Tuesday Tune: Super "President Obama" Bonus Play

What a difference four years can make ...

November 2008




November 2004

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Tuesday Tune: Bedtime for Bonzo

Remember the good old days when "Bedtime for Bonzo" star and U.S. President Ronald Reagan visited a Nazi Gestapo SS cemetery during a visit to Bitburg, Germany? The Ramones did.

Now that recent events have pretty much laid bare the failures of the Reagan Revolution's deregulation infatuation and supply-side economics (and many, many "Reagan Democrats" will be coming back home this year to vote for Obama) it seems the Gipper's revolution has finally run its course. It truly is "Bedtime for Bonzo" and his failed policies. ENJOY!



You've got to pick up the pieces
C'mon, sort your trash
You better pull yourself back together
Maybe you've got too much cash
Better call, call the law
When you gonna turn yourself in? Yeah
You're a politician
Don't become one of Hitler's children

Bonzo goes to bitburg then goes out for a cup of tea
As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
Drank in all the bars in town for an extended foreign policy
Pick up the pieces

My brain is hanging upside down
I need something to slow me down

Shouldn't wish you happiness, wish her the very best
Fifty thousand dollar dress
Shaking hands with your highness
See through you like cellophane
You watch the world complain, but you do it anyway
Who am I, am I to say

Bonzo goes to bitburg then goes out for a cup of tea
As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
Drank in all the bars in town for an extended foreign policy
Pick up the pieces

My brain is hanging upside down
I need something to slow me down

If there's one thing that makes me sick
It's when someone tries to hide behind politics
I wish that time could go by fast
Somehow they manage to make it last

My brain is hanging upside down
I need something to slow me down

Electronic Voting Machine Wins Election

From the fine folks at the Onion News Network:

Tuesday Tune: Good Mornin' Blues . . .

... I just had to come by here and have a few words with you

Washington Week Discusses Oregon Senate Race

Tonight on Washington Week, PBS's Gwen Ifill and guests John Dickerson (Slate), Jeanne Cummings (Politico), Shailagh Murray (The Washington Post) and Michael Viqueira (NBC News) discussed Oregon's U.S. Senate race and Barack Obama's coattails.

Obama's recently cut ad for Merkley got their attention, as did Gordon Smith's party-identification avoidance. But mostly it was Obama's coattails.

Watch the video HERE.

The Oregonian v. Gordon Smith's Head Fake

As part of its endorsement of incumbent Republican Sen. Gordon Smith against challenger Jeff Merkley, the Oregonian editorial board had this to say about Smith's reversal of fortunes on the Iraq war:

"By far, though, Smith's conscience-driven reversal of his support for the war in Iraq was his most important decision. He made the choice after deep reflection and while under great pressure from the White House and Republicans to stay the course. His defection prompted others and pushed the administration toward finally developing an endgame in Iraq. The decision cost him support among GOP voters, which could cost him this election."

Alllllrighty then! That's mighty fine.

But there is another, less -- heh-hemmm -- deferential, version of events that goes a little something like this...


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"The Great Schlep" For Obama

Comedian Sarah Silverman asks young Jews to convince their grandparents to vote for Barack Obama.

(If you're listening to this at work, you might want to turn down the volume a bit, unless maybe you work at a construction site).


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Tuesday Tune Two-fer: Rust Never Sleeps

My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)



Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

Dumb Is So Five Minutes Ago

Mo Rocca may be (sort of) onto something HERE ...

"The problem is it isn't 2000 anymore, when the world was safe (relatively) and the economy was booming (sort of). Back then we could afford to elect someone who seemed to be ... just like you and me. That's why we elected George Bush, aka the Male Sarah Palin. He was someone you wanted to have a (non-alcoholic) beer with.

But right now, Knowledge is In. Dumb is so five minutes ago.

Another Third Party Candidate Emerges

Not as funny as his last appearance on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, when he unveiled his plan for a cow college, but "Write-In Party" presidential candidate Tim Calhoun gives another solid performance ...

Today in Oregon

Tuesday Tune: Can't See For The Brightness...

Today in Oregon

Nocturnal Wildlife

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Franken Leading Polls In Minnesota Senate Race

From The Nation:

(T)wo new polls have confirmed Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate Al Franken's status as a narrow-but-consistent leader in the race with Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, who briefly held the seat as an appointee after the death of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone in 2002.

A Rasmussen Poll has Franken at 43 percent, Coleman at 37 and Barkley at 17.

A University of Minnesota survey puts Franken at 41, Coleman at 37, Barkley at 14.

