Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Daily Briefs: I think I heard somewhere that Sarah Palin is a Muslim

Posted by Chris Packham on Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 12:41 PM

By CHRIS PACKHAM

If I assembled a tag cloud of keywords from the letter I received from the National Weather Service this morning, it would include heavy use of the words "distasteful," "regrettable," "cease and desist," "never in a million years" and "horrible human being." So there goes my campaign to get federal meteorologists to start naming hurricanes after major diseases.

briefs_logo.png
If you heard that Hurricane Gonorrhea was approaching your city, wouldn't you evacuate? They're running out of hurricane names, and if they don't alter their nomenclature policy now, they're just going to wind up using made-up names, like pharmaceutical companies or fantasy novel titles. Hurricane NiQuitin CQ? YAWN. And I'm sorry, but I'd keep my political convention convened right the hell through Hurricane Gandalf, especially if it was about to destroy the childhood home of Piers Anthony.

As far as suspending my ongoing mail-in campaign to the National Weather Service, I'm an idea man, and if I kept all my ideas in my head, I'd get some kind of brain-based kidney stone. It just doesn't sound healthy. After the jump, a correction and some business about Henry Rollins. Click here, or — because I can't find a good photo of National Weather Service director Dr. John L. Hayes — click on this photo of Rutherford B. Hayes:

rutherford_b_hayes.jpg

CORRECTION: Yesterday, I mistakenly reported about Sarah Palin's conviction for the serial murders of 13 prostitutes in Spokane, Washington's red-light district from 1996 to 1998. MY BAD! The killer was actually Robert Lee Yates Jr., who has never served the Alaska state government apparatus in any capacity and whose execution is scheduled for September 19 in the Washington State Penitentiary. So I hope that clears everything up. THANKS, SNOPES! On the other hand, nobody complained when I wrote about lovable old German physicist Karl Schwarzschild's science-based involvement in the mysterious disappearance of hitchhikers, but let's double-check with Snopes real quick ... nope, zero hits. I guess things would be looking pretty grim for Karl Schwarzschild if he weren't already dead, but as physicist Nancy Grace would say, just try telling that to the relatives of the people who mysteriously collapsed into gravitational singularities while hitchhiking through Germany in 1916.

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign is getting a lot of mileage out of the claim that maverick change-agent fiscal conservative Sarah Palin bravely opposed a massive federal earmark for a giant controversial Alaskan bridge project, which ultimately collapsed into a political singularity. On the other hand, Newsweek, the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal all report that she supported and fully endorsed the project and that when Congress stripped it from a spending bill, she fiscal-conservatively kept the money and applied it to a variety of other projects. So I guess it's a classic "she said, everyone else on the planet said"-type situation. But y'know? Even though respectable media outlets have asserted that the campaign is lying outright about the issue, I'm reserving judgment until Snopes.com weighs in.

rollins_shorts.jpg

Speaking of the delicious art of serial killing: Look, when you get to be my Jitterbug phone-eligible age, you don't have a lot of time to spend on your wardrobe or a bunch of girly primping. If I spent every morning fussily matching my topcoat with my pantaloons and elaborately oiling my golden curls, I'd be foppish WDAF Fox 4 dandy Phil Witt, and although I'd be making, like, a million dollars an hour, I wouldn't have time for all of my good works. So back in 2000, taking my cue from Seth Brundle, I finally picked out the look that works for me: Gray coat, black tie, white button-down shirt, and those little black shorts that Henry Rollins wore back when he was the dynamic frontman of Black Flag. Every day. It's conservative until I stand up from my desk, and then it reflects my radical anarchist roots while displaying my assets to their best effect.

So anyway, it comes as no surprise that convicted killer and alleged double-y-chromosome-possessing Charles Manson sent fan letters to Henry Rollins back in 1984:

Rollins outlined that he was very young when he started corresponding with Manson - who was sentenced to life in 1971 for the infamous Manson Family Murders which took place two years earlier.

"At the time I was very young and having him write me letters made me feel very intense and heavy," he said. "I'd always know I'd have a letter in my PO Box from him because the woman behind the counter at the post office would give you this awful look.

"His letters would always have swastikas on them so they were easy to spot."

