Put Your Tin-foil Hat On, Obama May Be Listening

Put Your Tin-foil Hat On, Obama May Be Listening

While I think that car dealers are the scum of the earth, I do like a good conspiracy theory every now and then. It's the reason why I would listen to Coast 2 Coast most nights. You really hear the wacky people on there

But this one takes the cake. You see, there's this crack investigative reporting team at "directorblue". and they're making some pretty crazy claims.

A tipster alerted me to an interesting assertion. A cursory review by that person showed that many of the Chrysler dealers on the closing list were heavy Republican donors.

To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it can be verified.

However, I also found additional research online at Scribd (author unknown), which also appears to point to a highly partisan decision-making process.

Consider the partial list of Chrysler dealership owners, listed below. You'll notice that all were opponents of Barack Obama, most through sponsorship of GOP candidates and organizations, but a handful through Barack's Democrat rivals (Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in 2008, for example).

• Vernon G. Buchanan: $147,450 to GOP candidates and organizations
• Wallace D. Alley and Family: $4,500 to GOP.
• Robert Archer: $4,600 to GOP and conservative causes.
• Homer S. Higginbotham and Family: $2950 to GOP.
• James Auffenberg and Family: $28,000 to GOP; $6,000 to one Democrat candidate.
• Michael Maroone and Family: $60,000 to GOP; $8,500 to two Democrat candidates.
• Jerome Fader: $6,500 to Democrats; $2,500 to Independent Joe Lieberman.
• Stephen Fay and Family: $13,500 to GOP.
• William Numrich: $20,000 to GOP.
• Robert Carver: $10,000 to Democrats including $1,950 to Hillary Clinton, nothing to Barack Obama.

• Robert and Linda Rohrman: $24,000 to GOP.
• Frank Boucher, Jr. and Family: $18,000 to GOP, $1,000 to one Democrat candidate.
• Scott Bossier: $4,300 to GOP.
• Todd Reardon: $17,000 to GOP; $2,000 to one Democrat candidate.
• Russ Darrow and Family: $78,000 to GOP.
• Bradford Deery and Family: $24,700 to GOP.
• Charles Gabus and Family: $30,000 to GOP.
• Brian Smith: $15,500 to GOP.
• Michael Schlossman: $14,000 to GOP; $14,000 to three Democrats ($12,500 to Sen. Russ Feingold).
• Don Hill: $11,000 to GOP; $12,800 to conservative incumbent Rep. Heath Shuler.

• Don Miller: $2,000 to GOP; $1,000 to Feingold.
• Eddie Cordes: $2,150 to GOP.
• Robert Edwards: $1,100 to GOP.
• James Crowley: $19,100 to GOP.
• Stanley Graff: $2,200 to John Edwards (2008 Presidential Run); $500 to GOP.
• John Stewart: $10,500 to GOP.
• John Fitzgerald and Family: $4,600 to John McCain (2008); $2,000 to Hillary Clinton (2008); nothing to Barack Obama.
• William Churchill and Family: $3,500 to GOP.
• Thomas Ganley: $9.450 to GOP.
• Gary Miller: $20,000 to GOP.

• Kevin and Gene Beltz: $18,500 to GOP.
• Arthur Grayson: $14,000 to GOP.
• Eric Grubbs and Family: $26,000 to GOP.
• Michael Leep and Family: $19,500 to GOP; $4,800 to three Democrats including Sen. Evan Bayh.
• Harry Green, Jr.: $10,000 to GOP.
• Ronald Hoover: $5,250 to GOP.
• Ray Huffines and Family: $18,500 to GOP.
• John O. Stevenson: $1,500 to GOP.
• James Marsh: $8,200 to GOP.
• Max Pearson and Family: $112,000 to GOP.

I have thus far found only a single Obama donor (and a minor one at that: $200 from Jeffrey Hunter of Waco, Texas) on the closing list.

Chrysler claimed that its formula for determining whether a dealership should close or not included "sales volume, customer service scores, local market share and average household income in the immediate area."

In fact, there may have been other criteria involved: politics may have played a part. If this data can be validated, it would appear to be further proof that the Obama administration is willing to step over any line to advance its agenda.

It bodes poorly for America and the rule of law.

There's about -100% chance that there is any truth in it. But it's pretty fucking funny when you think about it. Maybe it proves that Karma does exist and isn't just a Ben & Jerry's flavor.


Wait, that's the wrong Illuminati

Then again, we can always go with occam's razor saying that maybe people who own car dealerships and suck at it tend to be republicans.

Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Besides, I can't think of any Illuminati that would gather around in a sly fashion to put together a secret plot to crush the freedoms in America. Nor would they bother to think to close all republican Chrysler dealerships at once.



To be perfectly honest, I'll be more impressed when Obama closes down Gitmo and secretly repopulates it with wall street bankers. Car dealers are the scum of the earth, somehow this is correlated with being Republican.

I have to say, this is my favorite conspiracy theory of the week. It is even better than the Sotomayor is working with radical Puerto Rican leftists to make that place independent and commie. But this makes me wonder why conservatives gravitate towards conspiracy theories.



I suppose it's easier to make up a secret reason why you fail and some mysterious bad guys instead of facing the fact that you suck as a sales person. That and conservatives are typically also religious and religion is the ultimate case of "magic explanations for things I can't understand"

I do have to laugh a little though. Chrysler forced these dealers to buy large amounts of vehicles a few months ago hoping to make sales appear better for when they go before congress. Chrysler now refuses to buy those cars backand it's now on the dealers to sell them, or lose all that money Chrysler forced them to spend. This is beautiful. I really can't help but laugh at that plight. Fuck car dealers, they're one of the reasons politics sucks.



In other car news. GM will be bankrupt by Monday. Good luck Detroit.

I wonder sometimes if part of the problem isn't BEING LOCATED IN DETROIT, heh. We can't really expect to have a vibrant and well-run industry in a place where no one who is smart enough to run a vibrant and well-run business wants to live. I know suburban Detroit's supposed to be quite pretty, but most people from outside the state aren't interested in your advertisement for how they can live way out in the boonies and commute to work in Raccoon City.

Giving Credit Where It's Due

Giving Credit Where It's Due

A couple of days ago I started a blog blasting the Senate, Well, I still will. They're a bunch of fuckin pussies. Why? Cause I guess we finally get to see that bipartisanship Obama was talking about

May 13, 2009, 5:49 pm
Senate Rejects Limit on Credit-Card Interest Rates
By Carl Hulse

Despite complaints that banks and credit card companies are gouging customers by charging outrageous interest rates, the Senate on Wednesday easily turned back an effort to cap interest rates at 15 percent.

