In Threes

by: Al Swearengen - May 20th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Video 9 Comments

You’ve got to feel like Michael Imperioli turned in his best work in this past episode, with the faces…the vehicle has something to do with it, but I don’t feel like there’s anyone who could have pulled it off for so long besides him. Maybe that’s how you know the actor truly owned a role, dominated it, drove the future of this person into the realm of daydreams for millions as they sit in a waiting room somewhere, or during those moments at work when the brain desires more than what it’s getting. For me it would be the times when Christopher would completely mangle an expression, often times the expression itself not fitting the situation at all, yet nobody standing round hearing it points that out, which makes it even better. The whole thing makes me feel like I’m lucky in a way, to have these tidbits to giggle over sometimes…though like the entire series, the vehicle in question that you’ll see in this following clip is about to go off the road for good:

For this week I’m inclined to wait and see, but will point out that deaths come in threes, and with Paulie’s mother joining Christopher last week, there’s an open position still left unfilled. My three possibilities:

AJ – 40%
Junior – 40%
Rosalie Aprile – 20%

Bonus clips of Christopher Moltisanti follow below the fold: Read More

Warren Haynes – And It Stoned Me, Soulshine

by: Al Swearengen - May 20th, 2007   Filed under: Music, Video Add Comment

Warren Haynes in the Red Rocks parking lot, as he’s done for years now before shows. First he covers Van Morrison and then it’s the ABB song ‘Soulshine’. Warren can belt it out…I consider him to be a virtuoso. What do you think?

US Plans for Stealing Iraq’s Oil

by: Al Swearengen - May 20th, 2007   Filed under: History, Military, Video 1 Comment

Here’s a good one. Anyone who doesn’t believe our presence in Iraq was about plunder, the evidence is proving just that as the months of death drag on:

Why Gas Prices Are High

by: Al Swearengen - May 19th, 2007   Filed under: Economics, Video 15 Comments

The scheme is very simple. Oil companies are allowed to consolidate ownership of most US refineries over a number of years, and then collude to ensure no more are built. Once this dynamic is in play, and a friendly government is inclined to look the other way, the games begin.

I know it’s not as entertaining as catching men trying to hook up with teenage girls on the internet, but who isn’t feeling this? Haven’t there been enough obligatory local and national news reports, all carbon copies of one another:

Reporter: And we’re standing twenty feet in front of a gas station near the studio, and as you can see by the sign, gas is expensive. We’re heading into the peak driving season, and that means people are going to be spending a lot of money. We talked to some people here about that.

Random Person 1: It’s really hurting, these high gas prices. I have a 732 mile commute each day, and it is tough.

Random Person 2: I don’t like high gas prices. I don’t know what I’ll do if they get higher.

Reporter: So you see, a lot of people aren’t happy about paying more for gas. Back to you…

When You’re Feeling Blue, Call Al

by: Al Swearengen - May 18th, 2007   Filed under: Religion, Video 2 Comments

You wont get any better advice from someone you pay to have listen to all the weepy nonsense running through that head of yours…and not only is this free, it’s your’s truly:

Bush’s Justice Gap

by: Al Swearengen - May 17th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Military, Politics Add Comment

The Nation published ‘Dying for a Home‘ by Amanda Spake in February, about thousands being poisoned by formaldehyde in the air they breathe whenever in or around their FEMA trailer. It took two months for the MSM to report on this. FEMA Director David Paulison says: “We’ve told people they can air those trailers out…” (Source)

George W. Bush is against a 3.5% pay raise for military personnel, and the statement I’ve focused on is this one here: “When combined with the overall military benefit package, the president’s proposal provides a good quality of life for service members and their families.” The WH characterizes the pay raise as “unnecessary”. I suppose the military hasn’t earned it…

But enough of who gets the shaft in America today, as some have reasons to smile…say for instance, white collar criminals: “Thousands of white-collar criminals across the country are no longer being prosecuted in federal court — and, in many cases, not at all — leaving a trail of frustrated victims and potentially billions of dollars in fraud and theft losses.” (Source) Aside from knocking Martha Stewart down a peg, this criminal subset isn’t looked down upon anymore.

