NASCAR

It's interesting to see this story, that NASCAR's attendance and TV ratings are way down.

I don't watch car races but yesterday (I think it was) there was one on. And in flipping the channels, we came across it. I was saying, How can anyone be interested in this? It's so boring.

Then there's this statement in the Washington Post article:

Moreover, there's a growing perception that the racing is dull.

I didn't realize there was a growing perception of that. I figured it was just the same as always, people thinking it was interesting. How exactly that could be, I wouldn't know.

It's cars going around in a circle. The camera is forever going from place to place. You can't focus on anything. It's extremely, extremely boring.

Susan Boyle

So Susan Boyle, the hottest singer out of Britain since ... who? ... Mick Jagger or John Lennon ... came in second on the TV show over there that she was on.

I heard a dance troupe came in first.

But it said in the story I read earlier today that Susan sang the same song that everyone's seen from a few weeks ago. And apparently there was only one other song that she did, which was shakier. I don't know the format of the show, but she's been a worldwide star for over a month, it seems, and somehow they've only managed to have her sing two songs? It sounds like they're moving fairly slowly.

I figured she'd win, but not knowing anything about the show, the format, or the other competitors, my figuring wasn't based on anything but the hype.

Government By Insult

It makes me wonder what some of the most scurrilous Republicans were like as kids. Probably reform school would've done them some good.

All the vitriol over Sotomayor from the wingnuts is obviously over the top. And the weird thing is they would've done it for anyone Obama nominated. They're equal opportunity slanderers. There's no way this kind of tomfoolery can be rewarded by giving in to them, of course. Because it's just civic vandalism to put it nicely.

I just have to trust that the American people are generally separating out the decent from the indecent. Limbaugh, Gingrich, Beck -- that strain of garbage -- of course are indecent to the extreme. I wouldn't give a dime to hear what any of them say. You'd think, though, Gingrich might have a little more sense, being a guy who once upon a time was actually given the opportunity to lead in government. But he's right out there in the lead on this one. The guy's a mess.

Some are calling for a filibuster, all that. We've come a long way from a few years ago when the Republicans actually said filibustering was unconstitutional and threatened the "nuclear option." I said at the time, What? They don't think there'll ever be a Democratic president? But now it's all just blatant hypocrisy. They don't care. I do have to hand it to them though on this point. If you're going to be a hypocrite, it is best for your hypocrisy to be so blatant and overboard that no one will know what to do with it. Because once people have pointed out a million times that you're a hypocrite, it loses some of its edge. Of course they're hypocrites.

Just get her confirmed as fast as possible and let these miserable souls crawl off somewhere and sulk.

Thank God The Republicans Are So Stupid

You'd think they'd know how to handle Sotomayor's nomination, with a little restraint, given the whole thing about demographics, voting patterns, and the GOP's present plight. But thank God they've thrown restraint to the wind and are exercising themselves mightily in pursuit of eventual extreme isolation.

Is extremism in pursuit of extinction a vice? No, for the GOP it's a virtue. You know, a sure way to get over the pain in one foot is to shoot yourself in the other. At least until you realize that now both feet not only hurt but you fall down and go boom. I love it.

I say I love it, but there are things I don't love about it. Personally I can't stomach human garbage like Tom Tancredo, but hey, if he's sacrificing the party for the good of the cause, more power to him. It's not like I'm going to tune in and watch him -- since I do have a tender tummy, and only so many brain cells I'm willing to waste.

It looks like we're seeing the genius of Barack Obama at work. These morons have to know there's a hook in that big piece of bait, and yet they seem oblivious. They're going for it every time. 2010 can't get here soon enough, then 2012. Then, if all goes well, we'll put an exhibit in the Smithsonian, "Great Moments In Republican History," since, by then, we hope they'll be entirely kaput. A guy can dream, can't he?

The really weird thing is it actually seems possible. The Republican party is suicidal. Someone throw them an anvil.

