Happy Freakin' Halloween...

Ha Ha. Very Funny:

Blog find of the day...

Kathy from Cake Eater Chronicles asks this question:

Did you exchange a walk on part in a war for a lead role in a cage?

She got me with the Floyd:





I had a high school girlfriend that would get extremely...uh...lovey dovey whenever we put Pink Floyd in the 8-track player (yes, I'm that old).


I think I have some friends who might want in on this...

Islamic Rage Boy on cover of Newsweek? (Updated...bumped)

Star Nose on Your Face columnist Islamic Rage Boy sure gets around:

(Updated) Potfry claims that this ISN'T IRB. I am sensing a cover-up. Besides, this guy is an Islamic Rage Boy, even if he isn't the Islamic Rage Boy.

Islamic Rage Boy responds:

A number of pretenders to the Islamic Rage Boy throne have emerged in recent months, and dispatching of them is now of paramount importance to my own personal code of honor, as well as to the IRB franchise...

First and foremost is the most vocal, and persistent, of them all: an Indian who used to call himself “Shakeel Bhat.” This wretch who has taken to using my name, describes himself as “a professional protester”, which is really code for “curry-drenched ass-pirate.” The mighty IRB a protester? Bah! There are far too many Jews to incinerate and whores to mutilate to waste time marching and whimpering like a New York Times op-ed columnist on Newt Gingrich Appreciation Day...

Now yet another vapid cur pretending to be yours truly has surfaced in Pakistan. This proboscisally-over-endowed mouth-breather was recently featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in full Islamic Rage Boy garb. He was even sporting my officially licensed throwback dishadasha! Does their insolence know no bounds?

Get ALL of Islamic Rage Boy's rants here.

My Cousin Vinnie...(update)

...we hardly knew ye...

Sniff...

In tribute:




Update: And in other blogging news, check out Six Meat Buffet's "new" correspondent Brian McMurphy...something seems oddly familiar...

Jimmie Johnson steps up...

I'm not much of a Nascar fan, but after today's race I am certainly a Jimmie Johnson fan:

Johnson said he and team owner Rick Hendrick will donate their $349,561 in winnings from Sunday's race to the American Red Cross for the wildfire relief effort in his native California, along with matching donations promised by several other NASCAR organizations.

Yeah, I know that might seem like a drop in the bucket to the El Cajon native, but since he negotiated matching donation from some of his sponsors, that could mean millions.

Jimmie Johnson is a class act. If you wish to donate to the cause, click on the picture on the right side-bar.

When the game you are watching is boring...

...like this Dolphins/Giants game from London Fox is subjecting me to this morning, get your entertainment from the commercials:




And this Bud Light commercial...

Cal/Stanford Redux? (updated)

The best game of the college football weekend? Ohio State/Penn State? Oregon/U$C? Texas/Nebraska?

Nope. How about Trinity vs. Millsaps?:



Update: If the ESPN video is down, you can catch it here:



The same play from the end zone:

The Karl Dorrell era ends (Updated)

Or at least it freakin' better after tonight.

For every big game victory Dorrell pulled out of his ass, there are embarrassing losses...like tonight's.

UCLA's Terrence Austin exhibits his "hands of stone" on this dropped TD pass

Dropped passes, stupid penalties, lack of focus or intensity...and then finally, the team quits.

Oh...the agony of watching UCLA football...

Washington State was 2-5 going into tonight's game. They had not won a single Pac 10 game. We got our asses thoroughly kicked by Washington FREAKIN' State!

How does Karl Dorrell get his team SO prepared to play these important games?


Courtesy of Bruins' Nation:

Click to make bigger

(Update) Bill Dwyre of the LA Times had this to add:

UCLA ought to be able to drive a van around the campus on a Friday afternoon, pick up 35 students who look fairly healthy and come up here and beat the Cougars. Which is a harder sell to a prospective player, the bright lights of Los Angeles or the vast nothingness that surrounds Pullman?

Yes, the Cougars played hard and played well. And yes, this is like going to the moon to play a game -- did those loud and inebriated fans in their deer-hunting clothes really come to watch a football game? Or when they chanted at the end of the game to the Bruins: "We own you! We own you!", did they mean the entire team or just their hides?

Owned. By Washington Freakin' State. Thanks to Karl Dorrell, my Bruins are now a football joke...

They have become the Never-Beat-A-Team-You-Are-Supposed-To Gang. Their leader is the We-Just-Have-To-Do-Better-Next-Time Coach. Their fans?

They are the people you see, often late on a Saturday night, off in a corner somewhere, shaking their heads and talking to themselves.

