Lions Share tonight at 8PM EST on PURrrr

Join Darragh, Sheri and me as we talk about Hillary as Secretary of State, the blogosphere flipping out over Clinton admin 2.0, the latest news and why it’s so fricking cold in New Jersey if we have a Global Warming problem.

That’s Lions Share at 8PM EST on PUMA United Radio, (PURrrr)

Brad Paisley w/ Hank Jr.

This is dedicated to Gender Analysts and the morans at cranky christina’s crappy blog who threatened to “expose” me.

myiq2xu March 15th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Rodney Carrington Live at the Majestic is on the Comedy Channel.
“I went home with a fat girl once a bunch of times.”

Yeppers, I posted that.  Now excuse me, I gotta go do some manly stuff.

Seven Score and Five Years Ago

Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg

On November 19, 1863, some skinny dude from Illinois gave a speech:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

They don’t make ’em like that anymore.

(h/t Helenk)

We Tried To Tell Ya, Cheetos…

Where Is My ObamaLove?

but you wouldn’t admit that Barack Obama was not a progressive, a liberal or even really a Democrat. You accepted all the crazy, ridiculous narratives that were fed you by Axelrove and Burton and Plouffe (Oh my!). Hillary is a racist! Hillary wants Obama killed! Hillary is an evil warmonger! The Clinton era was the same as the Reagan-Bush era! Obama will saaaaaave us from the evil clutches of the DLC and people like Joe Lieberman! We will finally, FINALLY get rid of all those moderate, centrist, Republican-lite politicians like the Clintons and achieve ideological purity if we just elect Obama, at which point all racism will also disappear and the world will move into a more enlightened Age!

Where do I begin with this nonsense? Well, how about the fate of the Queen of All Evil, Hillary Clinton? Looks like instead of slinking back to the Senate in shame, discredited for evah and evah, La Rodham is much more in this situation.

Now, Who Will Bring Me Cake?

Rumors are flying with great abandon about Senator Clinton’s future. Will she be Secretary of State? Will she take the job Ted Kennedy offered her in order to keep her autonomy and work on the issue that is nearest and dearest to her heart, Universal Health Care? Will she run for President ever again? Fiddle-dee-dee, what’s a girl to do?

One thing is certain: Senator Clinton is one of the most sought-after names in the country right now. Guess all that stuff Obama said about her foreign policy experience being limited to drinking tea and other ceremonial activities was just a bunch of hooey. And even Ted Kennedy, the biggest Obama supporter in the Senate, realizes he shouldn’t work on reforming health care without her. Awwwww, so sad, too bad, Cheetos. Bamboozled again.

But wait, there’s more haid-exploding news for the Obamabots:

Hello, Holy Joe!

Howard Dean says Joe Lieberman was kept in the Democratic caucus because the Senate was following Barack Obama’s lead. But then, the Huffington Post reported as much over a week ago. So no, Firedoglake idiots, Joe Lieberman’s fate is not “Clinton’s call,” as you so ludicrously claimed in your latest “action” email to me. Your CDS is fucking embarrassing at this point. Let it go. You got your Messiah and it’s all on him now. 

Evil Clintonites Being Drafted into Obama Administration At Speed of Light.

As we all know, Obamabots are incredibly invested in ridding the party of all centrist, DLC influences, since they are diluting the purity of the progressive movement, don’tcha know; and anyone who voted for the war is right out. (Still trying to figure out what this movement is all about, since throwing the working class out of the Democratic Party doesn’t seem too progressive to me.) How’s that workin’ out for them so far? Rahm Emanuel, DLC mucky-muck, warmonger and Clintonite, is Obama’s Chief of Staff. Eric Holder, Clintonite and influential advocate of the Marc Rich pardon, is Obama’s Attorney General. John Podesta, Clintonite, is chief of Obama’s transition team. There are many more Clintonites up for Cabinet positions, including, of course, an actual Clinton.