Portfolio B (5/17/07)

by: Al Swearengen - May 17th, 2007   Filed under: Economics 2 Comments

Professor Frink SaysConsolidating down to 11 stocks, I’ve recently gone in on STEM and added to my number of CNQ shares, while liquidating 6 stocks for $179K in cash. I’m looking closely at South Korean ADRs right now, and hope to allocate at least $50K very soon, to hopefully capitalize on the new trade deal that may get approved very soon. An influx of US beef into that market is a key element, but I’m pretty dumb at this point when it comes to that commodity. Besides TS, STEM and MLM – I’m long on all of these picks, and will take a hands off approach.

Ticker Shares Price Value Gain/Loss
ACI 1000 38.22 $38,220.00 +11.22%
ACOR 800 22.57 $18,056.00 +00.09%
ADBE 1650 42.29 $69,778.50 +00.95%
BAM 1250 65.13 $81,400.00 +16.60%
CNQ 2200 63.66 $140,074.00 +03.36%
GS 325 227.11 $73,810.75 +02.93%
MLM 250 141.58 $35,395.00 +03.34%
PBR 900 406.49 $95,841.00 +13.24%
PRU 900 101.92 $91,728.00 +04.65%
STEM 40000 2.56 $102,400.00 -00.29%
TS 2000 45.42 $90,840.00 -01.10%
CASH $178,790.91
TOTAL $1,016,332.16 +1.63%
Read More

Does Yahoo! manipulate headlines to feature the word “Israel”

by: Al Swearengen - May 16th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, History, Politics 9 Comments

The link on the front page reads ‘Hamas militants fire rockets into Israel’, and the article has a different headline that reads ‘Deadly infighting rages in Gaza’. The battle is one sided, with Hamas sending mortar rounds into the compound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is a member of the Fatah party. Fatah was voted out of power in favor of Hamas, and the Palestinian state has since been cut off from international aid. Israel’s wall continues to zig and zag its way through the West Bank, and the checkpoints continue to prevent Palestinian Muslims and Christian citizens from engaging in the commerce that allows them to live. New Israeli settlements in Gaza continue to be built.

palestine map

There is not enough money for the Palestinian state to pay for teachers, police, civil servants or to maintain the infrastructure. This was possible up until Hamas was elected. It wasn’t an attack on Israeli troops or civilians after Hamas was elected that prompted this cutoff of foreign humanitarian aid, but merely the outcome of the election itself. Almost as if the United States had absolutely zero capacity for understanding the fact that there would be no chance for a viable state to emerge or function in Palestine without this money, the amount of State Department information released regarding this ongoing situation is scant, and what we are made aware of in terms of US policy in the region, is motivated more by our own domestic politics than the reality for those living their lives in the midst of all this misery.

I point out the mistake on Yahoo’s front page this morning for the simple fact that by characterizing the events of the past couple days in Gaza as an attack on Israel, the US population is less likely to understand that what has actually broken out is a civil war. Equivalent to Democrats in Congress launching mortar rounds aimed at the White House, for the Palestinian state, this outbreak of violence is symptomatic of what our policy has wrought so far. From Gaza to the West Bank is a chunk of Israel that Palestinians are loathe to attempt crossing very often, if at all, and from within the isolated Gaza Strip, a civil war has ensued…one that will end the lives of innocent civilians, and for what?

Our country has kept the Saudi royal family in billions up to their necks for generations, yet we can’t provide the same amount of aid we had before? Saudi Arabia has been and will continue to export the capital necessary to carry out terrorist operations in several countries, yet they are excused and dealt with as equals (in spite of their historic failings in backing US plays within the region) , and the Palestinians, who are not sitting on oil, have nothing to fall back on in terms of the US besides unjustified condemnation and punishment. Who is the loser in all of this? If you believe it is somehow Israel, you are misinformed. The Palestinian government is killing itself, and since Israel happens to own everthing that surrounds these people, couldn’t it be possible that the real story isn’t at all about how it was somehow a “victim” here?

Couldn’t our news agencies call this one correctly? After they failed to look out for our interests in the run-up to our occupation of Iraq, perhaps they owe us one?