The effort by Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, drew only 33 votes and needed 60, with a bipartisan group of 60 senators opposing it as the Senate pushed its credit card overhaul toward the finish line. Some Democrats and consumer groups have said that an interest cap is needed to put real teeth into an otherwise solid bill.

Other backers of the measure calculated that an interest rate ceiling would doom the popular legislation. The banking industry, which had some heavy-weight representatives monitoring the vote off of the Senate floor, warned that an interest rate limit could cause a sour reaction in the financial markets.

But Mr. Sanders said the card companies and banks were engaged in conduct that could get others hauled into court. He said one-third of all credit card holders are paying interest above 20 percent and as high as 41 percent.

“When banks are charging 30 percent interest rates, they are not making credit available,” said Mr. Sanders, who noted credit unions are limited to 15 percent. “They are engaged in loan-sharking.”

After the effort failed, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the Democratic chairman of the banking committee, proposed that the Federal Reserve be asked to provide an analysis of how Congress could rein in interest rates.

Senators said they hoped to finish up the credit card bill as early as Thursday, coinciding with a town hall meeting by President Obama on credit card issues in New Mexico.

Only one republican voted yes (Grassley R-IA) and 21 democrats (plus Lieberman) voted no. I'm sure most of you can guess which ones without looking but I'm gonna post them anyway.



FUCK YOU FOREVER:

NAYs —60
Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagan (D-NC)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (D-VA)
Wicker (R-MS)

But then, before I expanded on this idea something happened. Hope.. yes, The audacity of a credit check happened and it looks like we're getting something after all. Congress went ahead and did it..

Congress Passes Landmark Credit Card Reform
First Posted: 05-14-09 08:00 PM | Updated: 05-20-09 03:02 PM

The House of Representatives passed sweeping credit card reform legislation Wednesday aimed at limiting abusive and deceptive credit card practices. The measure passed with a resounding 361-64 vote and now heads to the president's desk.

A Republican amendment to allow guns in National Parks also passed, 279-147. House Democratic leaders had decided to split the bill into two parts so as not to force liberal members to vote in favor of the gun rule.

The overwhelming vote is a signal of how far the country's politics have shifted as a result of the financial crisis. Despite popularity in the 90-percent range, the bill never had a chance of passing in previous years.

"I've been in Washington twenty years. For the first nineteen we couldn't even get a committee vote on credit card reform despite these practices," remarked PIRG's Ed Mierzwinski.

Wait.. what?

A Republican amendment to allow guns in National Parks also passed, 279-147.

Seriously? FUCK YOU PEOPLE. What the fuck are they going to do with them there anyway? Gun are for pretty much 2 things the first is shooting shit the second is jacking off to. I mean that in the nicest way possible. But why the hell do they need them in national parks? to shoot bears? And forget shooting minorities. Good luck getting a Mexican into a national park. pfft.



But seriously. They really think that you're going to be able to protect yourself in a national park. Or for that matter that you need protecting in a national park from animals like bears with the use of a gun or something. This is an excuse to carry a gun into a controlled wilderness in the hopes of blowing shit away while gradually eroding common sense.

Why can't the democrats have the balls to blanket legalization of gay marriage onto a bill allowing loaded guns into churches or something? Now that's the way to go considering these gun nuts and NRA members (Which sadly, I'm now a member of) would like to attach any possible stupid gun law to the bills just to please the right wing wackos.

But again, what the hell is the point of this? I can hear the red necks now: "Let's see those faggot-ass park rangers tell me my TruckNutz are "inappropriate" the next time I drive my F-350 to Jackson Hole!"



What's really scary is that I once spoke with a park ranger at death valley and he said the majority of his calls were domestic violence situations. Seems to me that this will only cause more shallow graves to be dug. I also can't wait to hear about the "Wildlife declines" in US National parks after a couple of decades of letting these gun nuts go free with this sort of ability.

Oh yeah, and the best part of this credit card reform is that they took out the best parts of the original credit card reform bill, that being the cap to it being only 15% interest rate. The credit card bill is a bullshit half-step forward with no realistic max interest rate and is vastly inferior to the bill that got shot down. So pardon me if I harp on the whole gun bullshit for a bit more. It'll spare some time from me ranting on about how weak and ineffectual this legislation is for reforming credit.

WASHINGTON - People will soon be able to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.

The Bush administration said Friday it is overturning a 25-year-old federal rule that severely restricts loaded guns in national parks.

Under a rule to take effect in January, visitors will be able to carry a loaded gun into a park or wildlife refuge — but only if the person has a permit for a concealed weapon and if the state where the park or refuge is located also allows concealed firearms.

wait, why concealed loaded guns. why is concealed important in a national forest. Who are you concealing the gun from. Do you think that a bear will NOT attack you because they think you may or may not be hiding your glock? Not to mention, a bear is more than likely NOT going to attack you. But again, we have the American way of thinking. That is we need to be actively seeking a fight to defend our freedom..

Maybe it's for the best. It just means I'll potentially camp less. It was bad enough camping thinking that the people set up next to me were crazy. I don't need to worry about if they're going to randomly shoot me in their drunken lawless nature trip. Besides, I'm pretty sure a firearm you can comfortably carry while hiking isn't going to do shit against a bear.



Perhaps more time should be given on the bill. Consumerist.com says it's a good bill. Basically it claims to do its job, while not ending capitalism. It may not have a cap on interest rates but I suppose it makes an impact on the sleaziest practices of the credit card industry.

* Plain-English contracts
* Can't raise interest rates on existing balances unless the card holder is 60 days behind, then the rate has to be restored if payments are on time for six months.
* 45 days advance notice required for rate increases.
* Credit card companies can't charge a late fee if they themselves are late processing a payment.
* Statements have to get mailed 21 days before the payment is due.
* Harder to give credit cards to people under 21.
* Interest rates can't be increased within the first year
* Promotional rates have to last at least 6 months

Though, we may have unleashed a monsters with this "reform" since they have to make a buck somewhere. For those of you who pay their balances off monthly and promptly pay off purchases, guess what, they're tightening the screws on you as well. We all know that their best customers are the ones they fuck out of late fees and gouge on interest rates, but for you who pay off things on time and are nearly useless to them, they're threatening to bring back annual fees of $50+ to gouge the pay-in-fullers.

