tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58519873260675103082024-03-21T22:22:01.598-06:00Hick Town Rap Stareternal hostilityHHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.comBlogger445125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-9655948769139663172011-08-01T09:13:00.001-06:002011-08-01T09:17:04.678-06:00ugh. make it stop.HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-20153634117227810482010-08-03T20:31:00.002-06:002010-08-03T20:33:52.597-06:00must readCan't not link to this. Bloomberg completely destroys anti-Muslim assholes' un-American "arguments" against mosque.HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-34427796746720492722010-05-27T10:03:00.003-06:002010-05-27T10:27:16.677-06:00yet another bloodbath caused by unconscionable U.S. drug policyUnsurprisingly, the U.S. media, while dutifully reporting the ongoing street violence in Jamaica, has been rather lax in reporting the true cause of these events: The War On Drugs.The real story is that the USDOJ has for months been exerting pressure on the Jamaican prime minister to arrest and extradite a Jamaican "drug lord" wanted in New York on drugs and weapons charges. The prime minister,HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-87056819685710939492010-05-25T23:24:00.004-06:002010-05-25T23:38:26.624-06:00Hope and Change, CtdNoted apartheid advocate governor Jan Brewer has written a letter to President Obama requesting that he dispatch military drones to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border. She is "aware of how effective these assets have become in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom". Yes, so, so effective. Any doubt that this will happen sooner or later? Why not just skip the half-measures and deploy B-52s HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-46802331568234667822010-05-25T16:32:00.002-06:002010-05-25T16:43:34.531-06:00Hope and ChangeIn an escalation of the drug war, and to "blunt" attacks by xenophobic and racist assholes in Arizona, Obama is sending 1,200 troops and half a billion dollars to Mexican border:President Barack Obama is ordering up to 1,200 additional National Guard troops to the border area and requesting an additional $500 million from Congress to slow the flow of migrants. In addition to the troops, the HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-38160064001348816382010-05-23T22:50:00.003-06:002010-05-24T05:13:30.116-06:00LOST (Spoiler!@#$%^%)I think "they all died in the plane crash" is a pretty good ending. And the finale was a well-executed, crowd-pleasing tear-jerker. The final 4 seasons never measured up to the first two, but I'm glad I watched to the end. Solid A- as far as these things go (not every series can end as brilliantly as The Sopranos, after all).HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-75170402978550900062010-05-23T10:00:00.002-06:002010-05-23T10:16:11.110-06:00"what worked and what didn't work"Obama announces a commission to investigate the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Quote: "I want to know what worked and what didn't work in our response to the disaster, and where oversight of the oil and gas industry broke down."Two points here: (1) You're going to find out "what worked"? That will be a very short list indeed. (2) The "oversight of the oil and gas industry", if thereHHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-84258230280988861322010-05-20T23:08:00.002-06:002010-05-20T23:14:43.340-06:00"they did so reluctantly"Another $33.5 Billion for our various wars. Add that to the money already appropriated by our Nobel Peace Price winner and our Democratic congress, and that oughta get us through the next coupla months. Great country we have here.WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Senate committee on Thursday approved another $33.5 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq this year, although some members said they HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-70982326259894477672010-05-20T20:32:00.004-06:002010-05-20T20:38:28.761-06:00headlines you won't seeArmstrong implicated in cheating scandalDisgraced fellow cyclist alleges Armstrong cheated death through the use of scientifically advanced techniques such as drug injections, irradiation of body parts, blood transfusions, other cutting edge medical technology.Armstrong denies charges; says: "I beat cancer through hard work and determination alone."HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-15811726088751374862010-05-17T22:05:00.004-06:002010-05-20T23:15:42.187-06:00Jack Bauer is Hannibal Lecter (with a Righteous Vendetta)Greatest episode of 24 ever? The beady shit-scared Nixon Face of President Charles Logan as Jack Bauer dramatically closes in.Ok, maybe not the greatest episode ever. But definitely the best 24 scene ever. (The one in the auto-tunnel (obviously).)By the way: Blog Note: I'm thinking I'm going to post some stuff here from time to time. Probably not any long form commentary, just links and HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-89875828862870626802009-12-30T12:14:00.002-06:002009-12-30T12:28:29.769-06:00Mike Leach fired?Really? Because he banished an entitled, malcontented slacker to a dark room for a couple of hours? How fucking stupid. He is simply the best football coach the school has ever had -- or ever will have.Bobby Knight did for the Texas Tech basketball program maybe a tenth of what Leach has done for its football program. And yet Knight was allowed to get away with all manner of chicanery while HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-53542894419609565692009-12-14T22:22:00.000-06:002009-12-14T22:23:11.333-06:00Arnold Palmer makes an Arnold PalmerGenius!HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-81146271748471429762009-11-10T15:50:00.003-06:002009-11-10T17:14:03.410-06:00What I did on my summer/fall vacation from blogging:1. Went to Las Vegas and came back with more money than I took with me. This is due to a roulette strategy known as "progressive betting". In a nutshell:(1) bet a certain amount X on a 50/50 proposition (red/black, odd/even);(2) if you win, pocket your winnings and go back to step (1);(3) if you lose, bet amount X again;(4) if you win, you're back even and can go back to step (1);(5) if you HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-43031317451311780532009-09-11T10:30:00.003-06:002009-09-11T10:51:25.345-06:00ProgressReading about what was