I could've sworn it was "RICH Corinthian Leather"...

...but alas, the video proves that the adjective is, in actuality, "SOFT". Man, nobody could sell a Chrysler Cordoba like Ricardo Mantelban. For a minute there, I thought he was gonna have sex with that car!

IS THIS HOW THE BANNER LOOKS ON YOUR END?

I was messing around in Flash today and made the animated banner (top of the page) that should play on an endless loop. Then I got some feedback that the words weren't readable and were stretching off the edge of the design. At any rate, after a few hours, I think I have it corrected... but if anyone sees something other than this still image (jpeg above) on their computer, please let me know.

Thanks!

WARNING: ALDO NOVA

Not just another bad "early rock video". This pretentious douche takes 1:27 to play the first note of his song. And ONLY after he uses a laser shot out of the end of his guitar to shoot open the door to the crappy warehouse where he plays. This, of course, follows the Patton Oswalt observation about 80's "hair band" videos. SQUIBBILY DOO!

UPDATE: HERE'S ACTUALLY A COOL INTERVIEW WITH MR. ALDO NOVA FROM 2004.

Watch this poor kid...

Young Brian Collins just wanted to do a three-minute sports segment for his local college TV station. Is that too much to ask? But sadly, to say "the nerves got to him," would be the understatement of the century.

At the 1:20 mark, he actually mouths (barely audible) "I'm so sorry" to someone off-camera. At the 2:30 mark... he unleashes what he thought would become his signature catch-phrase "Boom goes the Dynamite."

I actually had one of these moments during a college acting class. The words become a spinning Rolodex in your head, and you feel like your five minutes are NEVER gonna end!

TWO WORDS: TRON GUY

Go HERE to meet him.

Rush Limbaugh kisses "24's" Mary Lynn Rajskub

From the Washington Post:

The discussion was hosted by Rush Limbaugh, who breached the art-vs.-life divide early by planting a big kiss on the woman he introduced to a knowing audience simply as "Chloe."

And just like that, the "Viagra Mystery" was solved.

Johnny Depp: face-to-face

Johnny Depp experiences the updated "Pirates of the Carribean" ride. The really interesting part starts at the 2:15 mark where Depp comes face-to-face with the animatronic version of himself.

THANKS TO GOLDENFIDDLE.COM

And now for something completely different...

DEAD PARROT:

KILLER RABBIT:

I like having talented friends...

...and one of the most talented (without question) is the Huell-Howser-lovin', Jeff "Max" Koch. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may recognize him from his various comments from time to time, and his cartoon self-portrait that accompanies them:First off, Jeff is often referred to as "Max" and vice versa. I believe "Jeff" is is given name, and "Max" came about after a S.A.G. (non-working) actor named "Jeff Koch" wouldn't give up the moniker. I could be wrong on this... but that's my general understanding and I'm going with it for now. By the way, from now on (in this post) I'll refer to him as "Jeff" to reduce whatever confusion there may be.

At any rate, Max has always been one of the funniest guys I know, and his voice talents are truly spectaular. He does a "dead-on" Al Pacino that I beg him (no joke) to do whenever I see him. And when he doesn't, I create animated concepts where he HAS to do the voice. One such project can be found here... where Jeff plays Al Pacino as a rabid fan of the WB's "Gilmore Girls" program.

Aside from these vocal talents, Jeff is also obsessed with all things bizarre and strange. It led him to making documentaries about the interesting family members that have surrounded him. One such film is about Jeff's "Gramps"... and interesting fella who's led a wild existence of his own. Don't believe me? Watch this "deleted scene" from Jeff's documentary where the subject of getting pistol whipped is discussed. It's riveting stuff.

Jeff is also an amazing artist... and some of his work can be seen HERE.

However, maybe most importantly, Jeff has created a half-hour radio program called "Mimosa" that's gained quite a following. It features Jeff, his friend (and co-producer Adam), and some down-to-earth guests talking about their lives. Think of it as an audio version of an Errol Morris documentary. (NOTE: My wife thinks it's important to listen to the shows in order... but any listen is worth while. To start from the beginning, GO HERE)

Wow, two pages of text, and I still haven't mentioned "Bob Blarneystone". Oh well, that'll have to wait for another post.

MOVIE TRAILER: WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?

CLICK PICTURE (ABOVE) TO SEE TRAILER

An interesting documentary which examines why electric cars disappeared just when they were becoming commonplace. As an added bonus, the trailer features an appearance by my friend Max's hero Huell Howser.

CONGRESS + TIME = WASTED TIME

Last week, The Daily Show did a piece on how our legislators were wasting their (and our) time with meaningless "video game" hearings. This week, the Senate goes one step further down the "worthless path" in discussing the burning issue of flag... well, burning.

After all, as Washington Post journalist Dana Milbank points out... flag burning isn't exactly a epidemic in the United States. In fact:

The Citizens Flag Alliance, a group pushing for the Senate this week to pass a flag-burning amendment to the Constitution, just reported an alarming, 33 percent increase in the number of flag-desecration incidents this year.

The number has increased to four, from three.

That's right, FOUR incidents... in a free society. But as Republican Senator Arlen Spector stated:

"I think of the flag as a symbol of what veterans fought for," Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said as he opened the debate yesterday, "what they sustained wounds for, what they sustained loss of limbs for and what they sustained loss of life for."

You're absolutely right Mr. Spector. In fact, 18,000+ US soldiers have sustained such "wounds" during a war that's CURRENTLY GOING ON. A war that could probably use some congessional debate into the "how" and "why" we went to war.

Yet, when former CIA agents (and others) testified at the Democratic Policy Committee, Republican Larry Wilkerson said this:

"As a Republican, I’m somewhat embarrassed by the fact that you’re the only member of my party here"

He also pointed the finger in response to the question, "Why wasn't the REAL information about Iraqi WMD getting out?"

CLICK PICTURE TO PLAY

I guess flag burning is "sexier" than the rationale behind the Iraq War.

Pink Floyd LIVE: April 26, 1975

So someone posted a Pink Floyd live performance from thirty-one years ago. Apparently it's a show they played at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. It's interesting to hear the differences from the live album, and also the jerks who whistle and hoot during the "quiet portions" of the songs.

I guess the "drunken dick" is one species that will never die.

LISTEN HERE

THANKS TO SCREENHEAD.COM

More Oregon Props!