I know what you're telling yourself. "But I neeeeeeed credit cards! How else will I build credit for a future unsustainable life of owning a house and having children!!!!! the AMERICAN DREAM CANNOT BE DENIED



Our problem with money management is largely cultural. As bad as the credit card companies are they're only so wildly profitable because Americans are hooked on instant gratification and don't understand how compound interest works and are terrible at math. The demand for consumer debt is insane and it's only natural that companies will exploit it. Even if we limited interest rates to 5% a lot of people would still manage to get themselves into trouble.

I have a pretty decent credit rating. It's nothing special but then again, I'm not trying to buy another place or anything. I hate using my credit cards. I don't seem to use them at all or very rarely. I'd rather carry cash with me. Sure, I'll get robbed for whatever I have. At least i don't have to worry about having my credit ruined by a crook who loads up on gas and I'm stuck trying to argue with the credit company who will just jack up my interest rate.

I made the realization that if I borrowed money from the mob, they'd charge me less than most credit card companies. Add in that if I didn't pay them back, they'd break my legs, not ruin my life like a credit card company would. I like that honesty in my collector. Pain instead of killing you with paper cuts. The mob won't make you suffer, they'll just end your life instead of ruining your ability to live life. I give them points for being more upfront about it and taking off the band-aid quickly instead of this slow and painful shit.


Still have your attention?

Without an interest rate cap, good luck collecting the money at those interest rate percentage, cause no one is going to be able to pay it. Having trouble paying back your loan? No problem, we'll increase your monthly payment to make it easier on you. The sad thing is that the banks would have never been able to afford to lobby for this were it not for TARP. So someone bailed them out but they don't like to pass it on.

If you don't give a shit about your credit score you can really abuse the system, and $20k lasts a hell of a long time if you're living as a hobo or in a third world country or whatever. I know a couple anarchist types that have done this. Take out tens of thousands in credit, buy a bunch of shit and take a bunch out with cash advance, etc., and take off with the loot. One used it as the foundation for a Chris McCandless style jaunt across the US, and the other was living in a commune last time I talked to him.

It's also kinda hard to feel sorry for the credit card companies knowing that even if 90% of the American population just maxed out and then moved to the 3rd world to live as tourists for the rest of their lives, the cc companies would still be bailed out with money borrowed from China before they felt any real discomfort.


All this credit card talk, I need to keep your attention somehow.

what's funny is a lot of these 30% rates are being directed at customers for completely bullshit reasons. Someone with a perfect credit score who's never missed a payment shouldn't have their rate bumped from 7% to 28% because the check arrived one day late that month. I wonder what it's like to go into work every day and be like "well i could help this struggling person meet their obligation and pay the interest they owe me, or i could just suck every penny possible out of them until they crash and burn".

1. have a credit card
2. lose job
3. reverse profit
4. debt sold to collection agency
5. said agency reappropriates your means of livelihood
6. bootstrap!

I had an 8% rate on a BoA card, never missed a payment. One day I noticed on my bill that it had gone up to 22%. No reason, no warning, no notification - just triple interest one day. I called to bitch and the response was basically "fuck you oh and if you try to transfer to another card we're charging you some bullshit percentage to move the balance. Oh yeah, we didn't notify you of that change to your contract either, sucker!"



And for those of you who want to pump up your credit score for that potential home purchase, let me tell you, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. An individual paying rent is likely to pay less than a home owner who has to pay for the mortgage, insurance, property tax, trash, water, and repairs. while it's true that the value of your home will increase, so will the value of pretty much all other homes in the same market. if you ever sell your home to move into another, you're not likely to come up much (especially after paying for mandatory renovations, brokerage fees, etc).

If you look at where you live from a utilitarian point of view, renting makes more sense than home ownership. the American cult of home ownership causes suburban sprawl, water shortages, fossil fuel dependence, reckless consumerism, and the creation of a debtor class. why should we encourage people to take on needless debt as a means to arrive at home ownership? In the short of it, if you can't afford to buy a home, don't. Renting provides just as much satisfaction without paying so god damn much.

The Tonight Show..

The Tonight Show..

I can't say I've ever really been much of a fan of Jay Leno. His humor has always been something that appeals towards the early bird. The old couple who just stayed up slightly late or had an extra cup of coffee with dessert and can't fall asleep after the local news crowd.

I've even come across him a couple of times. Often at car shows or just driving around. He's a sucker for taking weekend drives and I've oddly enough pulled up next to him in one of his old cars and motorcycles very often. It's not a rare sight to see him around Burbank. He'd always pop up at the Bob's Big Boy on Friday nights to show off one of his many cars.



At a young age I stayed up late for no real reason, well past Leno's late night time slot, a time slot he beat out David Letterman for and caused an all out Late Night war over. The two didn't really do much for me. No, I liked my comedy a bit more amateurish. So that's why I would always watch Late night with Conan.

From the very start I picked up his very strange sense of humor. It was a lot better than the Chevy Chase show and even though Arsenio Hall had the future President playing sax, I stuck with the awkward duo of Conan and Andy.



Wait, You must be asking yourself why a young kid would be doing up so late. I never was one to go to sleep and the bed time in my household... well, let's just say I watched a lot of late night things and it wasn't a hands on parenting going on.

But with tonight being the last of Leno's role on the Tonight Show, I have to say, he does have one hell of a strong work ethic. Aside from doing his late night gig, he doesn't even touch the money he makes from doing The Tonight Show. He's been living off his paycheck from doing random comedy gigs on the side for some time now. Which is a bit surprising that even though he has this nightly job that he'd be doing the odd jobs for his bread and butter.



Tonight's guest on the show is none other than Conan himself. In a sense, this is the passing of the torch. While I'm not a regular viewer of Leno's old person type of humor, I will be tuning in tonight. Especially since Conan hasn't been on the televsion waves for a good couple of months.

All this time that Conan has been off the air, they've been making him a new set on the Universal Studios lot. So he'll be close to the actors on set. That should give him a leg up on the competition when it comes to booking a late night guest that needs to plug their project. His new studio is a change from Lenos in many ways. Mixing around where the band plays to where he comes out to a more Johnny Carson fashion.


The new Tonight Show set up.

Jokes have been mentioned about using the Jaws doll to do color commentary every now and then as a recurring gag. Which, I would say, would be a good use of that old attraction that hasn't had the spotlight put on it since Mallrats over a decade ago.

