Is This An Impeachable Offense?

The idiots at Fox and friends have their panties in a wad over green eggs at the White House easter egg hunt. I wish I was making this up.

Cleveland 102 Miami 90

Final 4

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Vs

And Then There Were 8.

No Duke, No Ohio State But we do have Virginia Commonwealth and Butler...again

East Bracket:


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Southwest Bracket:

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West Bracket:

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Southeast Bracket:

Vs

Lewis Black Is Voting For Donald Trump

This is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long long time.

The Daily Show
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Sweet Sixteen is set

East Bracket:

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Southwest Bracket:

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West Bracket:

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Southeast Bracket:

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Tommy Heinshon Shows What The Count Would Sound Like As An Announcer.

Once upon a time I wanted to be a sports announcer but this is why I gave up on that dream.



Anyway Tommy is 76 and a legend in Boston so other than a slap on the wrist he'll get away with this. BTW. Boston won tonight against New Orleans and the officiating was lousy again (really indecisive and poor) and again Tommy let them have it.

"The Donald" is a Birther

Of course Donald Trump comes out as a Birther...now that he wants to be the Republican nominee for President. Its become part of the Teabagger litmus test, along with checkmarks in fag bashing, railing against Latinos, wanting to make abortion illegal, and crying reverse racism while using code words like, "He's not 'one of us'" and "he doesn't see America the same way we do", the kind of subtle word play that feeds on redneck America's prejudices and paranoia.

“Everybody that even gives any hint of being a birther — a word you didn’t use — even a little bit of a hint like ‘gee, you know, maybe, just maybe this much of chance,’ they label them as an idiot,” he told Banfield.

“Let me tell you, I’m a really smart guy,” Trump continued. “I was a really good student at the best school in the country. The reason I have a little doubt — just a little — is because he grew up and nobody knew him.”

“When you interview people, if I ever got the nomination, if I ever decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They’ll remember me. Nobody ever comes forward. Nobody knows who he is until later in his life.”

"the Donald" and his comments outline just how cynical this party is and how they'll attack Obama in 2012: the GOP know that he's an American citizen, that he wasn't born in Kenya, and that he's a practicing Christian man. They also know that the Teabaggers and the stupid folk don't know this, or are looking for an excuse - any excuse - to distrust him.

March Madness Round 2 Day 2

So far Michigan rolls Tennessee like Mexican cigar leading to speculation that troubled Bruce Pearl era at Tennessee might be over.

Notre Dame didn't need the Pope to beat Akron 69-54.

Texas held on to beat Oakland college 85-81.

George Mason beats Villanova 61-57...or more to the point Villanova lost to George Mason missing several free throws down the stretch.

More as the day goes on. Also i'll tell you why the amazingly popular announcer Gus Johnson is really fucking terrible.

Edit by Jonathan: Day one, I went 14-16 in the Field of 64. Today, was near brutal: as thrilling as the finish between George Mason and Villanova was, the end result was Mason clawing their way back to beat the Wildcats, all becasue they missed three freaking shots in under 2 minutes. Texas played like a #4 seed and beat Oakland, and just now, UNLV got their asses handed to them by Illinois, 73-62. Not a great day for my bracket, but tomorrow is another day, or, in this case, tomorrow is the start of the Field of 32.

Count: I was holding out my full blown admission that VCU belonged in this tournament but now I have to admit they do very much belong.

Mind The Store, Boys...

If I'm quieter than usual it's because I'm largely unwired for the next couple of weeks - ET Daughter and I are celebrating Spring Break by taking a girls-only road trip down the West Coast as far as Orange County, across to Arizona, and back, while ET Spouse stays home to babysit (aka, "spoil") the cats and do Guy Stuff. On the agenda: friends I haven't seen in years, outlet shopping (don't try to hide it - I can see you wincing!), Disneyland for a day, Arizona Ren Fest, and my brother's 70th.

Wish us safe driving, and I'll check in with y'all when we get back!

