TV

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is faced with a choice to make. His 46″ Sony HDTV has died. It was 7 years old. It was a rear-projection TV. It was really the last generation of high quality rear-projection TVs out there really. So, it looks like he’s going to have to shell out some money to buy himself a new TV. He wishes he didn’t have to, but it will be hard to go without through the holidays.

Your Maximum Leader and Villainette #2 went out to a number of fine retail establishments last night to scope out potential TVs to buy. At this point we are leaning towards a 50″ Samsung Plasma with 4 HDMI connections (we must have at least 3 to facilitate the connection of a Blu-Ray player, an X-Box and a Wii. This is the model we are looking at closely:
Samsung PN50C550 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

The reviews on Amazon and on other sites seem to be favorable, and the TV is in stock at the same price at three different retailers in the vicinity of the Villainschloss. Your Maximum Leader thinks he could likely save a little money by buying on-line, but the delivery time might be an issue…

Anyhoo…

It looks like there will be a new TV in the Villainschloss tonight…

BTW, one of the first posts your Maximum Leader wrote on this blog was about buying the TV that just died. The great irony of this is that in that earlier post, your Maximum Leader fumed and threatened the Samsung company with liquidation in the Mike World Order for making such a crappy TV. 7 years later Samsung is making great TVs and Sony is beginning to decline. Your Maximum Leader will chalk this corporate success story up to his threats of 7 years ago. If he had not threatened Samsung then, they would not be continuing to compete (and flourish) in the marketplace.

Carry on.

Precedence

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader and his family were speaking at the table the other night. Conversation turned to the marriage of Prince William (of Wales) to Catherine Middleton. Neither of your Maximum Leader’s daughters seemed to be terribly interested in marrying into royalty, but as the conversation flowed we started to discuss precedence. Namely who follows whom or is seated next to whom at important state functions. While realizing that the wedding of William & Kate is not going to be a state function, there will be lots of important personages who will have to be seated and that there must be some official order to everything.

Your Maximum Leader, who knows a little bit about protoccol, speculated that royals (or other heads of state) would be given precedence according to the age of their nation and royal line. So he speculated that the Emperor of Japan would naturally be first in terms of precedence. Emperor Akihito is the latest of a long (and to your Maximum Leader’s knowledge largely unbroken) line of succession. Your Maximum Leader further speculated that by that standard if you are mixing royals and other heads of state you would likely put the Pope second.

Well… A quick googling of this item shows just how wrong your Maximum Leader was. Assuming that Wikipedia is correct, precedence is given according to longevity as head of state. Thus the King of Thailand is first in order of precedence and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain (etc. etc.) is second. (Emperor Akihito looks to be 19th. Right behind Robert Mugabe! NB to Mrs P - is that Ghoul Pool still going? Has anyone cashed out yet?)

So, tonight at the dinner table your Maximum Leader will have to set the record straight with his family on precedence.

Carry on.

A cool graphic

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader really needs another computer. He’s found that his free computer time is severely curtailed by a wife who’s laptop is only partially functional and two children who are now writing papers and doing research on the computer for school. Your Maximum Leader finds himself jonesing for a blog hit once and a while now at odd hours at home. He would say that if he’d written some of the posts he’d thought about then you all would be in wonder of his erudition and style. Sadly it would more likely be crap…

Anyhoo…

This little video was sort of cool eye-candy for those who like to see the course of history on a map. The music isn’t all that, but it is a fun way to kill a few minutes.

Thanks Buckethead for posting this originally.

Carry on.

100 Below: A vision of a Tarantino/Kurasawa scene

The ronin grimaced and planted his sword in the ground. The Lord’s party was certain he was exhausted. The ronin had sent 10 peasant spearmen and two samurai to the void. The lieutenant of the Lord’s guard approached.

The ronin raised his open palm, then he pulled his penis from his pants and proceeded to pee.

“Look at my powerful stream!” he yelled. “It goes further than any of yours, you fucks!”

The Lord’s party was shocked.

When he was finished the ronin got his sword and waived in the lieutenant of the guard.

Fireworks tonight?

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader thinks he has some old sparkler thingies somewhere in the Villainschloss. He will break them out (along with some whisky) in order to celebrate Guy Fawkes night.

Your Maximum Leader doesn’t plan on blowing up the Capitol, but he does think the might imbibe just a bit much.

Carry on.

Terrible news x 2

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has two terrible items to share with you.

First… Your Maximum Leader’s teenage daughter sheepishly admitted yesterday that she’d deleted “The Walking Dead” off the DVR by mistake. Your Maximum Leader was all ready to watch it last night when he couldn’t find it on the DVR. Interrogations ensued and there was a confession. Lucky for him it is on again late tonight and the DVR is primed.

Second… That same teenage daughter confessed that there will be “a bunch of cute guys in high school next year.”