Randi Rhodes is officially batshit stoopid

Again via Hot Air, this comes from Ian Schwartz:

Randi Rhodes went on an extremely bizarre rant (even for her standards) during her Air America show this afternoon. Rhodes actually thinks Blackwater played a significant role in the wildfires started by arsonists.

Here is the audio.


My take? Screw you, Randi. You have the luxury of sitting in your New York studio and spewing that garbage without worrying about how irresponsible your comments are.


I have a great idea. Why don't you come out to San Diego for a visit and repeat those comments in front of a community that has just lost homes and lives, you gutless hack?


Or why don't you go "walk your dog" again?


Fortunately nobody in San Diego was able to hear her comments live...

Having fun at Maxim magazine

What? You think this is going to be a "hot babe" post? OK, I'll throw you a bone:





Now ordinarily I would not post anything from Maxim magazine, but props to Maxim for these two "lists"...


First up, the 5 "unsexiest" women alive. And I have long been saying that I never understood why anyone would find this hag to be sexy:


Of course my distaste for Sarah Jessica Parker may also be rooted in the fact that this dingbat can't act her way out of a wet paper bag. I never bothered to watch Sluts and the City primarily because I can't stand her.


But I do have one complaint. How the hell did this "woman" not make the list?

Next might be one of my favorite "lists" of all time...Maxim's Famous People Who Look Like They Smell. A few selections:

#8 Steve Buscemi: Weasel genitals, fangs, lips, other teeth that aren´t fangs, a hamster cage

#2 John Madden: A turkey leg cured within the folds of his belt fat.

And the grand prize winner:

#1 Andy Rooney: Sex

I'd suggest playing the same game with...

...but that might just be too gross.

(But if you insist, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comment box)

From San Diego to Iraq: Thank you!

Via Hot Air, comes this story from Milblog OPFOR:

I received a press release from Baghdad today, which I know the mainstream media will not pass on to you all. Here is an example of Iraqi charity and gratitude which touched my soul. Imagine how incredibly generous these soldiers are. They have little to support their own families. It’s not enough that they are fighting daily to bring peace to their country. They are actually reaching out to help unfortunate Americans.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Members of the Iraqi Army in Besmaya collected a donation for the San Diego, Calif., fire victims Thursday night at the Besmaya Range Complex in a moving ceremony to support Besmaya's San Diego residents.

Iraqi Army Col. Abbass, the commander of the complex, presented a gift of $1,000 to U.S. Army Col. Darel Maxfield, Besmaya Range Complex officer in charge, Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, to send to the fire victims in California.

Read all of the story here. And to the generous Iraqi army...a most heartfealt "thank you!"

The personal trainer's secret

This morning I had to get a new set of tires, so I went down to a local dive bar to have breakfast and watch some of the early college games while I waited for the work to be done on my car (I don't drink...no, really I don't).


A guy walks in wearing the shirt of a very well known 24-hour fitness chain with his "personal trainer" nametag, and carrying a bottle of chocolate milk:

He walks up to the bar..."Yo'...spike my chocolate milk?":

"I used to be the one doing the donating..."

That's what a man said to me as he was sifting through donated shoes at the Rancho Bernardo relief center tonight.


It's tough to console someone who has lost their home. The best you can do is encourage them that things will be back to "normal" sooner than they think.

Claire Shipman: Bitch of the week

I lied.

I was not going to blog on the fires again today, but then I caught this over at Hot Air:



I would have had no problem if the Governator had pinched this little bitch's head off. I personally watched the national media come in and look for every little problem in the middle of this huge catastrophe. They were a huge pain in the ass.

Now, for something completely different...

I promise, no more fire-blogging until at least tomorrow.

The laugh of the day comes courtesy of the boys at The Nose on Your Face.

Check out the comments too...

And from the Onion News Network:

(EXTREME language warning at the end of this video)

Ramona...Grow the hell up!

My stint at Qualcomm Stadium is finished. Now I'm watching the news reports...and everyone in San Diego County has been terrific.

Oh yeah. Except a lot of you folks in Ramona.

Some of you selfishly stayed. And you caused a big problem. Because you stayed behind and used your water supply, those who followed the law are now stuck because there is not enough water to fight a fire again should one break out.

Meanwhile, a bunch of you are on Hwy 67 whining and complaining that you can't get back in. Well, guess what? There are still three fires smoldering in your area and it is still extremely dangerous. But all you are thinking about is "why can't I go home?".

I feel bad for you, I really do. I met hundreds of you at Qualcomm and most of you were patient and understanding. But how about this? There are still people in Jamul, Fallbrook, Julian and Valley Center who can't go home either. None of them are causing problems. And despite no immediate fire danger, folks in Spring Valley and Rancho San Diego are STILL under evacuation orders.

