Let’s see…. No Press the Meat today, ‘cuz they’re showing the Ryder Cup. The winning team gets a free truck rental, I think. No such luck on CBS, though. Instead of golf (oh, did I mention that the Ryder Cup was golf?) it’s Faze the Nation, but today it’s Democrats-only day with PA Guv Ed Rendell, NM Guv Bill Richardson, and Vermont’s Boynie Sanduhs.

You’ll probably never see an all-Democrat day on Fux News Sunday, but you can always count on a crazed wingnut or teabagger (or two). And today’s no exception, as KY teabag darling Rand Paul faces off against his opponent for Senate, Kentucky AG Jack Conway. And then of course there’s the usual Sunday panel of fuxheads.

Over at the Goebbels network, undercover Muslim Christiane Amanpour has a town hall meeting as Franklin Graham, Daisy Khan, 9/11 families, a jihadist and more debate the question: should Americans Fear Islam? Well duh. Personally, I think Americans should fear any ideological movement that requires total, mindless, irrational faith and obedience from its followers while demanding they convert, assimilate, kill, or at least impose their values and beliefs on non-followers – and that includes radical Islam, fundamentalist Christianity, Teabaggery, and every other goddamn (so to speak) group of losers who refuse to leave me the f*ck alone. But that’s just me.

At CNN, Fareed Zakaria has an interview with Wen Jiabao. Can you tell me who that is? Huh? No? OK, well, he’s the Premier of China.

Also, there’s a war that officially comes to an end today. Can you guess which one? The War in Afghanistan? Yeah, right. Nope, it’s World War I. Now, I know that if you went to public school, you probably learned that WWI ended with the Treaty of Versailles, but, like so many other things they taught us, they lied. WWI isn’t officially over until those dirty Huns pay the last of their reparations – and that happens today as Angela Merkel tears that last coupon out of the book and puts the check in the mail.

You know what I’m betting you won’t see today? Any mention of the tens of thousands of progressives who rallied in Washington at the ‘One Nation Working Together’ event. And really, why would you? I mean, it’s not like Glenn Beck was there.

Oh well, lots of work to do today, so I better get to it.

So, looks like Jon Stewart won’t have Rick Sanchez to kick around anymore. You have to wonder how a teevee personality who presumably understands that when you appear on a radio show, people might actually hear what you’re saying (even if it’s only on Sirius) can be so stupid. Then again, this is the guy that was voluntarily tasered, so maybe it isn’t that odd after all. Oh well, farewell Rick, and we look forward to seeing you turn up on Fox. They hate Jon Stewart too, so you should fit right in.

Mira Sorvino “feels compelled” to fight human trafficking, saying it’s “the worst kind of human depravity that you can imagine.” I dunno, Mira. I’m not saying it isn’t, but as far as human depravity goes, there’s a lot of competition for the #1 spot.

But, wherever human trafficking (which, frankly, as a term seems little better to me that “human resources.” I think the world all began to go to hell when we stopped being persons – as in personnel – and started being the equivalent of the utility bill – an unfortunately unavoidable expense that should be kept to a minimum if it can’t be eradicated entirely) falls on the human depravity scale, I’ll listen to Mira because she was great in Mighty Aphrodite (which was a great movie – and not just because the boxer dude wanted to quit boxing and be an onion farmer in Wampsville, which, yes indeed, is not only a real place, but of course isn’t very far from me, and was, in fact, the place where a lot of kids took their road tests when I was 16’ish, because it was rural and presumably much less likely to hit anything in) and I liked her old man in Law and Order.

I’m just now watching last night’s Real Time with Bill Maher, and thank goodness that Andrew Breitbart wasn’t on this week. I don’t mind a conservative point of view, but a loudmouth schmuck who will do nothing but blather and filibuster adds nothing to the conversation and only serves to piss me off.

Not that this week’s panel wasn’t flawed. First off, there was Joe Klein who is, well, to put it mildly, an asshole. Then there was Arianna Huffington, who’s OK, I guess, but I’m getting a little tired of her and her Gabor sister accent. That’s unfair, I know, but, hey, what can I say. She’s also starting to look (especially her profile) like a caricature of herself drawn by Matt Groening. Cornell West was on, though, and I like him (even though he looks like he just got done filming an episode of the ‘Wild Wild West’ – kinda like the half-brother of Artemus Gordon that everybody kept a secret).

God, I wish Joe Klein would just STFU.

