Author: Richard

The Politician ShameFace

The names change but the faces stay the same….


The New York Times called Dan Hill, the president of Sensory Logic, a market-research firm in Minneapolis that uses facial expressions to quantify emotional response to explain the face that every politician makes when confessing they lied about something naughty. He explained:

Lips pursed and pulled tight is a sign of anger. Anger as an emotion typically means you feel like you’re not in control of circumstances. It arises from lack of progress, confusion, feelings that one’s being dealt with unfairly, i.e. resentment. These are powerful men used to being in charge. So it likely signifies feeling vulnerable (not in control).

The chin raiser, where the chin boss pushes upward, causing the lower lip to push upward, could also be called an upside-down smile. It’s a muscle movement implicated in expressions of anger, disgust and sadness.

Disgust is an emotion that relates back, in evolutionary terms, to “bad taste” or “bad smell.” The bad-taste version is as if to protect the mouth from taking in something that is poisonous. Clearly, these scandals are (sometimes fatally) poisonous to the politicians’ careers. It’s as if the whiff of scandal tastes bad to them.

Eyes and head down both correspond to sadness, i.e., disappointment in oneself. Regret. Like disgust, it’s a sign of withdrawal, as if to remove oneself from what has caused shame or embarrassment.

The basic package you’ve got here is anger, disgust and sadness.

Palin was right about Revere. Still flubbed it. Still shouldn’t and will not run for President

Sarah Palin said that Paul Revere “warned the British that they weren’t gonna be taking away our arms, by ringing those bells and making sure, as he’s riding his horse through town, to send those warning shots and bells that we were gonna be secure and we were gonna be free.”

Revere’s story is famous for warning the colonists and that is why Palins summary was a flub: because it would have been like describing Superbowl Sunday as “the time Coach whatever picked his nose on camera” – even if that really happened, thats not what the day is best known for so its poor media relations and spontaneous talking to phrase it that way.

Palin was accurate. Revere did warn the troops of exactly what she said. Scroll to page 4 in this 1789 letter maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Society, written by Revere talking about his encounter with a British soldier.

“He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up.”

The people accusing Palin of silly ignorance are themselves committing the crime even though it was still a legit flub – and hell – i’m not even convinced that it wasn’t a flub due to ignorance that she just happened to be factually accurate on by coincidence.

UPDATE: I know I shouldn’t be the least bit shocked at the “conservative female is a moron” meme but I still have to admit that I’m fascinated at seeing this scenario play out again.

Rep. Michele Bachmann kicked off her presidential campaign on Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, and in one interview surrounding the official event she promised to mimic the spirit of Waterloo’s own John Wayne.

The only problem, as one eagle-eyed reader notes: Waterloo’s John Wayne was not the beloved movie star, but rather John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer.

That quote quickly circulated around the internet and cable news but it turns out not to be true. Of course it wont stop anyone from using false info to attack someone they hate, but it’s worth pointing out the ignorance at the base of this.

Mrs. Bachmann grew up in Waterloo, and used the town as the backdrop for her campaign announcement, where she told Fox News: “Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.” (Someone has already posted the clip to YouTube under the name BachmannLovesGacy)

The Bachmann campaign sent this explanation: “John Wayne is from Iowa, his parents lived in Waterloo.”

So then wtf does Gacy have to do with anything? Is there any evidence that she cited a source thinking it was the actor and it turned out to be the killer? none. Of  all the things to criticize these women for – you manufacture controversies? for what gain?

And indeed his parents did in fact live briefly in Waterloo — in fact, according to “Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne,” it’s where they met. But soon after their marriage they moved to Winterset, where Wayne was born.

It’s also worth noting that Mrs. Bachmann herself is no stranger to the actor. In the run-up to her campaign announcement she gave an interview to NewsMax.com in which she talked about him as a symbol of a good time in the country’s history.

“We’re seeing the nation move into decline. I’m not willing to do that. I’m not satisfied. I grew up with John Wayne’s America. I was proud that you grew up in John Wayne’s America: Proud to be an American, thrilled to be a patriot,” she said.

