Ninja Thought

So did they deport Emilio Estevez?

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Paul Krugman Would Be Annoying

To me too if he was constantly pointing out how wrong I was, doesn't mean you shouldn't be listening to the man.

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Get Your Dunkin Tuesday

Yesterday was the busy sort and today looks to be much of the same. So expect more sucky blogging, apologies beforehand. The lady and I started our workouts again and let me tell you...CHICAGO HEAT CAN SUCK IT! Holy crap balls it was so humid, so hot that she and I were gasping for air on the 9th floor. Yes she has an air conditioning unit plus three solid fans, it wasn't helping and we suffered for it. I am actually looking forward to the impending rain that is forecast. I can't take it. Frank wants to workout. He does not want to go to the hospital again! Ok so plan is get a ton of PowerAde Zero and then juice my pecs. In other news American Taliban is next on the reading list.

Here are your highlights:

Eggsample of why regulation is good in a free market

If I looked up and saw this, I would be very happy TRON!

PAYPAL IS THE WORST COMPANY IN THE WORLD

Helpful: 29 Tips for Keeping Portions Under Control

The Crazy Caucus - what they will do is the scariest thing of all

Obama STANDS THE EFF UP, this would have been nice if he was aggressive like this his entire presidency. I know that has not been possible...still would have been interesting to see how various pieces of legislation would have unfolded. Regardless, I would prefer more direction on the economy, but pointing out to the ignorant public what the Republicans really stand for is paramount during an election year.

Chow!

Dear American People Wake the Eff Up

This is the "modern GOP" same as it ever was (White House are you listening?) We are not dealing with grown-ups. We never were in the first place.



I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Ninja Thought

Operation Burning Benjamins

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Get Your Dunkin Monday

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The weekend has come and it has gone. And what an interesting weekend it was! Friday was a voiceover gig, followed by basketball on Saturday and then the Sox v. Yankees game. Sunday was a trip to the Trader Joe's then headshots. Yes new headshots. After Insanity I felt it was important to get fresh shots and thanks to a friend, they came out awesome. I am really excited for what is around the corner. In other news this weekend is Labor Day boating kickasstotallyrelaxdrinksomegintime and the lady and I are psyched. Needless to say I am hoping the week flies by.

Here are your highlights:

Five Dems who aren't Democrats at all - I do hope some of these Donkeys lose

Obama has to answer the dumbest questions

Congrats to Dawen

Here is what pisses me off

Krugman points the obvious, if the Republican take by the House...Obama better get ready for nothing but "catastrophe"

Tolerance. Arson at a Tennessee mosque site. Fear the Brown People has gone the violent route and I doubt any on the right will have enough character to denounce such acts of callous intimidation.

Chow!

Quote of the Day

DougJ at Balloon Juice:

...I’m not willing to play along with the delusion what we live in an awesome meritocracy where all success is earned. And I’m even less comfortable with the obvious corollary that the poor and unemployed deserve to be poor and unemployed.

I think this goes to the heart of the difference between liberals and conservatives. Liberals tend to believe that our system is imperfect, that the rich aren’t so deserving that we shouldn’t tax them, that the poor aren’t so undeserving that we shouldn’t give them a decent safety net, and that a fancy position may be the result of nepotism, system-gaming, or luck. Conservatives tend to believe either that our system is fair and societal status equals virtue or that our system used to be fair before the soshulists broke it (depending, of course, on whether Republicans or Democrats control the federal government at the time). Intellectual conservatives may not believe this but believe that it’s important the masses do believe it, in order to maintain traditional societal values.

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Ninja Thought

Kanye West vindicated. It's official George Bush never did care about black people (and the poor).

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Poozer Defined

John W. Schoen of MSNBC writes "Economic downturn defying solutions." An article in which he quotes a Bank of America chief economist and the world's largest bond investor PIMPCO, I mean PIMCO; while writing as if Paul Krugman and others haven't being saying anything for the past two to three years. Poozer.

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Get Your Dunkin Friday

Chicago you tricked me. Yesterday was a glimpse into fall. I wore khakis and enjoyed a walk around "downtown" Evanston. There was a crisp breeze, not as many bugs and the lady and I ended the evening with sushi...outside. Yes it was a lovely time, but today you had to smack me in the face with humidity and a forecast of three days of omnipresent heat. I get that you aren't ready to say goodbye to the Summer, either am I, but MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND. Ok rant over. Tonight, nothing much going on. Saturday my first time going to shoot hoops in two months and Sox game at night. I am hoping to also catch the UFC fight. Not that I think it will be an entertaining card, but haven't done that sort of thing since May. I fiend for fight night.

Here are your highlights:

Fox News...Who's gay?

Blago holdout finally speaks out and explains her reasoning

Clinton Years Redux get ready for Chicagogate, Giodarnosgate, Wrigleygate and Guiltyofbeingblackgate

What's the state of the eocnomy? Not all that great

Even Beck can't mar MLK's legacy

Two things that the Obama administration has been baffling about, civil liberties and the environment. It's as if they have conceded the other side already won. The latest news is that the administration is siding with polluters, wtf?

Chow!

Ninja Thought

We have a complex that needs to be pew pew'd.

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Driving Drunk

I am not an alcoholic kick today I swear, however I am not surprised by this finding what-so-ever.

NPR:

Bloomberg highlights a new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which concludes "an estimated 17 million motorists may have driven while drunk in the preceding 12 months."