A New Drug Policy?

by: Al Swearengen - May 15th, 2007   Filed under: Video Add Comment

With the crime post getting my head spun on the topic, I figured there was no better time than the present to drop this clip I’ve been holding on to for a while. The man speaking is the commander of a police district in Baltimore, and he’s got a new idea for dealing with crime related to the drug game. Check out this logic and let me know what you think of the idea:

Violent Crime in America (COPS Program)

by: Al Swearengen - May 15th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Politics, Video 5 Comments

One site I like to lurk on over to is ‘Badger Blogger‘, and those of you who do the same will not be disappointed. My brother lives in Wisconsin now, so I like to stay up on local issues, but aside from that, it is probably the only venue on the net where I’ve seen posts regarding the murder rate in US cities (in this case Milwaukee). I am deeply interested in this issue, and believe that it can be an area of our politics where the last couple decades of “trial and error” and the data it has produced can bring the left and the right together on how to solve the problem of crime. It runs much deeper than this aspect I’m highlighting today, but on a basic level we all need to agree that the amount of funding for police departments to staff up year to year has to be a fundamental aspect of whatever policy is employed to deal with the issue.

The folks over at Badger Blogger are predominantly right-wingers, and the approach that was taken to introduce the issue today was one I’ve grown to resent a great deal over the years. It gets a lot of play on right-wing radio, but happens to be 100% unproductive in regards to affecting the crime rate, and instead turns the matter of violent crime into some kind of a game for white people…to feel good about themselves on their drive to work. The tired approach of course, is to not even look into whether or not police are funded, witnesses are protected, etc…but to instead pontificate forever on the fact that black rappers talk about sex, drugs and violence in their music. Indeed, it is an indisputable fact that they rap about these things. How it pertains to the level of violent crime rising year after year, I have no idea. When violent crime dropped in the 90s, rappers were making money doing the exact same thing. But onto the video I pulled from the house. I’d rather we ponder this and leave the music alone for a second, because if the goal is to actually address the issue, there is plenty of NON-ABSTRACT ground we can cover quite easily.

(paraphrasing) Rep Weiner: “We know that it was successful, because the government accountability office looked at the connection between police officers and a drop in crime and found a correlation. The University of Nebraska did a study and of all the varying elements that go into reducing crime, with the fact that there were over 110,000 new police on the streets added through the COPS program, a correlative effect? And the answer is yes…my colleagues on that side of the aisle eliminated the hiring program…”

Staying With Charlie Babbitt

by: Al Swearengen - May 15th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Military, Politics, Religion 15 Comments

James Dobson Meets With President Bush to Discuss Iran

Reverend James Dobson (5/14/07): “I was invited to go to Washington DC to meet with President Bush in the White House along with 12 or 13 other leaders of the pro-family movement. And the topic of the discussion that day was Iraq, Iran and international terrorism. And we were together for 90 minutes and it was very enlightening and in some ways disturbing too. I heard about this danger [from Iran] not only at the White House but from other pro-family leaders that I met during that week in Washington. Many people in a position to know are talking about the possibility of losing a city to nuclear or biological or chemical attack. And if we can lose one we can lose ten.

This makes perfect sense of course, as every day we’re seeing another report of Iran planing to do just this to one of our cities. Just like Saddam was going to, before we stopped him just in the nick of time.

Dobson: “If we can lose ten we can lose a hundred, especially if North Korea and Russia and China pile on.”

Dobson’s influence over millions is undeniable. While they buy into ‘T-Rex on the Ark’ and ‘You can Pray the Gay Away (we’ll show you how for $5,000)’, they can’t be stupid enough to buy this story again, right? From a business perspective it seems counterintuitive to on the one hand desire an influx of customers to your faith, yet on the other, to advocate for the prevention of some disaster that would send them running into your arms. Or is this simply another example of an evangelical willing to say anything for a sensual ego-stroking? (H/T Raw Story)

Woman killed by drunk driver

by: Al Swearengen - May 14th, 2007   Filed under: Words Add Comment

Alleged ties between the driver and Iran are being investigated

U.S. soldier shot to death in Pakistan

by: Al Swearengen - May 14th, 2007   Filed under: Words Add Comment

Tony Snow claims the soldier was killed by bullets manufactured in Iran

The King of Disruption Returns

by: Al Swearengen - May 13th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Sports 5 Comments

King of DisruptionAfter Ted Johnson and Roman Phifer retired, the middle linebacker spot alongside Teddy Bruschi was a noticeable weakness in the Pats defense, on the run in particular. Monty Beisel and Chad Brown were both flops, and while Mike Vrabel’s transition to the middle helped a great deal, his talent as an edge rusher being removed from the equation had an adverse affect on the bottom line. During this period, Tully Banta-Cain was able to get a lot more reps and did indeed emerge as a starting NFL linebacker, though only for a little while, as he is now a 49er. The first piece that appeared to fit perfectly within the scheme was Junior Seau.

