GOP "Truth"

I'm beginning to wonder exactly how many Republicans are "Truthers".



Think Progress has some more on this, as well as relevant context that includes Beck "outing" a Tea Bagger "Triuther" Debra Medina.

If there's one thing that conservatives are known for, it's the ability to stay on message when you know that millions of people are watching, even when it means you're dribbling lies onto your Brooks Brothers suit. But they haven't been able to figure out that citizen journalism ( and no, I'm not talking about the Breitbart kind where you're breaking the law ) has been doing more to shine a light on conservative hypocrisy than most mainstream outlets.

Has the Tea Bagger narrative, that conspiratorial twitch, began to slither into the minds of sitting Republican Congressional members? Of course it has. It's been there since Jan. 20th of last year. All one has to do is look at people like Jim DeMint and Michelle Bachman for perfect examples. These people are so anti-government that storylines like Sept. 11th was a "false flag" operation begin to makes sense to them. Not because they are anti-Bush, but because they have erased from their memories that Bush was ever in office. That is, until someone calls him out for the complete disaster his presidency was, then they are on the defence.

The point is that these people are so disconnected from reality that they will say anything if their handlers aren't around to keep them in line.

Women Of The Decade

It's been said that behind every great man there is a woman. More often than is given credit for, behind every great action there is a woman as well. And it is for that reason that I have come up with the list of some of the greatest women of the decade. Granted, this is strictly in the realm of music, movies, and pop-culture, so no offense is meant to any women within alternate categories.

1 - Cate Blanchett



From a cold-hearted mother willing to sell her daughter in The Shipping News, to The Queen of the elves in LOTR, to THE Queen Elizabeth, and even Bob Dylan, Cate Blanchett is my pic for actress of the decade.

2 - Kari Byron



No one makes science or myth-busting more entertaining and fun than Kari. She's a nerd icon and can handle her own against any challenge that the boys often aren't up to.

3 - Sarah Silverman



Her absurdist/controversial/existential humor makes stands out as a pioneering force in comedy. What more can be said.

4 - American Ferrera



No longer the Rubenesque girl that she portrayed in her debut film "Real Women Have Curves", she is the "every-girl" icon in Ugly Betty that has shown us that image isn't always everything when it comes to women in the modern age.

5 - Alison Krauss



One of the most overlooked women in modern musical history, Alison Krauss made a name of herself amongst the bluegrass enthusiasts in America as fronting the group Union Station but virtually flew under the radar outside of the Nashville-set. That being said, simply being recognized as a household name doesn't make you a great artist. Her true power shined in 2007 when she joined with Robert Plant to record one of the greatest albums of the decade - Raising Sand

6 - Christiane Amanpour



A titan of a female journalist amongst a gaggle of hacks. Often far more honest and hard-hitting than most, which often ends with her being labeled as controversial. A true voice within the journalism community that shows that women are equally as powerful.

A More Relevant Interview Than Most

Damon Weaver, KEC TV News Team reporter from Kathryn E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary, finally gets his interview with Obama.



While most, if not all, within the mainstream media will largely ignore this interview, for a variety of reasons, it should be noted that Damon has more journalistic chops than most than continually touts their own skills as a reporter.

However, he would be immediately discounted due to his closing statement that Obama is now his "homeboy". Dang, "in the tank" at such a young age.

Of Shoes And People That Are Missing The Point

It's been the hot story for the past day, the Iraqi journalist that threw both his shoes at soon to be former President George W. Bush.

Just in case you'd like to see it again, here it is:



So, who is this journalist who buys his ammunition at Foot Locker?

Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, a reporter with Cairo-based network Al Baghdadia Television, had experienced first-hand the brutal violence that consumed Iraq last year.....Zaidi, colleagues said, was kidnapped by Shiite militiamen last year and was later released.

Considering the fact that Bush is a person that isn't viewed as the Iraqi liberator that he most likely fancies himself as, this is almost an expected incident. He's leaving office in a little over 30 days and he decides to make one last "suprise visit".

Predictably, conservative bloggers and pundits are frothing at the mouth and shouting "what if it was a bomb?!?!?!?!". To this I would ask them to exercise even a modest amount of intelligence.

First off, this is taking place well within the "Green Zone". It's in a press conference room where there are certainly more security that you aren't seeing within the shot of Bush and AL Maliki.

Secondly, did you notice the look on Bush's face? It's a pretty safe bet that he knows it's a non-lethal weapon and - once the second shoe takes flight - he probably realizes that it is, in fact, a shoe. He even waves-off the Secret Service agent that comes up to him.

You can read the full account here.

Considering that fact that throwing ones shoe at a person has more cultural significance in Iraqi culture than we might be able to understand, this particular incident has a much broader meaning.

Here we have an Iraqi journalist - one that has been kidnapped and had to deal intimately with the horrors of Iraq every day - that has been widely ignored by the President and by the American media at large. Being of a very passionate culture, what would one expect him to do?

To Muntadar al-Zaidi, this was a moment of pure emotion. It was his own powerful, symbolic jesture toward the man that is the face of the American occupation of Iraq. He has nothing to do with the "liberal press" that some conservatives shout about.

An unhinged Iraqi journalist fulfills the dream of every MSNBC anchor and NYTimes editorial columnist by throwing his shoes at President Bush during an impromptu news conference in Baghdad.

For what it's worth - and just because my brain works this way - it should be noted that NIKE is the goddess fo "victory".

Thursday Afternoon Thoughts feat Hunter S. Thompson

I often look back at the first time I read anything of Thompson's. This was before I had even heard of "Fear and Loathin in Las Vegas". It was an old issue of Rolling Stone that I found at a garage sale when I was in high-school. I can't remember what the article was intended to be about, but I do remember the style was frighteningly surreal, just like the man was.

Here's some video of the man who made journalism interesting.