A few hours ago, Oregon State University won the College World Series for their first National Championship in any sport since 1961. Although I'm an avid (and rabid) Duck fan, you had to admire this Beaver team for their ability to never say "die". It was indeed a long road to win the World Series, as evidenced by the fact that the Beavers are only the 2nd team to play eight games in CWS history. That's eight games in ten days!

Last night, when they went down 5-0 and seemingly couldn't hit off North Carolina's pitcher Robert Woodard, I almost turned off the tube. But they fought back with seven runs in the fourth and never looked back.

Also, as you can see here, much of OSU's roster is made up of in-state kids... unlike many of the other Oregon/Oregon State sports teams.

Some other "notes" from the series:

Oregon State is only the second team to win six games at the College World Series, joining Holy Cross in 1952.

Oregon State becomes the 10th team in MCWS history to lose its first game and come back to win a national title. The other schools include: Texas (1950); Southern California (1958); Southern California (1963); Arizona State (1969); Southern California (1970); Arizona (1976); Cal State Fullerton (1979); Arizona (1980) and Southern California (1998).

And maybe most impressive:

Pitchers drafted in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft finished with a 1-5 record in seven games against Oregon State in 2006.

The sweetest six words EVER: Limbaugh Detained At Airport For Drugs

WEST PALM BEACH Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh was detained at Palm Beach International Airport for the possible possession of illegal prescription drugs Monday evening.

Limbaugh was returning on a flight from the Dominican Republic when customs officials found a Viagra prescription that did not bear his name. Instead, the bottle of pills had the names of two doctors on it according to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents examined the 55-year-old’s luggage after his private plane landed at the airport from the Dominican Republic. The matter was then turned over to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators seized the drugs - used to treat erectile dysfunction - from Limbaugh.

Limbaugh was detained for about three hours and was let go after cooperating with officials. He could be facing a second-degree misdemeanor violation if the State Attorney’s office presses charges.

GET THE WHOLE STORY HERE

THANK YOU BUZZFLASH.COM

I just LOVE MediaMatters.org

I mean you have to love anything that enrages the right-wing "talking heads" with the truth, right? The genius in this website is its simplicity. It simply documents the rantings of radio talk show hosts, journalists, news anchors, and guest pundits... and then points out the various inconsistencies, misleading statements, and flat out lies they tell. These media mouthpieces used to be able to just "float out" whatever dreck they wanted without incident. But since May 2004, Media Matters has been holding them accoutable to their own words.

A good example of their work is this recent conversation from none other than right-wing "poster boy" Sean Hannity.
Hannity recently took on a caller who criticized him regarding Ronald Reagan's legacy. In it, Hannity begins by saying, "I know more about Reagan than you do," and then proceeds to butcher history in the way only a former construction worker can.

You can hear the entire call AND response here.

And here's just a portion of the break-down from Media Matters:

• Hannity repeated his oft-mentioned -- and false -- claim that tax revenues doubled during the Reagan years. As Media Matters for America has previously noted, if the numbers are not adjusted for inflation, federal tax revenue increased 52 percent, not 100 percent ($599.3 billion to $909.3 billion) under Reagan; adjusted for inflation, revenue increased only 15 percent ($1.077 trillion to $1.236 trillion).

• Hannity reasserted that Reagan's tax cuts "gave us the longest period of peacetime economic growth in American history." But, as Media Matters has documented, the longest period of peacetime economic growth in American history occurred from March 1991 to March 2001. Democratic President Bill Clinton presided over most of these 120 months of economic growth, compared with 92 months of growth between November 1982 and July 1990, during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

• Responding to the caller's statement that Reagan "cut and run" from Lebanon, Hannity simply said: "No, he didn't." In fact, U.S. troops withdrew from Lebanon in February 1984, four months after a suicide bomber killed 241 U.S. Marines, sailors, and soldiers at a Marine barracks in Beirut.

You can see the whole "Sean Hannity" entry from mediamatters.org HERE.

By the way, does ANYONE know if Hannity ever graduated from college?

I LIKE RUSS FEINGOLD...

...and not just because his name is "Russ". Watch him here from this morning's "Meet the Press", where he addresses the Iraq Timeline, amnesty for insurgents, how Iraq is affecting the "War on Terror", and Joe Lieberman.

The guy is VERY well-spoken, and impressive.

CLICK PICTURE TO PLAY

THANKS TO CROOKSANDLIARS.COM FOR THE VIDEO

"BOOM, THERE IT WAS"

After this week's "shocking announcement" from Rick Santorum that useless (pre-1991) WMD was found in Iraq, I thought this story might give some good insight into our pre-war build-up. This may also explain why some in the CIA feel the need to "leak" instead of trying to change minds within the government.

An excerpt:

In late January 2003, as Secretary of State Colin Powell prepared to argue the Bush administration's case against Iraq at the United Nations, veteran CIA officer Tyler Drumheller sat down with a classified draft of Powell's speech to look for errors. He found a whopper: a claim about mobile biological labs built by Iraq for germ warfare.

Drumheller instantly recognized the source, an Iraqi defector suspected of being mentally unstable and a liar. The CIA officer took his pen, he recounted in an interview, and crossed out the whole paragraph.

A few days later, the lines were back in the speech. Powell stood before the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5 and said: "We have first-hand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails."

The sentence took Drumheller completely by surprise.

"We thought we had taken care of the problem," said the man who was the CIA's European operations chief before retiring last year, "but I turn on the television and there it was, again."

Read the rest of the story HERE... please.

And here's some video from Drumheller's "60 Minutes" interview (broadcast April 2006):

CLICK PICTURE TO PLAY

Hopefully history will expose these actions completely.

THANKS TO THINKPROGRESS.ORG FOR THE VIDEO

"Screech" wants you to pay for his house...

Dustin Diamond (a.k.a. Screech from "Saved by the Bell") is about to lose his $250,000 house in Wisconsin, and wants your help. You can read the story of how this happened, and what he'd like you to do about it HERE.

You can also see another Wisconsinite who says "Screw Screech", and implores you to give him money to instead. Ah, the internet... good for porn AND panhandling.

Pretty surreal if you asked me.

Bill O'Reilly: Former anchor for "far left" network

Check out Bill in 1987 ripping through the business brief in sixty seconds.

