Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
The GOP’s “let’s see how long we can remain in the minority” stupid fest continues, this time with Ohio RNC chair candidate Ken Blackwell telling a radio host that you can “chose to restrain” the “compulsion” of homosexuality, adding, “I’ve never had to make the choice because I’ve never had the urge to be other than a heterosexual, but if in fact I had the urge to be something else I could have in fact suppressed that urge.” Too bad for Ken he couldn’t suppress the “behave like a giant douche” compulsion.
So I have a Middle East Peace Plan. If they agree on nothing else, Israel and Hamas should be able to come to a consensus on this: Pajamas Media’s decision to send star reporter Joe the Plumber Journalist to the Middle East has been a cynical, embarrassing train wreck. If this is what “new media” is all about, I’ll take mine old and crusty, thanks.
Delaware’s new governor plans to thumb his nose at the feds, and open the state up to sports bookmaking. I’m not much into wagering on sports, but this is great news, both because any lessening of prohibitions on consensual crimes is a good thing, but also because it will mightily piss of the professional sports leagues. They deserve all the angst they can handle for supporting the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act.
In a last-minute diktat, the DEA has upheld the federal government’s monopoly on marijuana available for clinical research, despite a non-binding ruling by an administrative law judge in February 2007 advising otherwise. All research marijuana comes from one site in Mississippi, a site researchers and activists say produces crappy marijuana. More importantly, the monopoly lets the government dictate what marijuana research moves forward. That then enables the government to issue blanket statements like this one, alleging that there’s no credible research showing marijuana to have medicinal properties. That’s really not true. But even if it were, it’s because the government puts the kibosh on the most promising domestic research before it ever gets started.
Slate’s Top 25 Bushisms from the last eight-plus years. I like 4, 15, 16, and 17. And I like 1, 13, 22, and 25 because in misspeaking, Bush actually ends up uttering some approximation of the truth.
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TheAgitator.com
The Republicans are determined to be the Hee-Haw of Politics.
As to the DEA, what do you expect? They can’t allow science or reason to interfere with prohibition. They’d be unemployed.
He may have helped decimate our economy, and he’s certainly destroyed many of our civil liberties (maybe they can’t hate us now that we’re not free?), but he left some pretty funny quotes!
Back in the day, the official US govt pot farm (outside Jackson, between there and and Natchez) grew some of Da KINE bud…
I always thought my highest career aspiration would be to be an official US Cannabis Taster/Tester/Grader. My qualifications are untouchable: I have smoked or otherwise ingested thc almost every day of my life since Sept, 1968.
At some point the damage done far outweighed the funny potential in Bushisms, no matter how large the collection.
What’s so bad about saying that homosexuals can restrain their homosexual compulsions? Hell, I have to restrain my heterosexual compulsions all the time.
I look forward to seeing Slate’s Top 25 Obamaisms in 4-8 years.
http://www.rightklik.net/
Joe’s far less of an embarrassment than the faked photos that the major agencies keep falling for…
“Pajamas Media’s decision to send star reporter Joe the Plumber Journalist to the Middle East has been a cynical, embarrassing train wreck.”
Hey, Radley, I resemble that remark!
How does fish and humans living in peace not make the list?
I think someone needs to suggest that Mr. Blackwell volunteer to restrain his heterosexuality (i.e., go without sex) for the rest of his life. That, after, is what he’s proposing for gays.
My Middle East peace plan: Build the Palestinians a bunch of casinos. Set the tax rates lower than Israel and encourage Israelis to come and gamble and shop.
#6:
To anyone not trying to avoid the obvious context in which Blackwell’s comments take place, the message is clear: Heterosexuals have an orientation, homosexuals have a “compulsion.” These comments fit neatly into the genre of homophobic argument that homosexuality is a psychological disorder.
did they send joe the smuck to discredit online journalist and bloggers?
