Asymmetric

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Shill-proofing Asymmetric: Criticizing McCain:
2008-05-09 16:33:00
McCain isn't my "lesser of evils." I actually like and respect him; he's a good guy and one with whom I generally agree. But, I don't like being part of a drumbeat so I'm purposefully criticizing McCain: Generally: McCain has a sincere speaking style, but sometimes trips over his words, reminding us, to the detriment of McCain's campaign, of the difficulty our current commander and chief has with impromptu speaking. He's reduced his use of "friends" in speaking, but for a while, it was almost a verbal tick. McCain sprinkles his sentences with "breakers" like "I believe" or "if you will." He repeats jokes often. Specifically: McCain responded to Obama's "losing his bearings" comment by accusing Obama of slyly bringing up his age. Now, I believe this. Unless it's something that Obama says regularly, somebody gave him a phrase that denotes "meandering" and connotes dementia. However, it's not good for McCain to worry about "intentions" or hidden insults. Doing so makes ...

Cuban Solidarity Day: May 21
2008-05-08 17:47:00
Help support your Cuban brothers and sisters. Babalu Blog has a post on Cuban Solidarity day. Check it out.Powered by b2evolution.

Obama participates in opposite day.
2008-05-08 04:25:00
Even dumber than Obama saying that Republicans, whose leader didn't want anything to do with legitimate issue, Wright, play dirty politics. Even more of a stretch than Republicans being the "divisive" ("two Americas? tax breaks for the rich?) party is the idea that Democratic policies would lower the price of gasoline. It's like putting Britney Spears in charge of a youth group because the girls are too slutty. Exactly how is "going after" oil companies going to lower the price of gas? How is restricting drilling in Alaska, the gulf, and everyplace else going to lower gas prices? Truly Bizarro. Prager has a good commentary on the speech. Powered by b2evolution.

Hulk: The worst superhero ever.
2008-05-08 03:16:00
The fact of the matter is that the Hulk has never been an interesting superhero. The main reason, I think, is that the Hulk is, essentially, a super-strong raging drunk. He doesn't have any control over himself. That means: No clever escapes; no plotting; no electrocuting robots with an overhanging power line- just "smashing." Hence, the pathetic lineage: The comic book (except for Hulk 451, which was brilliant): The "hugely" popular cartoon that nobody remembers and looks like it was animated by the Hulk himself: The awfully repetitive television show: The first Hulk film: A movie so bad, they had to make it twice: Finally, the next sure-to-be clunker. Let me guess: A conflicted, anguished scientist; the amoral, military-industrial complex; an "epic" battle between two similarly-matched supers. It's enough to make me wish for a Hawkman movie. Hawkman, please.Powered by b2evolution.

Turn out the lights, The party's over- for both Hillary and the GOP
2008-05-08 01:47:00
Well, it was fun while it lasted, but the 2008 Democratic primary is now over. Some thoughts: 1. In-fighting did hurt the Democrats- that's what I mean by "party over" for the GOP; it was a once-every-forty-year gift (1968) from the Dems to the Republicans. The fraction of my life that cares about politics is both nervous and slightly down at the Dem primary's resolution. Nervous because we have to really go at it now- with a zeitgeist disadvantage for the GOP. Down because I won't get to read liberals attack other liberals. 2. I think Obama's win had something to do with Democrats wanting the contest to be over. If the primaries started over again and Hillary didn't lie about Bosnia, Hillary would be the favorite. 3. The Democrats have begun their devious, dishonest attacks (It's a Stalinist who suggests that only Republicans have an attack machine [below]). For instance, Obama attacked McCain "for running a sleazy campaign based on 'fake controversies' and 'distract...

Obama and the Teamsters Union
2008-05-07 05:52:00
While Obama was the long shot, he suggested that, as president, he's interfere to help the Teamsters union bring back corruption or, as they insist, reduce costs. I don't think it's too much of a big deal, but it does further make it harder to swallow his anti-special interest, "new politics" lines.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Union

What do Thoreau, Obama, and Guevara have in common?
2008-05-07 02:42:00
They're all on Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge's wall. Che explanation. Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Obama , Thoreau