March Madness: Field of 64 thoughts and analysis - Day 1, Part 1

This year, I bothered to play in a Bracket for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and I can understand the thrill and electric atmosphere of the Tournament season: you never know what will happen once the games get going. A top seeded-team can see its hopes of going deep die on a final shot, and a underdog can become the talk of the NCAA Men's Basketball world.

Morehead stuns Louisville - By far, the biggest upset in day one in 2nd round play, and the team which busted my - and i'm sure the majority of people's - brackets across the country. Everyone will talk about Demonte Harper's 3-point shot with 0.6 seconds left, but its the stats of the game that are really surprising: Morehead had 33 total rebounds, compared to Louisville's 27. Offensive rebounds, the Eagles had 11 to the Cardinals' 5. And Morehead was 11-18 at the line, compared to Louisville going 7-16. The killer was the 3's: Eagles went 9-19 on the line. Cards went 10-25.

Kentucky survives Princeton: Give credit to Princeton: they came to play vs. the Wildcats, when I expected them to dominate thought the game. Douglas Davis and Dan Mavriades had huge games, combining for 27 points, but the team in total went 3-14 from 3-point range and gave the ball away too man times (9 TO's for the Tigers, compared to the Wildcats' 6).

First win's a good one for the Aztecs: At some point, it looks like San Diego St. was facing the worst of both worlds in the 15th seed Northern Colorado: a Jimmer Freddette clone in Devon Beitzel(he went 8-17 in field goals and scored 25 points), and zone plays that gave Steve Fisher's group fits most of the game. Despite blowing a 10-point lead near halftime, the Aztecs dominated down the stretch at let their physical and athleticism rule the day as SDSU wins its first Tournament game in school history, winning 68-50. Kawhi Leonard was great, going 9-14 in field goals, and 3-5 from in 3-point range for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Chase Tapley had a solid outing, hitting 5-11 for 14 points, Billy White hit 5-13 for 12 points and had 10 rebounds in the game, and James Rahon went 2-3 from the 3's and had 12 points total.

I'll have more thoughts from yesterday's action tomorrow, when i'm not up so late and feeling tired, and the Count is more than welcome to add his input if he so wishes.

Edit From The Count: * I am sure this is loaded with typos but it's 3:30 and I am tired. sue me.

The first proper day of the 2011 edition of March Madness is in the books though I notice they are now calling this round 2. Tells me the 96 team tournament is not far off in our future and unlike most who see this as the coming of the 3rd Anti-Christ I personally am quite benevolent about the prospect. 96 teams, 68 teams, 64 whatever. I don't think the security of the Republic will be lost one way or the other.

Anyway I would think this was a maddening day, no pun intended, for the TV folks. Because almost all of the down to the wire games, and we had a whole slew of them, were over before most people got home from work. True today we have computers and we can watch the games from our office but I would bet the CBS folks would just as soon seen the evening games be the ones to make for good TV.

And the fact that all of the really popcorn finishes but one happened early and pretty much all at the same time made this somehow an unsatisfying day over all for the viewer all though there were some great games. Butler beat Old Dominion at the buzzer. Morehead State beat Louisville in the last seconds. As a Boston Celtic fan I enjoy seeing bad things come to rick Petino. And BTW If I were a dirty-minded sloth I would point out how unintentionally funny the let's go Morehead chant from the crowd was. But I am not and I won't. Besides maybe the game attracted a crowd of dirty-minded sloths and the chant was all to intentional.

After the Morehead-Louisville game then Temple beat Penn State at the buzzer and both the Kentucky-Princeton (man what happened to Cornell? I miss all of Ranger Bob's lies about his years in college there) and Richmond-Vanderbilt games went to the wire. It was a great afternoon of Basketball and it seemed we were on our way to one of the best first days of the tournament ever...then Oprah was on.