So, what you are saying is that Joe is no better than the professional reporters, whose work vis a vis Israel has been an ongoing embarrassing, cynical (not to mention mendacious, idiotic, malodorous, and deranged) train wreck for several decades now……
I am pretty sure that if Mexican terrorists used Tijuana as a base to fire missles into San Diego, and demanded the return of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah in exchange for “peace”, we would tell them suck a rock and vaporize them.
I felt sorry for the author of the DEA article when he said, ‘I depend on good advice and honest information from government agencies in the daily conduct of my work.’
RE: Joe “the self-aggrandizing, know-nothing plumber”
I completely agree Radley. We are watching the slow, agonizing death of the statist Right, and instead of getting angry at their antics, I think I’ll try to enjoy the show.
This guy argues against the idea of war correspondents even as he “reports” from a war zone. Without irony, for fuck’s sake! Oh yeah, Joe the Plumber and the people who enable him don’t know what irony is.
Hey Joe, here’s an idea, go over to one of them thar refugee camps in Gaza and try to spread the message of Jesus and Sarah Palin. And don’t forget to write.
Bushism 4 was uttered in Poplar Bluff, MO, my hometown. My parents and many other people I knew were there. Of course, none of them mentioned that part; it wasn’t until some time later I found out about that. I wonder how long it will be before we stop being remembered as the place where Bush said one of the dumbest things of his life (a pretty tall order). We used to be the meth capital of the country, but that’s kind of died down, so I guess that’s out. I guess we’ll just have to go with being the hometown of Tyler Hansbrough. Meh.
Huh-huh, you said ‘kibosh.’ Huh-huh.
Yeah, heh-heh. Kibosh Rules!
It is an embarrassment that our government can’t grow any decent weed. They have plenty of experts in prison.
Hehe…the pot farm is in Oxford, and IIRC its on Ole Miss’s campus. Kinda looks like Parchman Prison with razor wire and towers. It was cool the first time I saw it in high school…after that meh. Damn shame they can’t grow the good stuff.
They just need a good Peace Anthem in Palestine…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UO6YlkYNJQ
Wow. I had to do a doubletake on the Blackwell story. I can’t believe the GOP is even considering him, having lived in Ohio and watched him completely discredit the Sec of State office with his BS.
That said, I don’t disagree with his assertion that gays CAN choose to restrain. Everyone should be expected to be able to control their sexual desires. But why are they supposed to? Radley, do you have anything about why this was being discussed and in what context?
“Joe the Plumber Journalist to the Middle East has been a cynical, embarrassing train wreck.”
I watched the video and still don’t get why you think the above. I would like to know your thoughts. Please share with us somewhere in the many venues you are published in.
Contrary to what you apparently think, the ‘why’ of your opinion is not always obvious.
Thanks.
Not only can sexual desires be restrained, (every one of us does every day of our life), if one seriously reflects on the the root causes of sexual desires, the directions of those sexual desires can be influenced, (assuming the person desires changes in that directions).
Fluidity of sexual attraction has been long since researched and documented. (It is reported more common in females but occurs frequently in males as well).
Radley,
I don’t believe for a second that pro sports leagues are really against gambling, unless they are stupid. For sure they don’t want the players gambling or fixing the games, but if there was no gambling their ratings would plummet, most people would watch their home teams and elite games only. It’s the gamblers who watch all the games. I don’t gamble but I have friends that are lunatics about it. They even bet Ivy league basketball! Why is the NFL so meticulous about injury reports? How about the direct TV monopoly? That is the gambling channel.
I’m fortunate enough to live in Nevada where I can place sports bets, and then sit and watch the game while enjoying my ‘dog and a draught for a buck and a half.’
Being more a fan of playing sports that watching them, betting is pretty much the only thing that keeps me interested. Unless i’ve got some superbowl squares, I’m just watching the commercials. I agree with Dan as to what the league’s unofficial policy should be, but remeber they already have congress sticking their noses in where they don’t belong so no big surprise that their offical policy toes the line.
Person #11:
Perhaps we could also suggest that he find a nice, clean-cut, loving young man and try to settle down, you know, see if he can beat his unnatural compulsion to sleep with and fall in love with women. Why am I skeptical about the success of this?