If you're a fan of Conan, you'd be inclined to give this a read through which details Conan's Move to Southern California.

Some of the highlights that I found were:

Above a shelf full of awards for writing hung a large cork bulletin board. The board, which was once devoted to blue index cards denoting guests and comedy bits scheduled for “Late Night,” had been colonized by a battalion of yellow index cards, on which were written ideas for “The Tonight Show.” The suggestions, most of them for remotes, offered glimpses of a new mentality:
“Conan as car valet,”
“Conan as Mexican-wrestling star,”
“Conan cleans pools,”
“Conan goes canoeing on the Los Angeles River.”

Most of the ideas utilized the notion of O’Brien as an outsider, alien to the ways of Hollywood. “Conan takes a cheerful spin on the ‘Psycho’ set,” read one card; “Conan tries to be a stunt man,” suggested another. “Conan has 2,318 dollars and tries to get in on the California bailout.”

Oh man, I would watch the hell out of all those. ideas



With the change I have to wonder what exactly I'm going to do late nights now. I mean, I have no reason to stay up past 12:30 since I hate Jimmy Fallon and think his run of Late night has been awfully unfunny so far.

Makes me wonder if I'm not getting old myself. Have my days of staying up late for no good reason come to an end? What's next? Will I settle down and start some family? Nah, not yet. I still have a lot of stupidity in me left to use. Though I'm sure I'll just piss away the 11:30-12:30 slot watching and laughing at Conan. That's when I'm not at a taping.

Dear Employees: Go Home and Die, Please -Love, The Management

Dear Employees: Go Home and Die, Please -Love, The Management

Dear Esteemed peon of a pay grade lower than mine,

Today I have come to the conclusion that my executive compensation and its various bonuses are not enough to guarantee that my spoiled children can't destroy the wealth I have amassed in the first generation after my passing. To remedy the situation, measures must be taken.

<sub>Banks are using a little-known tactic to help pay bonuses, deferred pay and pensions they owe executives: They're holding life-insurance policies on hundreds of thousands of their workers, with themselves as the beneficiaries.

Banks took out much of this life insurance during the mortgage bubble, when executives' pay -- and the IOUs for their deferred compensation -- surged, and banking regulators affirmed the use of life insurance as a way to finance executive pay and benefits.</sub>

Towards this end, I have decided that is is prudent for me to profit off your deaths.

_{The insurance policies essentially are informal pension funds for executives: Companies deposit money into the contracts, which are like big, nondeductible IRAs, and allocate the cash among investments that grow tax-free. Over time, employers receive tax-free death benefits when employees, former employees and retirees die.}

This should not be taken as an encouragement to die early, especially if you are tirelessly pursuing the good of the company by working 80-hour weeks, but we do encourage you to keep yourself posted on the market situation and the retirement schedule of the senior executives so that you may pick the most opportune moment to croak.

_{Though not improper, the practice is similar to what is known as "janitors insurance," an insurance-on-employees technique that has long been controversial. Critics say the banks' insurance contracts are a way for companies to create tax breaks for funding executive pensions. And some families have complained that employers shouldn't profit from the deaths of their loved ones.}

Haters may hate but it's tax free so don't hate the playa, hate the game, yo.

What's that?

As an incentive to get employees to consent to being covered, some companies offer them a small portion of the death benefit. But the coverage may end when they leave the company.

In December, Irma Johnson accidentally received a check for $1.6 million, from Security Life of Denver Insurance Co., payable to Amegy Bank. According to a lawsuit Mrs. Johnson filed in February in a Houston state court, in 2001 the bank told her husband, Daniel Johnson, a credit risk manager who had survived two brain surgeries, that he was eligible for supplemental life insurance of $150,000, if he signed a consent form authorizing the bank to purchase an insurance policy on his life. Four months later, the bank fired him.

Mr. Johnson died from a brain tumor at age 41 in 2008. His widow and two young children received no life-insurance benefits, which the bank had canceled when Mr. Johnson left. Mrs. Johnson says her husband was cognitively disabled when he signed the consent form.

A spokeswoman for Amegy Bank, a unit of Zions Bancorp, declined to comment on the suit, but said, "Participation in Amegy's BOLI plan was completely voluntary; employees consented to participate."

Compensation time! I suppose this was more hilarious before states ATTEMPTED to change the laws on life insurance to require your consent. But efforts to rein in the practice largely have been unsuccessful, including the most recent rules Congress enacted in 2006. The rules limit companies to buying life insurance to just the top third of earners, who must provide consent. But the rules don't apply to life-insurance that employers bought before the August 2006 rules, which cover millions of current and former employees.




Companies would just take out a secret life insurance policy on you and bet on your death. Do you suppose it's a company-wide policy or that the people taking out the insurances are like "Heh, I bet Robert from accounting will die before retiring."

Maybe that's why they're planning an employee deep sea diving retreat or other dangerous activities instead of that open bar holiday party at the local hotel lobby.

The insurance industry is the first industry that needs to be completely eradicated. It's required by law that you need car insurance. I understand the logic. There's a lot of people out there that are too silly to worry about putting money aside in the event of a car accident to cover the damages of your car as well as whoever you hit and fucked up. But the whole system is beyond screwed. I'm pouring money into this fund month after month and in the end of the year I don't get any percentage back from it.

Insurance is suppose to be a "In case shit happens" fund. Well, if it doesn't happen then I should get my money back. Much like these abusive methods of taking out insurance policies on your employees. It's a real risk that you'll lose someone important to the business and you company may suffer, but to fuck them over in this method and take it out on them without telling them... Sheeeeeit, that's just wrong all around.

Then again, I'm not sure I feel entirely sorry for them. Bank employees know exactly who they're working for. It's like the conversation from Clerks about the contractors who worked on the second death star in star wars. They knew the risk in taking the job, fuck them if they get fucked over.

What's So Wrong With California? I'll Tell You!

What's So Wrong With California? Justice Sucks Part II

It's a simple enough question, what's wrong with California lately. It seems that this cool state has totally become uncool quickly. A lot of shit has and is going down and well, I think you need to be brought up to speed on exactly what is messing up this once great place turning it from a the west where everyone belonged to somewhere that is nice to visit, but they wouldn't want to live here.

We can't go to far without addressing the flamboyant 900 pound gorilla dressed in drag in the room. Gay marriage. Yesterday the supreme court, like I stated the other day, came out and stated that Prop 8 will be upheld. Which brought out all the wackos out of the woodwork.