Thanks to the brand new 4 TV channels covering every game deal that started this year we no longer had to break for Oprah giving us a reason to say high to the fam and eat dinner before going off to watch more basketball. We could all watch Florida-UCSB on True TV instead. However that game quickly got out of hand as did the UCONN-Bucknell and Pitt-Asheville game. In fact all of the third stage games ranged from routs to games that were close for awhile only to see the better team pull away. This was the case in The San Diego State-Northern Colorado game, the BYU-Wofford game and the Wisconsin-Belmont games. On the whole the third stage games the" I'm home now I can watch some Basketball and only get yelled at by the wife" games were as bad as many of the early games were good. Though I imagine even though his team didn't play their best game and maybe took a little longer than he would have liked to pull away Jonathan was thrilled SDSU not only won their game but did so convincingly. Were Nebraska to ever actually win a March Madness game I would be so gleeful I would shit Buttermilk Biscuits.

The Fourth stage or late games were only marginally better than their immediate predecessors. And that was thanks mainly to UCLA completely puckering up down the stretch and nearly blowing a 20+ point lead. Their game with Michigan State which at no point seemed competitive was somehow just a 3 point game with 40 seconds left. Thankfully for Bruin fans the clock ran out before UCLA could complete stealing defeat from the jaws of victory and they escaped with a 2 point lead. Missouri started fast and looked pretty good against Cincinnati until they remembered they weren't playing in Missouri and then folded as Cincy systematically ran away with the game. Gonzaga, who is always much better when they are the lower seed beat St. Johns from start to finish and finally Utah State played just well enough to hang somewhat close to Kansas State but Kansas State was never it seems in any real danger of losing.

So overall? Probably give the day a B. There were probably more cliffhanger finishes than normal but the again the problem was they came one right after the other and they were almost all early. I liked the new 4 channel coverage of every game. It beats have to look at a small computer screen and they don't interrupt games with break in coverage anymore.

Finally about the games Wednesday. I missed most of them watching Nebraska get skullfucked by Wichita State however I saw some of the USC game and as Jonathan mentioned on another thread...brutal. For all of the questions about UAB (deserved) and VCU(we still don't know) how about USC? How did they get in? 19-14 from an average basketball conference and they blew a 22 point lead to Nebraska earlier this year. Not surprised they didn't last very long.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Wow UAB Sure Showed Us Who Doubted Didn't They?

If the NCAA Tournament works on the Bowl principle that says the earliest games set the tone for the whole shebang the after tonight first two games called cleverly by CBS the first 4 (what will tomorrow be the second 4? They'll market anything.) then we have to concluded that the outlook on the quality of this tournament is partly cloudy. The first game played between Arkansas Little Rock and UNC Ashville was a dandy. Little Rock lead the entire game, at times by comfortable margins, until Ashville tied the game with seconds remaining and then won it in OT 81-77. The prize that awaits Ashville one would think is to again board and airplane catch a little sleep and be fed to Pittsburgh on Thursday. Still their fans can claim a NCAA Tournament victory. I wonder how that feels.

The second of the play in games involved 2 12 seeds the Clemson Tigers and the UAB blazers. Two teams who many felt didn't belong in the tournament UAB especially. Clemson won 70-52. And let's be clear this wasn't one of those games that was a 4 point lead for Clemson made to look like a blow out because the Blazers resorted to fouling and their gas tank ran low. Clemson got out out to a 25-7 lead right away and though UAB did manage to get the lead down to 8 and keep it around 10 most of the second half at no point did they ever really make this a contest.

In other words if you thought UAB had no business in the tournament at the expense at say Colorado you saw nothing that even remotely made you change your mind from UAB tonight. Before tonight the 5 Colorado basketball fans in the world had to be seething that UAB got in the tournament instead of them. After tonight they have to be down right pissed to the gills. Of course it's Boulder so they are pissed to the gills anyway in some form or fashion. Bottom line most thought UAB didn't belong in this tournament and they went out themselves and proved they did not.

