Time.com attributes the above to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, describing a fake press conference staged by FEMA Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson.
I have to agree with Chertoff on this one.
Idiots.
“One of the dumbest and most inappropriate things”
November 3, 2007 at 7:06 am (Bureaucracy, Hoax, Politics)
Tags: FEMA
Gag Reflex = Powerful Advertising?
October 24, 2007 at 1:30 pm (Food, Health)
I don’t find this ad offensive, just dumb. Does this entice anyone to try an Oreo pizza? Do people actually eat this shit?
I’d rather eat an apple.
Don’t have balls? Get some for your car.
October 24, 2007 at 1:23 pm (Cars)
Tags: testicles
Another pet peeve of mine nursed along by too much time on the road: SUVs with nuts. I just don’t get it. By hanging this accessory from your truck, aren’t you perpetuating the popular wisdom that you’re compensating for a small penis with a ridiculously oversized vehicle?
I was surprised to find so much competition in the manufacturing of these testicles:
Really, the idiocy is starting to get to me.
October 6, 2007 at 3:08 pm (Children, George W. Bush, Health, Politics)
Tags: s-chip
A follow-up to my previous post:
NPR’s All Things Considered reports that President Bush kept his promise and vetoed the S-CHIP expansion bill.
The reasons he gave make no sense:
“I don’t want the federal government making decisions for doctors and customers.”
The bill would require nothing of the sort. It would just pay for children to have private insurance. In no way would it put the government in charge of what kind of care children could receive, it would simply allow them to receive care.
“This program expands coverage, federal coverage, up to families earning $83,000 a year. That doesn’t sound poor to me.”
Well, me neither. I’d love to make half that. But that number is inaccurate. Stan Dorn, a senior research associate with the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank, says, “This bill would actually put new limits in place to keep states from going to very high-income levels. SCHIP money would no longer be available over 300 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $60,000 for a family of four.”
NPR further reports:
Dorn says the real irony is that the bill, which was negotiated largely by Republicans in the Senate, goes a long way toward meeting the goals that Bush said he wanted for the program.
“It’s limited the ability to go up the income scale. It’s focused resources on the poorest uninsured kids. It’s imposed new duties on states to prevent government funds from crowding out employer coverage,” Dorn says.
In other words, the bill addresses all of the president’s complaints, including his concern that families with private coverage now will drop it in favor of government-subsidized care.
Do Lexus vehicles suck, or is it the drivers?
September 29, 2007 at 9:21 am (Cars, Money)
Tags: classism, Lexus, turn signal
I had a job last year that required a pretty hefty commute. All that driving led to several observations about Colorado drivers.
A couple of things that really stood out to me was a) almost all Lexus vehicles in Colorado are white, and b) almost no Lexus drivers signal when changing lanes. As soon as I noticed the latter trend, I started to really watch as Lexus SUVs merged and turned and cut me off. Month after month, my theory held true. Maybe 5% would signal. As I drove, I would ponder, what could account for this? In my admittedly bigoted way, I thought, maybe these people figure that they’re special because they can afford to buy a Lexus, they don’t need to abide by the rules the rest of us follow. And I would sort of shake my head, and tsk my tongue, and sigh.
But I saw something this week that cast the shadow of doubt on my theory. First of all, I spotted a champagne colored (I’m guessing either Savannah Metallic or Bamboo Pearl) Lexus SUV driving down a major thoroughfare. Its right turn signal was blinking. Wow! I thought. Not all Lexus drivers chose white, and some use their signals!
As I watched, the Lexus continued down the middle lane, people in the right lane kept slowing down to make space for the Lexus to get over, but the Lexus just continued on, oblivious.
Hmm….I thought. This is an interesting turn of events. I started to wonder, maybe Lexus turn signals are defective? Maybe they don’t turn on when you want them to, and turn on when you don’t want them to?
Finally, the Lexus got into the right lane. I watched carefully. You see, if you are accidently driving around with your turn signal on, and then you go to use the signal, you realize it’s already on and then turn it off after you make your move. But the signal stayed on.
Feeling generous, I gave the driver the benefit of the doubt. After all, maybe this driver was planning on turning right soon. So I kept watching. They continued to drive in the right lane, with the right turn signal blinking, for at least a mile before I lost sight of them. As I passed the vehicle, I caught a glimpse of the 40-something driver, who did have a pretty spaced out look.
I’m left wondering:
- Do white Lexus vehicles have turn signals which don’t work, or do people who drive white Lexus vehicles feel superior to the rest of us?
- Do other colored Lexus vehicles have turn signals which don’t click, or are people who drive other colored Lexus vehicles on too many prescription meds?
To answer the second question, I will have to observe more other colored Lexus vehicles and their turn signals. As far as the first one goes, I may never know. I don’t know anyone who owns a Lexus.