So those of you who are whining...grow the hell up.

Moron of the week

Thanks to Ace of Spades, this week's winner...hands down.

Screw you, Harry. Do you have to freakin' politicize everything? Why don't you politicize this?:

Jerk.

"Can I go home now?"

Day 5, and time to go back to Qualcomm Stadium...hopefully to send everyone else home. People approach with that hopeful look on their faces as I look up their addresses on my laptop and it's heartbreaking when I have to tell them "not yet":

Yesterday a new fire hit Camp Pendleton. Check this out:





This fire threatened Rancho San Diego and Spring Valley...here it is coming over the Mount Miguel:

Finally, here is a touching slideshow tribute to the people of San Diego. This is truly "America's Finest City":

Brief update on the really unimporant stuff...

Looks like the avocado crop is going to be lost due to the fires in Fallbrook...

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Well, maybe I'll lose some weight this football season.

Also, the Chargers might play this Sunday's game in Dallas. Might have to treat myself to a road trip (if the fires die down by then).

Summing up what San Diegans feel:




(from Steve Breen of the UT)

Smoke in my brain?

Last night I dreamed that Scarlett Johansson wanted to marry me, but I kept rejecting her.

Yeah, right:

Most peculiar mama. OK, got to go clean all of these black boogers out of my nose...

Things are getting better...

Thank you ALL who have contacted me with their wishes for us here in San Diego. I have spent the last two days volunteering at Qualcomm Stadium...giving people information about their homes and evacuation areas.

Some of you have asked for the grim news...here it is:

Homes damaged or destroyed in Rancho Bernardo.

Homes damaged or destroyed in Escondido.

Other homes that have been damaged or destroyed in Poway or Rancho Santa Fe.

These lists are not complete or final.

Thank you to Jim and Debbie who brought our team at Qualcomm some hot spaghetti. Most of us hadn't eaten all day...your contribution was a blessing.

And to the firefighters, law enforcement and military who have been protecting us...words cannot express our gratitude.

Not sure if this is totally appropriate right now, but this song is stuck in my head:

Greetings from Hell...(updated)

Please help if you can...

My beautiful city is in ruins and it is a sad day. Yiddish, I hope you are OK...I know you are in the evacuation area...

Hundreds of homes are destroyed.

But this may be one of San Diego's shining moments. With most of the freeways closed, over 300,000 people have been evacuated...all with less than 24 hours notice.

Hey Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco...see what can happen when you get up off your ass and quit pointing fingers!

Today I volunteered at the Qualcomm Stadium evacuation site (had the Governator stroll about 10 feet from me...boy, he is shorter than I thought) and I must say that for a relief effort things went swimmingly. There was more than enough food and there were hundreds of volunteers all chipping in and doing whatever they were asked to do. Clean out a garbage can? Haul water and cots around? Walk a senior citizen to the first aid center? No problem.

I'll be back at the Stadium tomorrow as this could go on all week. Please keep our community in your prayers...

Photos of the fires available here.

Here is the video of Larry Himmel reporting on the loss of his own home:



(Updated) 5:46am: Per a commenter request, here is a partial list of homes that have been destroyed.

5:55am: Awaking this morning, and it hasn't gotten much better. You can get live streaming local coverage here at Channel 10.

Thanks to the Union Tribune, here is a map of the burn areas...the Witch Creek Fire (North County) and the Harris Fire (South County).

6:12am: This fire does not discriminate. Trailers and small homes have burned along with multi-million dollar homes in Rancho Santa Fe and Poway. The Union Tribune reports that ex-major league baseball player David Justice has lost his home. Ex-San Diego Padre Phil Nevin says Poway "looks like Mars." His home looks like it survived:

“I'm safe. My family's safe. That's all I can say – that's all you need,” Nevin said.

“My whole yard, my trees, everything burned – but my house made it,” he said. The fire's passed us. I can't believe ours didn't burn down.”

The two sports faces of this city have also been affected...LaDainian Tomlinson and Tony Gwynn have both evacuated their homes in Poway. Tomlinson's home has been saved, no word yet on Gwynn's home.

Other Padres who have evacuated: Padres manager Bud Black, players Trevor Hoffman and Bud Black and CEO Sandy Alderson. Ex player Brian Lawrence, ex-manager Bruce Bochy and ex-pitching coach Dave Stewart do not know what has happened to their homes.

The San Diego Chargers have also been affected:

“It was pretty somber,” center Nick Hardwick said. “They asked guys to raise their hands if they were affected, and three-quarters of the team, at least, raised their hands. It was pretty unreal.”

By the early evening, the number of members of the organization that lived in areas that had been evacuated was “40 and growing,” according to General Manager A.J. Smith.

