So, Senator Al Franken.  After the hi-jinx of Cornyn battling down the hatchets for filibustering and as the Norm Coleman court challenges flitter away and dissolve, that’s what you have.  (Along with, sadly, Senator Burris in a flutter of equal political hi-jinx.)

Not really the man I’d pick for the job, and a man who’s presence on the ballot might just have me pulling for “Lizard People”.  I’d like to say that Norm Coleman isn’t too bad a man, a Senator perhaps with a tad bit of sleaze as standard but in the grand scheme of party politics as being not the worst it’s hard to justify animosity toward — but that would describe just axed Oregon Senator Gordon Smith – when I look through Norm Coleman’s term in the Senate I see that he did take a strong stance in the trenches of some repugnant Republican causes du jour — a healthy dose of UN bashing and the go-to-guy in supporting John Bolton.

Wander over and about to see reactions and I see a blog post yesterday posted this image, intoning the end of Our Republic.  For the sense of good taste, I’ve shrunk the image… and it does serve as an argument against Hi-Definition big screen television…

How can a state in these United States have just elected a public official with an image like that circulating around?  And, given how Saturday Night Live has always sort of dragged on through the last half of its 90 minutes, there has to be many more broad visual vignettes such as that one out there.  Indeed, we can expect this image to find its way into an Al Qaeda propaganda any day now, as per this comment.

You know, our enemies hate us already. Seeing crap like this just makes it easier for them to hate us and for our allies to loose respect for us

One thing I can say about a photograph of Al Franken wearing a diaper …

UHH Texas D……..Do you realize that that’s the junior senator from Minnesota wearing a FUCKING DIAPER!?
He has already made a fool of himself before becoming a senator.
Did you ever listen to his libtard ass radio show?*
Thank you hiram.

is to wonder if maybe other Senators haven’t been photographed in more compromising positions wearing diapers.  The obvious candidate is Louisiana Senator David Vitter, (who, in this last Senate, co-sponsored with Idaho Senator Lary Craig a Craig – Vitter Marriage Protection Bill, just to serve up something for the peanut gallery to laugh at, I suppose)  but it seems evident that the prostitute he bought services from follow the confidentiality agreement in not taking those photographs — otherwise Larry Flynt or the National Inquirer would have already showered us with them.  The upshot is that al Qaeda will be able to pepper their propanda with multiple Senators wearing diapers as grown men.
 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(* I’ll answer that question:  Yes.  It was something of a sedative, and it became clearer and clearer that Franken was steering toward a sort of middle of the road (one of his friendly weekly guests was best called “Center – Right”) in prepping for a Senate bid, though with that it also seems clear he was using the show to brush up on policy… the result was always, um… mixed?.  In terms of running for office, it does make him more comfortable than a Randi Rhodes or a Rush Limbaugh.

It’s interesting to take some stock of where things are with Alternate Universe American President John Kerry.  His promised increase of American troop levels in Iraq was always ironic — in that it was a war position being accepted by the anti-war part of the electorate.  I could never guage if it was the best option or not.  I did hear serious or quasi-serious figures state they believe Kerry will use political cover of a generally growing anti-war public to just vamoose, the technicalities of his promise not redoubted.  But, no, this Kerry Surge happened as said, started right when Kerry took office just about — the question of whether it’s given political space where the the rival factions have settled their troubles remains unresolved.

So, with an economy that has gone in the tank, Alternate President John Kerry won an unspectacular election, more or less by default — Republican candidate Mitt Romney proved tone deaf on the economic woes of the nation and a third party splinter from Ron Paul grabbed the 6 percent of the vote that allowed Kerry’s 48 percent to win the day– and streams into a Republican congressed helmed by a 59 Republican Senate.  Really, this is some sort of a booby prize.

