Category: Wanker

Conservatives Outsourcing Punditry to India

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Time Magazine has decided not to renew the contracts with William Kristol or Charles Krauthammer.

If you are wondering if this means that there is an outbreak of sanity with Time‘s editor, the answer is no. They are in negotiations with Ramesh Ponnuru to write some OP/EDs for them.

It’s pretty clear that they were pushed. Kristol is not talking, and Krauthammer has made it clear it was pushed:

“I was very happy to work with them,” said Mr. Krauthammer on the phone from his Washington office. “And I have a lot of things that occupy me.”

Asked if he would have preferred to stay with the magazine, Mr. Krauthammer, a Pulitzer Prize winner who writes a regular column for The Washington Post, suggested there wasn’t much of a choice. “It’s a hypothetical that didn’t arise,” he said.

(emphasis mine)

As to my little funny about, “outsourcing punditry to India”, if the Wingnutosphere decides to get up in arms about it in an orgy of phony offensensitivity, that’s fine with me. They are a bunch of inbred, knuckle dragging, drooling idiots.

Wanker of the Day: Bill Clinton

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What the hell was he thinking?????

He goes and suggests that when Hillary becomes prez, she sent people out to convince allies that the US is open to real diplomacy (good idea), and that one of the people she send out is George Herbert Walker Bush, father of George W. Bush?

Let’s see, you piss off the Democratic primary voters bu suggesting that Shrub’s DAD be a part of a foreign policy good will tour in which he repudiates his son?

This is wrong on so many levels, which Bush-the-elder clearly sees, as he said no bloody way.

I gotta figure that he was going off and trying to be the center of attention, and his mouth outran his mind.

Wanker of the Day: Matt Stoller

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Yep, this time I’m going after a liberal blogger, Matt Stoller.

Three, the Clinton’s have, how to put it, real character issues. I haven’t written this before, because I don’t believe in going after family members unless they make themselves an issue, but Chelsea Clinton, despite the opportunity to do anything she wants, chose to be a hedge fund manager. What does that say about the Clinton family commitment to public service? I write this because Clinton is using her daughter in an ad that says ‘My Mom taught me to stand up for myself, and to stand up for those who can’t do it on their own’, and then express pride at passing those values on to her daughter. What kind of value system is that? And what does it say that Clinton is bringing her daughter into the contest bragging about her daughter’s greed? This is one small example (Mark Penn is another), but it’s pretty clear that the Clinton’s have become in some ways Bourbon-esque aristocrats.

Bullsh@$….She’s campaigning for her mom, but her choice of work is not a valid critique.

Heck, if I had seen done to my parents what she saw done to hers, I’d run away from public servide like the plague.

Today’s “Liberal Blogosphere Worst Person in the World”…….

That being said, I think that it is a momentary lapse. He generally gets it.

It’s All Us Feelthy Bloggers Fault

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At a national press club event, WH Reporter, and wanker, Dick Gregory claimed that the polarization in the national dialog was a function of the internet. Blogger Richard Power (love that pseudonym) eloquenty responds, and reminds Mr. Gregory of the words of I.F. Stone and Tom Paine, and then sums up (some) the events that really led up to this polarization:

  • Rich pigs like Richard Mellon Scaife dropping tens of millions of dollars on attempted coups like “The Arkansas Project”.
  • The impeachment debacle.
  • The incompetent handling of intel by Bush and His Evil Minions™ leading up to 911
  • The deliberate and premeditated minipulation and deception on intelligence by Bush and His Evil Minions™ leading up to Iraq.
  • The Swift Boating.
  • The theft of the election in Florida in 2000.
  • Voter suppression and intimidation.
  • The Jamming on Democratic phone banks on election day.
  • The US Gulags.
  • The politicization of the Justice Department.
  • Terry Sciavo
  • Valerie Plame

He makes the point that if Tom Paine were alive, he’d be blogging. Go read it.