Gacy isn’t from Waterloo Iowa. He lived there briefly just like John Waynes parents. So to recap: Both John Wayne the movie actor and John Wayne Gacy the serial killer have roots in Iowa, but Michelle Bachmann is a fool for citing one because…I already forgot why. Cuz someone else lived there? Or is it really allegedly a big deal that the actors parents lived there and not him? This is stupid.

 

Weiner Confesses

Like Jon Stewart, who has been friends with Congressman Weiner for years and relayed his reluctance on making jokes about this Weinergate scandal, I was disappointed at todays news when a press conference was called to admit that he did in fact send the picture of his Member of sexual Congress.



I thought his speech and confession and answers to the reporters questions afterward went as perfect as a situation like this could have gone. “I was trying to protect my wife. I was trying to protect myself” and he apologizes. Perfect response to me. and no excuses, even. He says he wasn’t on drugs, wasn’t drinking – it’s all him and his fault. bra-vo, dude. This press conference only makes me like him more.

The only creepy thing that brakes my heart is re-watching footage from, what I thought were kickass “throwin it right back in your face” exercises in Awesome and now are revealed to be really scuzzy politician Clintonian weaseling.

They’re reminiscent of Clinton to their performance core: attacking the people reporting on the story, ridiculing the media for covering the story at all, then getting angry at reporters with more brash ridicule paired with firm “I. Did. Not” super accusatory defenses. I know we’re all taught that all politicians are like that but I don’t like that “they’re all evil” kind of cynicism. This certainly is a win for the cynics though.

An important thing to note though is that the “it was just about sex” line used so often to defend Clinton’s in-your-face denial/lying about one of his affairs was an inaccurate soundbyte that was spread because it sounds persuasive. The reason there was a drawn out battle over something that started as sex was because Clinton was accused of something and lied under oath in denying it.

The truth is that if both Weiner and Clinton had given quick “i’ve sinned and i’m sorry. gonna deal with it on my own time and get back to working for my constituents, thanks” response right away, both their poll and press would be high. However, Clinton comitted perjury as President of the United states and Weiner actually really did just “lie about sex”. There will be an ethics probe (see pic below and lul)

Heres some other stuff:





The most painful one though is this re-posting of a 1996 Cosmo article touting Weiner as a possible future president, which I think would have been difficult given his name and nothing else. He would have been an excellent VP if not for this…

It’s Good to Celebrate the Death of Evil People

How is it that a month later I’m still hearing people wag their fingers (its a big woosh sound) over celebrating the death of Bin Laden? Where does this notion that every human life is precious no matter what? and how many of these people feel the same way about a developing fetus? That’s human life. Then of course you get into the split of how conservatives are pro-death penalty but pro-life on abortion, making people ask “if all life is so precious then then why do you want to kill people who kill people?” – and the reverse of liberals who have to answer why it’s okay to kill an innocent human life cuz you don’t feel like shitting out a kid at the moment, but it’s not okay to kill a murderous human life. Why is everyone but me stupid?

If you are one of these people who think it is shameful to celebrate the death of a man who dedicated his life to murdering completely random innocent civilians – explain yourself. I’m hungry for answers and never get any on this.

Bill Maher joined this claiming you’re not a Christian if you celebrated Bin Ladens death saying “Capping thine enemy is not exactly what Jesus would do — it’s what Suge Knight would do.” It’s only “not exactly” what Jesus would do because Jesus wasn’t an agent of the government. If you’re a Christian however and you honestly think that Jesus would be pissed at you if you celebrated the end of a person who murdered in the name of God, then your version of Jesus sucks. Maher also said “Martin Luther King gets to call himself a Christian because he actually practiced loving his enemies, and Gandhi was so fucking Christian he was Hindu” which are funny lines, but not good satire on the serious point he’s trying to make.

Dennis Prager on Celebrating the Death of Evil People:

When she saw images of Americans celebrating, “My first reaction was, ‘I wish I was with them.’ … My second reaction was, ‘This is disgusting. We shouldn’t be celebrating the death of anybody.’ It felt gross.”