The interesting thing to see is how this whole sex scandal concerning Alternate Universe Vice-President John Edwards is going to play itself out.  It now looks as though his denials of the allegations that he had an affair — and on his Cancer – strickened wife at that! — and I wonder if Kerry may just dump him now — he’s a president already struggling to get political support from anywhere — the talk is that he should just be dumped now and be done with.

It’s been nearly a month since the Bernie Madoff scandal broke.  And in all this time I have somehow managed to avoid the big punchline of a headline or news-clip…

“Bernard Madoff MADE OFF with $50 billion from…”

Until yesterday.  Finally I saw it on the teevee.  In the meantime I have to wonder how I avoided the obvious turn of phrase and play off of names.  The google reveals a plethora of “Madoff Made off” headlines and by-stories, plenty from victims of the ponzi scheme themselves, “Madoff Made Off With My Money”.  Maybe I heard the “Madoff Made Off” deal and somehow had it slip right past me?

Former President George H. W. Bush said today that he would like to see another Bush in the Oval Office.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Mr. Bush said he thought his son Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, should run for the Senate when Mel Martinz vacates the seat in Florida in 2010 — if he wants to.

He then added, “I’d like to see him run for president some day.”

It was the way it was supposed to be.  President Jeb Bush, not President George W Bush.  But, as the Oliver Stone movie clip has it Bush Senior saying to Bush Jr, “You’ve ruined the Bush name!”

Well, there’s about one more chance to block a Bush from the presidency — 2016.  After that, the nation ought to be clear of the Bushes.  “I say America — stay out the Bushes”, as Jesse Jackson once said.

The end of the Bush Administration affords the opportunity to look back and recall some of the those minor controversies which flared up admist larger political concerns — the brush-fires off of the larger debates.  One item forgotten, when Richard Perle invited one Laurent Murawiec into a government policy board — one which had been refashioned in the Bush Administration to advocate the neo-conservative view in foreign policy — topple Saddam Hussein, put fear into Tehran, and on from there.  Of course, Murawiec is no longer an advocate for Larouche, and we see that he has been referred to as, “a real-life ‘Beetlebaum’ of the legendary mythical horse-race, and a hand-me-down political carcass, currently in the possession of institutions of a peculiar odor.” But the imprints of his time with Larouche linger — as the slate article aptly asks “and where did he learn to write like this?” — with a power point presentation that ends with “Egypt the Prize” — surely neo-conservativsm on hyper-drive — that perpetual half suspect whimsical thought pops into my head that maybe he was a plant of the organization all along, or I’d suggest more likely — it’s a logical extension of where he came from — the old ally of the Neoconservative Movement from back in the day — ie:  the Lyndon Larouche Movement — the advocates of a more aggressive stance against the Soviet Union annoyed by what they viewed as a lax appeasement of real-politik from figures such as Henry Kissinger — the stance that would help propel Ronald Reagan and a more aggressive stance against the Soviet Union “Evil Empire”, which as we can see here in this letter from Patrick Ruckert to the Seattle Times, the imprisonment of Larouche was all about the relinquishing of forces back to a policy agenda that would appease Moscow.

Politically, the rush was motivated by the fact that during the Reagan-Bush transition, the government wanted LaRouche out of the way while several policy actions were launched.The policy issues are the intent of the “establishment” to continue appeasement of Moscow; and to implement savage austerity against Third World nations and the U.S. population itself, to hold together a collapsing monetary and banking system.

Also, mind you,  The nation will slide into the police-state methods of the Nazis and the Soviet empire.  It all came to passed as predicted — this imprisonment brought upon a strengthening of the power of the Soviet Union to run roughside all over its sphere of Influence.  Right?

Because we’re always very concerned with Moscow’s treatment of its neighbors.