LaDainian Tomlinson, Marlon McCree, Shaun Phillips, Shawne Merriman, Stephen Cooper, Jacques Cesaire and Luis Castillo were among those evacuated.

“I've never experienced anything like this,” said McCree, who bought his Poway home in the offseason. “It's scary.”

He was among the players staying at downtown hotels last night.

Phillips, who just finished a home in Rancho Bernardo, had relocated downtown Sunday night.

“I was too nervous to stay (at home),” he said.

Phillips said his brother stayed at the home and awoke early yesterday to a smoke-filled house. Phillips said he knew the development next to his had suffered damage. He knew his pool was filled with ash and his house had at least suffered smoke damage.

Yesterday's first post...

Scott Gulbransen continues his live-blogging of the fires...

Thank you to our good friends at Six Meat Buffet for their thoughts, as well as Michele from Cutting School and 9 from Say Uncle.

Update (from Qualcomm Stadium): 10:31am...Yiddish Steel has checked in...he is evacuated but OK...his home is not yet in the path of the fire.

My City is on Fire...(updated continually today)

Again.

Officials are suggesting that this might be worse than the Cedar Fire from 2003. Ugh:

The fires ravaging San Diego County are expected to get much worse before they get better.

Over the next two days, city and county officials expect the fires will eclipse the damage caused by the 2003 Cedar fire, the worst wildfire on record in California.

“This fire will probably be the worst this county has ever seen – worse than the Cedar fire,” Sheriff Bill Kolender said.

I have at least a half dozen friends who have had to evacuate their homes. My 84-year old grandmother is about to evacuate her home as well.

As happened with the Cedar fire, there isn't any rhyme or reason to which homes get burned down and which stay up. Fires are "hopscotching" neighborhoods...one house burns down, the house next door remains untouched.

Once again, Qualcomm Stadium has gone from a football venue to an evacuation facility.

Michelle Malkin has more, Scott Gulbranson is live blogging the fires as best he can as the fire approaches his home.

I live in Pacific Beach, completely out of the way of any danger. My car is covered in ash and the smoke outside is thick. The sky is orange.

Channel 10 is streaming their fire coverage here. Aircraft support is limited (tanker planes and water-dropping helicopters) because of the smoke (affecting visibility) and high winds.

Isn't it nice that liberals aren't above exploiting the Malibu fires for political gain?:

ABC News' Eloise Harper reports: Rob Reiner sang a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday, Mrs. President" in honor of Senator Hillary Clinton at his Brentwood, California, home on Sunday evening.

Despite the massive fires miles away in Malibu, guests were greeted by men dressed in head to toe white, with lavender bow ties saying with "Welcome to the Reiner's," as they shuffled up and down the street parking Bentleys, Porsches, and BMWs.

"This is a tough time right now and we need the best woman qualified," Reiner said.

If you live in San Diego and get told to evacuate...do us all a favor and STOP READING THIS BLOG AND GET THE HELL OUT! Police and Fire Departments are reporting that people who are resisting evacuation orders are tying up resources that could keep houses from burning. Don't be selfish...

Yiddish has checked in (see comments)and he is OK so far...packed and ready to evacuate if told to.

San Diego's Channel 8 reports that looters are combing evacuated neighborhoods to...well...loot. Scumbags. There is a special place in hell for cretins like you...

Channel 8 has a list of homes that have been confirmed as destroyed and an evacuation map here.

Sadly, long-time San Diego icon and Channel 8 reporter Larry Himmel was on the scene reporting as he watched his own Rancho Bernardo home burn to the ground.

Last update for a while...I am part of a disaster-relief team affiliated with my church and I just got called in. I'll update when I return...

New York woman: Mom of the Year?

Now that's how to teach your children about sex:

SCHENECTADY - A mother from Saratoga was one of five women arrested in a prostitution sweep in Schenectady. She had her kids with her, leading a police spokesman to call this one of the most despicable crimes in the city.

Police say 37-year-old Wendy Cook's 5-year-old daughter and 8-week-old son were with her as she stayed out all night having sex and doing drugs. Police say at one point Cook even snorted cocaine off the baby's stomach as she was breastfeeding.

Lt. Brian Kilcullen says Cook was having sex with men in front of her children.

"While the two kids were in the car, through our investigation we learned that she performed oral sex on at least two johns, again while her 5-year-old was awake in the back seat and while her 8-week-old was in the back seat," the police spokesman said.

People who should be dead

Me? I'll probably die from a fall in the shower:

"Roll Over You Bears!"

One week ago, Cal was playing for the #1 spot in the BCS. They choked away that opportunity. Still, if Cal could run the table, they could still get to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1959.


