Who doesn't care about facts...

So MEDIAMATTERS... LOL... Sorry... You can't make this stuff up.  Check out this Epic Graph-FAIL on the part of Fox News:

 Problems?  Well...

They included the average state tax of about 23 cents per gallon both in the category "state" taxes and in the category "state & local" taxes. The total of both state and local taxes is 30.4 cents on average. Fox also placed $3.83 at the bottom, as if taxes are in addition to the price for gasoline. But the $3.83 figure already includes the taxes. (MMFA)

An ACCURATE graph, using correct numbers and scale however, ins't nearly as compelling:

But, hey, why use accurate numbers when discussing an issue as important as tax subsidies going to our single largest (in terms of PROFIT) industry? This is particularly sad, because there are many perfectly legitimate ways to manipulate a graph (playing with the scale on the Y-AXIS, for example) in order to emphasise a point.  You really shouldn't have to out-and-out LIE and CHEAT with bullshit data.

Speaking of PROFITS, apparently, ExxonMobil would have you believe that they pay more in taxes than they make in profit. Which... anyone who's not a complete idiot should realize is a just about a mathematic impossibility... Unless of course you count the taxes paid by the CONSUMER at the pump!  Which I really wouldn't have that much of a problem with, seriously, if the Right wasn't also trying to make the case that lowering Federal Gas TAXES would lower the PRICE of Gas. If ExxonMobil is counting those taxes - paid by us - as a lost revenue opportunity for them, I think it's pretty clear what would happen to the price Gas if those taxes were lowered or repealed:

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

And that's according to ExxonMobil's own talking point!

The only thing that would happen? The ExxonMobil's of the world would report more profit, still receive billions in tax subsidies, and the rest of us would not only pay exactly the same price at the pump, but we'd also see our property and state income taxes go up substantially in order to make up for the lost revenue our states were once using to maintain our roads.  Well, I don't know about YOU, but I think the ExxonMobil's of the world are taking a big enough chuck out of my paycheck as it is.  So I say: screw 'em. I pay MY taxes, they should sure as hell pay theirs.

--------------------------------

(And before anyone brings up subsidies for Electric Cars or Alternative Energy, let me say that I don't have any problem with eliminating those as well.  Let's just make sure that EVERYONE pays their fair share of taxes, and that BIG OIL covers the FULL COST of our continued consumption of their product, which they currently... what's the industry term? Oh yeah: EXTERNALIZE. Which is a fancy way of saying "fucks everybody else with it.")

Silver Star Awards, July, 2010, and some maintainaence...

I serioulsy hope no reads this. And I really hope that no one checks out this month's Silver Star Winner, representing the lone Vet's committee pick from 1965. And WHATEVER YOU DO, I hope no one gets any ideas about searching for a certain liberal blogger's contribution to the site.

Pud Galvin's SILVER STAR #36: SingSnap

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I LOVE Karaoke. I've done in on Caribean Cruises, I've done it in Japan, I'll do it any chance I get.  It is SO MUCH FUN!  So... If you ever wanted to take a shot at it, but were too chicken to get in front of a LIVE audience, here's your chance. They've got lots of free songs, and a SHIT-TON of songs if you subscribe. (Plus some reverb & audio software that makes you sound a whole lot better - again, for subscribers only.) In any case, it's a LOT of fun. And no, I've never done it. No way. So don't even TRY looking for "NiceguyEddie" on there, because you'll be VERY disappointed!

;)

(Hey: As Randle Patrick Murphy said to Chief Bromden in Ken Kesey's classic novel and film staring Jack Nicholson: At least I tried!)

In all seriousness? There's a lot of UTTER CRAP on there. (Look who's talkin', right?) And don't get me wrong: that's still fun to listen to on occasion.  But I have also discovered some TRULY AMAZING singers there as well. So please DO poke around a bit, becuase there are some real gems there as well.

...
Anyway, that's all for the Month of July, 2010.  There will be some heavy hitting Gold winners coming in the months ahead, but at the moment I'm constrained by the format I chose. Sorry!

