In praise of George W. Bush

James Fallows nails it.

Music 2009

Okay, so it's the end of the year, and I wanna dig thru my G1 (My Android Phone. I have an MP3 adapter on my stereo and all my my music goes thru my Android w/its 16 G SD card) and see what the year was like for me in terms of music. Tammy and I had an awesome time at Lollapalooza this year, and I did discover some new music there, but mostly it was a lot of music I was already listening to (Kings of Leon, Janes Addiction, Tool, etc). Not to mention there was a lot of good music that was released this year (and some, like Gaga, that was released last year but only JUST made it onto my Android this year).

So without further ado, and in no order AT ALL, are the top albums of 2009, based on a completely arbitrary system that I call the "Subjective Jeff System of IDigThisAbility".

Regina Spektor: Far
The Knux: Remind Me In 3 Days
Lady Gaga: The Fame/The Fame Monster
Pearl Jam: Backspacer
Jay-Z: Blueprint 3
Manchester Orchestra: Mean Everything to Nothing
U2: No Line on the Horizon
The Flaming Lips: Embryonic
The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love
Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk
Depeche Mode: Sounds of the Universe
The Prodigy: Invaders Must Die

Thanksgiving

I suppose I could write a hackneyed, cliched post about all the sappy things I'm thankful for.

So I will.

There's a reason they call this "Thanksgiving" and it's an entirely appropriate name. It's a great time to look back on the year and realize exactly why the last year was one of the best years of your life (Well, in my case anyway, your mileage may vary). For me, it all boils down to one reason: my wife.

I'm lucky and fortunate enough to be married to the greatest partner a man could ever ask for. My wife is smart, beautiful, empathetic, compassionate and a host of other well-deserved superlatives. She's the reason I have an amazing daughter, a spectacular career, and a size 32 waist. All success and happiness basically flows from my marriage, and I'm not even for one second going to even try to pretend otherwise.

I'm a very blessed man, and todays' the perfect day to sit back and give thanks.

Thanks, Tammy. If I didn't say it enough today, "I love you".

Republican Deficit Hypocrisy

Bruce Bartlett over at Forbes.com has an excellent article that should be required reading for the new crop of "fiscally responsible" neo-cons running around screaming about "tea party this" and "goverment spending that".

John McCain: The Reason For All Of This

Andrew gets it 100% right, milquetoast pushback and all.

FTA: "He picked her so carelessly, and his thought process was so cynical, that he should stand in the dock of public opinion before Palin does. Her vanity led her to say yes to his crazy offer. But he gave her that chance. And in the end, she is his responsibility." [Full Post]

It's funny because it's true...

Why is it, that we get the most astute political observations from "The Daily Show" and "The Onion"?

The Money Quote:
According to sources who have read the nation's charter, the U.S. Constitution and its 27 amendments do not contain the word "God" or "Christ."

Fox's Lie and Hannity's Apology

A reader of Andrew Sullivan's blog writes in and nails it.

What is the Eighties' dream to you, John?

LENNON: Well, you make your own dream. That's the Beatles' story, isn't it? That's Yoko's story . That's what I'm saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It's quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don't expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself. That's what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshiped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been and always will be. There's nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can't wake you up. You can wake you up. I can't cure you. You can cure you.

PLAYBOY: What is it that keeps people from accepting that message?

LENNON: It's fear of the unknown. The unknown is what it is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that -- it's all illusion. Unknown is what what it is. Accept that it's unknown and it's plain sailing. Everything is unknown -- then you're ahead of the game. That's what it is. Right?

I couldn't have said it better myself. So I didn't. I let John do all the talking.

From the Playboy Interview with John Lennon. Interviewed September 8-28, 1980. Published January 1981.