May or may not have a write up tomorrow night at least not one this long because Nebraska plays it's NIT game at 6 and that is where my priorities will lie. Even tonight I eschewed most of the first half of Little Rock and Ashville for House Hunters. Go ahead and laugh... it's one of the few shows that the Contessa and I both enjoy.

He Says He's Pro Life...I Bet He Thinks He's A Christian As Well

Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck (R) (naturally) suggested Monday that the best way to deal with the illegal immigration problem may be the same way the state might deal with the problem of “feral hogs” — by shooting them from a helicopter.

The state’s House Appropriations Committee was debating financing for controlling the feral swine problem, the Lawrence Journal World reports, when one legislator suggested the problem could be handled by shooting them from helicopters. Peck offered: “It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem.”

Scott Rothschild of the Journal World reports Peck as saying, when asked about the comment, that he was just joking:

Asked about his comment, Peck was unapologetic. “I was just speaking like a southeast Kansas person,” he said.

He said most of his constituents are extremely upset with illegal immigration and the state and federal government response.

He said he didn’t expect any further controversy over his comment. “I think it’s over,” he said.

Late Edit: Since Newshounds is acting like a shithead. (not the site, the Comment system Echo. I'd better make that plain)

If A Republican says something no matter how vile he or she can say it's a joke to cover their asses and it always works. Nobody questions them ever. The national media never does, the hard right wing media and bloggers of course never do. Hell they've yet to figure out what's so wrong about shooting people you don't like just because you dislike them. And the small timers who get their wittle feewings hurt should a liberal say something nowhere near as vile like the Ankeny morality czar Planet Boobs aren't going to say a word. Say you want to hunt a group of people like wild pigs and shoot them from a helicopter big deal it's only a joke. Just mention the name Palin and you have overstepped your bounds and you have hell to pay to everybody from Fox News, CNN on down to the societal dregs.

He's Baaa-ack!

Just when you figured the well had run dry, our old pal Jeremiah has returned - inspired, perhaps, by the verdict regarding the Phelps clan? But his return comes with a twist. It's apparently quiz time!

Describe in your own words what you think a person who is an atheist is, then ... provide Scripture verses that describe for us what an atheist is.

Hint: One can be found in the book of 1 John.

Who's up for the challenge?

Jonathan Goes to the Movies: Red Riding Hood

Since Roger Ebert and the Movies and At the Movies with Peter Travers are taken, i'll do the next best thing and call my newest segment for Banned and Dangerous, "Jonathan Goes to the Movies. And to kick off the inaugural post, i'm reviewing what may be the the worst film Hollywood has to offer us this year.

Red Riding Hood isn't just bad: director Catherine Hardwicke, who surprised me with her searing and brooding teen drama Thirteen in 2003, and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson (2008's slick horror flick, Orphan) have reached a new low in godawfulness I haven't seen since 2009's atrocious Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The story itself is reduced to a Twilight-styled premise: young Valerie (Amanda Seyfried, doing her best Bella Swan impersonation) has a decision to make - hook up with bad boy woodcutter Edward Cullen...uh, I mean, Peter (Shiloh Fernadez), or fall to her mother's wishes and marry the nice, rich blacksmith Jacob Black...sorry, I meant Henry (Max Irons) - all the while the sleepy village of Daggerhorn is being terrorized by a bloodthirsty werewolf and by demon hunter Father Solomon (Gary Oldman, WTF??) and his methods of finding the big, bad Wolf.

You know what happens next: neighbors turn on one another, the supposed "protectors" start torturing citizens, and our heroine thinks her true love is the one who changes into a frenzied killing machine. Did I forget to mention this charade of young lovers moping around, adults staring at the camera like they're the potential villain, and bloodless, cheesy violence goes on for two hours? You know this movie sucks when 30 minutes in, you're praying the Wolf shows up and rips everyone to bloody shreds. There's still 9 months left in the movie season, but i'll make a bold prediction and say that Red Riding Hood sweeps next year's Razzie awards. A movie devoid of thrills, whose real aim is to scam teen girls out of their weekly allowances, will win the prize every time.

