Feds want to snoop even more

So now our friendly U.S. Gov't wants to be able to view all encrypted communication over the 'net, as and when they want to. They even want companies doing business outside the U.S. to provide backdoors. It's gross, and it's scary. It's also useless, since there will always be ways to abuse the privilege - and, believe me, it will be abused, whether by the Feds or by other mischief-makers.

But I feel a soapbox rant coming on, so why don't I just let this article explain it all...

Google's browser, Chrome, shows its superiority - again

A couple of days ago, I told you about an evil new phenomenon - persistent cookies.

Well, I just read an item from PC Magazine that shows that Google's free browser, Chrome, pretty much decimates these things. If that's not a reason to use Chrome, I don't know what is. Get it here - you will love it, I promise.

I'm taking the liberty of quoting a significant chunk of the article from PC Magazine, mainly because I think this is so important:

"...But in Google Chrome you'll find a superior handling of the problem. Much to my surprise, and confirmed by Adobe, Chrome's cookie manager (Tools—Options—Under the Hood—Content Settings—Show cookies and other site data) integrates management of Flash cookies and almost all of the other items on Kamkar's list. Under the "samy.pl" domain the section "Local Storage" included both the HTML5 storage and Flash cookies. Deleting the domain deleted all of it.

"Better still, Chrome's "Incognito" (private) mode prevented any of them. The cookie manager can't stop the cached image Kamkar says he creates, but all the private modes should be flushing the cache anyway.

"Adobe says that they are working with other browser companies to integrate similar functionality for Flash local storage, but Google Chrome is the first."

FYI: To open an Incognito window in Chrome, press ctrl-shift-n. Oh, and if you're searching for the Tools menu item mentioned above, it's the cute little spanner at the top right, just under the close button!

Dr. Who? Why, it's Dr Ann de Wees Allen!

Dr. Who?

So there's this woman, goes by the name Dr Ann de Wees Allen, who seems to think that she (Dr Ann de Wees Allen) can trademark her name (Dr Ann de Wees Allen). Not only that, but Dr Ann de Wees Allen is sending "cease and desist" letters to anyone who uses the name Dr Ann de Wees Allen in any way, shape or form. Apparently. Maybe I should try the same trick - there'd be a boatload of people who'd be SOL if I did, since my name is pretty common (just like me!).

Hallelujah! It's a miracle! Dr Ann de Wees Allen's website, which touts a miracle cure for something or the other, makes the trademark threat explicit, down to publishing the names of websites that have dared (shock, horror!) to use her name (Dr Ann de Wees Allen). Dr Ann de Wees Allen also displays a copy of the C&D letter. The lineage of the name Dr Ann de Wees Allen, we're told, comes from a royal house in England - see here. And, Dr Ann de Wees Allen lays claim to some rather dubious patents, without showing any specifics such as patent numbers, just a long laundry list of ... oh, hell, I really don't care. She (Dr Ann de Wees Allen) also seems to specialize in spelling errors, as can be seen at this page, where Dr Oz apparently says that diet sodas are "fattenting." The error is repeated here. Notably, Dr Ann de Wees Allen seems to specialize in poorly-edited websites - almost every page on every site is riddled with typos, spelling errors, and bad grammar. Oh well, whaddya gonna do? One wonders if Dr Ann de Wees Allen has also been able to trademark artwork such as the elegant (!) representation of her name (Dr Ann de Wees Allen) depicted above. One also wonders if Dr. Ann de Wuss Allen would be OK.

Technical note. Dr Ann de Wees Allen's website has some rather elementary Javascript that attempts to prevent one from copying text ... an ancient trick, one that any script kiddie knows how to overcome (hint: don't use your mouse). Right-clicking has also been suppressed - a dialog pops up saying "Copyright Protect!". Whatever that means.

