Phillybits

Parking Wars, Season 1

2008-07-23T15:57:00.001-04:00

I got my FedEx envelope today containing three shiny new copies of Parking Wars, Season 1. It's almost 2 hours long and Frank at From Pine View Farm has already laid claim to one which means I still have one left for whoever wants it.

A New Low

2008-07-23T13:01:00.005-04:00

Is it really any wonder why the Republican Party is quickly becoming yesterday's news as quickly as John McCain is relegating himself to the storage bin of presidential history?

If you'll recall, Republicans spent the last several years and - still today! - demonizing Ivy-league educated, latte-sipping, Prius driving, Birkenstock-wearing, long-haired, pinko-Commie, terrorist sympathizing, America-hating, gay-loving, religion-hating, big government, anti-military, pot smoking, lazy, good-for-nothing liberal Democrats as the cause of all that is wrong in the world as well as this country today.

Whenever there's a need to rattle the ol' cage, there's nothing like a Democrat to scapegoat, right?

However, you'd think that when they start having problems with their own base, they'd start looking inward, no?

Well, guess again...

On the right is a letter sent from the RNC treasurer to a Republican and fundamentalist activist in Indiana. The text version is after the jump.

...

Dear Ms. Luidhardt,

I don't want to believe that you've abandoned the Republican Party, but I have to ask... Have you given up?

Our records show that we have not yet received your Republican National Committee membership renewal for the critical 2008 presidential election year.

As the Treasurer of the RNC, I know our Party's success depends directly on grassroots leaders like you.

So I am surprised and concerned especially because I know how generously you supported President Bush and the RNC in the past. You helped to advance our vision for America and elect Republicans at all levels of government.

Ms. Luidhardt, I know other things come up, and perhaps you've just been delayed in renewing your membership. If that's the case, I understand.

But we've not heard from you this year - - and I hope you haven't deserted our Party.

Your generous financial assistance and active involvement are more important than ever as we work to elect a new Republican president and Congress.

Did you notice how only 11 words into this fund raising letter, Ms. Luidhardt herself, a Republican and fundamental activist, is already being accused of abandoning the Republican Party? And how shortly thereafter they ask, "Have you given up?"

On the one hand, I'm surprised Republicans would word a letter this way to a constituent. I suppose whomever is managing their fund raising operations thinks that if scaring people into voting for Republicans by demonizing Democrats worked so well in 2004, then perhaps demonizing Republicans into sending them money, lest they feel guilty that they've "abandoned the Party", will work just as well too!

And yet, on the other hand, no...no, I'm NOT surprised at all.

I don't know about you but I'll place a wager that after Ms. Luidhardt read that piece of crap request for money wrapped in a classic case of Republican Projectionism, she crumpled it up into a ball, tossed it into the garbage, and walked away muttering under her breath, "No, I didn't abandon you."

"YOU abandoned ME!!"

Balance

2008-07-23T09:34:00.003-04:00

Since the administration here at Phillybits wants to be fair and balanced just like it's icon, Faux News, I wanted to even out some of my recently skewed postings as of late against John McCain with one that is highly critical of Barack Obama.

I just don't want anyone to think I'm not capable of being critical when the issues are this serious.

And you can thank me later for being a local and regional beacon of informed news, commentary, thought, and media, in a variety of forms, and for making it all available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week right here, on Phillybits.

h/t Susie

More Smoke And Mirrors From The McCain Camp?

2008-07-23T09:29:00.002-04:00

Novak seems to think perhaps so...

McCain Was "The Most Vocal Critic" Of The War In Iraq

2008-07-23T09:16:00.001-04:00

Oh, really?

So Much For That Liberal Media Bias

2008-07-23T09:07:00.002-04:00

For shame, CBS, for shame.

Is The Media Turning On McCain?

2008-07-22T20:47:00.003-04:00

Updated below

Take a look at McCain's two new videos, which directly attack the media at large for his perceived bias towards Obama.

Pretty weak, huh? Now take a look at this new story out by Politico, via Yahoo:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Iraq” on Monday when he apparently meant “Afghanistan”, adding to a string of mixed-up word choices that is giving ammunition to the opposition.