Big day today, which you might not have heard about because nobody seems to give a shit about it, but there’s a big, big rally or demonstration or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days for Single Payer Health Care. Hundreds of thousands (or maybe just hundreds) of people are expected. I know what you’re thinking, “hey, don’t we already have single payer health care? Or something?” And the answer to that is no. No we don’t. Maybe if Rahm Emanuel had left the White House sooner (or President Obama hadn’t chosen him to be Chief of Staff in the first place), we would. Or maybe Obama would have at least made a half-assed attempt to get it.

But he didn’t and we don’t. So, people with a lot more ambition than I have are still out there trying to get it. Most of them are old people who saw the Civil Rights movement and the anti-war movement during the Vietnam era, and actually think that marching or demonstrating or whatever it is they’re calling it these days will accomplish something. Good for them. I have my doubts, mostly because the government and the media are bought and paid for by the people who most stand to profit by the status quo, and because most of the people in this country are idiots.

And we no longer have Rick Sanchez to stand up for us anymore.

It finally appears to have stopped raining out there. Yesterday (and all through the night until just a few minutes ago), I was starting to wonder if it would ever stop, and I guess we’re lucky it wasn’t a little later in the year, ‘cuz if it had been snowing, we’d have gotten a good three feet (and right now, I’d settle for two good feet. Arh!). There’s been some big-time flooding around, and they had to open up some dams (‘cuz that’s what they do around here). We got nothing compared to what they got down in the Carolinas, though; parts of North Carolina got a foot of rain. I’m no expert, but that’s a lotta friggin’ rain.

If I lived in Delaware and was still up in the air as to who to vote for for Senate, I think this 2002 photo of Christine O’Donnell with Ozzie Osbourne would probably seal the deal for me. I’m not really an Ozzie fan per se, but I was big in to Black Sabbath back in the day, and I’m assuming Christine was, too (at least in her witchcraft days). Though back when I was crankin’ ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ in the school library (and generally getting kicked out for it), Christine was probably only about 5 years old. But I’m sure she got the call from Satan at a young age (like Damien).

The counter-clockwise (depending on what direction you’re coming from; from in here, it’s counter-clockwise) progression of pain is nearing the end (I hope) of its vicious cycle. What started out at my right foot, moved into my right shoulder, then jumped over to a tooth on the left side of my face has now worked its way down to my left foot. Actually, right now, everything from (and including) my left knee on down to my foot is pretty much killing me. Kinda sucks, and this wet weather probably isn’t much help, either. Only two questions remain: how long will it last, and what’s next?

It’s gonna be cool this weekend, but dry (so they say; I never trust ’em). So tomorrow should be a good day for the dogs to go play with their cousins (and for me to play with my tractor – goodness knows I won’t exactly be up for doing much walking). Today, though, needs to be dealt with first.

Uncle Carl Paladino had a bit of a confrontation with NY Post editor Fred Dicker last night. Something to do with Carl’s unsubstantiated allegations of an affair by Andy Cuomo (which is somewhat ironic in light of the fact that Carl himself has a daughter born out of wedlock). I think this guy is not only trailer trash, but he’s nuts, too. Could be an insteresting 4 years if Carl gets elected (as if NY State government wasn’t already enough like the Jerry Springer Show). As I’ve said before, Carl puts the “goober” in gubernatorial.

Speaking of Republican candidates for Guv, California’s Meg Whitman seems to have a bit of an illegal immigrant problem, in terms of her former maid. The maid is not only claiming that Whitman knew of her immigration status well before Meggy shitcanned her in advance of her run for Governor, but that Whitman also subjected her maid to “financial and emotional abuse for the nine years she was employed.”

Sad news yesterday: Greg Giraldo passed away at the age of 44. A shame. Fourty-four was such a promising number not all that long ago. Now? Well, 44 has really turned to crap.

Tony Curtis (aka, Bernard Schwartz) has also passed away at the age of 85. Tony was in a lot of stuff over the years, but I’ll remember him best for two things: playing Harry Houdini, and his portrayal of “Stony Curtis” in the Flintstones. Oh, and I really loved the way he said, “Thpartacuth.”

Fish Guy has sent me a message, wondering if there’ll be a Seditionist meetup in DC during the ‘Rally To Restore Sanity’/’March To Keep Fear Alive’ at the end of next month. So, how about it? Any takers? Can DC handle all 6 of us in one place? Is anyone willing to risk an FBI home invasion by the Obama Justice Department by assembling peacefully?