Drag thinkin'... Someone made an interesting comment elsewhere - I quote: "It is not illegal to use trademarks, it is completely legal to used [sic] them to designate the actual trademarked thing. It is illegal to use a trademark to misrepresent a non-trademarked item as the 'real' trademarked item. So it would be a violation of trademark to dress up as Dr. Ann de Wees Allen, wear a Dr. Ann de Wees Allen mask and a nametag that says Dr. Ann de Wees Allen unless you actually are Dr. Ann de Wees Allen. So don’t do that." I see that there are some good pictures of Dr Ann de Wees Allen at her (Dr Ann de Wees Allen's) website, trowel-thick makeup and all. She (Dr Ann de Wees Allen) would look real good in drag.  Wouldn't it be fun for a drag queen to use the name Dr Ann de Wees Allen as a nom de plume for those, well, special occasions? Just sayin'...

Eat your chips. Here's another one of her websites, equally, erm, interesting. Apparently, computer chips are edible. It's here we learn that brains, as well as computers, can be damaged. Brain. Damaged.

Source-y! This came to light compliments of Techdirt, my amazing, reliable source for all web-related stupidity. You can read about our friend, Dr Ann de Wees Allen, here. There's also a fun blog entry about her (Dr Ann de Wees Allen) here. Should I receive any communiqué from Dr Ann de Wees Allen, I will most certainly let you know.

Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen
Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen
Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen
Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen   Dr Ann de Wees Allen
Oh dear, what happened there? I had a little accident ... my ctrl-v key stuck!

And, on a completely different subject, can you say "charlatan"? How about "paranoid"?

Technology we take for granted

Scenario: For me, it was the middle of the day in California. For my friend, it was 3am in a Bangkok hotel room - I never know where he is from one day to the other. I emailed him, he saw my note on his phone. He responded, and mentioned that I should tune into CNN to watch a live feed of the Iranian idiot ranting at the United Nations - quite a scene. My friend and I discussed it.

Observation: It made me realize just how much we take instant (and almost free) connectivity for granted these days. California, Bangkok, New York. All in real time. 20 years ago, this was not something most of us envisioned.

Homework: Think about it - the social ramifications, the global "village," the technology, the convenience, and on and on. Drop a comment; share your thoughts.

Persistent cookies

Seems there's a new trick out there - cookies that regenerate themselves when you try to get rid of them. This is not good. I can see how it can be done - quite easily, in fact, and you gotta wonder why it hasn't happened before. Read about it here.

Anger in America

Alice's Tea Party is also crazy,
except hers makes sense!

Here's an interesting post from Arianna Huffington. I'm going to let it speak for itself - a preview below, and the full article here. Just remember - there are alternatives.

"The Tea Party is angry! Really, really angry. So we are told again and again by the media. What's missing from this narrative is the fact that everybody is angry - even people who love the president, and wouldn't dream of voting for anyone other than a Democrat. And it's not hard to understand why. How can you look at what's happening in America and not be angry? But if we keep associating anger exclusively with the Tea Party, our public debate becomes a false choice between the status quo and an agenda that would, quite simply, destroy America. There is more than one way to channel anger. Yes, you can demonize and divide and scapegoat. But anger can also be harnessed and redirected -- the energy behind it used to connect, to reach out, to take action, to make life better both for your family and for others who need help. And there are tens of thousands across America doing just that."

Lies, damn lies

I'm always interested in the many ways us humans can distort, bend, manipulate, misrepresent the truth - see my earlier rant about MarketingSpeak.

Today's edition of Techdirt has a couple of interesting items on this topic, not least of which is a discussion concerning Amazon's recent "claim" that ebooks are outselling printed books by a wide margin. The first problem is obvious, but not one that a casual reader would pick up on: Amazon says that for every 100 hardcover books sold, 180 ebooks are sold. The key word there is hardcover - most people will just see this as ebooks vs any (printed) book. Well, when some bloggers saw this blob of bafflegab, they decided to look a little deeper. Net net, it turns out that a more realistic viewpoint is that ebooks represent about 6% of the total market - nowhere near 180%!