Just in the past three weeks, McCain has also mistaken "Somalia" for "Sudan," and even football’s Green Bay Packers for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ironically, the errors have been concentrated in what should be his area of expertise: foreign affairs.

McCain will turn 72 the day after Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) accepts his party’s nomination for president at the age of 47, calling new attention to the sensitive issue of McCain’s advanced age three days before the start of his own convention.

The McCain campaign says Obama has had plenty of flubs of his own, including a reference to "57 states" and a string of misstated place names during the primaries that Republicans gleefully sent around as YouTube links.

McCain aides point out that he spends much more time than Obama talking extemporaneously, taking questions from voters and reporters. "Being human and tripping over your tongue occasionally doesn't mean a thing," a top McCain official said.

But McCain's mistakes raise a serious, if uncomfortable question: Are the gaffes the result of his age? And what could that mean in the Oval Office?

Voters, thinking about their own relatives, can be expected to scrutinize McCain’s debate performances for signs of slippage.

Every voter has a parent, grandparent or a friend whose mental acuity declined as they grew older. It happens at different times for different people — and there is ample evidence many people in their 70s are as sharp and fit as ever.

In McCain’s case, his medical records, public appearances and travel schedule have suggested he remains at the top of his game.

Bang! They went right after McCain's numerous gaffes as well as his age. And not only that, but they're drawing parallels between the two.

Check this out:

Voters, thinking about their own relatives, can be expected to scrutinize McCain’s debate performances for signs of slippage.

Every voter has a parent, grandparent or a friend whose mental acuity declined as they grew older. It happens at different times for different people — and there is ample evidence many people in their 70s are as sharp and fit as ever.

In McCain’s case, his medical records, public appearances and travel schedule have suggested he remains at the top of his game.

But his liberal critics have been pouncing on every misstatement as a sign that he’s an old man.

And not only that, but they're pointing out that not only are they gaffes that "everyone has when they're being candid" but that there's a pattern going on here.

That referred to an ABCNews.com posting asserting that McCain appeared to confuse Iraq and Afghanistan in a “Good Morning America” interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, who asked whether the "the situation in Afghanistan is precarious and urgent.”

McCain responded: “I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," McCain said. The ABC posting added: “Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do.”

Unfortunately for McCain, that wasn’t an isolated slip. Among the other lapses:

• “Somalia” for “Sudan”: As recounted in a reporter’s pool report from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus on June 30, the senator said while discussing Darfur, a region of Sudan: "How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?"

Senior adviser Mark Salter corrected him: “Sudan.”

• “Germany” for “Russia”: A YouTube clip from last year memorializes McCain referring to Vladimir Putin of Russia — following a trip to Germany — as “President Putin of Germany.”

• This spring, McCain said troops in Iraq were “down to pre-surge levels” when in fact there were 20,000 more troops than when the surge policy began.

• Also this spring, McCain twice appeared to mistake Sunnis and Shiites, two branches of Islam that split violently.

• In Phoenix earlier this month, McCain referred to Czechoslovakia, which has been divided since Jan. 1, 1993, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He also referred to Czechoslovakia during a debate in November and a radio show in April.

• In perhaps the most curious incident, McCain said earlier this month that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had tried to confuse his captors by giving the names of Pittsburgh Steelers starting players when asked to identify his squadron mates. McCain has told the story many times over the years — but always correctly referred to the names he gave as members of the Green Bay Packers.

Oh, McCain. How you've soured your biggest fans...

Update - Oh and lookee here! Yet another major gaffe!

Slow Media, Fast Media

2008-07-22T08:24:00.003-04:00

If there's one thing I like about blogs and the internet, it's that you'll often read about stories sometimes upwards of a week (or more) before they break onto the national spotlight. Such is the case with Caylee Anthony, the two year old girl who's been missing some 6 weeks now, despite it not being reported until the girl had already been missing 5 weeks. I was going to blurb about it last week but didn't.

Apparently, her mother didn't report it and if I have the story right, it was the grandparents who reported her missing. The mother, when questioned by police, had a pretty lame excuse that she didn't go to the police because she had seen similar stories on TV about how when kidnappings/missing children are reported, then others start getting hurt. Something like that. It's all a bit fishy.

So back to the title. It was yesterday that I saw this story first covered on The Today Show. What stuck out to me was how it was phrased by the anchor woman - the girl had been missing 6 weeks already.