Likewise, many Jews, including rabbis, have cited traditional — though seemingly conflicting — Jewish attitudes regarding how to react to the death of evildoers.

One frequently cited source is a famous one from the Talmud: “When the Egyptians were drowning in the Sea of Reeds, the angels wanted to sing. But God said to them, ‘The work of my hands is drowning in the sea, and you want to sing?'”

Also cited is the biblical Book of Proverbs: “When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, and when he stumbles, let your heart not exult.”

On the other hand, the Talmud also states, “When the wicked perish from the world, good comes to the world.” And the Book of Proverbs also states, “When the wicked perish, there is joyful song.”

So what is one to make of this mixture of sentiments?

I do not see them as contradictory. God may chastise angels for singing at the drowning of the Egyptian army. But God does not chastise Moses and the Children of Israel for singing at the Egyptians’ drowning. People may do so; angels may not.

Secondly, it is one thing to celebrate the fall of one’s personal enemy; it is quite another to celebrate the fall of evil individuals. The two Proverbs citations are not contradictory. The vast majority of our personal “enemies” are not evil people. Therefore, we should not exult at their downfall. And the vast majority of the truly evil are not our personal enemies. Bin Laden was not my personal enemy. He was the enemy of all that is good on earth.

It seems to me that if one does not celebrate the death of a truly evil person, one is not celebrating the triumph of good over evil. I do not see how one can honestly say, “I am thrilled that bin Laden can no longer murder men, women, and children, but I do not celebrate his death.”

Awkward Fox News Interview

I’ve seen this lady on CNN, MSNBC and Fox before, but never like this…what IS this? and is she in front of a green screen? Or is she just glowing? The host, Martha MaCallum is front of a screen – it looks like a giant window but it’s actually a giant moniter – and she’s never glowy. wtf is going on here? Did she do this at a home studio? That would explain the green screen, poor lighting, phone ringing in the background and whatever is responsible for the moments at 2:40 and at 5:35…

Mediaite describes:

Radio talk show host Nancy Skinner sparked an entertaining–and at times somewhat bizarre–discussion on Fox News Thursday afternoon, as host Martha MacCallum attempted to lead a discussion of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign announcement. Skinner, who has a show on Detroit radio and has served as a political commentator for Fox, MSNBC and CNN, quickly shifted from Romney to Bush. She suggested that Romney’s speech was about “laying out the case of how badly President Bush screwed up our economy” before beginning a disjointed defense of President Obama that led to an argument over poll results.

El Paso No-vending zones get Defeated

Food Truck venders have been battling for their rights to sell people food they want to buy lately, which is a total abuse of government power. I’ve been hearing about the struggle here in California for a few years. Big Government even went as far as to ban new fast food restaurants from opening in South LA (sorry economy. sorry Los Angeles unemployment rate, including the 20% of LA’s black community that has not worked in the past year. You don’t have a say in the matter).

Now mobile venders in El Paso Texas have just won a big victory on this battlefield by getting a zoning restriction repealed after suing over their unconstitutional nature.

The reason the law wants to ban food trucks is to protect big businesses from small businesses. Insanity. Susie Diaz, EP of the Restaurant Association admitted on camera “We wanted this ordinance in place to help established restaurants keep their business”.

The Institute for Justice explained the fight in January:

Practiced since ancient times, street vending is more popular than ever. The Economist magazine predicted that in 2011 “some of the best food Americans eat may come from a food truck.” Vendors are the darlings of many food critics, and they even have their own reality show on the Food Network.

But El Paso, Texas, has recently made it illegal for mobile food vendors to operate within 1,000-feet of any restaurant, convenience store, or grocer. The city even prohibits vendors from parking to await customers, which forces vendors to constantly drive around town until a customer successfully flags them down–and then be on the move again as soon as the customer walks away.