The Daily Show: Politicians "weigh-in" on violent video games.

Nah, nothing more important focus on.

Where my "CMB's" at?

FUTURISTIC BODY ARMOR

If you can get past the narrator's annoying voice, there's a cool story about a new version of kevlar that is thin, flexible, lightweight, and will stop a bullet. Hopefully the parents of our soldiers can afford this new discovery.

NICE CROSS PROMOTION...

Especially with the news that "Futurama" is coming back to Comedy Central.

THE 'HITLER OR COULTER" CHALLENGE!

THE GAME IS SIMPLE. THERE'S FOURTEEN QUOTES... AND YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHO TO ATTRIBUTE THEM TO: ADOLF HITLER OR ANN COULTER. I GOT EIGHT OUT OF FOURTEEN RIGHT!

TAKE THE TEST HERE.

FELL FREE TO POST YOUR SCORES IN THE "COMMENTS" AREA.

Ryan asked for it...

...under the comments section:

Can you find the gambling bug cartoon? With the dog torturing the cat. You know, "Not Happy Birthday!"

Apparently the cartoon is called "It's Hummer Time!", and someone on YOUTUBE posted a portion of it.

On another note. The music was written by one Raymond Scott. Here's the particular piece of music performed live.

More OREGON stuff...

After watching the previously posted "Looney Tunes" cartoon, I decided to look up the voice of Bugs Bunny, Mel Blanc, on YouTube . I found a clip of him at a "Lincoln High" reunion in 1982, and decided to further investigate where this high school was located. It turns out that Mel was raised in none other than Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Lincoln H.S. in 1926.

However, it turns out that Blanc isn't the only LHS alumni who's made a gigantic contribution to the world of animation. Simpson's creator Matt Groening graduated from the same school in the early 1970's. This "nerdy" factoid still makes my hands shake with glee. Can any high school claim a bigger animation influence? Let alone TWO?!

Tons more information about Mel can be found here. Including the fact that he played the voice of Bob and Doug Mackenzie's father in Strange Brew.

Oh, and here's that 1982 "local TV" interview with Mel. To call this guy a "one-of-a-kind" is the understatement of the century!

Another animation giant with Oregon roots? Incredibles director Brad Bird graduated from Corvallis High School in 1977.

I want an Easter Egg! I want an Easter Egg!

A classic Fudd/Bugs cartoon. However, the toddler with a hammer (at the end) always freaked me out a bit as a kid. It looks (and sounds) painful.

YOU CAN'T WRITE STUFF LIKE THIS...

Bill O'Reilly speaks out against the "personal attacks" on BOTH sides of the political debate... then promptly refers to Howard Dean as "The King of Mean".

CLICK PICTURE TO VIEW

BRILLIANT!

MEET MICHELLE MALKIN...

If you've never seen Michelle Malkin, that's only because she's following so close behind Ann Coulter, she sometimes get hidden. Malkin is one of those right-wing pundits that litter Fox News' less-popular shows from time to time. However, she now hosts a web-based video show called "Vent". I happened upon an episode today in which she decides to "take on" Democrat John Murtha's re-deployment "strategery" (her words) regarding Iraq.

She starts by playing a clip of Murtha on "Meet the Press". When Murtha is asked about "where" we should re-deploy... he starts a list (in order):
1.) Kuwait
2.) Qatar
3.) Bahrain

Now, as you can see by this map... all three countries (in red) are well within "quick reaction" distance to Iraq (blue):
However, after these three examples... Murtha (perhaps foolishly) offers a fourth alternative: Okinawa. And that crumb is all Malkin needs. She jumps on the anti-Okinawa bandwagon as if it was the only thing Murtha's ever said, and proceeds to offer charts, graphs, photos, and even clips of two Fox primetime animated sitcoms in an attempt to ridicule Murtha's so-called "Okinawa plan".

CLICK PICTURE TO VIEW

You'll also notice that, at one point, Malkin attempts to paint Murtha as a "crazy old man" by stating, "Is it just me, or it Murtha sounding more like Grandpa Simpson every day?"

It's funny that Malkin would partake in such "ad hominem" attacks when, just yesterday, she accused Murtha of doing the same thing and said this about why "the left" resorts to such behavior:

"I think because their side is losing. I think this is a sign of desperation, when they resort to ad hominem attacks referring to Karl Rove's girth."

Amen Michelle. However, at least Murtha had the integrity to address Rove's entire statement and not "cherry pick" portions of it.

When you think of video games...

...you think of George Plimpton?

BUSH ON BUSH

"If you're going to put somebody else's son or daughter into harm's way, into battle, you've got to know the answer to three questions," Bush told the students. He said the president has to know what the mission is, "how they are going to do it," and "how they're going to get out of there."

These are all good points. Too bad he made them in 1993 in regard to Bill Clinton's policy in Somalia.

WEIRDEST... AD... EVER!

Here's an ad for a new energy drink from Sprite. You know, the kind of "drink" that they want you to pour into your mouth, swish around for a bit, and then swallow down to your stomach? The ending goal for producers of such "drinks" is that their consumers will hopefully enjoy the taste and feel thoroughly refreshed as a result.

Also, keep in mind that expensive commercials like this are fawned over at every step during the process. First, they're verbally pitched by ad agencies to the client. Then, storyboards are created that show a "shot-by-shot" breakdown of how the finished ad will look. And finally, they're painstakingly shot from every angle with all parties represented on the set.

With that in mind, prepare to be amazed:

CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH

Thirsty?

Roger Ebert responds to the responses from his review of "An Inconvenient Truth". Does that make ANY sense?

Apparently, Roger Ebert is getting a lot of right-wing replies to his earlier review of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth". So much so... he decided to reply en masse:

Dear Readers,

I've received so many messages about my review of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" that, frankly, I don't see how the Answer Man can process them. I could print a dozen or a hundred, but that would lead us into an endless loop.

Many are supportive. More are opposed to the movie and just about everything in it, and are written by people who have not seen the movie and will not see it for a variety of reasons, including the theory that it is "liberal propaganda." What I fail to understand is why global warming should be a liberal or conservative issue. It is either happening or is not, and we can either take action to try to slow it, or we cannot. That is why a great many conservatives have agreed with Gore on this.