His ability to angle and time his attack was what allowed him such success in spite of his age, and in witnessing his ability to improve with every game, it was clear that Seau naturally embodied the the mix of toughness and intelligence needed to excel in Belichick’s defensive scheme. It seemed obvious to me that he had plenty left in the tank, and so today’s news confirming his return to New England for another year was more comforting than surprising. We have our 1st and 2nd down inside linebacker to play beside Bruschi once again, and with Rosevelt Colvin, Mike Vrabel and Adelius Thomas all healthy and in the mix, it’s looking to be a long year for opposing offenses…quarterbacks especially! Though what I’m mostly impressed by when it comes to Junior’s game, is his insatiable lust for disruption.

This influx of disruption is why I’m equally as excited about Seau coming back as I am about all ‘The New Patriots‘, and can hardly wait to see him right up on the line that first time, reading the snap count, blowing through the offensive line and smashing his first running back in the mouth for a loss. This play in particular probably equaled a killed drive per game last season. Combine that with the level of energy Seau brings on the field and on the sideline…it’s the kind of thing that makes my head gush serotonin. Which it is right now, just from thinking about it! (Source)

Key point to walk away with: Randy Moss will get most of the press coverage in terms of players brought in for the super bowl run this year, but the re-signing of Junior Seau may in fact prove to be more crucial to our success than the trade for Moss OR the signing of Thomas. At the end of the season we’ll see if I’m right.

Keller Williams – Freaker>WordUp>Freaker

by: Al Swearengen - May 12th, 2007   Filed under: Music, Video Add Comment

3/1/2002 -

Does it itch, drip, burn and/or grow?

by: Al Swearengen - May 12th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Politics 3 Comments

When your work is outstanding for a number of years, but that promotion you’ve been chasing for all that time remains elusive – it’s time to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “do I have a Monica problem?”

Monica GoodlingApparently it’s going around, or I should say it ‘was’ going around. A topical cream had been prescribed to a lot more government employees than usual for a while, but there’s been no solid evidence to indicate it had any effect. The more experienced folks I’ve spoken to who are familiar with the symptoms, described it like a wave that eventually crashes down and rolls back, dragging with it the mangled human debris it produced. My anonymous gray-haired source disagrees emphatically with this metaphor by offering up her own:

“This thing here was more like life in prehistoric times. Where the meat-eaters with big teeth just ran around feeding all the time on whatever they came across that looked good and killable. Thrashing around the landscape happy and big…leaving big piles of shit behind wherever they went.”

So it wasn’t a skin condition after all, but rather some kind of animal? “A killing machine that doesn’t know any better.” I suspect it runs out of things to eat? “Eventually it might, but these things start eating each other before it gets that far.” I nodded my head with a look in my eye like the message had hit home, honestly thinking I’d understood it more at that point, but the whole thing was still too abstract for any kind of “professional journalism” to come out of it. I know Kilgore Trout’s rag would be interested, but I’ve got bills to pay. And topical cream or not, I don’t want to get in the way of whatever the hell this thing is – OR – whatever it was. The assumption that it’s been eradicated with some cream applied daily seems as likely to be true as “Mission Accomplished”. Anyways…I decided to bail on the story altogether and simply send my notes off to Fox Mulder.

Off Topic: The mainstream political writers can’t stand the concept of bloggers disrupting the sanctity of their status within the game. I read Jonathan Alter on Huffington Post, leading me to Glenn Greenwald (who I link to and read regularly) and finally to digby (where I’ll save you time by pointing you there first).

Fashion Integrity

by: Al Swearengen - May 11th, 2007   Filed under: Comedy, Video Add Comment

The Three Stooges

by: Al Swearengen - May 11th, 2007   Filed under: Comedy, Video 2 Comments

Super Service:

Stars and Stripes: The Army Lied

by: Al Swearengen - May 11th, 2007   Filed under: Military 6 Comments

Heading to the end of this semester, I’m currently “surging” on that front, but the Stars and Stripes and Army Times have been doing their job well in the past two years, and here is a great example:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army is sending a company of Europe-based soldiers back to Iraq before the unit has had a full 12 months of “dwell time,” or at-home rest. Members of the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, Company A, learned Tuesday that they are scheduled to head back to Iraq in November, just nine months after the 150-soldier company left the combat zone in February after a 13-month deployment. The company’s return would seem to counter a pledge made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on April 11, when he announced that all active-duty soldiers will spend 15 months in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead of a year. The primary reason for the extension, Gates said, was to make sure that Army units, and their personnel, had enough time to rest and renew themselves for the fight between deployments.