PDX Council Candidates Discuss Racial Profiling

Portland city council candidates Amanda Fritz and Charles Lewis discussed the sensitive issue of racial profiling recently at a debate in Northeast Portland:

From The Portland Observer:

Both candidates acknowledged in last week's forum that racial profiling is a real problem, one that must be addressed.

Lewis, the founder of Ethos, Inc., a provider of music education to minority and disadvantaged populations, said being singled out and discriminated against are "hard on a person's spirit."

Although he did not believe the vast majority of Portland's police officers were involved in racial profiling, he said there were definitely a few bad apples out there.

Fritz, a registered nurse, volunteer leader and public schools activist, said the city was very good about studying things and making committees, but that the time has come to implement recommendations to curb racial profiling.

Read the rest HERE.

Salem Earns Bike-Friendly Honor

From the Associated Press:

The League of American Bicyclists has declared Salem a bike-friendly city, one of 10 cities across the country to receive the designation this year.

Census figures show the number of people who ride their bikes to work in Salem is triple the national average.

Obama Gets Quadruped Nod

As previously noted, The Great Alaskan Red Squirrel doesn't seem too impressed with Sarah Palin, but I'm not sure how he feels about Obama-Biden.

This squirrel in Seattle, however, leaves no doubt.

And Obama's apparently also doing very well with motorcycle-loving basset hounds.

Parrots, however, seem certain for Ralph Nader, especially after this "innovative" ad.

That's a good start, but we might need a modern-day Dr. Doolittle to sew up the rest of the animal kingdom endorsements before Election Day in four short weeks.

Montana Judge Blasts GOP Voter "Chicanery"

Republicans must be getting worried in red-trending-blue Montana, where their recent challenges to the eligibility of 6,000 voters in Democratic-leaning Missoula and Lewis and Clark counties brought down the wrath of one obviously irked U.S. District judge.

From The Missoulian:

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy...stopped short of an actual ruling in the case.

However, the judge left little doubt about his thoughts on the voter challenges.

"The timing of these challenges is so transparent that it defies common sense to believe the purpose is anything but political chicanery," Molloy wrote.

The Montana Democratic Party and the Barack Obama presidential campaign in Montana charged that the challenges were a transparent effort at suppressing voter turnout in predominantly Democratic areas. Had the challenges gone forward, all these voters would have received a letter in the weeks before Election Day asking that they provide notarized proof of their current address.

Although the state GOP has since withdrawn all of its voter challenges and vigorously denied that they were politically motivated, Art Noonan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, told reporters Wednesday he was pressing forward with the lawsuit.

"I'm a Butte boy," he said. "They taught us a long time ago that if you want to stop bullying on the playground, you stand up to the bully."

Judge Molloy was pretty clear about what he thought of "the bully":

"One can imagine the mischief an immature political operative could inject into an election cycle were he to use the statutes, not for their intended purpose of protecting the integrity of the people's democracy, but rather to execute a tawdry political ploy."

A spokesman for the Obama presidential campaign in Montana, which is assisting the state party in the suit, told The Missoulian that the party may seek punitive damages or its legal fees, if they succeed in court.

"All options are on the table," he said.

Great Alaskan Squirrelly About Palin

The Great Alaskan Red Squirrel, a sage of the last frontier, is at least one rural Alaskan who didn't seem too impressed with home-girl Gov. Sarah Palin's forced-folksy performance. But maybe he's prejudiced because of her penchant for bragging about shooting his furry brethren.

Check out his HOME and his live web cams HERE and HERE.

Tuesday Tune: O.J., Where Ya Goin' With That Gun In Your Hand?

Ohhh J, where ya goin' with that gun in your hand?
ba boom ba boom boom
Ohhh J, I said where ya goin' with that gun in your hand?
ba boom ba boom boom

I'm goin' down to get my memorabilia. Ya know I found it in another man's hands.
ba boom ba boom boom
I'm goin' down to get my memorabilia. Ya know I found it in another man's hands.
ba boom ba boom boom
And that ain't too cool ...



Ohhh J, Where you gonna run to now?
ba boom ba boom boom

Nader's Late Night Triumph

...or not so much.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interviews presidential candidate Ralph Nader:

WMD Stockpiles: GOP Debate Training Video

Wondering where you've seen a communicator who could match Sarah Palin's talents? You don't have to look far...


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The Conservatives' Viagra ... Ewwww

For the male conservative columnists who've lately revealed their schoolboy crushes on Sarah Barracuda, this clip might be better than Viagra ...

Rich and Sarah, Sitting In a Tree ...