When I am told "this is another one you're trying to blame on Bush and Halliburton," all I can say is, somebody is listening to way too much talk radio on which they are told global warming is being blamed on Bush and Halliburton. Actually, Gore blames neither and mentions neither. "It got worse on his watch as vice president." Yes, it did. "He flies around on a jet to warn against it." Yes, one of thousands of jet flights every day.

One person says that when Gore finds a "100 percent agreement" among scientists about global warming, that proves he is wrong, because 100 percent of scientists do not agree on anything. Then they quote scientists who disagree with Gore. What he said was, a random sampling of 935 recent articles published in peer-review scientific journals shows agreement with the basic findings reported in his film.

Many people inform me that they just read a story saying that the South Pole was tropical many eons ago. So it was, as reported in "March of the Penguins." I don't know what they want me to do with this factoid. Applaud our actions to bring that condition around again as quickly as possible?

I cannot get into a scientific discussion here. There will be no end to it. All I can say is, the Gore documentary made a deep impression on me. I urge you to see it. You will not be seeing a "campaign film," or "sour grapes," or "Gore still being bitter." George W. Bush has repeated for six years that global warming "requires more study." If Gore has spent six years studying it, aren't his findings worthy of attention? Yes, I'm "being political." But saying the issue "needs more study" is a political statement when energy groups are among your major supporters and your family is in the oil business.

Pixar, Brad Bird, and Patton Oswalt... could anything be better?

CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH THE TRAILER

The brilliant stand-up/actor Patton Oswalt stars as a "food connoisseur" rat who refuses to eat garbage. Is it just me, or is Pixar about fifty-million miles ahead of everyone else when it comes to computer animation?

Weird KFC/Lost Commercial...

Apparently a regional (Hawaii) commecial for KFC.

Anyone seeing a pattern here?

Things they couldn't have forseen:

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."
- George W. Bush (9/1/2005)

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile."
- Condoleeza Rice (5/16/2002)

"I don't think anybody anticipated the level of violence we encountered (in Iraq)."
- Dick Cheney (6/19/2005)

Things they saw quite clearly:

"I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators."
- Dick Cheney (3/16/2003)

"The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
- Dick Cheney (6/20/2005)

"It happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed. We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
- Donald Rumsfeld (3/30/2003)

"We're dealing with a country (Iraq) that can really finance it's own reconstruction."
- Paul Wolfowitz (10/17/2003)

Is it any wonder why the majority of American's (61%) think this country is going in the wrong direction?

VERY "JACK TRIPPER-ESQUE" MOMENT...

When I was a kid, I had a ritual when watching "Three's Company". I could watch the first twenty-eight minutes without incident. But in those final moments, when Jack Tripper (John Ritter) would inevitably make a complete ass of himself by getting caught in some compromising position, I would have to turn the channel. The pure embarassment of watching someone in these situations has a way of overloading my "douche-chill" sensors.

It's why I often have to turn away from "American Idol" auditions, and open mic comedians. And it definitley applies to this clip. Apparently, Connie Chung and husband Maury Povich had a show on MSNBC. And when it was going to be cancelled... Connie decided to "send off" the show with a rousing rendition of "Thanks for the Memories".

Before seeing this, I would have never thought that Mrs. Chung could sing a note... and I would have been right.

THANKS TO SCREENHEAD

KARL ROVE TALKS TOUGH...

Here's Karl speaking recently about the war in Iraq... and those "pussy" Democrats like retired veteran John Murtha:

CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH

"They may be with you for the first shots... but they're not gonna be there for the last tough battles."
- Karl Rove

Wow! Spoken like a true veteran of the Armed Forces of America, right? I mean "first shots"... and "tough battles"? That's the talk of a true hero, right? Except the closest ol' Karl ever got to "tough battles" was fighting painful writer's cramp as he filed for several student deferments after graduating from high school in the spring of 1969.

To make this irony even more palpable, according to an old classmate (and friend) of Rove's named Mark Gustavson, his reasoning for not wating to fight sounds eerily similar to what's currently taking place in the Middle East:

Far from being a conscientious objector, Gustavson recalls, Rove's opposition to the war was political. He considered the conflict a "political skirmish that was not being properly administered."

Now I know what you're saying... "Karl Rove had a FRIEND?"

But seriously, I'm not saying that Rove shouldn't have the ability to talk about the war in Iraq, or even the reasons for staying. But to imply that people like Murtha don't have the nerve to "stay the course"... while chickenhawks like Rove can face these "tough battles" is a hard pill to swallow.

Murtha had this to say:

"This guy sitting back there criticizing...political criticism, getting paid by the...by the public taxpayer, and he's saying to us, uh, we're...we're...we're winning this war, and they're running -- we've gotta change direction; that's what we have to do. You can't...you can't sit there in the air-conditioned office and tell these troops that are carrying seventy pounds on their back inside these armored vessels and hit with IED's every day, seeing their friends blown up, their buddies blown up, and he says, "Stay the course"? Yeah, it's easy to say that from Washington, D.C."

He's right, saying things like "stay the course" is easy when your thousands of miles from real danger. This is the same logic that brought us the phrase "bring 'em on" from Dubya in a secure room at the White House. It's easy to put America's "ASS" on the line... as long as your own ass stays half a world away from exploding IED's and bullets.

I can't help but think that this war would have been approached differently had the President experienced even a few moments of staring down the barrel of a gun. Hey, maybe he should go duck hunting with Cheney someday?

THANKS TO CROOKSANDLIARS.COM FOR THE VIDEO

I HAVE A FAN! AWESOME!

Imagine my surprise when I opened my email to see this. Anyone can get "fan mail" where the reader fawns all over you like a Kelly Clarkson groupie. I got's me a "hater":I'm taking guesses as to what what post sent "Nicole M." into this comma-less rage! My guess is the Carmen Electra/fake breasts one.

DAVE CHAPELLE: "JUICE"

The Daily Show on "Gitmo"...

CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH

I feel like I post "Daily Show" clips... well, almost daily. But it's a truly brilliant show. So, once again, Stewart (and his crew) does an amazing job, blah, blah, blah... just watch.

Some mean ukelele playing...

My friend Zeke showed me this guy a few months ago... and I just came across it again. Jake Shimabukuro plays "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on a tiny guitar. Amazing!

How about a little "word association"?

Okay... I'm gonna say something... and you say the first thing that comes to mind, okay?

Ready?

Carmen Electra.

