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The Greatest Political Web Videos of All Time

Clips of the best political videos ever. Enjoy!

Yes. It's quite a strain.

I was thinking of keeping my winter beard even though the weather is turning warmer. But it would be nice to really do something cool with it. These are the best beards from the 2007 International German Beard Championships in the southern German village of Schoemberg .

You Are There!

This is an amazing (and GRAPHIC) video from Iraq. It was only recently posted on YouTube. I have not seen it anywhere else. The user, who only has this single post, describes it as a "very very disturbing video, Innocent people being gunned down in their own homeland by Americans". I'm not that sure about that - but it does really bring you to the front lines in Iraq. I'm not sure how long before YouTube (or someone else) pulls this video so check it out.

This is kind of creepy

OK. So right wingers want to ban gay marriage. Personally, I think a ban on Conservatives marrying would probably do more good for the country - but who am I to prevent others from doing what they want. So I do not call for a ban on this latest craze in Red America - vows between fathers and daughters - but I will say that I find it a little creepy.

But there is no groom and the girl in the long gown is no bride. She's daddy's little girl, there to take a vow of chastity. The highlight is when the fathers and daughters exchange vows, with dad signing a covenant to protect his daughter's chastity by living an enblemished life and the daughter promising not to have sex until marriage. Many fathers at the ceremonies also slip "purity rings" around the finger of their misty-eyed daughters or offer them "chastity bracelets" and other jewelry that the girls can entrust to their husbands on their wedding night. more

Cartoon Commentary

Bush Official Convicted of Lying to Congress

Of course the "Justice" Department recommended a very light sentence.

More Caveman

A couple weeks ago I told you about the Geico Cavemen possibly getting a regular TV show. I found this write up today which talks more about it and has even more video of their hilarious ads.

They Report. You get stupid.

A study by a University of Maryland center concluded, “Those who receive most of their news from Fox News are more likely than average to have misperceptions” about Iraq. For example, in 2003, 67 percent of those who relied primarily on Fox wrongly believed the U.S. “found clear evidence in Iraq that Saddam Hussein was working closely with the al Qaeda terrorist organization.” Only 40 percent of those who relied on print media harbored this illusion, debunked thoroughly by the 9/11 Commission. In 2004 polling with Media Vote, using Nielsen diaries, we found that Fox News viewers supported George Bush over John Kerry by 88 percent to 7 percent. No demographic segment, other than Republicans, was as united in supporting Bush. Conservatives, white evangelical Christians, gun owners, and supporters of the Iraq war all gave Bush fewer votes than did regular Fox News viewers. story

Larry "Bud" Melman Dies

Sad to hear that "Bud" Melman, one of the original sidekicks to David Letterman, has died. His deadpan delivery and very un-telegenic appearance made for some awkward and funny TV. These days having unprofessional (or those pretending to be) people on television is commonplace, with reality television and "low key" personalities populating the TV screen. But "Bud" was the original. From the mandatory "quotes" around his name, to his thick glasses and halted speech, Melman was an unlikely trendsetter. Here is a clip I found for the very first late night show for David Letterman. In it "Bud" introduces the soon to be famous host in an Alfred Hitchcock kind of theme.

Regrets? He has a few.

This Iraqi man, shown using a sledgehammer to bring down the Saddam statue in Baghdad, now regrets his decision to do so. It is a fine mess indeed when the poor abused Iraqi people now wish Saddam was still in power! more

“I really regret bringing down the statue,” Kadhim al-Jubouri said on British television this week. “The Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day.” That’s the judgment of a man who spent nine years in Hussein’s jails, and, unfortunately, it is one shared by a majority of his countrymen, according to an authoritative poll sponsored jointly by ABC, BBC and USA Today: Only 38 percent of Iraqis believe that the country is better off today than under Hussein, while nearly four out of five oppose the presence of coalition forces in Iraq.

