

However, unlike the bailout of AIG, which they seem insistent on wasting, the bailout of GM should have oversight and a few caveats.

First, no meetings at resorts or by the pool side. Sorry, GM - AIG spoiled everything.

However, more importantly, this is a chance to change the auto industry. In a time of global warming and just coming down from nearly $5 a gallon for gas (don't get comfortable out there, gas prices will surely rise again) this is an opportunity to affect how the auto industry works. And why shouldn't we? Our money means our rules!

First, kill the golden parachutes and the huge executive pay. I'll bet the the big checks in the auto industry pale in comparison to the checks in the banking world, but, who needs another billionaire? (Still looking at you, AIG!)

Next, this is our opportunity to nudge the auto industry into the 21st century. Why not require GM to produce only certain vehicles? I think starting with 50% hybrid. 25% gas powered and 25% full electric is a step in the right direction. I think we should require them to push to 50% electric and 50% hybrid in the next five years. Then, for the 10 year requirement, judge the state of the market. Five years from now in an economy inspired by the quest for alternative fuels could see hydrogen or some other solution rise. However, I think a requirement that GM not produce another petrochemical only vehicle after 2015 is not too much to ask.

Our Money. Our Environment. Our Rules!

Max: Young Charles Xavier

Max: The flying car

The flying car @ Timesonline.co.uk

To Timbuktu by flying car: it sounds the most unlikely journey on earth; a sci-fi voyage from the pages of Jules Verne. But this is no fantasy. The car really flies. And the journey will become reality early in the new year when two explorers set off from London in a propeller-powered dune buggy heading for the Sahara.

I like to think that if my brain worked I would build stuff like this.

Max: Olbermann on Prop 8

Max: Change.gov

The Office of the President-Elect

Max: Seven(ty-five) Days

So Little Time, So Much Damage - NYTimes.com

While Americans eagerly vote for the next president, here’s a sobering reminder: As of Tuesday, George W. Bush still has [time] left in the White House — and he’s not wasting a minute.

President Bush’s aides have been scrambling to change rules and regulations on the environment, civil liberties and abortion rights, among others — few for the good. Most presidents put on a last-minute policy stamp, but in Mr. Bush’s case it is more like a wrecking ball. We fear it could take months, or years, for the next president to identify and then undo all of the damage.

Max: I Dream of Obama

Late last night -- well technically early this morning -- as I lie in bed hovering between consciousness and sleep I thought how great it would be if Obama won the election. Then I remembered that he did win and I smiled. As I wrote yesterday, I know that it's inevitable that he will piss me off. Hell, I'm already pissed off over his FISA vote earlier this year. But still, we've elected an intelligent, energetic, articulate man President; we've taken a major step in atoning for the sins of slavery, lynching and segregation; and for the first time in eight long years, I don't feel like I need to apologize for my country.

Max: Some Thoughts

The United States of America has elected our first Black President. That is fucking awesome. That in and of itself is a major game changer. His eloquence, his temperament, his intelligence and his desire to bring the country together rather than divide and conquer will be like a summer rain after eight years of Presidential drought.

That said, he's not a god, not a king, not a savior. He's a politician who will be serving as the head of a purposely slow and inefficient government. There will be disappointment. He will piss me off at some point, perhaps more often than Shrub failed to piss me off. It's inevitable. I'm a bomb throwing radical, he's a steady centrist. We are going to be on opposite sides of at least some battles.

And don't believe for a second that our fuchsia country has suddenly become sky blue. The culture war continues, as exemplified by the travesty of California's Proposition 8. There are still people in this country who hate. There are still people who believe that their gods demand that they force their religion on the rest of us. There are still people who believe that their most precious freedom is their freedom to oppress others.

And don't forget that Shrub is still in the White House until Noon EST on Jan. 20, 2009. He still has 76 days to screw us and I doubt that he and Cheney have humility enough to show even the slightest deference to the President-Elect. Not that they're under any obligation to do so. The US has only one President at a time and we still haven't fully paid the price for putting Dingleberry Bush and Darth Cheney in office.

It's a beautiful new day in the US. But storm clouds still are gathering on the horizon. Take today to celebrate. But be prepared to fight on.

Jericho: It's about time!

Thanks, Laura!

Max: Obama

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Max: Maddow On The New Poll Tax

This, not the bullshit about Acorn, is the true voter fraud. We need universal early mail-in voting in the country and we need it now. Hell, we needed it a month ago.

Jericho: More Parties for Everyone!

This is a call to end the two party system!

If anything, this silly election cycle has proven one point:

The Two Party System is a sucking chest wound failure!

I understand that we don't have a parliament in this country. However, if we had half a dozen or more parties, we could begin to emulate one. And, yes, there are advantages to doing that.

Do you feel that the people you are electing actually represent you? I doubt you do. Why? It's very simple. Do you always drink the same drink? No. How would you feel if you could only choose between water and milk? I'm sure you would sigh and pick the one you hated less at that moment.

Now, think about standing in front of the refrigerated case at the local convenience store. Sure, they may not have exactly what you want, but you'll likely get closer than if you just had water and milk.

Extend this concept. If there were five or ten parties, it's far more likely that there would be a party that represents you. Are you a wacky, left wing loon, who believes in freedom without responsibility? Are you a fascist right winger who wants to bring back slavery? No current party represents you. But, smaller parties would be able to accommodate boutique size issues. Join a majority of parties together and you can handle the larger issues. This would be more in line with a parliament. (Waits for Max to correct him ... )

We are already seeing parties growing up. The Libertarians and the Green Party are growing in size and importance. By all means, if you think they might represent you, vote for them! The more votes they get, the more PAC money will flow their way and the stronger they will become.

Think about starting your own party. Seriously! If you have a group that believes as you do, put up a few local candidates and grow from there. This country needs diversity and you might be the answer!

I swear, the local representatives of both parties for Governor of my state are worthless and corrupt. I wouldn't elect either of them. I'm tired of choosing between the lesser of two evils. Somehow, choosing between the lesser of ten evils seems so much better!