The thing that really bugs guys like Mr. Gregory is not the “polarization”, it’s that some guy sitting in front of his screen can fact check him using 15 minutes with Google, and show that he’s doing sloppy, poor quality work.

Would Reverent Moon Please Buy the Washington Post Too???

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It would improve the quality of the journalism there no end. We have a front page article saying that a bunch of nuts, who have been thoroughly debunked, are claiming that Barack Obama is a crypto-Muslim.

The more I read stories and opinions from the Post, the more that I am convinced that the entire Watergate affair was just stupid dumb luck.

Journamalist Perry Bacon Jr., today’s worst person in the world!

The Right Wing Has Run Out of Scandals to Pimp

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But like any good environmentalists, they have have turned to recycling. They gone back to accusations that Hillary is a lesbian.

It appears that the right wingers do not know the difference between a lesbian and a scary woman. While there is an intersection of these groups, it does not approach unity.

Of course, the wankeriffic Mickey Kaus dutifully reports this as a breaking rumor, because, I guess, that he feels honor bound to his readers to report every lame assed rumor out there.

Have I mentioned the rumor that Mickey Kaus blows goats? I feel compelled to report that too.

What I dread is the fact that Hillary’s will now leak a sex tape of her and Bill to refute the rumor.

The horror…the horror…

What The Hon. Dr. St. Rev. Bradley S. Rocket, Esq, PhD, MD Said

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Sadly, No! » Death, Be Thee Proud And Take Me Now

Basically, he said that Gregg Easterbrook is a wanker.

This time, because of what Easterbrook wrote about the upcoming Colts/Patriots game. Personally, I’m conflicted about the game. I’ve hated, yes hated, the Colts ever since Irsay left Baltimore in the middle of the night, but the Pats just made my beloved Redskins look like a PeeWee football team on Sunday.

That being said, Easterbrook’s latest column, in which he casts the upcoming Colts-Pats game as a battle between good and evil.

Why the hell does anyone pay Easterbrook anything to write? He may write better than I do, who doesn’t, but the man makes Dan Quayle look like Albert Einstein*.

I’ll also say that whatever my feeling about the Pats as folks who just pasted the ‘Skins, they are in a very real way an answer to much of the superstar bad behavior in sport. They are introduced as a team at superbowls, they play as a team, and big mouthed jerks on other teams, go there and become team players†.

*To be fair, it’s Albert Einstein the actor, who’s nom de theater is Albert Brooks, but still.
†Corey Dillon and Randy Moss come to mind.

Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week Bullsh&%

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Well, Whiskey Fire has the scoop on the latest offense against common decency by the forces of Jihad, it appears that noble Judeo-Christian warrior Nonie Darwish is being target by Hamas. How do we know? Because noble Judeo-Christian Phyllis Chesler warrior tells so in her essay, The Heroic Nonie Darwish Faces Muslim “Mean Girl” Power at Wellesley.

It appears that Nonie was giving a talk at Wellesley, and some girls showed up in hijab*, rolled their eyes when they disagreed, whispered to each other, and some of them went to the bathroom in the middle of her talk.

It appears that Nonie is right, and that these “mean grllllzz” are “are Hamas-trained“. In fact, they are likely an al Queida cell, and I’m getting on the phone to homeland security. If we don’t stop them now, they may mock David Whorowitz!

David Whorowitz, Nonie Darwish, Phyllis Chesler and the rest of his ilk are a bunch of whiners and wankers.

*Islamic head scarves.

David Frum and Facts Have Only a Passing Acquaintance

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David Frum, the Canadian former Bush speech writer whose phrase Axis of Evil is probably responsible for a thousand or so American deaths had an essay on Marketplace, yesterday, and while I expect right wingers to lie, this is the first time in my not so young (I’m 45) life that literally every word out of his mouth was not the truth.