But first they would have to get past my Bruins. BWAHAHHAAHAHA!:




Hey Bears! You just lost to a team coached by this guy:


That clueless look is not contrived. That is pretty much how our coach looks whenever he has a tough decision to make.

Anyway, great win for the Bruins. Now is the time in the blog when we dance:

And another Birthday Greeting

Happy 37th Birthday to Michelle Malkin! Yeah, I know...can you believe this gal is THIRTY SEVEN?:



Thanks for all you do Michelle:

Happy 57th Birthday....

...to this guy, who is still rocking strong:

The tools at Talking Radio explain how they blew the Randi Rhodes "mugging" story (updated)

Well, I guess this is what passes for being "accountable" in the liberal world:

The right-wing noise machine has been having a field day with Randi-gate. Once, they smelled blood in the water they attacked Talking Radio and other liberal blogs (here and here) like a school of piranhas going after fresh meat. They shouted with glee over the apparent discrepancy between what actually happened to liberal talk radio host (which we still don't know) and how it was initially reported.


Talking Radio was responsible for those initial reports. Not the New York Times, the Washington Post or CNN. Not Keith Olbermann, Wolf Blitzer, or Chris Matthews. Just this "tiny little blog" as Brian Maloney AKA the Radioequalizer has smugly reported.

Well, thanks for finally taking responsibility. In the liberal world, that is very rare. In fact it's been three days since the initial story was denied by Rhodes' own lawyer...not that we should have believed him either. And though Rhodes clearly was not mugged, Talking Radio has yet to say that.

Wanna read something funny? Check out this statement:

Now right wingers love to be righteous. They love to catch the "liberal media" f—king up." Liberals don’t really get all worked up when conservatives mess up.

Well...isn't that a hoot?!? Anyone remember this guy?





Talking Radio goes on to whine about the alleged distortions from the "right"...chiefly, the assertion that Rhodes may have been drunk when she fell:

Gawker.com reports that Randi had imbibed 14 Ketel bloody-Marys before plunging to side walk. This was also reported in the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post. (If I drank four Bloody-Marys I'd be flat on my back.)

Well gee...that sure sounds a lot closer to the actual story Rhodes is now telling us than the original claims. Let's review:

From Talking Radio: "Randi Rhodes is the Victim of a Violent Attack!"

From the New York Daily News: Rhodes' lawyer Robert Gaulin told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog, but she wasn't sure exactly what happened.

Those are both a far cry from: I was watching football in an Irish pub. I went out to smoke a cigarette, and the next thing I knew I was down on the cement, face down, bleeding.

The funniest thing might be the fight that Talking Radio is trying to pick with The Radio Equalizer's Brian Maloney. Apparently, they are offended that they were described as a "tiny little blog."

But our favorite was the Maloney’s feeble attempt to gain some attention at the expense of Rhodes’ misfortune. In his latest post on the matter, Maloney said "in this exclusive, Radio Equalizer- created video, listen as Randi digs a deep hole for herself."

As of 12 midnight PDT, Maloney’s "huge blog" had 1 post, that’s 1,402 less than our "tiny blog."

Newsflash for the fools at Talking Radio. Brian Maloney doesn't need attention or blog hits. He is a frequent guest on both CNN and Fox News. He's had his own radio show and been featured in Time Magazine. Hell...he has his own Wikipedia entry...something Talking Radio may have shortly as the blog that screwed up the Randi Rhodes story.


Maloney's blog has had almost 2.5 million hits...without using a bogus story to get linked to the Drudgereport. Compared to the Radio Equalizer, Talking Radio is a mite imbedded in the ass of an elephant.

Talking Radio is so busy self-gratifying themselves, that they neglect to mention that the majority of their 1400 comments were either (unfortunately) sarcastic comments about Rhodes, or commenters trying to get their attention to correct the story.

By the way, Talking Radio has had their latest post up for two hours now. Check out how many comments they have now:

(Update) Three hours after their latest post, the HUGE blog Talking Radio finally has a comment:

ubercheesehead said...

I know you are just thrilled at all the traffic you are getting right now. Your gushing about your four-digit thread counts is positively endearing. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the overwhelming majority of us are not bookmarking your site and will not be coming back once the Irish Pub debacle plays out. We've already pretty well moved on past this, what with Harry Reid's smear letter fetching $2.1M on the ebay auction and all. But next time one of the Airhead America whackjobs does something funny enough to attract the attention of more than the 57 people who listen to AAR we will be happy to come back and ridicule your insane rantings some more.

7:31 PM

Who's sick of the Randi Rhodes "mugging" story?

Yeah...me too.