He's Racist

How out and out ridiculous is it that the country's biggest buffoon, Rush Limbaugh, is charging Sonia Sotomayor is a "reverse racist." He's racist!

How many times has he made racially insensitive and idiotic statements in just the last year alone? Good grief. The stuff that comes out of his mouth would plug up the sewer. All he's said about Colin Powell and Barack Obama.

Limbaugh is definitely an expert on racism, by personal experience. He ought to clean up his own act (and develop some humanity) before he feels righteous enough to take on someone else.

New Supreme Court Nominee

We have one. And of course the Republicans are against her. Like they were going to be against anyone.

If you're against anyone to the left of Judge Bork, that's not principle, that's just nitpicking.

I'm Losing Track

Wow, I've been out of touch. I'm losing track of all the give and take between Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich, and all the other Republican clowns. And when I say I'm losing track, I mean exactly that.

I keep checking on the blogs I look at, and there are the headlines, what one of these (I'll say it again) clowns has said today or yesterday, and it just starts to run together, like fountain pen ink in a rainstorm. Or like mascara when you've been crying.

As far as Michael Steele goes, maybe I'm living in a circular world in which the same report is being processed and reprocessed over and over. Or maybe this guy just never shuts his mouth. Is he giving interviews in his sleep? Once you've been burnt on some of the stupid stuff you say ... it's just my opinion ... but it seems like you'd fly below the radar for a while. Or is his job just to be incendiary and let the chips fall where they may?

Newt Gingrich wants to jump into the mix and seems to be doing so more and more. He thinks he has a chance. I don't think he has a chance. I think his best days are behind him. And they weren't that great. Rush, I don't listen to him, but somehow it seems like I've heard that he's pulling back a bit. And Dick Cheney, the guy is such a disgrace -- doubtlessly guilty of crimes against humanity -- it seems like he would want to keep a lower profile. But I suppose when you were at death's door over 10 years ago with heart problems, you're not that worked up now about what might happen to you.

And Cheney obviously thinks the best defense is a good offense, or the best way to play is to stay on offense as much as possible. And there's a certain logic in putting it blatantly "in our face," and thereby keeping his risk down. It's counterintuitive. I believe we've seen that over the years. If you're going to muck up things, muck up the water, do it in a blatant, drastic, overwhelming way. Take Clinton for an example, he did some little thing and got nailed for it. But if he had some it in a blatant, drastic, overwhelming way, the case would have been so complicated and convoluted no one would've known what to do about it.

I can't believe I'm about to say something nice about George W. Bush. At least he's had the decency to keep a fairly low profile.

The Flip Ultra Video Camera

The Flip Ultra video camera is a piece of crap. Don't buy one.

I've had mine since Christmas 2008 and in the last month it has entirely quit working twice. The opening screen comes on and doesn't go away. It is unusable.

The solution to this vile set of circumstances is to let it set without batteries for 24 to 72 hours. That's the solution. You have a camera that you can't use for one to three days at a time. So if you have something you want to record, just ask if it can wait for one to three days, till you can get to it.

What if everything worked this well. Your refrigerator quit working? Unplug it for three days, then it'll be OK. Till a week later when we have the same problem.

Flip cameras have lost me forever. There has to be a better brand. Like any brand.

Badmouthing The Republicans

I believe I overheard someone yesterday complaining about the Republicans.

Now, of course I complain about them on a regular basis. If the Republicans had a complaint center, I'd be over there all the time, rattling on about my latest grievances. Ha ha.

But the person I overheard struck me as a real salt of the earth person, who's giving everyone a chance to do their best. (The difference with me is that I will never give the Republicans another chance -- they've blown it.) But when you have someone who's willing to give them a chance, and she badmouths them anyway, that means they're screwing up and it's being noticed.