So, I’m sending them the following letter:

Subject: Re: No defense for Europe’s protectionism

In listening to Mr. Frum’s essay on defense procurement, the F-35, and the Eurofighter, I had a unique experience. This is the first time in my life in which I have heard a commentary where I know that literally every fact stated is incorrect. I am not suggesting that there is deliberate deception involved, but the only alternative is a complete ignorance of the subject involved.

Cases in point:
* The NATO allies will soon reach a crucial decision about their next-generation air-to-ground fighter plane. Two candidates have emerged as finalists: the US-UK-Dutch-Italian-Norwegian F-35, or an update of the Franco-German “Eurofighter.”

While the F-35 is intended to a large degree, perhaps primarily, for air to ground operations, the Eurofighter Typhoon is primarily an air defense fighter, though an air-to-ground capability is being developed for the plane in later tranches.

The Eurofighter is not a Franco-German endeavor. The French are not involved at all, having built the Dassault Rafale. The partner nations are the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The F-35 is not a US-UK-Dutch-Italian-Norwegian project. Only the UK qualifies a very junior partner, and they have still not been given the information necessary to properly maintain the aircraft. The rest of the countries are simply customers.

* Just about everybody agrees that the F-35 is the better — and probably cheaper — plane.

When comparing the two aircraft, the Eurofighter is more agile, with a higher thrust to weight ratio and lower wing loading, and faster, it supercruises, and has a higher ceiling, much like the F-35’s big brother, the F-22, though the F-35 is stealthy, and the Eurofighter is not.

Additionally, the Typhoon can accommodate the Meteor, the long-range missile being developed in Europe, which has superior kinematics to the US AMRAAM, while the F-35, with its internal weapons stowage cannot.

Furthermore, the current prices are nearly the same, but you are comparing a design that is in production (Typhooon) with one that is still in development (F-35), and whose price is still escalating, so it to predict anything beyond parity in cost is simply wrong.

* It’s the plane that will be bought by the Israelis, who tend to be choosy about things bearing on national survival.

The Israelis will not be able to buy the Eurofighter, as political considerations of of the Typhoon’s sale to Saudi Arabia preclude this. Additionally, it will be purchased with significant US military aid, which requires that US equipment be purchased with these funds.

Additionally, the cancellation of significant defense purchases of French aircraft and British tanks in the 1960s, the Israelis do not feel that they can rely on the Europeans as a reliable source of supply.

* The Eurofighter is built on four separate assembly lines in four Western European nations. This redundancy creates more jobs, but at very high cost. High cost, in turn, reduces the number of aircraft the European allies can afford to purchase.

This applies to final assembly lines only , and it is, in fact not very costly. The evidence is in examining the F-16 program, the least expensive, and most numerious, of the previous generation of Western combat aircraft, where it has been assembled in the US, Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

I would note that given the facts to support his thesis are all wrong, his thesis itself is suspect.

As Atrios would put it, wanker of the day*.

*The “wanker” bit is not going in the letter.

Kausgoat Scandal!!!!!

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Yep, the latest scandal is that Mickey Kaus orally sodomizes goats.

It first showed up in the comments of a Matthew Yglesias post about how bone headed (pun not intended*) Kaus was about claiming that some dumb ass phony rumors of a John Edwards affair:

Mickey Kaus’ long post here about John Edwards’ alleged affair with Rielle Hunter is almost self-refuting. Basically, we have an anonymous source saying Hunter said she had an affair with Edwards, versus Hunter, on the record, saying that’s not the case. Then there’s Edwards, also saying it’s not the case. But Kaus initially deems Edwards’ denial too vague and non-specific.

Then someone posted something about Mickey Kaus having carnal knowledge of a goat, which soon escalated into oral sodomy with said ruminant.

It should that Mr. Kaus has issued no denial, so we must assume that this is true.

In any case, it soon found its way to Atrios, and then to his Wikipedia entry.

It’s also been mentioned on Wonkette , Sadly No, Oliver Willis, Kos, The Group News Blog, and many others.

I wouldn’t mention it, but Mickey Kaus has STILL not offered a denial, so by the standards of…Mickey Kaus…Mickey Kaus blows goats.

Yes, I know that this is irresponsible, and that I should feel bad about this, but piling on a wanker is fun sometimes.

*OK, the pun was intended, and I’m glad.

McConnell aide Smeared 12 Year Old Child In S-Chip Debate

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BTW, go to the end, and see the two year old saved by S-Chip. The Republicans are going after her too.

The “pro family crowd” are claiming that here parents were “irresponsible” for having her when they were poor.

Even most Republicans think that S-Chip is a good idea, so they can’t argue the merits, so they are trying to slime children.

Of course, none of this would have an issue except for the fact that the reporters have have the email accusing the Forsts of fraud.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokesman acknowledged yesterday that he alerted reporters last week to questions bloggers raised about the financial circumstances of a 12-year-old boy Democrats had used to urge passage of an expanded children’s health insurance program.

But Don Stewart, the Kentucky Republican’s communications director, said he also wrote a follow-up e-mail later the same day that said a blogger he respected had determined that there was no story and that “the family is legit.”

Huh…That day? More like the next day, and late the next day at that.

Stewart said there was no effort by McConnell to discredit 12-year-old Graeme Frost, of Baltimore, or cast aspersions on the family.

“It would be kind of hard to ‘slime’ somebody when I was telling reporters there’s no story here and the family is legitimate,” Stewart said yesterday.

You sent an email around saying that they were welfare cheats. How on earth is that NOT an attempt to “slime”.

McConnell’s alleged role in depicting the Frosts as something other than what they claimed to be has been fodder for The New York Times op-ed page, bloggers and Democratic officeholders, among others.

Stewart’s comments were the first detailed explanation of the role McConnell’s office played in the controversy.

Matthew Miller, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in an e-mail yesterday that “spreading false rumors about a 12-year-old boy is despicable for any reason.”

“No matter how McConnell’s office spins it now, the e-mail makes clear that they were part of the campaign to smear a child who had the nerve to stand up and say children’s health insurance shouldn’t be cut,” Miller said.

…

All this kid did was to tell the truth about what happened to him.

BTW, those kids that Michelle Malkin is going after? Some pictures:


Why the Lib Dems are Condemned to Irrelevance in UK Politics

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It appears that there is a bit of a problem in Devon, three councilors have left the party because another member does stripograms and phone sex as a livelihood.

They have left the party, and are now sitting as independents because, “We believe that our integrity and principles will be compromised if we stay.”

At the party level, it is reasonable to try to get rid of her because you believe that she will not win re-election or is a drag to the party, but if you are willing to leave the party over this, you are not serious about the party, and most likely, the party just isn’t that serious either.

Joe Lieberman is the Wanker of EVERY Day

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Seriously, I’m embarrassed to share a religion with this bloke. He is a Shanda before the Goyim.

He’s been full of himself since he ran for president in 2004 (I know what you are saying, it was VP, but in 2000, he was running for Prez in 2004), and now all that is left is bitterness and spite.

He needs a splenectomy, as evidenced by his attack on Harry Reid.

You know, Harry Reid said a while ago that the war in Iraq is lost. It’s wrong. It’s not lost. In fact, I would say we’re beginning to win it. We’ve turned the tide with the new strategy. And in fact, I cannot conceive of a circumstance in which American forces would lose the war in Iraq, on the ground in Iraq. If we lose it, it’s gonna be lost here at home, in a different kind of war for public opinion and political support.

This was without any prompting from radio host Bill “Slot Machine” Bennett.

Wanker of The Day

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Stephen Dunne.

That’s tough dude, I guess you have to keep living in your parent’s basement, surfing the net for gay pr0n.

