The Bullshit Observer

McCain Taps Alaskan Hockey Mom For Veep

There are no shortage of critics where McCain's VP selection is concerned. Sarah Palin has too little experience, they say. A gimmick, others contend. A MILF-y half-term Alaskan Governor with no international experience  one heartbeat away from the Presidency, many fear. 

Well, that's all fine and good, but apparently they haven't seen the movie Being There  - where a mere gardener becomes a president's closest adviser. Obviously being president of the United States is NOT THAT HARD. Perhaps even simple. In fact, maybe the simpler a person is, the better suited they are for that role. Bush is a simple man, maybe even retarded, and look at him. TWO TERMS. He's out there conquering the world in the name of freedom and liberty and he was just a failed oilman with a lot of powerful friends. Can I get a, "HELL YEAH?" Sarah Palin....little Sarah Palin, with her rural, anti-abortion Annie-getcher-gun mentality could wind up being cowgirl in chief. Yeehaw.

And let's be fair, there are other hockey Mom's out there that McCain could have picked but didn't.  Let's take' Therese Phillips for example. You may not have heard of her, but she's a California hockey mom whose son went off to college. She moved up through the volunteer ranks from team mom to VP of the California Amatuer Hockey Association. That means that she was in charge of all youth hockey in California. AND she's already held the title of VP. Is she good? Sure. Is she well-spoken? It seems so. But is she ready for the national stage?  I wouldn't put my money on that.

McCain is a smart man. He can see when someone is ready and Sarah Palin is one hockey mom who clearly is.

I'll leave you with this poem from hockey mom Elizabeth Webster Goddard of hockeymoms.com called "I just want to play hockey." 

I just want to play hockey

Just want to get on the ice
Just want to play with my buddies
Learn how to pass really nice.

Just want to tape up my new stick
Strap on my shin pads real tight
Pull on my favourite team jersey
Go for a skate every night.

I just want to get better
Learn how to shoot, pass and deek
Get up a game with the locals
Skate at the rink or the creek.

I don’t wanna hear parents fighting
Growsing, assigning some blame
I just want to play hockey
Just want to have fun; it’s a game.

© www.hockeymoms.com 2007

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Dear Actors Who Smoke In Movies, You're Killing People

(from the Center for Media and Democracy)

When I worked for RJ Reynolds and BAT, my clients regularly parroted the industry line which is that cigarette advertising doesn't increase rates of smoking. "Ve are merely helping zem switch to our brands," my German BAT client Christophe would say.

Well, now it look like zey ver wrong.

This week the National Cancer Institute published an extensive, 684-page monograph that evaluates current evidence regarding the power of the media to both encourage and discourage tobacco use.  NCI found that "The total weight of evidence -- from multiple studies, conducted by investigators from different disciplines, and using data from many countries -- demonstrates a causal relationship between tobacco advertising and promotion and increased tobacco use."

They also found that smoking in movies (not moviegoers, but actors in the movies, duh) causes more children to start smoking. They say that smoking in the movies is pervasive and has a causal relationship with youth initiation of smoking.

“Smoking in movies is responsible for addicting 1,080 U.S. adolescents to tobacco every day, 340 of whom will die prematurely as a result.” -- Editorial, The Lancet British medical journal, June 10, 2003

So, Brad, Denzel, Travolta, Crowe, Weinstein, Cohen, Farley, Bochco, Walkin,- think about that fellas.

Crowd Chants, "Fuck Fox News," on Fox News

Griff Jenkins of Fox News desperately attempts to interview protesters in Denver. Instead of talking to him they start chanting, "Fuck Fox News."

It's interesting how convoluted the reportage gets as Mr. Jenkins attempts to say that since the protesters don't want to speak to him, they must not believe in free speech - a rather strange and desperate sounding argument.  Could it be, Griff, that they just don't want to want to wind up on the "aren't these guys wacko?" side of a Fox story? I mean honestly.

The blog/state of mind Bewilderness had this to say: Griff perfectly demonstrates the Fox method of fair and balanced reporting by becoming confrontational with the group, shouting “Do you not believe in freedom?” while walking backwards and running into people. “Well I gotta let it go Jaime, it’s getting a little bit out of control here.” The only thing that’s out of control, dickhead, is you…you’re walking through the middle of a crowd of 1,000 people being an obnoxious asshole, what do you expect?

I love how people wanting to avoid war with Iran and to get out of Iraq are considered by Fox Views to be "Far Left" liberal agitators. That would imply that Fox believes that having a war with Iran and the continuation of a blank check for Iraq occupation (and we have to assume monarchical Presidential authority) are perfectly mainstream ideas.

Unfair. Unbalance. UnNews.