Your Maximum Leader is adjusting the sights on and cleaning his guns tonight. This serves the dual purpose of getting ready for the zombie apocalypse and preparing for the “cute guys” to start coming by the Villainschloss.

Carry on.

Some post election thoughts

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wanted to share some of his post election thoughts with you. If you have a particular comment upon which you might your Maximum Leader to opine, please let him know.

First off… Your Maximum Leader sees the 2010 elections as confirmation of his long-held view that no matter who gets the nomination of the major parties that person is going to get about 40% of the vote. (In a straight up 2 candidate comparison). Take for example the case of Christine O’Donnell in Delaware. It was painfully clear to anyone with an ounce of sense about them that O’Donnell was going to lose. It was only a matter of how badly she was going to lose. Your Maximum Leader figured that she’d get somewhere about 40% of the vote - and sure enough she did. In South Carolina, your Maximum Leader figured that absolute nobody Alvin Greene (who people speculated was a Republican plant in the Democratic party) would get about 40% of the vote. Well, Alvin got 28% of the vote. But there was a Green Party candidate in the state who got 9%. If there had been no Green Party candidate your Maximum Leader thinks that those 9% of SC voters would have gone to Greene. (Hummm… A case of the exception proving the rule?)

Secondly… Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure that anyone in the White House fully understands what happened on Election Day. Then again, it could be a case of the political atmosphere being so charged and polarized that neither side is capable of understanding any view that doesn’t fit their pre-existing views. After listening to the President yesterday your Maximum Leader thought that he (the President) didn’t get it. It wasn’t that he didn’t move with enough speed or scope to address the problems of the nation; it was that his view of what the problems were were different than the majority of the voters out there. Your Maximum Leader firmly believes that the President did not make a case for health care reform being a major economic issue that had to be tackled right away. Indeed, your Maximum Leader doesn’t think that there is a case to be made for health care reform being an economic issue that had to be taken care of right away. Yes, it is a problem that needs attention. But the case wasn’t made. The fact that health care was pushed through Congress to the President in a way that most Americans find distasteful doesn’t help the case. Most Americans are okay with (even bad) laws that are sweeping in their scope but are passed in an open atmosphere of debate and consideration. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t see how health care was passed in such a fashion. Some say (including your Maximum Leader’s good buddy the Smallholder) that if the President had passed a larger stimulus he would be viewed as more successful and done better at addressing the economic situation facing the nation. Your Maximum Leader calls the “we needed a larger stimulus” argument the “Paul Krugman” argument - since Krugman has been making it for months. Your Maximum Leader disagrees. The two stimulus bills (Bush’s and Obama’s) along with the bank bailout and TARP were absolutely required to stablize the economy while it was in meltdown. But the problem now (as your Maixmum Leader sees it) is not that the economy is going to collapse, it is that the economy is stuck. We are at a stage where the government cannot buy our way out of the economic problem. Banks have money. Corporations have money. There is plenty of capital in the system. It is just that no one is moving capital. They aren’t moving capital because of uncertainty. Consumers don’t know what the value of their homes will be. Consumers don’t know if they’ll have jobs in the future. Consumers don’t know what their jobs (if they have them) will pay. Taxpayers don’t know what their tax situation will be next year (will tax cuts be extended? will they expire?) There is fear and uncertainty. Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure what exactly can be done to restore confidence. But he knows that neither the President, nor Congressional Democrats (up to this point and on to January) have seemed to have a plan. So this gets back to the starting point of this paragraph that the President doesn’t get it. He doesn’t seem to have a clearly articulated plan, and thus voters are happy to give some power to Republicans in the hopes of stimulating the political system to get a plan.

Thirdly, your Maximum Leader wonders how the President will actually react to having his power in Washington magnified. Yes, your Maximum Leader said it. His power is (potentially) magnified. 435 members of the House of Representatives are not going to suddenly coalesce around John Boehner and speak with one voice. The US Senate hasn’t spoken with one voice in decades. The only possible national leader is President Obama. He faces a choice. He can lead, or he can inject himself into goings-on in Congress and hope for the best. Up to this point your Maximum Leader would contend that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have exercised more power in Washington than has the President. That has changed. With a diminished majority in the Senate, Reid is going to have a harder time moving anything through that body. With Republicans in control of the House we should expect to see a bunch of mostly symbolic bills moved out (to die in the Senate or get vetoed by the President). If President Obama is going to change anything in Washington he’s got to pick issues carefully, build consensus and actually lead. Bill Clinton did this after losing the House in 1994. Bill Clinton became a successful president because of the Republican House. Now honestly your Maximum Leader doesn’t believe that Barack Obama is as politically astute as Bill Clinton. He further thinks that Obama’s team is more tin-eared and arrogant than the President. Also, Obama’s coalition does not desire to compromise with Republicans. Those are a bunch of strikes against Obama turning things around. That said, the President has the tools at his disposal if he knows how to use them.

