Soccer: Gay

It's official.

Good On Ya, Joe

Biden lays into Rep. Burton's apology to BP.

Neat Artsy Stuff

Here's a cool collection of posters, imagining 21st-century gadgets in '70s style. I can't wait till people start calling this kind of thing so 2010.

HT: What What!

Today's Forecast

Run.

Balderdash.

What it's like defending the Devil:

HT: Sullivan.

Oh!

Mr. Walken takes on "Poker Face." Move over, Gaga - the student has passed the master:

Yuma Mayor Al Krieger Is a Flaming Bigot

Here's what he said, at a Memorial Day event:

And I cannot believe that a bunch of limp-wristed, lacey-drawed [sic] people could do what those men have done in the past.

Yeah, he's talking about gays in the military. After some flak, he said this:

I'm reluctant to compare myself to George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, but I did get some feedback, and I don't think I said anything different than what they would have said.

Well, as the idiocy of everything after that first comma shows, Krieger's reluctance - while obviously ineffectual - is very much advisable.

A few more choice gems:

There is an issue currently in the military with homosexuals serving on the battlefield and I think it's going to be detrimental to men on the battlefield to have that conflict with sexual preference. There's no place for that. There's no place for that. We're in a battle here in America. We're in a war, here in America, and we've been involved in many wars. And we need solid, strong men, not pacifists, to fight those battles. (Emphasis added.)

And:

It was men that landed on Omaha Beach and men that fought in World War One and men who traditionally and historically that did all the fighting in all the wars, women had a supporting role and I don't mean to diminish that, but those men thought [sic - get it together, KYMA] fought were a man's man. They had nerves of steel and a back bone and they knew they were fighting for a cause greater than themselves.

It's enough to drive you to despair.

Oh, and you know that George Washington guy, right? The guy who hired the Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the Prussian officer who played a critical role in the Continental Army. Yeah, that von Steuben - the gay one.

Mayor Krieger, you colossal dipshit, go get stuffed.

Update: Think Progress has video of Krieger's speech.

And for Some Good News

...there's this.

The Never-Ending and Always Depressing Demise of Freedom in Post-Soviet Russia

At some point, someone's going to have to take this patient off life support. (Putin's just the man to do it.) Russia's parliament recently approved a bill that would grant the FSB - the successor to the KGB - greatly expanded powers. That agency may now summon people who are suspected of "causing or creating the conditions for committing a crime." (Caution now, dear reader: Minority Report comments will not be tolerated.) Oh dear. That kind of vagueness is an aneurysm-inducing invitation to abuse.

And, in another indication that democracy in Russia is anemic, Putin's party voted unanimously in favor of the measure. Yet another indication: the communist party opposed it. Wow. It can't be good when your bill is too oppressive for Russian communists.

Ah, Hugo Chavez

...or the Crackpot from Caracas. In one of his recent speeches, he improvised a ditty about how Hillary Clinton doesn't like him and he doesn't like her either. The man really does class up the joint, doesn't he? Video:

Exchange of the Day

Roger Simon is the chief political correspondent for Politico. He recently got a blood infection that required both of his feet to be amputated. The following exchange took place in a (very obviously scripted) interview with Politico upon his return to work:

Q: You are being very brave about this.

A: It is amazing how brave you can be when you have no choice. Also, I am on a lot of drugs.

Iceland

Nothing else to do up there except be fabulous:

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

God, I want to go to Iceland so bad. It seems just awesome.

HT: Sullivan.

Freudian Slip of the Day

Mark Kirk, GOP nominee for Senate in Illinois, on his inaccurate recollection of his own military service: "I simply misremembered it wrong." That's just classic. Well, misremember it right next time!

HT: Political Wire.

I'm Fer It.

Not aginn' it.

I'll Name My First Kid "Nacho"

A surprisingly informative article on twenty dishes and drinks named after real people.

It Continues

More photos of the destruction in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Great and Terrible Secret

Today's video for stoners, here.

I Wish It Weren't So

...but it is.

Oil Spill Outrage

on the internet. Hey, BP means (ahem) "Beyond Petroleum" - not "Beyond Parody."

Especially love the kids' section.

America's Dirtiest Hotels

This is a puzzling story. Of course I'm not for staying in a filthy hotel room, but this guy's over-reactions only seem to feed a general tendency toward paranoia in this country. Frankly, both these guys seem like they got a bit of Howard Hughes going on.

So I'm supposed to wipe down the TV remote and the phone handle when I enter a room? Forget it, I'll just stay at a nice place and minimize the risk.

"It's Not a Game Anymore"

Really? When was punching each other in the groin a "game"? Guess Britain's lads and ladettes have no monopoly on dumb-ass things to do.

Kids today. So dumb.

This Is Neat

The sky, in a west-southwesterly direction, tonight at 10pm, when Venus, Mars and Saturn will all be visible (conditions permitting):

Story here.

"What Will Happen If Dublin Is Invaded by Zombies?"

Here's an intriguing and introspective short from Ireland on a group of World of Warcraft players. That kind of game was never my bag, but it makes for a pithy little film anyway.