1/2 stars out of ****

March Madness!

The full list for the NCAA Men's basketball Tournament can be found here. Feel free to talk about snubs, the seedings, and how the tournament will shake out.

Edit from the Count. Anybody that knows me knows I don't make a habit out of standing up for Colorado but they flat out got fucked here. After winning 2 games in the Big 12 tournament including a 3rd win over tourney bound Kansas State it no longer even seemed to be a question as to whether or not they would get in. But Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe was on the selection committee and it seems as if maybe he got one last laugh on CU. We'll find out soon if Nebraska is in the NIT. I suddenly don't feel so confident. Congrats to Jonathan's San Diego State.

Update by Jonathan: This is what my Bracket looks like.

The Teabagger Cycle

Going To See Willie Nelson

I have a love hate relation ship with Willie Nelson. Not the man he seems like a great dude but with his music. For 20 years he couldn't buy a hit (ok he had 1 top 10 hit in 1962, Touch Me) but then he became an "outlaw" got popular and his music IMHO has for the most part stunk ever since. Still I am excited to see him in concert. One kinda downside. I have to go with the Contessa and My Mother. She has wanted to see him in concert forever and I couldn't go see him and not take her. I just hope my Mom is filled with the stories and ideas on what I like to eat like she always is.

Anyway My message to all Union busters and opponents be they in Wisconsin, Michigan or in the NFL



PS. Hope everything is safe for friends and family on the Pacific coast.

Massive Earthquake Hits Japan

Tokyo (CNN) -- An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways.

The epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from the capital, Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there felt the tremors.

The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers toward highways.

...

There are Tsunami warnings for Hawaii as well as the Oregon and Washington coasts as well as Russia, Taiwan and Australia. 12 countries in all currently have tsunami warnings.

Shame on you, Peter King

During the 1950's, as America was under threat of the Red Scare, one elected official rode that wave and used it to shamelessly and carelessly exploit the fears Americans had about communism. His witch-hunt on "suspected" communists destroyed careers and ruined personal lives, and targeted those who had the courage of their convictions to show that the self-appointed emperor wears no clothes.

That man's name was Joseph McCarthy, the Senator from Wisconsin.

Decades later, one Congressman is shamelessly trying to follow in his disgraceful footsteps: Peter King, the chairman of Homeland Security Committee, of New York's 3rd District. Today was the first day of King holding hearings regarding the suspected radicalization of American Muslims, and it began with another Congressman, Keith Ellison of Minnesota's 5th District, recollecting the story of a Muslim-American firefighter who died trying to rescue other people on 9/11.



Not only is this hearing a waste of time, but this piece of political grandstanding by King is an insult to Muslim-Americans everywhere and a deeply cynical ploy used by King to further solidify himself in the eyes of many bigoted and paranoid lock-step members of the far-right as someone who's taking the fight to Al-Qaeda and keeping Americans safe. If you want to know why most Americans give Congress low approval ratings, stunts like the one Peter King pulled, are a shining example why.

Kidney Stones Must Be Hell On A 10 Pounder

This is Spud. I have posted his picture before. I got him in 2001 when he was a few months old from my ex sister in law because she couldn't sell him to somebody she didn't know (he was suppose to bring in $) and after he licked my feet. (now he's the Contessa's dog...turncoat) Now he's almost 10 had 3 Pilonidal cysts and Urolithiasis more times than I can count. In short this little 10 pound bundle of fur is more man than Mouse Limburg could ever hope to be. Oh and he's got a health card and single payer health care as well. Lucky little turd...Oh well he deserves it.

Christian fundie arrested for beating off near children

The story:

The Rev. Grant Storms, the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested on a charge of masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon.

Storms, 53, of 2304 Green Acres Road in Metairie, was taken into custody at Lafreniere Park after two women reported seeing him masturbating in the driver's seat of his van, which was parked near the carousel and playground, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office report said.