Y’all think on it, and let us know. In the meantime, I’m running a but late, ‘cuz I slept in ’til 5:30 this morning. Now half the day is shot. If you’re on the East Coast, try and stay dry out there today.

The list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced. It includes the Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, and LL Cool J. You know who it doesn’t include? Barry White, ELO, Todd Rundgren, Chicago, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Mott the Hoople, Steppenwolf, the Steve Miller Band, Harry Nilsson, the Moody Blues, and, most unbelievably, Stevie Ray Vaughan. So, to recap, Beastie Boys, ‘yes,’ Stevie Ray Vaughan, ‘no.’ Seriously? Seriously. Not to be overly dramatic, but I think this pretty much epitomizes all that is wrong with the world.

The abandoned, 120-yr old Marsellus Casket Company factory (empty since 2003 or something; like so many other local businesses, it was family owned until 1997, when it was sold off to the faceless conglomerate ‘Service Corporation,’ which ran it into the ground and then sold off its assets and copyrights to some other company, which moved operations to Mississippi or some other shithole Red state – no offense to my friends from the Magnolia State; I love you guys – where they don’t burden businesses with trivial environmental regulations and other such nonsense) is on fire this morning – burning rather impressively (it seems they didn’t bother cleaning out all the solvents and varnishes they used, which have ignited rather spectacularly).

I’m sure you’ve never heard of Marsellus (I mean, why would you?), but they were considered the “Cadillac” of caskets – JFK, Harry Truman, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, Vince Lombardi, Ronnie Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Gerry Ford are all planted in Marsellus caskets.

So, it’s sad to see the old place burn down, but I reckon that’s a better fate for it than to watch it slowly rot and crumble.

Speaking of slowly rotting and crumbling, it appears my body is at it again, despite the rather tedious endeavor to begin living a squeaky-clean (and terribly boring – not that I was exactly Mr. Excitement before) lifestyle. This time, it’s my left ankle that’s at it. Or my left Achilles tendon, actually. I have no idea what I did to it, but it started to hurt a few days ago, and has now gotten to the point where it aches constantly, and feels like somebody’s sticking a knife into it when I try and walk.

Ah, nature’s pageantry. Aint it beauty-full?

So far, at least, the ankle isn’t as bad as my shoulder was. And, if I apply the ‘Obama Doctrine’ to it, it means that no matter how bad it gets, as long as it isn’t as bad as the shoulder, then it’s OK.

Speaking of Barack “Nabab” Obama, it appears that he’s now trying to out-Jesus the wingnuts, saying that he’s Kristian “by choice” and came to his “faith” later in life (though not, presumably, after hitting alcoholic rock bottom the way that other presidents apparently came to their Kristian beliefs).

Silly man, you’ll never win that game. The people who are all Jesusy and give a shit what religion you profess to follow have already decided you’re either Satan or a Mooslam (not the the two are mutually exclusive, of course), and will never believe you. And those of us who are quite content to have a President that isn’t as bad as Bush really don’t give a shit which group of delusional yo-yos you feel obliged to pander to.

Oh well, time to get going I guess.

Even though we don’t have a closing date yet, I can’t help but look around here and think, “where the hell did all this crap come from, and how are we ever gonna move it?” And that’s not even counting all the shit in the attic. Some of this stuff clearly isn’t gonna make the trip – though what, exactly, we’re gonna do with it is another story. Anybody interested in a rather massive collection of VHS tapes? Hmm. Didn’t think so. Unless anybody’s got recycling ideas, I guess they’re gonna have to take that long walk down the green mile to the dump. Too bad; there’s a lot of good stuff in there (including “The Green Mile,” come to think of it).

Speaking of moving, as part of my new austerity budget, I’ve been forced to cancel my subscription to the WTF podcast. I’ll miss listening to it, but that $10 a month needs to go elsewhere, I’m afraid. Y’all will have to keep me informed of any interesting developments.

Speaking of WTF and comedians and stuff, I was very sorry to hear about Greg Giraldo. If you hadn’t heard, he’s in critical condition after an apparently accidental overdose of prescription drugs. I hope everything works out OK for him.

Otherwise, it appears that I’m either allergic to something, or am coming down with a cold (and it’s been perfect “cold” weather lately – 90 degrees one day, 50 and rainy the next). Time to start hitting the Oil of Oregano hard. I don’t have time in the budget for being sick.