“What we’re trying to do here is provide some long-term predictability for the soldiers and their families about how long their deployments will be and how long they will be at home, and particularly guaranteeing that they will be at home for a full 12 months,” Gates said April 11. But asked late Wednesday about the situation, Gates said he could not explain why the Army was sending back the company from Germany just nine months after its last Iraq deployment. “I’ll be very interested in finding out more about that,” Gates said. “We just need to find out about that, because I made it clear that people would have 12 months at home.” (Source)

Veterans (Like Deficits) Don’t Matter

by: Al Swearengen - May 10th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Military, Video 1 Comment

Take a moment and watch these two clips I’ve got from a house committee hearing on how our veterans are being left behind, within a system that Republicans and the President have gone out of their way to nickel and dime for too many years. Putting aside the fact that there have been news stories written about the systematic underfunding of the system since back in 2003, what has been taking place since then is even worse. Knowing that the feedback isn’t positive from doctors, VA employees or the veterans, and that backlogs exist for so long and grow year to year while budgets are cut, one would have to come to the conclusion that it is managed this way to specifically frustrate the patrons of the system to decide it’s not even worth bothering with at some point.

Because if tomorrow suddenly every veteran had the disability percentage they deserve, and those veterans who were bamboozled into allowing the military to discharge them – saying that the debilitating mental condition they’re suffering from was a pre-existing condition from before they enlisted (and not two deployments in Iraq) – were given what they deserve as well…then the President and his party have a mess on their hands that they’d rather pass off to someone else. Why? Because to treat every veteran fairly that is returning home from Iraq would put residual expenditures onto the books that would probably convince China to stop poisoning us for a couple years. The mafia mentality would take over then, and we’d certainly need to be as healthy as possible for a number of generations in order to pay it all off.

I don’t doubt that the primary goal in all the ramping up within Iraq, has mostly to do with the Iraqi parliament’s continued unwillingness to settle the matter of how the state’s oil wealth will be divided, and most importantly, who will help Iraq extract it? Once the oil services industry is made well, the real mission will be accomplished. That said, how about the knowledge that with a Democratic Congress now aimed at making sure the VA isn’t being waterboarded from now on, could the “all in” Bush is now riding on also have to do with making sure that next Democratic President most likely to be elected in 2008 has as many broken veterans to pay for as possible? Food for thought, now take a look at a couple freshman congressmen who understand what’s going on:

Rep. Hare – How are the millions in bonuses justified?

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House Budget Debate – Then and Now

by: Al Swearengen - May 9th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, History, Politics, Video 2 Comments

In the current installment we have Republicans railing against tax increases, with numbers that lack context, and if you listen carefully, what they’re talking about is the fact that Bush’s tax cuts aren’t yet permanent. They expire in 2010. Also factoring into all this is the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which has been a problem on the horizon for a number of years, and suddenly now that Republicans aren’t in charge of Congress, they’re appalled that it hasn’t been reinstated for the middle class families who need it. What is missing from this budget of course, are the tax cuts for estates, dividends, golf tees and cigars…all of which have been replaced with full funding for things like veterans’ benefits and even some left over for paying off the federal debt. A first clip here is from yesterday, and then I have two others from 2006.

Rep. Andrews explains it very well (2007)

Why Is This Man Smiling? (2006)

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CNQ-BAM-PRU-ADBE-PBR

by: Al Swearengen - May 8th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Economics 6 Comments

The following 5 stocks now constitute about 50% of my entire Portfolio B holdings. With all five of these, I’m in it for the long haul. For readers who tend to skip over my Professor Frink posts, but are investing for retirement, these are the five stocks that I’d suggest investigating on your own:

CNQ – Canadian Natural Resources – Today I carried out the plan I’d had for a week, to buy up a big chunk on the first correction or cross-market dip, which happened this morning. A theme you’ll see in the future with stocks I tend to favor is a critical aspect of my belief in this one in particular, and that is the edge in management talent CNQ has over its competition.

