ectoblog.com

They’re always trying to make it relevant, or hip, or something. As far as I’m concerned, the idea of creation, godhood, underlying meaning of it all should be the bastion of the unhip. It’s painfully embarrassing to watch televangelists/charismatic preachers doing their thing, as if the idea is the kind that has to be sold, branded, or advertised. Part of its greatness is that it is a thing that does not need to be dressed up; it’s a thing that can only be diminished by doing that. People become more worldly, more sophisticated, more cynical with each passing minute and hour living in our world, paying attention to the things society makes us pay attention to.

The beginning idea is the one thing that can’t be touched by that. One should never become blasé or smug about the meaning of existence, like it’s a hula hoop or something. I won’t stand for it. That is why I race past the channels on the television that are passing out the Word. That is why the TV preachers outrage me. Don’t treat the final root idea like it’s a goddamn soft drink whose market share needs to be increased. How unbearably cynical. Don’t fuck with what should be an inviolable refuge against hype and cynicism.

You just need to ease your crotchedy ass off the world stage, sir.

Lawmakers vow to break bailout deadlock – CNN.com

“We’re back on the progress track. We had a little bit of a glitch yesterday,” Frank said. “Now that Sen. McCain is safely in Mississippi, we can get back to serious work. I am convinced that by Sunday, we will have an agreement on this bill that people will understand.”

God, I love that man.

GOP WAR ROOM, OXFORD, MS, 7:30PM, CDT

HANDLER: Okay, let’s go through it one more time, Senator. When you come out onto the podium, what do you do?

McCain: I shake hands.

HANDLER: Right, right. But what do you NOT do?

McCain: I don’t make eye contact with him?

HANDLER: Good! Very good. Remember that. Never look at him. Pretend like he’s not even there. Pretend like he’s a nobody, like he doesn’t even exist.

McCain: Okay, no eye contact. Just for then, or for the whole thing?

HANDLER: My God, it’s like you want to lose this thing. Obama doesn’t exist for you. It’s just you, Lehrer, and the American people. But don’t look at the camera, either. Pretend Lehrer is the American people. Look at him, but try not to blink so much that he thinks you’re lying out your ass.

McCain: I don’t think I can do that.

HANDLER: Okay, leave that. Leave that for now, it’s not important. The important thing is to pretend like the other guy is so beyond contempt that you can’t even begin to fathom why people want to hear what he has to say.

McCain: I don’t understand. He’s the democratic nominee! People are interested in his views and what he has to say!

HANDLER: What did you just say?

McCain: People want to hear what he has to say?

HANDLER: No, the other thing..

McCain: He’s the democratic nominee?

HANDLER: No, the other thing!

McCain: I don’t understand.

HANDLER: That’s it! I don’t understand! That’s good; that’s very good.

McCain: I don’t understand.

HANDLER: Yes sir, I’m aware of that. But why don’t we use that phrase: “He doesn’t understand.” My God. This could be it. This could be the “There you go again!” of our time!

McCain: I don’t understand.

HANDLER: For fuck sake, sir, focus!

Bush: Bailout plan necessary to deal with crisis – CNN.com

We’re in the midst of a serious financial crisis, and the federal government is responding with decisive actions,” Bush said in a televised address Wednesday night from the White House.

Bush pointed out that the collapse of several major lenders was rooted in the subprime mortgage market that thrived over the past decade.

He said passage of the $700 billion bailout proposal was needed to restore confidence in the market.

“I’m a strong believer in free enterprise, so my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention,” he said. But “these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly. There has been a widespread loss of confidence.

“Without immediate action by Congress, America can slip into a major panic.”

Normally, I’d trust my president to level with me, and I would support action to arrest whatever calamity he was leveling with me about. But W has a track record of lying. That’s important to remember. Now, it may be that this debacle is truly 700 billion dollars large. It may be; the banking system has been working with very little oversight for so long that enough wealth could have been skimmed off the top by tweedy thieves to finally mean disaster and ruin for the rest of us. And there are a few people out there who should know who aren’t named George that are telling us that things are dire. On the other hand, there are more than a few economists who are telling us to step back and think this one through before we pull out the big checkbook. So I’ll be damned if I’m going to take Chimpy and his cronies’ say-so on such an enormous and costly decision.

The man who Paul Begala a couple hours ago called a “high functioning moron” has not a shred of respect left, even among his own party. And I’m so used to his lying that I immediately start looking for the ulterior motive. Is that a pitiful state of affairs or what? In this case, I fear that it may be a final wealth grab right before they head out the door. 700 billion dollars. That’s an enormous amount of money to take out of our pockets to put in the pockets of bankers and power brokers. “Let’s get that legislation passed now, before the little people know what’s hit them.” 700 billion dollars.

The man threatened us with doom and depression yesterday during his speech if we didn’t pass his proposal. He stood up and told Americans that if his bill weren’t passed immediately that it was time to panic. Hey, asshole: it’s not 9/12 anymore; you can’t buffalo us. We’re on to you, motherfucker.

Like I said, this may be a debacle that needs addressing in a timely manner. But I want Congress to look at this thing, make sure it’s necessary and appropriate, make sure it’s constrained and regulated, so that these goddamn bankers and CEOs don’t stroll over to the yacht and caviar emporium as soon as we turn our backs on them.

Because you know that’s exactly what they’ll do if we turn our backs on them.