I think a lexus-nexis search (or some more scattershot variations I can partake of) for news conferences with “Executive Intelligence Review” with any variation of the phrase “note of puzzlement” would draw up a good number of “notes of puzzlement” — though, in this case the phrase “as I’m sure the Executive Intelligence group would be the first to point out” suggests the speaker preceeding him knew exactly who he was talking to.  This Brookings Institute press junket happened in August of 2008.  At the time the cult was pretty much dedicating all of its attention to supporting Putin in his spill-over into Georgia.  It was the daily briefing cause of the day, and the battle to stop the out-break of WW3 (here started by those dastardly neo-cons) was the reason given for sticking the information that Larouche appeared on a Russian tv show in the wikipedia article.  This all changed during the Great Crisis which had Treasury Secretary run to Congress for a massive bail-out, and we could pivot right back to the bread and butter Bank Collapse Panic.  Which, naturally, Larouche has been well ahead of — why, he saw it coming back in 1979 and had Carter have to hear his name — bold seeing as Carter was at the time plotting with Queen Elizabeth and others to assassinate him. 

 To summarize:  a one time supporter of the neo-con movement and the biggest War Mongerers out there despite what they will tell you annoy someone whose name is not Sara and continue on.  Also for some reason Jeremiah Duggan is on an anti-semites’ list of Influential Jews who are destroying British Society.  Well, let’s hope he proves to be influential, I suppose.

It’s never too early to figure out who should be the Republican presidential nominee for 2012.  Right?

So Mitt Romney has basically set up a rolling campaign.  Mike Huckabee has a book and a book tour which has hit into Iowa and New Hampshire.  Bobby Jindal has suggested he wants to punt to 2016, more or less, and craftily suggested Sarah Palin may well just go for it as a sacrificial lamb.  I hesitate to say this, but Jeb Bush may well just do the same — and enjoy one term as Senator as a lead-in.  I suspect the General Paetreus Draft Boom will peter out.

So who do I think the Republicans ought to nominate for the presidency in 2012?  Conservative Columnist and Game Show Host Pat Sajak.   They should pick him to run against Obama — as a thumb in the nose of what they perceive as Obama having won off of fluff.  Of course, Pat Sajack will need a running mate to fill in his weaknesses in the realm of government experience, particularly executive.  There I suggest his balance the ticket with fellow game show host and former Nixonite Ben Stein.  There’s your Republican ticket for 2012:  Sajak / Stein!

You have a better idea… this far out… before Obama has even started office?

There apparently exists a sub-culture of people who dress up in hand-crafted costumes and pretend for long evenings and nights to be superheroes, patrolling the streets of the city they live in or near.  It seems a mostly harmless fancy, as described by the Willamette Week, Portland’s Zetaman acts as well as various charity organizations do — walk around the city and hand out blankets and food to the city’s homeless.  Of course, the members of the charity organizations don’t have that need to emblazen their chest with a giant “Z”.  As for fighting crime, when Zetaman observes an act of violent from one of the city’s evil-doers he springs into action by… dialing up the Portland Police Department on his cell phone.  Some Superhero.

Apparently other superheroes are more pro-active in the crime-fighting arena.  The Willamette  Week update — at the end of that page –mentions his uneventful team-up with a guy who dresses up as a ninja in Anaheim, “Ragensi” described as having a more “hard core image”.  I assume that means he takes the fight to the criminals?  What else could it mean?  Just that he dresses up as a ninja while others are content to stick a giant letter on their chest and wear a cape?

There are two troubles with this cadre of vigilante superheroes.  One is the bright shining light of media attention which will expose the flaws — it’s a problem familar to anyone who’s read Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s Watchmen.  The media create a back-lash in investigating these costumed avengers.  Rolling Stone has apparently blown the lid off of a man who patrols the streets in Florida.  Apparently he’s a poor slob living in a shack and dons the costume to escape his existence.  But that strikes me as rather nit-picky: if I assume he’s acting like “Zetaman” that means he’s a dirt poor man running around helping dust-poor people.  A knock, how?  Also, has it occured to Rolling Stone that his alter-ego is actually the disguise, a ruse of assuming statue to…

