Improv Everywhere Strikes Again

Ken AshfordPopular CultureLeave a Comment

Bestbuyimprov Improv Everywhere is an improvisational group which does, well, I guess you could call it performance art.  But rather than "perform" for an "audience" in a "theater", the group performs "missions", or "happenings" (to use the parlance of the 80’s).

Past missions include staffing the restroom of Midtown McDonald’s with a bathroom attendant, and performing a synchronized swimming routine in the fountain at Washington Square Park.  The group’s most well-known mission was having its "agents" (or performers) ride the subways without pants (underwear only).

Last week, the group went on another mission.  They (and volunteers they rounded up) decided to dress in Best Buy outfits (blue shirt, khaki pants, back shoes) and enter an unsuspecting Best Buy en masse.

You know, to see what happened.

Read what happened (and see the videos)

Another Scandal May Get Ratched Up A Notch

Ken AshfordAbramoff ScandalLeave a Comment

A federal judge has just ordered that the White House must turn over its visitor logs to public interest group Judicial Watch (who sought the documents under a FOIA request).  What this means is that we will soon learn when, how often, and whom, convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff visited within the White House.

The logs are to be turned over on May 10.  Set your calandar.

National Security v. Politics

Ken AshfordElection 2004, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

The story will be big tomorrow, but you read about it here first.

ABC News Nightline tonight will talk with Clark Kent Ervin, the former Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security.  Ervin will talk about how, just before the Presidential elections in 2004, he was confronted by Tom Ridge and intimidated into toning down his criticisms of the Department (in order to save embarrassment to Bush).

Not much documentation on this story yet, except this ABC news release.

“Mission Accomplished”: 3 Years Later

Ken AshfordIranLeave a Comment

Missionaccomplished Three years ago today, Bush gave his Mission Accomplished speech aboard the deck of the USS Lincoln, preclaiming that "Major combat operations have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”

Think Progress looks at the before-and-after numbers:

May 1, 2003 Today
U.S. Troops Wounded 542 17,469
U.S. Troops Killed
139 2,400
Size of U.S. Forces 150,000 132,000
Size of Iraqi Security Forces
7,000-9000 250,500
Number of Insurgents 5,000 15,000-20,000
Insurgent Attacks Per Day 8 75
Cost to U.S. Taxpayers $79 billion $320 billion
Approval of Bush’s Handling of Iraq 75% 37%
Percentage of Americans who Believe The Iraq War Was “Worth Fighting” 70% 41%
Bush’s Overall Job Approval 71% 38%

UPDATE:  Without any sense of irony for the 3 year anniversary, Bush declared today that Iraq is at a "turning point".

Bush Disobeys 750 Laws

Ken AshfordBush & Co., CrimeLeave a Comment

I didn’t say that; the Boston Globe did.  What’s remarkable is that Bush apologists — rather than saying "That’s bullshit" — respond instead with "Yeah? So?":

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ”whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush’s assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ”to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ”execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.

Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power.

Glenn Greenwald comments:

It is not uncommon for a President to refrain from executing a law which he believes, and states, is unconstitutional. Other Presidents have invoked that doctrine, although Bush has done so far more aggressively and frequently. But what is uncommon – what is entirely unprecedented – is that the administration’s theories of its own power arrogate unto itself not just the right to refrain from enforcing such laws, but to act in violation of those laws, to engage in the very conduct which those laws criminalize, and they do so secretly and deceitfully, after signing the law and pretending that they are engaged in the democratic process. That is why the President has never bothered to veto a law — why bother to veto laws when you have the power to violate them at will?

Gore Speaks

Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

Every time I catch a snippet of a Gore speech, I like what he says:

The behavior of ExxonMobil is disgraceful. They finance in whole or in part 40 organizations that put out disinformation on global warming designed to confuse the American people. There has emerged in the last couple of decades a lobbying strategy that is based on trying to control perceptions. In some sense it’s not new, but it’s new in the sophistication and the amount of resources they devote to it. It’s not new in the sense it’s the same thing the tobacco industry did after the surgeon general’s report of 1964, and that is a major part of the reason why the Bush administration doesn’t do anything. The president put their chief guy in charge of environmental policy in the White House.