Eight percent of almost 7,000 U.S. drivers ages 16 and older responding to a 2008 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration telephone survey said they had driven when their blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit at least once in the previous year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors," "twenty percent of the public 16 and older had in the past year driven a motor vehicle within two hours of drinking alcohol."

We are a car centric nation that has yet to adapt and build reasonable and affordable public transit for our citizens. Anytime I am home in Virginia there are two issues with meeting up with friends. First everyone wants to drink, second no one wants to be the designated driver. Now someone always takes one for the team, however with limited access to cabs and nearly zero public transit it is still cumbersome to "go out."

I am not suggesting every suburb should have mass transit, but it would be a sight to see if someone actually tried. Driving drunk or "under the influence" in a lot of these cases, although a personal decision I don't make, is rather difficult to avoid. If these people are in a city and that city lacks public transit that provides a safe and efficient way to travel it is time to catch up. Chicago has the CTA as well as a fleet of cabs readily operating. Despite both having their own shortcomings it allows plenty of opportunity to have fun and act responsibly. People should be allowed something as basic as having an alternate option to driving and currently I don't see many places obliging that.

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P.S. It would also be a fancy way to stimulate the economy.

My Drink of Choice

I had the pleasure on my birthday this year to dine at Blue13 in River North. The lady and I had seen the restaurant highlighted on Check Please and thought it was perfect for my particular tastes and style. We couldn't have been more right. The evening began with our drink order and I had seen on Check Please that Blue13 offered Ransom Old Tom Gin, my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered it on the rocks. To my surprise I had found my drink of choice. The taste is unique to anything I have tasted providing a warm feeling throughout. It has less of a juniper taste that most find off putting and instead has citrus notes with a bit of spice. I am not a connoisseur of gin or spirits for that matter, however I know what I like and Ransom's Old Tom Gin is what I like.

Tony Sachs at the Huffington Post has a great write-up today about Old Tom Gin re-gaining the hearts of bartenders and offers insight to Ransom's version:

But what if you want to go back even further, way back to the beginning of the modern cocktail era? Well, then you'll need a whole 'nuther kind of Old Tom. And for that, you'll have to look to Oregon, the home state of genius distiller Tad Seestedt and his Ransom Old Tom gin, which is one of the finest and most unusual spirits I've ever had the pleasure of imbibing.

Seestedt, with David Wondrich to guide him along the path of historical accuracy, has brought back to life a type of Old Tom that was around when Abe Lincoln was an obscure Illinois lawyer and Jerry Thomas, the most legendary bartender of the 19th century, was still a relative unknown -- Wondrich describes it as "almost pre-Victorian, it's almost late Georgian." Looking at Ransom Old Tom, and then tasting it, a 21st century martini drinker will probably say, "This is gin?!" Well, yes, although it's got more in common with Dutch genevers (also known as Holland gin, at the time the most popular gin in the States), and even American whiskey, than with modern London Dry gin.

Ransom Old Tom employs juniper and other traditional gin botanicals (orange, coriander and angelica, to name a few), but that's about where the similarities to modern-day gin end. Instead of using neutral grain spirits, Seestedt blends in a high percentage of barley-based whiskey. And at the end of the process, the gin is barrel-aged, giving it a whiskey-ish amber color.

The first taste of Ransom Old Tom is mind-blowing, or rather, taste bud-blowing. It's incredibly malty, with strong juniper and citrus notes and just a hint of sweetness. On ice, it opens up even more to reveal wood, corn and a little more sugar. It's one of the most complex spirits you'll ever try. In a Martinez... well, let's just say you haven't had a Martinez until you've tried it with Ransom. Its carnival of flavor mixes most harmoniously with the vermouth, making what could be a heavy, sodden drink a surprisingly light concoction. To think that this stuff went out of style!

Suffice it to say I am glad Ransom Old Tom Gin is getting attention from others that I believe it deserves. Now if only more than two places in Chicago would serve it regularly, I would be a much happier man about town.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Thursday

Man oh man did I wake up confused. I thought this weekend was Labor Day weekend for a moment and got super excited to go boating and have a three day weekend. Nope. Joy no more. It's always disappointing to find out you aren't going boating when you think for a second you are...in other news it is getting cooler out in Chicago! I am actually wearing khakis today and it seems so foreign. I am hoping this will be there year Chicago has a true fall instead of jumping right into frigid winter. FML. I don't even want to think about winter. P.S. Dear Jackass on Facebook, I don't ever want to know Christmas is only x amount of months away. Suck it.

Here are your highlights:

The Government Can Track You

This is cool. CTA riders may soon pay for fares using their cell phones.

What America leaves behind in Iraq

Glenn Beck's real plan is to destroy the Martin Luther King Jr. legacy and the media are gladly playing fiddle

The stem cell ruling and what it may mean

Dude you've been shot

The ongoing BRIGHT AS DAYLIGHT issue with the media, Dems and the Whitehouse...they have been trying to compromise with extremists who have zero desire for compromise. They want a cleansing of sorts, so that their mythical Christian nation can come to pass.

Chow!

David Broder Should Call It Quits

Because he just got Pwn'd.

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Principled Conservatism

Taegan Goddard:

In an interview with WKOW-TV, Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson (R) blasted government subsidies.

Said Johnson: "I'm in business. I have never lobbied for some special treatment or for a government payment.... When you subsidize things...it doesn't work through the free market system very well."

However, it turns out Johnson actually received a $2.5 million government subsidized loan to expand his company back in 1985.

"For me not for thee" is all you need to know about modern conservatism. Johnson isn't alone in his hypocrisy, this is a common conservative mantra that normally goes without saying. Since it has come to my attention, however there is a word for these kind of people...I believe they call them parasites.

