Here's a little note for the folks at Viacom. Screw you. We've posted videos on YouTube and you don't think having our IP is a violation of our privacy? So, what happens now? You take that information, hunt us down and sue us all for copyright infringement? Be our guests...good luck on that. We think the judge in this one should be examined to see if he has a penis-pump hooked up underneath his skirts like the judge in Tulsa a couple of years ago.

Here's more courtesy of Wired online...

Although Google argued that turning over the data would invade its users' privacy, the judge's ruling described that argument as "speculative" and ordered Google to turn over the logs on a set of four tera-byte hard drives. Hard to believe we actually agree wiith Google on anything (but again, they run Blogger.com)

Way to send a chill across the net and shut down the free flow of information online. In the words of the immortal Sam Kinnison, we hope you slide under a gas truck and taste your own blood (sic)

OK, here's our rundown for the day...

Supreme Court decision: we like it, yes, we said we like it. We've always believed in the 2nd amendment as a more expansive definition of gun ownership. Perhaps that's the libertarian streak in us. We also believe in a very expansionist view of the amendment that comes right before it. We don't even own a handgun (we own a rifle) and we like it. Just because assholes (criminals) might break into your home and steal your gun isn't a reason to keep everyone from having one. Guns don't commit crimes, pornography doesn't cause rapes, not all drugs drive people to become "reefer madness" lunatics and alcohol isn't what drives people to become drunks, and slots and the lottery don't make people freakazoid habitual gamblers. Some of you may find that a stretch, but again, we find that to be people blaming something else for their behavior. We'd love to own a Glock -- of course, we know the proper way to use one, care for it and keep it safe. The law doesn't mean the end of sane gun control. And yes, we still hate Wayne LaPierre and the nutcases at the NRA, even though they've played a role in winning this. They're still morons who support all kinds of other political nonsense, and they've done more harm than good throughout the tenure of their more politically active lives. We still support sane gun control rules and laws -- yes, that means we think you can all have the right to own a handgun, but not have the right to bring the damned thing to church, the bar, the football or basketball game, etc. That's why we still have permits and rules, and will always need them, just like we have rules and regulations to govern the use of all the other "dangerous" things we listed above - so morons don't hurt themselves or others by misuse of the above. The DC gun ban was like a law that would prohibit "titillating" literature in the public library, because someone might read it and use it as an excuse to commit sexual assault. Are you following the analogy here? We still think this is a free country. We can say what we want, vote for whom we please and own guns if we feel so inclined. And, what's more, we think that if you disagree with this point of view, perhaps some of your other views on "freedom" are also suspect. The NRA sucks, we'll leave it at that.

Obama and Clinton. Wow, quite a fight has been raging online about whether Obama surpporters should expect some of their contributions to go to defray Auntie Hill's whopping big campaign debt. OK, we understand not wanting money to go to Hillary, and some of us here would agree with that. We also agree something needs to be done in the name of party unity and we were happy to see today's meeting with the Hillary donors went well. Oh, yeah, Obama needs to support a filibuster of the FISA bill -- c'mon, don't wait 'til after the election to fix some of these things. Go Dodd, Go Biden!

Bush and North Korea: Gotta laugh on this one. Everyone is turning against W, even weenie-weasel John Bolton who referred to the President's move RE-move N. Korea from the "Axis of Evil" as "shameful." There is no loyalty, is there Mr. Dictator. Just wait until after the election. We're sure everyone who ever met W will have some negative tell-all book to release, and we will gleefully buy, read, review and celebrate every one of them. Long live Scotty McCellan! As for the gifts and communication between DC and Pyonyang, we've heard about it before - from Obama. Didn't George and the Repuglicans refer to that kind of thing as "appeasement" and didn't some of them bandy around the word "traitor?" WTF?!?! Bush is not only hypocritical, he's (again) insane.

Oil above $140 and Wall Street down more than 350 points: Is anyone really surprised that the economy sucks the proverbial golf-ball through a garden hose? That the Dow could suck-start a B52 (hey, it' down to under 11,500 points or so, it's lowest since 2006) and Bernanke could suck the chrome of a trailer-hitch? We've always believed in the easiest explanation -- it's President Bush's fault (it really is) and John McCain will pay the price at the polls in November. When will things improve, and just how long can this Bear market continue to combine with the low dollar to make life miserable for American consumers?

In the words of Don Henley, "kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down" -- OUR W policy. Thanks and good night.

another big loss today, a man who entertained, and actually contributed to the fight for freedom of speech.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.

Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, died at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PDT (2 a.m. British time) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his "Filthy Words" routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

Farwell, George. We grew up with you, and always enjoyed your commentary. You'll be missed.