The left stuck on stupid on Wright and Hagee
2008-05-07 02:38:00
From the same intellectual heritage that analogized Bush with Hitler, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, and Marines and Storm Troopers, we have the latest absurd equivalency from Roland Martin. Either the leftists who equate Hagee and Wright are cynically shilling for Obama or too stupid to contrast Beethoven and Brittney. I would buy the comparison of Hagee and Wright if: 1. ...Hagee was talking about temporal things like A.I.D.S. or psychometry instead of theology and... 2. ...McCain called him his "mentor" and dedicated a book to him and... 3. ...if he had actually said anything specifically against Catholics. Let's look at a couple of things. 1. This theological discussion discussion by Hagee: John Hagee cited three things, Crusades, Inquisition, and Holocaust. They're not all Catholic things. If it was an attack on Catholicism, why the Holocaust? He explains it clearly on the audio (with Dennis Prager): Hagee interview. Does he sound like nutball Wright?Powered by b2evolut...
More About: Stupid , Left

Michelle Obama speech. Hitchens commentary
2008-05-06 19:36:00
Michelle Obama is the same kind of polarizing figure Hillary Clinton was, but without the political savvy. Besides her obnoxious "Elect Obama so we won't suck" attitude, she reminds me of the, yes, sometimes "bitter" workers at the DMV. And, you know how guys joke about their subservience to their wife ("Yeah, I have to check with the boss." You can see it clearly on TV commercials- A wife allows her husband to have the big screen TV after hiding it somewhere.)? Well, it's only funny if it isn't or couldn't be true; you don't hear women say, "I have to ask permission from my husband" or "He'll beat me up if I do that." Barack and Michelle joke around like that a lot, but I don't think it's funny because I suspect that Barack really is scared of Michelle. Heck, who wouldn't be? Anyways, more here, here, here. Hitchens here. And an amazing Michelle on the Hugh Hewitt show.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Commentary , Michelle

McCain on the judiciary- speech.
2008-05-06 16:15:00
Good, conservative stuff. Nice, fair, issue-oriented dig at Clinton and Obama. Read his philosophy on his web site. Campaign spot has the actual speech.Powered by b2evolution.

McCain reaches out to me- and other Hispanics: gamers next?
2008-05-06 02:43:00
I admit to having been apprehensive, but now that McCain's reached out to me, I can grab hold. I like that he wants to talk to all Americans- however they want to distinguish themselves -unless they're totally repulsive like the KKK or Reverend Wright or William Ayers. La Raza is "The Race," but I don't think they take the implications of their name seriously. Half of them are probably married to non-Hispanics . Anyways, he's checked off blacks, "hillbillies," conservatives, evangelicals, military. I'm not "pro" gay, but he should go there next and talk about his differences with their agenda. He could pick up a more flattering suit while he's at it. Hmmm, after that? How about gamers and role-players? We're pretty ignored (especially by girls). Well, until somebody needs technical support, that is. -Hey guys! How about a quick game while we're waiting for McCain. I wonder what his healing policy is? I paid 50 gold pieces for a simple lay on hands. And, I need relief f...

Iron Man Heaviest Metal at Box Office
2008-05-05 12:30:00
1 Iron Man (2008) $101M $104M 2 Made of Honor (2008) $15.5M $15.5M 3 Baby Mama (2008) $10.3M $32.3M 4 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) $6.13M $44.8M 5 Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) $6.01M $25.3M 6 The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) $4.2M $45.1M 7 Nim's Island (2008) $2.75M $42.5M 8 Prom Night (2008) $2.5M $41.4M 9 21 (2008) $2.1M $79.1M 10 88 Minutes (2007) $1.6M $15.4MPowered by b2evolution.
More About: Office , Metal

Miley Cyrus (AKA Hannah Montana) and Vanity Fair controversy
2008-05-05 04:41:00
The picture in question. My daughter loves Miley Cyrus and I'm happy she does: Cyrus and her Disney Channel (and station) mates make the best quality, most decent comedy television and pop music today. Cyrus is also a gust of fresh air compared to the destructive Spears, Lohan, et. al. She makes a point of being a Christian in what must be a very faith-challenging business. About the Vanity Fair picture controversy: I'm glad that Cyrus is concerned about her image. She could have downplayed her responsibility to my daughter, but didn't. When I first heard about the picture controversy, I didn't think that it was too much of a big deal. Yes, she's under age and, as a high school teacher, I know the last message girls need is: "be sexier," but the pictures weren't in the nude; How much worse could they be than Brooke Shields' Calvin Klein ad from the eighties? One of my fondest teenage memories. Then, I saw the first picture above and thought about the issue some mor...
More About: Hannah , Montana , Controversy

Keyes compares himself to an abortion after losing coveted Constitution nom
2008-05-05 01:29:00
Proof that not all nuts are on the left. Talk about strained analogies! This guy ran against Barack Obama. Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Abortion , Constitution

Obama-Clinton Star Wars youtube parody
2008-05-04 23:15:00
Hilarious. Thanks to Fausta. My Democratic convention scenario (Michael Jackson is Howard Dean.). Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Youtube , Parody , Star Wars , Wars , Obama