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Ninja Thought

Government signage destroys Uhmerikan values and makes Uncle Sam cry.

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Get Your Dunkin Wednesday

We drank. We drank liberally. We even ate cupcakes. Drinking Liberally success! This week is half way through and I am psyched about it. Not that this week has been particularly bad per say, but it has been drab. I am hoping this weekend's Sox v Yankees game will provide more action. I am kind of out of it. So let's just do this shebang.

Here are your highlights:

Carter lands in N. Korea

Interesting new data. Birth rates fall in Illinois during the recession

Christian Extremists

The bonehead that is John Boehner is reflective of the GOP

Donovan McNabb is hurt...FML

Oh so surprising, the economy isn't doing better, it is barely surviving. If only we had a government that would learn from our past and DO SOMETHING.

Chow!

Best Healthcare in the World

Well not really...the Chicago Sun Times:

The family of a 17-year-old Zion teen credited with saving a drowning boy on Monday in Kenosha, Wis., say the good deed has unfairly saddled them with more than $2,000 in medical bills.

“He did what the lifeguard should have done — Trevor saved the boy,” Nicole Bollinger said Tuesday of her cousin, Trevor Hall.

“Now the hospital phones me this morning to say that they’re sending off the bill for Trevor being taken to hospital as a precaution afterwards.

“It’s not fair — we don’t have insurance for Trevor yet,” said Bollinger, who officially took on the role of guardian last month for Hall, who moved from Mississippi.

Aurora Medical Center spokesman Adam Beeson declined to discuss the specifics of the case, but said: “It’s our procedure that when financial information isn’t available at the time of care we will contact the patient or the family the next day just to verify their financial and insurance details. Our goal is to work with the patient to find an equitable solution.’’

Hall, Bollinger and other family members were swimming in Silver Lake just after 5 p.m. Monday when they heard calls from someone swimming five to 10 feet away, Hall said.

Hall quickly swam to where several boys were treading water in just over 5 1/2 feet of water, which was just outside the designated swim area, said an official with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department Tuesday.

“One’s face was below the water, and I dived under trying to lift him up,” said Hall, who eventually managed to get the unconscious 14-year-old boy, Aaron Puente, into Bollinger’s hands. She performed a “Heimlich maneuver,” which led him to spit up and start breathing, before handing him to a lifeguard in the shallow water, she said.

Both teens were rushed to the Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha, said Sgt. Gil Benn.

“Hall was taken just for precautionary measures,” Benn said. Hall had swallowed some water in the incident.

The hospital later released them, but not before Hall had undergone a battery of tests, including chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram and blood work, said Bollinger.

“The ambulance bill is probably going to be around $700 they tell me,” said the single mother, who also cares for both a disabled brother and her mother. “That’s on top of the hospital bill and the ER, which I don’t have yet.”

Heroics don't go unnoticed in America. We send you the bill for not letting the young boy die as he was supposed to...I know I am being harsh, but for anyone paying attention this particular atrocity is the result of the having the BEST HEALTH CARE EVER!!

I bet a public option at the very least would assist someone like this, or perhaps Medicare for All, but that would be socialist now wouldn't it? And as we all know socialism wouldn't allow you to bill a family who can't afford it. Socialism, however would allow terror babies to save terror babies from drowning which has to be the only reason such a story like this exists. Right...right?

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

The Government Can

Do something. There is still time to rethink the whole "no one wants a second stimulus because of confidence." Maybe if we talk louder somebody in the administration will notice?

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Quote of the Day

The oh-so-shrill Eugene Robinson (h/t Balloon Juice):

Our most dangerous enemy right now isn't Osama bin Laden, who's presumably hiding in a cave somewhere. The enemy is the poisonous narrative that jihadists use to recruit assassins and suicide bombers, and that narrative is that the United States and the West really aren't at war with just the extremists, we're at war with Islam itself. Telling a peaceful, officially sanctioned imam -- a man recruited by our government to represent our country around the world -- that he is not welcome, that his community center somehow dishonors the neighborhood in a way that, say, the strip clubs don't... This just reinforces the narrative and wins converts for jihadism. It's not just the wrong thing to do, it's a stupid thing to do in terms of our fight against terrorism.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Ninja Thought

All good liberals know, size doesn't matter.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Tuesday

It's Drinking Liberally night folks and it is a special one as it is Sterno's b-day. Sterno Happy Birthday!!! We will be drinking (well most of us), laughing and most likely raging in our liberalness, so come out to Sheffield's tonight at 7pm or later to enjoy the awesome. I should be getting there around the beginning if the lady doesn't hold me hostage (which she almost always does). In other news this weekend I will be traveling into a dark and dangerous place aka Cellular Field. Get the holy water because I might need it! The Sox are playing the Yankees and I couldn't pass up the chance to see the Yankees play once in my lifetime. I don't really like the Yankees, but it's like the seeing the Lakers, kind of cool just to say you saw them in action.

Here are your highlights:

Egg industry part of a growing problem. We need to shop local and support local farmers.

Blackwater gets off easy

"Obama is wrong because he is right. Wahhhhhhh" - Shorter Mark Halperin and GOP as they try to destroy Social Security

Gators in Chicago

Who is this Tao Lin you speak of? Hipster author gaining hype...I might read him after reading this article.

Hangover Theory at the Fed. I am not an economist, so let me put this simply. Dear Fed, You are screwing up royally. The unemployed are people not statistics. Our nation is made up of people, real people with homes, families and expenses. Do something. Perhaps anything, but don't willfully lead us into a Lost Decade because you can't admit you are fucking wrong. That's all.