But the real problem comes with the omega to this alpha, the yang to this yin.  Nature abhors a vacuum.  If there are people playing out their fantasies of donning capes and assuming identities as superheroes, it follows that there would also have to be people wishing to play out their fantasies and act as Super-villians.  The ninja figure in Anaheim (and really, if you see a man in a tough stance in a ninja outfit, would you assume he’s on the side of good?) apparently has attracted a costumed nemesis — one of the reasons for his “hard boiled” reputation, I assume.  The question is — do we really want to live in cities where superhero versus supervillian grudge matches exist?  Well, it’d be entertainment on the Max, I suppose.  Either that or it’d just resemble the lamest geeky comic book convention sparring ever.  But really, if these guys insist on running around in costumes under assumed “super” identities, they all each and every one probably deserve an arch super-villian nemesis.  So I beg of somebody, anybody… please… Zetaman needs an enemy.  If you want a back-story for motivation — I don’t know — apparently he’s starting to police and guard who gets to be superheroes?  It leads to something like this.   Proportinate with the situation, I don’t know what these guys deserve — rotten eggs thrown at them every so often?  They need adventure, folks!

Actually what we need is the Bizarro-version to appear.  That’s what is needed.

The oddest items tend to stick out to me.  Today’s unsigned Oregonian editorial — available here — where it is signed — always a faulty object at best, the unsigned Oregonian editorials from an omniscent blurry figure.

“Bush sucks”, the editorial rages, and one would think that I’d have a few things to say about Bush sucking — and how the opinions expressed here adequately or inadequately or misdiagnose Bush’s suckiness.  Actually the presidency of Bush makes me try to puzzle out the legacy of Bill Clinton — Bush’s record simultaneously making Clinton look worse and better.  But here, no, what sticks out at me is this, in the old parlor game of ranking presidencies… after referencing James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson:

The amiably incompetent Warren Harding rounds out most worst-president lists, thanks to his grotesquely corrupt administration. Franklin Pierce, Herbert Hoover, James Polk and William Henry Harrison are often mentioned in such accountings, too, and Bush will likely join them.

James Polk tends to be ranked pretty highly, but that’s not the one that concerns me on this list.  The figure of William Henry Harrison is the problem here. He is often not ranked at all, taken out of contention along with James Garfield (to be fair, Garfield was apparently good enough to be shot).  How can he be ranked lowly when he didn’t do anything?  On the wikipedia page, we see him dropped from 5 out of 12 polls.  And Polk figures no lower than 14th, indicating this man’s lazy editorial writing.

On the same page, there is this editorial arguring that Portland needs to do more for preparing for Big Storms.  Dave Lister offers up a bad example.

The economic impact of the storm, not only on the private sector but also to the city and to TriMet, is huge. Dan Yates, president of the Portland Spirit, reports that cancellations of holiday cruises resulted in the loss of nearly 8,000 payroll hours and a quarter-million in revenue. And that’s just one business.

That’s one business where everyone would have been cancelling their cruises whether or not they would have been able to get down to the waterfront — unless the cruises was planning on a more exciting thrill-ride through giant chunks of ice.  So what was the point of that reference?

Call me crazy, but even if I assume the great disintegration of the United States is about to occur, I don’t think this map is ever going to come to fruition. 

The flaws are pretty evident.  Why does Canada want all of that?  Wouldn’t the European Union have to change its name?  Doesn’t Mexico have its own problems — and if we’re going to go with the theory of us having a somewhat amorphous boundary — ala Illegal Immigration, why wouldn’t Southern California go to Mexico or “Mexican Influence”?

 Well, the good news is that China isn’t likely to be able to control a large mass of land off its mainland, and free of commitment to the United States, Cascadia can fight for its Independence.

I think this Russian professor basically shoved masses of states every which way to nearest power sources, with no fundamental understanding of various dynamics.  Even on the terms of a Fever Dream, this fails.  And to think, this made the headline of Drudge a couple weeks back.