Bush To Block Investigations

President Bush won't dare let his people testify under oath. Instead, Democrats investigating the politically motivated firings of US Attorneys are told by Bush to "put politics aside" and take the unsworn word of Karl Rove on his deep involvement in this fiasco. Yeah, right. So instead of coming clean - we have Bush's familiar refrain of "don't force me to be as asshole .... do things my way or risk a confrontation" That attitude has worked so well for the past 6 years hasn't it. I presume that is is only response to ANY difficult situation: Claim to be wanting to cooperate but then go to battle if things don't go exactly the way he outlines. Play by his rules or face the consequences. Isn't that attitude precisely how we got into Iraq? The Republican don't want to cooperate with this or any investigations into their shady behavior. That want to make a small effort to appear to cooperate to give their flock something to parrot, and then continue on doing whatever the hell they want. As Americans, we are subject to any number of domestic spying opportunities. We are told that not to worry unless "we have something to hide". Of course if you are a well placed member of the Republican Party the rules do not apply. Never have. Never will.

Here are some questions that I feel need to be answered under oath:
Why were the original stories about the Attorney firings false? We were first told that it was because of job performance. Once there was even the simplest investigation we found out that was a lie. Gonzales admitted it within a couple days. Also a lie was that Harriet Miers came up with the plan. Now, they say it wasn't only her. Why the initial set of lies? They must have been trying to hide something.
Why was the new power to allow the Attorney General to appoint the Attorneys without Congressional oversight slipped into the Patriot Act? No one seemed to know it was there. For what purpose was it put in? There is already evidence that it was done purposefully for the reasons we see now. To replace non partisan judges with right wing sympathisers. If they used the tragedy of 9-11 to slip this into law then it really shows their unAmerican intentions.
Why were so many of the Attorneys fired working on criminal cases against Republicans? If the firings were done to punish and intimidate then there are some serious issues. Refusing to allow this to be answered under oath would seem to illustrate the Administrations fear that release of these set of fact would show the deep corruption of the White House and the Republican party as a whole.
Why was Karl Rove so deeply involved in the firings and hirings? Does this guy run the country? Sure looks that way to me. Rove seems to have handled this issue without Gonzales' knowledge and even placed a crony of his into one of theses important positions. The Republicans live by a spoils system. Loyalty leads to rewards. Did a dirty trickster get paid off with a high profile position in order to beef up his resume for future advancement in the Red machine. Youbetcha!
What about the Attorneys that remain? My God, if Republicans were fired just because they weren't Red enough - who did they leave on?!? Must be some real Republicans operatives out there attacking enemies and rewarding friends. Congress should launch into an investigation of the remaining attorneys to learn what damage this Red spoils system has done to our system of justice.

Meanwhile our idiot in chief says:

"It's not too late for Democrats to drop the partisanship and work together. Democrats now have to choose whether they will waste time and provoke an unnecessary confrontation, or whether they will join us in working to do the people's business." speech

Guest Blogger: beachmom

I don't like to repeat myself and even though this is yet ANOTHER post about the FOX News bias - is is in fact new. A new low, that is.

OK, here's the scoop: John Kerry was on FOX News Sunday this weekend and caught host Chris Wallace in a lie. Kerry called him out on the spot and Wallace confidently denied it - even though everyone watching saw and heard him. "Check the transcripts" urged Senator Kerry.

Well, blogger beachmom did just that and found that the transcripts showed that Wallace did NOT lie. Hmm. She knew what she saw. She knew what she heard. So she checked the video. Not only did Chris Wallace say the lie in question - but the transcribers for the FOX News website scrubbed any reference to it. Yup, they simply removed their hosts' lie from the official transcript of the show! Read her report and please understand that this genuine enemy of America will do anything to maintain their stranglehold on the United States.

The Red Legacy that will keep on giving (aid and comfort to our enemies)

During the years of Republican domination we heard constantly about how much they loved our country support our troops. What sweet talk. Unfortunately, the real Republican legacy on the military is misuse, overuse and the failure to grow the military despite our increasingly dangerous post 9-11 world. This will have serious long term repercussions which puts America and Americans at serious risk for the rest of our natural lives. Nice job Reds!

Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the high and
growing demand for U.S. troops there and in Afghanistan has left ground forces in the United States short of the training, personnel and equipment that would be vital to fight a major ground conflict elsewhere, senior U.S. military and government officials acknowledge. More troubling, the officials say, is that it will take years for the Army and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately have called a "death spiral," in which the ever more rapid pace of war-zone rotations has consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand.