But there is also soem long overdue housekeeping that is needed, so I'm making the following changed to my personal HoF:

The Walter John Gold Star Winner, Armchair Subversive, is, as of today and for the past few months, now completely defunct.  So as I have linked to them so many times in the past and because I truly believe that they transcend mere entertainment and have proven themselves top be a site of truly profound Political, Social and Academic value, I hereby promote Cracked.Com from it's former honor of a Silver Star to the NEW WALTER JOHNSON, GOLD STAR #4. That's a pretty coveted spot,  BTW, but it is an honor well deserved.

Taking it's place, as the new ED WALSH, SILVER STAR #18 is: Kawaii Not, the web-comic for cute gone bad. What can I say? It's twisted. I love it.

Also, since the gifted and lovely Julia Wertz has decided to end Fartparty, but pick up where it left off ovetr on Museum of Mistakes, I'm addoing that site to the KID NICHOLS SILVER STAR award.

In other fronts, since JESSE BUIRKETT'S and JOHNNY EVERS' SILVER STAR Winners Ugliest Tatoos and Very Demotivational are both actually part of a larger site, related to FailBlog's "Cheezeburger Network," they are being changed to I Can Has Cheezburger and Memebase respectively.  These are still all part of FAILBlog/Cheezburger network site, but at least this way, I recognize the rest of the content as well, and only stay about a year behind the times. (Hey: In the immortal words of Daniel Lawrence Whitney, "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there!")

Finally, Seanbaby's Superfriends site, is being changed to Seanbaby's main site, which still includes the Superfriends material... Which is still the funniest thing I've ever read... and so much more. But then: What else would I expect form the man who "invented being funny on the internet?"

Cheers, my friends!

Odd picture choice...

The headline on mail.com (my email service) read: Protesters across US decry Wis. anti-union efforts.

And the article spoke of "Rallies held across the country Saturday to support thousands of protesters at the Wisconsin Capitol in their fight against Republican-backed legislation aimed at weakening unions."

And so on, and so on.

Needless to say, IMHO what Governor Walker is doing here is despicable and may even be illegal (a work force's right to organize IS, in fact, a matter of labor rights, codified legislation and common law, after all!) But at this point I don't really want to get into THAT part of things.  The Republicans spent years fucking everything up, finally got voted out, and then spent the last two years lying to the American public so effectively that [the American people] were stupid enough to put them back into power... And then have enough mind-numbing stupidity to actually be surprised that they've gotten right back to fucking everythingng up again! 


But no, I don't want to talk about that.  While it's what I spent most of last year doing, I no longer have the time, patience or emotional energy needed to continue to catalog all the ways in which the Republicans suck.  Especially given how spineless and useless Obama and the Democrats have been. Not to mention the media.

Which brings me to this:

Now remember, the headline read (and article supported): Thousands SUPPORT the Union Protesters!
 
Let's take a look at the signs in the above photograph that was attached the the article.  (And I've downloaded it, and pasted it here, in case they come to their senses and CHANGE the fucking thing!)
 
"Fight Union Thugery" (Spelled wrong, BTW! Two "g's" in thuggery! Maybe that one should have stayed in school!)
 
"Public Union 4th Branch of Gov't, Hell No!"
 
"Union Leadership Out of Control"
 
"Even FDR opposed public unions"
 
"Love my country, ashamed of Gov't" (what do you want to bet this red-neck hypocritically boycotted the Dixie Chicks at some point?)
 
4/5 of the legible signs are vehemently ANTI-Union!  And the last one?  Well... I can't necessarily tell.  One could argue that he ashamed of what Gov. Walker is doing, but given the crowd he's in, I'm far more inclined to say that it just more of the same anti-Big-Government paranoia and nonsense that the Right has become imfamous for.  (And notice how you never hear that talk when it's a REPUBLICAN who's expanding the Government? Real principled that lot!)
 
Big time FAIL on the part of mail.com's photo department.
 
I'm almost waiting to see a picture of Michael Vick attached to the next article about the Humane Society winning some award or something.
 
Oh yeah...
 
And BEHOLD, YOUR LIBERAL MEDIA!