From the “Oh NO They Didn’t” file: one of our favorite Christianist groups is seriously selling a light-up cross to display in front of one’s house during the holidays. I suspect this won’t sell well amongst the African-American contingency. (via email from MVS)
8 Days
A West Hollywood couple hung a mannequin dressed like Gov. Sarah Palin from a noose at their home.
You know, as much as I dislike the McCain-Palin ticket and the often insane rhetoric their luddites spew out, this strikes me not only as rather inappropriate, but also counterproductive.
Let’s bring the discourse back up to an adult level, please.
The message pictured above was posted as a reply to me on Twitter, in response to a picture I posted on this blog from I Has a Hotdog. It also represents the kind of internet user I can’t stand — the kind that makes comments on articles, blog posts and the like without taking it into proper context.
Anyone who knows me knows full well I hold no support for the McCain/Palin ticket in this election. I didn’t see the response until 2 days after it was posted, I went back to see what this guy was referring to (the aforementioned picture). I concluded he didn’t even look at the blog entry. Judging from the archive of responses this person left all over the Twittersphere, it seems like anyone who had “Obama” in their tweets got hit with a negative response, often mentioning Joe Vogler; I had to look this guy up as I’d not heard of him until today. Commenter status: TROLL and blocked.
So, to co-opt a line from one of my favorite teen movies, “Remove head from sphincter, then drive comment.”
25 Days
There’s a saying I often use in conversations: “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.” Usually, I use it in reference to customers who not only stick to a particular mantra (despite its counterproductivity), but flog it to death and beyond.
Today though, I use it to refer to people who equate Sen. Barack Obama as a terrorist, either by association (however loose) or simply by his middle name.
See what I mean in the video clips after the jump.
From the “Oh No She Di’n't” file, Sen. Elizabeth Dole wants to name an AIDS funding bill after Sen. Jesse Helms, who expired two Fridays ago. From the Congressional Record:
SA 5074. Mrs. DOLE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill S. 2731, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to provide assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:On page 1, line 5, strike ‘‘and Henry J. Hyde’’ and insert ‘‘, Henry J. Hyde, and Jesse Helms’’.
… The hell?! In case you had forgotten his abysmal record on AIDS in general…. (via Joe. My. God. and Atomic Gay Wonk)
So says my buddy Romach not once, but twice. (C’mon dude, tell us how you really feel!)
Mr. Everett has been suffering from a terrible case of verbal diarrhea that no dose of Immodium can cure. A recent post on AfterElton.com revealed him to criticize Americans with sweeping generalizations (however partly true), though I found this quote to be more hypocritical:
George Clooney thinks that, provided he does films which are politically committed, he’s allowed to do Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13… But the Ocean’s movies are a cancer to world culture. They’re destroying us.
Said the man who voiced Prince Charming in two Shrek movies.
I’d like to think he was being ironic, but given his tendency to run off at the mouth lately, I’m inclined to think otherwise.
The second link in my opening paragraph includes a video clip featuring Romach saying “twat” in his sexy Irish accent. Shall we make this a meme? My version with a boring American accent after the jump.
Photographers’ rights in the D.C. metro area are seemingly on the wane in recent years. Last summer, a photographer was stopped from taking pictures in the newly redeveloped downtown Silver Spring; the incident led to a mass gathering of area photogs on July 4. (Independence Day, almost appropriately enough.) Since then, it was ruled that even though the downtown area is managed by a private company, it is still a public space; photography is allowed under freedom of expression.
Today — nearly a year later — Union Station has become the center of attention as security goons guards have stopped professional and amateur photographers alike from taking pictures inside the historic landmark. Earlier this evening, our local Fox affiliate aired a piece on the issue, attempting to highlight the hypocrisy and inconsistencies behind it. As if on cue, a security guard materialized as the reporter interviewed an Amtrak spokesperson who said photography was allowed at least in the Amtrak-occupied portion of the station. The security guard came up to the reporter and the spokesperson and said the camera had to be turned off.
