AndreasThePimp

Absolutely unbelievable what has happened along the coasts in the Indian Ocean.
Not absolutely unbelievable is that some born-again types are again starting to raise high the banner of 'it might just be a sign of the end of the times' eg, Baldilocks, not to single her out.
Also of note, from the Baloney Broadcasting Co, is an article concerning Sri Lanka's government being less than enthusiastic about taking assistance from Israel ("Israel has cancelled plans to send a 150-person rescue mission to Sri Lanka after the devastated island objected to the military composition of the team... Instead, a smaller team will escort a convoy carrying emergency supplies.") Towards the end of the article we read that "Israel's foreign ministry has set up a situation room for relatives to track down hundreds of Israelis on holiday in the tsunami zone, who have not yet made contact. No one from the country has yet been confirmed dead in the disaster. " Hundreds of Israelis in the region and none confirmed dead? What does that tell you..? What hidden hand is pulling the strings that control Puppet Bush, hmm, Mr Neocon..?
(See, I can talk like a DU'er, huh?)

I think the Democrats, the Liberals and those in the Old News Media are busy trashing Don Rumsfeld because they're tired of trashing George Bush. Otherwise, wouldn't they be complaining that Bush has the time to sign condolence letters to the families of those killed in the military?
Also, I see that certain keepers or the moral flame are fussing about a woman who paid a ton of money to have her deceased cat cloned:

"It's morally problematic and a little reprehensible," said David Magnus, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University. "For $50,000, she could have provided homes for a lot of strays."

I mean, did Hillary Clinton really need to buy two mansions? (Never mind you how she paid for them. We know she wouldn't do anything underhanded or unethical, would she...)

Oh great - blending puppies, beating up hoboes, penguin porno... and now Glenn is ready to sell us out to the Martians...

I added another couple of links, and kisses to Michelle for sending me an email in response to a comment I left on her site. I wonder if someone from the company I momentarily work for sold someone in her household a newspaper subscription...

So, let's pay a visit to the bespectacled smirky corner of the parallel universe occupied by one well known member of the reality-paste community...
Oliver has two interesting items today.
In one, he tells us that a "Reporter Asks an Actual Question." At the Dec 6 Daily Press Briefing, Scott McClellan took what seemed to be at least two dozen questions about plans to set up private savings account as part of Social Security reform, many questions on such topics as the intelligence reform bill, foreign policy, accusations of voter suppression in Ohio, etc.
But Oliver's idea of of a real question is "... as a born again Christian, does the President support efforts to rebuild the temple on the Temple Mount?" Inquiring mimes want to know.
His other interesting item concerns a 35 year old 'youth pastor' at a fundamentalist church in
the Des Moines, Iowa area. This fellow was an appearance with Bush in Des Moines (see here for a local news item) when he signed the tax cut extension into law at a campaign stop. One of the locals who said he supported Bush and had been able to put the benefits of his tax cut to good use (for heating and health care, among other things), the 'youth pastor' recented fessed up to having an affair with a 17 year old girl at his church.
One does not need to be brilliant to realize that a married man (35 with 4 kids) who has an affair with a 17 year old ought to be frikkin ashamed of himself. (Although I imagine that many a member of the reality-baste community thought it was okay if the wife with the really big thighs forgave the white-trash husband for having an affair with the sizeable intern - no names, please.) (And let me fess up, too - when I was 39, I met a girl who was 16 and I fell for her like I never fell for anyone - I still think she's absolutely the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, so much so that she was the basis for a character in the still unfinished novel this blog is named after, and I described her as having the face of an angel, which she does. But she's well out of my league and thank God I realized it before I did anything that would have, even by my standards, been stupid. As comedian Bob Schimmel said, when a woman who's had 17 affairs in the last 25 months says. "All I want is a nice guy," the correct answer is "No you don't..." Anyway...)
But here's the really cute detail: Oliver links to this story and he offers us three short opening sentences which read,

A Des Moines youth pastor is charged with the sexual exploitation of a child.
KCCI learned that the married father of four recently turned himself in to Johnston police.
Rev. Mike Hintz was fired from the First Assembly of God Church, located at 2725 Merle Hay Road, on Oct. 30. Hintz was the youth pastor there for three years.

But here's the actual story:

A Des Moines youth pastor is charged with sexual exploitation by a counselor.
KCCI learned that the married father of four recently turned himself in to Johnston police.
Rev. Mike Hintz was fired from the First Assembly of God Church, located at 2725 Merle Hay Road, on Oct. 30. Hintz was the youth pastor there for three years.

Not only was the opening line changed in a way which gave a radically different meaning, but read the story any of in several versions (links here, here, here, and here) and you'll notice that none of them say he was charged with a crime by the police, since the age of consent in Iowa is 16. (Look it up yourself- I've been at work for more than 12 hours today - you say Oracle potato and I say SQL-Server potahto.)
Oliver also links to Kos, from whom Oliver apparently got the - let's be reality-based here - totally dishonest first line, and to Atrios, who has a picture of Bush with some people but apparently takes it for granted that you're smart enough to know what the caption refers to.

Scrolling down a little, I see that Oliver has more gooey goofy goodness that's begging for a bloody blogging. (That's called alliteration - see here.) Maybe tomorrow. Those of us who work for a living know that blogging comes after doing one's job, paying one's bills, and watching the same episodes of Futurama over and over. (Klein's Beer? My God, they were BRILLIANT!)

Yaaay! I seem to have figured out how to put in links.
If anyone is out there, expect me to start busting on Oliver Witless as often as I can, which may mean as often as he says something new (which is, to say, something stale and liberal...)