On the Internet front, the Democrats are planning on introducing legislation to gut the ability of the FCC to enforce Net Neutrality. And the Obama Administration wants to make it a lot easier to track your every movement online. I keep telling myself that, golly, the Democrats are so much better than the Republicans (and, of course, that I’m in way disappointed with Obama), but it gets more difficult every day.

Fortunately, the 12-20 years of Republican control that appears to be on the horizon should help. That’s how it works, right? The Republicans suck so bad for so long that the Democrats take over for a term or two, but then they knock themselves out working at trying to be just like Republicans so that they get tossed out of office pretty rapidly, and then wonder how come nobody likes them.

Oh, it’s all so discouraging.

I think I need a bigger tractor.

Just in case you needed another reason not to go to school in New Jersey (Princeton is too expensive, and Rutgers – which has become a mediocre football team during these SU football dark ages, and whose “fans” somehow think it’s become a powerhouse, all due respect to James Gandolfini – sucks), a shooting at an off-campus party near Seton Hall has left one dead and five wounded. My guess is that the shooter’s father is in “waste management.” In a sign of the times, a witness to the shooting was interviewed “by BlackBerry instant messenger on condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety while the shooter remained at large. She said she was too upset to talk over the phone.” Funny, but to an old guy like me, it’s much easier to speak than it is to push those tiny little buttons on the phone. Some comedian – can’t recall who it was – once said that, had they invented texting first, and then voice, people would be flipping out at how great voice is. “It’s great! You don’t have to type shit out.. You just talk!

Otherwise, it was a mildly productive weekend for me. I got in some quality tractor time (which, in spite of what Granny said, is really on the level of landscaping equipment, not farm equipment; you’ll have to excuse her, though. She grew up in New York City, and calls “the woods” the “forest”), got my laundry done (that reminds me, I still need to get my socks out of the dryer), and finished off another window (assuming “finishing” doesn’t include painting). Not a whole lot, but I now have enough material to do a few more windows (I hope), and, with four more to go, I see some light at the end of the tunnel. At least as far as the windows are concerned. As for everything else that needs to be done around here, there is no end (or light) in sight.

But now it’s time to disengage my brain (not the thinking part, so much, but the parts that at one time held all my dreams and aspirations), so that I can pretend to be a good little happy idiot consumer citizen taxpayer.

Fourteen more years to go.

I really can’t bring myself to look at today’s lineup of talking heads. These shows make a mockery of our political system, raising insignificant clowns – teevee “personalities,” formerly elected stooges, currently elected liars, thieves, & hypocrites, shills for the Republicratic party, and the lying pieces of crap running for something or other in the next election – to a level of fake importance that will fool the ignorant bon-bon eating couch dwellers of the world into believing what they have to say actually matters.

Not that those folks are actually watching, of course, because Sunday morning is the day they wash the KFC grease off their faces and leave their trailers to head out to church, handle some snakes, and hear how the godless tax-and-spend abortionist libruls, queers, A-rabs, and Mexicans are ruining this country.

But, of course, all the “serious” urinalists will tut-tut and act all self-important (and somewhere Cokie the Hag will cackle over the “process” and how only seasoned pros like her understand how things really work). They all remind me of Gloria Emerson in ‘Imagine: John Lennon’ referring to John as “my dear boy” with her snooty, condescending attitude – as if he should just shut up and be a Beeeetle and not “ruin” the whole anti-war movement with his celebrity and flippant singing and whatnot, while “serious” people like her were out there doing the big work.

Just like Colbert shouldn’t deign to testify before a very serious House subcommittee (that will, in the end, do absolutely nothing because all that matters is appealing to the brain dead coach potatoes that worship at the feet – and the ample laps – of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reily, and Glenn Beck). Oh, yes, now there’s a triad that the Washington press corps can get behind. But Colbert? How embarassing.

I’ve really come to despise all of these people – not least of which the “voters” who seem intent on consistently electing the lesser of the evils out there, and forcing us to live with the consequences.

But today is Sunday, and it should be a happy day (despite the specter of Monday looming over me). So I’ll focus on football and the fact that SU is 3-1 for the first time since 2003 (never mind that their 3 wins have come against team teams that pretty much suck – including two that are from divisions one step above Pop Warner – and the one halfway-decent team they played pretty much stomped them; as shitty as things have been the past few years, we take what we can get around here), as well as the fact that, although ‘True Blood’ is over for the year, the new season of ‘Dexter’ starts tonight.