From National Review Editor Rich Lowry:

"I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me."
And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it."

There's been a lot of debate about Sarah Palin's debate performance and the so-called wink, but the most obvious fact that can be gleaned from this entire "winking" incident is that Rich Lowry needs to get out more. A lot more.

Tap Dancing Around Voter Racism

"We can't tap dance around the fact that there are a lot of folks out there ... and a lot of them're good union people, they just can't get past the idea that there's something wrong with voting for a black man. Well those of us who know better can't afford to sit silently and look the other way while it's happening."

AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka blasts racism and underlines why workers should vote for Obama in 2008. This is an excerpt from speech at the Steelworkers convention July 1, 2008. Watch the entire speech HERE.

Football's Ultimate Fashion Faux Pas

Now that the financial implosion is bringing about new calls for sensible regulation, would it be possible to do something about THIS? ...



Limiting stadiums to a pre-approved selection of green turfs is reasonable if it means saving just one more school from embarrassing itself with something similar to Boise State's "Smurf Turf."

I understand the school is desperate to bring attention to itself if it wants to compete with the well-established coastal, southern and mid-west teams, but just like Oregon's never-ending costume change, it's a little too much. Besides, the best attention-getter is (and always will be) simply going out every week and winning games, especially the big ones.

Today In Oregon

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Tuesday Tune: Teddy Bear With a Mop Top.

From the WMD Stockpiles: "Fool Me Once ..."

I guess we could add a "2008" panel to this cartoon as "the president who cried wolf" tells us we must adopt his hastily cobbled financial bailout plan immediately ... or else.



Fortunately, it looks like cooler heads have prevailed, and there may be time now to craft a better plan.

"Take It With You When You Travel Far"

Thanks, Paul. Have a good journey ...

Tuesday Tune: You Ain't Goin' Nowhere

I'd dedicate this one to Gordon Smith, but he's actually going somewhere, albeit backward in the polls. Enjoy!

On Russert: Has Enough Time Passed?

The tragic and untimely death of TV personality Tim Russert, longtime host of NBC's Sunday morning public affairs program Meet the Press, stirred emotional responses from across the aisle and across the globe.

Russert spent a lifetime in the public eye, and he will be missed. And certainly the nature of Russert's sudden, unexpected death added to the shock and outpouring of grief. But at times, the canonization of St. Tim started to feel a little too much like this spectacle:


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As noted by Alaxander Cockburn in a column for The Nation, "If Russert had rocked the boat in any serious way, he'd have had more enemies."

One of my clearest memories of Russert goes back to George W. Bush's 2005 State of the Union address, which sticks out because of the singularly rare event when the Democrats actually started booing the president during the part of the speech when Bush set 2047 as the date specific that Social Security would "go bankrupt" unless his radical privatization plan was adopted.

There were a lot of reasons for the Democrats to react viscerally to Bush's spin, including but not limited to:
* Bush's outright lie that handing Social Security funds over to the wolves of Wall Street was the only was to "preserve" it.
* The galling irony that the guy who raided the surplus with tax giveaways to the wealthy, a "preemptive" war and borrow-and-spend legislation is now demanding he be allowed to "fix" it... or else.

There were a lot of reasons to react forcefully to Bush's galling lie. But Russert opted to blame the Democrats' "frustration with not being able to beat Bush in a fair election." It was probably one of the single-most glaring one-sentence examples of the "aging, bloated, mainstream media" that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog likes to mock. And it inspired this cartoon:


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Russert may not mind having the president of the United States lie to his face, but some people, and I'll include those Democrats in attendance at that speech, don't take too kindly to that kind of thing, especially from so-called public servants.

But Russert had a lot of practice letting people lie to him. That's probably why when the Bush Administration wanted to disseminate its misinformation about the need to invade Iraq it chose Russert's Meet the Press as the vehicle for Vice President Dick Cheney's performance.

First Cheney and his henchmen fed the lies to Judith Miller at The New York Times. Then Cheney went on Meet the Press and used those same Times reports to bolster his case. Russert took it all in without question, as did the millions in his audience.

It's true, as Russert's fans like to recall, he later would throw those words back in Cheney's face after time and events exposed them as absurdities. But it was just a little too late by then, wasn't it? Russert and Meet the Press had already been used and the country was at war. There were many sincere and serious voices questioning the administration's case for invading Iraq, unfortunately those voices rarely got much airtime at Russert's Meet the Press or Brokaw's Nightly News as they helped conduct the country's jingoistic march to Baghdad.