IF I COULD REACH OUT AND CRUSH SKULLS

McCain suspends campaign, Obama plans to continue – CNN.com

You have GOT to be fucking kidding me.

Large Hadron Collider Down Until 2009 | Wired Science from Wired.com

On Sept. 18, the news from CERN, the organization that runs the LHC, was that an electrical problem involved with a cooling system caused a helium leak that would keep the mammoth particle accelerator out of commission for a day or so. A couple days later, days stretched into two months: The machine would need to be warmed back up, which will take three to four weeks, before a full investigation could be done.

Now the outlook is even more bleak for eager physicists who have already waited decades for the giant collider to come to fruition, after a week of tantilizingly successful beam operations.

The warm-up period and ensuing investigations will bump up against the LHC’s “obligatory winter maintenance period,” according to a statement today from CERN. This brings us into early spring before commissioning can restart.

Do I have to say that this is also exactly what we’d be told if something super-freaky had happened when they first turned this thing on, something so super-freaky that they’re afraid to turn it on again? “Obligatory winter maintenance period.” Good one.

Roman calendar – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The fact that we use the same month names as the Romans encourages us to assume that a Roman date occurred on the same Julian date as its modern equivalent. This assumption is not correct. Even early Julian dates, before the leap year cycle was stabilised, are not quite what they appear to be. For example, it is well known that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC, and this is usually converted to 15 March 44 BC. While he was indeed assassinated on the 15th day of the Roman month Martius, the equivalent date on the modern Julian calendar is probably 14 March 44 BC.

I’ve noticed that historians put a lot of effort into figuring out what day things really happened. Was Caesar assassinated on the 15th or the 14th? Was Washington born on February 11th or February 22nd?

The thing is, I’ve always thought historians were barking up the wrong tree on this. To my way of thinking, it really doesn’t matter what day something really happened; what matters more is what day people thought it happened. So as far as I’m concerned, George was born on the 11th because his mother and father, the attending midwife, and the Smith family down the road  all thought of the day as the 11th.

Here’s another example: say I was born on March 8th. Fifty years later a congressional proclamation changes the calendar slightly, and now I’m told I was born on March 4th. But I’ve thought I was born on March 8th all my life; I’ve said “March 8th” about ten thousand times, and I’m very familiar with how it sounds. March 8th fits me like an old shoe. Now you’re asking me to put this squeaky new shoe on, this March 4th shoe. Thanks, but no thanks. I wasn’t born on March 8th because that’s what a calendar said, not really. I was born on March 8th because that’s what we called the day I was born on when I was born on it.

(ABC on McCain links to a .flv version if & when youtube takes this down)

When the Thundering Herd Comes up Lame

–Keith Fitz-Gerald

I’m sick and tired of hearing how “we” caused this … how, according to the mainstream media, “we” somehow did this to our financial system.

Baloney.

For the most part, “we” didn’t do squat. The average American had nothing to do with this. For the most part, “we” pay our taxes, “we” pay our credit card debt and “we” pay our mortgages – on time, and in full.

…

While I truly feel sorry for the people who honestly didn’t know better, or for whom there was no other option, I cannot extend my sympathies to others like my neighbor who spent through his home equity to buy a Hummer, a new boat, two jet skis, and a lavish European vacation.

He’s now about to lose his toys – and his home – not to mention his marriage.

Nor can I extend my sympathies to the modern robber barons like the corporate chieftains of Fannie, Freddie and the other bailout candidates – who pocketed millions while shareholders lost billions.

I don’t see any of these guys offering to return their bonuses, or to forgo their “golden parachute” severance packages, to help their former employers pay off the debts they helped these companies accrue. And forget about them reimbursing the U.S. taxpayers, who are stuck with the bill for cleaning up this mess.

No, instead these ex-boardroom warriors are now lying low somewhere in Old Greenwich, out at The Hamptons, or out on their yachts somewhere – until the storm blows over.

The fact that the profits from this colossal fiasco will be privatized while the losses will be socialized fills me with hatred for these people. The fact that the public is maneuvered into a position that requires socializing loss in order to prevent system collapse creates in me the urge to crush skulls.

IF I COULD REACH OUT AND CRUSH SKULLS

Crisis talks over $700B ‘toxic debt’ rescue plan – CNN.com

“The risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package. And so I decided to act and act boldly.”

Thanks, George. Now do us a favor and get your chimp-ass out of office so people who know what the fuck they’re doing can come in and clean up the damage you and your cronies have done to the country and the world over the last eight years. ‘Preciate it. You chimp-ass chimpy motherfucker.

Former Secretaries of State to next President: Get over it. Get real. Be smart.

Obama and McCain Tax Proposals – washingtonpost.com

According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families.

I mean, people: could the choice be any clearer?

Last time ‘certain death’ was warned: Katrina – CNN.com
“Persons not heeding evacuation orders in single family one or two story homes will face certain death.”

Look, I know it’s a big, dangerous storm, and people in low-lying areas should evacuate. But people in one or two story homes in Katrina didn’t “face certain death” by staying behind, and neither will those who stay behind in Ike.

I’m not paying you to lie to me, government weather forecasters. Just give me the facts, and I’ll take it from there. Planned exaggeration to motivate those for whom the truth isn’t good enough? That is not what I expect from you, and it forces me to wonder about and search for other things you may be stretching in order to facilitate what you feel is the appropriate reaction on my part.

CUT THAT SHIT OUT.