In a no-lose situation with Dodgers, Manny Ramirez is a lost cause

Think about this.

For the first year, he would earn $25 million, making him the highest-paid athlete in Los Angeles and the second-highest-paid player in baseball.

If he failed, the following year he still would earn $20 million.

If he succeeded, he could immediately void the contract and sell himself for millions more.

It was a real offer. It was written on a real contract. It was handed over during a time of real national economic distress.

This week, by every stretch of the wildest imagination, the Dodgers made Manny Ramirez a no-lose proposition.

By rejecting it Thursday, Ramirez has officially lost it.

He's lost his dignity. He's lost his perspective. He's lost his marbles.

He is quickly losing the patience of a Dodgers front office that is weary of negotiating against itself for a player that nobody values even remotely as much.

He will surely be losing the admiration of a Dodgers team that is training while he is teasing.

And, yes, here's guessing he soon will be even losing the last line of his defense, the affection of Dodgers fans who surely are weary of cheering for greed in an era of need.

This is not Manny being Manny.

This is Manny being Stupid.

I am so glad Boston dumped him. I truly hope he's forced to sit out this year!

Pelosi criticizes Truth Commission as inadequate, advocates criminal prosecutions

In an interview today with Rachel Maddow -- to be broadcast on Maddow's MSNBC show tonight (and transcripts of which I've obtained) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeatedly advocated the need for criminal prosecutions, not merely fact-finding. She even directly criticized the proposal by Sen. Pat Leahy for a "Truth Commission," on the ground that such a Commission would improperly immunize lawbreakers and thus foreclose prosecutions:

I loved this interview...

"Kenneth The Page" Responds To Bobby Jindal Comparison (VIDEO)

As we've mentioned, Bobby Jindal is Kenneth the page: They're both Southern, both weirdly religious, and both have the tendency to look like they're dressing up in their fathers' suits.


Well, Jack McBrayer (who plays Kenneth the page on "30 Rock") has responded to these accusations comparisons on Jimmy Fallon's test show for "Late Night" and thanks to our fabulous blogger Jon Friedman, we have it first.


It's sad, it's raw, it's important for you to see.

Awesome!

Oh. My. God.

Click to enlarge.

Conservatives pan Jindal's 'weak' and 'amateurish' speech

Chiming in from the more liberal point-of-view, Andrew Sullivan with the Daily Dish compared Jindal to Kenneth the page from 30 Rock.

"Stylistically, he got better as he went along but there was, alas, a slightly high-school debate team feel to the beginning," Sullivan said. "And there was a patronizing feel to it as well - as if he were talking to kindergartners - that made Obama's adult approach so much more striking."

Yep, that about sums it up.

Enjoying your popcorn? I am.

Source: Matthews says 'Oh God' before Jindal spoke

This is hilarious! I love how Rachel Maddow couldn't even come up with words...

Prince of Darkness Denies Own Existence

Listening to neoconservative mastermind Richard Perle at the Nixon Center yesterday, there was a sense of falling down the rabbit hole.

In real life, Perle was the ideological architect of the Iraq war and of the Bush doctrine of preemptive attack. But at yesterday's forum of foreign policy intellectuals, he created a fantastic world in which:

1. Perle is not a neoconservative.

2. Neoconservatives do not exist.

3. Even if neoconservatives did exist, they certainly couldn't be blamed for the disasters of the past eight years.

"There is no such thing as a neoconservative foreign policy," Perle informed the gathering, hosted by National Interest magazine. "It is a left critique of what is believed by the commentator to be a right-wing policy."

Is he looking for work as a stand-up comedian?

Comedy gold!

US Globe Tabloid: Former President Bush Is Suicidal

The former US President George W. Bush is deeply depressed and paranoid after withdrawing from his post, the US tabloid Globe alleges.

In a publication, the magazine, which is not known for its ethical journalism, claims that since leaving the White House, Bush has been so depressed that he looked almost suicidal.

The former First Man in the US and why not in the entire World could not become used to the thought that international politics and those of his county no longer depended on him, according to the publication.

The eight-year White House stay had turned Bush into a megalomaniac, something he finds hard to fight and overcome. In addition, Bush is scared of Obama and own wife Laura, and looks for consolation in his old friend, the alcohol. Bush is boozing up a storm, the Globe contends.

Please note the bold in the quotes.

Rove skips House Judiciary deposition

Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was a no-show today at his scheduled deposition deadline for the House Judiciary Committee's ongoing probe into the U.S. attorney firings -- setting up a major decision for President Obama on how to respond to congressional subpoenas.

Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) subpeonaed Rove to find out what he knows about the Dec. 2006 firings which eventually toppled former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

When Rove was subpoenaed in 2007, President Bush asserted "absolute immunity" for his top aides, refusing to allow them even to appear before a congressional panel. House Democrats eventually sued, and won an initial legal victory. The Bush White House, through the Justice Dept., appealed the ruling, and when Bush left office in January 2009, the case was still undecided.