Russert may have been one of the the best that TV journalism had. But that's probably less a tribute to Russert than it is an indictment of TV journalism.

Nader's New Ad: Ralph's Really Lost It

You have to see this to believe it ...



Wow! Looks like Nader's a lock for the parrot vote, but will it be enough to swing the election. No response yet from the Obama or McCain camps.

From the Department of What the F...

Is the guy with the nice rack wearing a "Montana" jersey?


A photo from today's Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain). JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images

Today in Oregon

Gettin' Started ...

Sarah-brate Good Times: Triumph at the RNC

Our hero Triumph the Insult Comic Dog poops on the Republican National Convention.

CARTOON: "GASablanca" Starring Gordon Smith

The World's Maddest Dog Cinema Presents ...



RELATED: The oft-mimicked Casablanca scene with Claude Raines, Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre

WMD Stockpiles: Convention Flashback

Remember Dubya's favorite line from his 2004 Republican National Convention acceptance speech? Here's another take on it:


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Tuesday Tune: September

SNL Does Palin v. Clinton

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler yuk it up in a skit about Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton.

Tuesday Tune: Here Comes The Rain Again

More Bad News For Gordon Smith

It seems the Republican senator's Eastern Oregon pea-packing plant has had some more overflow problems in violation of state environmental regulations.

Happy Birthday U.S. of A.

Tuesday Tune: Right on Time

Today in Oregon

Why the long face?




Last night in Oregon ...



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Tuesday Tune: He Said Psychedelic (heh heh)

From The WMD Stockpiles: The Rumsfeld Collection

In light of the recent news that a Senate committee has determined the Bush Administration, eh-hmm, "overstated" the, eh-hmm, "evidence" leading up to the invasion of Iraq, The World's Maddest Dog has unearthed more scuds from the WMD Stockpiles.

Presenting ... The Rumsfeld Collection (click on images for larger versions):

If Hillary Were An NBA President ...

The New Republic's Christopher Orr provides a brilliant "sports parable" to put into perspective Hillary Clinton's absurd reasoning for staying in the Democratic Presidential Primary:

A Sports Parable

A statement from Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars:

I wanted to say a few words about the Michigan Solution. No, not that travesty of justice. I'm talking about a fair, common-sense resolution of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Some in the media are declaring the series over because the Boston Celtics have won four of the six games played so far. But I don’t understand why, with a series this close and hotly contested, anyone would want to shut it down before we play a seventh game and have all the results in. As anybody who follows the NBA knows, a seven-game series would be good for the league, and the added competition would make the eventual victor, whomever it might be, a stronger opponent against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.

...Yes, Boston has won four games and Detroit only two. But it's hard to imagine a more arbitrary and undemocratic way to determine this series’s outcome than "games won." It is, after all, a bedrock value of the game of basketball that all points must be counted. But how can that be the case when every point beyond the winning point is ignored? There are literally dozens of layups, jumpers, free throws, and (yes, even) dunks that our opponents want to say don't count for anything at all. We call on the NBA to do the right thing and fully count all of the baskets that were made throughout the course of this series.

Once you abandon the artificial four-games-to-two framework that the media has tried to impose on the series, a very different picture emerges, with the Celtics leading by a mere 549 points to 539. Yes that’s right, the margin between the two teams is less than one percent—a tie, for all intents and purposes. This is probably the closest Conference Finals in NBA history, though I will thank you not to check on that.

Do yourself a favor, read the rest HERE. It's genius.

Hat tip to The Daily Dish.

Today in Oregon

Buffet

Did Cheney Hand Democrats W. Va?

Gruff-but-unlovable Vice President Dick Cheney stuck his foot in his mouth while attempting humor with the national press. Will his gaffe make it easier for Obama to win that state in November? One can hope.

Roll the tape ...



Cheney needs to give up the comedy act and stick with his day job ...

Tuesday Tune: My Wife...

...thinks you're dead!

NY Times Notes Novick's Internet Appeal

Was Steve Novick the first major YouTube political candidate?

That's the question New York Times media reporter Richard Perez-Pena posed in his article published today about Novick's feisty campaign for Oregon's Democratic U.S. Senate nomination:

Mr. Novick lost the May 20 primary by three percentage points, but political pros say that for the first time in a statewide race, YouTube had the crucial multiplier effect, turning an under-financed campaign into a serious contender. His ads received far more attention on the Internet than through his few television spots, offering a new template for insurgent candidates.

"YouTube plus netroots equals Steve Novick," said Jennifer E. Duffy, managing editor of the Cook Political Report. (Netroots fuses the words Internet and grassroots to describe a style of political activism.) "YouTube is the only way he got any traction."