OK, you'll have your chance to personally punch us in the head. We're attending the DNC in Denver in August, and Mr. Elkins will also be there with us, although we understand he'll be inside the Pepsi Center where the action will take place.

We're also hoping to join him -- and you if you're interested -- just a few feet away in DailyKos central at something called "The Big Tent."

Here's more from Kos...

The Big Tent will be the place to be for new media journalists, bloggers, reporters, and non-profit leaders covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.

We're creating a 9,000 square foot, two-story structure that will house the work space for journalists, bloggers and new media, a Digg Stage with prominent national leaders, as well as a Google Retreat with a YouTube kiosk where you can make your own YouTube videos. The Big Tent will be open throughout the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 25- 28.

In the New Media Lounge, your pass will be a ticket to to enjoy all the benefits of the blogger / new media lounge, including free WiFi, work space, television-coverage, as well as free food and drinks. And you get to hang out with some of the top bloggers, new media journalists, and non-profit leaders in the country. And in the Public Space, you can participate in panel discussions with top national leaders on a range of hot topics. There will also be workshops on blogging, community organizing, and new technologies.

The Big Tent will host sponsored happy hours each day from 4 to 5, followed by live coverage of every minute of the Democratic National Convention until 9 p.m. each night. When the Convention ends each day, the Big Tent will still be going with late-night entertainment, including concerts and films. Check back at BigTentDenver.com for additional details as the convention nears.

Here -- The Big Tent -- you have the link. If you blog and can get away for a couple of days (we say go for the whole thing, but we'll only catch the last two days ourselves) it'll be worth it to attend such a groundbreaking event. Join us, have a couple of beers and see the stars.

Meet you at the Big Tent in August.

ONE hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the things to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”

--Aesop, 6th Century BC

In the case of John McCain, the alternative to the tasty snack is public financing. If his "grapes" are indeed sour, they make for another fine w(h)ine from the campaign that can't shoot straight.

Did anyone, anywhere, pay a lick of attention to the "very big" news that Barack Obama has decided to make history and opt out of public financing for the fall campaign?

I've been sitting here watching big league a-hole Bill Bennett on CNN make a big deal out of how Obama flip-flopped and made a big mistake by this.

Huh?

Let's see, either he gets 80 plus million dollars of taxpayer money shoved his way (McCain will take his share, by golly) or he says "no thank you, I'll only take the money taxpayers give me directly, and I still won't take PAC money." Hmmm, seems like that wouldn't be a hard choice for taxpayers to decide. How many of them really want to pay for the election anyway? Hey, and at least Obama didn't take any money from a whacked-out billionaire in Texas with a humor problem.

Hell, even right-winger Norm Ornstein, one of the architects of McCain-Feingold thought Obama's move was the right one. He even told reporters he'd have sued Obama for political malpractice if Obama had opted for public financing.

So, as the nation remains transfixed by Michelle Obama's "softer image" on The View and Cindy McCain's pirated cookie recipe, why would they listen to grampy McCain moan about something that just sounds like a whole lot of sour grapes? He'll have to take the public funding because he won't be able to raise his own warchest, and now he just can't compete with the Obama campaign, which will likely continue gathering those 20 through $100 contributions like falling rain. Yes, indeed, even McCain's lieutenants had to admit that their opponent would "outspend us" in many states. That sounds so familiar...didn't we just hear that complaint from another opponent in the primaries? Didn't work then, either.

###

Back to watching the aforementioned CNN (and a segue into some stream-of-consciousness writing - apologies) - by the way, Cindy McCain is still full of shit, and was born with a platinum spoon in her mouth, while Michelle Obama came from the Windy City's South Side, and worked her way up by dint of intelligence and hard work. Cindy's family sold lots of beer. We're sick of hearing from her. She says she always supports "service to our country" but we don't think she ever wore the uniform like her husband did...again, we'd be very happy to hear less of her ranting, and see more of her purloined recipes online.

Bill Bennett? He still has that big hypocrisy problem in our eyes -- Mr. "Book of Virtues" who blew a massive wad of change on the slots at Atlantic City. At least he didn't have the gall to write about the sins of gambling, but we find him a questionable source to ask about funding of ANY kind, much less of the public kind. Jim Carville at least seemed like he was trying to walk the line on Anderson Cooper's little joke of a program. We still think "Anderson Cooper 360"sounds like code for "Anderson Cooper can sit and spin."

So why write so much about those two? Because NOBODY CARES that Barack Obama won't take your tax money, and also won't take PAC and other monies! People just don't care, and even if they did, they'd probably be happy about this one. Besides, Obama is right when he says the system is broken (Sorry Russ Feingold, we know you were disappointed by the news, but it's true and even you had to admit it's time for another overhaul) and that Republicans have been gaming the system for many years and have used outside groups like the "swiftboat" crews to do their dirty work. (uh, pay no attention to that moveon.org behind the curtain, move along now...)

