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31 May 2010 01:00

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Offbeat: Icelandic politics so bad, comedy parties are winning elections

  • Reykjavik better hope these jokers actually bring Disneyland. Tina Turner, eat your heart out. This commercial is not only laugh-out-loud hilarious, it was incredibly effective, too. Jón Gnarr of “The Best Party” got more than he bargained for when his just-created party won 34.7% of the vote in the city’s local election, topping everyone else and securing six out of the 15 city council seats. Gnarr has the comic sensibility of Ricky Gervais without the use of the letter C. (And more promises of towels.) source

29 May 2010 13:40

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Music: Why the “Sound Strike” anti-immigration protest has no teeth

  • 21 bands who won’t be coming
    to Arizona anytime soon
  • five actual latin artists who would be greatly missed among Arizona’s latino community
  • three Rage Against the Machine-related acts; RATM singer Zach de la Rocha put it together
  • one other stadium-filler amongst its ranks, in the form of off-his-rocker Kanye West source

29 May 2010 13:10

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Politics: Average day: Glenn Beck says something stupid, apologizes

  • In discussing how President Obama uses children to shield himself from criticism, I broke my own rule about leaving kids out of political debates. The children of public figures should be left on the sidelines. It was a stupid mistake and I apologize–and as a dad I should have known better.
  • Glenn Beck • In an apology posted to his Web site this morning. What was it about? Well … he basically used Obama’s daughter Malia to criticize Obama, playing off a question she asked the president. Using “Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?” as a starting point, Beck asked a bunch of questions in that style, reaching a head with “Daddy…why do you hate black people so much?” Yeah. Malia’s going to be scarred for life because of this torrent of in-bad-taste commentary from Glenn Beck. Or not. source

28 May 2010 18:47

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U.S.: Obama on oil spill: It’s not going to be easy, but I have smart people

  • There are going to be a lot of judgment calls here. There are not going to be silver bullets or perfect answers.
  • Barack Obama • Speaking about the oil spill in Louisiana today. What are his plans? A few things. First off, check this site for the latest info on the response to the spill, which combines everything from all the involved parties. Second, he’s tripling the size of the response crews in Louisiana. Third, he’s keeping pressure on BP to pay for damages caused by the spill. Fourth, he’s going to help small business with loans needed due to the spill along with loan deferments for those they needed during Katrina. Finally, and most importantly, he’s approving a barrier island that will help prevent some of the oil from reaching shore. Will it help? Fingers crossed. source

28 May 2010 10:41

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Politics: Three things we now know about that whole Joe Sestak situation

  • one Our boy Rahm Emanuel was the guy who was trying to push the idea.
  • two The position was unpaid so that he would keep his seat in the House.
  • three Emanuel had BILL CLINTON ask Sestak if he was interested. source

28 May 2010 10:30

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Politics: This is how bad Obama’s response to this spill could ding him

  • Having flown over this disaster, I can tell you it greater than anyone can ever imagine. My constituents are watching a slow-motion tragedy unfold in front of them. Our culture is threatened, our coastal economy is threatened, and everything I know and love is at risk.
  • Rep. Charlie Melancon • In a House Energy subcommittee meeting. After saying this, Melancon excused himself because his emotions got the best of him. Melancon is a Democrat, by the way. Democratic strategist James Carville has also taken Obama to task for a perceived slow federal response to the oil spill. This is why Obama is headed to the Gulf today and is going out of his way to get involved in this mess. Because if he doesn’t, this could be worse for him than Katrina was for Bush.  source

28 May 2010 10:07

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Politics: This is the most effective anti-Obama campaign ad ever made

  • Now the oil spill has kinked Obama’s armor. It’ll be tough to come back from an ad like this, guys. source
 

27 May 2010 14:48

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26 May 2010 14:04

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Politics: Three awful ideas from the House GOP’s new agenda-picking site

  • If you’ve ever used the internet, you could’ve seen this coming from a while away. After House Republicans launched a site looking for democratic input on their new agenda, the site got overloaded with comments that perhaps didn’t show the GOP’s decision-making process in the best light. A few samples to nosh on:
  • one“Require all Muslims in the U.S. to wear ankle bracelet transponders so we know where the terrorists are at all times.”
  • two“Consensual bestiality should not be illegal. No, I am not joking. Everything I’ve said is logically sound.”
  • three “End the idea of Net Neutrality. American’s do not need the government censoring our websites for us.”

And the best answer goes to …

  • We need to train an army of Ninja Cats. Cats are natural born hunters and predators, and it is known that they indeed have 9 lives, many more than the typical human life (being one).
  • An absolute genius • Saying everything that needs to be said about this endeavor. It’s absolutely perfect in its conceit – the world needs stronger counter-terror measures, and how much stronger could you get than ninja cats? You know, seriously. source

26 May 2010 12:27

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Politics: John Kerry tells us the truth: We can’t quit offshore drilling

  • Now we are not going to stop drilling in the Gulf tomorrow, folks. Let’s be realistic. There are 48,000 wells out there. One of them went sour. About 30 percent of our transportation fuel comes from the Gulf. You think Americans are going to suddenly stop driving to work tomorrow? Do you think people are going to stop driving the trucks to deliver the goods to the department stores? Not going to happen.
  • Sen. John Kerry • Pointing out the ugly truth about the oil spill, which is that, put into perspective, we really need to be offshore drilling to keep up with energy demands. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it, crazy dreaming environmentalists. That dream of yours? It’s in a pipe. A pipe distributing oil. source