Not that this will be easy to duplicate. It worked because of a candidate, a strategy and a set of ads that were all clever, oddball and appealing.

...Bloggers and talk show hosts praised the ads and linked to them. The beer ad alone collected more than 150,000 hits on YouTube. The most popular Merkley ad was seen on YouTube about 3,600 times.

The mainstream media started covering Mr. Novick. He rose steadily in the polls and ultimately raised more than $1 million — a respectable sum, though far short of Mr. Merkley’s.

The reporter fails to mention the boatload of bailout cash floated Merkley's way in the closing weeks from heavy hands in D.C., but otherwise an interesting take on Oregon's U.S. Senate Democratic primary and Novick's nearly successful "insurgent" campaign.

Hat Tip to Jack Bog's Blog.

Wyden Officially Endorses Merkley

Oregon's senior U.S. Senator, Ron Wyden, made his endorsement official Saturday when he tapped fellow Democrat Jeff Merkley in the race for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Gordon Smith.

From the Oregonian:

Wyden -- who has also benefited politically from his bipartisan friendship with Smith -- told the crowd, "I will not be criticizing (Smith's) service as a senator, or anybody else's.

"But just as Gordon supported my opponents in 1998 and 2004 because those gentlemen shared Gordon Smith's Republican values," added Wyden, "it is important I support the person who supports my progressive values, and that person is Jeff Merkley."

Merkley called Wyden a "huge asset" to his campaign and said the senator has promised to help in "multiple ways." Merkley aides say they expect help with fundraising and with additional appearances at campaign events. They also didn't rule out using Wyden in campaign advertising.

Oregonian reporter Jeff Mpaes also points out that Democrat Bill Bradbury received this same kind of endorsement from Wyden in his unsuccesful 2002 campaign to unseat Smith.

Video: Young Hillary Clinton

Guess Who Was In Town Last Night

At the Roseland in Portland:



And it was goooood!

Are Politicians Failing Our Lobbyists?

From The Onion News Network:

Tuesday Tune: A Request From Steve Novick

Former Oregon Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Steve Novick had a special request in the post-primary letter below.

Thank you so much for making one hell of a campaign possible. We won well over 200,000 votes. We proved there is a constituency for courage, a constituency for truth, and a constituency for laughter. We ran a campaign based on the assumption that people are ready to do what it takes to make America America again—and we were right.

...We came within three percentage points of winning, even though our opponent had vastly more money, based on the support of the national power structure. Jeff Mapes of the Oregonian wrote Wednesday that "Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, hates to lose—and he went to great efforts to make sure his guy, House Speaker Jeff Merkley, made it across the finish line."

...I thought we could win despite our opponent’s establishment support. We knew what we were up against, but I thought that if we all worked our tails off, put our hearts and souls into this, we could make it happen in spite of the disparity in armaments. Based on that belief, I asked for your energy, your time and your money, and you gave generously of all three — and we lost.

But I hope, as I told our crowd on Election Night, that you won’t think investing in this campaign was a waste.

...I am looking forward to talking to and seeing you in the future without asking you for money. But since that has become such a habit, there are two causes I would like to draw to your attention. Jeff Merkley did a great job winning back the State House for us; he was a darned good Speaker, delivering solid victories on issues ranging from payday loan sharking to labor law reform; and he will be a heck of a United States Senator. But we need to help him get there. I encourage all of you to donate to Jeff’s campaign. Yes, the DSCC helped him a lot, and will continue to do so—but they can’t do it all!

Second, in the course of this campaign, since I had no time for anything else, I had to leave my post as a board member of the Oregon Environmental Council, dedicated to fighting global warming and toxic pollutants in the air, water and even consumer products. I feel guilty about that, so if you feel like helping a terrific environmental organization, please make it the OEC.

But again—I’m looking forward to keeping in touch without asking you for money. I am so grateful for all the friends, old and new, who have helped in this campaign. I started out with a lot of friends, and the number has grown dramatically. I truly feel, and said on Election Night, that in the immortal words of Sister Sledge (subsequently adopted as the theme song of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates): "We are Fam-i-lee!"

Thanks again, so very, very much,

Steve Novick

So here ya go!

The Knievel Brand Is Back

I'm in Oregon now, but I grew up in Montana. And Butte's Evel Knievel was a local hero. Evel died last year on Nov. 30. This past Saturday, May 24, his son Robbie was back on the bike.