So here's a little Friday diversion:

Radio Equalizer has MORE questions

Brian Maloney at the Radio Equalizer caught the entire open of the Randi Rhodes show yesterday:



I am still fixated on wondering what happened to Simon? You know, the dog Rhodes was supposed to have been walking when she was mugged er...attacked er...shoved er...tripped er...lost her balance?

Brian Maloney has more questions:

Blaming everyone but herself for the events that transpired, with special venom reserved for the press, Rhodes only deepened the confusion surrounding her accident. Here are questions we'd like answered:

Why did she send an email to Air America staffers claiming to have been mugged if there was no indication one had occurred?

Why has host Jon Elliot been forced to apologize for simply relaying Randi's note to network listeners? Is he the fall guy for her dishonesty?

Since there was never any evidence to support an attack claim, why did she even suggest this possibility in a way she knew would reach the press?

Why won't she tell us how much she'd had to drink before she'd stepped out of the Irish pub?

And perhaps most importantly, why doesn't it bother her that the phony mugging story was quickly turned into a chance to beat up on conservatives, who were actually blamed for the incident?

And one more from me. Why has Talking Radio suddenly become mum on this when they gleefully exploited this incident for exposure? Why do they continue to call this a "mugging"? They sure loved all the publicity when they were linked to Drudge and "even the NY Times!"

Of course accountability is not a liberal value. So I'll give them a little help:

Randi Rhodes: "I fall down, go boom..."

So...what happened to the dog her attorney says she was walking?:



H/T: Bore America

It's not like we are ever going to get the full story on this. If Rhodes had been pushed, attacked, mugged or viciously beaten as Talking Radio still insists, then why did she or her attorney never bother to file a police report?

And outside of a busy pub, wouldn't there have been at least one witness to corroborate that story?

But she had to have been pushed, right? Because nobody has ever fallen down on their own outside of a pub, right?

It doesn't matter. Rhodes claims she is "done with this". We here at This Goes to 11 wish Rhodes a full and speedy recovery.

And Talking Radio? Still waiting for them to correct their original post that Rhodes was attacked:

What does "Caviar Cash" buy you these days?!

At $300/hour, it'll buy you some 'tute time. Disgraced, former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R) Del Mar, (allegedly) gave his top constituent, Brent Wilkes unlimited access and approximately $80 million in government contracts in exchange for an "Aquatic Leadership Seminar". What?! You've never been to an Aquatic Leadership Seminar??! You know... One of those outings where you get a trip to Hawaii, a stay at a luxury resort, golf, diving, and the companionship of a lady of ill repute. The best part is that you get to put it all on a DVD and remember it for a lifetime. Ah yes... Good times!

I'm just wondering... When all the bones have been picked clean on the Cunningham Scandal, will the Murtha Scandal be as exciting?! I know it's been slow coming to print with all the phony Haditha murder charges Jacky-M put out there to distract us all. Does anyone remember the original Murtha Scandal? It was pretty good, all the way through that long, pregnant pause (you know he thought about taking that bribe money really hard) until he declined the offer. I just hope it will live up to the vainglorious exploits of the Duke Saga.

I have something in common with Randi Rhodes

We're both freakin' clumsy...

I wasn't mugged either, but I am sporting a few nasty bruises and a swollen ankle from a fall in the shower. Perhaps I should sue the hotel I was staying in for having scalding hot water and not having a non-stick bath mat.

I mean, isn't that what I'm supposed to do?

I also got a speeding ticket in the middle of the California desert. My excuse...I was groovin' to the tunes on my MP3 player. The song that had me going 87 miles an hour:

"Talking Radio" still hoping Rhodes incident was an attack? (Updated: John Gibson checks in)

Congrats to "Talking Radio". They got their 15 minutes of fame. Of course, they are still calling the Randi Rhodes incident a "mugging" :

First of all, we would like to thank the 1,100 plus people who took the time to the post a comment on the Randi Rhodes mugging story. We especially appreciate the hundreds of right-wingers that discovered this blog for the first time. We hope you come back and visit us on regular basis.

Also, we would like to thank all conservative bloggers including such big players as the Drudge Report, Michelle Malkin, the American Spectator and Little Green Footballs for linking their stories on the Rhodes incident to our blog.

Uh...so when is Talking Radio going to mention that Randi Rhodes WAS NOT MUGGED? Well, not yet, Talking Radio is still busy in self-gratification:

Oh yes, and then one final shout-out -- to conservative talk radio blogger Brian Maloney who for the first time mentioned Talking Radio in his "no-spin zone." Well, Maloney didn’t actually mention Talking Radio by name, but he did say that the Randi Rhodes mugging story was started by "a tiny blog whose author has been a frequent critic of [his] site."

