Beware The Man

Regardless of who wins.

I know this is heresy. But every time I see the man talk about matters global, I’m with him.

I could be biased by my Midwestern roots; most of the great Midwesterners I’ve known have been above all, pragmatic.

Update: This is such a good idea that Obama should steal it. No, it’s even better than that. It is such a good idea Obama needs to keep it in his wallet for when the news cycle gets out of hand in a big way unfavorable to Barack. It wouldn’t work as well for Hillary politically, though a case could be made she would be stealing equal thunder media-ly, and it obviously won’t happen with McCain. Hagel has come about as close as he can to calling a fellow Republican an idiot. And my guess is that at least a small part of McCain gets it.

Not only would it provide some bona fides for Obama’s overall message of trying to be less of a dick as the Head Politician, it would take the news off the critifuckingcal issue of Obama’s bowling skills, for example. And it would be a good, smart choice on the actual merits, too. I disagree with Hagel about a million things, but his old school Republican roots in cautious (not to mention sane) foreign policy are AOK with me.

Hagel seems to have taken a different message out of Viet Nam than St. John of Media Mountain.

Update 2: Midwesterners and pragmatism. Theory: Weather. Four seasons. Every year, every Midwesterner gets a sharp dose of how powerless they are in the face of Mother Nature. It adds up. Mother Nature, perhaps more than any other act of God forces people to think (and subsequently behave) pragmatically. It gets down to very micro levels; blizzard coming equals necessary trip to the grocery store for supplies to wait said blizzard out. Tornados coming? Save the living things, and hope for the best.

And so it goes.

You go here, first. From a registered former GOP voter and apologist turned smart, practical, objective Democrat. You could call John, “unusual.”

But you can’t understand it even after you go to Sadly, No!, which is a blog that specializes in extremely funny and brilliant eviscerations of Greater Wingnuttia, unless you’ve taken the time to understand S,N!.

(Well, OK, often Lesser Wingnuttia.)

So while you’re waiting–it may take days–you read the link that inspired the Bat Signal. And believe me, this was a well-conceived bat signal. You don’t see them often, and I hope you don’t see them used without serious consideration by the signaler, kinda like WMD. Both should only be used in profound emergencies.

Anyway, whoa!, you’ll say if you read that last link, and then maybe you will wait. It will be worth it, and I’ll update it if one appears someplace.

Update: Part 1. Scroll through the comments.

Local Chicago news reports Rev. Wright of Obama fame is moving into a retirement palace.

Talk about a negro scammer! No white person would do this! The Pope’s gold-plated back scratchers, shoehorns, and salad forks are normal!

Earth Hour (repeating now):

Not bad, considering the material. It is what it is, and it is also a flashlight in the face.

I’ll possibly not buy a PC ever again.

Update: Shoulda gone to Eschacon08. But hello to all the great bloggers in attendance.

UNC is better, but that doesn’t mean they’ll win just yet.

NC up 7. First half, 9:46 left.

UNC will win. I just hope it’s a good one, unlike several of the others. Clark K. may be right: All four #1’s make it to the FF.

That would be OK. Never happened.

Live Update: Psycho gets called questionably for traveling. L. scores to bring it back to 7. 4:10 left.

Desperation two. L ball.

OB to NC. TO, TV style, 3.53 left, first half.

If L gets out of this under 8 they’ll be happy and fine. Ricky P. is a good coach. NC’s guys are better, but like I said, it doesn’t matter in a big one. All someone on L needs to is get off.

Final first half update: Still 7, 3-ish to go. TO, TO, lucky 6-footer for L. NC answers. Still 7.

NC about to go up 9. Man, they run good.

NC up 9, nice talent on that team. L takes the ball, and the time. Foul NC. Should be back to 7, probably will be back to 8.

(D. Green, UNC, out on the Magic Johnson rule, visible blood.)

Nope, not even 8. L misses both.

Bad.

If you’re a L guy.

NC 3. NC +12. L freaking. TO. (Great anticipation by your correspondent, btw.)

More free throws for NC. They miss both!

L for another two. Back to 10, since NC is scoring faster than I can type. NC ball +10, easy one to go +12.

One shot, L could use one. Clank.

Blowout, and I’m out.