Good job, Robbie! That's a tough way to make a living. Let's just say Cap'n Robbie's lucky that he's not riding one of those rigid old Harley street bikes his dad used to ride.

Evel sold out Portland's Memorial Coliseum on March 31, 1973.

Hillary's "June" Problem

From The Jed Report:

Even if you set aside Clinton's RFK remarks, her historical analogies were absurd. Bill Clinton had the nomination wrapped up long before June of 1992, and it wasn't a secret. Here's Tim Russert on April 8, 1992:

Even Bill Clinton seems to disagree with his wife's analysis, in which she claims her husband fought through June for the '92 nomination:

"On April 7, we also won in Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. On April 9, Paul Tsongas announced that he would not reenter the race. The fight for the nomination was effectively over." --Bill Clinton from his memoir My Life.

Seems reality is, at last, closing in on the Clinton campaign.

Today in Oregon

Unfolding


New Carpet

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Laugh-In's Dick Martin Dies at 86

From the New York Times:

Dick Martin, a veteran nightclub comic who with his partner, Dan Rowan, turned a midseason replacement slot at NBC in 1968 into a hit that redefined what could be done on television, died Saturday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 86 and lived in Malibu, Calif.

... The show, partly the brainchild of the producer George Schlatter (who would later get into a court battle with Mr. Rowan and Mr. Martin over the rights to it), pushed the envelope of topical humor, something "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" had begun doing the year before. "Laugh-In," though, was more interested in creating a frenetic pace than in creating controversy. To do so it relied on a cast of young, largely unknown comics like Judy Carne, Henry Gibson and Jo Anne Worley — a risky approach that one writer who logged time on the series, Lorne Michaels, would use when he shook up television anew in 1975 with "Saturday Night Live." And, just as with the "S.N.L." cast, a few "Laugh-In" alumni went on to impressive careers, most notably Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin.

"Laugh-In" stayed No. 1 through its first two seasons, garnering 11 Emmy nominations in 1969 for Season 2. The novelty, though, began to wear off, and by 1973 it was no longer on the air.

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan

Minnesota's Mob Out To Get Al Franken?

Oregon's got a notoriously active political blogosphere, but Minnesota's got a "mob," and some of it's Republican goons have Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken in their sights.

From the New York Times:

On a laptop at a kitchen table in this cheery Twin Cities suburb, headlines ripping into Al Franken, the satirist whose campaign for the United States Senate is seen as one of the most competitive in the nation, are written up day after day for “Minnesota Democrats Exposed,” a political blog created by a former Republican Party researcher.

...What Mr. Franken’s circumstance has proven, though, is that no Minnesota candidate this fall can afford to ignore Mr. Brodkorb, or the rest of the state’s vast universe of Web sites devoted to local politics. Experts here say the abundance of these blogs is a mirror onto this state, its partisan split in recent years and its long tradition of intense political activism (by some measures, voter turnout here was the highest in the nation in 2006). That said, they are anything but Minnesota Nice.

Eric Pusey’s liberal-leaning "mnblue," for instance, tracks Mr. Coleman’s moves on a "Weasel Meter." Some blog live from the smallest of political meetings and the forgotten campaign stops. Enough of these writers have cropped up here now to make a Minnesota Organization of Bloggers, better known here as the Mob. "We’ve kind of got a center of gravity going on up here," said Mitch Berg, one in a group that started a "True North" Web site in 2007.

UPDATED: As noted in the comments below, the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers is a group that includes all sorts of bloggers, not just political bloggers or Republicans.

Complete Video of Novick Concession Speech

Below is the complete video of Steve Novick's concession speech, May 20, 2008, in Portland, Oregon.

Gov. John Kitzhaber introduces Steve Novick



Novick's opening remarks



Thanking supporters and staff



Closing remarks



Hat tip to "Subtlefuge."

CARTOON: Where In The World Is Wu?

Looks like I'm gonna be able to get some mileage out of this cartoon -- about Rep. David Wu from Oregon's 1st Congressional District -- every two years or so.


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CARTOON: A Gordon Smith Retrospective

What's the Pendleton Pea-Packer's son been up to? A look through the WMD stockpiles yields a glimpse.

December 2006


September 2007


March 2008
Gordon Smith Bonds With His Constituents


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McCain Cuts Ties With Lunatic Fringe, Denounces Armageddon Endorsement

Who could have seen this coming? After stubborn refusal, John McCain has finally decided it's politically expedient to cut ties with Armageddon-seeking lunatic fringe TV evangelist John Hagee (appearing with McCain in photo above).

