VPILF

My website of the day

http://www.vpilf.com/

Let's get ready to rumble

This has been my favorite politico blog entry I've seen lately...

from

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/12/mccain_gets_an_earful_on_the_v.html

Prepare yourself for the greatest ideological match-up of the century!

No, it's not Obama versus McCain, it's McCain versus Palin.

LET'S GET READY TO RUUUMMMBBBLLLE...!

This was John McCain, late last year on why he was qualified to be the president:

"I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/us/politics/21debate-transcript.html?_r=1&pagewanted=3&fta=y&oref=slogin
.

And here is Sarah Palin last night on why she is ready to be a 72-year old heartbeat away from the presidency:

"Charlie, again, we've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state."

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5782924
.

So there you have it. The ultimate he said, she said. John McCain explained why Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and Sarah Palin explained why John McCain doesn't represent change, just more of the same old politics as usual.

AMERICA, IF YOU'RE DUMB ENOUGH TO VOTE FOR THESE TWO KNOW NOTHINGS (MCCAIN/PALIN) THEN YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU GET - FOUR MORE YEARS OF BUSH/CHENEY LIKE INCOMPETENCE AND THUGGERY!

Posted by: DrainYou | September 12, 2008 3:15 PM

*****************************************************************************

An impolite conversation

ehamme32: http://thepage.time.com/2008/09/04/georgia-rep-calls-obamas-uppity/
ehamme32: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-04-westmoreland_N.htm
CinciDood: uppity...
CinciDood: and the main thing those people point to is how well educated they are
ehamme32: yes
CinciDood: and where the fuck did George W Bush go to school?????
CinciDood: tell me
CinciDood: please
CinciDood: tell me
ehamme32: remember, rudy said ivy league right before he started mocking the community organizer thing
CinciDood: please
ehamme32: and it was yale
CinciDood: and
ehamme32: fucking blue blood ass yale
CinciDood: and
CinciDood: fucking harvard business school
ehamme32: oh yeah
ehamme32: i forgot about that
CinciDood: ivy league all the fucking way to the white house goddamit
CinciDood: from a family of privilege
ehamme32: yup
CinciDood: the reps need to shut their fucking pie holes on that issue

Way to go Ohio!

America's fastest dying cities.

Don't let good intentions result in bad policy

Read the Free-Trade Paradox in the May 26, 2008 New Yorker.

A Radiohead Rant

from http://www.radiohead.com/themostgiganticflyingmouthforsometime/

"Where to play? Where to play? The Best Foot Forward report identified fan travel as the single biggest contributor to our carbon footprint. Public transport moves further up the list of importance, but venue availability, power, space, truck parking etc etc are still priority. A nice clean, sterile arena would have been sufficient, but having more adverts than character is not appealing to any of us. So the needs of the product override the ideals of the project and thus this plan came together."

My rant:

Ok, I really like this band. No, really, I really like this band. And I appreciate how they wish to pull off a rather "green" tour. Green is the way to go. And apparently they like the greenery of an amphitheater. Yes, an amphitheater out in the suburbs. (Oh, you should read Paul Krugman's recent opinion piece in the NYT.) A place where I'm not convinced all of Radiohead's attempts at a low carbon footprint will offset all of our driving to the venue.

And what is wrong with a "nice clean, sterile arena"? More adverts than character? Sorry guys, if you think there is some special aesthetic about the suburban shed I question your artistic depth. Except for the incredibly well designed and well kept Blossom Music Center, all amphitheaters in the suburbs and located close to theme parks are all dreary parking lots with a dirt pile they call a "lawn". Maybe backstage areas are nice for all you guys in the band, but you see, we don't get to see that part.

Acoustics? Well, maybe amphitheaters win on that one. But if you have good equipment you can make the best arenas sound like a concert hall. Ok, I exaggerate. I would definitely prefer to see Radiohead at MSG than at Jones Beach or PNC. I'd rather see Radiohead at the Q than Blossom. I'd rather have gone to the Verizon Center rather than Nissan Pavilion.

Still, guys, back in 2001 I saw you play Suffolk Downs in East Boston. I'm sure MOST people arrived by T. Now that was a great venue.

I got tickets for the Camden NJ show. Yeah, not really suburban, but the same thing: a mound of dirt and a nondescript pavilion in a nondescript section of urban blight. You get a nice view of one of those bridge thingerdoodles in Philadelphia, but you're in Camden. Enough said.

Radiohead, I'm just not convinced you're doing this as right as you want to.

Nissan Pavilion is a Bust

Just for all you DC folk and good intentioned Radioheads, the Radiohead show on 5/11 should have been cancelled. Nevertheless, Nissan is a crap shed in a parking lot. No one has been able to do an amphitheatre like Blossom Music Center. All the rest of you LiveNation sheds, just go away. I'd just as soon see a summer show in an arena or a parking lot.

http://dcist.com/2008/05/12/morning_roundup_255.php

http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?a=371

As one blog commenter notes, its tough to be "green" when you play your shows out in the suburbs. No public transportation there. Just streets and parking lots. Come on. (Last tour they played BankAmerica Pavilion in Boston. The best bet is public transportation. Play venues in the city, you're more apt to go green.)

My two cents.

Holiday Greetings!

The rant blog hasn't seen much ranting lately. Perhaps I have little to rant about except the same old same old: Pennsylvania drivers. The problems persist and the car has taken another hit. I let my beat up beauty serve as a reminder that one is always in harms way on the PA roadways.

Other than that, I'm working on having a happy holiday. I hope your's is the more awesome than mine!

Ho ho ho.