Alright... did anyone say "boobs", "tits", "breasts", or any other slang term pertaining to this area of the body? Okay, then you can laugh along with me to the following story.

It appears that yet another woman who's entire career (and subsequent wealth) is thanks to her physical appearance, has now come out against the breast implants that made them famous. Remember when Pamela Anderson made some similar comments, and even had her implants removed... only to be replaced with a larger set as she began to fade into obscurity.

According to contactmusic.com:
CARMEN ELECTRA hated her breasts after getting massive implants, because she was talked into getting bigger boobs than she wanted. The sexy BAYWATCH actress, who is married to rocker Dave Navarro, claims it took her time to adjust to her new voluptuous figure. She explains, "I didn't like it at first. I really didn't want to go as big as I ended up going. "It was nice that I didn't have to wear a push-up bra anymore, but I could have left myself alone. "I didn't need to do it."

I love that Electra has the courage, ten years later mind you, to say that she "didn't need to do it." If she means she "didn't need to do it" for life? That's fine. But if she's under the delusion that she "didn't need to do it" because her personality and talent were enough, why didn't she have them removed immediatley... or now?

As you can see HERE, Electra has "clearly" made an effort to minimize her chest in photo sessions over the years.

THANKS TO HOLLYWOODTUNA.COM

"JACKASS 2" TRAILER...

CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH

This is a great way to use spin "negative" movie reviews in your favor, and pretty friggin' entertaining to boot. P.S. My friend Max probably has this playing on a loop at his place.

ANOTHER BRILLIANT "COLBERT" INTERVIEW...

CLICK PICTURE TO VIEW

In this clip, Colbert interviews freshman Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. Remember when you were a kid, you'd be impressed by national politicians? Me neither.

THANKS AGAIN TO CROOKSANDLIARS.COM

How Republican are YOU?

I am: 36% Republican.

"You're probably one of those chicken-littles who thinks maybe we should worry a little bit, occasionally, about the fate of the planet that our lives all depend on."

Are You A Republican?

Yep, I'm 36%... a slightly higher percentage than Bush's approval rating. To see how Repubican you are: CLICK HERE

Feel free to post results in the comment section.

THE POLAR BEAR ON "LOST"

I recently had a discussion with my brother concerning the unexplained mysteries involved on ABC's "Lost". One of his concerns was that the polar bear (shot in season one) has still yet to be explained. However, my brother stopped watching after season one, so the addition of the hatches was unknown to him. I theorized (a month ago) that these hatches were explained as "study areas" designed for different experiments, and that one of them may have involved animals such as the polar bear.

Well, I just happened upon the "orientation film" concerning the Dharma Initiative's hatch called "The Swan"... and indeed, the video does cover many areas of experimentation. And during the mention of zoology, a scene with these bears is shown:

CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH

"Lost" rules! By the way, did anyone see "Deadwood" this week? Did it seem oddly "off" to anyone else?

HITLER CATS!

A whole blog dedicated to cats that look like Hitler. It appears they're organizing...

THANKS TO SCREENHEAD

Not a good day for Madeleine Marr...

...I guess you'd call her a "celebrity journalist" for The Miami Herald. In today's paper, she wrote about the stars who turned out for Game 3 of the NBA Finals and ended her "story" with these two paragraphs:
Team owners Micky Arison (Heat) and Mark Cuban (Mavs) didn't arrive by limo, helicopter or Range Rover. The millionaires both came by boat and docked on opposite sides of the arena. Cuban's Utopia II is nice enough -- if a bit modest, at 60 feet. Arison's Sirona III is a Shaq-sized monster, well more than 100 feet long.

'I think there's a little bit of boat envy goin' on,'' said Brad Morris, director of operations at the arena. ''I mean, compared to Arison's, Cuban's boat is pretty piddly.'' Morris said he heard Cuban had draped a ''Go Mavs'' banner across the boat earlier in the day and caused such a stir that the police were summoned. Oops. It wasn't there at game time.

First off, it's fairly well-known that Cuban is a BILLIONAIRE (1.8 to be exact)... and not a millionaire. But even if you didn't know that, a simple "Google" search would clear that up.

From there, the fact checking goes right off the deep end. Marr not only describes Cuban's boat (60 foot), she gives it a name (Utopia II), and even launches into re-telling of a story where Cuban had a "Go Mavs" banner that caused the police to be summoned.

The only problem? According to Cuban (from his own weblog) he DOESN'T EVEN OWN A BOAT?!

And if you look at the "story"... this was the only bit of journalism in the whole piece. The rest was simply a "roll call" of stars who attended the game. How do I get a gig like this?

IN KEEPING WITH THE WORLD RECORD SPIRIT...

ANOTHER WR VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE: Here's Spinboy Aichi of Japan making the world record of 124 headspins nonstop! You gotta SEE to believe. Amazing stuff!

WORLD RECORD 100-METERS

Asafa Powell ties the 100-meter world record of 9.77 seconds. But I think the audio of this foreign announcer is a bit more impressive.

It's my BIRTHDAY!

CLICK PICTURE TO SEE VIDEO

And David Lynch celebrated by doing a weather report. Okay, so he does one every day (as pointed out by my friend Max) on his website. But today, I could swear he was looking directly at me!

MEET MICHAEL WEINER...

...or maybe you know him better as right-wing loudmouth Michael Savage, host of "The Savage Nation" radio show. Maybe he changed that last name because "The Weiner Nation" doesn't have the same macho tone to it?

But Michael Weiner had quite a prolific writing career for a while, as seen here:
However, apparently books about "herbal remedies" and "natural medicine" aren't as lucrative as right-wing hate radio and anti-liberal publications.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Weiner makes it a habit to not only state his offense at people, but also step 50-feet over the line. One such rant came from Monday's (June 12th) show, from which he read excerpts of an interview with billionaire (and holocaust survivor) George Soros.

You can read the interivew here. I would call it honest, concise, but certainly not controversial, and definitley not worth this venomous reply from Weiner (click here to hear audio):
For all your doubts about the unbridled pursuit of self interest, few people have benefited more from capitalism than you. He says: I'm happy to acknowledge that. I have a platform because I made a lot of money. If I were just an intellectual, an obscure university professor, I would be saying these things and I wouldn't be heard.