In the same vein, but applying the misinformation notion to politics instead of marketing... Politifact.com is a non-partisan group that investigates the veracity of claims made by politicians. They take specific incidents, research them, and write an article about what they found - and they add a rating on their "Truth-O-Meter" as to whether it was completely true, mostly true, half-true, etc. down to "pants on fire," obviously the lowest rating! They recently noticed that Michelle Bachmann (R-Minnesota) was the worst liar of them all - six items rated "false" and five rated "pants on fire." Read about it here.

Of course, I can't resist reminding you of my earlier posts about Jan Brewer (R-Arizona Gov.) and her stupid comments about illegal immigrants - the infamous beheadings in the desert, not to mention the dessert! Here's Politifact's article on that, and here's her record.

Apologies...

...I've been a little outta sorts the past few days, but will resume my rants asap. Meantime, here's a truly gross picture - it's an ad touting another one of those iTunes apps that promise to analyze your turd.

More Monty Python: The Penis Song (not Noël Coward!)

Here's another little ditty from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life that I had forgotten about. I happenchanced upon it while browsing the intertubes today. Lyrics are below, so while Eric tickles the ivories, you can sing along around the 'puter with your family ... enjoy!



Eric Idle: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Here's a little number I tossed off recently in the Caribbean...
   Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis?
   Isn't it frightfully good to have a dong?
   It's swell to have a stiffy,
   It's divine to own a dick.
   From the tiniest little todger
   To the world's biggest prick!
   So three cheers for your willy or John Thomas.
   Hooray for your one-eyed trouser snake.
   Your piece of pork, your wife's best friend,
   Your Percy or your cock;
   You can wrap it up in ribbons,
   You can slip it in your sock.
   Just don't take it out in public,
   Or they will put you in the dock
   And you won't ... come ... back.

The inevitable Wikipedia entry is here.

Glenn Beck - is he really that dumb?

Given the, erm, caliber of the typical Glenn Beck audience, do you really think he believes that he's being sarcastic by using these quotes on his book's jacket, or is he just stupid and doesn't realize what he's done? Read about it here.

Masturbation party!!!

In keeping with today's, erm, topic, I give you:



It's in Spanish, but it speaks for itself...

The million masturbators march!

You gotta read this report from Andy Borowitz about the attempt to organize a "Million Masturbators March" on Washington DC. Seems the city is concerned about the cleanup costs after the event...! This is in response to senatorial hopeful Christine O'Donnell's stance against masturbation.

And since we're on the topic, take this poll!

Everything old is new again

We think we're so damn clever with all our new technology. Well, check this out. You know how, these days, we are able to associate metadata with photos? Examples include date, place, technical details of the pic, etc. Read about it here.

Did you know that Kodak thought of this a hundred years ago, and actually made it happen? No need for fancy hard/software, just a pen. Take a look at these ads:

Yep - just open the little door, write down the info, expose, badda bing, badda boom - you're done!

ALERT!!! --> --> --> --> Bill Maher returns! <-- <-- <-- <--

Yes, indeedy - it's that time of year when Real Time with Bill Maher returns to HBO. If you have HBO, make sure you're tuned in on Friday night - the 17th. And if you don't, find a friend who has HBO, check into a hotel with HBO, whatever - just make damn sure you're watching!

This has been a crazy summer - from Islamophobia to DC infighting to right-wing loonie pundits to babblin' Sarah Palin to Qur'an burning to you-name-it. I have no doubt that Bill is more than ready to preach his viewpoint: A voice of utter and extreme sanity in the midst of the bigotry, childishness and, well, thoroughly unnecessary behavior we are subjected to day after day. [Exit soapbox left.]

The Huffington Post, unfailing as always, alerts us to the good news about Bill. For a preview of the spot-on hilarity, watch this:

And, for some classic (and hysterical) Bill Maher, see this 2-minute clip.