But...but...how did I know she had already been missing 5 weeks when....the Today Show just told me she'd been missing 6 weeks? Answer?

The internet.

Ironically, I just heard yesterday about John McCain's attempt at deflating all the media attention surrounding Barack Obama by potentially announcing a VP pick within the week. I had seen a diary on DailyKos referencing a post on Drudge Report about it and then lo-and-behold, what's one of the first top stories on the Today Show this morning?

If you guessed John McCain's potential VP pick, you're right. And not only that, they talked about how this had been bubbling up for about a week and then David Gregory, who was filling in for Matt Lauer decides it's time to start speculating and devoting time to that and so who does he have on to discuss this Very important Matter with but none other than Wudy Guwiliani.

To be honest, I never quite recognized the lisp/speech impediment Wudy had until today.

Interesting, isn't it? A little girl goes missing for 5 weeks, the story is out there, and it takes an additional week for the Today Show to cover that story but Drudge breaks a McCain VP story and less than 24 hours later, there's Gregory and Gooeyani talking about it, with Gooeyani saying how inexperienced Obama is, how wrong Obama is, etc.

You know, I don't think they spoke much at all, really, about McCain's potential VP and chose the time instead to criticize Obama.

And if you didn't think I saw that coming either, you're wrong because this is the Today Show where the stories, narrative, and framing of all their stories are completely predictable.

Go figure.

Epic Failure At FOX News

2008-07-21T17:32:00.003-04:00

Fucking priceless!

While the price of gas affecting your children's EDUCATION remains unanswered, the effects of watching FOX News on your children's education has been settled.

h/t MLDB

South Carolina State Senator Kevin Bryant Has An Obama/Osama Problem

2008-07-21T17:14:00.002-04:00

On the "/vacation-and-funny-picture/ "page

Ah-huk-huk-huk!

Let him know what you think.

The Best Of Parking Wars, Season 1: Guess Who's Got Some Extra Copies...

2008-07-21T15:32:00.006-04:00

Perhaps like myself, you were really excited when you heard about A&E's special, Parking Wars. You probably thought to yourself, "Oh, I can't WAIT to see see! This is going to be so awesome!"

The only problem, however, was that you don't have cable and that really hot bartender you chat up on Friday nights - yeah, the one you think likes you because she smiles at you and wears a low-cut shirt? - really doesn't like you as much as you thought and won't turn off the game that everybody else is watching.

Well, I've got a little bit of good news. It seems several copies of The Best Of Parking Wars, Season 1 will be gracing my doorstep soon, if the email I just received is to be believed (and I have no reason to doubt it) and to be perfectly honest, I really only need one copy to review myself so that means for a couple lucky people who happen to be both interested and quick with the email, you can get your hands on a free copy yourself.

I'll probably have two extra copies so the first two interested parties get dibs. If I get more than that, I'll post otherwise.

The email is to the upper right.

Shot From The Beach

2008-07-20T15:23:00.002-04:00

I like how this shot came out, as well as the selective color treatment on it.

Send Rove To Jail

2008-07-18T14:02:00.001-04:00

Sat. July 18th: Clark Park Photoshoot (Weather Permitting)

2008-07-18T10:05:00.003-04:00

I was just checking the local Flickr groups when I realized there is an effort for a photoshoot in Clark Park tomorrow

Where: Clark Park, Baltimore Ave. & 43rd St, at the Dickens and Little Nell Statue in mid-park.
When: Sat July 19th 4pm

Weather permitting, of course and it seems that might be an issue in which case I expect it to be rescheduled. More discussion in The Charm of the City.

Something To Look At

2008-07-16T14:49:00.002-04:00

I'm bored with politics lately and not having anything better to write about, here are some recent pictures instead.

Elliott (Clark Park, West Philly)

Eastern Cicada Killer (West Philly)

That Fountain Downtown On Market Street (yeah...that one)

American Oystercatcher Adult And Chick (Strathmere, New Jersey)

Any Thoughts On The Sony A200/300 Series Of DSLR's?

2008-07-13T18:16:00.001-04:00

I've been doing some reading on these models and am wondering what, if any opinions, anyone has on these two models.