Tiny! When’s the last time that your blog recorded over a thousand comments?

Hmm...there it is again. Still calling the incident a "mugging story". And though Maloney didn't have to, he DID mention Talking Radio by name (he just didn't link to it). And nobody had ever heard of Talking Radio before yesterday, Brian Maloney has been on Fox News and CNN. But Talking Radio is boasting about it's over 1,100 comments...all of course mined from the links from Drudgereport and Kos.

But Talking Radio isn't apologetic about getting the story wrong...in fact they still haven't admitted it yet, though they are still patting themselves on the back:

However, while we are appreciative of the response we received in the MSM and blogosphere. (We even got linked to an article in the New York Times!) we regret that the accuracy of some of the information that we presented in our post last night has come into question.

So when will Talking Radio correct the record? Wait, not yet...they have to put all of this in context, you know:

When 41 members of the U.S. Senate and members of the anti-Iraq war veterans group votevets.org expressed outrage over Rush Limbaugh’s "phony soldier" remark, the right-wing talk show host said that his critics didn’t consider the "context" in which his remark was made.

Well, we too have a "context" issue. Our coverage of the alleged attack on Randi Rhodes was presented in the "context" of several very real politically motivated attacks against liberal stations and talk hosts...

We still believe that more answers are needed before we can say what
happened to Randi Rhodes. The truth is not served when the media only reports part of the story.

The Truth? How about this? We are 2/3rds of the way through Talking Radio's "correction"...and the truth still has not been mentioned! Talking Radio is STILL calling the Rhodes incident an "attack".

Which goes back to the point I made yesterday...liberals don't care about the truth, but they love what they believe to be "truthiness".

As far as answers...Air America and Rhodes' own attorney now say there was no attack. Nobody seems to be sure what made Rhodes fall, including Rhodes herself:

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging.

Rhodes' lawyer Robert Gaulin told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog, but she wasn't sure exactly what happened.

For Talking Radio, this is enough for them to float the possibility that Rhodes was attacked. This is the closest thing to a retraction to yesterday's inflammatory post they are willing to give. It is on the LAST line of this morning's blog post:

Since our coverage of the alleged Randi Rhodes mugging was largely based on Elliott’s comments, we have decided that we cannot support the claims that were made and that we will withhold judgement on the matter until all the facts become known.

Well, if Talking Radio is going to "withhold judgement", then so will we. The clock goes back up:



(Update) Thanks to Johnny Dollar, John Gibson checks in:

Hey Talking Radio...we're waiting! (updated: Finally?)

(Update): Talking Radio finally updates its site...more later.

(Update): Not really.

I guess the truth just doesn't matter. Throw up a story where your source is Air America, get it put on Drudgereport, picked up by the Kosbots and liberal blogs everywhere...

But when you're story turns out to be wrong, do you jump to correct the record?

Of course not! Because when you are a liberal, all that matters is a story's "truthiness." I mean, a rabid neo-con COULD have attacked a liberal talk-show host...heck, it happens all the time!

Well, anyway...how long until Talking Radio crawls out from under their rock and corrects their post?




(Update) Ace is assaulted and severely injured by Al Franken! (Uh...allegedly)

Randi Rhodes Attacked While Walking Dog...Update: Rhodes WASN'T mugged! Update: Talking Radio still spreading the lie!

Nigel (11:03am): Update again...Talking Radio, which enjoyed the fruits of thousands of Drudgereport hits this morning, is still posting that Rhodes was attacked:

Of course Talking Radio had this to say before the truth emerged:

Apparently, some right-wing critics of lib talk aren’t happy that conservative talk only accounts for 90% of the programming on talk radio. These whack jobs appear determined to whatever it takes to silence the opposing point of view.

Any guess on how long it will take for Talking Radio to correct the record? Perhaps issue an apology? Maybe even criticize Air America for suggesting that an angry, rabid neocon attacked Rhodes?

Tick...tick...

Nigel (10:45am): UPDATE!: Turns out the tools at Air America made the whole thing up! H/T: Michelle Malkin. Rhodes was just a little clumsy...

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan's 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

Rhodes' lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she's not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain.

Personally, I wish Randi a speedy recovery and return to the air. Because I can't wait to hear her explain this one...

Hot Air has more...

Now back to the original post:

No! Not that Randy...


This Randi...


Yikes!


According to Scare America, their top-rated "talking talent" was attacked while walking her dog somewhere near her apartment in New York City. Police have called it a random mugging, but, fellow Scare America cronies are already hypothetically hyperventilating that there is more to it. Being that we're talking about The Randi Rhodes, and Scare America, this story would be missing something if there wasn't a little conspiracy theory thrown in for good measure. Get a load of this.

"Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own?," he asked. "Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we're winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?"

Lucky for Randi, she didn't sustain any injuries that required a hospital stay; she was said to be resting at home, in her apartment.

I doubt that someone from the VRWC (Vast Rightwing Conspiracy) performed some premeditated, calculated attack on Ms. Rhodes. Afterall, this happened in New York City. That city has to pull out a blacklight and neon to find a conservative there. But, the left always has an easy boogeyman to go to when explaining violent crime in their safe, liberal environment.

(Intrusive comment by Nigel: Of course if Randi had been packing heat like this guy. Just sayin'...)

Algore's (PBUH) campaign ad

Algore's (PBUH) Nobel Peace Prize has injected a renewed spirit among his followers who are now begging for him to run for President. Yesterday Gore released his first ad for the 2008 campaign:

"You in MY garage now, sucka!"

My hero!:



Thanks to the Jawa Report.

Global Warming Good for the Environment?

Wow...something The Prophet Algore (PBUH) has never mentioned. If global warming is responsible for all the alleged problems our earth is having, shouldn't we give the great fraud crisis credit for this?:

FALCON HEIGHTS, Texas (Oct. 12) - A tiny green butterfly not seen in the United States in more than 70 years likes the new butterfly garden at Falcon State Park, experts said.

Berry Nall of Falcon Heights took a photograph of his find on Monday, posted it on his Web site and asked members of an online mailing list to help him identify it.

"I tried to get as many pictures as I could, but it took off," Nall said.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department informed him that he had taken a picture of a telea hairstreak butterfly.

Avery Freeman first captured a telea hairstreak in Laredo in 1935, Quinn said. The specimen is at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Funny...whenever something "bad" happens to the earth's environment, the media and the global warming chicken-littles insists that Algore's (PBUH) contrived crisis is to blame. But this article does not mention global warming as a possible cause for the return of this beautiful butterfly, nor for the resurrection of these species:


Peru's Long-Whiskered Owlet

Soft-shell Turtles from Cambodia:

Hillary Clinton is a crook and a liar?

Nooooooooo!:



From Stop the ACLU via 6MB.

The Wonderful Travels of the Cranky Neocon

If you happen to be an insomniac like me, you've probably caught the latest travelogue being featured on The Travel Channel. Usually showing between 2 and 4am, The Wonderful Travels of the Cranky Neocon features Cranky from Six Meat Buffet doing what he does best...putting his mark on tourist spots all over the world.

From this morning's episode, here's Cranky in Romania paying respects to what is thought to be the tomb of Vlad the Impaler:

Here's Cranky from a previous visit to Paris. Hey you Frenchies...about us saving your ass from the Germans? You're welcome:




Here's Cranky's response to the fine people of Nashville after they refused to offer him a recording contract (he plays a mean fiddle):

I am particularly excited about next week's episode, when Cranky visits the Great Wall of China:

Next, Cranky visits the magical city of Oakland, CA and observes as Raider fans get their first shower since football season began. For most Raider fans, this will be an improvement in their personal hygeine:

And in the ultimate goodwill gesture, Cranky is our ambassador to the Hajj as he kisses the Black Stone only as he can:

Curiously, there doesn't seem to be any more episodes after this.

My State Governor is sooooo cutting edge

The Governator just gave his approval to require the manufacturers of guns and ammunition to use "microstamping" on all gun firing pins and ammuntion casings. Dumb! Yeah, my State Governor is the trend setter when it comes to legislating Gun Control. Three years ago he approved a measure that banned the purchase of all .50 caliber rifles. Now he outdoes himself by signing off on something that is most-certainly untested and limited in its scope to actually solve a crime. The bottom line is another victory for the criminals. Do you think the criminals care about this? Why would they? Probably because they're too busy using an unregistered or stolen weapon to commit a crime. California gun owners will be buying their guns and ammo out of state and avoiding this costly requirement, unless of course they're purchasing a revolver. Revolvers don't discharge their casing after being fired. Why does the Governator have another momentary lapse of common sense when even the California State Fish and Game Commission was opposed to this legislation. On a side note, the phrase "Eat Lead" will lose its potency since the bill included the banning of lead-based ammunition in certain areas too. We don't want the indiginous wildlife like the Condor finding this in their diet. Governor Shwarzenegger continues to embrace beauracracy here in the Golden State.

Happy Eid-ul-Fitr!

This just makes me sick:

All to celebrate a "religion" whose founder was a known child molester.

Yes, we celebrate a "religion" and a people who are also known for celebrations:

Me? I think I'll celebrate Eid like this...

And this...

Update: Wuzzadem checks in...