Fourthly, the biggest non-reported upon story of the election was the pick up of so many Governorships (and state legislators) by Republicans. With Congressional redistricting happening next year, this is a big deal. In many ways this item can do more to help Republicans hold power in Congress for 10 years or so. Drawing Congressional districts is an immense power. One that has a profound affect on how Washington works. That is the story that should get some air time.

Fifth (and last for now), your Maximum Leader was pleased to see Dana Milbank muse yesterday on the press being irresponsible in reporting as much as it did on Christine O’Donnell. Your Maximum Leader was going crazy every time he watched a news report about how control of the Senate hung in the balance last Tuesday, and every story contained some reference to O’Donnell in Delaware. Your Maximum Leader wishes he could do a Lexus search of national news items and see how many references the O’Donnell race got compared to Carly Fiorina in California. Your Maximum Leader recognizes that O’Donnell being cute and insane makes for better copy than most other races; but still shouldn’t their be a little perpective here? By talking up one race that wasn’t close they didn’t talk about other races that were. Okay, many could say that Fiorina didn’t have a chance given California’s political makeup. If you don’t like that example substitute the Pennsylvania Senate race. One that actually was very close and meaningful but got almost no press compared to little Delaware. It is sad to see such irresponsible reporting on the part of most national news outlets.

Were there other election results on which you’d like your Maximum Leader to opine? Got a beef with his views? Comment away.

Carry on.

Down the ballot items VA edition - Pt 2 (and an error)

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader knows that you all are anxiously waiting to know how the three Constitutional amendment proposals in Virginia fared on Election Day. You will recall that your Maximum Leader opined on these three items a little while ago in this post.

Well, all three items passed. You can see the unofficial results here. Your Maximum Leader wasn’t surprised by this outcome. He can’t imagine that many people over the age of 65 who imagined that they might benefit in some way from the first item (concerning allowing localities to set guidelines for people over age 65 to get property tax exemptions) would vote against the item. It passed with 76% of the vote.

Your Maximum Leader was a little surprised that the question on the “rainy day fund” was rather close. It passed with 51% of the vote. Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure what message to take away from that one. People like having a rainy day fund, but they prefer a small one to a big one? That seems to be the only message to take away.

Anyhoo….

What is up with you people? Really. What is up?

You don’t know of what your Maximum Leader is blogging do you?

No idea…

Well let him tell you…

Not one of you picked up the unforgivable historical error your Maximum Leader made in his earlier “Down the ballot items VA edition” post. Your Maximum Leader realized he’d made a mistake the day after he posted the piece. He thought of correcting it right away, but then decided to leave it to see if any one of a few readers would mention it. Not a peep.

Come on people… The Virginia Declaration of Rights wasn’t written by Thomas Jefferson! It was written by George Mason! Admittedly it is an easy mistake to make. In Virginia history if you need to know who did something your safe battery of answers are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Madison, Robert E. Lee and “the Union Army.” George Mason should be in that short list, but he is often left off. Your Maximum Leader apologizes for his error and will now make the correction.

Carry on.

I voted.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader voted this morning. He voted for to re-elect his Congressman (Rob Wittman - R VA-01). He also voted on the Constitutional issues he discussed earlier.

He will take Mrs Villain to the polls a little later today and make sure she votes.

Get out there and vote (assuming of course you are eligible to vote… or dead in Chicago…)

Carry on.

Rabbit & being careful what you wish for

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader calls out to you all “Rabbit.”

Got that out of the way.

Your Maximum Leader had a shower thought that he figured he’d throw out there. Like so many pundits and commentators, your Maximum Leader believes that the Republicans will take over the House of Representatives (your Maximum Leader will predict +53 seats for the Republicans) in the elections tomorrow. Your Maximum Leader further predicts that the Republicans will pick up a number of Senate seats (probably between 6 and 8).

If the Republicans make these gains, they will have a majority in one house of Congress and a stronger minority in the other.

Of course what this means is that Republicans have skin the game of politics in Washington and will actually have to try and deliver something.

What happened last time this type of transformation occured in Washington DC in a mid-term election? Bill Clinton became a highly effective (and largely successful) two term president.

Now, your Maximum Leader recognizes that the analogy isn’t perfect. Bill Clinton was (and is frankly) a pretty pragmatic guy. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t believe Barack Obama is a pragmatic guy. Clinton had become “Washington savvy” after wasting the first two years of his first term. President Obama has not demonstrated that he’s learned anything from his first two years. And by being not as pragmatic as Bill Clinton, he might not be inclinded to learn now.

In your Maximum Leader’s opinion, Congressional Republicans “saved” Bill Clinton’s presidency by allowing him to switch into a pragmatic mode of campaign-governing. (Which is to say that he governed like he was running a political campaign - which he was actually.) Your Maximum Leader wonders if on Wednesday, November 3rd Barack Obama will be able (and insightful enough) to do the same.

Carry on.

    About Naked Villainy

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