Hey George, let me tell you something, I don't have as much money as you. I have 50,000 times the influence that you do, you punk, lying, coward, Satanist, backstabbing freak. You're the people -- people like you give Jews a bad name, Soros. It's people like you who brought about the Holocaust, Soros. I stand by those words. I stand by those words. I would debate you tomorrow, Soros, on any platform, anywhere. I'll debate you anywhere. It's people like you who brought about the Holocaust, Soros. That's why I need you to shut your mouth and understand the damage you're doing to this world and to the Jewish people, George Soros.

So according to Michael "Weiner" Savage, the jewish people of Germany and surrounding areas could have avoided the Holocaust simply by acting differently? In this one statement, Weiner seems to absolve Adolf Hitler, and his Nazi party, of their culpability in the attrocities that occured some 70+ years ago... or at least excuse their actions to a certain extent. After all, if these "George Soros-like" jews "brought about" the Holocaust, then it's implied that they somehow could have stopped it too, right?

Off course this could all be excused as the rantings of a mad man if Weiner was a "podcast nut" with a handful of idiots tuning in. But according to answers.com, this guy reaches anywhere between 8 and 10 million listeners... making him the THIRD most widely listened to broadcast in the United States.

WTF!!!!

Thanks to mediamatters.org for the audio

LIGHTNING BOLT!

This video has been around for a while, but I just saw it on YOUTUBE and had to post it. A live-action Dungeons & Dragons battle where some wizard opens up a "can o' lightning bolt" on some poor, unsuspecting orc/goblin.

SLEAZY POLITICS UPDATE...

About a month ago I posted two stories about Bill Conrad and his sleazy political mailer:
FROM THE MODESTO BEE (JUNE 11, 2006):
In the Mother Lode's 25th Assembly District, the nasty race between Republicans Bill Conrad and Tom Berryhill ended with a whimper. Berryhill hammered Conrad 68.4 percent to 31.4 percent.

It's nice to see that the people of Modesto rejected Conrad's heartless tactics. Get it? Rejected? Heartless? Because he had a transplant... and, um... oh, nevermind.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE BORAT MOVIE TRAILER!

Now I can't wait for Fall 2006!

Shirley Phelps-Roper gets more "face time" on Fox News...

...which begs the question, "Why do they keep having her on?" How many times can anchors say, "You should be ashamed of yourself?" This seems like more tabloid-style television from Rupert Murdoch.

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED...

...seeing Ann Coulter make a false statement, and having the interviewer call her on it during the interview? Brilliant! I love how she tries every conceivable way to "weasel" out of the verbal gaffe... and finally invokes the infamous "well, I'll get back to you on that," response.

From her Feb. 2005 interview with Bob McKeown

Not JUST for the taste of it anymore...

EXTRA! EXTRA! RIGHT-WING TALKING HEAD CALLS 9/11 AN "ACCIDENTAL BOMBING"?

CLICK PICTURE TO VIEW VIDEO

Sandy Rios is the latest right-wing talking head (see more here) to take up the "Ann has a point" argument. She likens Ann's outrageously hateful tripe to showing pictures of emaciated bodies "to understand what happened" during the Holocaust. Apparently mocking the widows relationships with their dead husbands are "words laser-focused on truth". Hmmm... you learn something new everyday on Fox News.

She then does one-step further down the "crazy trail", when she calls the 9/11 attacks an "accidental bombing". This is her ACTUAL QUOTE:
"...because women have lost their husbands in an accidental bombing which is tragic and we have great sympathy for them does not give them license to then criticize the Commander in Chief..."

Is Sandy alleging that the terrorists were trying to land the planes and "accidentally" flew them into BOTH World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon? Would any left-wing pundit survive the Fox News barrage if they made this comment?

THANKS TO CROOKSANDLIARS.COM FOR THE VIDEO

A great sketch from "MR. SHOW"...

...and one of my brother's favorties.

TURD WATCH: 2006

From Kevin McCoullough's article on World Net Daily entitled "Why Ann Coulter is right":
The Jersey Girls, on the other hand, have consistently spoken out and advocated on behalf of leftist interests through the 9-11 commission's findings to the operation of the global War on Terror, the elections of 2004, etc. In other words, they chose, or the liberal Democratic Party chose for them, to enter the fray, to don the gloves and to mix it up.

But what if they're wrong? What if, even in as much pain as they have endured at the hands of terrorists, the substance of what they argue for is as loony as the day is long? Even if Cindy Sheehan lost her heroic son in the War on Terror, does that now mean that everything Cindy Sheehan says is correct?

Which is Ann's point.

Wait a minute? Ann's "point" is that the widows of 9/11 or mothers of heroic sons have weak political arguments regarding public policy? I might have missed that "point" around the time she was speculating that these women were "enjoying their husband's deaths", or that their husbands might have been "planning to divorce these women" prior to their untimely deaths. What in the hell do these smears have to do with their "loony" political arguments?

He continues:
Ann's criticism is legitimate. If liberals in America wish truly to have a debate on the issues that we all have strong emotions about, then stand and make the point, but don't hide behind those who are ineffective, unskilled and often wrong in their views, simply because they're victims.

I love how this idiot accuses liberals of avoiding a debate on the issues, when Coulter herself refuses to even deal with the "ineffective, unskilled and often wrong" arguments that these women put forward. I mean if they're so "ineffective", then it should be no problem for a genius like Coulter to tear their opinions to shreds, right? Instead she resorts to smearing their personal relationships with their dead spouses based on pure speculation. And this is something to be applauded?

Also, doesn't EVERYONE in this country have a "freedom to speak"? Should we tell these women to shut up... or worse yet... force them to shut up by locking them up forever at Camp X-Ray? If this guy (or Coulter) has proof that the Democratic Party is forcing these women to speak, then present it. Otherwise, it's America baby... and this is that "freedom" that Dubya is always hawkin' to people around the world. These women have just as much right to voice their opinions as you, or Ann Coulter, or anyone else. And if people listen? More power to them.

This is where the real shame lies. In article like McCoullough's that supports a vile human like Coulter. She deserves no defense.

Repost from "shouldveaskedme.com"...