The first woman told deputies she was taking her children to the playground and parked next to the van at about noon. As she was walking around her own vehicle, she noticed the van windows were down and the occupant was "looking at the playground area that contained children playing, with his zipper down...," the report said. The woman noted that he was masturbating and quickly ushered her children out of her car.

Here's the kicker: Grant Storms is best-known for his protests of the upcoming Southern Decadence festival a three-day gay festival that's held in the French Quarter every year. Yes, its another one of those self-righteous Christian moralists who feel it necessary to condemn someone's sexual orientation, yet gets his rocks off in other disturbing ways, like the one that was just mentioned.

In his defense, i'm certain sure Lucifer made him jerk his dick off to little Bobby and Suzie playing in the sandbox.

Yet Another Piece Of Ten Commandments Legislation...

...but this one comes with a declaration astonishing in its complete indefensibility.

Seems that for the past ten years, this one legislator in Alabama (where else?) has been repeatedly, but without success, introducing legislation that would allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in schools and other public facilities, at the sole discretion of the administrators of those facilities - school principals, mayors, police chiefs, etc.

Bear in mind that this is the same legislature which has already faced adjudication and, effectively, knockdown of such legislation before...back when former State Supreme Court justice Roy Moore put a 2.5+ ton granite slab with said Commandments engraved thereupon in the rotunda of the State judicial building in 2001.

But, no, Senator Dial thinks it has a good chance of passing this time around. And why? Behold the breathtaking disconnect that is his rationale, as expressed by a member of the legal team of the organization promoting this bill:

But this bill might not be as clear-cut violation of the federal constitution as Lynn and Neal make it out to be, said John Eidsmoe, a member of the Foundation for Moral Law’s legal team. A number of different religions accept the Ten Commandments, he said.

Beyond that, Eidsmoe said, courts have cited it in opinions and laws are based on its guidelines.

“I think you’d have a hard time saying the Ten Commandments are distinctly religious,” Eidsmoe said. “They’re an expression of the basic precepts that just about every society has been built upon.”

Not distinctly religious?

You might argue that successfully for 6-10. Not killing, cheating on your partner, stealing, lying, or hankering for what belongs to your neighbor...all these are certainly good for civilization.

But the first five are all about religion and nothing but, beginning with the first, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." All the rest of 1-5 are couched in the form of marching orders from this very particular, self-described "jealous," God. Because they're - ya know - "commandments." Things that Sky Guy specifically wants you to do or not do.

It reminds me of the time my daughter's Brownie leaders wanted the girls to spend the bulk of their year on a unit called "God And Me" - an adjunct to traditional Scouting provided by some outfit called PRAY Publishing - and tried to sell me on the idea that it wasn't religious indoctrination because it was nondenominational. I held firm and said, no, you are going to offer an alternative activity so my kid isn't railroaded into this program (run by a male pastor of one of the leaders: there's role-modeling for young women's leadership, eh?), or I will go to the regional Girl Scout Council with a complaint that you are violating the core precept of Girl Scouting that there is no religious test or requirement (one of the things that is a differentiating factor from Boy Scouts).

Fortunately, at the end of the year, all the kids said their favorite activity was when I taught them how to make soap in the microwave. Score points for fun over sermonizing!

It's endorsement of religion or it isn't, Senator Dial. Just because you don't name whatever God you're referring to doesn't erase the meaning you hope to push on the public, any more than calling the garbage collector a "sanitation official" makes him something other than your garbage collector.

Random Photo Of Bill Walton

Why? No reason other than it's one of the funniest damn things I have ever seen. God Love ya Bill. BTW your kid blows.

The Definition Of Irony

This drug addled slob who contributes nothing to society and makes 28 million dollars a year thinks that teachers, some of the most important people in any society, are overpaid and greedy because they want to hold on to their health benefits and their $30,000 to $50,000 salary.