Chow!

Beware the Anchor Embryos!

Think Progress:

Last Friday, on Fox News’ On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, conservative state lawmaker Peter Palumbo (D-RI) appeared with state Rep. Joseph Trillo (R-RI) to discuss their outreach to Arizona politicians as they craft their own tough immigration law. During the interview, Palumbo referenced “anchor babies,” a derogatory and “politically charged” term used to refer to the U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents, noting that in Rhode Island they have “anchor embryos”:

We’ve all heard of anchor babies. We have something unique to Rhode Island, and they’re called anchor embryos. And what it is is a policy that we have in the state of Rhode Island — if you’re an illegal alien woman and you’re pregnant and you come to Rhode Island, you go to the Department of Human Services — the first thing you have to do is tell them that you’re an illegal alien and you’re pregnant and the Department of Human Services will offer you, do you want Blue Cross, United, or Neighborhood Health.

The question is why not get to the roots of the issue, the Anchor Sperm! Everyday these Anchor Sperm corrupt good Uhmerikan lady eggs and fertilize the world with their unwanted anchorness. Millions of Anchor Sperm destroy the very fibers of our country, someone must stop them! I propose large searches and confiscations of Anchor Sperm across the nation. If we don't act now our country and our lives will be covered in one big soggy anchor mess!

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Ninja Thought

Tolerance takes a "special" kind of person

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Get Your Dunkin Monday

What a lovely weekend! The lady's folks came into town and we hung out with them pretty much the whole time including a trip to Cafe Bar Bar Reeba and Harry Caray's. Nom nom nom. Bar bar was fantastic as we tried out new dishes, downed Sangria and laughed while introducing her parents to Spanish tapas. It was hilarious to hear her mom react to specific dishes "Oh no I don't like that" and it was great to see how much they got into the entire experience. We will definitely be going again. Other than that on Sunday we were able to get up early and get in our grocery shopping. We have become pros at Trader Joe's making the trip quite enjoyable. Thanks to Insanity we know what to get and how much to get as well...more about Insanity later, however the lady broke her camera, so no pics (insert sigh of relief here).

Here are your highlights:

Losing faith in America's future

An answer to your transportation woes?

Goodbye Sweet Lou - the Hall of Fame awaits, thanks for the memories

This is an odd thing for CHEW readers, the FDA request more power to avoid outbreaks

Principled Leadership - a way to combat the Park51 "NO MOSQUES EVER" non-troversy

Heck yeah, Hawaii 5-effin-0

Chris Dodd's real legacy, Letting credit card companies rip off Americans nationwide

Shorter Mitch McConnell: Obama is a Christian, but his name is funny and he is black. So maybe he is not? What is harmless about that? The GOP's constant abiding of right wing extremism is unconscionable and disgusting. Someone needs to tell them and their rabid hatriots that we are nation of religious freedom not persecution.

Chow!

Get Your Dunkin Friday

I have a busy day today, so nothing but sucking blogging will ensue. The in laws are making an appearance and we are heading to this afternoon's Cubs game. Go Cubs Go! Too bad they have had an abysmal season thus far. Too bad my favorite player Derrek Lee was traded. Too bad, ah I can't too upset it's only baseball, right? Right? Well yes I am right because football has begun and I can't to HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!! This weekend is the end of the 60 grueling days of Insanity. I can't wait to have a margarita with my lady and relax...only to start all over again. I hate it, but I love it. What's on your weekend notebook?

Here are your highlights:

Kentucky you are just plain stupid. Mosque hate in the bluegrass state.

Cleaning up the Chicago River. We deal with enough of Daley's crap, it's about time we stop swimming in our own.

Just picked up the latest CHEW.

Al Franken gives a textbook example on how to deal with the Park51 non-troversy

Appeasing the Bond Gods

LOL, If Historical Events Had Facebook

President Obama's Winning Streak. Despite some of his failings from a progressive perspective it is admirable what Obama and this Congress has accomplished. The Republicans even if they win the House will not repeal a thing. History tells us that the reforms that have been made will stay put for a bit. He could have done more, but his achievements have to be trumpeted in an election year. November isn't that far away.

Chow!

You're Doing It Peter, Look You're Flying

Success!

Economist:

BANKRUPTCY filings rose 20% in the year to June 30th compared with the previous 12-month period, according to statistics released on August 17th by the Administrative Office of the US Courts. This takes quarterly filings to their highest point since tougher bankruptcy laws were introduced at the end of 2005. That change brought a spike of bankruptcies, as companies and individuals rushed to declare themselves broke under the more lenient old regime. The data suggest that an older trend is reasserting itself. This is could be more bad news for America—or it could just mean that creative destruction is alive and well.

I know what you are saying, people who file for bankruptcy normally are losers who mismanage their money or are half-wits. Except they are not. There were ways to stave off the rise in bankruptcies or lessen the blow (ex. Mortgage Cramdowns) but banks don't like that sort of thing, so we tell people "go suck an egg." Or something of that sort. With the most recent unemployment report being quite negative I am sure Congress, the Fed and the White House will be swiftly moving into action...

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

The Terrorists Win Again

Josh Marshall says it:

What's gotten far less comment is an at least as potent pragmatic or perhaps better to say strategic argument. Quite simply, the furor of opposition to the Cordoba House project and the spasm of Islamophobia is the best recruiting tool that bin Laden and his imitators could possibly hope for. As Ali Soufan, a near legendary FBI counter-terrorism interrogator has just written in Forbes, in the wake of the anti-Mosque furor, bin Laden's "next video script has just written itself."