Bar-exam flunker sues: Wannabe rejects gay-wed question
By Donna Goodison
Friday, July 6, 2007 – Updated: 08:15 AM EST

A Boston man who failed the Massachusetts bar exam has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his refusal to answer a test question – related to gay marriage – caused him to flunk the test.

Stephen Dunne, 30, is suing the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, claiming the “inappropriate” test question violated his religious convictions and his First Amendment rights. Answering the question, Dunne claims, would imply he endorsed gay marriage and parenting.

The suit also challenges the constitutionality of the 2003 SJC ruling that made Massachusetts the nation’s first state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Dunne, who describes himself as a Christian and a Democrat, is seeking $9.75 million in damages and wants a jury to prohibit the Board of Bar Examiners from considering the question in his passage of the exam and to order it removed from all future exams.

“There’s a different forum for that contemporary issue to be discussed, and it’s inappropriate to be on a professional licensing examination,” Dunne told the Herald. “You don’t see questions about partial-birth abortion or abortion on there.”

Dunne scored a 268.866 on the bar exam, just missing a passing grade of 270. The exam question at issue concerns two married lesbian attorneys and their rights regarding a house and two children when one decides to end the marriage.

“Yesterday, Jane got drunk and hit (her spouse) Mary with a baseball bat, breaking Mary’s leg, when she learned that Mary was having an affair with Lisa,” the bar exam question stated. “As a result, Mary decided to end her marriage with Jane in order to live in her house with Philip, Charles and Lisa. What are the rights of Mary and Jane?”

Dunne claims the question was used as a “screening device” to identify and penalize him for “refusing to subscribe to a liberal ideology based on ‘secular humanism,’ ”according to his lawsuit.

“Homosexual conduct is inconsistent with (Dunne’s) Christian practices, beliefs and values, which are protected by the First Amendment,” the lawsuit states.

“I respect people with alternative lifestyles, and we must do that in a civil society,” Dunne said. “I just have a different opinion that millions of people share with me, and I believe that my opinion should be respected just as much as (pro-gay) opinions. I have no intent in spreading hatred or discrimination.”

In his court documents, Dunne described homosexuality as a “voluntary human behavior that is changeable.”

“Societal recognition and perpetuation of rampant homosexuality is neither prudent nor wise,” his lawsuit states.

….

Morons Who Get Elected:EU Edition

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Well, it looks like the US hasn’t cornered the market on stupid.

EC wants to suppress internet bomb-making guides
By Lewis Page
Published Wednesday 4th July 2007 13:49 GMT

The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to frustrate terrorism by suppressing online guides on bomb-making.

“It should simply not be possible to leave people free to instruct other people on the internet on how to make a bomb – that has nothing to do with freedom of expression,” EC vice president Franco Frattini said yesterday.
Mr Frattini is “responsible for Freedom, Security and Justice.”

If this guy were responsible for generating electricity from George Orwell spinning in his grave, he’d be doing his job well.

His current job? …. Not so much.

When asked how the EC planned to suppress web bomb manufacture instructions hosted outside EU borders, it appeared that officials planned to act at the level of ISPs in Europe.

The Times quoted a commission spokesman as saying: “You always need a provider here that gives you access to websites. They can decide technically which websites to allow. Otherwise, how would China block internet sites? There are no technological obstacles, only legal ones.”
….

Holding up China as a model of internet access????? Puhleeze.

Wanker of the Day: Patent Troll Edition.

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Daniel Leckrone, the Chairman of TPL Group.

The TPL Group describes itself as:

TPL has been “purpose built” to deliver an array of services that are fundamental to streamlining the development and commercialization of proprietary products and technologies. By consistently delivering innovation and opportunity, TPL has earned a reputation of being a trusted partner that can enable constructive licensing programs as well as new product development programs that leverage the IP assets within its patent portfolios.

These folks are patent trolls, and Mr. Leckrone is their chief.