Jorge Riley, 31, of Sacramento had to get up earlier to make the drive to San Francisco to hoist his sign reading, " 'Gay' = Pervert."

"I don't know how many times it's going to take for the judges to listen to the will of the people," Riley said.

Jorge Riley sounds like a huge faggot. What Jackass Riley and other Pro-Prop 8 douche bags want to preserve is the word "Marriage" and keep it as a protected term.



Except the problems come from the fact that civil unions don't grant the same rights. Apparently, there are well over a thousand rights that heterosexual couples get that homosexual couples don't, such as adoption, joint parental rights, next-of-kin status at hospitals, joint filing of taxes, leave to care for your sick partner, certain types of life insurance, many of the tax credits associated with families, and a bunch of other things.

If you feel that there's no difference between being married in the eyes of the law and just having your common law This (21 page PDF)should be required reading for anyone who believes that it is possible to give someone all the rights and privileges of marriage without calling it marriage. Most of the states that made the leap to marriage equality did so because it was impossible to pull off even after years of trying. Federal recognition would make civil unions less shitty but they will never be equal to marriage.



Mormons first lied about how much they donated to the support of the prop 8 and then yesterday they released this smug comment.

Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court is welcome. The issue the court decided was whether California citizens validly exercised their right to amend their own constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The court has overwhelmingly affirmed their action.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes the deeply held feelings on both sides, but strongly affirms its belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The bedrock institution of marriage between a man and a woman has profound implications for our society. These implications range from what our children are taught in schools to individual and collective freedom of religious expression and practice.

Accordingly, the Church stands firmly for what it believes is right for the health and well-being of society as a whole. In doing so, it once again affirms that all of us are children of God, and all deserve to be treated with respect. The Church believes that serious discussion of these issues is not helped when extreme elements on both sides of the debate demonize the other.

What a bunch of bastards. It's a slap to the face since Prop 8 was polling consistently for No until the Yes on 8 campaign was launched. It not only told outright lies about the issue (claiming that churches would be forces to recognize gay marriage) but it also had millions more dollars and an infinitely better outreach program. The reason it passed with that slight win was because the religious communities went full tilt in campaigning for it and what do you have now? The Supreme court stripping away the rights of people all for a majority win.



The problem here is that churches want to operate as private groups, yet want the protections and funding of public institutions. I'm sure it warrants a blog all to itself, but I think that the tax breaks and extra rights for married couples need to just get cut off completely regardless of your orientation. Tax breaks and extra rights for married couples of any orientation should seriously be gone for an equal society.

But that isn't the only thing wrong with California. Not by a long shot. Perhaps a lot of the bigger issues (not saying equality isn't a big issue, by the way) is being overshadowed by these protest. If we actually looked at all the problems that California had and protested, rioted and screamed out to the streets to take down our elected officials, then we'd actually be out just about every day of the week.



It would take a lot to really explain everything that is wrong with this state.

First off we have Prop 13 which requires 2/3 majority to raise taxes in any form, preventing property taxes on property that doesn't change ownership from rising by more than 1% per year. This means that young people buying homes get fucked hard and the rich/old get an amazing deal and don't have to support their portion of the county/city governments. So the state has to bail out local governments repeatedly. All because young people didn't turn out to vote on this shit.

Next up you have the prison system with its incredibly strong guard union and idiotically long 3 strikes sentencing means we're paying soe ridiculously obscene amounts to house a huge number of prisoners and simultaneously triple bunking them in terrible conditions.



It's simple. You take all the money and give it to the cops for "anti-gang" domestic terrorism. Which get a lot of people in jail. Oh wait, now with all those people in jail you have to spend a lot to keep them fed, with power and guarded which adds up. So then you cut money from education and health care to pay for those prisons. Oh wait, shitty school systems and no jobs causes people to commit crime and end up in jail. Now what do we do? We blame welfare and then we privatize prisons.

Then you get into the Republicans. For as much as we claim we're the beacon and progressive trend setter of the nation, we have a lot of fuckin' republicans. We gave the world Reagan and Nixon. The first was responsible for the stupid 2/3 vote shit that has fucked us up. As long as republicans don't allow the democrats to have super majority, they have equal power in crafting the budget. Which is hilarious and means we can never raise taxes. Democrats still have congress so they'll keep rolling out programs expecting the money to come from somwhere that never shows. And of course republicans get just as many new programs and spending because otherwise it wouldn't be FAIR. Apparently bipartisanship means each side gets 50% of the power despite how anyone votes.



Speaking of what Reagan gave us. He sure fucked us with the shitty proposition system which means anyone who is rich enough can pay signature gatherers to put anything on the ballet. Cost for a measure is $1 million and all you need after that is 50%+ of the popular vote to pass anything including CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS THAT CAN ONLY BE OVERTURNED BY 2/3 OF CONGRESS! So we get a bunch more spending on shit we don't need and as abonus our liberal courts get overturned by the writhing masses every time.

The short of it is that there's too many programs to pay for because it's so easy to tack on a program on the ballots and get it passed. Look at Prop 8. While I love high speed trains, who do you think is going to pay for that program? Especially when republicans don't want to raise taxes, democrats don't want to cut programs. So you're stuck with us always going into the red to pay for a lifestyle that is well beyond our means.



So when you're asked who's fault is it that California is shit, you should answer with "Your Mom!" Cause that's who votes for every proposition that sounds like it would benefit someone and honestly believes we can just print more money to pay for it.

As for Arnold. While you can't balance a budget with one-liners, he is doing the best that he can. He's trying his hardest to fix the problems which is kind of cool but his methods apparently involve the state simply not paying public employees or paying them less than minimum wage so soon in addition to not having money we won't have any competent public workers either.

The problem is that California made a shit tons of money in the 90's during the tech boom, squandered it all on tax cuts, tied their entire state's livelihood into real estate and you know how that turned out. Then on ballot initiatives, flawed state politics and had too many people living unsustainable lifestyles.



The worse part is that we can never raise enough money through taxes unless the voters say yes in 2/3rds. Which never happens. So really the fault is the budget is controlled by the voters through various propositions and over time they have guaranteed that California should spend 150% of their tax income. Oh and taxes can never increase.

Oh, and a follow up to last yesterdays blog about the day in court. I got a rather loud pounding on my door today from the DA serving me up a subpoena to be a witness. I was also told that the other douche who held the guy back would be a witness today. So yeah, I follow up his buddy as a witness. Grraaaaaand. Hey, at least it may finally get resolved, right?