Sometimes I think it's not being noticed, that they're flying below the radar with some folks. So it was good to hear her saying something like, "I think President Obama is doing his best, but they just criticize him whatever it is, no matter what." In that kind of exasperated tone of, They're not looking out for our best interests, but their own purely partisan interests and bickering for the sake of bickering. That's true.

So, Republicans, keep up the good work ... or should I say the bad work ... Your report card is waiting for you in 2010 ... And listening to the salt of the earth saying you're doing a poor job, that's music to my ears. Beautiful music.

Teresa Brewer

I got this CD at a record store -- mostly a used record store -- a couple weeks ago.

I haven't listened to it since I've been home, but I listened to part of it in our motel on a portable CD player.

It's different from Teresa's ordinary songs, which were pop with a lot of playfulness. These are more the teenage, light rock sound of the late '50s.

20 songs. My favorite song on the CD is one I've had the 45 rpm record to for many years. It was my Mom's actually but one we played to virtual death as kids, "It's The Same Old Jazz." I believe I still have that copy, as bad looking as ever but it still plays. Then one day I got what looked like a mint copy at an antique store for $3. Then I got it home and it skipped on my record player. So that's weird, the beat to death copy plays through, but the mint looking copy doesn't.

In its place, though, I had a download of questionable origin. But now I have the CD, so everything is good and proper.

This song I believe is fully entitled, "It's The Same Old Jazz Momma." The theme of the song is a daughter's justification of the rock era and '50s teenage sensibilities to her mother by comparing all that to the mother's memories of the '20s. With the great conclusion that it's the same thing, the same old jazz, Momma!

Lyrics including this: "Remember back in '22, the shimmy shake you used to do. Remember how you'd 'Bump and Meet.' Well, bump and jump keep company." And "Rudy Vallee had a megaphone, and Clara Bow had 'It.' Now Bill Haley has a microphone, and Mary Lou's a hit. And Daddy, Daddy, Daddy wore a raccoon coat. And drove a Plymouth too. Now leather jackets are the fashion note, and motorcycles too." But you can see, "It's the same old jazz, Momma!"

A Wedding

I have a wedding to go to tomorrow, a niece.

I haven't been to a wedding for quite a while, I mean a full fledged, all the trimmings wedding. I went to one in the fall in the park that was about a seven minute ceremony with no fanfare. But before that, it's been like years.

One of the coolest weddings I went to was supposed to be outside in the park, but because of rain, they went to a church. It turned out to be a nice thing that they did, since they had one of those four piece quartet groups with violins. Where they're really playing them, not just violin-synching to recorded music.

I don't know if my niece will have something like that. But I'm thinking it's going to be something nice.

So Much For American Idol

That was like going to a four star restaurant and getting plain old white bread. That's what Kris Allen is.

LOL. What a downer. Remember some of the American Idol finales of old, confetti sprayed everywhere, bright lights, the place going bonkers? Kris Allen wins and it's like a thud in there. Even the winner was like, I won? Me? How can this be?

Adam Lambert was definitely classy looking in losing. But I believe he will be the ultimate winner of this season, much like Chris Daughtry was a few seasons ago.

Why America would want Kris ... There's some terrible reasons possible.

The CIA Lied

I'm sure of it. Now we have yet another Democrat, which is the fourth I believe, saying the CIA kept sloppy records of a particular meeting, because they had listed a guy in attendance who was excluded from the actual meeting.

Why is it such a surprise that the CIA might ever lie? Have they been entirely forthcoming in the past about things? I think Leon Panetta is all wet. (By the way, wasn't he one of our guys? What's his problem all of a sudden?)

I haven't been watching the news -- seriously, so I miss this stuff -- but I've been reading that they're taking Nancy Pelosi to task over what she said about not being briefed early on about torture. These guys don't care about the truth. All they care about is scoring partisan points.

She probably is telling the truth. But they don't care.

Bush's Wreckage

Even if George W. Bush escapes justice in one sense, at least we got him in another way -- the GOP losing its appeal in almost every demographic group. I guess you can't run a criminal administration, neglect the people, trash the nation and actually get away with it (in every sense of the word, that is.)