BAM – Brookfield Asset Management – This is a pick I made early into the launch of Portfolio B ($1M), and my buys were based solely on annual performance and my admiration for the talent of this firm’s management, in their ability to implement original business strategies in a sector that is full of squirrels all chasing after the same nut.

PRU – Prudential – A stock I’ve included in both portfolios since their respective inceptions, and in terms of management, I feel this company is at the head of the pack. Prior to going public about 5 years ago, a widespread shedding of institution-type dead weight took place throughout the company, along with the tired, ineffective management trends that went out with them. Headquartered in New Jersey, I’ve been unable to pick up on any tarnish in the local papers in the last couple years, the likes of which has hindered the stock performance of AIG and other competitors.

ADBE – Adobe Systems – This one is predicated less upon the stock’s fundamentals or its management, but almost solely on the quality of its products, the business strategy already in place for delivering these products to consumers and the fact that its signature product is the tool of choice for graphic arts organizations, regardless of (to me) an eye-popping cost. Apple PCs are gaining market share, and Adobe is partnered closely with them. I’m not expecting any breakouts in the near future, nor am I concerned about this year even. My target hold period for these shares is close to 5 years.

PBR – PetrolBrazil – A couple years ago I spent a lot of time researching the energy industry, and attempted to find the perfect producer/seller for my particularly burdensome ethical streak. Without getting into particulars, back then I posted on this company, and I’m still a believer today.

John Murtha – Barney Frank (how it’s done!)

by: Al Swearengen - May 8th, 2007   Filed under: Military, Politics, Video Add Comment

Rep. Murtha: Iraq Accountability Act

Rep. Frank: Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act (Republicans were apparently saying anything to protect the status quo in regards to CEO compensation, and Barney Frank made mince meat out of them)

More video clips below the fold
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Peter Pace – Practice Makes Perfect

by: Al Swearengen - May 7th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Military 3 Comments

Governors were meeting with the President and his most submissive prag, asking about Plan B in Iraq, to which they were told that Plan B is to make Plan A work. General Pace: “I’m a Marine, and Marines don’t talk about failure. They talk about victory.”

Actually, Marines talk about killing, pussy and more killing, with the word “victory” most likely beaten out of their skulls as fast as words like “want”, “need” and “why”. Developing a useful Marine is hard work, and abstract concepts like this play no part in it. The job demands something else, and this monkey in a military suit likes to think he’s still part of that world, but the fact is, he grew to like the civilian side of life more than the one he came from. Pace isn’t a Marine, he’s an officer without scruples or pride, in the sad tradition of Iraq generals who have preceded him, and with few exceptions, each has left in a dress and lipstick, looking over their shoulder on the walk out hoping the suit they were servicing with such vigor for so long takes a moment to do the same. The story is so old at this point, you’d figure Pace might have foregone the full-on prison bitch phase of his turn as top bookmark.

What Peter Pace Does BestI’m certain that we’re still able to develop civilians into useful US Marines at this point, but something else is broken, and whatever that may be, bottom line is the mass production of anti-leader military brass for so long now – Pace fitting the bill to a ‘T’ – has already managed to carry out the military’s full castration of itself, voluntarily, for the sake of a rich kid and his band of draft-dodging thieves and spreadsheet jockeys. None of whom ever had to get their hands dirty, let alone sweat a couple gallons a day in full battle-rattle driving through Baghdad in an unarmored vehicle. Nobody enjoys that…if only Pace didn’t enjoy his dress and lipstick so damn much…you can tell it was Rummy who broke him in.

Rumsfeld: “GET DOWN THERE AND SHOW ME YOUR WAR FACE PACE!!!”

Max & Sam

by: Al Swearengen - May 7th, 2007   Filed under: Al Swearengen, Video 5 Comments

A couple videos of my boys – Max running amok, and Sam playing one of his favorite games with me…I’m looking forward to cooking them breakfast in a couple hours…scrambled eggs, oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins.

bBlogBouillabaisse – Hey Pocky Way

by: Al Swearengen - May 7th, 2007   Filed under: Words Add Comment

BRAD BLOG is after itThe BRAD BLOG – Got to love this guy, sticking to the stories that our media refuses to go near. What’s more fundamental to our system of government than the legitimacy of our elections? I threw my two cents into the vortex following the conviction of election officials in charge of the 2004 recount in Ohio, which is when I first came across and decided to link to BRAD BLOG. What he’s covering now that I think is well worth everyone’s time, is how the new Republican governor of Florida is getting rid of all touch-screen voting machines and replacing them with paper ballots. With the politicization of US Attorneys, and all the GOP schemes that has left covered up for the time being, it’s the oddest thing in the world to witness a Republican acting on behalf of ALL, rather than only his/her party.