What is important to recognize is that this opinion is close to universal among people in the counter-terrorism business. And by this I mean, people who actually operationally work in counter-terrorism, people who work in public diplomacy for the US abroad and people who study trends in counter-terrorism and Islamic radicalism both in the US and abroad. In this regard, it's important to distinguish people in the counter-terrorism business or what we might call counter-terrorism professionals from what we might term counter-terrorism or anti-radical Islam activists, of whom almost all the high profile opponents of the Cordoba House project fall. These are the Pam Gellers, the Robert Spencers and David Horowitzes and all the rest. You can disagree or agree with their arguments about Islam -- and I've made my own views on that point pretty clear. But very little of what they even talk about has to do with the actual nuts and bolts and heading off the growth of terror networks and taking them down once they're coalesced into existence.

So if the 1st Amendment and the American tradition of pluralism doesn't float your boat, you can always fall back on what's more or less likely to help terrorist recruiting and get you and your family blown to smithereens. Both point in the same direction.

Bin Laden, honestly, can make a highlight reel of our news coverage the last couple of weeks, spread it about and he will most likely double his recruitment. It's a no-brainer. Not sure why people can't grasp this aspect of the non-troversy.

Paddy K emailed this anecdote:

I really just can't stand the fact that so-called "reasonable" people are using this line:

* not all Muslims are bad
* this mosque is just insensitive.

I'm sorry, I don't care how many family members you lost on 9/11, you do NOT get a free pass. WHY do you feel the Park51 project is insensitive? Things aren't insensitive or offensive for no reason, there has to be a reason why it bothers you. You then have to ask yourself: am I right in being offended?

No one seems to want to go through this simple mental algebra.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I propose we build towers at Ground Zero with at least three Muslim community centers in them. It seems the best way to combat both Bin Laden and ourselves.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Thursday

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

All right so it's a ragetastic day. Woke up everything was fine and then the lady turns on the teevve, who do I see? Rudy Guiliaaani (he is so lucky his name doesn't include any "s's" with that lisp of his) RUDY?!! REALLY??!! And of course he is bashing Obama, bashing Democrats, hating Muslims, gays and whatever. Frank does not like waking up like that. Nonsense on top of nonsense after ignorant statement after ignorant statement. What in this world do you have to do to be discredited? RAAAAGE!!! (Frank gets up drinks a whole bottle of gin and flips off the skies as he runs down the streets of Chicago bashing his head against Range Rovers). In other news, it's almost Friday, so that's good.

Here are your highlights:

Last U.S. Combat Troops Leave Iraq

Howard Dean you lost me at "I am an irrational moron"

The Republican Intellectuals are foaming at their mouths

This is how you effing grill bitches!!

Inside the jury of the Blago Trial

It has come clear to me if you factor in the tweets of a former governor, the media tropes, the reality shows, the random facebook messages as gospel, the teabaggers, the Fox News non-news, town halls to rallies...our nation is an Idiot Nation and it's just getting worse by the day.

Chow!

The Walking Dead are Walking

(pic courtesy of the Walking Dead AMC blog)

Just finished Trade #5 "The Best Defense" this shows looks dead on thus far. Can't wait.

Chow!

Ninja Thought

Is it really conventional wisdom, if it's really really wrong?

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

McNabb Redskin for Life

NFC East Blog:

"I'll be here with the Redskins for years," he told NBC's Dan Hellie. "We've both said it, I've said it, they've said it. I want to be a Redskin. I want to be a Redskin. Just like I was an Eagle for years, I want to be a Redskin. I want to finish my career here. There's a lot of exciting things that are ahead of us here, there's a lot of talent here, and I think good things can happen here in Washington."

Damn straight. It will probably take a couple years, but if Brett Favre can last as long as he has as an effective QB, I don't see how McNabb won't either. Let's hope greatness is around the corner. HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Let Blago Go

He is not guilty of a thing! Print this out and post it all over the city if you like :)

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Wednesday

The hump is here! That means only four workouts left in this INSANITY! I can't believe it, almost sad, but I will press on and continue the harder workouts next month. I am honestly psyched to relax. It wouldn't hurt to sip some Gin, kick back and have a PIZZA AND SOME DIM SUM! I am craving some good old fashion Chinese food. Seriously I crave it fortnightly and this INSANITY has been cramping my heritage. Big time! The one thing I regret is not taking our measurements at the beginning. The lady looks amazing. She seriously is trim as can be, I still have a little ways to go, but not gonna lie the results are satisfying. I will share next week!

Here are your highlights:

Blago guilty on one count. Supposedly he barely made it out on most counts. Retrial expected = more golden reality tv.

Is anyone in the mainstream media going to call this out? News Corps aka Rupert Murdoch puts his cash directly in the GOP's pocket

Magnetic mega-stars challenge black hole theory

Graffiti tells the story of Katrina years later

In Hong Kong they are trying to find creative ways to pay respects to the dead. Floating graveyards, the wave of the future?

This should end all debate. "Hallowed Ground" the surrounding area of Ground Zero. (h/t Oliver Willis)

Chow!

Ninja Thought

Teh swing voters confuse themselves.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Maybe Robert Gibbs Had A Point

Paul Rosenberg at Open Left:

It's now clear that we're looking at a failed presidency. Regardless of whatever else happens, even if he wins re-relection, Obama has utterly squandered the promise he held out for us all. He empowers the haters and evildoers of the world by only opposing them academically, while giving way to them in every practical sense.

