Lost answers are finally here - The Little Prince

Cool episode of LOST tonight, but not earth-shattering. I think we've reached the point in the story, where we can put a lot of the pieces together. It wasn't predictable before the episode started, but you could feel where the episode was heading.

Daniel named the rat, Eloise, after his mom, Eloise Hawking. He recognizes Ellie from the others as "familiar." Safe bet that Ellie is Daniel's Mom, which is how she knows so much about the future.

Miles and Charlotte have likely spent time on the island BEFORE the freighter arrives. Lends credence to the fan theories that Charlotte and Miles are descendants of the Dharma project.

Not much for Sayid and Jack to do, except be pawns for Ben. After 3(?) seasons of Ben, we know he's the mastermind. Kate's being manipulated into her natural behavior of running from trouble. Who could be responsible? Of course, it's Ben. It was like a fake field goal when you're down by 4 on the 45 yard line. Everyone knows the fake-out is coming. But, it was logical and fit the characters, so I won't complain too much.

I wish Sawyer and Juliet would get it over with already. Juliet always goes for the guy in love with someone else. I hope that nosebleed isn't a bad sign for her character. She's not being given a lot to do character-wise. Seems like she's just being used as a plot device to help with exposition. My hope is that she and Sawyer are the last one's left, and they have a son named "Jacob". Juliet figures out how to beat the fatal pregnancy (because she's a fertility specialist). Since she's jumping around in time), her son Jacob ends up really special. And has four toes. And knows who should be on the list.

What I will complain about is Sun. She's either after Ben or Jack. I may be slow, because Sun's motivations seem a bite off. If she's going after Ben, how did she know he was alive? I know, Widmore told her. But she approached him looking for a deal, so she would have needed to know before she approached him. If she's after Jack, well, that's just silly. She's already acknowledged everyone would have been dead if the helicopter hadn't taken off. And why bring Aaron on a hit??

Finally, there's Danielle Rousseau and...Montaund (sp?)!!! As soon as I heard the French, of course you know it's Rousseau and her crew. I was actually hoping that Alex might with them, and a teenager. For no real reason, I think it would be cool if she were Richard Alpert's son. And by son, I mean daughter. Anyway, even though you knew the reveal would be Danielle, I am hoping to see the back story soon. Why doesn't she recognize Jin?? Well, cuz she went nuts.

I hope the writers keep up the good work, but still throw some curves. Nothing absurd. But something so that the end of the story lives up to the build up.

Anyone that needs references, please check out Lostpedia.

Summer Glau versus Eliza Dushku??

Not quite...but it should be interesting. So it looks like Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) has got a new series with ex-vampire slayer, Faith (Eliza Dushku). It doesn't look like the new series, called Dollhouse, is vampire-related (True Blood has that locked up). From the preview that I saw, it might be spy/scifi-related with some ass-kicking thrown in for good measure.

Any of Joss Whedon's stuff is always good. Usually great dialogue mixed in with action. It should be a good fit with Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. Summer Glau (the new Terminator) was in Whedon's old series, and is excellent as hot, gun-wielding, bad ass machine. Sarah Connor, played by Lena Headey, is pretty hot in her own right.

Girls with guns. Gotta love it. Bonus points is Amy Acker (also from Whedon's Angel, and Alias) is in Dollhouse.

Pimping Su Negocio En Linea

A new service is about to launch in Mexico called Su Negocio En Linea. An example of a current site is http://premium-es.enweb.com.mx.

SNL: Sarah Palin Rap

Sarah Palin On SNL With Tina Fey, Weekend Update's Alaska Rap, Baldwin And Wahlberg (VIDEO)

Can you say "game changer?" Cuz I can't. The rap was the bomb, and Alec was funny going off on her. But she didn't do anything except read and wave her hands...



Despite everything I believe in, I would have considered voting for McCain / Palin if she had done the rap.
About Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

F... Joe the Plumber

This is what drives me nuts about Republicans. The rich guy that owns a yacht and has a net income of $700K...I'm fine with him being a Repub. But this guy...Joe the Plumber...lies and misrepresents the facts to make his point. And it's a stupid point.

Joe the Plumber has:
1. a lien for unpaid personal taxes
2. not a real plumber since he's not licensed (#1 + #2 means lawbreaker, in my book)
3. doesn't make near $250K (I read $40K is more accurate)
4. doesn't own a business and couldn't afford to buy his boss's business
5. most importantly, Obama's tax plan would save him money!!!

Even under a hypothetical situation where all his bullshit is true (in his own mind), he'd have to pay $773 more per year in taxes. $773/year!! That's not enough to kill any job unless you're paying in Zimbabwe dollars!