A scary development in all this is that the Democratic Congress isn’t heading in this direction towards legislating that paper ballots be used in all precincts in the US…a startling instance of blindness towards the adverse impact these touch-screen voting machines (and their manipulatable memory cards that can render a “paper trail” meaningless – watch out for the “all we need is a paper trail” talking point) have already had and will surely continue to have in the seemingly impossible to prove criminal manipulation of vote counts, which up to this point have curiously tended to favor the party on the other side of the aisle. Letters must be drafted and mailed to your Representative and Senator in Congress!

  1. Vet Imprisoned for Seeking Benefits – by MAL Contends…
  2. First GOP debate is done: 3 winners and 1 loser – by Caveat Bettor (not his opinion, but rather how the actual odds wagering was affected!)
  3. Bush vetoes withdrawal: approval plunges to 28% – by The Richmond Democrat
  4. Riverbend…Soon to be a Refugee – by Hootsbuddy (Riverbend is an Iraqi blogger)
  5. The Nihilism Post – by Sonicrusk

ABB – Blue Sky 1991

by: Al Swearengen - May 6th, 2007   Filed under: Music, Video Add Comment

Allman Brothers Band w/ Dicky Betts and Warren Haynes on guitar. You’re going to see a lot of Warren on this site in the days and decades to come, and I can’t think of a better way to introduce him than this clip of Blue Sky from Germany in 1991:

Portfolios A & B

by: Al Swearengen - May 6th, 2007   Filed under: Economics 6 Comments

Professor Frink SaysA – (70K start), the last 4 months (+10.17%) have outpaced the average for that same time period (+7%), which indicates an improvement over time. After 20 months the overall percentage gain has been 45.03%. I’m staying put with all of my positions for right now, and sticking with the strategy I’ve maintained throughout in this one.

B – (1M start), after a rough start, my holdings in this one have finally gotten to a level where I feel comfortable in looking forward (+1.65% overall after 2.5 months). I’ve sold a lot of shares at a loss, and have only taken profits in a couple of instances. More comments and the numbers below the fold Read More

Friday Night Fights

by: Al Swearengen - May 4th, 2007   Filed under: Sports, Video 7 Comments

I’m getting excited about Oscar vs. Floyd! As with most sporting events of this magnitude that I end up looking forward to for a long time, I’ve made a point to ignore all press/hype/predictions/etc…with boxing especially, the whole ‘there’s bad blood between the two camps’ narrative doesn’t interest me anymore. I fully understand the business necessity of doing it like that, to get the hoopleheads interested, hopefully a bunch of them that don’t even like boxing. The epitome of this, as far as my lifetime is concerned, was Holmes-Cooney, when the Rappaport brothers did and said everything they could to draw out every possible wallet owned by a racist they could. It worked. Though reality took over shortly after the bell rung, with Holmes at the top of his game, doing his thing…years later he remarked on the whole thing in depth, though my all time favorite quote wasn’t about how his one fight with a white challenger yada yada, but this: “Once that bell rings, all that bullshit goes out the window. It’s just you and me, you can’t call the cops.”

I’m getting carried away here, as this was supposed to be a quick hit in the midst of a school break and my brain definitely preferred writing about boxing as opposed to the software testing paper I’ve got to get back to work on…the real reason I wanted to set-up by mentioning Oscar and Floyd, was because it’s on HBO. Here are some of my other favorite fights from that channel. Let me know which one you think is the best one. I’m partial to this first one, but my namesake’s role in all of it probably has something to do with it: Read More

Burst Asunder is a soldier in Iraq

by: Al Swearengen - May 4th, 2007   Filed under: Military 3 Comments

Here’s the post I just read. Please take the time to visit his site and send him some love with your comments – The Iraqi Army:

We conducted a joint operation with the Iraqi Army back in December, 2006. We integrated “IA” personnel with us and went house to house through a neighborhood in Baghdad. We were searching houses for weapons and getting a feel for the community. I’d like to add that the people of Baghdad are some of the nicest, most hospitable and interesting people I’ve met.

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