And the longer we refuse to see this obvious fact, the more complicit we are in betraying his promise as well.

The obituaries have been written. Obama has failed us all! Quit with this melodramatic crap because what's failing is the "professional left." Want to know why no one is energized to vote in November? This nonsense. Sip your free trade latte, simmer down and get over yourself. It is time to get out, mobilize and vote. It is not time to write anything on any wall, not even the public bathroom where this belongs.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Tuesday

Today sucks. We are ruled by idiots. I have nothing to add. That is all. Rage the fuck on ragers!

Here are your highlights:

The Bare Minimum for Public Discourse

We are near the end, a Glenn Beck Rally to divide our nation

Canadians hate tasers

Teh Secret History of those computer icons you see daily

You know they could have done something from the get go...people lost their homes & their livelihood. Timmy Geithner deserves a medal.

Park51 aka the media fail of the year...

Chow!

Leadership

Not really Harry Reid's fortay. I am sure he will contend that he means no harm to Muslims or that this isn't a cheap political trick for re-election. Regardless I have finally lost what little respect I had left for the man. This is just too much stupid to combat.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Update: Looks like Muslim leaders have realized that they, unlike everyone else, are NOT free to practice their religion without fear of persecution. I am losing hope for our country fast. (h/t Think Progress)

Update II: Apparently Hareetz ain't telling the truth. WTF is going on I am not sure.

Ninja Thought

Douthat is an Asshat

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Monday

The last week of Insanity and boy am I excited! It has been a long fought battle, but the lady and I will have won the war!!! You will never take my Ransom Gin SHAUN T!!! I will share the final results on this here thing once we are done. To be honest, I wasn't too disciplined with taking my measurements or weight week to week. I felt it would get me obsessed with the wrong results. I can say, my waist is smaller, my shoulders are getting defined and I may or may not have an ab. Yesh, just one. This weekend I survived the IKEA MONSTER, barely and the lady was kind of enough to beat me with a hammer while we put together her new bar. Not gonna lie it was awesome. Hope everyone else had a chipper weekend.

Here are your highlights:

Obama does the right thing and tells everyone we have a Constitution that allows FREEDOM of religion

Redskins Preseason began on the right foot. Hail to the Redskins!

Pakistan devastated by floods

Chicago Tribune still wants to dismantle the CTA. Missing fact from this piece, Chicago drivers in general suck, they are god awful. It is not a phenomena of the CTA alone.

Congrats to Aarti, the Next Foodnetwork Star

Even General Petraeus thinks Bush/Cheney suck

It seems we are ready and willing to accept the Double Dip. Perhaps the great leaders, those that bless us and let us live could explain why they are always wrong and we should still listen to them. Alas I fear it's a sadomasochist thing...that or they are just stupid. I am tired of calling it a "different point of view" or "contrasting approach", austerity at this point is simply self-destructive.

Chow!

Rand Paul is Aqua Buddha

For worship ceremonies visit the long lost inner workings of Rand Paul's mind.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Newt Gingrich v. The Unemployed

Unemployed with the knockout in the first round:



And Newt Gingrich is the guy the GOP is expecting to run successfully for president in 2012? Could there be any more of a disconnect? The Newt and the GOP find the unemployed contemptuous. They are lazy, "welfare queens" who a draining real Americans. It is this type of rhetoric that should have people fired up for November not if Robert Gibbs hurt your feelings. I haven't heard a better argument all year.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Friday

Here we are Friday again! Man I wish one of these days I can wake up and say that about every day...does that make sense? Aw, fugg it. This weekend is going to be packed, multiple parties to hit up and a trip to IKEA. Yesh, I lost a bet and now I have to trek through the unknown layers of Chicago suburbia to the gigantic monster of furniture and knick knacks known as IKEA. The lady of course is ecstatic. I am sure it will be a great time staring at square tables, circular tables and couches that look comfy, but aren't...I digress. IKEA isn't all that bad because at the end of it, Frank gets some meatballs and delicious drinks that are from another country and labeled funny, so I have no idea what I am drinking, but it's gooood. Well sounds like an eventful weekend, huh?

Here are your highlights:

Louie Gohmert freaks out about "Terror Babies" (video above)

Cutting Social Security is Extreme

This is unsettling. The Rubin Con Goes On

Paralysis at the Fed

Donald say it ain't so

It is beginning. Hide your children, close your doors. It's Gaypocalypse.

Tonight is it! Redskins Pre-season baby!! HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!! Again, if you or anybody you know is interested in tickets, I have some sweet seats and am more than willing to cut deals. I just want real fans to go. The Redskins are a second to none. I am hoping for a great season! GO SKINS!! ( I will be analyzing different aspects of the team this year as the season develops you better believe it)


Chow!

Who is this God You Speak Of

Steven Benen:

The right's push against the community center, of course, has only increased since, but I haven't seen much in the way of criticism of Bloomberg. I'd assumed it was because the mayor's position was so difficult to refute, Republicans chose to just steer clear of it.

But Bill Kristol today starts the overdue offensive against the mayor.

The conclusion of Bloomberg's speech was odd: "Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure -- and there is no neighborhood in this City that is off limits to God's love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us can attest." Do the rest of us need Bloomberg's hand-picked religious leaders to tell us that there are no limits to God's love and mercy?

Actually, I suspect the point of Bloomberg assembling an ecumenical panel was to prove that this "controversy" isn't about helping one specific religious tradition -- it's about honoring principles that serve the interests of all. It's why we're seeing diverse groups of faith leaders stepping up to denounce "xenophobia and religious bigotry" in the midst of this debate.