We actually know who the crooks were, the Republicans. And now they get to pay the price. May they rot forever.

A Gallup poll shows, "The only subgroup in which the party saw a slight increase in support from 2001 to 2009 was frequent churchgoers."

The biggest decline was with the college-educated, 18 to 29-year-olds, and Midwestern voters, down around 10%.

I love it. I just wish it was worse for them.

Elvis Presley - Guy Lambert - Adam Lambert

I was thinking Elvis' character in one of his movies was a Lambert, and it turns out that is right. In Double Trouble he was Guy Lambert. The illustration is from an Elvis Presley records and memorabilia guide (by Jerry Osborne), page 51.

I actually have the movie Double Trouble on DVD and could watch it again, but I don't think I will. The illustration's good enough. It's a pretty good movie though. Elvis is in Europe. It has something to do with secret agents and spies. And he leads a swinging rock band, at least they back him up. As the illustration indicates they're called "George and His G-Men." George is played by Monte Landis, an actor who later shows up in numerous episodes of The Monkees.

The point I'm making today -- and I do not think it is at all far-fetched -- is that Elvis playing a character named Guy Lambert was his way of endorsing Adam Lambert as the next American Idol. There's no other contestant who reminds us as much as Elvis. We could run down the list if you wanted. It's a small list at this point. Adam is the only one who fits the bill. And he's definitely the only Lambert.

Graduations And Receptions

It's that time of year again, for the endless procession of graduation ceremonies and receptions.

I know when you're the kid graduating, you've been there every step of the way -- through years -- and it seems like a big deal to finally be graduating. But when you're apart from the kids in their everyday lives all those years, like long lost nephews and cousins, you hear they're graduating and you go, Weren't they just born?

Time goes exceedingly fast for people you don't keep track of. The same thing for pregnancies. If you're facing a pregnancy of your own, the nine months crawls by, because of doctor's appointments and other numerous inconveniences. But when you hear about someone else being pregnant, pretty soon they're having the child "next month," and you're like, That was quick!

As for graduation ceremonies, maybe nothing mankind has come up with can be more torturous -- we need to bring our Gitmo detainees to a typical graduation ceremony; they'll spill their guts immediately to get away. The receptions are not as bad, of course, because you get cake, nuts, M&Ms, little snack wafers, etc. And the graduate usually looks like he or she doesn't really want to be there, so you're not in a lot of conversation. What they're really trying to avoid is the endless sequence of people asking, So what are you going to be doing now? Everyone's curious, but the question's been asked to death.

I'm going to be missing most graduation ceremonies of family and friends. But I can still send money and that keeps me in their good graces.

Pelosi

I believe Nancy Pelosi, that the CIA lied to her and the Congress about waterboarding. Was there anything about the Bush administration that was the least bit truthful? I mean, c'mon!

But it's kind of weird that Leon Panetta, checking the official records, says they didn't lie. The records, he says, show that they briefed Congress about the waterboarding, blah blah blah.

This is the CIA we're talking about here. None of those guys would have any ability whatsoever to falsify records from seven or eight years ago, would they? They're spies, for crying out loud! They have all kinds of abilities, one would hope. If they're able to do infiltration, sabotage, go undercover among the world's worst terrorists, and all that ... are we really to think they're such Sunday School children that they wouldn't be able to do some cosmetic surgery on records from seven or eight years ago?

Give us a break.

I don't know the full story, of course. But, again, nothing about Bush's government was truthful. They were liars first, last, and always. Maybe they can pull the wool over Panetta's eyes so easily, but I tend to look at their denials somewhat askance.

Louise Rourke

I like old information, but I prefer that it lead to actual answers and not just questions.

I have an old postcard that I got somewhere, eBay or in an antique store at some point, and it has the name of Louise Rourke on it.