Knives don't kill people:
2008-05-03 22:05:00
...criminals do: Boris Johnson, the new mayor of London, made fighting crime his top priority as he officially took over his new role. “It is the job of me as Mayor to lead the fightback against it and that is what I want to do and I hope you will all join me in doing it,” he said after signing the declaration of acceptance as mayor. Johnson, who triumphed over Ken Livingstone by six points in Thursday’s poll, said the “tragically self-destructive” behaviour of some of the city’s children was its number one issue... ...The formal signing ceremony at City Hall came just hours after a 15-year-old boy was found stabbed to death in a stairwell in south London, the latest incident in a wave of knife-crime among young people in the capital. Powered by b2evolution.
More About: People , Kill , Knives

Movie Review: Iron Man (Ironman): Step aside Transformers
2008-05-03 19:47:00
For most of Iron Man 's 126 minutes, I was confident that it would overtake Spiderman as the best film adaptation of a superhero comic book. I'm still undecided after a slight intensity and creativity dip towards its end, but I'm certain that anybody with the slightest interest in this genre will find Iron Man as thrilling as a ride underneath an F-22. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a hard-partying, frivolous genius- more Mark Cuban than Bill Gates- who applies his considerable smarts towards the world's second oldest profession- making weapons. Militants attack Stark's convoy during a business trip to Afghanistan and take him captive. Another prisoner, Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub), saves Stark's life by rigging a car battery to Stark's shrapnel-filled heart. Stark initially refuses to build a “Jericho” missile for the terrorists, but accepts the project after some water-boarding (one of the allusions to current controversies; Blackwater-type guards are another.)....
More About: Movie , Transformers , Movie Review , Review

Caribbeans may decide presidency again
2008-05-02 08:29:00
Cuban-Americans elected George Bush in 2000. This year our Boricua (Puerto Rican) brothers may decide the fate of the free world with their 65 delegates in the Democratic race. I wonder what Jamaica will do to ensure a role in the 2012 election.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Presidency

Moveon attack ad lies about McCain
2008-05-02 04:00:00
Wow. What can I say about this ad? You know it's a lie. McCain should demand a denunciation from Obama whom Moveon endorsed. Or, maybe, McCain is waiting for the general election to hang Moveon.org around Obama's neck. Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Lies , Attack

Kerry, Obama, and McCain: A study in contrasts.
2008-05-01 18:55:00
Karl Rove's assertion that John McCain is too reluctant (private) to talk about his impressive personal story (good in person, not so good in an election) contained the following story: Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple." The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again. But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in t...
More About: Study , Obama , Kerry

How can you worry about the economy when black porn stars are on the loose
2008-05-01 02:35:00
"We now have a small army of male black porn stars that are sifting through five, ten, fifteen thousand women," he said. "One man can now genocide the wombs of thousands of women," infecting them with sexually transmitted diseases that leave them barren. He calls it "Porn mule womb slaughter . . . the most effective weapon of mass destruction." From here.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Stars , Economy , Black , Worry , Porn Stars

McCain, Obama, Clinton, and gas prices.
2008-04-30 19:07:00
McCain's gas-tax gimmick is about what one would expect from a Republican candidate, given that his party's shortsighted energy policies are partly to blame for the fix we're in today. Rather than supporting conservation measures, such as tougher vehicle fuel standards, the Republicans wasted years fighting a pointless battle to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. President Bush continued to hammer on this tired theme Tuesday, as if unaware that it would take about a decade to extract a drop of oil from the refuge and that doing so would have a negligible effect on prices. From the dwindling Times. Let' me get this strait: It's wrong to actually do things that lower prices like reduce taxes and increase supply (ANWR), but it's right to mandate fuel efficiency standards (The first two would be too easy, I guess. Where's the challenge in actually reducing the price?). Typical left wing control freak. First, any mandates would have have to be phased ...
More About: Obama , Gas Prices , Clinton , Prices

Why going on Fox is a smart move for Hillary
2008-04-30 08:03:00
Hillary's not only on Fox, she's on the O'Reilly show. Smart move: 1. Anybody who thinks that candidates should boycott center-right news stations (because center right views have no place on public airwaves?) is a fascist nut (Many are the same people who root for Jimmy Carter and Obama to glad hand with terrorists.). 2. Obama has the feverish nut, General Betray Us vote sewn up. 3. Hillary Clinton's strategy is to expand her share of the clingy bitter vote, the kind of people who don't mind Fox because it has pretty graphics that shine through the cloudy haze of gun smoke and hair spray that builds up over the Wal Mart TV tray between the TV and the faux leather easy chair. 4. Seriously, going on Fox makes her appear more moderate. Bloomington and Greensboro aren't San Francisco and Madison.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Move , Hillary