…you know the temptation to reject the truth and try to manufacture your own reality is what got us into Iraq — it’s what got us into these deficits. At some point, reality has its day. I hope they’ll change. I think there is a chance they’ll change. You know Winston Churchill once said that the American people generally do the right thing after first exhausting every other alternative. And maybe after exhausting every other alternative, Bush will do the right thing on this. I’m not going to hold my breath, but I do think that there’s a chance.

I can’t look into their [Bush’s and Rove’s] hearts — I’ll let the grand jury do that. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.

This guy is clearly running in 2008, and I think he’s hitting the ground running.

The Unitarian Jihad

Ken AshfordGodstuffLeave a Comment

This is only funny if you are familiar with the Unitarian Church.  A San Francisco columnist received an anonymous letter from the Unitarian Jihad:

Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.

Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. Too long have fundamentalist yahoos of all religions (except Buddhism — 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them. You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!

People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever happened to … you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea? Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the committee of the whole for further discussion.

We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.

Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.

We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.) We will require all lobbyists, spokesmen and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons.

We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it’s true doesn’t make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn’t mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone.

Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he’s pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.

People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.

“America Is Becoming Mexico”: Kaye Grogan

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

Grogan_1Kaye’s latest Renew America column is a masterwork of non-sensical paranoia and outrage.

We think Kaye has been sniffing glue.  Or something:

If you are a born American — you don’t have the right to be offended.

She’s right.  We checked the Constitution; it ain’t there.

Now if you are from another country, especially if you are in America illegally, then you can be offended by the traditions and core values in America.

What trips us up about Kaye’s opening — and there are many things to choose from — is her conflation of what people have a "right" to do with what people can do.    But it’s still early, so we’ll just bat this one away like an errant fly.

All you have to do to get sympathy from our government and watchdog groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — is just complain because Americans haven’t yet accepted the fact, they are supposed to be a country of diversity and it’s totally out-of-the-question to strive for unity.

Man, we have no idea — what she’s saying.  What is Kaye against?  People getting sympathy besides here? Illegal immigrants?  Being offended?  The ACLU?  Unity?

Maybe the next sentence will clear things up.

And if you haven’t found out by now, how you can really cause a stink — did you know you can use your children to be offended when the American "Pledge of Allegiance" is recited by American children in American schools — especially if "under God" is said in the recitation?

Wow.  We didn’t know Kaye suffered from ADD.  But you can tell by the way her sentence — just like a frog — which lives in ponds where there are lilypads in the spring, which is our favorite time of year.

There are several things that have to occur before we can become a one-world nation: first we have to be brought down to ground-level (make that ground-zero) submissiveness.

Slow down.  We’re taking notes.

We have to relinquish our guns; we have to get "in God we trust" off of our currency; we have to forget about equal rights unless we are in America waving flags from another country — demanding amnesty for breaking laws, and waving signs for Americans to get off of their continent.

When Kaye uses "we" here, she obviously means "they", although I have yet to see any immigrant — illegal or otherwise — waving a sign telling Americans to "get of their continent".  Obviously, Kaye’s been spending too much time smelling floor wax from the bottle.

And before too much longer, we should be getting Pesos and the Euro in place of American money.

LOTS of floor wax.

Next, they will be singing the new "Nuestro Himno" in place of our National Anthem at the opening session of congress. And I’ll bet you donuts to a dollar — children will be singing the Spanish version in public schools before long.

Pssst.  Don’t show this U.S. State Department webpage to Kaye — her head will explode.  [It’s the Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish].

While Mexicans are on a roll — somebody needs to implement a Spanish Pledge, and then the United States of America can be renamed Mexico. How’s that for progress?

Mmmmm.  "Mexicans on a roll."

Some members of our government have been trying for decades to add Mexico as the 51st state. And now that Mexico is legalizing street drugs, there may be a new incentive to bring Mexico onboard.

Because, um, our government is for the legalization of street drugs.  I guess that’s what Kaye’s point is.

Don’t you find it amazing how one country can infiltrate another…

Ooooooh, yes.

…demanding rights (they don’t have) while the president and government sit idly by puffing on their expensive cigars, twiddling their thumbs, and many toasting their "tequila?"