The postcard message was written by someone who was in Massachusetts at the time, writing to someone in New Hampshire. Specifically it was postmarked in Waltham, Mass., on October 16, 1909.

In the message the writer said to the recipient, "Louise Rourke is to be married soon."

So 1909, exactly 100 years ago. Let's say Louise did get married and had a few kids. Some of her great, great, great (however many greats it'd be) grandchildren would be out there. And maybe one of them would like to have an old postcard telling about her upcoming marriage. I think it'd be cool. Even though it doesn't tell any more about it than that.

100 years ago. I wonder how Louise's marriage worked out. Probably very well.

Cheney Ought To Shut Up

...but really, I guess I don't want him to. I wanted him to shut up till it was pointed out how much dead weight he is for the Republicans. Now, as long as I can turn him off, I want him to keep yakking it up. All the way through the 2010 elections would be great.

But he really ought to shut up. The guy's a continual reminder of the worst administration in anyone's memory. The Bush administration was one massive failure and a criminal enterprise at that. Anything that reminds us of that dark chapter in American history should obviously make the Democratic prospects brighter. Because you have to be one sicko to want to return to those perverted years.

And what Cheney's yakking it up about! LOL! How great torture is! Which of course they denied doing at the time, since they're pathological liars. And how Obama is not keeping us safe. Which brings up a great point. Just once I'd love to hear one of the worthless talking heads on TV say, "Mr. Cheney, you have pointed that that President Obama is not keeping us safe." He's nodding in the affirmative. "Remind us again where you were on 9/11." Why the country ever gave Bush and Cheney a pass for 9/11 has been a mystery to me.

Anyway, if I'm Cheney, mum's the word. As much as a criminal as he is, I would definitely exercise my right to remain silent.

A Ticket For Hitting A Dog?

Someone I met the other day was late for her job because she hit a dog on the way in. She was going over a bridge and suddenly there was a dog, which she hit. Then it was stuck to the bottom of her car.

She called for the proper authorities, who, she said, gave her a ticket for hitting it. That sounds weird to me. I guess she could not have driven off because the dog was stuck to the bottom of the car. But it sounds weird that if you report something like that that happens you get a ticket.

Even if you didn't report it, it seems like something that is just an accident. Like hitting a deer or a squirrel. You're not going out of your way to run over what's in the road.

That was in Kansas.

Operation Repo

I was reporting on one of my blogs a month or so ago that I was seriously watching a show on TV called "Operation Repo." It's on Tru TV. I thought it was a great show and was regular in seeing it.

Then I made the mistake of looking it up on the internet and found lots of people's assertions that it was fake. Or maybe not fake. But what they were saying was that it was re-creations of events that took place, repo jobs.

Ahhh, that's no good. I don't want something on TV on a channel that says "Actuality" that's a re-creation. And they do have a disclaimer at the beginning that says something about the events being "based on" real events. Anyway, to me that takes all the fun out of it. I don't want to watch a bunch of actors pretending to be angry. I want actual anger.

So I dropped it from my schedule, totally. And I don't miss it.

But another show I'd like to see, but I have forgotten more times than I've remembered, and that's "Bait Car." As far as I know -- and I'm pretty sure this has to be true -- this is a show of actual incidences, not re-creations.

The More You Write

Writing, writing, writing is a good thing for the mind. I used to do a journal, kind of like a blog but it all ended up in a box, and of course it had a lot more personal details. It was an interesting discipline to write it virtually everyday. It meant I was able to write things in my professional life a lot easier. And of course to speak about those things without a lot of preparation.

I like what I hear about professional writers -- somebody I heard this of -- who get up and write for a solid hour or three hours maybe about anything. I'm never going to be a professional writer. One thing, I write like this, and this is a lot different than what you read in a book.

It'd be cool though to have that discipline. I do have it to a certain extent. Like setting a goal to write something everyday and then doing it. Even if it's no good, who cares. I try not to write too much meta, which is what this is, but hey ... I lapsed.