Misnamed Patent Reform Act would stifle innovation

By Daniel E. Leckrone
San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:06/27/2007 01:31:51 AM PDT

While U.S. patent law has been effective in protecting the intellectual property of inventors, which has fueled productivity growth and the U.S. economy for more than two centuries, the so-called “Patent Reform Act” introduced in Congress this year proposes major changes to the law governing how patents are obtained and enforced. Ironically, these changes are being promoted by the most powerful and prosperous high-tech corporations – the “Patent Goliaths” – which came to power based on the patent system as it now stands.

In mounting their full-scale invasion of the territory protected by patent laws, the Goliaths continue to amass political support which, if not effectively challenged, will lead to an unwarranted degradation of the legendary patent system established by the U.S. Constitution. Even the lethargic Department of Commerce has vigorously opposed most of the sweeping changes proposed by this act, as the Department of Commerce explained in its recent 11-page letter to House Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman Howard Berman, a lead sponsor of this misguided legislative effort.

….

The author is a patent troll, and he has an interest in keeping his “automatic injunction” shakedown legal.

The rise of patent trolls, in mobile phones, internet connectivity, etc. the Euros and Japanese are increasingly eating out lunch. You can’t make a move in the US these days without getting approval from lawyers.

It not only prevents innovation generally, it makes it prohibitively expensive for the small inventor to actually bring a product to market, because of fears that it might violate a undeveloped, and frequently completely obvious, patent held by the parasites.

There is no need for an injunction with patent trolls. They have no intention of developing a market, they are just getting money for someone else’s work.

This means that they can be made whole at any time by damages with interest.

There is no irreparable damage, so no need for an injunction.

Of course, this means that any company can tell the patent troll to take it to court rather than paying their blackmail, and this is what he fears.

This is NOT Piracy

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I understand that people like to call ANY threat to profits “Piracy”, but this ain’t it.

This is like GM chipping cans of motor oil so that only Delco cans work in your car.

Can cryptography prevent printer-ink piracy?

By Erica Ogg

Story last modified Wed Jun 27 10:37:34 PDT 2007

In the computer printer business, everyone knows the big money comes from the sale of ink cartridges.

Most of these cartridges are made by printer manufacturers and sell for a substantial premium. Some come from unauthorized sources, sell for substantially less and attract the attention of antipiracy lawyers.

Cryptography Research Inc. (CRI), a San Francisco company, is developing chip technology aimed at helping printer manufacturers protect this primary source of profit. The company’s chips use cryptography designed to make it harder for printers to use off-brand and counterfeit cartridges.

“We’re not saying we can end piracy, but our system is designed to recover from failure,” said Kit Rodgers, CRI’s vice president of business development.

Not all ink-cartridge remanufacturing is illegal–much of it is, in fact, legitimate–but pirated ink-cartridge technology cuts substantially into original manufacturers’ profits.

There are three main ways the $60 billion-a-year worldwide printing industry loses money:

• Used cartridges get refilled and sold as “new”– instead of as remanufactured.

You will note here that this will potentially block ALL non OEM cartridge remanufacturing. In fact, most non OEM remanufactured cartridges are sold as remanufactured such and are legal.

There are already laws against fraud.

• Cartridges get illegally replicated through reverse engineering.

You need to explain to me how it’s illegal. Every non OEM ink manufacturer has to reverse-engineer the cartridges, and I don’t see court cases, except in the case of fraudulent labeling.

• Printers get hacked or physically altered to use any type of ink.

Umm…You’re telling me that my use of an ink refiller on my machine is piracy?

And here is the kicker:

In a high-profile 2003 case, Lexmark International, the company that makes printers for Dell, took printer-supplies specialist Static Control Components to court for selling a chip that allowed Lexmark printers to accept any kind of ink cartridge. Lexmark ultimately lost the case, but it hasn’t stopped others from trying fiercely to protect their business.

What they are trying to do is block legal competitors to their markets.