Logan Square Fountain At Night

2008-07-13T10:28:00.001-04:00

John McCain Suffering Deluge of Senior Moments

2008-07-11T14:38:00.004-04:00

Man, this is rich:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain let his tongue get the best of him at a town hall meeting Friday, revealing what critics would say is the true effect of opening US coastlines to drilling he now supports after years of opposing.

"I'll do everything in my power to get those offshore reserves exploited ... um, er, explored, discovered and um..." McCain said, drawing some knowing chuckles from the largely Republican audience.

He had to stop and collect his thoughts. Already he had been answering a woman's question about lowering gas prices for nearly two minutes -- squeezing in a joke about France in the process -- and he seemed flustered.

I'm dying over here. Not only does he make such a blunder that is really clearly not a blunder but he's got to stop - literally stop - to collect his thought, leaving himself flustered.

Hmm...being flustered and confused seems to be a growing trademark of McCain. He recently had a senior moment when pressed about why insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control:

But wait! There's more!

(CNN) — It turns out that John McCain made an off-the-mark error when he launched at Barack Obama this week over Iran’s missile tests.

In a statement criticizing Obama’s positions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the organization claiming credit for the missile launches, McCain wrote, “This is the same organization that I voted to condemn as a terrorist organization when an amendment was on the floor of the United States Senate. Senator Obama refused to vote.”

The problem with the critique? McCain also missed that vote on the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on September 26, 2007. Records show that Obama was in New Hampshire and McCain was in New York instead of being in the Senate chamber for the vote in question.

I'm sorry, but when people question if McCain's age is a legitimate concern, let his record provide the answer.

Disturbing Trend Involving Philly Surveillance Cameras?

2008-07-11T13:25:00.002-04:00

The other day, I wrote about and included pictures of a city surveillance camera that was wrapped in plastic, thus making the camera unable to capture images.

Today, a co-worker came in talking about a shooting around Ludlow and Salford last month where the shooting was captured on one of those surveillance camera. i wanted to find the article online (we're still looking) so that I could email the reporter about the camera I wrote about above when my co-worker told me that there's others camera - at Salford and Market and another at 60th and Ludlod - that have also apparently been wrapped in plastic.

If I can, I'll have him grab some pictures of this but if confirmed, this is kind of nuts. What, are people now climbing poles to wrap the cameras so that they can commit crimes without fear of being ID'd? And if so, who's monitoring those cameras and hasn't noticed that the images went dark?

Cracker Abuse

2008-07-11T10:58:00.003-04:00

This is the funniest thing I've read in a long while. Seems some kid at a university in Florida, during mass, took the Eucharist (the little cracker) back to this seat to show a friend. He was stopped repeatedly by church members (staff?) trying to either retrieve the cracker or make him eat it, I suppose.

He then put it in his mouth but secretly took it home and this is apparently the biggest of gigantically big things eva to cross the Catholic Church. What hapenned next has been completely insane. The kid's been receiving death threats, the university is being inundated with mail/email, and Bill Donohue has said this is worse than a hate crime.

Yes, he really said that. You really have to read this to get a better idea exactly what's going on.

But it gets better! Pharyngula picks up the story and asks his readers to score him some contraband Eucharist so that he may molest (not sexually, of course) it in inappropriate ways and publish the results of that work online. Call it cracker jihad!

I think this redefines the phrase 'jumping the shark.'

Will We Re-Enter 10k Territory Today?

2008-07-11T10:25:00.002-04:00

Stocks decline on Freddie and Fannie as oil continues to rise

Update - Yep, although it currently rebounded slightly but it's still not looking good.

C'mon iPhone! Daddy Needs A New Place To Eat!

2008-07-11T07:56:00.001-04:00

This is cool.

h/t Phillyist

Vanity Fair Jumps In The Faux News Photoshop Fluff

2008-07-11T07:27:00.001-04:00

Hehehe

John McFlaccid Dodges Question On Insurance Covering Viagra But Not Birth Control

2008-07-10T13:56:00.002-04:00

Talk about a pause. And as usual, he replies with his familiar "I don't know enough about that..."

What does he know about besides pandering and being a sequel?

Coming To An iPhone Near You

2008-07-10T11:25:00.000-04:00

Me!