Thus, while people across the country embrace mobile vendors for the vitality and creativity they bring to a local restaurant scene, El Paso has decided to threaten vendors with thousands of dollars in fines and effectively run them out of town. El Paso’s No-Vending Zone scheme is in place for one reason: to protect brick-and-mortar restaurants from honest competition. But economic protectionism is not a valid use of government power.

Grand Rapids isn’t Dying

Newsweek put Grand Rapids Michigan in a list of americas dying cities and a radio station pulled together 40 thousand bucks and a cast of 5 thousand citizens of Grand Rapids to go through the city lip dubbing a live version of American Pie. That’ll show em!

“The Grand Rapids LipDub Video was filmed May 22nd, with 5,000 people, and involved a major shutdown of downtown Grand Rapids, which was filled with marching bands, parades, weddings, motorcades, bridges on fire, and helicopter take offs. It is the largest and longest LipDub video, to date.

This video was created as an official response to the Newsweek article calling Grand Rapids a “dying city.” We disagreed strongly, and wanted to create a video that encompasses the passion and energy we all feel is growing exponentially, in this great city. We felt Don McLean’s “American Pie,” a song about death, was in the end, triumphant and filled to the brim with life and hope.” – Rob Bliss, Director & Executive Producer

*Note: The “NEW WORLD RECORD” designation refers to size and scope, not duration. Storyboards and concept art by Greg Oberle.

This $40,000 production was entirely financed by the generosity of local sponsors

Model Dies after 10-Story fall from hotel window due to “Play Wrestling”

Woman Dies after Fall from Hotel Room: MyFoxATLANTA.com

ATLANTA (AP) — A 30-year-old woman died on her birthday and another woman was seriously injured when they plunged from a 10th-story hotel window at a hotel early Saturday morning, investigators said.

Witnesses told police that 30-year-old Lashawna Threatt and second woman were “play wrestling” in a room at the W Midtown Hotel around 3:15 a.m. when they crashed into a window and fell four or five stories onto a slanted glass ceiling above a sunroom.

“They were play wrestling and the next thing you know, they went toward the window and through the window and out they went,” said Lt. Paul Guerrucci, commander of the Atlanta Police Department’s homicide unit.

 

NY Daily News:

Witnesses told cops the petite women were merely horsing around before they fell out of the window about 3:15 a.m.

“According to the witnesses, there was no arguing during the hours leading up to this, either, so it’s really a tragic accident,” Guerrucci said.

Threatt, who appeared at liquor promotions and in print ads, leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter.

“She was extremely charismatic. She could talk to anyone,” said her pal, Jomarys Castillo.

Sarah Palin is Not and will Not Run for President

Each month since January 2008 I keep thinking *this* will be the month that people come to their senses and admit or realize that former Governor of Alaska and failed Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin has no desire to be President of the United States and you are all creepy fantasy minded weirdos for pretending otherwise.


This is a more plausible explanation of what is going on with her bus tour than “it’s because she’s running for president”

Andrew Sullivan, a left wing blogger and columnist who has been obsessed with Palin from the beginning (focusing a great deal on a conspiracy theory that her son Trig is not actually her baby) showed the same Palin-fog view of her career in politics as her right wing fans regularly exhibit. Sullivan said on the Chris Matthews show that Palin is running for president and has been running since the 2008 election and that “there is no reason to believe” she isn’t doing so.

He got it exactly wrong.

There is no reason to believe she is running, there is no reason to believe she would run. and I maintain my painfully obvious prediction: that she WILL. NOT. RUN.

All of you people are blind or dishonest. You’re either deluding yourself over unrealistic hope that she’ll run for an office she’s shown literally no interest in, ever (including recent and current comments). The only time she ever talks about running is when answering constant questions about it, completely drummed up by the media. Her answer is always that she’s not opposed to it if she was needed, explaining that if no other candidates espouse her Tea Party esque principals then she would fill that gap for the sake of the country or whatever. She’s not needed and she won’t be, so why do any of you fool yourself into believing or lie to others to get them to believe that she wants to be president? She doesn’t. She’s Trump-ing you morons. Wake UP already… gad…

The Daily Show got it wrong too… sigh