(A quick aside: As I write this, I'm listening to an interview on CNN with the Republican Teabagger who won the New York primary for Governor yesterday, Carl Paladino. This man is uttering the most preposterous garbage I have ever heard. It's astounding. The topic is the Islamic center (not mosque) near Ground Zero. I am sure I will have more to say about this later...)

Beaver time!

I'm watching The Office, and just heard a great gag: Michael Scott, the manager of the Scranton Dunder-Mifflin branch, is handing out his idiotic annual awards, the "Dundies." He awards Phyllis (the frumpy one) the "Busiest Beaver" trophy, but when she accepts it and takes a look at the inscription, she says to him, "But it says "Bushiest Beaver"! Zing - good one!

Build your dream house, while sitting at your computer

I've always been excited about the potential for creating physical objects from a printer.

HUH? I hear you say. Well, bear with me. For some time now developers have been improving a technology using what are known as "3D printers." No, not 3D in the sense of wearing special goggles at the movies. We're talking physical creation - these so-called "printers" use different materials, from paper to plastic to metal and even to concrete, and build actual objects layer by layer. The objects range from prosthetic devices to models of buildings to lamps to doorknobs and even to - yes! - houses.

It truly is a matter of sending your computer-generated 3D model that you see on your screen to one of these machines, which then manufactures the thing - just like you were sending a document to a printer. They can even make things with moving parts. Pretty damn cool, no?

Think about the possibilities and implications. Custom-generated items that are unique - print once, delete the file. Remote creation of items. All done automatically, so no more manual handling. Prices are dropping dramatically, making it feasible even for small businesses to enter the fray.

Imagine actually building your house in California while sitting at your 'puter in Ohio!

Read about it here, courtesy of the NYTimes. The short demo video below is worth watching too!



[Btw, if you clicked the NYTimes link, you will notice that I directed you to their print page for the article. I'm going to do this wherever I can in future, because there are far fewer ads, and the page loads quicker.]

Sarahbabble

And here I thought I babbled! Since this site is dedicated to silly ramblings (mostly mine), today I thought I'd treat you to the nonsense that Sarah spewed in Wasilla this weekend, on the occasion of the 9/11 anniversary - which, btw, she barely mentions in this speech diatribe. As I often do, I'm just gonna let it speak for itself - this time, literally! (And yes, I am using that word correctly.) The best way to appreciate this is to read it out loud - if you can bear it. What a total idiot the woman is. My only fear is the potential for her ending up as the POTUS - that would be even more embarrassing than Bush was, both here and on the world stage, and that's saying a lot! (Which reminds me - don't forget to look above to see my somewhat-regularly updated Bushisms.) That sentence I underlined below? Talk about the Bridge to Nowhere; this is the Sentence to Nowhere!
----------------
"Well, I'm sorry I'm late. We had a bunch of kid activities today, and the kids come first, OK, so... we're taking care of that, but first let me ask you - Do you looove your freedom? We do love our freedom so what we do is we think of vets and we have some vets right here and we have vets all over this crowd. Raise your hand if you've served in the past or are presently serving in the United States military. We love you and we salute you! God bless you guys. Thank you guys so much! You're why we are here - why we are free - why we have these protections in our Constitution that only you can secure so we thank our vets. It's just really really good to be home. Tonight I think I'll see some of you at a Glenn Beck event that we have in Anchorage. Woohoo! I know. What would we do without Fox News? I don't know.

"We've had a busy time getting to travel around the United States and share the message of really the reform in this country that we need. The reform it's not a fundamental transformation of America that some would want to instill upon us but it is a restoration of America and the values that we hold so dear. That's been our message. And I tell ya where that springs from though, is the roots here in Alaska. I tell my parents all the time there is no better gift that they could have given me than besides such an appreciation for family and for faith and patriotism, it's been an upbringing in America in this most perfect state in America - Alaska, where we are independent and we have the pioneering spirit that more of America should hopefully get to look into the state and understand and really try to emulate because it's that pioneering spirit that America needs more of.

