The View from Vulcan

A peek behind the curtain

It is well known that the high & mighty in America and much of the world are not huge fans of WIkileaks, and this week we were privileged with a glimpse of just what lengths they will go to in order to marginalize and silence the group. For details, see here and here.

credulity

"Is President Obama's trip to India really going to cost $200 million a day?"

"The entire war in Afghanistan costs $190 million a day."

That was fast

Scott Walker won the Governership with stopping the construction of the Wisconsin leg of the high speed rail network as a central plank of his campaign.

Outgoing Gov Doyle called him on it and suspended work on the train after the election, and Walker is now backtracking on one of his central campaign promises before he even moves in to the Governers mansion.

A spokeswoman for Talgo, the U.S. unit of the Spanish firm Patentes Talgo, said that Walker told company officials that his decision to stop a proposed Madison-to-Milwaukee passenger rail line is "not final."

It seems to be playing out as another example of Republican short sighted rhetoric that nonetheless helps win votes, now being reneged upon as the real world results of their rhetoric become apparent.

Vote Feingold

I find it hard to care very much about any of the other races next week, but Feingold is one of the few people in the Senate with a shred of respectability. On civil liberties, getting big money out of the political process, and the environment he has been leagues above most of the rest of them.

There are precious few national politicians worth supporting, and Feingold is, in my opinion, one of those few.

If undecided, or even just curious, I urge you to visit his website and look up his statements on things you feel important. More than most likely you will probably like what you read. He has a consistent track record of voting with his convictions even when unpopular.

His HCR vote has put off some people, but 1)I think if you actually look at what is in the bill you would like it more than you think and 2)It would be a shame if this one vote overrode his 18 years of protecting your civil liberties and standing up for core constitutional principles

Vote Feingold next Tuesday!

Casualties

One of the early and interesting bits of the Iraq doc dump is the casualty counts. Seems that based on the US military's count, 66K out of 100K deaths were classified as civilian, about 60%.

Megrolled

This is pretty funny.

Chain restaurant bullshit

Since I have done a fair share of business travel, I would like to think that I have grown immune to the bullshit dining experience of chain restaurants. However the bullshit I put up with at Chili's tonight has changed my mind.

To start off, you seated me right next to the loudest ignorant fuckheads in the joint. Is their life so empty that all you can think of to discuss over dinner is imbecilic rants about Obama? These 2 douches made Hannity's rants seem pulitzer worthy.

Now, what self-respecting establishment gives you a plain icewater? Are you so cheap that you can't put a lemon wedge or cucumber slice in it? And when I tell you I want a couple minutes to look at the menu, I do not mean that literally. Give me at least 5 minutes for christ's sake. If you walk by and I still have my nose in the menu, it probably means I am still deciding, so, no I am not ready to order. When I am ready to order I will put the menu down.

Why does it always say "mixed vegetables" as a side dish? It is always broccoli with carrots. Why is a dining establishment unable to offer a choice of vegetables? Just bland microwaved fucking broccoli. I ask you if I can get it blanched and you look at me like I asked to rape your kids. I guess the microwave doesn't have that button.

When I order an appetizer, I want to eat it first, before you bring out my main course. That is why it is called a fucking appetizer. I don't want you bringing out my steak before I took two bites from the appetizer.

As if you want to intentionally frustrate me, when you bring out my steak while I am just starting my appetizer, you stand there like a dunce and wait for me to shift my plates around and make room for you to set my main dish down. Now my table looks like a fucking buffet and eating has become a fucking juggling act.

Now that you have brought me my main dish early, it is logistically impossible to eat everything before it gets cold. Naturally I will opt to eat my steak while it is still warm, so my remaining appetizer will have to be eaten cold along with the microwaved broccoli and betty crocker instant mashed potatoes.

Most incensing of all, don't fucking pester me when I have a mouthful of fucking food that I am fucking chewing. The first time can be forgiven. You ask if everything is ok and i shake my head 'yes' and continue chewing and then turn my head back to my meal. This is your cue to GTFO. Why must you be a fucking pest and ask me 3 more questions?