In short, we just find that a) CNN will do anything to drum up a story...b) CNN is so set on being the bastard child of MSNBC and Fox when it comes to politics that it's given up on actual reporting, and c) Numbskull ideas coming from the McCain campaign just won't work. Yep, he's the second coming of Grampy Dole allright.

Wonder how long before he signs on with Viagra and agrees to sell Doritos. No more CNN tonight. Colbert had Cookie Monster on as a guest, and we still want to know if the mangy muppet will eat Colbert's new Peabody Award.

Jeez, we've gotta swear off cable television sometime soon. Does anyone know if MSNBC's week long festival of Tim Russert's death has met its own untimely demise? We miss countdown, and even a little Hardball.

Time for everyone to take stock of our situation.

The price of oil recently finished near $140 a barrel. Gas averages (in most places) $4.00 a gallon, with no end in site to price hike - just look at the price of oil.

The price of groceries continues to skyrocket, along with the cost of crops (see the gas prices) and many Americans have less disposable income.

The value of the dollar is down (again, making oil and gas more expensive) and wages have stagnated. The fed can't decide if the economy has gone into a recession, though common wisdom says we have. Oil companies make record setting profits, and (those houses again) the government has started looking into those subprime mortage driven derivatives that fueled the go-go real estate boom, that has now collapsed sending contractors running and leaving a few banks collapsed.

Millions of Americans have defaulted on their home loans. We're in a war in the middle east with no end in sight, and one of the presidential candidates calls it "not too important" when the troops come home, and has said we could be in Iraq for 100 years.

Our outgoing president says he gave up golf to show his solidarity with the troops overseas. Our outgoing president comes out and tells reporters in Europe that he has a goal of catching Bin Laden before he leaves office. Why didn't he do that in 2001 or anytime earlier?

What about a your country becoming a country surpassed by China and Europe in scientific research, because of the Administration's short-sighted views on science?

What about the Abramoff scandal? What about "the hammer" and his scandal in Texas? What about the millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars funnelled to Iraq, but not accounted for? What about letting Afghanistan slide back into a civil war? What about lying candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court who say one thing during Senate hearings, then take the bench and do something different? What about evangelical Christians used as pawns by an administration with a presidential counselor (Mr. Rove) who says he doesn't even believe in God? What about Rupert Murdoch twisting the message of the media, and spurring media consolidation, buying television and newspapers up as fast as he can, limiting the message and reportage available to the vast American public?

What's the old campaign question we've all heard a million times? Are you better off now than you were 8 years ago? Answer that honestly, because we'd love to hear what you think. Are you more secure now than you were in 2000? Has the Department of Homeland Security really foiled any attempt by any terrorist to attack you, or has the administration exercised a foreign policy that increased the ranks of Al Qaeda? Are you freer than you were 8 years ago? Does the government have you on a no-fly list, do they read your e-mail, do they tap your phones all the while breaking federal law, but still getting away with it?

We don't have the room to count how many times we've heard the Vice President of the United States contradict himself in public on the war, and what we could expect from it, or how much it would cost. Whether he and his colleagues did it with malice aforethought is no longer the question, because the fact remains that the administration sold the American people, and Congress, a bill of goods for the war, and thousands of young people, members of the national guard, reservists, active duty members have died as a result.

All of that makes what's happening now thrilling -- as thrilling as it must have felt for supply-side Republicans when Ronald Reagan won his first election to office.

The promise of "Morning in America" is upon us once again. Barack Obama is that promise. When he speaks, he motivates. When he writes, he makes sense. Those who haven't read his two books should do so. The still angry Hillary supporters considering casting a ballot for John McCain should at least read those books, and get to know the man better.

there's a reason a recent poll of college professors who teach history shows Senator McCain has little to no chance of losing.

We also found it interesting that the Huffingtonpost came to the same conclusion we did -- John McCain is the second coming of Bob Dole. Out of touch, and not ready to assume the nation's top office. Recent reports about his interenet efforts are almost hilarious. His website even promises to list the benefits of joining the McCain effort, but foregetfully leaves off any of those benefits. He'll veto any "beers" that come across his desk. He just took $300,000 from a Texas billionaire who once said that rape is like the weather -- one should just lie back and enjoy it. This is the campaign trying to convince the angry feminists to vote Republican.

Is someone behind the wheel here?

As for the argument about experience vs. inexperience, we don't buy it. We didn't buy it in the primaries, and neither did most of the voters. If Senator McCain was going to do great things for America, wouldn't he have done it by now? How much a role has he played in the things we've mentioned above? It just goes to reason that his "experience" had a lot to do with the problems we have now. Again, better off, or more of the same?