MisLEADing Tidbits
September 23, 2007 at 8:40 am (Health, Money, World)
Tags: california, China, lead, mattel
First off, Mattel has apologized to China and taken the blame for the recent recall of millions of toys. ABC News reports that Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel’s executive vice president for worldwide operations, told Li Changjang, China’s product safety chief:
“Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys.”
Debrowski acknowledged that the “vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel’s design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China’s manufacturers.”
It remains unclear to me how this might change perceptions of the Lee Der Toys Company’s CEO, Zhang Shuhong, who commited suicide in August after Mattel found excessive amounts of lead in some of the toys Lee Der produced.
In other news, the LA Times reports that the California Department of Public Health is recalling 300,000 green and blue canvas lunch coolers with slogans encouraging people to be healthy, such as “Eat Fruits & Vegetables and Be Active.” Turns out, these lunch boxes, which have been given away since 2004, contain unhealthy levels of lead. Oops.
Disturbing: Your tax dollars in Iraq
September 22, 2007 at 7:27 am (Money, Politics, World)
Tags: aegis, Iraq, video
While the mainstream media is covering Blackwater USA, yesterday’s Morning Edition shared information about British-based Aegis Defense Service. The company’s CEO, Lt. Col. Tim Spicer, has been involved in two international incidents while at the head of his previous “private security” company, Sandline: one which led to the overthrow of the government in Papau New Guinea in the mid 90s, and the other a possible violation of a U.N. arms embargo, bringing weapons into Sierra Leone in the late 90s. After that, Spicer laid low until 2004, when his new company, Aegis, was awarded a 3-year, $293 million contract with the U.S. government.
Since then:
In 2004, several senators, focusing on Spicer’s background, demanded the Pentagon investigate the contract.
The Government Accountability Office subsequently investigated Aegis and faulted the company for not performing adequate background checks on its employees.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), said there are yet more concerns. “In November 2005, there was an Internet video that surfaced that showed an Aegis contractor firing wildly at civilian cars on an Iraqi highway to the tune of Mystery Train by Elvis Presley,” she said.
I have found a video which claims to be the footage mentioned above. {WARNING: disturbing, violent content.}
And now, in September 2007:
Aegis has been granted a two-year $475 million contract, the largest-single security contract in Iraq…. Aegis will oversee coordination of all other contractors in Iraq, and provide intelligence services and security for the Army Corp of Engineers.
These are the people we want running things for us over there, representing us to the world?
Babes with boobs!
September 16, 2007 at 7:57 pm (Children, Culture, Women)
Tags: breastfeeding, facebook
That’s right, little hungry babies nursing!
When I see infants receiving the ideal nourishment for their cognitive, physical, and emotional growth, the furthest thing from my mind is “ewwww! That’s gross!”
Unfortunately, it would seem that Facebook feels differently. It would seem it is standing behind its decision to ban users for posting so-called “obscene” pictures of breastfeeding.
Thanks to Mojo of a Mama for a great photo compilation which makes our society’s double-standards oh-so-clear. I mean, God forbid women use their breasts for anything besides selling stuff!
Alan Greenspan’s “Controversial” new book
September 16, 2007 at 10:51 am (George W. Bush, Money, Obvious, Politics)
Tags: adventures in a new world, Alan Greenspan
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Alan Greenspan’s new book is already sparking controversy. Which of the following statements shocks you?
- “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”
- “‘Deficits don’t matter’, to my chagrin, became part of Republicans’ rhetoric.”
- “My biggest frustration remained [President Bush's] unwillingness to wield his veto against out-of-control spending.”
- “The Republicans in Congress lost their way. They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose.”
- “Most troubling to me was the readiness of both Congress and the administration to abandon fiscal discipline.”
Perhaps these statements are only shocking because they came from a Republican?
OJ Simpson: Dumb or Cocky?
September 16, 2007 at 9:59 am (Crime, Entertainment)
Tags: if i did it, o. j. simpson
So, OJ Simpson gets himself involved in an alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas on the very same day that “If I Did It” is published by the Goldman family, who were previously responsible for Simpson not publishing it.
As usual, I don’t know what Simpson was thinking. First and foremost, why would he write a book like this? Is he dumb or does he just figure he can get away with anything? Such a cocky attitude would certainly seem a natural response to his life since 1994:
- October 1995: Simpson acquitted of murder charges.
- October 2001: Found not guilty after being charged with Road Rage in Miami, FL.
- December 2001: Not charged for selling Ecstasy after his home is raided by federal agents.
You’ll want to point out that the civil wrongful death suit didn’t work out to his benefit. But the Las Vegas incident is sure to boost sales of the book. It seems that even if he doesn’t get the proceeds, he wants people to read it. So maybe he’s getting the civil judgement to work in his favor now.