My friend Mike runs an amazing blog that often has some of the most poignant observations ever. With his permission... here is a repost of one such post (with video):
Hey, Ann Coulter, Did This Little Girl Enjoy Losing Her Mother?
The most expensive TV ad buy of the 2004 presidential campaign was one featuring Ashley Faulkner, who lost her mother in the World Trade Center. She and her father, Lynn, appear in the spot. Here is how Salon described it back in November, 2004, in an article titled "The TV Ad That Put Bush Over the Top":

Ashley appears on camera and says of Bush, "He's the most powerful man in the world, and all he wants to do is make sure I'm safe, that I'm OK." Her father, a self-described Republican, is also shown in the ad. As photos of Bush at ground zero appear, Faulkner says, "What I saw was what I want to see in the heart and soul of the man who sits in the highest elected office in our country."

Clearly, I don't begrudge them the right to speak their minds. This is America, after all... at least for a little while longer. And I would never be so monstrous as to suggest that this little girl and her father enjoyed or wallowed in their terrible loss, simply because they tried to turn it into something positive. Simply because I disagree with their politics doesn't mean I deny their motives or their humanity.

The fact that Ann Coulter is incapable of understanding that you can disagree with someone yet still consider them a human being is what makes her less of one. And the fact that she ignores every example like this one that disproves her ridiculous "theories" proves she shouldn't be given any more attention. She's a joke, and not a very funny one.

I grew up in Eugene, Oregon...

...therefore I get a special thrill when any form of media mentions Eugene, Oregon. Here's a scene from "Futurama" where they mention... well, you get the picture.

MORE NEWS SEGMENT HILARITY

This one has been around for years... but the reaction from this anchor is still PRICELESS!

MAN ON THE STREET

Oh, the perils of dealing with the public. I'll bet they don't teach this in journalism school.

ANN COULTER: DIG BABY DIG!

A commenter from this morning (Ryan) had this astute observation about Coulter's "9/11 widow" rantings:
The worst thing is that she is actually bound for the circle of Hell one below the one everyone has her pencilled in for. My reasoning: it would be bad enough if she actually believed this hateful tripe (at least then she'd have her convictions) but I'm guessing she is merely making this shit up to sell her books. And that gives her the trifecta: Insincere/Hateful/Exploitive.
If this is true, then Coulter may even be taking the elevator a bit lower after these comments from Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" show. Now she even argues that, if given the chance, these widows might not trade in their celebrity in return for their husbands' lives. What a wonderful world!

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE VIA MEDIAMATTERS.COM

P.S. I swear that I didn't indend for Coulter to be sandwiched in between the "zit popping" videos. It was merely a happy accident!

Who wants to see a zit popped?

Further proof that you can find ANYTHING in youtube.com. (Warning: Not for the weak of stomach... and definitley not post-meal viewing.)

And further "zit popping" action from France HERE!

ANN COULTER: GODLESS

Could she have picked a better title? Ann made an appearance on "The Today Show" the other day where she reponded to several items from her new book. On the subject of the 9/11 widows, Coulter was read these passages by Matt Lauer:
"These self-obsessed women seem genuinely unaware that 9-11 was an attack on our nation and acted like as if the terrorist attack only happened to them. They believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony. Apparently, denouncing bush was part of the closure process.""These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies.I have never seen people enjoying their husband’s death so much.

Her response as to why she would address the wives of the Twin Towers bombing like this?
COULTER: To speak out using the fact they are widows. This is the left's doctrine of infallibility. If they have a point to make about the 9-11 commission, about how to fight the war on terrorism, how about sending in somebody we are allowed to respond to. No-No-No. We have to respond to someone who had a family member die.

Well Ann, it seems like you just responded to these women alright. And what's more, you didn't even address the very items you said you'd like to. You want to refute their points about the 9/11 commission? Want to ridicule their opinions on fighting the war on terrorism? It sure doesn't seem like that. Nah, you'd rather call them "broads", and accuse them of "enjoying their husband's death".

This is where the real scum of the right-wing movement live. They SAY they want to discuss the issues, but they really don't. Name calling and reputation smearing is much more their speed. Coulter calling herself a Christian is laughable... but her trying to paint left-wing liberals as "godless" while she taunts the widows of 9/11 is nothing short of PRICELESS.

Here's a clip from Keith Olbermann's show about the while debacle:

Alan: A Video Game Junkie

A great parody from SNL in the early 1980's. They just don't do stuff like this anymore.

Thanks to screenhead.com

CROOKSANDLIARS.COM RULES!

I don't have time to watch every news channel, for every news event, every friggin' day of my life... and that's why this site is so brilliant. They pull only "left-leaning" news clips... so I can feel superior without EVER seeing the other side of the debate. And now you can feel superior too!

Some of today's (or yesterday's) greatest nuggets:
BILL BENNET ON "THE DAILY SHOW" WITH JON STEWART: I'd argue that TDS is more of a news show than many so-called "news outlets" anymore.

ANN COULTER ON "THE TODAY SHOW": And your skin will begin crawiling in three... two... one. At least watch the end of the interview where she attempts to destroy the 9/11 widows. And here you can read the "9/11 widows" response.

Bookmark this site now: crooksandliars.com

I'm a deeply curious person by nature...

With this in mind, I check my "unique visitors" to this blog on a daily basis and know that somewhere between 180-210 people check out this site daily. Yet, no more than a handful EVER comment on anything. But why?

Well, this is my impassioned plea for any and all visitors to "drop a comment" on this post. Please give whatever (anonymous) information you'd like... and maybe how you found out about the blog.

It would really make my day, interest me beyond belief, and save me thousands of dollars in Private Investigators to track down each and every one of you.

Thanks,
Russ

I really miss these guys...

...it's too bad that MTV screwed over Mike Judge so bad.

Other good episodes here and here.

Following the "Dungeons & Dragons" theme...

...here's Patton Oswalt's amazing turn as an obsessive D&D player on "Reno 911":

Will "Dungeons and Dragons" ever be done justice!

I hope to do the "hard work" myself one day. For now, we can always remember the horrible 1980's animated series:

Unbelievable Hole-In-One!

I know... it's golf... but stay with me here. This is one of those "Caddyshack-esque" shots where it appears the ball has landed some 20 feet from the cup... only to begin rolling some 5-10 seconds later. If it wasn't presented this way (from televised footage), it would be impossible to believe.

Maybe the earliest sleazy beer ad...