I believe you Obama (Obama-Wright controversy).
2008-04-30 04:54:00
Obama further denounced Wright 's remarks, throwing Wright (and many conspiracy theorists) under that now very messy bus undercarriage (I'd hate to be on the road behind Obama's bus with all of those bodies flying around.). Anybody who thought that Obama really believed Wright's junk is wrong in my judgment. I don't have any evidence, but I think Obama joined the church for "black credibility," although I still wonder why Obama had Wright marry him, gave him money, and so effusively praised him in the past. He could have just showed up. Whatever. On to issues.Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Obama , Controversy

If liberals are really concerned about McCain's age...
2008-04-30 04:04:00
I've heard the concerns on the left over McCain's age (born 1936) and understand- eventhough I don't agree- with their concern. Since I know the left is always consistent, they should apply the age cutoff to other public figures as well. Therefore, the following people should quit public life, for the good of the country, and march (or roll) to the nearest retirement home: 1. Noam Chomsky (1928). 2. Ted Kennedy (1932). 3. Jimmy Carter (1924). 4. John Paul Stevens (1920 [All Supreme Court Justices before November, please.]). 5. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1930).Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Liberals , Concerned

Reverend Wright explains black and white hand clapping difference.
2008-04-29 22:46:00
In the late eighties, I'd sometimes accompany my black girlfriend to her church on Sundays (I never heard anything negative towards whites and they never failed to make me feel welcome, by the way.). During the music, I always noticed that I was the only one "on-beat." Well, thanks to Reverend Wright, I now see that my black brothers and sisters at the church weren't rhythmically "deficient;" they were just acting on their genetic inheritance- "different." Powered by b2evolution.
More About: White , Black , Hand , Difference

OK GOP: Let's forget about Wright now
2008-04-29 22:37:00
Wright has done a service to the country: By knocking Obama off of his Olympian pedestal, he has made it possible for the nation to focus on issues. His mission accomplished, however, it's now time to leave him alone. To be more accurate, Wright has been part of the Obama de-mystification process: Before reverend Wright, many saw Obama as a man beyond politics, a racial healer, and would-be bureaucracy reformer. How the mighty have fallen: 1. His distance from lobbyists and "insiders" and "special interests" (except for unions and lawyers). This one's still subject to scrutiny. Obama has raised lots of money from small donors, but he's also raised money from the usual suspects. The GOP got an assist from Hillary Clinton when she pointed out that Obama's claim that he doesn't take money from oil corporations is misleading since nobody takes money from corporations. 2. Public financing. I think Obama can secure a good one or two percent of the vote by taking public financi...
More About: Wright

McCain's Call to Action tour: Day One- Health Care
2008-04-28 20:14:00
McCain sure is making the most of his "cold" campaign. Here's one speech I was waiting for, health care: ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain will deliver the following remarks as prepared for delivery at Miami Children's Hospital, in Miami, FL, today at 10:00 a.m. EDT: Read more »Powered by b2evolution.
More About: Health , Action , Health Care , Tour , Care

Reverend Jeremiah Wright at National Press club.
2008-04-28 16:23:00
Just heard it on the radio. Where have I heard his mocking tone and habit of answering of every question with one of his own. Got it! Communist lying technique. Powered by b2evolution.
More About: National , Press , Club , Reverend , Wright

Barack Obama releases T-Mobile MyFaves: Leaves out grandmother
2008-04-28 08:40:00
Graphical representation of Obama cell phone. Supporters were shocked to find that Obama left his grandmother off of his list of T-Mobile MyFaves or his "First Five." Commentators suggest that her reaction to a "aggressive" black pan handler made her too controvertial. Making the list is: 1. William Ayers, unrepentant terrorist, casual dresser, dorm bull-session star, and Obama fundraiser. Obama intentionally mis-spelled his name with a "z" at the end because Obama said it was "more gangsta- pimpin' like Jay." 2. Reverend Jeremiah Wright ("Uncle J"), science ethicist, America judger, singer, contextualist. 3. Tony Rezco, helping hand, real estate guru, fashion plate, corruption monger. 4. Ted Kennedy (TWG or "Typical white guy"), party animal, anti-hero, more conservative senator than Barack Obama . 5. David Emerson, Canadian trade minister. Another famous T-Mobile customer: Charles Barkley. YoutubePowered by b2evolution.