Justice Is Blind... And Slow As Fuck - Graffiti

Justice Is Blind... And Slow As Fuck - Graffiti Issues

Remember back in January when some morons messed with me and I went all batshit insane on them.. causing them to get locked up? Well, it's still not resolved. Which is sort of strange since that's five months for a man to sit in jail (cause shit, bail is insane, right) without a court date. Ok, that's not entirely true. There has been many court dates so far, only none of them have resulted in anything besides being postponed and pushed back.

I've constantly received subpoenas for this case but by the time the date rolls around, I don't get any sort of call, even though I am "On call" on the matter. In the last five months it has changed hands at least four times into three different DA's hands.



So perhaps the lesson here is don't be a douche and commit large scale crimes? Either that or if given the chance to get a real lawyer and not a public defender, GET A REAL LAWYER! It'll be better than sitting in a jail cell waiting for your day in court while the overworked public defender works through his cases. Sort of throws it in the face of that whole "Fair and speedy trail" clause in the bill of rights, right?

I guess I can't say I'm pissed off about that. Dude was threatening me and I had to beat him away with a toy lightsaber. But still, I'm also waiting for some sort of compensation so I can fix up properly all the damage they caused all in the name of Graffiti.

So don't mind me while I jump on this whole Graffiti subject since it's something that hits close to home. It seems that the City of Santa Ana knows how to combat Graffiti. Take a look at this handy little guide they have created to combat new taggers.



Oh shit, I have most of those things. Does that mean I've been sleeptagging? I'm really concerned about this because all of the graffiti near my house just says "I'm gay" over and over. If that's me, I really want to address that!

The thing I don't understand about graffiti is that if you're over the age of 18, there's no reason to do it. What are you rebelling against? Can't you sell drugs? How about rob a liquor store? Be a stick up. Jesus fuck, just do something that will actually make a difference or make an impact in some way.



When people tag my place or some place near me, you know what I do within the next few days? I paint over it. It doesn't last. You can't drive by the area in a week or two and show off to your friends. Hell, who's to say you even wrote that? Where's the proof in actually doing the act yourself?

There's just no profit in graffiti. You may be dumb fucks who tag, but how hard is it to realize there's no benefit or win fall from tagging? If you're under 18 then maybe, just maybe I can see the idea behind it. You don't have bills to pay, you live at home with mommy who's working a double shift or you don't have any real bills to pay. But I would imagine you'd like to get money. Something tagging doesn't help you at in any way. Hell, spray cans aren't cheap. You're losing money with every spray of the can.



For me, if I'm going to risk getting tossed in jail, maybe I would like to make some money out of it. Tagging just doesn't sound like a fun activity. You get your hands messy, because fuck all if I ever figured out how to use a spray can for my art class without my fingers getting paint all over them.

But back to the justice system, which is indeed slow as fuck. No wonder people are so afraid of the law. I would hate to be mixed up in the system because it's hard as fuck to get out of it. They keep terrible hours and they don't really give a shit about your daily life as long as it's making the state money in some way. So I'll continue to wait as the courts decide when they want me to be a witness, which, I may add, sucks as all hell. You're being mad dogged by the person on trail, even though they're the scum criminal they still act like you're the bad guy.

Memorial Day Thoughts

Memorial Day Thoughts

Well, I don't have any BBQ to attend and I'm taking the day sort of in. Cause why not, I work my ass off all the other times and no one remembers the Javi or anything. But then again, I'm not homeless and hungry like most of those we're suppose to be remembering today. So I can't complain, right. Doesn't mean I can't do what I typically do and get on my soap box and rant and rave. Indeeeeeeeeeed



Did you know that in the Soviet Union, Veterans were actually paid yearly based on the medals that they were awarded during their time in the army. I know, the horrors of socialism! If I was a vet sitting in the VA right now wacked out of my mind due to the horrors of war, I think I would much rather like to get a check I could cash in for a beer to numb the pain.

Since this is the day to remember those who fought in a war, why don't we take a look at them..



Me, not to sound unAmerican, but I can't say I don't give a blank respect check to anyone just because they fought in a war. Has any soldier kept me safe since WWII? Since then we've been fucking around in countries we had no place or business being in.

I feel bad for people who were drafted but I don't get why any volunteer enlisted would think they deserve respect. Especially any females enlisting. Why would you want respect for a mistake.



Support are troops!!!!!!!!! Unit it becomes financially incovenient. You want to really honor the memory of the troops that defended your "freedom"? Go to the VA hall today and do some work.



I talked to an Army Ranger and he hates Memorial Day because "people can act like they care once or twice a year then talk about how worthless we all are any other time." So it's the same mentality that I share with Valentines day.



I wonder what kind of lives these guys would have had if they had done the honorable thing and gone to prison instead of answering the draft.



Yeah, I know the drill, if I'm typing this in English, I should thank a veteran. If you're not reading this in English, well then... How is that possible?

Then again, if you're reading this blog at all thank the brave colonial pilots of galactica or the brave men and women who chose not to join in the mutiny on board the starship Dahak, depending on your brand of scifi.



We really need to reexamine the people we choose to "defend" our country. Most of them are mentally incapable of taking care of themselves. Why do I think they can take care of the country? You see them getting married left and right before they're shipped off so that they can carry this idea that they have someone back home to come to.



In most cases those significant others are out living their life while their troop spouse gets fucked over in the head or killed. Of course they're going to distract themselves from the idea of the person they love dying somehow. In most cases it's in the arms of someone else.



How mentally stable do you think our troops our when they get the shocking news that their loving spouse/significant other is getting nailed by someone else? Sure doesn't sound like this whole defending our troops thing, right.



But hey, we gotta welcome them back when they do come back, right? So hey, instead of a moment of silence or a thought or a prayer, how about you give that Vet some change the next time you see him on the off ramp of the freeway instead of pointing them out to your child and telling them "See Timmy, that's what happens when you don't finish school."

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Well, it's memorial day weekend. I didn't even realize it till it was waaaay too late to plan for it. Then again, do you really need to plan for relaxation and the whole BBQ fun? Meh, I'm too lazy to even write an update. So don't act all surprise, your ass is probably reading this a week after Memorial day anyways.


Something's wrong here....

So this may sound unamerican but what's the difference between memorial day and veterans day? All I get from others is that one honors the living and the other honors both the living and those who died in war defending our country. I dunno. I mean, that's two holidays for one group of people. I wont even get on the subject on if they were wars that were defending our country or freedom cause that's a big can of worms in itself. But it seems that the whole thought of honoring those who fought in war took a back seat for a simple three day weekend.

