Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Episode XIII(13): The Invisibles





One More (Last?) Bushism



From the Huffington Post:

[George W. Bush] said it will be fun to write [a book] and that "it's going to be (about) the 12 toughest decisions I had to make."

"I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian (emphasis added) voice saying exactly what happened," Bush said.

"Authoritarian" he says.... W. used, Freudian slip or not, the word "authoritarian" to describe his own telling of the story of his administration. It's apropos he use the word "authoritarian" given W.'s and his administration's disregard of the Bill of Rights and the rule of law. It'd be funny if it wasn't so damn sad.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Interviews With Team Ticket

For those that are "P1's" you'll find this funny. This is a series of interviews done by some kid with Dallas Radio's 1310 The Ticket's on-air talent before said on-air talent took on a 5-A girls' high school basketball team. Funny if you're a "P1". If you're not a "P1" then I'm not going to take the time to explain it here.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I Don't Want to Do That to the White House!

The intrepid Fox reporter featured in the clip below tells us that the organization "Re Tea Party" wants people to do to the White House what I can only imagine has been done to some unsuspecting fraternity members that are sleeping or passed out. Wait for it, he really says it at about 1:55 in this clip:


Then read what this organization wants you to do to Washington D.C. by visiting their website (click here) and reading their third headline next to the map of the USA. They want you to "tea bag" DC and the Whitehouse.

What does this term mean to most? Click here to find out.

The organization "Re Tea Party" may be:
(1) a grass roots group that's very conservative but has no clue or
(2) a grass roots organization in name only funded by wealthy conservative groups that has no clue or
(3) the rare and thought extinct conservative group, grass roots or not, with a great sense of humor.

Personally, I think it's all a bunch of number 2, see above.

I know I don't want to do that to Washington D.C. or the White House and neither should you! Or maybe you think it'd be funny and you want to. Either way, tell them what you think of their desire to commit this heinous/hilarious act on D.C. and the White House by emailing them (click here).

Spread the word about this comedic, intentional or not, political organization by clicking the envelope below.

On a serious note, the Boston Tea Party was an event in United States history that took place because the American colonists were being taxed and generally governed without representation in the British Parliament. Parliament first forced Brits and colonists to only buy heavily taxed tea from Britain and the East India Company. This led to smuggling of tea by Dutch and colonial merchants. Then, Parliament essentially granted the East India Company a monopoly regarding the importation of tea to the colonies when it repealed customs and duties the company owed Britain therefore, undercutting the prices smugglers could offer. Those living in Great Britain couldn't really complain much because they elected Parliament. The colonists had a beef because they had no representation in Parliament.

Why the history lesson? Because this "Re Tea Party" group makes little or no sense unless they're made up of colonists of the United States and have no representation in Congress. Maybe they're all residents of Washington D.C. (D.C. doesn't have a vote in the House or Senate). Or maybe "Re Tea Party" has no knowledge or sense of history, maybe.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Chuck Norris Throws Hat in Ring for President of Texas

Chuck Norris, the mustachioed martial arts actor, has announced that he's ready to be president. President of Texas that is, after Texas secedes from the the Union. Mainstream news outlets have picked up the story thankfully. I write "thankfully" because now maybe Norris will finally be revealed to be the weirdo, extremist, non-mainstream, dangerous publicity hound that he is. Maybe Norris is starting to believe the jokes made about him (click here and look at the right side for the Chuck Norris jokes I'm referring to). Maybe Norris is starting believe his roles in "Delta Force" and "Walker Texas Ranger" were real and not fiction, and bad fiction at that. Is it "American" or patriotic to advocate, hint or even joke about the idea of Texas and other states seceding from the Union because certain people, like Norris, disagree with what our leaders in Washington, D.C. are doing, leaders that were elected in fair elections? Norris seems to think it is. Scary.

Also, I hesitantly put this question forward, is it not treason to call for armed revolution against the USA and/or the secession of a state? This question needs to at least be asked. Norris seems to believe that there are right wing cells poised for armed revolution. What would the response have been had a left wing extremist advocated armed revolution/secession during George W. Bush's presidency?

Lastly, as a Texan this is embarrassing to say the least. Not all Texans are extremist, ultra-conservative, secessionist, "if-things-don't-go-our-way-in-an-election-we-threaten-armed-revolution" inciters. I'd also like to point out that Norris was born in Oklahoma not Texas. So if he wants to spout nonsensical drivel about leading a state in seceding from the USA he should go back to and talk about his home state of Oklahoma.

But, we can add him to the list of political types that unfortunately claim an association/allegiance to Texas:

Tom Delay
Dick Armey
Karl Rove
Dick Cheney*
George H.W. Bush*
George W. Bush*
and now...
Chuck Norris*

(*off the top of my head not born in Texas)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Impressions Galore!

Some are better than others. Some, I swear, if you looked away from the screen you would not be able to tell they weren't the real deal.