You forgot "buying Reading Railroad and passing ‘Go’ without collecting $200".

We like the word tequila in "scare quotes".  Like the word is the street name for some narcotic.

Did anyone else notice how President Bush sounded like he was talking to first graders when he responded to news of the newly written bilingual Spanish Anthem being recorded and released? He said in a tone one might use for a child that the Anthem should be sung in English and people coming to America ought to learn the English language.

Bush spoke in a tone one might use for a child?  Kaye, honey.  You’re just noticing that?

Well, since the government pointed out not too long ago, that English is not our official language, why require foreigners to learn it? Besides we’re spending big dollars to teach Spanish in schools above English. Don’t you know you are supposed to learn Spanish? . . . so Mexicans can understand what you are saying — not vice-versa.

Seriously, BARRELS of floor wax.  Industrial strength.

On Monday we should see why we don’t need illegal immigrants here. If they can cripple the economy in one day-then we need to come up with plan B.

What was Plan A?

This would be a perfect opportunity to observe which businesses have to shut down, because they don’t have adequate manpower to operate. Next, arrest the employers who have been aiding and abetting illegal immigrants, encouraging them to break our laws, by not only hiring them, but in many cases securing jobs for them — before they entered the country illegally.

You mean they hire them and secure jobs for them?  BOTH??  The bastards.

How many times have you heard we need "guest" workers to do the jobs Americans won’t do? It is apparent there are a lot of members in congress trying to avoid mentioning the 2005 trade deficit of $723.6 billion — thanks to other countries who won’t buy American-made products.

And the trade deficit relates to the guest worker program how?

And we are practically forced to buy foreign products, because we can’t find American products in America.

Forced to buy foreign products at gun point …from guns made in Japan, no doubt.

I can tell a foreign product, even if a label is not attached. Just look at how it is poorly constructed. Most imported clothing looks like it was made by five-year-olds, and would fit most of them, even though it may be labeled a size eight for an adult woman.

Ah, now we see the bee in Kaye’s bonnet.  She has to shop and those Miss Big-N-Fat stores now.  And it’s the fereners fault!

Unfortunately, the American dream is now a nightmare. And the damage is irreversible. Over the years, Americans were foolish enough to believe in leaders who steered America on a downward inevitable crash.

That sounds kinda — uh — bad.

How a person votes says a lot about where their priorities are, and reveals what kind of person they are inside. Before the next election, there needs to be a lot of soul-searching going on. It is definitely time for a viable third party to exist. The two party system has let us down.

Well, Kaye finally voices her disapproval with the GOP, at least.  Not that it would ever have her running left…

They have sold us out by making us beholden to other countries, because they refused to allow oil drilling in places like Alaska or building oil refineries. The last refinery build in America was 25-years ago.

Because everyone knows that if you build more refineries, there will be more oil.

If there is even a slight chance we are going preserve America — our "home sweet home" — we are going to have to elect new leaders who really care about Americans.

Especially the white ones.

Our tax dollars have been abused and misused to not only encourage the infiltration of illegal immigrants, but to try and buy power in foreign countries, while many of our own people are jobless; suffer from health problems for lack of proper medication.

Lack of proper medication indeed, Kaye….

I have always heard the old adage: man will eventually outsmart himself, and be the cause of his own demise. And all one has to do is to look around in America and see proof of that self-destructive pattern . . . as far as the eye can see.

Yay!  Doesn’t that mean it’s the Rapture?

The Big Boycott

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

Huelga002

Michelle Malkin looks at this poster and writes: "Welcome to May 1. It’s the day to hate the Yankees. That is: Americans, not the baseball team."

So I guess you hate Americans if you support "the family unit", "justice for Hurricane Katrina survivors, unions, and workers.  Thanks, Michelle.

Colbert At The Dinner

Ken AshfordBush & Co.Leave a Comment

WhcolbertFirst of all, I thought Bush killed at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner this weekend, but that’s because he had a Bush impersonator join him on the stage to deliver all the laughs.

