Exurban League

Friday Music Blogging - Madness

2009-11-06T21:10:00Z

Hey!

It's Friday!

Get up and dance (badly)!

The new unemployment figures are out.

2009-11-06T19:23:00Z

Heck of a job, Barry.

(Hat tip: Russn)

Priorities

2009-11-06T18:48:00Z

This isn't Obama's "My Pet Goat" moment, this is worse.

On 9/11, George Bush was talking to schoolchildren who had no idea that their world was about to change forever. A child doesn't understand Islamic terrorism, they just know the adult up at the head of the class looked worried and had to leave right away.

Obama was in front of adults, and he had more information about the current situation than Bush did on 9/11. He said being Commander In Chief was his greatest responsibility, but his actions said something else, for his first concern in his speech was for the politicians and supporters that surrounded him.

Bush showed concern for children. Obama showed love to his political supporters. One person showed love, one showed obsequiousness.

One President was serious about his job, and the other is still campaigning for it.

They're not even trying to hide it now

2009-11-06T17:17:00Z

Some unbelievable video from a case in Maricopa Superior Court last month (via Greg Patterson). Fast forward to about 0:40, and you'll see a Maricopa County Sheriff reading the defense attorney's files, then helping himself to some of the documents on the table and handing it off to another Sheriff. Now I'm not a lawyer, (por la gracía de Díos), but I do recall from my experiences on the grade-school playground that sneaking up behind someone and stealing their stuff when they're not looking isn't a nice thing to do.

Wow. Good thing Sheriff Joe is so anti-corruption, or this might become an issue with him. I'm sure he'll get on it riiiiiiiight away.

Just as soon as he gets back from Honduras.

Chicks with guns

2009-11-06T16:03:00Z

Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than a serious woman with her sidearm.

The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood had been directing traffic moments before she confronted the gunman and pumped four bullets into him despite being shot herself.

Civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday.

Munley, who had been trained in active-response tactics, rushed into the building and confronted the shooter as he was turning a corner, Cone said.

Somebody give that lady a medal, a dozen roses and a night out on the town.

It's starting to become a trend, I tell ya...

A fitting and proper response

2009-11-06T14:57:00Z

Given the horrific events at Fort Hood yesterday, why not take a moment to visit Soldier's Angels and help out anyway you can?

And pray. And never, ever forget we are in a war right now.

The Outdoor Channel is coming to Cox Cable

2009-11-06T14:47:00Z

For sure this time!

I get channel updates on my TiVo before the channels actually go live, and my TiVo told me yesterday that channel 161 will soon be The Outdoor Channel.

Of course, my TiVo also told me to take the Phillies in seven, so you can't always trust your TiVo.

AzGuv Update

2009-11-05T18:25:00Z

We have some Gubernato... Guvana... Gubr... news on Arizona's Governor's Race.

Sonoran Alliance asks what Gov. Jan Brewer is thinking by announcing her campaign for Governor in 2010. Her poll numbers are anemic both with primary-voting Republicans, general election Democrats, and everyone in between. Perhaps she just doesn't want to give up the view from the Ninth Floor.

In other news, Vernon Parker, has a video up about the life issue.

John Munger attended a pro-life event in Tucson last weekend and will be at the Republican Professionals meeting on Nov. 11 in Scottsdale. I'm interested to see who else throws their sombrero in the ring.

We are here and we are not silent

2009-11-05T17:32:00Z

Pelosi wants a vote on health care ~~ruination~~ reform on Saturday, and I know that more than a few readers of our blog live within Harry Mitchell's district. If he's your Congressman, please take a moment to let him know his vote on this issue will be remembered when he comes up for re-election.

The Report Card on Obama

2009-11-05T16:46:00Z

We've had one year of Obama as President: Let's see how he's done. First, what he said he'd do:

Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth.

And now let's see what he's actually done:

Provide care for the sick: No.
Good jobs for the jobless: Heck, no!
The rise of the oceans began to slow: Yes.
Planet began to heal: Nope.
Ended a war: Don't make me laugh.
Secured our nation: True, as long as your nation isn't the United States of America.
Restored our image as the last, best, hope on Earth: If that's accomplished by cuddling up to dictators, than yes.

Six F's and a C.

Can we put him in a remedial Presidency class until his grades improve?

A Very Unfortunate Coincidence

2009-11-05T16:17:00Z

A very unfortunate logo coincidence...

Might want to work on a redesign Vern.

Paul Hewson, tear down this wall !

2009-11-05T16:14:00Z

Caution: Irony overload ahead.

Fans hoping to catch a glimpse Thursday of U2's free concert celebrating 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall will have to "scale these city walls" after organizers threw up a barrier to block the view for those without tickets.
The move has triggered outrage from Berliners and tourists alike, all of whom see the irony in building wall around a concert dedicated to the wall that has come down.
"It's completely ridiculous that they are blocking the view," said Louis-Pierre Boily, 23, who said he came to Berlin even though he failed to get tickets.
"I thought it's a free show, but MTV probably wants people to watch it on TV to get their ratings up," said Boily, a native of Quebec City who was among several hundred people who gathered Thursday against the roughly 12-foot (2-meter) metal fence, draped with a white tarp that blocked off the view of the stage from the street.

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue about having a free concert and then walling it off from view. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that MTV is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the big media conglomerates. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that MTV is an evil network, but it permits us to sell our products. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

Six of one

2009-11-05T00:47:00Z

Robert Gibbs said President Obama did not watch the election results on TV last night.

So what did the President watch? The show about a would-be messiahs promising us universal health care and worldwide peace but in reality are nothing soulless aliens bent on destroying our way of life and the utter destruction of our planet...

Or V ?

