Stickybuffalo.com

move over, kevin bacon:

The latest right-wing game is to pin controversial figures, who might have said or done anything objectionable at any point in their lifetimes, to Barack Obama. Then make him apologize for them. Then make him denounce and reject them. And then say he hasn’t done enough to “distance” himself from them…
So, let’s play the six degrees of Barack Obama game and see who else he should denounce and reject… I invite all of you to play along. See how many degrees it takes you to get to Obama and how enthusiastically and vociferously he has to denounce you.

as if it wasn’t bad enough that he’s only two degrees away from cenk uygur, there’s more bad news news for obama: since i shook his hand at a campaign stop last year, he is now also directly responsible for every outrageous, unpatriotic, foolish thing i’ve ever said or written. if chris wallace ever finds about about this site, obama is well and truly fucked.

in fact, there’s a good chance that just by reading this post, you too have been tainted, and any political ambitions you may have harbored are henceforth invalidated. sorry! if you feel the need to distance yourself, i’ll understand.

This morning’s news out of the UK

“Government should invest 10% of its transport budget on cycling and walking initiatives, according to a coalition of health, transport and leisure groups.

The 70 organisations are calling on all UK governments and local authorities to help fight obesity by “taking action on active travel”. The groups launched a campaign yesterday for more cycle routes, better enforced traffic laws and 20mph speed limits to be enforced in residential areas.”

got me thinking about a few bikes I saw yesterday, the xtracycle

and Surly’s Big Dummy frameset. One feature of the S.U.B. is reconfigurability. For example, an off-the-grid smoothie making tool called the “Fender Blender”

also available in floor model:

as i’ve said before, i think barack obama has done a fine job of articulating the reasons behind many black americans’ receptiveness to remarks like the now-infamous ones by rev. wright. but here’s a much more succinct explanation:

Three detectives were found not guilty Friday on all charges in the shooting death of Sean Bell, who died in a hail of 50 police bullets outside a club in Jamaica, Queens, in November 2006.
…
“The people have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt” that each defendant was not justified in shooting, the judge said, quickly adding that the men were not guilty of all of the eight counts, five felonies and three misdemeanors against them.

…and yet, every time i turn on the TV i see white faces wearing puzzled expressions, voicing shock and disbelief at the idea that a jeremiah wright or an al sharpton could feel the way he feels and say the things he says. is it really that hard to grasp? honestly, is it just too much intellectual effort to disagree with the “god damn america” sentiment and still admit some inkling of where it comes from? this isn’t rocket science, white people.

with justice like this, what’s remarkable is that black folks in this country are not walking around in a constant state of outrage and despair.