(Tip o the 'ol hat to Truthdig)

 

A New Movie That's Utterly Religulous

When I die, I'm going to go to hell. In my hell there are hot tub parties, free drugs, tons of nudity, a lot of swearing, dirty dancing, and a never ending supply of good, cold Belgian beer. Sound good to you? Well praise Jesus, you're invited. Bring your friends. All you have to do is go see Bill Maher's new documentary film Religulous (in theaters Oct. 3). That's right, for a measly $10 and a couple hours of your time, you can spend all eternity in my personal juke joint corner of hell laughing, dancing, drinking, screwing, and eating Swiss chocolate. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that before: free chocolate. Come one, come all.

The point of the movie is, of course, to point out the contradictions in, and ridiculousness of, all religions. Just a bunch of popular fairy tales. A quote from the trailer:

Bill Maher: ...if Santa Clause can hit every house in the world...

Ex-Jew For Jesus: I don't, I don't believe in Santa Clause

Bill Maher: Of course not. That's what I meant. Why go around the world dropping presents down a chimney. One man hearing everybody murmuring to him at the same time...that I get.

Here's Bill Maher regarding the movie: "I don’t say in the movie that I’m an atheist. I don’t like that term, because I think it mirrors the certitude of religion. I say I don’t know. And if you don’t know—and you don’t—just man up and say you don’t know. Don’t turn to silly stories and ancient myths. That should be good enough for people. When these myths were created, when the Bible was written, man didn’t know what an atom or a germ was, or where the sun went at night, or why the women got pregnant. [Laughs.] They needed stories to answer the questions. But it’s the 21st century now, and there’s a tape on YouTube of Sarah Palin with a witch doctor! Someone who’s telling her he’s curing her of witches! It’s our country, for crying out loud. People should be ashamed, appalled, and embarrassed."

Trailer is here:

Bill's Larry King Interview (with more clips from the movie) is here...

And, of course, the Ricky Bobby Baby Jesus grace prayer is here...

Interestingly, Google searches for the movie are limited to coastal states. California and New York being the most active "Religulous" searchers.

Muslim females can get your Khimar and Naqab set (with convenient arm holes) here.

Jews can get your kosher cell phones over here.

Christians can get their Jesus Christ TV Military Cap over here

 

The War On Intelligence

The war on terror is having a huge impact.

Unfortunately that impact is entirely bad.

Since the US and Britain have declared war on terrorism, it has really blossomed. Declaring war on a problem seems to work like fertilizer instead of weed killer. Getting all worked up about it and paranoid and cowboy makes the idea of it kind of materialize in a more full way. There are better, more intelligent ways to approach problems - but those are easy to sell against and less profitable for certain sectors of our economy.

One of those more intelligent methods is trying to understand first why people turn to terrorism. Hmmm.

"A June MI5 "operational briefing note", circulated within the security services, warns that, unless they understand the varied backgrounds of those drawn to terrorism in Britain, the security services will fail to counter their activities in the short term and fail to prevent violent radicalisation continuing in the long term."

   

According to an MI5 report, most of the popular perceptions about terrorists are off-base. Most British terrorists are British-born religious novices with wives, families, jobs, and an average education.  They are not mentally imbalanced. They are not pathological. They are not disenfranchised young men. If anything, they're underpaid.

Finding out why these men turn to violence against their own society is fundamental to stopping it from happening. Trying to kill or stop them all, as I said above, has had the reverse effect of making terrorist groups grow and multiply.

Frankly, I think it makes the whole thing more appealing and sexy to these guys.

New Olympic Sport: Slap Face

From the office: Jim introduces an all new Olympic sport and teaches Dwight how to play.

“Make it Take it” is a term used in street basketball. Usually if playing a Half-court game, whomever scores retains possession of the basketball…or in this case, the slap. Perhaps Slap Face is the sport that will replace baseball and softball beginning in 2012. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to make a sport eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. That's if Slap Face can stand the test of time. As it stands, many professional slap face players suffer from Slap Face syndrome which manifests itself much like arthritis with a little bit of a rash.

Dear North Korea and all but 8 other olympics participants

Run Your Own Political Attack Ads

Ten minutes ago I discovered SaysMe.TV. You Americans can buy $100 of media or more on your local stations, pick a daypart, and choose user-created ads to run. Or you can create your own ad and make money every time it runs.

"I see this as a tremendous opportunity to get the kind of messages out that you will never see come out of campaigns because they have 55 pollsters figuring out if they should say anything about the issue,"  SaysMe.TV CEO Lisa Eisenpresser said, adding that both liberal and conservative views are welcomed on SaysMe.TV.

I don't want to suggest something undemocratic or anything, but it might be possible for folks in other countries to contribute as well. That's right Europe, I'm talkin' to you.

Stations include CNN, Comedy Central, A&E, ABC Family, and Animal Planet. You can take the tour over here.