It doesn't make any difference anyway. No one's keeping track. There's no one to answer to.

Rereading Old Letters

I feel bittersweet about rereading old letters. I've been going through a lot of old papers lately, getting rid of old bills, paycheck stubs, tax forms from the '90s, and so forth.

But mixed in with the boxes are lots of old Christmas cards, letters from people, old friends, as well as personal writings, notes, whatever. It's hard to look at some of it because they're from loved ones no longer around.

My grandmother used to write to me and always sign her cards and notes in a particular way. And since she died so long ago, it's kind of sweet to see her letters and especially look at the way she signed them. In that case the distance of time -- probably since I've thought about her so much over the years -- takes away any grief.

I had a dear friend who moved out of the country, though, so that's grief of a whole different sort. To look at his letters from the '80s and one or two from the '90s -- and to know that we're totally out of touch now -- is a sad thing. I reread one of them a couple days ago and felt a little down. Especially since he didn't die. It's not like we couldn't have been friends all this time, but it just didn't happen.

Some of the stuff I'm getting rid of -- after digitizing most of it -- and some I'm keeping. The trick is not to keep so much stuff that I'm still wading through clutter. I know though if I get rid of something I later will want, there's no store to go to buy another copy. Obvious.

Flies

I've been bugged by flies lately, no pun intended. I thought maybe something was wrong with my hearing a couple days ago and that it was just a passing thing.

It did turn out to be a passing thing, a fly, which kept passing, under my nose, by my ears, buzzing my hair, the back of my neck. This fly was like a dive bomber, probably the reincarnation of a Japanese airman from World War II. Even if reincarnation were true, though, would you go from being a man to being a fly? That seems like a real downgrading.

I got up, sat at the computer, and immediately there it was. A fly. Then it kept coming back, meaning my senses were still good. I wasted probably a cumulative 15 minutes trying to get him. But he wouldn't land that often, and when he apparently did land, there's so much junk in my computer room that he could've been anywhere.

I was thinking of the Star Wars line about the force being your guide. So I'm there with a rolled up newspaper swatting at the air. And by gosh, I actually hit him in mid air. That line about the force is actually very useful. It didn't kill him because soon he was buzzing around, but now he was going slower. So he was fazed.

Pretty soon he was in the corner and I started whacking and got him on the floor, at which point I proceeded to pulverize him -- in part to make sure he was dead and in part to be merciful in case he wasn't.

Now there's another fly in here even as I type this, so I will probably need the force at least one more time before the night is over.

Adam Lambert Disqualified

Adam Lambert simply can't win American Idol.

He can't be human and that has to be against the rules. The man has to be a machine of some sort, or at least the embodiment of about six really good singers. Or an alien. Or programmed by some higher intelligence to get us listening, then to enslave us somehow.

He is so absolutely great that there has to be some kind of shenanigans going on here. No one can be that good.

It's not going to be good for American Idol either. Because they'll never find another one like him, not unless the aliens or machinists intercede again, for whatever nefarious purposes they may have.

If I keep looking at him, there's going to be a major reversal. I won't be saying he looks like Elvis, but Elvis looks like Adam Lambert.

Time To Throw Specter Back

You know when you go fishing, and you haven't caught anything all day, and suddenly you snag something, you're not sure what it is, except it seems to be putting up a heck of a fight -- then it turns out to be an old rubber boot -- naturally you take a picture of it and release it back to the wild.

The Democrats went on a fishing trip and reeled in Arlen Specter. But what'd we get, a nice big whopper of a fish or just another rubber boot? The guy has proven himself in the last three days to be as worthless as they come. It's time to throw him back. Certainly we're not going to be having fish fries with the meat Arlen's providing the party!

Not only did he say he wouldn't be a loyal Democrat, that he wouldn't support the union thing, that he wouldn't support public health insurance, on and on, now he even says he hopes Norm Coleman actually beats Al Franken. I can't believe it! Inexplicably, Specter says, "There's still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner."