Wednesday: Various and Sundry

I don’t have a coherent thought today, just a random collection.  I know some of you are thinking that that’s not unusual…

• For some reason, this headline struck me as funny:  Confusion Reigns on Congo’s Front Line.  I mean, how hard is it to organize a Conga line?  Er, never mind.
• More on our blog statistics.  This blog is worth $242, 187.66 to advertisers.  That’s nearly 3X the value of Anglachel’s blog, not that we’re keeping score.  (neener-neener-neeeeeeener).  Also, our blog personality is ISTP- The Mechanics.  I blame myiq2xu for the looking a more wild and crazy than the typical cerebral lefty blogger although we *do* come off looking pretty damn well-adjusted.  Scratch that.  Myiq2xu had nothing to do with us looking well adjusted.
• I went to a biz dinner last night with some sciency types.  The guy to my left was a brilliant mathemetician who wrote an equally brilliant application I use.  His group wouldn’t take me seriously when I told them the best way to train people to use his stuff was to add video game features for instant feedback.  They thought I was strange, but I digress.  My colleague kept steering our guests away from politics but I’m afraid we headed straight over that cliff as we finished our espressos.  Math guy is a Canadian Obot.  Put that together with the fact that he’s generally the smartest guy in the room and you can imagine how the conversation between us went.  He was convinced that the reason why Hillary lost was because she didn’t play hardball.  I kept telling him how the game was rigged.  He told me how I was a conspriracy theorist.  Yep, it was one of those conversations alright.  But when I told him what happened in Denver, for some reason, that struck a nerve.  Yup.  Mr. Math looked really confused.  Now, I’m not saying that all Obots will have this reaction but when they know about what really happened with the threats, intimidation, harrassment and blackmail of delegates over their jobs, then the concept in their minds moves from mere hardball to something else.  One other thing:  He thought it was perfectly OK for Obama to take all of Michigan’s uncommitted delegates and 4 from Hillary to boot, even though it was specifically the theft of Michigan delegates that put him over the top by a mere 17 delegates.  He reasoned that it was fair to Obama because his name wasn’t on the ballot.  ???  It was at that moment that I lost all respect for the guy.  You can like Obama all you want but your personal feelings of transcendence shouldn’t extend to transcending the ability to think logically.   There were a million things wrong with the Michigan decision on the truth table. Bertrand Russell would have had a field day with it. But I took delight over the expression he had on his face when I told him about Denver.  It was like,  “Holy S%^*!  What if she’s right that Obama is Country Club Republican in disguise and the real Democrats have been screwed again?”  Oh, I also had to defend myself against racism, again. Mr. Math thought it was terrible what the Republicans did to McCain in South Carolina in 2000 and didn’t I?  Well, yes, but what does that have to do with anything?  Did the Republicans accuse Obama of fathering black children?  Very weird black white thinking from people who really should know better.
• The NYTimes has this mouth watering article on gravy today, Flavorful Gravy Makes Thanksgiving.  Yes, it does, along with half a dozen other things like stuffing with apples and nuts in it, sweet potato gratin with cream and mashed potatoes made with real butter.  To die for.  Literally.  Our fitness center has a new incentive this week called Rate Your Plate.  You take a paper plate and select your T-day fixins from cardboard cut outs.  One of the fitness instructors tallies it up and enters the bottom line in a book.  Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to work off those calories before next week.  My calorie count was 1676.  I thought that was embarrassing until I peaked through the binder to see that some of my colleagues consume over 3000 calories on one plate.  No wonder everyone feels sleepy later.  So, I’ve been hitting the gym this week and have already burned off 700 calories from a spin class Monday and a Chisel class yesterday.  It’s going to take a long time before I burn off this blogging weight though.  If you’re like me and you put on a few too many pounds this election season, maybe you might like to get in shape but you don’t know where to start.  So, here are some tips I picked up from the trainers from back when I was a fitness fanatic:

