BO Doesn't Know

Barack doesn't know what he wants. I just figured that out after reading Krugie's op ed in the Times. The reason his pole numbers are dropping and this whole healthcare push has been a debacle is b/c Obama doesn't know what he wants, he just knows he wants something.

Obama had (and probably still has) an army of people ready to go to bat for him on this healthcare initiative except they don't know what they're going to bat for, and he hasn't made it clear. Is it the public option or the maximum out of pocket costs reform or the right to life provisions? No one really knows where he stands. They know what the generic democrat wants but unfortunately the generic democrat isn't president and doesn't have BO's appeal.

If I were him I would go back to promotional marketing 101. Pick 3 THINGS you are FOR and have your office, your surrogates and yes even your professorial I must answer every question equivocally with a spliced hedged answer brain stick to those 3 things.

The roof of my mouth has been in pain since Thursday...

...and it's all because of this mustachioed gentlemen. Thanks Cap'n for selling a deliciously sweet corn based cereal that also helps reshingle the roof of my mouth...thanks.

Really Patti Heaton?

It took my little niece all of 30 seconds to do the math...in her head.

Thanks the man up stairs I don't cheer for loser teams like the Ravens or the Panthers....GO VIKES!!!

Dear Mr. President

Sorry dude, but if you can't show me some gumption on healthcare than I might have to give you a break. Mind you, I'll still be voting for you in 2012, but no donations or door knocking or phone calling or favorable blogging from me.

You are getting bullied. You are getting punked. And you are too scared to fight back. I have liked your temperament and your ability to sit back and strategize, but where I'm from you've gotta throw punches sometimes. I'm just sayin' dude. I'm hoping this is part of your grander strategy and you've got something up your sleeve, but methinks you and your superteam have been outfoxed by the republicans. At least for now. I could be wrong.

This is why they call her Cyborg

I'm a HUGE fan of Carano, mainly because she's tall, wears sexy high heels, is a hottie and can also fight. But it took about 10 minutes of watching clips of Cyborg this week to realize Gina didn't really have much of a chance.

Once matched up nobody can argue that Cyborg isn't the stronger, more naturally aggressive fighter and it took me all of 60 seconds of watching this fight to realize that and predict Carano would be manhandled and lose. Don't get me wrong, my girl stood her ground and gave some nice shots, but whenever a fighter is being walked down like that consistently and so easily tossed to the ground it's a sign of dominance.

Cyborg will only be defeated when another woman like her rises to the elite level or Gina learns how to really box. Yes, learns how to box. Gina can't beat her on the ground, so she's got to beat her on her feet. She's an average boxer, but I would like to see a lot more head movement and skill in DUCKING and countering Cyborg's big punches. You can't just retreat to the ropes and cover up. I counted at least 9big shots Cyborg threw that Gina just covered up instead of DUCKING and countering Cyborg with some clean HOOKS.

She trains in Vegas, maybe she should spend sometime with Roger Mayweather...seriously.

Canards are dangerous when left unchecked

Most of us are familiar with the canards circulating in the media and in the blogosphere concerning healthcare, they are as such:

1. Death Panels - That is when you're an old person you will be subject to a panel of faceless bureaucrats making decisions about whether you can live...this is also known as end of life care (according to one Sarah Palin).

2. Anger and Outrage - Megan McCardle, among many other fake libertarians, has been guilty of pretending that the angry people on the teevee machine are representative of all of America. They're not.

3. Healthcare Status Quo is Good - According to the 400 Managing Directors of GS.

In a homophonous ode to The Wire, take a look at the little man Kenard as he becomes a mop for a sidewalk floor on the westside of Baltimore.

Fat People

It's too bad that doctors like this who are trying to get fat and unhealthy people to understand that eating donuts, hamburgers and fried chicken and drinking sweet tea ad nauseam are bad for your health. Only down south would they fire you for something like this, I bet they'll be screaming for Obamacare when they're coveted "healthcare" provider tells them their heart valve replacement is "experimental" and otherwise uncovered.

Story Here

Medicars is, I repeat is, the very essence of socialized medicine

To all the birthers, tea baggers and others pretending to be upset about President Obama's "policies" please refrain from attackin socialized medicine if you are on Medicare. Seriously you sound incredibly stupid...in fact some would say you are stupid.

Also please make some effort to understand what Nazism, fascism, communism and socialism are and how they differ (hint there terms are not, I repeat are not synonymous.) It is not cool to willingly be stupid.

Think About

How many wives have you passed up in the grocery store? How many promotions have you bailed on? How many Fortune 500 seeds have you spit into the street? How many times have you unloved loved ones? How many next times have you settled for?

"Chances lost are hopes torn up pages"

Thanks Brett Favre (and by thanks I mean you're a total flake)

Thanks Brett Favre for getting us in a tizzy, and then flaking. That was super awesome, you didn't throw in the tears this time though, those are usually a nice touch. If there ever was a ready made Superbowl situation this was it and we also offered you a chance to crush the Pack and the organization that treated you with such disdain, to no Favreian avail. I guess Mississippi and throwing passes to high school players was too strong a pull...I guess.

What Obama can learn from Bush. What Pelosi can learn from Hammer

Taibi sums up my feelings on the healthcare bill and the D's succinctly, here.