From The New York Times:

Mr. McCain repudiated the Rev. John C. Hagee, a televangelist, after a watchdog group released a recording of a sermon in which Mr. Hagee said Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God’s plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine.

Later in the day, he also rejected the endorsement of the Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, Ohio, whose anti-Muslim sermons were broadcast on ABC’s "Good Morning America" on Thursday.

Controversy has dogged the Hagee endorsement since Mr. McCain announced it at a February news conference, and just last week Mr. Hagee issued a letter expressing regret for "any comments that Catholics have found hurtful."

So McCain decides to cut ties only when Hagee is caught saying God wanted six million Jews efficiently murdered, but this influential conservative preacher has a long history of revealing kooky end-of-times yearnings most Americans would find abhorrent. For example, check out this short video featuring some of Hagee's follower/donors:



Yet McCain appeared on stage to accept the TV evangelist's endorsement, knowing full well of the, eh hmmm, pastor's extreme beliefs.

McCain's delay in doing the right thing seems similar to an episode in 2000 when he adamantly refused for three days to apologize for saying "I hate gooks."

From The San Francisco Chronicle:

McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, was questioned about the language because of a story last month in the Nation magazine reporting his continued use of the slur.

Since then, reports of McCain's language have been circulating on Internet chat sites and e-mails among Asian Americans, many of whom find the the term offensive and inappropriate for an elected official.

...McCain made no apologies yesterday.

"I was referring to my prison guards," McCain said, "and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because of the beating and torture of my friends."

...The horrors of the past cannot be an excuse for hurting people in the present, said Guy Aoki, president of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, an anti-defamation group.

"If Sen. McCain had been captured by Nigerians, could he call those people `niggers' and think he wasn't going to offend everyone who is black?" Akoi asked. "We can all feel for what he went through, but if that's his level of sensitivity, I'm very disappointed."

So it's not the first time Grandpa Straight Talk has steered his Express off the tracks and into the ditch. We've seen that kind of leadership in the White House long enough.

Obama in '08!

Novick's '08 Campaign -- A Fitting Farewell

UPDATED BELOW

The Oregonian's Steve Duin hit the nail on the head with this take on Steve Novick's concession speech, which closed out his unsuccessful primary campaign (45-42% to Jeff Merkley) that could have put an honest-to-God (and much needed) iconoclast in the U.S. Senate.

An Eloquent, Graceful Exit

At the bittersweet end of an audacious campaign, Steve Novick gave the most entertaining and uplifting concession speech I've ever heard.

I've been in a lot of hotel ballrooms when pathetic candidates heard the death rattle they so richly deserved, and campaign staff and the obligatory lobbyists, embarrassed to be seen with one another, melted into the nearest bars. That was not the mood at the Benson Tuesday night when Gov. John Kitzhaber introduced Novick, even as the jukebox cranked out, "I Fought the Law and the Law Won."

With 30 of his most fervent supporters, including his parents and girlfriend, on the stage behind him, Novick received an electric ovation, prompting him to quote an ol' Mo Udall line: "If this goes on much longer, I might have to accept the nomination.

"Well, my friends," Novick continued, "we thought we were going to stick it to the man. But in the end, as usual, the man stuck it to us. But for a while there ..."

He was the Democrats' best hope to unseat Sen. Gordon Smith in the general election, and in the end, it took hundreds of thousands of national Democratic Party dollars to turn the tide of the primary toward his opponent, the lifeless Jeff Merkley. "The last days of the campaign reminded me of nothing so much as the last scene of 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,'" Novick said. "A couple of outlaws against the entire Bolivian army. But now we're hearing the endless rattle of gunfire ... and the movie is over." (emphasis mine)

Novick expressed the hope that his supporters would be proud of being part of a campaign that would "go down in history with the great losers of all time ... like the 1975 Boston Red Sox." Underdog campaigns like his, Novick reminded a room still filled with several hundred supporters, are "a self-selective community. You didn't join this campaign out of resignation, because it was what you had to do."

No, as Kitzhaber said, people supported Novick because he "had a message, a heart and a brand," or everything that Merkley lacks. And they remained with him to the end.

Novick likened his supporters to "a group of guerrillas who came down from the mountains and almost took out the establishment. This group made me feel like Castro. The young Castro."

And he expressed the hope that in years to come, those guerrillas -- whose efforts helped Novick carry Multnomah County and the city of Portland -- would still feel a bond with one another "when you realize you were both for Novick in 2008."

I don't know a single Novick supporter who isn't extremely proud of having been a small part of Novick's campaign. He made us proud of our support right through to the end.