"It's a spirit that really wants to value work ethic and value family and value country and not ask much of government. We just want government on our side. We don't want it against us, we just want it on our side so it's not a lot to ask. But that... that value, that belief, it comes from being an Alaskan. There is no place that I would rather be than with you on a day like this - patriots in Alaska. Patriots here who have taken time out of their day to say that we will never forget 9/11, nine years ago - we will never forget and we all commit to never letting it happen again. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for not just welcoming me in my home town but for being who you are, true patriots holding on to time tested truths. Knowing that... knowing some basic principles that again, the rest of America can learn from so many Alaskans who believe this - those time tested truths that are based on the government that governs least, governs best. And the knowledge that it's our Constitution that provides the best path - the best blueprint for a more perfect union and the knowledge that our men and women in uniform are a source for good throughout this world and that's nothing to apologize for. So you Alaskans who are so proud to be American, I'm with you. I love you. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. Thank you guys!"
----------------

Ever thoughtful, the Huffington Post provides video of this delicious morsel here. (I can't bear to watch it myself.)

An interesting aside: Whether true or not, I dunno, but it's still funny. During some websurfing, I came across this story - apparently, when Sarah heard that Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries, she was heard to say, "So Sambo beat the bitch." (Snopes.com categorizes the story as "undetermined," but it's likely true - see here.)

And if you like Sarah humor, try this - particularly her 2008 stuff.

Dangers of social networking

Again, this is a post that I won't comment on - I'll let this article from the NYTimes speak for itself.

Briefly: It's about being careful what information you divulge on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. This is important, folks!!!

And please make sure that your account settings are set up in such a way that your privacy is under your control. Be safe!

Prop. 8: Newsweek article worth reading, plus a fun video

Ted Olson and David Boies

Yes, I'm back on Proposition 8, the "law" that denies equal rights to same-sex couples who wish to marry. Prop. 8 is clearly unconstitutional, and one of the two lawyers who fought to overturn it wrote an excellent article in Newsweek.

The two lawyers are liberal David Boies, and conservative Ted Olson (appointed by Bush). Who do you think wrote the article? Wrong! It was the conservative one - Ted Olson! He explains why this so-called law should be a concern for everybody, not just gay people. Please read it!

On a lighter note, here is an excellent video about Prop. 8. The music in the video is Adam Lambert singing Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." The wonderful underlying video of Adam's performance was created by Jack "Angel" Montana.

Just because I can...

Yes, another gross picture. I made it extra-large this time - the pic, that is. Sorry about that! (As always, captions welcome!)

Beheadings in the where?!?!

A delicious typo from a CNN blog entry:

"What is hurting us right now economically are statements, false statements made by Jan Brewer, about how Arizona has become so violent, that we are a place of fear, and we have beheadings in the dessert," said Arizona Attorney Gen. Terry Goddard, the Democrat challenging Brewer, during the debate.

Say what? Would that be beheadings in the Baked Alaska Arizona? It doesn't look like Jan is enjoying her dessert! Maybe she's getting her just desserts?

See my earlier post about this...

Polari

No Smoking in Polari

[Maybe I should have used polari as a word-of-the-day on my bafflegab me page, since I notice I've been somewhat remiss about keeping my other pages up to date. Oh well...]

WTF? I hear you say. Yesterday, I wrote this sentence: And, my dear, just varda her ugly eek! and, at the time, thought that may have needed elucidation. But I was just so pissed at the topic in question (Qur'an burning) that I didn't go there. So I will today.

Polari is slang (or, more appropriately, cant or argot) that was popular about 50 or so years ago in the gay community, particularly in the U.K. The BBC made good use of it in a number of their popular radio comedy programs, which no doubt was responsible for its growth. Usually, it was used by campy gay guys, possibly because they felt they had a need to communicate with each other using terminology that only they would understand. Remember, this was still in the days when "gay" was bad, and there was a desire, nay, a need, for secrecy. And when you're a stereotypically effeminate queen, I would imagine that was a really tough thing to accomplish!