Add in that I doubt many even give a crap about those soldiers anyway. An extra day to get drunk, AM I RITE? It has gotten to a point that even with a war going on, it's overlooked in favor for a grill and some slabs of meat. I'm not saying that in a bad tone. I mean, grilling is something I love doing. That's whay articles like the following from The L.A. Times appeal to me. I mean, how else do you maximize your memorial day fun but with a belt that you can carry beer in? Who needs to walk the 10 feet to the cooler to get a beer when you can grab one from your belt.



But let's not fool ourselves, do we need any sort of tool to make drinking anymore easier on this festive three day holiday? Just the other night I saw someone plow into a pole near where I was staying. Destroyed the shit out of it and caused glass to break and create a hassle for my Saturday. Way to go, drunky.

So excuse me if I'm not going to jump on the BBQ wagon, I already did that quota for the memorial day weekend. I cooked bacon wrapped hot dogs and drank beer I brewed myself, as well as some that others brewed. What can I say, gotta have a memory for those drinks already drunk. Most of all, Memorial day is the unofficial start to summer.

But why is unofficial? We have national holidays for just about everything. You mean to tell me that we can have a day set aside for daylight savings time but we don't have one for when Summer officially begins? Well, if they're not going to give it anything more than an unofficial start, we might as well get the ball rolling right.



Let's get this summer off to a good start already. And with that, I'll be done with the blog for the day. No need to push it. Besides, I have a lot of drinking and bbqing to get done today! Just don't forget to quickly remember those who need to be 'membered.

Sometimes Truth Is Stranger Than Emily

Sometimes Truth Is Stranger Than Emily

Emily the Strange V. The Origins of her character

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Cosmic Debris Etc. has sued two children's book authors, claiming its "Emily the Strange" character does not infringe on Marjorie Sharmat's and Marc Simont's "Nate the Great" copyrights. Cosmic Debris acknowledges that both characters are "Goth Girls," but says such characters abound in popular fiction. Cosmic Debris cities Morticia and Wednesday from "The Addams Family," Lydia from "Beetlejuice" and Vampira of "The Vampira Show."

Emily the Strange is used to promote skateboards, T-shirts, comic books and other merchandise. Cosmic Debris claims it created the character in 1991. Though Sharmat and Simont claim Emily was inspired by their "Rosamond" character, Cosmic Debris denies it. "Emily" has dark bangs and pale skin and wears a black dress, but "Rosamond" is "rosy cheeked and smiling," and wears dresses of varying color. The only similarity seems to be that the two are often accompanied by cats, the complaint states.

Cosmic Debris asks that the defendants be restrained from recovering damages regarding Emily, and that they be prohibited from claiming that Emily infringes on their work. The plaintiff is represented by Mark Lee with Manatt, Phelps and Phillips

This is all because in 2010 they want to make a film about the character. Cause, you know, there hasn't been a gothic girl icon in film for some time, right? Besides, there has been odd looking characters in the past like her, right? What about Wednesday from the Addams Family? What does this character from a 70's book have in common with



Emily the strange? I mean, it's not like this Hot Topic cash cow character has anything remotely close in relation with..


Oh... wait. wow. That's pretty damn similar. In fact, I think she just changed one word around and took out a cat. I suppose four cats is a bit stranger than three, right? It's funny that this one time skateboard art piece spawned such a craze.

While I love me the gothic look plenty, I think the thing that always bothered me about Emily the strange was that on the exterior, she was an icon for the "think-for-yourself, do-it-yourself movement.” Which it really doesn't. What a lot of these gothic folks fail to realize is that HOT TOPIC isn't any more unique or a way to make you different than shopping at the Gap.

If you like the style or you like the look of the stuff there, that's fine. But please don't tell me that it's any means to distinguish yourself from the other million people who wear the same thing. Much like this lawsuit, don't try to act like your item is original. Nothing new under the sun and in this case, Marjorie Sharmat and Marc Simont's creation looks like it was knocked off for a skater sticker and then some shirt company took the ball and ran with it.

But hey, whatever it t takes to make sure that you're the only one who makes a buck off this when the movie is done, right?

Don't Try To Upfront It, Yo.

Don't Try To Upfront It, Yo

Well, with a name like WeirdTV, I think perhaps I should touch on strange shit or at the very least shit that happens on TV, right? Yeah. It has been a while since I even focused on that sort of stuff. Generally because I was busy working on some god awful sing-a-long lip singing production that will not be named due to potentials of lawsuits and nondisclosure agreements. But it's good to have a chance to talk about Television news.

Today I touch on the Upfronts. What are the Upfronts? The upfronts are where the Studio brings its new pilots in front of Executives and Advertisers, allowing marketers to buy commercial airtime "up front", or several months before the season begins. Upfronts typically occur during the third week of May, the last full week of that month's sweeps period.

Although a lot of news has dribbled out over the last few weeks, official announcements should be forthcoming for any existing shows left on the bubble, as well as a surprise announcement or two surrounding your favorite pilot. Ah yes, the wonderful world of pilots. I've helped write a failed one and then there's all the ones I did work on that never saw the light of day.

Since you're more than likely wondering what actually made it and what didn't, here's how your tv watching will shape up to be come fall.

CBS Schedule:

MONDAY

8:00-8:30 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE
9:00-9:30 TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 THE BIG BANG THEORY
10:00-11:00 CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 NCIS
9:00-10:00 NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 THE GOOD WIFE

WEDNESDAY

8:00-8:30 THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
8:30-9:00 GARY UNMARRIED
9:00-10:00 CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 CSI: NY

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 THE MENTALIST

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 MEDIUM
10:00-11:00 NUMB3RS

SATURDAY

8:00-9:00 CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 THREE RIVERS
10:00-11:00 COLD CASE

Thrilling, right? Looks like Big Bang Theory is being nurtured to be Two and a Half's replacement as the comedy anchor of the night. Not much else to say besides this: NCIS:LA? Really? It looks like it's an NCIS night in there. I can't really say I care much about this line up. There's like two shows that I'll watch in there.