Novick and his competent, creative crew almost pulled it off, despite the stacked deck.

Hey, we're overachievers -- although I would have preferred that "the movie" end at this scene (below), with Novick's "couple of outlaws" overcoming the seemingly insurmountable...



...But we all know the movie didn't end that way. And so it was with this campaign. We got this (below) at the end instead ...



...A great old tune, for sure, but as Duin wrote, bittersweet. So all that's left is to slice up a lime, crack open some of the remaining Left Hook Lager and, of course, a salute: Here's to ya, Steve. Thanks for a great ride. You can bet we'll be there for the next one!

UPDATE; 10:09 a.m.
Looks like the folks at MTV News are feeling it as well.

The WMD Stockpiles: Previous Post-Election Day Hangovers

(click on images for larger versions)

November 3, 2004



Brought on by this:

Sept. 9, 2004


CONTEXT:
Nasa satellite mid-air recovery of fails, Sept. 8, 2004.

Novick's Concession Speech: Butch and Sundance

Steve Novick was brief but witty Tuesday night during his concession speech to Jeff Merkley, winner of Oregon's Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Here are a few minutes of video recorded by The Oregonian:

Tuesday Tune: You're Not Supposed To Play That Thing Like That, Are Ya?

NBC's Chris Matthews Notices Novick

More national news coverage for Steve Novick. MSNBC talking head Chris Matthews, host of Hardball, took notice of Oregon's fighter with a hard left hook.

Reason Cites WW's Obama Interview

The sophisticated brains at Wonkette may not have thought much of Willamette Week's interview with Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, but Reason On-line found it valuable.

Here's a video of WW's interview:



Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish.

Hood's Racers Rave About Oregon

Oregon itself is getting top billing from the international press covering the 2008 Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, which started Tuesday in Portland with a prologue time trial and will finish Sunday with the Downtown Hood River Criterium.

The Beaver State stole the show at Friday's Scenic Gorge Time Trial, which sent the riders down an 18.5 mile course that started in The Dalles, ascended the Rowena Loops into Mosier and then traversed five miles of the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway that have been set aside for bike/pedestrian use.

A report by Mark Zalewski for the Australian racing website CyclingNews.com was typical of the coverage:

Sutherland, Goldstein take control in gorge(ous) Hood time trial

The course itself was the true headline story of the day, easily overshadowing any performance. The nearly 18 mile point-to-point course was an equally beautiful and challenging parcours that snaked along the clifs of the Columbia River. Stone fencing along the cliff edges overlooked beautiful wild flowers and spectacular vistas.

"It was beautiful," said (Australian stage winner Rory) Sutherland. "It is definitely up there as the most interesting and beautiful TT courses. We never get enough of a time to look around but this whole area is amazing."

The road itself was two-lanes of perfect pavement that used to be the main road before the interstate highway was built. The final few miles of the course turned onto the more historic section of the road that has since been designated a national landmark and converted into an almost too-good-to-be-true bike path.

"Who the hell has a bike path like that in the middle of nowhere," asked Sutherland. "I'm pretty damn impressed with this little piece of paradise. I'm hoping to find some time to come back and spend a few days here and just look around."

In fact, Zalewski reported that racer Chris Wherry (left), who finished 87th among the 119 starters in the pro men's field and was no doubt saving his energy for Saturday's brutal Wy' East Road Race, took the time to stretch his arms upward and remark to the photographer, "Isn't this absolutely beautiful," as he passed.

I'm sure the unseasonably warm weather helped the riders' perceptions. There may have been quite a different feeling about the place had the racers been asked to fight a typical full-on Columbia Gorge headwind with accompanying sideways rain.

Today In Oregon: Special "Wassat?" Edition

OK! It was the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic's Stage 2 jaunt around Southeast Portland's Mt. Tabor this evening.

See more video HERE and HERE.

The boys from Bissell (above) tried protect their teammate Benjamin Jacques-Maynes' yellow race-leader jersey by setting a blistering pace at the front, but Toyota-United's Aussie rider, Hilton Clarke, won the day and the overall lead.

In the peleton Fred Rodriguez (above center, obscured) -- three-time US Pro Road Racing champ and lead-out man to the stars in the big European races across the pond -- waits for his chance. He's back in the states as his career winds down. Rodriguez finished sixth on the day and stands 12th overall.

The six-day stage race now heads back toward Mt. Hood for Thursday's Cooper Spur Circuit Race, Friday's Scenic Gorge Time Trial, Saturday's Wy' East Road Race and Sunday's Downtown Hood River Criterium.