Category — Uncategorized

Fallenmonk reminded me that today is the anniversary of The Gettysburg Address.

The first Republican President was engaged in a war to preserve the Union from what would, in the twentieth century, become the base of the Republican Party.

Der Verrückte Philosoph at Peripetia has found the The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation for the CEO President.

“What we’ve got here is…failure to communicate.” [Strother Martin, playing the prison warden in Cool Hand Luke]

Reading Jack’s post at the Grumpy Forester, Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou Working about the misadventures of Howard “Cookie” Krongard, state Department Inspector General, and his brother, Alvin “Buzzy” Krongard, I was struck by the thought that the only people who still use childhood nicknames when they qualify for Medicare are trailer trash and Ivy League grads [Princeton in the case of the Krongards], two groups that have a rather difficult time growing up and acting like responsible adults.

[Note: you don’t have to be Southern or poor to be trailer trash, an amazing percentage locally are from the Midwest with good, hardworking families who try to make amends for the problems caused.]

I would write about the Democratic debate but this is more important than Wolf Blitzer parodying himself in Vegas: Religious scholars mull Flying Spaghetti Monster

(AP) — When some of the world’s leading religious scholars gather in San Diego this weekend, pasta will be on the intellectual menu. They’ll be talking about a satirical pseudo-deity called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose growing pop culture fame gets laughs but also raises serious questions about the essence of religion.

The appearance of the Flying Spaghetti Monster on the agenda of the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting gives a kind of scholarly imprimatur to a phenomenon that first emerged in 2005, during the debate in Kansas over whether intelligent design should be taught in public school sciences classes.

It is actually a serious discussion of the function and formation of religion, and not simply an excuse for grad students to display their comedy talents.

WSMV, channel 4 in Nashville, is reporting: Vintage Whiskey May Be Poured Out

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Here’s a sobering thought: Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, some of it almost 100 years old, may be unceremoniously poured down a drain because authorities suspect it was being sold by someone without a license.

Officials seized 2,400 bottles late last month during warehouse raids in Nashville and Lynchburg, the southern Tennessee town where the whiskey is distilled.

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…But what about the “unknown unknowns” that they might be guilty of if the US knew what they were?

The BBC version: UN mixed on Iran nuclear report

The UN nuclear watchdog has said Iran has provided it with information about its past nuclear activities as agreed under a work plan made in August.

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Cookie Jill of Cookies In Heaven and skippy the bush kangaroo wants people to remember the food banks, which try to do something extra at this time of year, but are facing more requests with fewer donations than ever.

Writers like John Rogers at Kung Fu Monkey, are keeping their hand in blogging, as in Lunch Conversations #4223: Getting In on the Ground Floor.

Rook agrees that we should consider robot overlords while the Der Verrückte Philosoph notes another trend: Americans Announce They’re Dropping Out Of Presidential Race.

The Associated Press [apparently the only source of reporting at the networks 😈 ] writes that Musharraf says he’ll quit army this month

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he expects to step down as army chief by the end of November and begin a new presidential term as a civilian, warning that Pakistan risked chaos if he gave into opposition demands to resign.

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CNet introduces something else you never knew you needed: First ‘robot’ electric guitar tunes itself

Ever get mad trying to figure out why your version of “Voodoo Child” doesn’t sound like Jimi Hendrix?

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There was a time when I wouldn’t have believed this was possible: Ex-FBI Agent Accused Of Security Breach

(CBS/AP) A former agent for the FBI and CIA pleaded guilty Tuesday to faking a marriage to win U.S. citizenship, clearing the way to being hired and given security clearances by the two intelligence agencies.

Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, emigrated to United States from Lebanon in 1989. She was given U.S. citizenship five years later and began working as a special agent at the FBI’s field office in Washington in 1999, according to a criminal information sheet filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

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Despite what you haven’t heard or seen from the legacy media™ the Writers Guild of America is still on strike.

Stuart Levine, a managing editor at Variety, has an opinion piece up at MSNBC, Showrunners turn strike into a show stopper, about the issues and the reason it lead to the shut down of so many shows so quickly.

John Rogers at Kung Fu Monkey, member of the WGA and veteran scriptwriter, provides more industry background in The Albatross.

And over at United Hollywood Michael “Mose” Schur, a producer of “The Office” has a Modest Proposal: CEOs Go First, suggesting that if the industry is in such dire straits, maybe the media CEOs to should take the same pay cut they are offering writers.

Christy Hardin Smith at Fire Dog Lake notes that some in the legacy media™ are wondering about their political coverage.

In particular Deborah Howell, ombudscritter for the Washington Post wrote on Sizing Up the Politics Coverage

A perennial complaint is that the media cover politics too much as a horse race instead of reporting more on the candidates’ backgrounds, where they stand on issues and how they would lead the nation. But is it true? I intend to find out — at least at The Post — and report back to readers.

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As reported by the Associated Press, another classic liar-side chat™ [Saturday radio address] in which he lies about the work Congress is doing, but this time the AP writer calls him on it: Bush urges Congress to OK veterans bill

“Congressional leaders let the fiscal year end without passing this bill they know our veterans need,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “The time to act is running out. … The best way members of Congress can give thanks to our veterans is to send me a clean bill that I can sign into law.”

Bush’s dig at Democrats didn’t tell the whole story.

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United States Marine Corps

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