White House Counsel Greg Craig has urged the two sides to cut a deal, but Rove and his attorney, Robert Luskin, have kicked it back to the White House, saying it is up to them to assert executive privilege or not.

So the next big development will occur on March 4, when the Obama administration is scheduled to file a motion in federal appeals court laying out its position on the issue.

I will be EXTREMELY disappointed with Obama if he lets Rove get away with this. I mean, come on, this why I worked so hard for his campaign.

Obama, DON'T LET US DOWN!

U.S. Clears Path to Bank Takeovers

The Obama administration yesterday revamped the terms of its emergency aid to troubled financial firms, setting a course that could culminate with the government nationalizing some of the country's largest banks by taking a controlling ownership stake.

Administration officials said the change, which allows banks to repay the government with common stock rather than cash, is intended to give banks more capital to withstand a continued deterioration of the economy, and not to nationalize the banking system.

But in seeking to bolster investor confidence in troubled companies such as Citigroup, the government said it is willing to acquire large chunks of their shares.

This may just be necessary.

Woman expected support when she got breast cancer. Instead, she's unemployed

It was just a few weeks ago when Elsa Torrejon received the most devastating news of her life.

"It's breast cancer," the surgeon said. "We have to operate."

When she arrived back at work a few hours later to tell her boss the grim results, the 50-year-old single mother of two was still reeling from the diagnosis. "You never want to hear that word," Torrejon says, wiping away the tears that still slip down her face.

She couldn't imagine her world could crumble any further. But a few days later, it did.

In her darkest moment of need, her heartless employers decided to yank away her job as well.

This is seriously messed up!

Governor Quinn Calls On Burris To Resign

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has called on Senator Roland Burris to resign and for his seat to be filled by a special election.

"I think Roland Burris should step aside and resign," Quinn said at a news conference late Friday morning. "The best thing for Illinois-- the people he loves--is to step aside."

Quinn said the latest questions about Burris' contacts with impeached former Gov. Rod Blagojevich have placed "a cloud over [Burris'] head."

This is why they shouldn't have seated him.

Good grief!

Ex-VP Dick Cheney outraged President Bush didn't grant 'Scooter' Libby full pardon

In the waning days of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney launched a last-ditch campaign to persuade his boss to pardon Lewis (Scooter) Libby - and was furious when President George W. Bush wouldn't budge.

Sources close to Cheney told the Daily News the former vice president repeatedly pressed Bush to pardon Libby, arguing his ex-chief of staff and longtime alter ego deserved a full exoneration - even though Bush had already kept Libby out of jail by commuting his 30-month prison sentence.

Awww, the Boy Chimporer didn't please his master...

Happy 1234567890 Day!!

Okay, I'm a geek...I'll admit it...

Man appears free of HIV after stem cell transplant

A 42-year-old HIV patient with leukemia appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood and no symptoms after a stem cell transplant from a donor carrying a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to the virus that causes AIDS, according to a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.


The patient underwent a stem cell transplant and since, has not tested positive for HIV in his blood.

"The patient is fine," said Dr. Gero Hutter of Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany. "Today, two years after his transplantation, he is still without any signs of HIV disease and without antiretroviral medication."

The case was first reported in November, and the new report is the first official publication of the case in a medical journal. Hutter and a team of medical professionals performed the stem cell transplant on the patient, an American living in Germany, to treat the man's leukemia, not the HIV itself.

However, the team deliberately chose a compatible donor who has a naturally occurring gene mutation that confers resistance to HIV. The mutation cripples a receptor known as CCR5, which is normally found on the surface of T cells, the type of immune system cells attacked by HIV.

Cool!

'Young Marine' Faces Expulsion For Replica Rifles

For Marie Morrow, the equipment left in the back seat of her car was for an upcoming competition. She said she never expected it would lead to her being suspended from school -- or possibly expelled.

Good God! I understand why the laws exist, but this is wayyy over the top.

Our color guard in high school had these fake guns issued to them.

That was as recent as 1992.

Poll: Lieberman would 'get crushed' by Connecticut AG

A new poll shows that Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, who left the Democratic Party after losing the Senate primary to businessman Ned Lamont in 2006, would "get crushed" if challenged by Connecticut's State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in 2012.

"If Joe Lieberman decides to run for a fifth term in 2012, a new Quinnipiac poll suggests that it may be a lost cause," Eric Kleefeld writes at Talking Points Memo.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, "By a narrow 48 - 45 percent margin, voters disapprove of the job Sen. Joseph Lieberman is doing and give him a negative 43 - 49 percent favorability. Republicans approve 75 - 20 percent. Democrats disapprove 70 - 21 percent and independent voters split 48 - 46 percent."

"By contrast, State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal gets a 79 - 12 percent approval rating and 71 - 13 percent favorability rating," Quinnipiac's website notes. "Republicans approve of the Democrat 66 - 25 percent. Democrats approve 85 - 6 percent and independent voters approve 81 - 10 percent."