What planet is this moron from exactly? Coleman got 312 fewer votes. It's usually the guy who gets the most votes who is the winner. So, who knows, in 2010, maybe Arlen will get the most votes and assume that he lost and we'll finally be rid of him.

I don't think he's any good. I think Arlen Specter is worthless. I always have. It seemed like it'd be better to have him on board than not. But it's time to throw him back. We were doing better without him.

Certainly in 2010 we want someone else. Primary Arlen Specter. I'm definitely in.

My George W. Bush Wad

Sorry to disappoint any readers at dbkundalini, but I already blew my George W. Bush wad for the day over at Pimp My Skivvies. That was what I could muster for the day.

It was sickening to see the report on Countdown, tonight hosted by David Schuster. I used to think that David was just reading from the prompter when Keith was away. But I've heard him numerous times stepping out in a fairly progressive way. He's not trying to be Mr. Objective, in other words, but is willing to talk about Bush's corrupt ways. They had a graphic on the screen, Bush's "Liebrary," which is very fitting.

But we got to see a reel of video of Bush as David spoke, and another guy, a Mr. Moore from Huffington Post. What is it with these little reels of video. They're about a minute long and they keep showing them over and over? What would be so hard about it for a major news organization, which isn't NBC one?, to make a five minute reel so we're not seeing the same thing over and over? I haven't gotten this one for a long time. In eight years of his presidency, surely he has generated at least five or 10 minutes of footage that they'd have access to.

The real treat would be not to even mention Bush. Which I know I'm doing, so who am I to talk? It was great to hear Mr. Moore say that Bush is persona non grata in his home state. I don't know Latin that well but I believe persona non grata literally means "a steaming turd." Which is obviously applicable to Bush.

OK, that's it for the day. Hey, who knew I had two George W. Bush wads to blow?

Encarta

Here's a good article on the Encarta encyclopedia software. They're discontinuing it as a product.

I guess I never realized it was so expensive at one time, in the $395 range. Or maybe thousands. But eventually it was down in the $22.00 range. Of course the problem with an encyclopedia on CD-ROM is that it's hard for one tiny disc to compete with the entire internet.

I used to have a version of this -- I think it was. But I got it at a garage sale or thrift store, somewhere like that, and definitely a lot cheaper. I looked up several things on it but by then in my life I didn't have a lot of reason to be looking up articles in encyclopedias. I could have used it in 4th grade though!

I remember some of the audio clips. And I had one (maybe the same one) that had some video clips, including JFK's famous quote at the inaugural, that kind of stuff.

Anyway, another famous thing from the '90s bites the dust.

Defeating The Nominee

This is a weird sentence about the Supreme Court vacancy and getting it filled:

On Capitol Hill, Republicans acknowledged the long odds they faced to defeat the eventual nominee unless Obama makes a selection that is easily portrayed as outside the mainstream of legal thinking.

Is that the Republicans' only goal, to defeat every nominee who comes along? So what if they had their way, we'd still have three or four vacancies on the Supreme Court by the time Obama's years were over? That's a weird thing to say.

I mean, really, they can't filibuster it for close to eight years, can they? And any other vacancies that come along.

Supreme Court Stuff

Oh, here we go. Justice Souter is retiring so President Obama has the responsibility to select someone else to fill his place.

It seems like it ought to be an easy proposition. But the Republicans -- cursed be their name -- will no doubt try to obstruct, do their usual shenanigans, and filibuster.

It seems like it wasn't that long ago when they were saying a nominee by the president deserves an up or down vote. It seems to me that their doctrine a few years ago was that it was even unconstitutional to filibuster a court nominee. And in fact it seems like they were prepared to do some "nuclear option" to do away with the filibuster all together.

But of course that was a few years ago, when this unprincipled bunch had different "principles."