While he remains much maligned among a portion of the electorate, I have a healthy respect for President Bush. The guy barely won and came into office and did whatever he wanted. He didn't ask questions, he didn't placate congress he acted like he owned the place, and the rest of us were to shook to notice differently. Contrast that with Obama and the D's. The one thing I can say about DeLay and Bush they didn't play for friends.

Wenya Ommaaaa

Youtube is awesome because it allows you to relive that which has since faded in your memory. When Lion King came out, I was well into my teens, and was thus forced to enjoy it in the secrecy of my parents basement after my elementary aged siblings and parents had been thoroughly entertained. I too was thoroughly entertained, the graphics and soundtrack were second to none and it was hard to not find a parallel to my own life. Other than Simba being a complete punk, the movie still stands as one of the better stories of nucleality in families.

Naaaaa, sinwaitszaaaaaaa....aaaaaaaah...babaaabaakabki....(if you do nothing else, listen to the first 20 seconds, the best 20 seconds!)

Really President Bush?

You were considering using military forces to affect an arrest on US soil? Really? The FBI or the Marshalls weren't up to the task? Methinks the FBI and/or Marshall Services were more than up to the task but that you, in some misguided effort to again feign toughness thought this would be a plus in the cap of your base and moderates. Boy were you wrong. Good to know you finally decided against it.

Full story here, this would be comical if it weren't true.

To My Guys

Carlos Wilcox

I'm Minnesota through and through and all though I never met any of them I want to send a heartfelt thank you to Carlos Wilcox, Dan Drevnick and James Wertish, fellow Minnesotans who died this week in Iraq. Thanks, posthumously, guys for your lives, for your sacrifice, for your heart. Regardless of political affiliation Minnesota and the nation is forever in your debt. Thanks again.

SBUX to sell dro?

Just kidding. However, they are getting ready to begin selling liquor. I guess to get all those coffee heads through the 2PM hour. Any of my colleagues or friends with working ears have heard me opine ad nauseam on the impending tectonic cultural, business and social shift we as a nation and western society are getting ready to undergo. I surmise the number one retail coffee shop EVER choosing to become a bar is just a start.

My other prediction is that this period will see the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. I'm hoping to be the tranferee!!! Here's to dreams, a hunch and a sense of timing and action!!!

Zuck on the Stimulus

Mort Zuckerman sums up my feeling of Obama and his stimulus well. You can read the whole article here.

Second, the stimulus package may have been well intentioned, but it was too small and too badly constructed to get money into the economy fast enough to replace lost consumer and business spending and to slow unemployment. Workers' pessimism is justified: About 40 percent believe the recession will continue for another full year. As paychecks shrink and disappear, consumers are more hesitant to spend and won't lead the economy out of the doldrums quickly enough.

It may have made him unpopular in parts of the Obama administration, but Vice President Joe Biden told it as it is when he said the administration misread how bad the economy was. The administration inherited the problem, but then it failed to understand how ineffective its solution would be. The program was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, and jobs. It wasn't. The recovery act may have been a single piece of legislation, but it included thousands of funding schemes for tens of thousands of projects, and those programs are stuck in the bureaucracy as the government releases the funds with typical inefficiency.

Letter to the Prez

Dear Mr. President-

Back in January I blogged ad nauseam about the stimulus and how it needed to be spent as quickly as possible (on needless projects even) to ensure people stayed employed and spending didn't drop off a cliff. Instead of listening to me you played weaksauce with the Rs in some ersatz notion to garner bi-partisan support from a group of pols who are sworn to oppose you and see your demise. As a result we've got 10% unemployment about 5 months ahead of schedule and countries like France are kicking our tails when it comes to real stimulus WPA STYLE!!! Whats more your failure to listen to me has forced you to run a second stimulus up the flagpole through your advisor (backdoor style eh?). Not very leaderly dude, get it together. Seriously, you should have listened to me and asked for 1.5T of spending, the goal wasn't to play nice, it was to keep people employed. Now the mud hole is even larger and the public, in their ignorance, is all hyped on anti-deficit juice and will never swallow another stimulus.

I must admit I respect your Presidential bona fides, but this was a Bushian sized blunder. Please don't let this happen again.

Sincerely
Ryan Culver

Letter to Venus Williams?

Dear Venus-

You're tall and kinda hot. Are you ever gonna beat your sister when it counts...little sister to be more specific?

That's all.

Sincerely,
Ryan C.

Palin Please

If Bill Kristol really is advising Sarah Palin he should be jettisoned from her camp immediately. The bumbling, incoherence that was Palin circa September 2008 could have easily been written off as a novice in the spotlight simply not being herself. It was explainable because the McCain campaign did in fact handle her like all VP nominees, elects and VP's get handled. But the bumbling, incoherence that was her resignation press conference is all on her.

Btw - I hooped D1 and her analogy bewilders me. Pass the ball. Keep an eye on the ball. Dribble the ball. Hold the ball. Win. Head up. Head down. National Security. Freedom. Huh?

BtwII - Palin's got to, I repeat got to stop making herself the victim all the time. That gets old. Every time she talks it's "the national media this" or "national media that."