The poll determines, "If Sen. Lieberman faces Blumenthal in 2012, the Democratic challenger has an early 58 - 30 percent lead. Republicans go with Lieberman 67 - 23 percent while Blumenthal leads 83 - 9 percent among Democrats and 55 - 29 percent among independent voters."

Good news, but the poll also has bad news for Dodd.

Also, I suspect Blumenthal is eying the Governors job, not LIEberman's.

Nerve agent may be missing

Is the Army missing some nerve gas?

Pentagon auditors concede that is a remote possibility because of discrepancies in records between how much chemical weapons agent was initially stored and how much of it was later destroyed at Utah's Deseret Chemical Depot and other bases nationwide.

But officials believe all the nerve agent in question was destroyed, according to a partially censored U.S. Army Audit Agency report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Auditors list in it several reasons that could have caused apparent-but-unreal variances in those records.

But auditors concluded, "The (Army Chemical Materials) Agency didn't have complete assurance that amounts recorded in the system were accurate, which increased its chances for heightened levels of program scrutiny by federal, state and international organizations that have a vested interest in the elimination of chemical weapons."

I love how we invaded Iraq because they posed an "imminent WMD threat," yet our own crap wasn't somehow a problem?

Ann Coulter Subject of Voter Fraud Probe

Ann Coulter is being probed. Following our Jan. 11 column, Connecticut’s Elections Enforcement Commission is making a “thorough investigation” of whether the conservative pundit broke the law by voting in the Nutmeg State while living in New York City, according to a commission spokeswoman.
Officials are responding to a formal complaint filed by Coulterwatch.com blogger Dan Borchers. “For over 10 years, Ann Coulter has gotten away with illegal, immoral and unethical behavior, ranging from plagiarism to defamation, perjury to voter fraud,” claims the conservative Borchers. Coulter declined to comment, but in the past has branded Borchers a stalker. He says the FBI has determined he poses no threat.

Meanwhile, private eye Joe Culligan, whose WebofDeception.com brought Coulter’s Connecticut voting record to light, has been poking into Rahm Emanuel’s living arrangements. The White House chief of staff said this week that he did not pay rent during the five years he bunked at the Capitol Hill home of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn). But that raises questions whether Emanuel reported the rent-free lodging to Congress, since DeLauro is married to pollster Stan Greenberg. And will either of the parties report what could be “imputed income” to the IRS? Reps for Emanuel and DeLauro argue that House Ethics rules allow “hospitality between colleagues.”

Ha!

Christian Bale VS. Bill O'Reilly: The Showdown

LOL!!!

Spinal Tap recording new material

Spinal Tap are recording their first new material in nearly twenty years.

The spoof English heavy metal band is the brainchild of American actors Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest.

They first featured in the classic 1984 "mockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap and went on to record two albums.

Shearer, who these days voices several Simpsons characters, told BBC 5 Live: "It'll be for download as well as on conventional media later this year."

Spinal Tap recorded their last album, Break Like The Wind, in 1992.

The band briefly reformed two years ago for the Live Earth gig at Wembley Stadium in London.

Shearer, who portrays Tap's bass player Derek Smalls said: "We've never recorded the song we did at Live Earth, Warmer Than Hell, and I think they (Spinal Tap) are trying to revisit their old success.

"Not that they were ever popular, maybe in their own universe.

"We'll do a song called Gimme Some More Money, probably with some dubious results."

Awesome!

Tandem instructor dies mid-jump; other man survives

A 49-year-old skydiving instructor died of an apparent heart attack Saturday afternoon, seconds after jumping out of a plane with a first-time diver.

The pair were attached to the same parachute in a form of skydiving known as a tandem-jump.

The men's identities were not immediately available.

When they landed on the ground, the diver tried unsuccessfully to revive his instructor using CPR. But the heart attack occurred about a minute into the jump, and too much time had elapsed for the instructor to have any chance of surviving, said Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker.

The instructor worked for Skydive Carolina Parachute Center, a business located next to the Chester County Airport. Reached late Saturday afternoon, an employee declined to comment.

Tandem-jumping is the company’s most popular program, according to its Web site. Divers take a 30-minute safety course.

Well, it's official, I am NEVER going skydiving!

Porn interrupts Super Bowl for some in Arizona

For some viewers Sunday in Arizona, Super Bowl XLIII was briefly XXX.

About 10 seconds of pornographic material interrupted the Arizona Cardinals' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers for some Comcast cable customers watching Tucson's KVOA-TV telecast of the game, according to the Associated Press.

Apparently, only those Comcast subscribers watching the game in standard definition -- as opposed to high-def -- saw the inappropriate scoring drive.

Both KVOA, which said the telecast was clean when it left the station, and the cable company are conducting investigations, AP said.

LOL!