1. See your doctor before you do any vigorous activity. Make sure you aren’t stressing your heart and that your blood pressure is under control.
2. Invest in a heart monitor. To get the most out of your workout, you want to stay in your target heart rate zone for most of the time with little bursts into the cardio zone. You can get a quick estimate here.
3. Wear comfortable clothing. Your clothes don’t have to make a fashion statement. Women should get a sports bra or tank with shelf bra. Make sure your clothes aren’t too baggy and loose in case they get caught on the equipment. Invest in a good pair of shoes. I swear by Nike Airs because the shock absorption can’t be beat but they may not work for you. So test a few pairs until you’re comfortable with them. Some fitness classes, like spinning, use cycling shoes but these are usually optional.
4. Pick a good time of day to just do it. I don’t recommend early morning because I have read studies that say most exercise induced heart attacks take place early in the day. The body apparently needs to warm up first. My favorite time is lunch time. I take my lunch back to my desk afterwards. But whatever works best for you. What we are aiming for us compliance and regularity.
5. Try a variety of fitness routines until you find the ones that a. Fit your goals and b. You truly enjoy. If you aren’t making progress and you’re not having fun, you won’t go. It’s harder to form a habit if you don’t feel like complying.
6. Women- Try to fit a weight lifting/ strength training segment into your routine. It will help you get some nice muscle tone and it is really good for your bones.
7. Mix it up. Change your routine and diversify your activites to train different muscle groups and keep your interest.
8. Do it in a group. In fact, this is the ONLY way I exercise. The gym is the only place where I want peer pressure. The comraderie is great and people help and encourage each other. Get a regular partner and you’re less likely to skip a workout.
9. Drink water. You don’t have to go overboard. Just take a water bottle with you and drink when you’re thirsty.
10. Warm up and cool down. If you stretch your muscles first, you’re less likely to strain something. Cooling down allows the muscles you have had in tension to return to their resting state. It will make you less sore.
11. The old adage ‘no pain, no gain’ is stupid. If you’re working too hard, you may be working against your goals. Pushing yourself past your target heart rate too much may give your heart a workout but if you want to lose weight, it’s not going to do you any good. A spin instructor told me that a good pace is one where you are panting lightly and you feel at about 60-80% difficulty. If you are gasping for air, dizzy or getting chest and abdominal pain, stop, even if you’re in the middle of a workout. instructors are more attune to these things nowadays and they may let you know when you’re pushing it too hard. Train your body to accept more stress gradually. You’ll see better results and fewer injuries. When you first start, measure your heartrate periodically and if you find it too high, take a break or ease up.
12. In some classes, posture and position are more important than getting your heartrate up. If you don’t know how to perform an exercise, get an instructor to show you and position you correctly for maximum effectiveness. Doing an exercise wrong can cause injury. Instructors want you to progress so don’t be afraid to ask. Also, some exercises can be modified and still give you a great workout.
13. I keep mentioning fitness centers because I believe it’s a good idea to train your body correctly. Many centers offer an introductory trial membership that is affordable. This is a really good place to start. But if you don’t have one nearby, you can still get a great workout at home. All you need is a pair of good athletic shoes, 2 five lb weights and a DVD player. Commit to walking 2 miles everyday at a brisk pace. Every other day, use the weights for strength training. Buy a strength training video and work out in front if the tube. I recommend anything by Karen Voight. Her routines are not difficu and her positioning is very good.
14. Don’t expect to see instant results. If you want to lose weight, don’t weigh yourself for awhile. Keep your favorite pair of skinny jeans around and put them on periodically to see if they fit better. This is especially important if you are strength training. When you build muscle, your not going to lose as much weight but you should see fat melting and feel more toned. So the scale may just depress you. Stay away from it. Habits are more likely to stick when you perform a task 21 times. So, keep at it regularly for four weeks or so. In about 6 weeks, you should start to look and feel better. If you don’t, see your doctor. You may have a metabolism problem. Or ask your instructor for suggestions. You may have to switch to a different kind of workout to get the results you want.

So, now that I have gotten over my gravy guilt, I’m going to work a little harder from now until next Thursday so I can have pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  Ahhh…

Wow!

From Gender Analyzer:

We think https://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/ is written by a man (82%).

We guess http://myiq2xu.wordpress.com// is written by a man (54%), however it’s quite gender neutral.

I rock!

We’re gonna need a bigger bus!

The nutroots are getting a heavy dose of Obamareality, and it ain’t purty:

Asked what it would mean if Lieberman kept his chairmanship, one Senate Democratic aide said bluntly: “The left has been foiled again. They can rant and rage but they still do not put the fear into folks to actually change their votes. Their influence would be in question.”

Hillary Clinton, Lieberman, Eric Holder, and this:

Obama has made clear that he wants a bipartisan look and cast to his administration. The transition team has been told to hire Republicans at all levels of government, not just as token cabinet appointments. “

But what about all those cushy jobs for Marshall, Moulitsas and rest of the blogger boiz?:

Too bad for all you Democrats who thought you’d be getting jobs in a Democratic government, though. Maybe when the Republicans take over again, they’ll hire you as a gesture of similar good will. They’re very fair that way.

That Kool-aid ain’t tasting so sweet anymore, is it guys?  This is an open thread.

Where Kool-aid comes from