If a dog did this...

Remember when Newt Gingrich was the darling of the right?

Seriously.

He was largely responsible for the GOP taking over the House of Representatives in 1994. So much so, he was Time's Person of the Year in 1995. And, he was pretty successful as Speaker. There were a couple of hiccups along the way, but all things considered, he had a good run.

Remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger was the darling of the right? Heck, some were even serious about changing the Constitution to allow him to run for president. "Conan the Republican," he was called. And the "Governator."

Now, he's the butt of jokes -- the "Sperminator" -- after word of his fathering a child with a staffer.

And Sarah Palin? In 2008, to those on the right, it was almost as if the Beatles were showing up. Or Justin Bieber, to you young kids.

Some were saying they wished she was leading the ticket, not McCain. And the Sarah 2012 bumper stickers showed up before the 2008 election was done.

Now? Conservatives are crossing their fingers, hoping she won't run.

Rather than go on with a bunch more examples -- you can supply several, I'm sure -- I'll get to my point. I'm sure I had one, after all.

For each of these -- and for those you come up with -- we conservatives were like dogs when their master came home: we jumped up and down, all excited to see them. We'd bark and yelp and make noise showing how happy we were.

Then what happened?

The 1998 election and word of Gingrich's latest affair, culminating with his resignation.

The evidence that a conservative in California would be a liberal in most of the rest of America. That, and Schwarzenegger's illegitimate child.

The resignation of office, giving the left another notch on their belt, and letting people believe that all the things said were true.

The truth is, Gingrich, Schwarzenegger, and Palin haven't changed. Not much, anyway.

So, have we?

A little. We're acting more and more like the left.

If a dog was all happy to see you, then suddenly started baring its teeth, you'd put it down. Or you should.

But, we're not dogs. The politicians need to understand that.

And, the politicians aren't those rosy images we painted of them. We need to understand that.

We see something we like about someone. Something they did. Something they said. Something. And we seize on it and proclaim them the greatest thing since sliced bread. Or since the iPod.

Then, as time goes on, the person continues to act like they've always acted. And the other side seizes on that. And we pay attention.

Eventually, we seem to turn on the politician.

The attacks on Gingrich, the jokes about Schwarzenegger, the comments about Palin ... they're pretty rough.

Not saying they aren't accurate or playing off truths. But they are pretty rough.

Politics is a rough sport. You gotta be tough to play it.

Now, I'm not saying we should back off. I'm saying we need to be the parents of the schoolgirls screaming because John, Paul, George, and Ringo are on the stage. We can enjoy the music, too.

And, when John says something we don't like, we don't need to burn Beatles records.

We are the voters. We are Americans. We are America.

We need to act like it.

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More comments at IMAO

Newsbusted for May 17, 2011

Yay! New Newsbusted!


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Name that Tune

The following is based on a true story.

I was at Harvey's blog this past weekend and saw that Lonely Island/Michael Bolton/Jack Sparrow video. Sure, you've seen it. It's here, in case you haven't.

Anyway, that hook ... it was driving me nuts. And that's a point of embarrassment to me. Wife's cat will explain:


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Stupid cat.

OMG POTUS TXTS

CBS New York reports that a new cell phone emergency service is set to launch "by the end of the year" in New York and Washington ... and in other cities by the end of 2012:

It's called the Personal Localized Alert Network or PLAN. Presidential and local emergency messages as well as Amber Alerts would appear on cell phones equipped with special chips and software.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the system would also warn about terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

So, how would this work? I'm thinking not too well. Remember when Steve Jobs took down a network when he tried to introduce the iPhone 4? And the overall sluggishness of AT&T since the introduction of the iPhone?

But that's in the corporate world. I'm sure with the government involved, this will go off without a hitch. I do wonder, though, will you be able to read government texts while driving? Maybe those will be exempted from all those texting laws.

And, we obviously need such a thing. How else will we know what's going on in our own cities? Just because today, we can get live messages from Abbottabad that helicopters are attacking a big house doesn't mean that we can know about stuff going on locally.

It's not like every news outlet in the world has Twitter accounts. Except that every news outlet in the world has a Twitter account.

NYC's Nanny-In-Chief, Michael Bloomberg, said, "The lessons that were reinforced on 9/11 is the importance of getting clear and accurate information to the public during a crisis."