I missed the whole part where the Founding Fathers pontificated for hours that Christianity was the ONLY RELIGION EVER AND JEEBUS WAS THE AUTHOR OF THE CONSTITUTION! Kristol's cheap and disingenuous gaming of this controversy comes at no surprise, but even for so called conservatives this is asinine. Kristol nor his ilk want to uphold our nation's foundation, they want to completely dismantle it and transform it into something dark. Perhaps go back to the mythical 1950's that never effing existed?

All of this would be easier if neo-cons would actually follow the teachings of their merciful god. I doubt that will ever happen.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Ninja Thought

United States of You Are Not Welcome Here

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Thursday

It's not Friday! WTF? I feel like I wake up every single Thursday in this fashion; baffled that the week is not over. So what now? RAGE!! Well not really at this time I am feeling copacetic. Insanity is almost done, one more hell week and the lady and me are bbq this weekend. So that is fun. Not sure what else is going on as at this very moment I am drawing a blank. I had something to RAGE about, just ain't coming through the keyboard this morning sioejhgslehgiowHGOQWGQJIEOQJHEGS,MDNBVJLRW!!!!!!! There that's better!

Here are your highlights:

Tax Policies & Priorities. Anyone not paying attention, the GOP doesn't care about your plight.

Fox Nation too race baity for its own trolls

Chicago 5 year old killed by own twin

Way back when fighters like Chad Dawson would be as big as any of them

Blago Trial Hung?

The economy is getting better! Oh wait...

The disgusting and unconscionable writing of propagandist Jeffrey Goldberg

Chow!

Ninja Thought

Breathe. Take a break. Then get over yourself. We have important things to do.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Why the 14th Amendment Exists

Because half of our country, when polled, are nativist and ignorant.

The 14th Amendment came about as a way to right an early wrong in our nation's history. It also has been the catalyst for positive growth and diversity within our culture. Without it, many people in this country would have their entire life experience rewritten. There are protections our Constitution provides and the 14th Amendment is a necessary one.

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Or perhaps I should be more clear. To the half that WANTS to repeal the 14th Amendment; why don't you go back to where you came from?

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

The Unemployed Are Invisible

As I have said before, there is a disconnect and if you don't see it you can easily ignore it. Soon people will be saying "how can you be unemployed? Jobs are everywhere."

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Wednesday

Another Tuesday night at Sheffield's another fan fared evening at Drinking Liberally. Conclusion, get out a vote in November no matter how much Obama or Gibbs or the idea of Obama and Gibbs canoodling in an anti-professional left chuckling fest. It is time to look within and do what needs to be done. Win elections that matter. I am not sure if that is what everyone else took from last night's DL, (perhaps the fact that I was drinking water and they were drinking teh booze maybe they have a different take), but I am saying GET THE EFF OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND VOTE PEOPLE!!! LONG SENTENCES ROCK!! So yeah after reading the polling results it might just maybe be a bit of a Test Case.

Here are your highlights:

The billboard sign I wish I thought of

WTF is Aqua Buddha Rand Paul has gots some explainin to do

They won't stop till we are all dead

This is sad, but true. Everybody hates Liberals

Cakeball nom nom nom

Vietnam will have nothing on Afghanistan when it's all done, not but think again if you think we are... Leaving Afghanistan in 2011?

Chow!

Drinking Liberally

Sheffield's tonight 7pm till we leave. Rage on ragers. Rage on.

Chow!

Ninja Thought

Hope can be a terrible thing

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Quote of the Year...in Football

Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan:

“Yeah, both of us are here to win a Super Bowl. If you’re not in it to win a Super Bowl, then you need to find something else to do. I’m not ever going to comment on how things were done here before, but we had a philosophy that worked in Denver, and that’s what we’re going to follow.”

Now let's bring the damn Lombardi Trophy back to the nation's capital!

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Verizogoogle is Evil, But Congress Can Save Us

Tapped's Nancy Scola:

Google and Verizon want to kick the net neutrality debate over to Congress, where they've spent many years and many dollars opening hearts and minds to their arguments. Taking their chances on the Hill is well within their rights, but the most glaring downside for them is the threat to Google's good-guy reputation. They're probably betting that most people aren't paying attention. They're probably right. Enough people probably assume that Congress and the FCC are quietly serving the public's interest in this crucial media fight -- and they still could. Just because Google and Verizon have hammered out an understanding doesn't mean that the FCC and Congress have to roll over and accept it.

I never thought my phone provider and my favorite online search engine would set out together to own the great internet monster. However, that seems to be their diabolical plan unless Congress and the FCC says "up yours." You can sign your support for net neutrality at Senator Al Franken's site here. Do it or get ready for Verizogoogle to send us back to the 56k days!

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Tuesday

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I will be all over the map as I was yesterday, luckily it is recess time and not much is "going on." I have currently been reading Justin Kreb's 538 Ways book and thus far I am wayyyyyyyy liberal. So liberal my feet are blue! The book itself is a fun read that offers insightful ideas to live like a liberal. I am one that didn't grow up believing liberal was a bad word although progressive comes off the tongue ever so easier. The book also has been a table talker for lady and me and we now make an effort to go to the local farmers market as well as re-use grocery bags often. What I am saying is, it really isn't that hard being just a little green.

Here are your highlights:

Follow the Walking Dead AMC blog

You could always do something

Every time I think Obama isn't doing all that I would prefer, John McCain comes in a reminds me how bad it could have been.