That definitely made me reassess my definitions of "intense" and "heavy," which until today had been grounded in the intense, heavy performances of Henry Rollins, Ice T and Keanu Reeves in the seminal 1995 Johnny Mnemonic, which introduced the world to CYBERSPACE:

johnny_mnemonic_cyberspace.jpg

THE HOTTEST DATA ON EARTH. IN THE COOLEST HEAD IN TOWN. The ultimate hard drive, you guys. I will never get tired of this picture of cyberspace.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments (15)

Showing 1-15 of 15

Add a comment

To the Blog author could I be permitted to quote some of the facts from this above post as long as I link back to your site?

report   
Posted by loft conversions uk ltd on 06/13/2010 at 5:51 PM

Hello Author may I have permission to use some of the details from this post as long as I provide a link back to your original post?

report   
Posted by loft conversions regulations on 06/13/2010 at 5:46 PM

Hello Blog author may I be permitted to quote some of the details from your post as long as credit for the post is given in a link back to your original post?

report   
Posted by loft conversions regulations on 06/13/2010 at 5:22 PM

I really liked your writing, please keep it up!

report   
Posted by spokane real estate on 05/16/2010 at 1:28 PM

whoever taught that one dude html should be smacked around. yes, you can bold things. now get a hobby! you have upset (the) gus so much that I'm using punctuation!

report   
Posted by gus on 09/09/2008 at 4:11 PM

As you know, Chris, we have discussed this photo many times at our Eaters Anonymous meetings. Just because I don�t have Biden or Pelosi like chompers is no reason to say my posted photo is not a good one. We work hard to engage Americans like yourself and you took our letter completely out of context. For your viewers, allow me to include the actual text so they can make informed decisions about the NWS.

Mr. Packham, Thank you for contacting the National Weather Service and requesting that we name hurricanes after major diseases. It is regrettable that no one made such a suggestion beforehand. We shall immediately cease and desist naming hurricanes after foreign people as we agree such an undertaking is distasteful. Please do not think of us as horrible human beings.

After Ike, the next hurricanes shall be called Jock Itch, Kidney Failure, Lactose Intolerance, and Male Pattern Baldness


I included a link to my picture since you will not.

XOXOXOXOX
Jack

report   
Posted by Trevor on 09/09/2008 at 2:10 PM

It must be true...

report   
Posted by (the) Trevor on 09/09/2008 at 1:56 PM

"respectable media outlets"

Haha! Funniest thing you've ever written, Packham!

report   
Posted by emawkc on 09/09/2008 at 1:16 PM

Well I heard that right after Sarah Palin converted to Musilism she balled Henry Rollins.

Twice.

In those cute little shorts he wears.

report   
Posted by (the) Trevor on 09/09/2008 at 1:12 PM

How dare you make fun of the fact that Sarah Palin is a converted Muslim!

Pentacostalists should be encouraged to leave their evil cult and convert to anything, even MLB Fandom!

Shunning them because Palin is evil will only further encourage the church to drug and abscond with more willing Republicans.

Remember � loathe(the)Trevor, not (the) evil...

report   
Posted by (the) Trevor on 09/09/2008 at 12:59 PM

How dare you make fun of the fact that Sarah Palin is a converted Muslim!

Pentacostalists should be encouraged to leave their evil cult and convert to anything, even MLB Fandom!

Shunning them because Palin is evil will only further encourage the church to drug and abscond with more willing Republicans.

Remember � loathe(the)Trevor, not (the) evil...

report   
Posted by Anonymous on 09/09/2008 at 12:58 PM

I agree that lying is bad. It can get you impeached, but not until you are actually elected. But, you guys proved that lying isn�t THAT bad and probably won�t get you actually booted. So, keep up the good work!! We need the great ratings you are providing us!

P.S. Mayhap you should have Hillary call Palin a muslim...check the link!

report   
Posted by Trevor on 09/09/2008 at 12:50 PM

Oh, and you got it wrong: Sarah Palin is not simply a Muslim:

"La illaha ill Palin, Muhammadur Rasul Palin!"

Heathen...

report   
Posted by (the) Trevor on 09/09/2008 at 12:38 PM

There is no need for Snopes, thank you very much Mr. Dainty Crew Socks!

The Bush Administration has repeatedly proved that Iraq AND Afghanistan are no singularities.

Heathen!

report   
Posted by A (Rabid) Palin Supporter on 09/09/2008 at 12:20 PM

Oh. There you are, Mr. Briefs. I kept checking earlier, and all I found were photos of nice young men playing dress-up.

Are Jitterbug phones what George Michael was singing about at the beginning of "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"? Now that I think about it, what was he singing about on the rest of that song, too?

report   
Posted by wumble on 09/09/2008 at 11:53 AM
Subscribe to this thread:
Showing 1-15 of 15

Add a comment

Author Archives

Most Popular Stories

Slideshows

All contents ©2012 Kansas City Pitch LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this service may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Kansas City Pitch LLC,
except that an individual may download and/or forward articles via email to a reasonable number of recipients for personal, non-commercial purposes.

All contents © 2012 SouthComm, Inc. 210 12th Ave S. Ste. 100, Nashville, TN 37203. (615) 244-7989.
All rights reserved. No part of this service may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of SouthComm, Inc.
except that an individual may download and/or forward articles via email to a reasonable number of recipients for personal, non-commercial purposes.
Website powered by Foundation