NBC Schedule:

MONDAY

8-9 p.m. - “Heroes”
9-10 p.m.–”TRAUMA”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

TUESDAY

8-10 p.m. - “The Biggest Loser” (two-hour edition)
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

WEDNESDAY

8-9 p.m. - “PARENTHOOD”
9-10 p.m. - “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

THURSDAY

8- 8:30 p.m. - “SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY” (multi-episode run)
8:30-9 p.m. - “Parks and Recreation”
9- 9:30 p.m. - “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. - “COMMUNITY” (moves to Thursdays 8-8:30 p.m. after multi-episode run “30 Rock” returns)
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

FRIDAY

8-9 p.m. - “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. - “Southland”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

SATURDAY

8-9 p.m. - “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. - “TRAUMA” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. - “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY

7- 8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”

NBC MID-SEASON 2010 SCHEDULE

(2010 WINTER OLYMPICS preempt regularly scheduled programming from February 12-28, 2010)
*New programs in UPPER CASE

MONDAY

8-9 p.m. - “Chuck” (season premiere)
9-10 p.m.–”DAY ONE”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

TUESDAY

8-9:30 p.m. - “The Biggest Loser” (90-minute edition)
9:30-10 p.m. - “100 QUESTIONS”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

WEDNESDAY

8-9 p.m. - “MERCY”
9-10 p.m. - “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

THURSDAY

8- 8:30 p.m. - “COMMUNITY”
8:30-9 p.m. - “Parks and Recreation”
9- 9:30 p.m. - “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. - “30 Rock”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

FRIDAY

8-9 p.m. - “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. - “Southland”
10-11 p.m. - “THE JAY LENO SHOW”

SATURDAY

8-9 p.m. - “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. - “Southland” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. - “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY

7-8 p.m. - “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. - THE MARRIAGE REF
9-11 p.m. - “The Celebrity Apprentice” (season premiere; two-hour edition)

My Name Is Earl is shit canned. So is Medium. Medium is getting put on CBS, which is funny since they put it on next to Ghost Whisperer. And while Jennifer Love Hewitt over Patricia Arquette, you kinda have to appreciate the oddness of having the knock off version of one show next to the other.

My Name Is Earl, that's a sad state. I worked on that show. I enjoyed it. Sure, I haven't sat down and watched the last season, but seeing it go out like that because NBC doesn't make bank off the television production of it is sort of a shame. No worries, Fox, who does produce it, is shopping it around.

Also on the list is WAAAAAAAY too much Jay Leno. I'm looking forward to Conan taking over the Tonight Show though.


ABC's fall schedule:

MONDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars” (two hours)
10:00 p.m. “Castle”

TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “The Forgotten”

WEDNESDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Hank”
8:30 p.m. “The Middle”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Cougar Town”
10:00 p.m. “Eastwick”

THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Flash Forward”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”

FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Supernanny”
9:00 p.m. “Ugly Betty”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”

SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”

SUNDAY:
7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10:00 p.m. “Brothers & Sisters”

Quite a bit of new shows, especially on Wednesday night. Castle gets a second season? Nathan finally gets a show into second season status? Well color me surprised. Good job, captain tightpants.

Sadly, ABC decided to pass on the U.S. version of No Heroics. Which is a British original and it was a pretty funny take on the whole heroes stuff. I doubt the U.S. version would ever keep in the gay sex jokes. though. Ohwell.

Then we get to Fox. Thank you for the paycheck, bend over so I can pucker up my lips..

FOX Fall 2009 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE:

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 HOUSE
9:00-10:00 LIE TO ME

TUESDAY
8:00-10:00 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Performance Show

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Results Show
9:00-10:00 GLEE

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 BONES
9:00-10:00 FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 COPS
8:30-9:00 COPS
9:00-10:00 AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 THE OT (NFL post-game)
8:00-8:30 THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 THE CLEVELAND SHOW
9:00-9:30 FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 AMERICAN DAD

Here is the Fox 2010 Mid season Schedule:

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 HOUSE
9:00-10:00 24

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 AMERICAN IDOL Performance Show
9:00-10:00 PAST LIFE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 AMERICAN IDOL Results Show
9:00-10:00 HUMAN TARGET (January) / GLEE (spring)

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 BONES
9:00-10:00 FRINGE

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 DOLLHOUSE

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 COPS
8:30-9:00 COPS
9:00-10:00 AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 -Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES
7:30-8:00 AMERICAN DAD
8:00-8:30 THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 SONS OF TUCSON
9:00-9:30 FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 THE CLEVELAND SHOW

A lot of interesting things to be seen from that. First off, did you see that Saturday night line up? America's Most Wanted is still on the air? WHAT THE FUCK? No, not that, silly. I'm talking about the midnight and later stuff. Looks like they're trying to tap into the Adult Swim crowd. Which is strange because they sell most of their shows to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim program line up.

American Dad is also getting the dredded 7:30 Sunday death slot. While it shows that it's the bottom of the totum pole, King of the hill survived a lot of years there. Still, doesn't show a lot of promise to a healthy future for that show.

Then you have dollhouse. Which is getting two comedies to lead into the Friday night slot. At least with Terminator, which was killed and WB doesn't give a shit about keeping alive somewhere else, it had a Sci-fi/Nerd appeal. Dollhouse also is booked for both parts of the season. Maybe Fox is really hopeful that they'll order more?

My vote for BEST IN SHOW goes to Jimmy Kimmel. Mr. Kimmel then took a verbal swing at his own network, reminding the audience that ABC had attempted to hire away Mr. Leno when his tenure ended at NBC’s “Tonight Show.” But, according Mr. Kimmel, NBC said it would not give up Mr. Leno, “even if we have to destroy our own network to keep him.

Jimmy Kimmel Said

Let's get real here. Let's get Dr. Phil-real here. These new fall shows? We're going to cancel about 90 percent of them. Maybe more.

Every year we lie to you and every year you come back for more. You don't need an upfront. You need therapy. We completely lie to you, and then you pass those lies onto your clients.

Next year on ‘Grey's Anatomy,' your product could kill Dr. Izzie. It just depends on how much you want to pay.

"I think all our shows are going to work this year. I really do. I don't, really."

"The important thing to remember is: who cares, it's not your money."

Kimmel also took a shot at NBC and Jay Leno, whom ABC once courted to possibly replace him when his contract with NBC expired, saying that they're "giving Jay's viewers exactly what they want. An early-bird special."

I'm sure ABC will return the favor once they are up for renewing his show. Still, it's a pretty honest thing to say. Wont change a thing, but honest.

So there you have it. A preview of your fall tivo setting lineup. Hope you enjoyed this boring trip into the actual TV world of a blog by Wierd TV...