Cannibal Anarchists Not Included

Stupid is as stupid does.

We are so screwed.

The only upside? They are all idiots. Yeah, I know – superiority complexes do us no good, but it helps. A little.

Hey, they’re showing beisbol on LotusSport!

I’m staring ahead at about 20+ hours of flying and airport dwell time, with another couple before I even leave my apartment. It is almost 11pm here. Do I start drinking now, or wait until I get to the airport? Or leave early for the airport, and then start drinking?

@Nabisco: Countdown to nookie! Good to know someone’s getting some….*indistinct grumbling about dry spell*….

@flippin eck: I’m going for the art and culture, of course. But if they stick us in a teensy tiny Eurotrash hotel with two twin beds nailed to the floor, RomeGirl may find us on her doorstep.

The power of marketing. When you poll individuals on individual issues and proposed solutions, most people turn out to be far to the left of these surveys in their outlook.

@Serolf Divad: Then again, there’s the link that Sully flagged this morning:

This paper suggests that there are consistent patterns in how different groups of individuals perceive their relative ideological position. Using data from a large-scale cross-country survey on individuals views and personal characteristics it compares who reports themselves as being left(right) wing and who on an objective measure are actually left(right) wing. It finds, for example, the more educated on average believe themselves to be more left wing than their actual beliefs on a substantive issue might suggest.

Source: “Who is left-wing, and who just thinks they are?” from Department of Economics, University of Leicester, Discussion Papers in Economics, 09/23

Then again again, Sully neglected to mention the UK source.

@flippin eck: “Dry spell.” Hahahahahahahahaha! I passed dry spell years ago.

We interrupt this program to bring you an important announcement:

Paul, the psychic octopus, predicts Germany wins the World Cup.

@karen marie: “He swam straight over to the German glass, climbed in and even put a lid on top once he was sitting inside.”

Well, that settles it. I nominate Paul for today’s World Cup Hottie.

@nojo: Eight Arms To Hold You.

@Nabisco: From “Eight Arms to Hold You.”

Then there’s this version . . .

Rock and roll will never die.

And, for those of you scoring at home or on the road, the Seether’s Louise.

@Nabisco: You should not drink and fly. Bad for you. Pre-hydrate with water and avoid the Skychef death tray.

@FlyingChainSaw: Hmm. I thought Saw would have access to hypersonic NEO transport.

I do. I was just trying to help out Nabisco.

@FlyingChainSaw: Flying is why there is xanax.

Was this the same poll as the one I saw recently where substantial numbers of self-identified “conservatives” were in favor of more Wall Street regulation, more oversight of offshore drilling, etc?

In other words, where people thought they were “conservative” despite not agreeing with any of the major Republican points. Does that mean they just hate the gheyz, or WTF?

@TJ/ Jamie Sommers /TJ: *indistinct grumbling about dry spell drought*

Better?

@al2o3cr: It’s actually a longstanding observation: Folks hate the Liberal brand, love unbranded liberal policies.

And then they vote for wingnuts.

But this is the horror I’ve seen since the Reagan-Carter debate: You can complain about the politicians and parties all you want, but their power derives from Americans who are desperate to be lied to. We’re not fucked because of the filibuster, or corporatist Demrats — we’re fucked because of our fellow citizens. It’s an Agatha Christie novel with 300 million murderers.

@flippin eck, jamie: Maybe this climate change thing will work out for you guys.

@Nabisco: @redmanlaw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6j5AtdeRMA&feature=related

Well, damn — my new iPhone doesn’t arrive until Tuesday, and my old iPhone doesn’t have the megapixels or faux zoom to do justice to a service van parked outside the Stinque Remote Office.

But here’s what it says on the side:

“All County Fire”

Not a business name I would use around Sandy Eggo.

@nojo: Reading that Mencken reminded me that it has always been thus. Biggest mistake you can ever make, is to lose sight of that fact, it has always been thus. @redmanlaw: Drought? Blame teh gheys.

If it’s any consolation, these polls are effectively meaningless, since the vast majority of people don’t even know what they’re talking about:

Converse claimed that only around ten per cent of the public has what can be called, even generously, a political belief system. He named these people “ideologues,” by which he meant not that they are fanatics but that they have a reasonable grasp of “what goes with what”—of how a set of opinions adds up to a coherent political philosophy. Non-ideologues may use terms like “liberal” and “conservative,” but Converse thought that they basically don’t know what they’re talking about, and that their beliefs are characterized by what he termed a lack of “constraint”: they can’t see how one opinion (that taxes should be lower, for example) logically ought to rule out other opinions (such as the belief that there should be more government programs). About forty-two per cent of voters, according to Converse’s interpretation of surveys of the 1956 electorate, vote on the basis not of ideology but of perceived self-interest. The rest form political preferences either from their sense of whether times are good or bad (about twenty-five per cent) or from factors that have no discernible “issue content” whatever. Converse put twenty-two per cent of the electorate in this last category. In other words, about twice as many people have no political views as have a coherent political belief system…

Converse concluded that “very substantial portions of the public” hold opinions that are essentially meaningless—off-the-top-of-the-head responses to questions they have never thought about, derived from no underlying set of principles. These people might as well base their political choices on the weather. And, in fact, many of them do.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/08/30/040830crat_atlarge#ixzz0rtcfvPJx

@nojo: Yeah, you wish. I’ve got to get some work done and then I’ll spend an hour looking at pictures of nearly nekkid players. It’s a tough gig I’ve signed myself up for, but I’m willing to do it.

@FlyingChainSaw: I actually know that. It’s the Bond dishevilled lush meme I’ve worked to death. I may have a glass of wine with whatever they serve in flight, but that’s it. I once sat next to a guy on a domestic US flight between Chicago and Newark who had smuggled a bottle of Chivas on board, and I was vomiting in the aft cabin head shortly before landing. Lesson learned.

@redmanlaw: Can’t open up the utoob on the lounge desktop, but I’m guessing Veruca Salt? They’z awesome…

@redmanlaw: Dunno. Still on the fence as to whether I’m better off. The toys don’t talk back.

@Nabisco: The food is as bad as the drink. The only break in that venue is if you are in business class on an international flight, cut fruit is always available and that, more than anything, seems to make the difference between being clear headed for the initial meetings, etc. and feeling like you’re walking through mud. If I end up in steerage, I most always take whole fruit as the crap they shovel at people there is really and truly deadly.

@TJ/ Jamie Sommers /TJ: They also don’t have mommy issues.

@FlyingChainSaw: “The life of everyone on board depends upon just one thing: finding someone back there who can not only fly this plane, but who didn’t have fish for dinner. “

@SanFranLefty: HA! Did you just pull that out of thin air or did I tell you about the last guy I was sorta seeing?

@mellbell: Nice. I think it’s been a while since we’ve seen an Airplane reference.

@flippin eck: I’ve lost track. I’m guessing at least 2 years. ::poof:: Rusty dust bunnies.

@Nabisco: Not like you’ll see this anytime soon. If you do, well, there’s no hope.

@Prommie: +1

@FlyingChainSaw: You have ESP.

@TJ/ Jamie Sommers /TJ: But the HMW is damned noisy. Well, less noisy than a dude…