Two guys carrying their groceries enter an elevator. The elevator breaks down. They turn to find that there's three sexy Sweedish Stewardesses trapped with them. They pass out the "Shaeffer Beer"... hand out a few pretzels... and announce that they're in "Shaeffer City". One can guess what happens next... and the ensuing trail where the guys' lawyer floats the often controversial "Shaeffer City Insanity" plea.

(NOTE: In the late 1980's-early 1990's I attended Oregon State University... where Shaeffer was the cheapest beer one could purchase. However, the savings more than caught up with you the next morning, when you'd fall victim to the aptly titled "Shaeffer Shits".)

A Fraternity of One...

The good news: This dude pours 36oz of beer into a blender container... then proceeds to chug the entire amount in about nine seconds.

The bad news: It appears he's all alone while he does it. It's amazing how you expect to hear fifteen to twenty frat boys scream out there testosterone-fueled congratulations... but there's only the sounds of a lame clock radio in the background.

Posting the CalArts stuff below made me think of this...

About six years ago, I was researching a "best of the web" show for NBC. I happened across a particularly amazing piece of claymation simply called "More". I can still remember watching the tiny Quicktime file on my colored iMac, and being completely mezmermized by the subtle animation, and hypnotic music track. The piece was created by Mark Osborne and even earned him an Academy Award nomination in 1999 for best animated short. The music is provided by the 1980's synth-rock band "New Order". Truly amazing stuff.

P.S. Visit the website for "More" here.

Some well-done animation...

...from (I think) young director Alex Hirsch. Featuring the interesting relationship between former President Richard Nixon, and a young boy. The faux-musical number at the end is a killer. (An interesting note: the dead-on voice of Nixon was supplied by none other than voice-over genius Billy West!)

WATCH VIDEO HERE

It would appear that Hirch part of an animation "group" called NET HAT CO., and my best guess is that "NET HAT" is made up of CalArts students... or graduates... or something. Although the lack of bios, a mission statement, or even some general information is a bit frustrating.

HEY LOOK EVERYBODY! A WALLET THAT LIGHTS UP!

For all millions of times a day when you're trying to complete a transaction in the dark.

Introducting: The Walluminate!

Too horrible to take seriously?

Thanks to my brother, I was forwarded this story about a Grandfather and Grandmother allegedly hiring a hit man to kill their grandchildren. The details of the story only add to the insanity, and push the story into one of those areas where I could easily poke fun. But I have to remind myself that it's a real story.

At any rate, one has to note that these two grandparents (ages 60 & 59) offered $100... that's right one Ben Franklin emblazoned greenback for this "hit man" to kill their son's wife, their 10 year-old granddaughter, two step-gradchildren (ages 14 & 16), AND the family dog. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but that works out to roughly twenty-five bucks per "whack"... with the dog thrown in as a bonus. Does this sound like a deal too good to be true to anyone else?

Turns out, this budget "hit man" was actually an undercover cop. Duh.

And just who were these "Grandparents of The Year" trying to protect with these horrible murders? How about their 31 year-old son who's accused of 22 charges of sexual battery on a child, lewd and lascivious molestation and showing obscene material to a minor. His daughter and stepdaughter are the victims.

There's no word (yet) as to what the dog had witnessed, or if he plans to testify in the case.

Thanks to Royd and Jessilyn

The Greatest SNL sketch ever...

...that's actually not a sketch at all... OR from SNL. In this clip from Paula Zahn's CNN show, she interviews Richard Cohen, a so-called "homosexual healer" shows Paula some of his "techniques" for fixing one's gayness.

The results are too funny for description. If I EVER write something this brilliant, I will happily retire and watch the "fruits of my labor" on a never-ending loop.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

thanks to crooksandliars.com for the video

RETROACTIVE DISGUST

In going through my regular morning reading of current news stories, I came across one concerning John Kerry. You remember John Kerry, right? The guy who wanted to be President a few years back? Well, many may remember the attacks that were leveled against Kerry's Vietnam service... by those supporting an incumbent President with not only NO Vietnam service, but many questions about his completion (or lack of) duties to the Air National Guard.

Well, it seems that even two years after losing the election, Senator Kerry is still trying to set the record straight regarding his service by telling his story to The New York Times. In the article, he tries to combat the damage done to his Vietnam War service by the likes of Swift Boat leader John O'Neill, and others.

But what bothers me most about this issue is not that these veterans (and GOP operatives) criticize Kerry for his post-war activities, which (I'm sure) were hurtful to many fellow veterans. But rather that Kerry was primarily attacked (without solid proof) for his service IN Vietnam. John O'Neill likes to call Kerry a liar, and pretend that he served "side-by-side" with Kerry, but the facts don't back this up. In fact, O'Neill wrote a now infamous OP/ED in which he stated: "I was on Mr. Kerry's boat in Vietnam. He doesn't deserve to be commander in chief." But in fact, military records show that O'Neill took over the same boat AFTER Kerry had left. More of O'Neill's lies are documented here.

But even more infuriating than O'Neill and other veterans' attacks on Mr. Kerry's service were the random GOP attacks by those who NEVER served a day in their life. Perhaps the most disturbing was done by this man:
His name is Morton C. Blackwell, and he's a long time GOP "strategist" and active member (since the early 1960's) in the Young Republican National Committee. In 2004, at the GOP Convention, his "strategy" was to pass out purple heart band-aids that carried the message "It was just a self-inflicted scratch, but you see I got a Purple Heart for it," to hundreds of delegates like these lovely ladies who wore them with a wide grin:

To add further insult to this action, Blackwell, while being born in 1939 and thus making him VERY capable of serving his country during the very war Kerry served in, never served his country in ANY CAPACITY. After all, with troop levels reaching 200,000 in 1965, the US certainly could have used a Young Republican like Morton Blackwell, right?

One wonders how someone like this gets the nerve to state as fact that one of Kerry's Purple Hearts came from a "self-inflicted" scratch, while NEVER even putting on a uniform in his life? It also begs the question of how 250 GOP supporters could gleefully take part in this disgusting charade. After all, these are the people who on a daily basis call themselves "pro military" and "pro troops" and accuse Democrats of denigrating the troops when pointing out problems with the war in Iraq.

Not to mention, this also smears a man who was awarded multiple purple hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. Would Morton Blackwell challenge all of these if given the chance?

For those with interest, SNOPES.COM provides a thorough answer to the claim: John Kerry's Vietnam War service medals (a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts) were earned under "fishy" circumstances.