Cartoon Commentary

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Nothing says St. Patrick's Day like a pint of Guinness. These days there are cans with "widgets" inside which can give you a pretty good pint of the dark brew. But to really taste Guinness the way it was meant to be enjoyed then it has to come from a draught and has to be poured in a certain way. It takes a couple minutes, but when drawn correctly - nothing can compare to the creamy goodness of a Guinness Stout draught beer. Yum!

Guinness Brewmaster Fergal Murray explains the process of

pouring the perfect pint.

Happy Friday Mom!

Here's a song that will have you singing from the table tops! Enjoy.

REVIEW: Fab Faux plays "Last" Beatle album NYC 3.13.07

As you all know I was very excited to see the Beatle cover band the Fab Faux perform on Tuesday night. Overall it was a good show, but I have to tell you it was a little bit of a disappointment. Not terrible or not even bad - just not great. I expected great.

Door time was scheduled at 8:00pm and I arrived at the venue about 8:10. I was a bit late and unsurprisingly the line was so long it stretched all the way around the block. I got in the back of the line and noticed two things. One, the line wasn't moving. Two, the line was right next to an Irish pub. Well, you can guess what followed. I went into the pub to have a couple pints of Harp while keeping an eye on the ever lengthening line. I may be the last one in, I thought, but at least I will have a beer or two in me. Finally the line moved and I got into the place just before 9. The venue, Webster Hall, is absolutely beautiful. There are numerous bars in the five story establishment and while the line seemed infinite, once I got inside there was loads of room to watch the show. The only down side was that the place smelled. It didn't stink of trash or sewage or anything but it had that too familiar New York City scent of undiluted Pine Sol. Let me tell you, they don't use Pine Sol here as an additive to water when they mop.They don't mop the way I was taught: First with soapy water, then a clean mop and finally with another clean mop again. Nope. They use it straight up here to saturate floors in a single coat. When I walked in my eyes were delighted by the amazing club (absolutely beautiful) but the overpowering chemical smell went straight to my (soon to be throbbing) head.

The music sounded fantastic, but the band really seemed somewhat unprepared for the opening night show. Keep in mind, this was the first time they had played this particular show in public. While these musicians are among the most talented in the world, the band as a whole lacked organization and gave the impression of being unrehearsed. (Somewhat understandable since they only get together for these special shows - but I expected more professionalism from the front men). On at least 3 occasions they stopped playing a song after misfiring at the beginning. The musicians - including the singers - almost never let their eyes stray from the sheet music in front of them. And while they are not a "wigs and noses" band it would have been nice if they had coordinated their attire or at least worn something that didn't look like they had just rolled out of bed. Only Erin Hill, who played multiple instruments and sang back up, seem to be feeling the music and provided the only visually appealing sight on stage. Also worth noting was the excellent drumming and (John) vocals by Rich Pagano. The horns section and the back up players also did exceedingly well. Sadly, the main band members looked as if they were goofing around in their garage. I expected a serious tribute performed by serious musicians. After all, they were paying respects to the best band in history (IMO). The Fab Faux has a great concept and a plethora of talent but on this night they did not put it all together in a cohesive way. An edited album of the night's music would make for entertaining listening. But to see the sometimes amateurish mishandling of the set was a surprise to me. I have seen hundreds of concerts but this was my first in New York City. I was surprised at the lack of organization and stage presence.

So if the sound was great and the show was so-so is it possible to determine how that "next" Beatle album would have turned out? I think so. From the opening song "Photograph" by Ringo to the various solo releases by the other members, the 2 hour show recreated and improved all those familiar tracks released in the immediate aftermath of the Beatles' break up. Well, while I enjoyed hearing every song I am surprised to find myself thinking - for the very first time in my life - that the Beatles may have spilt up at the right time. The music was good, but compared to Rubber Soul or Sgt Pepper's or even Let it Be, this "next" album fell far short of that standard. So I will say this only once in my life - Thank you Yoko Ono.

Yuk that didn't feel very good at all.

Chiquita has agreed to a $25 million fine after it paid a Colombian terrorist group

The story is somewhat interesting but this commerial is a classic.

Beating a dying Fox

I want to direct you to this website which has an impressive collection of screen grabs from FOXNews. Here are just two examples showing why real Americans are so concerned about the success this propaganda source has had in disguising itself as a legitimate news channel.