The ends always justifies the means with these guys. He'd rather see a Republican win that costs him more money, than to see a Democrat win. So he's a liar and arguably, a law-breaker, who's willing to mislead the people. Maybe he should have been the Vice-Presidential pick. At the risk of repeating others, at least this douchebag has got the balls to give a press conference.

from: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/17/joe-the-plumber-obama-cut/

Dan Rather: American Journalists Too Fearful, "So-Called Debates" Are "By The Parties, For The Parties"

Well, I think Dan is right. Part of the problem was that they used to need the media for publicity. Now, there are more media outlets (on TV) so the journalists are afraid to lose their access. They'll end up like MSNBC/NBC in not getting the Palin interview, or like Maureen Dowd in getting booted from a plane. Dana Bash always has a pro-McCain tilt and she gets the interviews with him.



It will get worse, as the politicians realize they can put interviews on YouTube as infomercials.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Campbell Brown Blasts McCain Campaign For "Race Baiting"

On it's face, the "that one" comment is just disrespectful. I don't think McCain is a racist anymore than I think Sarah Palin is a racist.



However, when put it in context with some other things:

1. McCain's use of the G-word to describe Asians

2. Some of the crowd-turned-to-mob scenes of the last few days (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjxzmaXAg9E)

3. Surrogates using Obama's middle name

4. McCain's opposition to Martin Luther King Jr. day

5. McCain's support of the Confederate Flag in South Carolina

6. Palin quoting an anti-Semite



It paints a pretty damning picture. If the guy is not racist, he certainly is either out of touch with racial norms (like Archie Bunker) or he is willing to play the race card to win. Either way, it's conduct unbecoming of someone vying for the highest office.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Palin Email Hack: Man Indicted

I hope the federal government prosecutes Sarah Palin's obstruction of justice and violation of Alaska freedom of information laws with as much zeal as they do this 20 year old prankster. Assuming the Yahoo server was not located in Alaska, it becomes a federal crime for her to use those servers.
About Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

"That One," McCain Calls Obama In Debate (VIDEO)

That was a huge negative for McCain. I don't want an overreaction of race politics, because I don't think it was intended in a racial context. But with the subtext of what's going on with McCain's campaign (Palin's saying he's not one of us, McCain's "gook" comment coming up again, and McCain's missteps on a number of Civil Rights issues) I think it probably would fit into a larger overall narrative.
About Presidential Debates
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Olbermann "Special Comment" On Sarah Palin (VIDEO)

Once again Keith does what very few people will do in the news...calls the hypocrisy for what it is. There is a special place in Hell reserved for this witch. Besides lying, she is also coming dangerously close to inciting violence. I hope that the people of Alaska recall her when she loses.
About Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Barack Obama in the Virginia Rain (Fredericksburg)

One of the most awesome speeches I've ever seen. Something magical about the rain, the lights, the delivery, and of course, the message.

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Where do we go from here?

Anyone who is watching this today...please realize where the legacy has led. There's a little bit of John. There's a bit of Martin, Malcolm, and Bobby, too. Please know that Ted Kennedy made the right choice in selecting Barack Obama as the heir to the dream. I hope Barack is worthy. I hope we are worthy. And I hope we elect President Obama on Nov 4th, 2008, not just for those who came before us, but also for those who come after us.

This is history.

John McCain: Full of Sound and Fury...Signifying Nothing.

"What if this is as good as it gets?" The line from the 1997 movie fits John McCain for this debate. Since Obama clinched the nomination, this election has been slowly drifting towards Obama and away from McCain. Some of it has been natural, but a lot of it has been Senator McCain's doing--or undoing. To be fair, during the times in this campaign when McCain has trended up, he has controlled the dialogue. I don't think McCain did that tonight. He needed a "In what respect, Charlie?" moment from Obama, and that didn't happen.

I think the main thing McCain needed to do was make Obama look un-Presidential, and I don't think that happened. If looked at the CNN monitors, you saw a very partisan split when McCain was speaking. But you saw positives across independents, Democrats, and Republicans while Obama was speaking.To me, this suggests Obama more than beat expectations.

I think most honest viewers found that they could live with a President Obama, even if he's not their first choice. I know that is not the case with McCain. I think that will ultimately be the defining factor for people that come out on election day. Now if Pain alienates viewers in next week's debate, as she has in her past interviews, this election is over before Halloween. Sarah Palin will have to pull a rope-a-dope on Biden, or Obama will to drop the ball for this year to go well for the GOP.

I don't think tonight was McCain's night. If I weren't a Democrat, I'd say he broke even. But at this point, breaking even isn't even winning. If you add in what's going on with the economy and Palin (I'm not sure which is a greater threat), there should be no way that McCain comes out ahead.