Stephen Colbert, who had to follow Bush, was comparatively — in my opinion — unfunny.  His video with Helen Thomas was long and pointless.  His monologue was better, but it got few laughs, probably because it was extremely biting.  I didn’t think it was awful, but it was definitely not suited for the audience, who was clearly uncomfortable with what Colbert was saying.  Editor & Publisher provides details:

A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.

Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.

Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”

Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”

Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."

He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean… he brought Joseph Wilson’s wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn’t there.

Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "

Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday – no matter what happened Tuesday."

Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." In another slap at the news channel, he said: "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I own the copyright on that term."

He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.

Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let’s review the rules. Here’s how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know–fiction."

He claimed that the Secret Service name for Bush’s new press secretary is "Snow Job."

Colbert closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special “Gannon” button on his podium. By the end, he had to run from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.

And now the presidential reaction.  Apparently, he was being all Queen Victoria:

As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling. The president shook his hand and tapped his elbow, and left immediately.

Those seated near Bush told E&P’s Joe Strupp, who was elsewhere in the room, that Bush had quickly turned from an amused guest to an obviously offended target as Colbert’s comments brought up his low approval ratings and problems in Iraq.

Several veterans of past dinners, who requested anonymity, said the presentation was more directed at attacking the president than in the past. Several said previous hosts, like Jay Leno, equally slammed both the White House and the press corps.

“This was anti-Bush,” said one attendee. “Usually they go back and forth between us and him.” Another noted that Bush quickly turned unhappy. “You could see he stopped smiling about halfway through Colbert,” he reported.

Tough crowd, but Colbert knew that going in.

The Moderate Voice has a round-up of reviews, but I think Ann Althouse expressed mine the best:

I love Colbert, but it was a little scary watching him do his "Colbert Report" character outside of his brilliantly comical studio set that frames him as a ridiculous right-wing blowhard. We love the humor in context, but when the targets of the humor are there in the room with him, we can’t dissolve into hilarity…

Pump Prayers

Ken AshfordCorporate Greed, Economy & Jobs & Deficit, GodstuffLeave a Comment

I don’t know what to make of this:

WASHINGTON, April 26 (UPI) — A U.S. Christian group has grown tired of escalating gasoline prices and is set to stage a national prayer rally to lower the numbers at the pumps.

Various Christian clergy from around the country will convene around a Washington, D.C., gas station Thursday at noon to pray. For those who can’t attend, a live Internet site and toll-free prayer line have been established.

In a release, the Pray Live group said many people are "overlooking the power of prayer when it comes to resolving this energy crisis."

Apart from sending a message to God, the rally had a message for humanity, said Wenda Royster, the group’s founder.

"It is our hope that seeing and hearing some of the nation’s most powerful preachers gathered around a gas station and the United States capital as a backdrop, will remind everyone who is really in charge of our world — God," Royster said.

The Web site is at praylive.com. The toll-free phone number is 888-PRAYLIVE.

And if that works, maybe they can pray for the end of world hunger, universal peace — naaaah!  Let’s only pray for important things, right?

The “Five Weird Habits” Meme

Ken AshfordPersonalLeave a Comment

Mannion did it.  So did Shakepeare’s Sister.  So will I.

MY FIVE HABITS THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED WEIRD:

(1)  When reading or considering something, I stroke my goatee just like scientists in the 19th century did.  Except I don’t have a goatee.  I just stroke my chin in an affected way.  Except that I’m usually not aware that I’m doing it.

(2)  I can’t accept a compliment unless I solicit it.  Don’t know why — I just get embarrassed.

(3)  I speak in cartoon-ese.  Yup, I might occationally "boink" someone on the head.  Or, if I get "boinked" on the head, I’ll let out an angry: "Aarrrrrgh!".  Then, of course, I’m always saying the word "Yikes!".

(4)  I rarely tie my shoes, unless I’m going to be around people for a while (and even then…).  Don’t know why.  I have weird feet anyway, and never feel comfortable in tied shoes.

(5) I idiot-check my pockets, even when I don’t need to.  Guys know what I’m talking about.  It’s the macarana-like dance you do, where you place your hand on the outside of each of your pockets to make sure you have your wallet, keys, etc. before you go out.  The thing is, I do it even when I take the trash to the curb (something for which I do not need my wallet or keys).