snuffbox

Modest Mouse - Doin the Cockroach

Not insomnia.

A history lesson from Ginger Paul should leave us all highly informed.

Another president that wasn't completely terrible but clearly ill-equipped for the job was Taft. Outside of the Presidency he didn't do too bad for himself but in the White House he was very removed from the pulse of America. Not much of a politician to begin with (his wife was more into the gig than him) he would havelost to Wilson even if Roosevelt hadn't entered the campaign. Interestingly, if Teddy had not said he wouldn't seek another term, he almost certainly would have won in '08 and '12. Too bad the Adamses & Bushes couldn't handle their roles like the Roosevelt clan.

Barry Goldwater had this same problem with the John Birchers in '64.

Powerman 5000.

Would any team actually sign Gagne as a closer at this point?

Not really.

From Hank To Hendrix / Ambulance Blues / Sad Movies / A Man Needs A Maid / No One Seems To Know / Harvest / Journey Through The Past / Mellow My Mind / Love Art Blues / Love Is A Rose / Old Man // The Loner / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere / Dirty Old Man / Spirit Road / Bad Fog Of Loneliness / Winterlong / Oh, Lonesome Me / The Believer / No Hidden Path // Cinnamon Girl / Tonight's The Night That's the most recent setlist from this tour. Give or take a couple songs, it's been the same at every stop.

How does one "try too hard" to go to a concert?

I recommend going. Really fun shows lately. The crowds are pretty 'collegial', if that is a fitting word here.

Edie Parker's memoir has a really good account of the Dave Kammerer murder that involved Jack Kerouac & William S. Burroughs.

Hey, Kelly Pavlik, don't fuck with windows.

To a lot of people, Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate who would actually end the war in Iraq. That matters.

One of the tv channels should sign that guy up.

The whole FDR-as-socialist/communist thing is incredibly dumb. The guy literally saved capitalism after the conservatives (Hoover largely) watched as America moved dangerously close to revolution during the Depression. It is as dumb as Y2Jerk (remember him?) blaming World War Two on Warren Harding.

When is the USA replay? I missed it last night.

I shudder to think how Nixon would have handled 1960 if it had been as transparently bogus as 2000.

Have there really been any 'good' environmental Presidents other than Teddy Rooselvelt?

Eisenhower was incredibly popular (against almost any other GOP opponent, Adlai would have won) & nothing really terrible happened during his terms. The 1950s are remembered as our lovely Leave It To Beaver era, no matter what the actual social/counterculture/racial situation actually was at the time. He also gets bonus points from many people for World War Two. Plenty of people were/are offended by some of Reagan's paleolithic decisions, his inability to handle corruption, and rumored racism. He was good but far from inoffensive.

I never said it worked out ALL the time. But it's entertaining to read about nowadays, isn't it? Oh yeah, hella entertaining dude. Maybe not so much for the people living at the time or the 30 years after that the Bank destruction badly effected. Hands down, it was the worst economic decision any President has ever made. Or for the Natives on the 'trail of tears' that Jackson forced over a Supreme Court ruling. I'm not sure how entertained they were along the way. LBJ entertains me too. He was even recorded saying "bunghole"! Too bad his policies killed tens of thousands of Americans, continue to effect subsequent generations, and, fiscally, he didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground (to use his vernacular).

While Reagan doesn't deserve all the credit for ending the Cold War, he does deserve plenty. And he managed to do it without a ground war. He did have alot of corruption in his Administration and if people indict Harding/Grant for that then they must also indict Reagan. Personally, I feel that Cabinet/Administration corruption takes a backseat to Executive corruption/horrible policy. Reagan was a middle-of-the-pack, 'good' President.

Yeah, and that whole bank thing really panned out well!

Brownback endorsed McCain. Pat Robertson endorsed Giuliani.