So what did I say in that sentence? Well, "varda" means to look, or see. And "eek" is a face. You can take it from there!

If you're interested in learning more about this, here are some good places to look: First, commentary by one of my favorite language pundits, Michael Quinion, in his World Wide Words website, where there is a brief lexicon. For more, check out the Wikipedia entry, which has a more comprehensive list, as well as a bunch of good links. And here's a good, no-nonsense article about it. Enjoy!

A busy day

This is a jam-packed day, so I'm gonna resort to bullets and short comments (yay!).

• Burning the Qur'an: If, as this idiot "pastor" has threatened, the burning of 200 copies of the Qur'an goes ahead on Saturday, I think we will have descended to a new low in history - and, let's face it, that bar is already pretty damn low. This act would not only be disgusting, but it most definitely threatens our security. It's gonna piss off so many people. This horrible act of hate and bigotry may cause many of the soldiers who are protecting this asshole to be killed - that's pretty rich, ain't it? Imagine if Bibles or Torahs were being burned...? I'm speechless - that's rare. (Btw, I put the word "pastor" in quotes because he certainly is not acting the part. And, my dear, just varda her ugly eek!)
• And more from Google: Yes, Google has done it again, with Google Instant. They have modified their search capability such that it tries to predict what you are looking for with every single keypress. It's pretty damn cool - you can read about it here, and try it out from that link by pressing the big blue button. There's more info here too. You may want to try a search like [Quran burning] since that's topical now. (For my pedantic friends out there: I deliberately omitted the apostrophe in "Qur'an" because there's no need for punctuation in a search term.)
• Penis envy: Here's the largest penis in the world. And it's in St. Petersburg!!! (Cue Peter Griffin: giggle.)

Craigslist and censorship

So now Craigslist has finally bowed to the pressure it's been getting from the politicos. It has shut down its "Adult Services" section, and replaced the link to that area with a big, bold "CENSORED."

As this article points out, this is really dumb - all it's gonna do is move these ads to other sites. I quote from the article:

While some had threatened, no actual lawsuit had been filed against Craigslist for this section -- and for a damn good reason: Craigslist is, without a doubt, protected from liability due to Section 230. Furthermore, Craigslist seems to go out of its way to help law enforcement use the site as a tool to crack down on prostitution. Shutting that down won't stop the prostitution. It'll just drive it to sites that don't work as closely with law enforcement.

Section 230 is the law that shields websites that host user-generated content from being sued because of what their users post. But the Techdirt article I linked to above explains it much better than I can, so make sure you take a look; this is important stuff.

I guess this means we won't get to see "things" like this any more. (Sorry, couldn't resist! And, yes, he is of legal age. And he's not selling it - for that, see below.)

I don't think this picture was digitally modified - the juxtaposition of his fingers and dick looks genuine.

In the meantime, go here to find some interesting alternatives - that is, of course, if you're into actually paying for it. Eeew.

Article re Palin - a must-read

I know I've already cited this article from Vanity Fair, but now that I've actually read it, I URGE you to take a look. It's a good, objective account of the woman, and anyone who takes an interest in politics and fears the possibility, nay, probability of her running for president has simply got to read it. It speaks for itself, so I will say no more!


Update, September 15: Man (oops) Ann Coulter has weighed in with her "criticism" of the Vanity Fair article. Poor thing - her hateful ramblings are normally pretty cringe-worthy, but this week she's really gotta be desperate to fill her column with this nonsense. Everything (and I mean everything) she says about the VF article has no basis in reality whatsoever.

A quickie re DUI/DWI

There is currently a PSA on TV about drunk driving or "riding." It's the same commercial every time, except that ~50% use the term "drunk driving" while the rest of them use "drunk riding."

My question is - why? Are they subtly trying to make us think that merely riding in a car while drunk is a DUI/DWI no-no? And, if so, how does the "designated driver" deal now work? Is it gonna be illegal to be drunk while sitting in the passenger seat? And where in hell do they expect people to drink now - I will not drink alcohol on my own at home. For me, drinking is a social experience, not a loner one. If my assumption is correct, this sucks - big time.