Judicial Activism for Me, But Not for Thee

Don't take the Wall Street Journal seriously

Robert Gibbs the latest to Hippie Punch. I quite liked Gibbs during the campaign and since it is from the Hill I am skeptical, however the quotes alone show how out of touch the mainstream is with the "left." If any of it is true, fuck him and anybody who wants to hippie punch. We have real problems and the only thing that is going to save the Dems from losing every seat in the House is going to be the "crazy liberals."

Chow!

Ninja Thought

Are you ready for some football?

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Monday

I am weak! The lady and I had a splendid weekend, don't get me wrong, but I ate whatever was in front of me. Cupcakes? Check. Twizzlers? Check. Peanut Butter Cups? Check. Moussaka? Check and double check. And now I feel terrible, but it was SO GOOD! Aye there's the rub. After a month and half of INSANITY, the lady and threw our hands in there and were like "meh why not?" We earned it, right? Well yes we have earned, but damn do I feel guilty, so this week is going to be full on INSANITY on top of INSANITY! Honestly I can't wait to be done. Two more weeks and then I will share my results with ya'll. Thus far I have been more than satisfied and now it is a matter of kissing the gut goodbye and starting to develop a "Situation." Ok not that ridic, but seriously only.two.more.weeks.

Here are your highlights:

Food Stamps or Teachers?

If only Ben Bernanke was running the Fed...

Avoiding a retread of last August is key for Democrats

Round-Up of the Boxing and MMA weekend

You say you'd change the constitution, Well the GOP wants to

Ted Olson FOR THE WIN!

There is a deep disconnect. To the White House, to the Senate, to the House, the economist overlords, to the businessmen, to the main stream media; we don't feel the same way about the economy and this Recession as they do.

Chow!

I'm Spent

This amazing catch exhausted me. I know how do I do it? Play a game at night, rage in the US the next.

Chow!

Ashley Kirilow Worst Person

(image via Gawker)

Gawker:

Meet your new devious cancer-scammer: 23-year-old Toronto resident Ashley Kirilow. She shaved her head, waxed her eyebrows, plucked her eyelashes and allegedly scammed more than $20,000 through her charity, "Change" for the Cure.

Kirilow—whose parents say "you couldn't trust anything she was saying" growing up—started her scam after having a benign lump removed from her breast in 2008, according to the Toronto Star. This minor operation was the seed from which Kirilow grew her elaborate cancer lie.

Read the rest, it is unconscionable.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Can We Get a Redo?

If you want to know where Obama really went wrong look no further than Larry Summers.

Atrios:

Don't Listen To The Girlymaths

Oh well.

Romer had run simulations of the effects of stimulus packages of varying sizes: six hundred billion dollars, eight hundred billion dollars, and $1.2 trillion. The best estimate for the output gap was some two trillion dollars over 2009 and 2010. Because of the multiplier effect, filling that gap didn’t require two trillion dollars of government spending, but Romer’s analysis, deeply informed by her work on the Depression, suggested that the package should probably be more than $1.2 trillion. The memo to Obama, however, detailed only two packages: a five-hundred-and-fifty-billion-dollar stimulus and an eight-hundred-and-ninety-billion-dollar stimulus. Summers did not include Romer’s $1.2-trillion projection. The memo argued that the stimulus should not be used to fill the entire output gap; rather, it was “an insurance package against catastrophic failure.” At the meeting, according to one participant, “there was no serious discussion to going above a trillion dollars.”

The people who are always wrong about fucking everything maintain power.

It's Frontline's "Warning" all over again. Summers ego and overt sexism won't be denied its ability to continually damage our economy. Romer was one of the bright spots of the economic team.

Jed Lewinson of DKos:

Whatever the exact details of the palace intrigue might turn out to be, it's clear that Romer was a strong advocate for pressing the pedal to the metal on recovery efforts. At a time when many of the President's advisers, including Summers, have urged him to put on the brakes to mollify the (fictitious) "bond vigilantes", Romer was a beacon of sanity. To the extent that her departure makes it less likely that the administration will push Congress to accelerate jobs creation, losing her voice will be a double whammy, jeopardizing the economic recovery and the White House's political fortunes along with it.

Any happy joy joy feelings should be probably come back to reality right about now. 1937 here we come...

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Get Your Dunkin Friday

It's here! Friday! This week has dragged the eff on. Not sure why that is, but here we are with two glorious days around the bend. Lil Sis Frank heads back to California on Tuesday, so we are going to have a get together in honor of her b-day and internship coming to close. WE WILL MISS YOU LIL SIS! In other news it has been an up and down week for me and Insanity. With my schedule getting messed up I don't think I have been performing the workout at my best. Odd thing, the lady says I am looking smaller everyday. Only two more weeks left and then what? Well the lady I will take a recovery week, I will eat some fuggin Chinese and then back at it, but only 5 days a week instead of 6. Yes, I am sold on this change in my life and can't wait to be in the next John Wu film.

Here are your highlights:

Prop8 supporters zealots till the end (h/t Roger Ebert)

What's going on with Google and Verizon?

Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln the worst kind of politicians. Corporatecrats.

Paul Ryan is fuggin fraud

With golf claps, Kagan confirmed maybe now we will find something out about her...

Jobs, jobs, jobs and more about jobs. The dead horse has been beaten so badly there is nothing left, but a McDonald's cheeseburger. It is time to stop calling this period a "recovery." And Whoopie! Democrats self-destruct when time calls for action and no Obama is not to blame for this.

Chow!