Dial-A-Heavy

The question is eternal: which classic villain does Dick Cheney evoke the strongest?

I keep coming back to a cross between Darth Sidious and Col. Nathan Jessup from "A Few Good Men." However, as the following poster so keenly notes at New York Magazine:

Cheney doesn't measure up to the truly classic villains. The Sith Lords engaged in duels against the Jedi and planned their wars reasonably well until Vader got guilt-tripped by his long lost son.

On the other hand, Cheney is a coward, and genuinely stupid and incompetent with his fiendish plans. He's more like the movie version of Lex Luthor (played by Gene Hackman) and that makes Bush -fittingly enough- Otis (Ned Beatty). If Cheney had a sense of humor, he could have made a pretty good Dr. Evil with Bush as Mini-Me. But now he must languish somewhere between Team Rocket and Roger Moore-era Bond villains among the most pathetic baddies of all time.

Wow, I couldn’t have put that better if I tried. Bravo, sir.

Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan.

"My young apprentice, you can't handle the truth..."

Shocked

As of this writing, Sean Hannity still hasn’t delivered on his word to be waterboarded for charity, as he agreed to last week.

Could it be that it's because he’s a liar, a hypocrite, and a coward?

Survey says: yes, indeed.

Well played, sir. Well played....

The Recession Ate My Job

That's pretty much the long and short it of.

Although my new would-be boss sounded very sincere about his regrets over cutting me, it all came down to who was low man on the proverbial totem pole. And that was me.

In a way, I don't feel as bad as I should; the co-worker of mine who is taking over my job is battling both cancer, and a heart condition. And were he to have been the one whacked today, and lost his insurance coverage (which covers his $5,000 per month chemo treatments), it would have been curtains for him in every sense of the word.

So we go on from here once more...

Deja Vu All Over Again

Had a relatively brief interview today in a bid to remain in my current job post a pending restructuring due to wrap up this Friday.

The good news is that I did well, and left my interviewers (both of whom I'd never met) with a positive feeling. The bad news, however, is after I returned to my desk and began filtering through my instincts, the more I felt that I would not be among the survivors of these pending job cuts. The reason why is my five co-workers--all of whom (plus myself) are fighting for four jobs, leaving two on the outs--all have more seniority than me in the company. And not by a little, by a lot. So reason suggests the powers-that-be would want to retain folks who know their way around their plumbing the most.

This said, I still give myself an inside chance (or longshot) to beat the odds, as the position I am truly shooting for differs from that which my peers are.

I should know my status tomorrow, but am assuming I'll be out this Friday. I've even packed my things in preparation, so I can make an exit that is not drawn out. I dislike leaving most jobs, but when I do so, I like to get it over with quickly.

A Very Brief Review: "Twilight"

After watching last night's hockey game at Mark and Jo's place, I expressed interest in borrowing Jo's DVD of "Twilight" so I could finally see what all the hub-bub was about. However, as she was loathe to allow said DVD out of her sight for longer than five seconds without going into acute Edward withdrawal, I was talked into seeing the film after the game.

As such, while "Twilight" makes the best of its misty environment, I can see why it drives teen girls (in addition to 30-something year-old women, I'm told) ga-ga, but otherwise I found it pretty silly from an adult straight male perspective. And this is coming from a longtime "Buffy" fan who has no problem with others putting a modern spin on classic vampire myths.

I wish "Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer all the best with her franchise. She has captured sexual lightning in a bottle for girls, which is truly a force to behold. I just wouldn't bank on many fans with Y-chromosomes being able to relate to Ms. Meyer's product, much less the films it is based upon.

Duh

My God, it's full of stupid.

Yes, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), carbon dioxide is indeed a naturally occurring substance, but if you lock yourself in a small airtight room for a couple of hours you'll see just how "harmless" it is.

And as for you guys in Minnesota's 6th District who re-elected this trailblazer in logic? Please do yourselves a favor, and punch yourselves in the head...over and over again.

Man Up

On his Fox News program last night, while discussing the matter of waterboarding as torture (or not) Sean Hannity was asked by guest Charles Grodin if he would consent to being waterboarded himself.

Shrugging, Hannity said he would do so for charity which makes me suspect one of two things: a) He has more courage than I ever gave him credit for, or; b) Hannity hasn’t the slightest clue what he’s in for provided he keeps his word, and follows thru with the waterboarding – which is highly questionable.

In response, on Countdown tonight Keith Olbermann offered to donate $1000 to US military families for each second Hannity can tolerate the simulated drowning that waterboarding provides.

No pun intended, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for Hannity to keep his word. In my opinion, he is a gutless coward - one who is all mouth and no action.

However, if, like Olbermann, others offer to donate large sums to charity (I promise to donate $25.00) for Hannity to follow up on his boast, he may find backing out increasingly difficult until he either goes through with it or pusses out. And for the record, if Hannity is in fact waterboarded (and goes longer than ten seconds without crying uncle), I will be the first to acknowledge his commitment to the matter.

Yet by the same token, I’m not expecting this will happen at all. My faith in Sean Hannity's personal integrity is that miniscule.

Either way, I’ll keep an eye on it.

Rerun

Jesus Christ, first high seas piracy is making a comeback after centuries of lying low, and now witch hunting is in vogue again.

What's next, I wonder? Stoning astronomers for heresy?

Coming Down

As the GOP leadership and its media apologists continue to search for a central message other than “See that thing Obama just did? We’d do the opposite!”, I was reminded of a sad scene toward the conclusion of Tim Burton’s 1994 film Ed Wood, wherein Bela Lugosi (as played by Martin Landau) is tied to a bed, screaming through withdrawal pains while coming off a longtime addiction to morphine.

The reason why this scene came to mind regarding the current state of the Republican Party is because power—be it political or other—is as potent a drug as any. Hell, just ask Dick Morris' hookers of yore.

And after enjoying near-exclusive power for many years under George W. Bush in all three branches of government, the party’s often bizarre responses to Obama’s first 100 days in office (e.g. “How dare he shake hands with Hugo Chavez! Commie lover!”) seem as desperate and painful as a junkie going cold turkey.

No?