So he's responding to 9/11. And we know how well governments respond to 9/11. Tried to fly anywhere lately? Had to wait while some 3-year-old is fondled by the TSA? Government reaction at its finest.

But I can see the use of this for natural disasters. Those texts would really be helpful:

• That really bad wind and rain you're getting? Yes, it is a hurricane. You might want to leave now.
• That water that's inside your house? It's a flood. But don't worry. Our buses are still parked. They're safe. You should go be safe too.
• Those tornado alerts you saw on TV and heard on the radio? Yes they're real.

AT&T and Verizon are on board with this plan, by the way. But you can opt out. For all but the messages from the president. You don't see enough of him on TV or on the radio or in the newspaper or on the Internet. You will be able to get him on your cell phone. And nationally, by the end of 2012. In time for the election.

I can imagine that the president will have only important things to say.

• OMG I SHOT 92 BEST SCORE EVER!!1!!
• CIA FOUND OBL BRB
• OBL DED 1MIL DKP 4 ME!!1!
• TX PLZ STP TXTNG ME NO $ 4 U
• EAK WAH
• BRB OMW TO TX TO RAISE $ FOR 2012

Yeah, I can hardly wait.

Getting a new bumper sticker, a follow-up

A little over a year ago, I decided to get a new bumper sticker for the car.

My older bumper sticker was ... well ... in need of replacing.

Okay, it was a window sticker. And it was way out-of-date.

And sort of lame, as I mentioned at the time:

Now, yes, I know, it's pretty lame to keep a bumper (or window) sticker up after the election. And I'm lame for still having it up.

But, I want to let people know this: I did not vote for Barack Obama.

Leaving the McCain sticker on was a way of saying that. But, it's still lame to have an election sticker after the election. Particularly 540 days after the election.

Well, it's now 916 days since the election, and I finally took the McCain sticker down.

I got a lot of suggestions, both at my little blog and at IMAO.

While some of them were excellent suggestions, I waited.

Well, the wait is over. I now have my new sticker.

It's actually a bumper sticker. But, being me, I put it on the window.

And, since it's sticker supporting Herman Cain, I expect I'll be called a racist, too.

Actual picture of Osama bin Laden after his death

You've seen the fakes. But we have the real thing.

This is confirmed as a picture of Osama Bin Laden, taken just hours after his death.

The Situation Room

We now join "The Situation Room," already in progress.


This thing get XBox?


Let the adults talk. We'll get to you in a minute.


Why don't I get to sit at the table? You always make me sit over here in the corner.


Shouldn't you be out playing golf?


I was. But I heard somebody say I was going to be on the big TV screen. But he pronounced my name wrong. Again. I think he did it on purpose. Make him stop.


Judas Priest! I could have been appearing on stage with Jeff Dunham. Instead I'm stuck here with you clowns.


Let's see... W-W-W-dot-white-house-dot-com... Heh. Heh heh. Heh heh heh. I'm gonna see boobies. Heh heh heh. Hey! There's no boobies here! Your husband lied to me!


What are you talking about?


Nothing. Never mind.


Damn fly-boy.


Sir, I'm Director for Counterterrorism. We're making a raid on our most-wanted terrorist. Why am I stuck in the back?


Missy, we already got one chick sittin' at the big table. Now go get me some coffee. And be quick about it.


I want one of those cool silver computers with the lit-up apple on it. Trump gets one of those! Why can't I get one of those?


If you sit quietly and behave, we'll see about getting you one for Christmas.


Christmas? What's Christmas? Is that where we hang lanterns? I don't want to wait that long. I want a silver Apple now!


He's right. I can't find Angry Birds on this one.


Damn fly-boy.


When do we get to see the terror guy?


They'll get to him in just a little bit.


Are you sure this is live TV? It's all dark and stuff. I was just outside and I saw the sun. I don't think this is live TV. Is this TiVo or something?


It's later over there. Remember what I told you about the sun and the earth? That's why it's already dark over there. But they'll get to him in just a little bit.


Don't shoot him in the head and drop the body in a park. You'll never hear the end of it.


Well, then shoot him in the head and drop him in the ocean. Fish gotta eat, too. Speaking of which, when's the pizza getting here? I've been here all day and haven't eaten. I tell ya, war is hell.