done to Alan Turing is enough to make you sick to your stomach. Gordon Brown has now apologized (though of course he had nothing to do with it, personally).Turing (also a character in one of my favorite books) was the inventor of computer science and played a crucial role in breaking the Nazi Enigma codes during WWII. A genius and a war hero. England repaid Turing by HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-11132225881694709852009-08-27T13:30:00.002-06:002009-08-27T14:27:54.749-06:00anti-drug operations are about power, not drugsWhen a local "drug task force" dresses up in black military gear, arms up with assault rifles, breaks down someone's door, forces the occupants to the ground at gunpoint, shoots their dogs, and vandalizes their residence, this is not about drugs. It is about projecting the power of the state into someone's home and terrorizing that person, along with anyone else who might be visiting or looking HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-65852831561689765242009-08-18T14:40:00.003-06:002009-08-18T15:46:43.168-06:00guns and the nuts who carry themA faithful reader suggests it might be productive for me to offer my thoughts on this story:PHOENIX – About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech Monday — the latest incident in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.As you can see HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-37749479706548700062009-08-18T14:13:00.002-06:002009-08-18T14:39:29.096-06:00let God sort them out.From SCOTUSBLOG:The Supreme Court, over two Justices’ dissents, on Monday ordered a federal judge in Georgia to consider and rule on the claim of innocence in the murder case against Troy Anthony Davis (In re Davis, 08-1443) The Court told the District Court to “receive testimony and make findings of fact as to whether evidence that could have been obtained at the time of trial clearly HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-14867863270254475042009-08-13T13:13:00.005-06:002009-08-13T15:58:57.818-06:00Whole Foods FailI've often argued against anti-corporate regulations and general government interventionism in many contexts on the libertarian theory that corporations hate bad publicity, and if they do something wrong they will usually be punished by the resulting consumer backlash. For example, you don't need laws against tuna company fishing practices which snare a bunch of dolphins, because more often thanHHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-38977090579389398962009-08-11T12:31:00.000-06:002009-08-11T12:32:18.986-06:00some disjointed observations1. It's been a while since I was in law school, but from what I remember from my first year torts class, there's a name that lawyers have for this type of thing: false imprisonment.2. Though I find Judd Apatow movies generally amusing, I'm not a huge fan and am on the verge of being an anti-fan simply because the guy gets so much hype nowadays. But aside from that, I guess I never realized that HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-5648637316367022582009-08-05T16:32:00.003-06:002009-08-05T22:34:10.765-06:00right wing idiocyI think it's wise to be skeptical about the value of the health care reform law that will end up emerging from the sausage factory and being signed by Obama. First, given that giant health care companies have been for some months bombarding members of congress with hordes of lobbyists and massive amounts of money, it stands to reason that the most likely effect of any new health care legislationHHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-14805708594214450042009-07-28T21:20:00.003-06:002009-07-28T23:34:04.112-06:00declining entertainmentsI was excited to hear that Guy Richie was going to direct a Sherlock Holmes movie. Even better, Robert Downey, Jr. would play Holmes, and the movie would have a big budget and a great cast.I am a fan of Guy Ritchie. I haven't seen everything he's done, but I liked Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Snatch was hilarious. And I highly recommend the recent RocknRolla. This movie is awesome inHHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-32714036117917156432009-07-08T19:42:00.002-06:002009-07-08T22:09:55.504-06:00"the highest standards of excellence in higher education"So says the Texas Tech University mission statement. The university has made great strides in accomplishing "high standards of excellence" with its most recent hire: Professor Alberto "Judge" Gonzales.I received multiple reader emails requesting a comment/post on this topic. I'm not sure I have a lot to say about the subject that wouldn't immediately come to the mind of anyone who: (1) isn't HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-7339664390411312512009-07-05T16:05:00.005-06:002009-07-06T09:45:38.363-06:00Bible Spice. Caribou Barbie. The Snowbilly Grifter.Besides getting some sun, drinking margaritas, watching fireworks, the pool, and all the rest, I've spent a good deal of my holiday weekend watching Sarah Palin's latest train wreck. I've seen a ton of great snark, though I've neglected to bookmark or collect any of it, so you'll have to find it for yourself. My recommendation is to watch her speech ("unbalanced" doesn't even begin to describe HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-48813917865920260572009-07-03T14:07:00.002-06:002009-07-03T14:23:02.161-06:00Happy Birthday, USAFor most Americans, Independence Day is mostly just a good excuse to put on a good drunk and get a sunburn. Which is pretty great. I'm no different, but I've gotten into a habit of re-reading the Declaration of Independence around this time of year.It's a still a good read, and it's fun to try and put yourself into the mindset of the guy who wrote it and the people who signed it. I think of HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851987326067510308.post-83709512146793265302009-07-01T21:40:00.003-06:002009-07-02T07:20:39.005-06:00Lazy Blogger, Part CXXVIISome stuff I've found during the extended hiatus (stuff which, I'm hoping, works well with minimum effort, in terms of addition commentary (i.e., thinking, effort, etc.), on the part of your humble blogger):1. Eschaton nails the anti-abortion crowd:The broad anti-abortion movement isn't just anti-abortion, it's anti-sex generally and most importantly anti-women having agency over their bodies HHLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06330950146383835814noreply@blogger.com267