First, though, I’ve got a lot of work to do today. Not that I’ll probably get much of it done, but it’s good to have goals, don’t you think?

Money’s tight, and sometimes it’s tough to scrape together enough dough to heat your palace. I think we all know how that feels. Fortunately for the Queen of England, the UK is one of those socialist countries where there’s a safety net for impoverished folks to get a little help paying the utility bills. Or so you’d think. Sadly, the Queen’s request was denied. If Her Majesty might allow me to offer some help, might I suggest a pellet stove? Wood pellets are a renewable resource, and are so clean burning they’re even approved by the State of California (and you know how fussy those nuts are). Now, if “The Tudors” is any indication, you might have a bit of a tough time finding an insert to fit those humongous palace fireplaces, but maybe you can get the royal handyman to retrofit them or something.

Is House Minority Leader John Boehner fooling around with a lobbyist? That’s apparently the focus of an upcoming NYT expose, and I, for one, am shocked. Shocked because Boehner’s alleged affair is with a woman. I mean, who’da thunk a guy that spends so much time in a tanning booth and goes so freakin’ heavy on the mascara would be into chicks?

Well, after a ridiculously hot (and record-setting) 90 degree day yesterday, it’s supposed to be a nice, normal, mid-sixties Autumn day today. Thank goodness. It’s just impossible to get anything done when it’s that hot out. Not that I’ll really be getting much done today. But I could, and that’s the important thing.

It’s gonna be hot today. Hell, it’s already hot – 76 degrees before 5:00 this morning – and it’s gonna be in the upper 80s. Might even hit 90. This, of course, is too damn hot. The good news is that it won’t last long, as a cold front it supposed to come through and make for a nice cool day tomorrow (good day for playing with the tractor). The bad news is that a cold front means thunderstorms (and very unhappy doggies) tonight. Good thing I don’t sleep much these days anyway.

Eddie Fisher died. He was only 82. I say “only” because, while I certainly know his name (and that he was married to Debbie Reynolds – begetting daughter Carrie – Liz Taylor, and Connie Stevens – with whom he begot daughter Joely), I don’t actually remembering him being anything other than somebody who “used” to be famous. I guess at the time I was becoming aware of music – say, around 1964-65 or so – for me, it was the Beatles and the Stones, and the Kinks, and the Animals, et al. Oh, and Hermann’s Hermits, of course.

But Eddie Fisher? Not so much. I mean, he was no Perry Como (or even Andy Williams).

Polls are starting to show an unbelievably tight race here in NY for US Senate. They show Kirsten Gillibrand up by either only six points or – worse – just one, over Joe DioGuardi. I find this very hard to believe, because, as a person who likes to consider himself relatively aware of politics and current events, until I looked at this story, I couldn’t even have told you the name of the person running against her. I haven’t seen a single ad for this yo-yo on the teevee (I suppose that’s ‘cuz it’s early yet, and Gillibrand can afford to hit the airwaves, because she has a boatload of money), and I really hope this isn’t true. One of the few things to be proud about NY these days is that it’s at least solidly in the “blue” column.

Frankly, I put the blame quite squarely on Barack Obama and his Milquetoast presidencyand his Chamberlainesque handling of both the Republicans and the Blue Dog DINOs who have manipulated him (I’d have said “masterfully manipulated,” but I don’t think they’ve been masterful – I think he’s been pathetic).

Both Gillibrand and Andy Cuomo (in the NY Governor’s race) lead quite comfortably in polls of “registered” voters, but among self-described “likely” voters, their leads all but evaporate. This is because wingnuts and teabaggers are moist with anticipation, whereas Democrats are so pissed off and disappointed with Democrats – and the failed Obama presidency – that lots of them are apparently not interested in voting. This is bad news, ‘cuz while Obama and the Democrats might suck, we’re all really gonna suffer with these corrupt thugs back running the show.

I mean, WTF? It hasn’t been that long since they were screwing things up. Have you people forgotten already? Or are you just Bill Murray’s Arthur Denton to Steve Martin’s Orin Scrivello (or, if you want to go old-school, Jack Nicholson’s Wilbur Force to John Herman Shaner’s Phoebus Farb)?

Wake up, America! I can’t afford to move to Canada anymore, and when Republicans “take back” America, we’re the ones they’re taking it back from! Not that we actually ever had posession of it in the first place, but you know what I mean.

Oh well, time to get this week over with. Hard to believe it’s only three days ’til Monday.