Palin - again

This time, I point you to an article from Vanity Fair. While lengthy, it's definitely worth reading.

Ya know, I concede that Palin has political "smarts" - she certainly knows how to manipulate her throngs of adoring admirers and that, sadly, is what constitutes savvy in this disgusting power game we see playing out in D.C.

But think about this - if she ever, Goddess forbid, became (gulp) the POTUS, how would she handle the job? You think George W. Bush was stupid? Compared to her, he's a veritable Einstein. When someone doesn't know who Margaret Thatcher is, how on earth could she hold her own when interacting with world leaders? (Oh that's right, I forgot - the world is flat, and ends at the U.S. borders - except, of course, Russia, because Palin can actually see that from her porch.) Consider this quote from the Vanity Fair article:

Early in the 2008 campaign, when John McCain's aides discovered that Alaska-size gaps existed in Palin's general knowledge (among those previously unreported: she had no idea who Margaret Thatcher was), they from time to time would give her some books to read in hopes of improving the candidate's learning curve. On one such occasion, Palin accepted the books, set them aside, and for the next 25 minutes was held rapt by one of her three BlackBerrys.

Eventually, an aide asked, "What are you working on?"

"I’m reading these great e-mails," she said, "from the prayer warriors."

Oh dear.

Beheadings in the desert - WTF?!

Here's one for the books. Governor, Jan Brewer (R-AZ), appears to have had a couple of meltdowns in the past few days. You simply must read this article from The Huffington Post, as well as make sure you watch the two YouTube videos there.

The first one shows her at a very embarrassing moment in a political debate, where she ... well, I dunno, it's hard to describe ... she sorta "done did her very best," I guess.  If you believe those lengthy pauses and bad grammar are her very best please go ahead and vote Republican. Craig Ferguson, in his inimitable way, decided to add sound effects which really appeal to my disgusting sense of humor; take a look at the video below... But wait - there's more!

She made a claim recently that there have been, and I quote, "beheadings in the desert." The second video in the link above shows how a bunch of reporters asked her about this, and why she won't recant the statement. I'm not going to spoil the surprise - again, see for yourself.

Also, did you know that she claimed Hitler killed her father? It was an outright lie, and she denies having lied about it. Details here.

Amazing. Or maybe not - given all the shenanigans going on in this political silly season. Funny how this nonsense always seems to come from the right - believe me, I really do look for leftie shenanigans, but can never find them. I wonder why. To sorta prove my point, in posting this article, I inadvertently bumped into an outrageous "trailer" for Glenn Beck's book. It's interesting to note that Beck has forbidden comments, as well as the ability to embed the YouTube video. But no matter - if you want a good giggle, go here and watch it!

It's time for REVOLUTION!

That's what you see on James Lee's page on MySpace today. (For those of you who will have forgotten about this dude when the current news cycle ends, he is the one who is trying, as I write this, to hold the Discovery Channel hostage, in an attempt to get his demands heard.)

Here's a thought: Isn't it a shame that he had to get to this point to have his voice heard, when we have to put up with blowhards like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Man (oops) Ann Coulter, and all the other right-wing idiots who have a built-in platform like Fucks (oops again) Fox News to expound their views as and when they like?

Shouldn't there be a better way for people not in the public limelight to expound their views? Whether the views in question are reasonable or not isn't the point here ... if you look at Lee's manifesto, and get beyond the absurdity of the actual "demands," you will see that he actually has a viewpoint that many people would agree with.

Update: As I write this, CNN is reporting that he has been captured, and everything is OK. Which is exactly the outcome I anticipated; what I find fascinating is the breathless-baffling-babbling-bafflegab-bullshit "BREAKING NEWS!!! ... BREAKING NEWS!!!" coverage that TV is so fond of.

More update: Well, he's dead now, so who gives a shit?