When pressed for details on the station’s alleged anti-photography policy, the guard said he cannot answer any questions about the policy he claimed was in place. Judging by his body language, I’m inclined to think he just spouted off whatever line his employer told him to; he didn’t seem to know what exactly the policy he enforced is and tried to skirt the issue.
The recent incidents at Union Station trouble me. I’ve taken photos there for years; I frequently go through the station whether commuting to work or heading up to New York to visit mom. Sometimes there are some really cool exhibits, displays or decor worth capturing on film or in pixels. And the structure itself is just gorgeous.
The photo at the top of this entry was taken by yours truly back in December. It’s part of a new flickr set I created of photos in and around Union Station. This set shall continue to grow.
Sometimes I wish I had actually gotten around to starting my “Totally Biased Guide to D.C.” The section on Metro etiquette alone would probably be overflowing with tips like the following: if you must put your bag on the floor, be ready to move it swiftly at a moment’s notice.
On my commute today, I encountered a couple who could have benefitted with that bit of advice, if not a severe smack upside the head. For starters, as I attempted to board the train — with two or three people behind me, mind you — the couple got on and stationed themselves at the door. There was plenty of room for them to move further in, but they didn’t budge. It took me saying, “Would you move further in please?” for them to get the hint.
One half of the couple gets off the train a stop later. The remaining person, a woman, set her small duffle bag on the floor, which in itself isn’t unusual or wrong. At the next stop though, the bag proved to be an obstacle. Several people who got up to alight tripped over the bag; the woman did nothing except cluelessly look around. She eventually realized her bag shifted (thanks to the trippings) and half heartedly shuffled it closer to herself with her foot.
A man in a motorized scooter boarded the train when the exiting passengers were done tripping. As he backed up when he got off a stop or two later, his rear left wheel got caught on the bag, which got caught on the bottom of the windscreen by the train door. The man tried to move forward and maneuver his scooter to avoid the bag, but to no avail. Someone else — not the woman — had to wrench the bag free so the man and his scooter could get out. Again the woman was clueless the whole time.
I myself personally was subjected to baggage idiocy the other day on my way home from the Fruit Stand. My car was relatively empty and I had a seat to myself nearly the entire way. About two or three stops before I got off the train, a couple of people boarded with luggage and parked themselves in the middle of the aisle, blocking my way out. I didn’t think much of it until I wanted to get out; no matter how many times I said excuse me, they left their bag there. I climbed onto the seat to jump over the bag, which isn’t easy given Metro’s narrow aisles.
I should have just climbed on top of their bag.
And now for your moment of dumbassery.
Late last year, the National Park Service fenced off half of Lincoln Park (map) without any announcement to that effect. The cement walkways — long in dire need of repair, at least for as long as I’ve lived in that neighborhood — were to be repaved by mid-to-late February, according to an email dated October 24, 2007 from advisory neighborhood commissioner Nicholas Alberti to the New Hill East neighborhood listserv.
Here we are at the end of March and still nothing. For months, little has been done despite the presence of construction equipment on the land. Today, the Washington CityPaper’s blog reports the project was delayed for a couple of reasons, including this pip:
When the temperature falls below 40 degrees you really can’t pour concrete.
Now, let’s assume for a minute the National Park Service knew this all along. (I mean, doesn’t everyone know this?) Why, then, did they schedule a concrete pouring project to be completed over the winter?
Dumbasses.
The Stonewall Democrats group at the University of Michigan is pitching a hissy-fit (link via Joe. My. God.) over the logo of the Quickie Burger & Dogs eatery near the campus. Apparently, there’s an issue with having a buxom cowgirl ride a wet-and-messy hamburger so close to the word “Quickie.”
Out of the many things to get their panties in a twist over, they squabble over what amounts to a petty issue in the grand scheme of things. Never mind the fact that there’s a restaurant chain popular with teh gheys that features a massively mammaried mascot. (A franchise of the chain was in D.C. for a few years before changing its name and ultimately closing.)
On a side note, when I went to read the article, you’ll never guess who had a banner ad at the top. Find out who was doing some recruiting after the jump.
