Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Wrong and Oh-So-Right

This is just wrong From BlogCritics (I left the links intact):

Today I filed an Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against Kos Media, LLC., better known as DailyKos.com. I allege that they operate as a political committee and are therefore subject to FEC rules.

I first thought of this complaint during the Cindy Sheehan debacle over at Daily Kos, where Cindy pledged to run as an independent against Nancy Pelosi, and the Daily Kos basically turned on her. While some conservatives took great delight in this, I really didn't care because it's politics as usual. The right has thrown their fair share of people under the bus for not drinking the Kool-aid too.

The last sentence is correct, to be sure. There are lots and lots of folks on the Right who are still pissed at John McCain for that abomination known as “McCain-Feingold,” which was the first (recent) step down the slippery slope of limiting political speech. McCain deserved to be thrown under the bus for that, to cite but one example of under-the-bus-throwing. But it’s flat wrong— incontrovertibly WRONG — to attempt to limit a blog’s speech, even a blog like dKos. On top of that, the action is supremely inconsistent with the Right’s American principles, as championed by the Right. You gotta walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

I’m both amazed and appalled at the “conservatives” at BlogCritics that initiated this bullsh!t. Retract your complaint, Mr. Bambanek. It’s the only honest and honorable thing to do.

Great comments to Mr. Bambanek’s post, by the way. Can you spell L-E-A-D B-A-L-L-O-O-N? I knew you could…

(Via memeorandum)

Today’s Pic: Here’s the used-to-be inanimate object of my affections, nicked from SN2’s blog. She became mine back in 1978, for less than one thousand Yankee Dollars…a bargain, in anyone’s book. Miles of smiles, she was. And is, 29 years later. That's the cool part.

I spent many, many hours in her saddle seeking out— and finding — twisty-turnies in Oregon, California, Michigan, and Oklahoma…and a lot of points in between. Strangely enough, she was nameless (and remains so, as far as I know). She was always known simply as “The RD.” And she was blindingly quick in her day, able to keep up with and occasionally beat bikes twice her displacement where sheer acceleration was concerned. Note I didn’t say “fast,” as her absolute top speed was approximately 100 mph, but she got there VERY quickly. But that was almost 30 years ago, Gentle Reader. Motorcycle art and technology have come a long, long way. She’s still pretty quick from what I hear, but can’t begin to be competitive with today’s sport bikes.

The pic was taken by SN2, presumably in Omaha. Presumably recently.

I’ll be back in a bit.

10 comments:

  1. You are right on with your thoughts on blogs and freedom of speech.

    I love your motorcycle stories - you can share those anytime.

    My step father-in-law is doing better today. yeha! But the computer problems still exist.

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  2. So I'm pretty sure I've already crossed the line into full-on intel weenie...the first thing I did as soon as I read "The pic was taken by SN2, presumably in Omaha. Presumably recently." was to go back up and look at the background of the picture and try and determine where exactly in Omaha SN2 might live.

    I've got a few guesses but the picture wasn't too helpful

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  3. Lou: Good news about your f-i-l! Less so on the computer front.

    Mike: He's in Bellevue, and that's about all I know. My intel skills suck, to put it mildly.

    ;-)

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  4. The pic was taken on 45th street just south of Center.

    You in Omaha Mike?

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  5. Motorcycle art and technology have come a long, long way.

    Unless your ride of choice is a Harley.*

    *With the notable exception of the V-Rod.

    Sorry, H-D fans! It's the truth and I couldn't resist! : )

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  6. Ah, that would explain why I wasn't able to glean much from the pic...that's one of the few areas of Omaha that I'm not real familiar with.

    And yeah, born and raised...my family lives in Papillion, I'm back for the summer from school.

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  7. Lori said: Unless your ride of choice is a Harley.*

    *With the notable exception of the V-Rod.


    Don't forget these, Lori. The only thing that kept me from buying one, vice the 'Zuki, was the price. The technology is certainly there, and the art? Well, I like 'em. YMMV.

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  8. You pointed me to Buells, right? I've got no problem with a Buell. It ain't a Harley, even though Erik worked there and used Harleys as his foundation.

    You know what my problem with Harleys is? Besides the old technology, I mean. It's that the company makes more from its clothing and tschotkes than it does from its bikes (which are overpriced to death and aren't really all that great).

    And that "buy American" thing is just ridiculous. Oooh-rah.

    I'm SO glad you bought a 'Zuki! : )

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  9. Lori said: It ain't a Harley, even though Erik worked there and used Harleys as his foundation.


    Ah, but Buells are indeed Harleys, in the same sense a Lexus is (ultimately) a Toyota. By that I mean Buell has been an H-D subsidiary since 1998.

    I don't take issue with your other points. I probably paid an additional 20 bucks for that frickin' Harley logo on my disc-rotor lock (made by Kryptonite but sold as a Harley "accessory"), but it was the only lock available in all of Clovis and I wanted ...needed... a lock right now. So I bought it, logo and all.

    As for "Buy American?" Well, I try to do that, but sometimes there simply isn't a comparable "Made in USA" product available, or if there is an American product, it comes out on the short end of the value-for-money stick. That was the case in my Buell-Suzuki decision.

    And it will be the case when I replace the Green Hornet with another Miata. I want a competent, best-in-class roadster, but the two (current) Made in USA alternatives (the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky) don't measure up. And another 'Vette doesn't quite fit in with my current financial circumstances, unfortunately.

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  10. Point taken on the Buell/Harley thing, Buck. : )

    The most obnoxious, albeit still funny, Harley thing I've seen lately has been Harley-Davidson BEEF JERKY. Saw it recently at a convenience store in Billings, MT.

    Sad, but true.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.