Oops! 11:20 left in the 2nd half and L is within 1. Suddenly, we have an excellent game on our hands.

Psycho T scores and gets fouled. Commercial.

(I think TX will beat Memphis.)

11:13 left. NC+4.

L 3. Net. Moderately deep.

L ball, down 1, Foul, NC. Should be a tie at the min. Except the first one wasn’t within a foot. He gets a grip and makes the second. NC TO. L ball.

10:17. L has confidence, but get called for traveling.

Tie game.

TH with an easy one. L ball, maintaining composure, OB, TO NC ball. IOW, not maintaining composure.

Tough call on L.

9:30 left, commercials.

Still easily anyone’s game, but you have to give NC the edge. Kudos to L, they’ve played good and hard, which Ricky P. teams tend to do.

Reset: NC+2. 9:28. NC ball.

Good D. L ball.

TO (it means turnover mostly in this narrative.) 15 on L.

TH a long 2.

NC +4.

TH seems to be a favorite of the zebras.

Foul, NC. Should be at worst a +3 game. Green of NC with 4 fouls. 7:51.

I wonder if TH can succeed in the pros. I think so, but it isn’t because of his native talent.

L clank. Still NC+4.

NC goes to TH, who gets fouled, of course. He usually makes his free throws, and doesn’t.

NC +5.

L potential (now) unnatural 3. Good. NC+2.

7 to go.

NC TO. L ball to tie or take the lead with 3.

Easy lob, perfect pass, choke by L. TH fouled. Bad mojo for L.

TH makes 2. NC +4.

L fouled, TH with 3 fouls.

Since no one is “watching” it here, I’m out. Good game though.

Most neatly, so are many of my neighbors’.

Right on. Power to the people.

UCLA is good, and I predict will win the big enchilada. Though one game with two good teams is anyone’s guess.

Go, Louisville!

Just about to start…

P.S.: Those lights better be off at Eschacon08!

Update: You know what the important thing is? It’s not a big deal to turn your lights out for an hour. 9:03, and my lights aren’t going back on until I go to bed.

I have a backlit keyboard. *strut*

Part 1.

If I remember, this will be a series. I’ve a feeling there will be lots of chapters, so it should be hard for me to forget.

Wall-to-wall coverage of Obama’s 20-year alleged malignant relationship with his “militant” Christian religious mentor, and 10% still think he’s a Muslim.

I think Teh Stupid could be terminal.

This is a bummer of a match-up for me, because I’m a Big 10 guy who loves underdogs.

This Davidson team is wonderfully balanced and has a ringer I just love (Curry), and I’ve seen Bo’s WI teams for years and they always play excellent basketball, particularly defensively.

I wish both teams were playing someone else, because I don’t want either of them out.

I suppose the good news is that if I get a good game out of it I’ll still be happy. Got no dog in this hunt.

Update: Wow. Blowout. I’m not sure if the Big D (that’s what I’m calling them now) has the horses, but it is very rare to see WI get their asses handed to them in a big game, and fail to stop someone they knew they had to stop. Kudos to Davidson, and that Curry dude is one bad-ass basketball player.

Turn off all your lights, at 8:00 local tomorrow, for an hour.

Sydney allegedly saved 48,000 cars worth of shit to breathe in that hour.

Easy, fun, and if it did in fact go viral, the Great Tube of Infotainment would grab it, because it would have good visuals, and our pundocracy would draw all sorts of Profound Conclusions About The Meaning of it All.

Some of that meaning would no doubt be how communications have changed these days. And things that are important to people.

Pass it along.

This abomination of power and wealth deserves as much viewing as it can get. Here’s my lame attempt at helping, though I will take on a few dedicated Wal-Mart shoppers and defenders at work when I get the chance.

Thanks to John Cole and several others. This is a true Corporate horror-show. Yo, Wal-Mart, why don’t you just tell everyone your reputation is on the line in the name of bureaucratic rigidity and profit? Because that is sure what it looks like from out here, given the mood of the country.

It’s old but never shocking to me. And it’s old to all of us:

Penny wise, pound foolish.

This story is a virtual compendium of Beware The Man.

Update: J. Heywood has a more detailed and comprehensive analysis, very “fair and balanced,” if I may.