Rowhouse Logic - Breathtaking Inanity

Please do go read this. It’s quite long and I can guarantee you won’t feel at all well by the end but you should really do it anyway. Here’s a sample:

Bruce Bartlett, a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan and a treasury official for the first President Bush, told me recently that ”if Bush wins, there will be a civil war in the Republican Party starting on Nov. 3.” The nature of that conflict, as Bartlett sees it? Essentially, the same as the one raging across much of the world: a battle between modernists and fundamentalists, pragmatists and true believers, reason and religion.

”This is why he dispenses with people who confront him with inconvenient facts,” Bartlett went on to say. ”He truly believes he’s on a mission from God. Absolute faith like that overwhelms a need for analysis. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence.” Bartlett paused, then said, ”But you can’t run the world on faith.”

The Christine Todd Whitman quote in this paragraph from is quite something as well:

The disdainful smirks and grimaces that many viewers were surprised to see in the first presidential debate are familiar expressions to those in the administration or in Congress who have simply asked the president to explain his positions. Since 9/11, those requests have grown scarce; Bush’s intolerance of doubters has, if anything, increased, and few dare to question him now. A writ of infallibility — a premise beneath the powerful Bushian certainty that has, in many ways, moved mountains — is not just for public consumption: it has guided the inner life of the White House. As Whitman told me on the day in May 2003 that she announced her resignation as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: ”In meetings, I’d ask if there were any facts to support our case. And for that, I was accused of disloyalty!” (Whitman, whose faith in Bush has since been renewed, denies making these remarks and is now a leader of the president’s re-election effort in New Jersey.)

That’s just a little bit from the first of nine pages. Again, you may not feel so well by the end. Bring some Pepto.

The evil glowing eyes and the snowman tell you winter is on the way.

At least 18 of the soldiers don’t seem to think so. It is nice to learn, however, that The Treasury Department froze Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s assets today….. TODAY??? Um…wow. Maybe they take some of that cash and use it for some body armor or some bigger walls around the Green Zone or something.

Should somebody whose campaign acts this way really be the highest elected official in the land? Via Froomkin:

And earlier, reports the Bend Bugle: “President Bush taught three Oregon schoolteachers a new lesson in irony — or tragedy — Thursday night when his campaign removed them from a Bush speech and threatened them with arrest simply for wearing t-shirts that said ‘Protect Our Civil Liberties,’ the Democratic Party of Oregon reported. . . .

” ‘We chose this phrase specifically because we didn’t think it would be offensive or degrading or obscene,’ said Tania Tong, 34, a special education teacher.”

I guess so.

Considering the shear magnitude of the issues facing our country, if you were given the chance to ask questions of the sitting President of the United States of America and the man who may well replace him, would you ask any bullshit softball questions about their wives or their faith. This country is engaged in two major foreign wars, under threat of attack by foreign terrorists, running the highest numerical deficit in its history, suffering from a decline in real income, rising crime rates, increasing healthcare costs, chronic underemployment and on and on and on. Instead of asking a real question, Bob Schieffer asks a meaningless, bullshit question about their wives. Any politician worth half their weight in manure is never going to give you anything other than an “aw shucks” moment. What the hell were you thinking Bob? This would be an appropriate question for Dr. Phil to ask, not the moderator of a presidential debate. Not in 2004.

Hey Bob. Go fuck yourself!

Good lord. Bob…what the hell are you thinking babe? No no no. Don’t answer. We already know.

“I’m tired of politicians who talk about family values but don’t value families.”

John Kerry
October 13, 2004

So here’s my completely worthless and uninformed debate prediction. The expectations for Bush are so low that there is very little he can do, short of swearing his allegiance to Satan, that will keep the pundits from declaring it a win or, at best, a draw. Anger, confusion and incoherence are all par for the course and will be filtered out by the punditry. If he manages to pull off any of his, oh so popular, bullshit everyman routine, be fully prepared for all out drooling from whomever your favorite media whore happens to be. Kerry needs to be seriously strong and I have some confidence that he will be. I just don’t know that it will matter. Savor and Enjoy!

If you think that my plea to be prepared on Election Day was a little silly, have a look at this. The next time you hear a Republican blathering on about democracy, liberty and individual rights, keep this shit in mind. This is only the beginning, by the way, it’s going to get really ugly before the smoke clears.

November Second is coming up fast. Do you know the voting requirements in your state? They have probably changed since the last time you voted, especially if you skipped the primaries. Most states (all?) now require some type of identification in order to cast a normal ballot. If you don’t have the proper identification you will be given a provisional ballot, which may or may not be counted. Don’t let that happen. Find out what the requirements are in your state and what type of identification you will need. This is particularly true if you have moved since the last time you voted or are a new voter.

I thought of this because of my own screwy photo I.D. situation (long story). As it turns out, my state, Pennsylvania, requires one form of photo or non-photo identification. At least that’s what it says on their website (pdf).

Here’s Pennsylvania’s list of approved forms of identification:

PHOTO IDENTIFICATION (MUST BE VALID):
• PA Driver’s License or ID Card issued by PENNDOT
• ID issued by U.S. Government
• ID issued by any Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agency
• U.S. Passport
• U.S. Armed Forces ID
• Student ID
• Employee ID

NON-PHOTO IDENTIFICATION (Must include your name and address):
• Voter Identification Card issued by the Voter Registration Commission
• Non-Photo ID issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• Non-Photo ID issued by the U.S. Government
• Firearm Permit
• Current bank statement
• Current utility bill
• Current paycheck
• Government check

If you have a screwy driver’s license situation that you don’t think you can get sorted out before November, be sure to show up at the polls with as many forms of approved identification as you can possibly muster. Don’t just bring a paycheck or a utility bill. Bring a paycheck, a utility bill, a bank statement, a passport if you have one, your old drivers license or photo ID… bring everything but the kitchen sink. Just think of all of the situations you’ve had in your life where you had what you thought was the proper form or proper ID, but the person behind the counter disagreed. Well you’re out of luck. Gatekeepers don’t have to be right to make your life miserable and in this case, deprive you of your right to vote.

Look up the requirements in your state and be prepared. Additionally, if you need to get a new license with your current address on it, you can often overcome long lines at the DMV by going to an auto club and paying a small fee. If anybody has a hard time finding their own state’s requirements, shoot me an email and I’ll be more than happy to try to find them for you.

One more thing, if you know a first time voter, or have a kid in college, or have a bunch of lazy musician friends, be sure to let them know what they need to do.

No.

(Via Dohiyi Mir)

I know there is quite a good bit of well-warranted distain out there for Greg Easterbrook, but this little paragraph from today’s TMQ is pretty good nevertheless.

Correction from a recent New York Times: “A sports article about the Philadelphia Eagles’ lineup for the coming season referred incorrectly to the status of three players. Corey Simon is a defensive tackle, not a defensive end. Jeremiah Trotter left the team before the 2002 season, not before last season. Nate Wayne came to the Eagles from Green Bay before last season, not this season.” So the New York Times was wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but pulls out all the stops to correct the inadvertent misimpression that Corey Simon is a defensive end!

Is this what strong and steady leadership in the war on terror gets us?

One of the little joys of being married to a public school teacher is that you get to keep up with the latest trends in airborne diseases without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Just thought you’d like to know.

So I’ve made it something of a weekly habit to have a cheap giggle looking at the Debate Facts page on the Bush Campaign website. Here is today’s quote from Campaign Chairman Marc Racicot:

“The President was in command of the issues, the facts, and the stage, and clearly won on style and substance…”

Um. Need some wood?

This is a pretty stunning endorsement. Not that it was made, but the clarity of the argument is indeed rare. Here are a few choice paragraphs but please go read the whole thing:

The choice is vivid. The stakes are vast.

John Kerry isn’t perfect. He has things to learn. One thing Americans should have learned by now, though, is that the incumbent lacks the realism, judgment and ability to adjust to events that the United States needs in its commander in chief. In this perilous moment, the safer choice, the wiser choice, is John F. Kerry.

Via Atrios by way of Shrillblog.

The Inquirer editorial page is running a series of 21 reasons to vote for John Kerry. One each day until election day. Here is the first in the series.

For some reason, I forgot all about this weird little tradition yesterday. Perhaps it’s for the best. I mean, maybe somebody, somewhere will think to themselves “Hey, that rowhouse guy doesn’t really strike me as the brightest fellow and he’s a pretty crappy writer…..but he does do that annoying cat blogging business a day late. I feel strangely compelled to visit that crappy rowhouse site more often.” You never know. It could happen.

Zoey (top) enjoying the warmth of a heated debate.

Zoey, pictured here with my wife’s feet.

Zoey, by the way, is a feral cat who I found several years ago lurking around under the steps of Wonderland on Walnut Street. I lived next door at the time, on the top floor of the building housing the Pleasure Chest. Drug paraphernalia and sex toys together….oh my. Anyway, Zoey (I used to spell it Zoe) retains many of the habits that she learned living the streets of Philadelphia. For example, I no longer own any breakable items. They have long since been destroyed. As another example, she is gnawing on my left ankle as I write this. My threshold for pain has increased significantly since Zoey and I first met.

Now you may wonder why somebody would have a cat like that. That’s simple. Something I bet your mother told you long ago. Because!

I’m not so sure that this squares with the president’s rhetoric:

Afghanistan’s first democratic election has been thrown into confusion after it was announced that most presidential candidates were boycotting it.

…

The boycott has for now overshadowed fears that Taleban militants might disrupt the vote.

“It should be stopped and we don’t recognize the results.”

Let’s hope for the best. We should be relying on more than hope and dumb luck at this point, however.

Update: It looks as though I spoke too soon.

My former State Senator has, once again, found a way to debase Pennsylvania politics and slur a good number of his constituents in the process. I moved to a different part of town recently so I no longer have the privilege of being represented by this goat fucker.

People complain about the two party system, but let me tell you, whatever its problems, its got nothing on the one party system. Fumo, because he’s a Democrat usually wins general elections by huge majorities. Just a guess here, but I imagine that if he gets less than 80% of the vote in any given election, he considers it a poor showing. The only chance of unseating him is in the primaries and, due to his power and influence, nobody ever fields a serious challenge. The last primary was something of an exception, but the person who ran against him was even more unpalatable. Hard to believe, I know.

Now don’t take this to mean that I’m desperate to see the Republican party reemerge in Philadelphia politics. I’m not. I would, however, like to see more and better choices. I think a progressive, anti-corruption, reform movement within the Philadelphia Democratic Party would be a great start.

I also wonder this. Why do third parties always rush to field a presidential candidate? Wouldn’t it be a more logical course of action for them to field candidates in the numerous counties and cities that are dominated by one party and then move on to bigger things? I guess local politics aren’t sexy enough.