The dishonour is all his

2009-11-04T16:36:00Z

Remember, one particular faith is not the issue here. This murder was not related to any one creed, and the only religious people we need to worry is them darn domestic terrorists.

An Iraqi immigrant accused of slaying his own daughter for becoming "too Westernized" will be arraigned in Maricopa County Superior Court on Thursday morning.

Prosecutors say Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, of Glendale, conducted an "honor killing" on his own daughter because he felt she had shamed the family by not following traditional Iraqi or Muslim values.

The elder Almaleki is accused of using his Jeep Grand Cherokee to run down his daughter and another woman in a parking lot outside a state agency's office in Peoria.

To quote Sir Charles Napier, "You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks, and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."

Multiculturalism's finest hour.

Some quick flashlight blogging

2009-11-04T14:26:00Z

I picked up a Coleman XR-C LED flashlight at the local Wal-Mart last week so my wife could use it while escorting our kids around during Halloween.

And you know what? It's pretty good.

Sure, it's no Surefire G2 and it's definitely not as good as my Insight M3X, but for around $20, it's a great value. It uses three AAA batteries rather than the longer-lasting (and more expensive) lithium batteries of the Surefire, so you'll have to make sure you have a fresh set with you at all times. The XR-C also has a crenelated cap for when you need to use it as a persuasive argument tool, but the really neat thing about it is that it's 1/3 the price of a G2, so you can buy a bunch of them and have one nearby when you need it most.

It's the competency, stupid

2009-11-04T05:10:00Z

The takeaways from tonight's wins for the GOP in New Jersey and Virginia and Hoffman's loss in NY23?

All politics is still local. Palin and Pawlenty couldn't elect Hoffman in New York, and Obama couldn't re-elect Corzine in New Jersey.
Competency matters. Hoffman flubbed some questions on local issues at his last debate, and Corzine is surrounded by corruption. Unless you're able to show you're up to the task, don't even bother with announcing your candidacy.
There is such a thing as too many negative ads, and Creigh Deeds proved it tonight.
The Blue Dogs in the House are watching, and they're seeing a liberal Republican get tossed from her own party and two Democratic-leaning states elect Republican governors. I expect Nancy Pelosi's email inbox will be crammed to capacity tonight with warnings from Congressmen like our very own Harry Mitchell, cautioning her against throwing them under the bus in her quest to pass Obamacare.

I would have loved to see Hoffman win, but I'll take two outta three tonight.

Update: Geraghty concurs: It comes down to who is the best candidate for the people casting the ballots, not who is the biggest player on a national level.

To hope, to change and to serve man

2009-11-03T19:23:00Z

The Miami Herald reviews ABC's remake of V and finds some very disturbing parallels with today:

Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care.

So, does that sound like anyone you know? Oh, wait -- did I mention the leader is secretly a totalitarian space lizard who's come here to eat us?

For the record, I don't think that Obama is lizard from space whose only goal is to ruin our lives and devour our souls.

He's from Kenya.

Vernon Parker launches video campaign.

2009-11-02T22:00:00Z

Paradise Valley mayor, Republican, and expected Arizona gubernatorial candidate Vernon Parker has released a series of videos addressing state issues. The straight-forward videos are available both on YouTube and his exploratory campaign Web site. Here's Vernon taking on education:

It's very early in the state's election cycle, but it's great to see a Republican embrace new media from the outset rather than as an afterthought. Florida senate candidate Marco Rubio and NY-23's Doug Hoffman have proven how powerful Web efforts can be in stirring up the grassroots.

The Last Frontier

2009-11-02T19:24:00Z

Ok, I take it back. In one short week with just one endorsement, Sarah Palin has turned Republican politics upside down: The implications of her choosing the Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over the Republican (-ish) candidate Dede Scozzafava should have GOP campaign managers reaching for the Extra-Strength Tums.

Let's review:

Hoffman had some momentum before Palin's announcement, but the GOP faithful were backing Scozzafava. Palin chose to listen what conservatives were asking for and to not listen to what the party was telling her was right.
And on that same topic, Jonathon Chait shows once again just how much he doesn't understand Republicans. I agree with him that you don't want to toss out rhetoric that you wouldn't want to face yourself, but the issue with Scozzafava's nomination wasn't about the policy so much as the process. The entire Tea Party Movement is based on the feeling that Washington politicians are out of touch with the reality of everyday people, and here is the county GOP leadership nominating an insider whose loyalty to the GOP is strictly based on the GOP's ability to elect her to office. With friends like these, who needs Democrats?
Palin is now in the same position with the GOP that Obama was in the Democrats 4 years ago: She's the outsider with new ideas that is willing to take on the establishment. Unlike Obama, though, whose rhetoric of change masked a run-of-the-mill Chicago Machine politician, Palin now has the track record of taking on and beating her own party (again).

Palin has become THE force to be reckoned within the Republican party. Beck, Limbaugh, et al may the mouthpieces, but Palin is the muscle. If you have her endorsement, you win. If you don't, well, good luck.

Bonus question: Will she endorse her former running mate in 2010, and if so, why?

Update: Matt Lewis agrees. I've started a trend!

East Valley Tribune to shut down.

2009-11-02T18:58:00Z

Truly sad for those involved, but it was hard not to see this coming:

The Tribune Newspapers will cease operations on Dec. 31, the parent company Freedom Communications said Monday.

Freedom officials made the announcement to Tribune employees Monday morning, citing the economic recession and changes in the newspaper industry that have cause many publications to close and others to file for bankruptcy protection.

Freedom, which itself is operating under Chapter 11 reorganization, had been attempting to sell the Tribune, but no acceptable offers have come forward, said Interim Chief Executive Burl Osborne.

“We have received a number of inquiries, but none at a level we would remotely consider,” he said, adding that “This is a terrible day for the company, a terrible day for the Tribune.”