OK, many of you will probably read this as partisan, and that's OK. What's not partisan is the logical exercise of adding up all the things we've listed here and making a comparison. We'd imagine you'll come to the same conclusion we did.

This isn't a tough thing to understand, and without being even overly partisan, it doesn't seem like much of a contest we'll see in November as a result. Argue if you will, but this is the simplest explanation, and it's likely the way the vast majority of voters will see it.

What happens afterward is anyone's guess. Go ahead and be pessimistic, because that's always worked for the media, and quite a few people had high hopes for GW Bush and his "compassionate conservatism" and all that went to hell very quickly.

What we've seen of Obama so far doesn't lead us to believe that'll be the case. The "waters won't recede" like he told supporters on victory night, but we think he'll do a pretty good job.

Editor's Note: Don Elkins works for CBS/Fox television stations in Maryland after working a number of years for the NBC affiliate in Fayetteville. He's worked for the Northwest Arkansas Times and also for KFAY-AM in the same market. He's covering the news today, but took a moment to pen this for us. Our thanks to him.

As a broadcast journalist with more than 20 years experience under the belt, and as someone who has enjoyed covering politics for most of that time, today's news that NBC's Tim Russert had died hit me in the gut. I have to say that after the initial shock, I immediately wondered who I'd see hosting "Meet the Press" this weekend, and forever after. I'm just not sure if anyone can take Russert's place.

I haven't always agreed with him, but I've always admired him, pretty much since first seeing him hit the airwaves back in the mid 80s. He was, essentially, the political reporter all of us wanted to be. His style of questioning was dogged, and people often criticized him for cross-examing his guests. Many of us who've worked the beat admired his technique, and looked up to his style of confrontational, yet intellectual enquiry.

CNN's recent series of primary debates were soft. Apologies to Wolf Blitzer, but watching Russert manhandle the Democratic candidates made many of us cheer and say, "that's the way to do it." ABC then showed us exactly how not to conduct a debate in Philly shortly afterward.

I'm not from Buffalo. I've never visited, but I remember listening to Russert's stories about his town, and about his family and appreciating his background as a family man and someone with pride in his cultural background.

Like many of you, I'm sitting here as I write this watching NBC's coverage of what happened, and listening to the annecdotes from Russert's colleagues, a form of heartfelt and drawn out obituary. I remember a number of years ago having to sit and write a similary piece about the passing of Peter Jennings, and also about David Brinkley. All these men have been giants in the field of broadcasting in the latter quarter of the 20th century, and those of us in the field have to wonder if anyone out there can step up and fill their shoes in the right way.

Tim Russert looked overweight. He worked very hard, very long hours under high pressure. He was 58 years old. He died the way many people just like him, including my own father died. As someone who closely resembles all those descriptors, Russert's death comes as a reminder and sends a chill down my spine this afternoon.

Even those who live on-the-air day to day can check out unexpectedly. Tim Russert went out doing what he loved best, writing and reporting. He'll be missed.

UPDATED 3:02 p.m. - Tom Brokaw just went on the air to confirm the death of Tim Russert who was 58 years old, and who collapsed at NBC's Washington Bureau this afternoon. Again, NBC confirms the death of Tim Russert.

Other sources report that Russert was in the NBC DC Bureau today at about 1 p.m. conducting an MSNBC online question and answer session...here you might see the last thing he wrote...

Russert: I think he’s on the list. South Carolina is a solid state, but McCain really likes his passion and his ability to be on the attack against the Democrats on these foreign policy issues. I think Biden is someone who’s very much on Obama’s list because of his wealth of foreign policy experience, his knowledge of the Iran and the Iraq. It’ll be interesting. They’re both coming into the studio. It could be an vice presidential audition. A Meet the Press audition, coming your way Sunday, on Meet the Press!

We're not sure how long that page will stay up, however. Our resident tv newsguy, Don Elkins tells us that he is sad for NBC's loss. He'll have an editorial here in a little bit on Tim's passing.

CBS News is telling it's affiliate stations that NBC Political chief and host of "Meet The Press" Tim Russert has died from an apparent heart attack today. NY Post also reporting same. Details to come.

OK, it's been awhile since we last posted. I'm told we're working on the redesign and it's almost done. IN THE MEANTIME...thought I'd post this little "reverse psychology" exercise. It brought a smile to my face and hopefully it will to you too.

BTW, did we miss anything? Oh, yeah, the end of the primaries. Now, we guess, we were right, and it's on to the White House - so, Senator McCain, get the hell out of the way (and we respect your service, but you're pretty messed up in the head right now - watching Olbermann right now, love the "not too important" remark to Lauer this morning on the Today Show)

Cheers.