Aires Spears does impersonations of a slew of rappers in this medley:


Next here's this kid, whose natural voice is startling, doing Stewie Griffen from "Family Guy":


This comedian, Reggie Reg I believe, does a number of impersonations but his Denzel Washington is the best one if you ask me:

This guys sounds and looks like Howard Stern a bit too much:


Matt Damon impersonating Matthew McConaughey:


Last but certainly not least, the fake "Star Wars" audition tapes, impressions include some great by Kevin Spacey:

Watch more Yahoo! Video videos on AOL Video

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Limbaugh vs. Steele; Letterman vs. Limbaugh

The new head of the RNC, Michael Steele, appeared with D.L. Hughley and said that Limbaugh's comments are, "ugly and incendiary":

Needless to say, Steele could be referring to a long, long list of past comments by Limbaugh. Or Steele could just be referring to the general tone of Limbaugh's radio show. Here's an example of Limbaugh's comments from CPAC, a conservative conference at which he spoke recently:

here's a transcript of Limbaugh's whole speech
complete speech

Steele was just giving his opinion. But of course Steele felt compelled to apologize to Limbaugh just as Rep. Gingrey felt he had to apologize when he criticized the talk show host.

Steele, Gingrey and the rest of the GOP seem to believe that they're accountable to Limbaugh. But, it's not a two way street. Not only is Limbaugh not accountable to the GOP but he's accountable to no one at all, save his devoted radio listeners (more on them below).

Apparently no one in the GOP has the guts to stand up to Rush Limbaugh or stand by their stated opinion. Why? In conservative districts and states Limbaugh is presumed to be able to sway votes to and away from candidates. If Limbaugh is so powerful and is the leader of the Republican party what happened in the past election cycle? Where was the "Limbaugh effect" when Republican senators and representatives were losing to Democrats? Why didn't Limbaugh rally the electorate to defeat Obama? Granted, the "Limbaugh effect", if it exists at all, may come to bear more so in Republican primaries. But, even Limbaugh's impact on Republican primaries is questionable given Limbaugh's outspoken opposition to McCain in this last Republican presidential primary season. So whatever "Limbaugh effect" there is it didn't seem to have much or any impact during the last election cycle.

But, besides Limbaugh's supposed power, what is intriguing is that no one in the GOP feels confidant enough in their position within the party to stand up to Limbaugh. And Limbaugh can do and say what he wishes without repercussions because he is essentially accountable to no one. He doesn't have to do interviews with other media. He doesn't have to run for any election. All he has to do is spout the same largely divisive, angry mantra he's been offering up for the last 15+ years and his acolytes, the self proclaimed "dittoheads" (that's what fans of Limbaugh call themselves because they blindly say 'ditto' to anything and everything he says) will eat it all up. If a GOP'er or anyone else wants to engage Limbaugh it has to be on his own show by his rules with his drones listening and agreeing with Limbaugh.

If Limbaugh is so powerful and popular wouldn't a certain conservative cable news network be jumping at the chance to sign him up? Remember, Limbaugh did have a syndicated tv show early on during the Clinton years. Maybe FOX isn't rushing to sign up Limbaugh because he is too angry, too divisive, too over the top even for them. My thoughts are that Limbaugh has an appeal to a very narrow part of the electorate - one estimate is that 21 million people listen per week to Limbaugh and about 5 million at any one time. That is a large number of listeners but compare it to the approximately 130 million people that voted in the last presidential election. The GOP, especially now, cannot afford to lose anyone much less Limbaugh's devoted "dittohead" drones that apparently will do anything Limbaugh commands. So you have Republicans having to apologize to Limbaugh for stating their opinion about him so that the GOP won't lose any more of its dwindling voter base.

The fact is that Limbaugh's comments are many times "ugly and incendiary" and he is an "entertainer". And Limbaugh knows it. Limbaugh would not have listeners if he didn't make some ugly and incendiary comments. As for him being an entertainer, he does get paid for speaking on the radio doesn't he? What if Limbaugh were to run for public office? Then, the "Limbaugh effect" would truly be measured. He could bring those 21 million weekly listeners to the polls to vote for him.

If Limbaugh wants to attempt to cross over and run for public office that would be:
a) fascinating and
b) a train wreck.

Why? Because then Limbaugh would be accountable for all his inane comments. He'd have to do interviews with the media. His contradictory and inflammatory positions and comments over the years would be held out for all to see. His past would be brought up. Plus, those 21 million weekly listeners/potential voters are spread out all over the nation, they're not in one state or one voting district. But, do I seriously believe Limbaugh would ever run for any office? Of course he wouldn't run for anything. He likes it just the way it is, being accountable to no one except his drones that agree with everything he says.

Side note: What would be interesting would be a GOP candidate that would espouse anti-Limbaugh views, one that would openly disagree with Limbaugh, a candidate that would essentially use Limbaugh as a straw man. I would guess that if there are that many Limbaugh listening drones there are at least that many, if not far more, moderate Republicans and independents who are looking for an amicable, conservative candidate. Criticizing Limbaugh would equal free press. Remember, McCain won his party's nomination despite Limbaugh's outspoken opposition to his candidacy.

Side side note: By the way, speaking of someone with the guts to take on Limbaugh:

Episode IX: Sleepers




Our Pets #28: More Introductions




Monday, March 2, 2009

WTF Is "Watchmen"?

Funny sketch about the upcoming "Watchmen" movie from the folks at LandlineTV. I'm not sure if it'll be quite as funny for someone that is not a comic book geek: