Republicans: abortion, taxes, war…
Democrats: health, education, peace.
Either way it will cost money. What do we want to buy?
The choice is too easy.
Archive for Honestly
Hannity’s Dilemma
Again with Hannity on the way home. I find him a sad, little minded man. He doesn’t “know enough” about Obama - yet he chooses to believe the worst of him. He knew a lot about Bush - yet he chose to believe the best of him.
I wonder…If Obama turns out to be a great President will Hannity be happy for America?
AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS
If you haven’t read him, you will. This guy is an amazing writer with an incredibly interesting life to tell about. His books are laugh-out-loud funny and completely insane people populate his life.
While I was wrapped up in his life stories - it seems I have learned something about myself and I feel better about everything. Click his name below and then go buy his books. You won’t be sorry.
Running With Scizzors
Dry
Magical Thinking
That is just three of his titles. All of them are really wonderful.
Presidential Rarity
The Daily Dish
It’s truly rare that a president spends taxpayers’ money to train the enemy to kill U.S. troops. But Bush has pulled it off.~ Andrew Sullivan
Al Franken - One of the Good Guys
I wish I lived in Minnesota so I could vote for this guy. I hope he wins in 08. I may contribute to his campaign. I hope he tells the penis on the forehead joke. I hope he remains real.
Why a Haircut Could Easily Cost $400
This Edwards haircut thing has been bugging me for awhile. I thought it was such a silly thing that it would naturally disappear from the dialog of presidential politics. But again last night I heard it mentioned on TV. Bill Maher I believe.
Off site haircuts are expensive:
Let me tell you the story of a woman from Birmingham, Michigan. Let’s call her Lauren. Lauren, who was a regular client at the salon I worked for in Troy, Michigan, broke her leg. Lauren called one day and asked if I would come to her home to cut and style her hair. It was important; she had an event that evening and couldn’t do her own hair. I said I would be glad to, but explained that it would be more expensive. Lauren’s cut and style cost her $150.00 _and_ that was in the early 90’s. Unexpectedly, she even tipped me $20.00.
Here is the math:
At the time, I was producing at about $80.00 in hair work per hour (it averaged higher when I did color or perms). Out of that, my commission was about $48.00. So, to make my basic hourly rate I needed to charge about $48.00 an hour.
Packing my tools, leaving the salon, doing the hair work, packing up my tools again, going back to the salon – took TIME. Did I mention the hassle? Bending her over to shampoo her hair in her bathroom sink (though it was a gorgeous home and bathroom - it was a hassle). Packing and dragging my tools, yes, a hassle. Plus, my time away from the salon, if I didn’t charge her more, would have cost me money.
All in all it took about 3 hours. I charged her $150.00. I could have charged her more and been well within my conscience.
How you charge a VIP:
Flash forward about 15 years and the average cost per hour for a good quality hairstylist increases. Let’s say it just increases by $20.00 per hour. That stylist needs to charge at least $60.00 an hour to compensate for time away from the salon. A plumber charges more than that just to show up and diagnose the problem without doing any work!
Add to the cost that John Edwards is a presidential candidate. I don’t know if he has a Secret Service detail BUT I am almost certain he has security. And with security you have background checks and other time and money consumers -bet on that. It’s possible, I imagine, to be patted down for weapons; possibly there were arrangements for secure transportation. Add to the security nightmare that the hairdresser is bringing sharp instruments like a straight razor and shears.
By this time the hairdresser might be a little bit tense. (Ya think?) Add to this the fact that your client is about to go on TV. Trust me, most people who are about to go on TV are PICKY (whether they are used to being on TV or not). Male or female. The mirror is their best friend and worst enemy – the client is stressed out as well. They must know they look great to do their job well.
All of this is TIME CONSUMING and a HASSLE for both the client and the hairdresser. The VIP client must have a quality hairdresser and a perfect cut or style. A bad hair day is NOT an option. The Hairdresser MUST be compensated for TIME, QUALITY and dealing with all the attendant hassle that comes with a VIP client. That is just the way it is.
A quality hairstylist – working in an undisclosed location :-) does not come cheap. At a minimum of $60.00 per hour charged, the John Edwards haircut was fairly priced. The prep work alone probably took half a day. A celebrity hairstylist would have probably charged more than $400.00 for a 30 minute haircut. And that celebrity hairdresser probably has a tool bag on standby.
Hannity’s Lessons
I love this woman:
Signs and Wonders by Karen Kwiatkowski
When the muffler fell off my 15-year-old Subaru Justy a few weeks ago, I started driving the good car to work. It has a radio. Oh, the wonderful things I am learning from Sean Hannity!For one thing, the Iraq occupation is a success. Not a blazing success, but a damn fine thing. According to Sean, we are made noble by the experience, and the Iraqis have already become passionate democrats. Just look at the demonstrations they held on the four-year anniversary of our takeover of the capital!
“They couldn’t have protested like that under Saddam!” he crows.
Had they done so, it is likely Saddam would have responded much as we have done. Note to self, old Saddam would scribble: Continue daily bloodshed, increase domestic intelligence collection and terror levels in targeted neighborhoods. Arrest more “terrorists” and place them in secret prisons, apply physical and psychological abuse early and often. Never let them see a lawyer, a humanitarian agency, a relative, or the inside of a courtroom, until I, and only I, say they can. Ensure courts and federal judges are completely on board.[emphasis mine]
David Frum
I saw David Frum on Bill Maher last Friday and couldn’t believe how he stammered his support for the Iraq invasion and occupation. To be fair, he was in an environment with an audience hostile to his position. Still, if he so believed this is the right war, at the right time, in the right country - it would be less surprising how unconvinced he sounded.
Crooks & Liars has the video and I snatched this comment from John Amato:
Crooks and Liars » What’s the Answer in Iraq, David?
Update: John Amato: A close friend of David’s told me that he had to talk him off the cliff after he had visited Iraq and watched the horror that he helped create…
Why can’t these neocons just admit they were wrong abut going into Iraq?
The Timeline - Iraq
Two more years, two more years…
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
And with those words, George W. Bush announced the beginning of the Iraq war on March 19, 2003. And on its fourth anniversary, let’s follow this war through the words of George Bush. Follow the time line here
Helen Thomas Gets Her Front Row Seat Back
The White House makes a good decision:
Eat The Press | Helen Thomas Gets Her Front Row Seat Back In White House Press Room; Fox Shunted To Second Row | The Huffington Post
But now booted no more! Today the White House Correspondent’s Association decided that Thomas’ pride of place in the front row — 46 years and counting — would be appropriately honored:As the dean of the White House press corps, Helen is an institution. First with United Press International and now as a White House columnist for Hearst newspapers, Helen has covered every president since John Kennedy.
Congratulations for finally figuring that out, guys — better late than never.
George McGovern
George McGovern to Cheney: Resign
Of particular concern to McGovern is the war in Iraq, which he has steadfastly opposed.“The war was begun in clear violation of the Constitution,” McGovern says. “There was no declaration of war by the Congress. Secondly, it’s a flagrant violation of international law: Iraq was not threatening the United States in any way. Yet, the United States went after Iraq. The president and vice president got away with it, at least initially, because they were willing to exploit the emotional power of the 9/11 attack to achieve their goal of getting us into a war in the Middle East.”
Conflicted Conservatives - Max’s Theory
The Sanchez story heats up - predictably because of hypocrisy. No surprise who else is in Club Hypocrisy.
Max Blumenthal
…Conflicted Conservatives in Crisis.
CCC’s are aggressive toward groups they privately identify with, like sexual minorities or independent women, but they are simultaneously submissive to those who might otherwise persecute them. Thus, Coulter assiduously cultivated the approval of James Dobson, an anti-feminist demagogue who advocates “women’s submission;” Sanchez enlisted in the Marines, then joined the right’s campus culture war; and Haggard inveighed against homosexuality from the pulpit. These CCC’s scurried away from freedom for the tight confines of an authoritarian movement. For CCC’s, backlash politics is a crude form of therapy.
The CCC phenomenon explains why so many of the right’s most bigoted and hysterical figures are eventually unmasked as frauds. Sanchez may be drummed out of the movement after today’s revelations, and Coulter may lose advertising revenue and allies after her latest paroxysm of hate, but the show will go on. So long as conservatism is propelled by the politics of resentment, it will continue to attract and generate CCC’s.
Just Ignore Ann Coulter - Good Idea
For The Love Of… Just Ignore Ann Coulter « ChenZhen’s Chamber
Note to righty bloggers reading this:I hereby declare that I will not use Ann Coulter’s remarks (past, present, and future) against conservatives, so long as you declare that Ann Coulter is effectively banished from intelligent political discourse. It’s not that hard to do, really. It’s not like she’s running for president or anything. Before you know it, her appearances on Fox and silly guest appearances at major events like CPAC will be a thing of the past.
Let’s let Ann ride off into the sunset, shall we?
BTW- Who’d miss her?
Bitch Slap
The whole post is highly quote-able — funny and true. Richard Kim so gets the point. Below are two favorite clips from the post. The whole thing is a quick and very funny read.
The Notion - Faggot Feud
by:Richard Kim
**Ann Coulter couldn’t find a homosexual at a Barbra Streisand concert, in San Francisco, on gay pride, if Elton John bitch slapped her in the face. I shudder to think what would become of her on Gay, Straight or Taken?
**…After all, there is something gay-ish about him. He’s pretty. He’s passionate. He spends a lot of time on his hair. And what’s wrong with that? He should toss his Nancy Boy locks back at Coulter and say, “Faggot? I own that word.”
Marriage “Unless You’re straight”
March 14, 2007 · Filed under Best Blog Comments, Best Blog Entry Today, Honestly, Marriage -Honestly
I can’t imagine anyone not reading Andrew Sullivan. But if you don’t or you missed his link to the Keillor blog post by Dan Savage (who I have never read before) - read it.
Here is a snip:
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