Witch Hunts In Angola: Orphanage Cares For Accused Children (VIDEO)

I've switched my thinking on Sarah Palin's witchhunter. I used to think it was kind of sensational and just point out that Palin is a crazy (as if we didn't know). My thought was religion is religion. But now, considering how much of a women's and children's rights supporter she alleges to be, I think it's highly relevant. As her pastor was actively engaged in persecuting women in Kenya for being witches (per the other articles on him). At the very least, this should be more of an issue about Sarah Palin and her judgment that the whole Reverend Wright issue.
About Religion
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Bailout Bill: Obama Needs to Lead, Not Be One of the Bailout Bipartisan Musketeers

Obama needs to drop a different bailout plan and get a surrogate to champion it. Something like insuring the bad assets instead of buying bad assets. Or maybe lending some portion of the cash for interest plus a percentage of the profits for the people.



Doing nothing to help solve the problem except debate is a dumb dumb move.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

John McCain Cancels Letterman Appearance, Keith Olbermann To Fill In

The real heroes in this campaign are the media. They are not risking their lives, but they are doing the service that is most needed for Americans...communication of truth.



It's always the comedians who can combine truth, fearlessness, and eloquence:



Joy Behar

Tina Fey

Al Franken

Chris Rock

Wanda Sykes

David Letterman

Stephen Colbert

John "The Godfather" Stewart
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

NY Times Econ Journalist: Bailout Plan Doesn't Add Up

Here's what the feels like IMO:



The Administration/GOP have set a bag of poop on fire, thrown it on the doorstep of the Capitol, and are waiting for the Democrats to put it out.



How can I have any confidence that Paulson is telling the truth or is competent? I realize that we need the credit in our economy, but there should be a way to get a 2nd opinion on the diagnosis before we move to the chemotherapy.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

No more bull. This is the real John McCain

John McCain and his running mate have blatantly lied to the public and they should be called on it. Yes, of course, all politicians lie. But in this case, I am referring to Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld sized lies that are intended to hurt the public and mislead voters. Between McCain playing political hop-scotch to a new philosophy of the day and Sarah Palin's pathological string of lies, these two should be polling somewhere in the 20 percent range. Why aren't they?

If it were any other politician, wouldn't the parallels of a candidate sitting on his hands during a current scandal that mirrored a scandal of the past be called out in every news outlet?? If Bill Clinton were caught with a second intern last week, would anyone be giving him any deference??? But yet, here we are, years after the S&L crisis and Keating 5 scandal, which stemmed from a failure and disdain for regulation, split on whether to elect a major player from that episode to the highest office! Yet we have not seen one major story on the Keating 5. John McCain is an alumni of that institution and the media is afraid to paint that picture. And if they aren't afraid, but feel that it's not relevant, than shame on them for being obtuse.

Should we really put aside the social/religious scrutiny about Sarah Palin and her husband? I mean, after Obama went through a public religious debate over Christianity in 2004 during his Senate run, the media still subjected us to rumors in 2008 that Obama was a Muslim (insert sarcastic "not that there's anything wrong with that"). Would Michelle Obama pass muster if she were in an secessionist political party? Would she be torn down if she had an unwed pregnant teenage daughter? Would either Obama be politically viable at this point if they had stonewalled, lied, evaded as much as the Palin's did? Obama sat down and did a full open interview with the Chicago Tribune in March on his ties with Tony Rezko. Just imagine what the media cycle would be if Michelle Obama had a history of stealing drugs? I'm not saying Cindy McCain should be raked over coals, but Michelle has received much harsher treatment during this election cycle when she should be hailed as role model.

Many have said that this John McCain is not the Straight-Talk Maverick of 2000. I argue that the 2000 McCain was never the real John McCain. Let's face facts. He was a crappy student who graduated 894th of out 899. He is an opportunist who capitalizes on his war record to this day by pointing to that time in his life as way to deflect scrutiny. He was a deregulator and got caught in one of the biggest financial market failings in history...20 years ago!!! He adopted the persona of a maverick reformer to fix his image. In the past 2 years, because it was politically necessary, he reversed his positions and his political philosophy and caved to the right-wing of his party. He has chosen an un-vetted running mate to play the Rove game with him, and has tried to steal his opponents mantra.
I hope that over the next 6 weeks, people will realize that the John McCain of the 2000 election was a fabrication. He was no more real than Sarah Palin's record as a reformer.

Inspired by this article in the NY Times.

Explosion At Pakistan Marriott Hotel Kills 40

When will we understand. The anti-American view of Islam escalates into violence because of the presence of US forces in their Holy Lands. That is what Bin Laden was talking about as the #1 factor in the attack on the USS Cole and 9/11. That is why they attacked New York and Washington, DC (our American Holy Lands). Pakistan is not different. The people of that country don't want us violating their borders and on their land.



What would our reaction be if foreign troops were stationed in our cities or crossed our borders? Well, in the past, it's led to wars like the American Revolution. I'm not saying the solution is acquiescence or withdrawal. But we should at least be aware of why they hate us and what provokes them.
About Pakistan
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost