We've Moved

A funny thing happened when I went to resurrect this blog today...Rev John said that it would be better to move my entire blogger site to wordpress.com. So after I purchased my domain name (www.markradulich.com) from Godaddy.com and (with the glorious help of Rev John) imported this site to there, I can officially announce that no sooner do I resume blogging on on blogger, you can now find my rantings and ravings on MarkRadulich.com.

REV JOHN: On Journey and Huckabee...

You know my thing aboot Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," right? This morning I was at Mike Huckabee's MySpace page, and noticed they had "Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship playing. So I posted the following comment:

"Gov. Huckabee, I'd love to vote for you, but you have got to do something about that Starship song. I don't think I can support a candidate who wants to make anything associated with the movie "Mannequin" part of his campaign.

Have you considered Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'?"

By lunchtime, they had the song playing when you visited the page, as well as the following blog post:

Now your's chance to suggest a song (or some songs) to be used here on Mike's official MySpace page. Right now, we have up "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Post your comments here as to what you think would be a good tune that would represent the Official Huckabee for President MySpace Page!

There's even an article on Townhall.com called "Don't Stop Believin' in Journey."

America - it's just a small town girl living in a lonely world.

TODAY on PCLIVE!

CLiCK HeRe To LiSTeN!!!

Mark is dreaming of a world where parents took care of their children, Iran was wiped off the map, and his family would leave him alone. Rev. John is dreaming aboot Jessica Alba. WAKE UP!!! It's time for the hottest show on the internet since (wait for it) 2006....PCLIVE!

And unless our mothers make us go to brunch with the family for Father's Day, here's what we're going to break off for ya...

Conservatism: Like the Message, Hate the Messengers

The 3rd Party: Bloomberg, Hagel, Gore, et al.

Plus, the specialist BUCGAW Report of all time! It's all THIS MORNING at 10:00 AM EST! If you'd like to join us (and if you don't, you hate poultry) all the info can be found at Blog Talk Radio.


Find out what grinded Mark's gears this week:
http://blog.myspace.com/punkrockconservative

And hey look, Rev. John has a blog too:
http://blog.myspace.com/brodigan2016

REV. JOHN: Random Thoughts for 6/15

This Sunday on PCLIVE! we'll be looking at "Conservatism: Like the Message, Hate the Messengers" and "The 3rd Party: Bloomberg, Hagel, Gore, et al." If you're free Sunday morning, stop by and say hello.


It's funny, but if the media keeps hammering Mike Huckabee over evolution and keeps trying to create an issue where there isn't an issue, it'll probably actually help him gain traction with primary voters and raise money.


I wasn't much of a fan, but the last episode of The Sopranos was brilliant. More importantly, did you hear the song at the end? FUCKING JOURNEY, MAN!!! You know you heard that song and though of your friendly neighborhood eReverend. What do I keep telling you? America isn't aboot "democracy" or "freedom." It's all aboot Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Even Tony Soprano gets it.


Fantastic Four 2 is this weekend. I'm going into the movie with cautious optimism. The second movie is usually the best one - Spiderman 2 was my favourite, and X-Men 2 I thought was flawless. Unfortunately there's still trepidation, because lately going to see the comic book movies is kind of like being in an abusive relationship. You know it's going to hurt, and deep down you know better, but you keep going back anyway.


When you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair talking to some rich folk that you know, I hope you won't see me in my ragged company because you know I could never be alone. Take me down little Susie, take me down. I know you think you're the queen of the underground. And you can send me dead flowers every morning, send me dead flowers by the mail, send me dead flowers to my wedding and I won't forget to put roses on your grave.


I wonder if people realize that when people ban Fox News from their movie premiere, or boycott their debate (after sticking your finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing), they only make Fox News stronger.


One of my associates had thought that that former Senator Bill Frist was going to get the Republican nomination in 2008, and it's beginning to look like he's right. The only difference is the role played by Bill Frist, formally played by Bill Frist, will now being played by former Senator Fred Thompson. Where Democrats fall in love with whoever tells them what they want to hear (Buck Fush), Republicans are apparently looking for the Manchurian Candidate. Before it was Frist, it was former Senator George Allen.


I've made all the Presidential candidates my friends on MySpace. I figure that, at least for the candidates who are fully utilizing it, I'd be able to keep up with what t hey have to say, where they're saying it, etc. And when there are 800 people running for President and national security is so important, I find it funny that someone hacked into Duncan Hunters MySpace page. I suppose there's a chance that he really has fifty free ringtones to offer me, but I doubt it.


Angelina Jolie is an idiot.

REV JOHN: Random Thoughts for 6/1

So I'm reading "The Reagan Diaries," and the most interesting thing so far is his relationship with Tip O'Neil, who for those of you playing the home game was the former Speaker of the House and one of them Massachusetts Democrats the GOP love oh so much. They were political rivals and they had to play there role when the cameras were on. But when the cameras were off, you got a feel for the respect and admiration they would have for each other. I'm only up to July of 1981, and there's already been seven of eight entries aboot how "Tip" was over for dinner, or how they'd be hammering out a deal/compromise on whatever the issue of the day was. That's fascinating when you compare it to today's political landscape. I just can't picture George Bush chatting away with Nancy Pelosi on the phone, or Bill Clinton having Newt over to the Oval for a few drinks.

Rule #87: As long as you aren't looking at jail time, they aren't too young for you.

Apparently the GOP is turning the primaries into the Final Four. You have Fred Thompson vs. Mitt Romney in the "Real" Conservative bracket, and John McCain vs. Rudy Gulianni in the Moderate bracket. Thompson beats Romney (who probably flip flops back to being pro-abortion and pro gay marriage and tries to run as a Democrat). McCain probably squeeks by Rudy in overtime. Then in the finals, people realize that McCain and Thompson are the same person, except that Thompson changed his Immigration position when he decided to run for President. Plus he's the one with the southern accent, so he probably wins.

She's gone. I admit I was wrong, but I can't quit thinking about how good our love used to be. And the whiskey numbs the pain. In the morning, when I wake, I'll be hungover hanging on to a memory. So I'll order one more round. Lose the Coke and keep the Crown. Just drown my misery. And I blind myself with liquor and neon lights, alone and stoned out of my mind. If you think I'm flying high as a kite, you damn right.

Did you know that apple fritters from Starbucks have 0g of transfats per serving? That makes them mad healthy.

There should be an amendment to the Immigration Bill that says anyone who opposes any kind of reform needs to disclose who does their gardening.

You know what makes America totally rule school? It's the fact that no matter what we celebrate - the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters, telling England to go fuck themselves, the parents are out of town, etc. - we do it with beer and BBQ. That's what America is all aboot. It's not gay stuff like "democracy." It's all aboot the Bubba Burgers, the Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." That's what America means to me. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Politics, Pop Culture, and Pugilism...

Welcome to your weekly dose of Politics, Pop Culture, and Pugilism. If you want the poultry, you have to wait TWO weeks. We're taking next week off so that Mark can celebrate his birthday and Rev. John....well, he'll probably just be passed out in the yard somewhere.

That doesn't mean we're not preparing for future shows, and this is where you come in. We've been tossing around a few topics, and wanted to know your thoughts on any of them.

Decleration of Independents: A Thrid Party?

Fred Thompson: Shit or Get off the Pot

What's Left for the Bush Administration to drop the ball on?

Hillary Clinton's entrence music...we've got ideas...

What's left to do when your enemies keep coming at you and you don't want to kill them?

We welcome the feedback. Now here are a few links...

POLITICS
Obama's HillaryCare
Russia Says New ICBM Can Beat Any System
Bush Takes On Opponents of Immigration Deal
U.S. Rejects EU-Asia Emissions Reduction
GINGRICH ASSAILS BUSH, ROVE FOR REPUBLICAN 'COLLAPSE'...
McCain to Rivals: Where's Your Immigration Plan?
Fred Thompson will run, advisers say
Thompson on the Run



POP CULTURE
Viewers Demand Imus
NJ starting agency to battle obesity...
Wendy's Manager Shot Over Chili Sauce
Laptops are crippling millions with back problems
Writer-Director (and Geek God) Judd Apatow Invites You Into His Mind
Country Music Hall of Fame Spotlights Big & Rich
'Donkey Kong' Record Holder Says New Flick Settles His Score


PUGILISM
FIGHTER SALARY BREAKDOWN FOR UFC 71
DANA WHITE: "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM ALL"
As UFC rises, is boxing down for the count?
UFC 71 gives us yet another surprise
WEC to make televised debut on Versus this weekend
UFC Explodes in Popularity

RADULICH: Fact or Fiction

Every week 411Mania offers a debate column called Fact or Fiction which features a statement that the writers respond to. In said writer's opinion, the statemen is either a fact or it is fiction and then they explain why. Occasionally I contribute to the debate. Here is my latest contribution)

1) The media is biased. Outlets are more concerned with picking and presenting news Their Way as opposed to being objective and impersonal.

Fact - and I'm not going to bother with liberal or conservative slants because that's pointless. It's more about the news being owned by corporations. Corporations have one goal, make money for their investors. The news makes money by being content in which to install expensive commercials. Period. Whether it's CNN or FOX, O'Reilly or Olberman, it doesn't matter so long as people are turning in long enough to be convinced to buy the car, drugs or whatever is being advertised. It's the same thing with print media and radio. These outlets may have a political slant but that's secondary to the belief that whatever content they've chosen is a money maker so that's what gets produced. It's liberal or conservative slant is more a of a reflection of the content producer himself and less of media bias as a whole. As long as the show makes money, that's all the bosses care about. As far as being objective and impersonal, years ago somebody figured out that to get Americans to turn into the news en masse, you had to put on shows that were attractive to mass audiences and not confusing or complex, thus car chases overtook intellectual presentations and analysis. This actually started with the vision of bodies being brought back from Vietnam but that's a story for another day.

2) There is a culture war in this country (note: this term was used before Bill O'Reilly made it recently popular, so don't say Fiction just cause you hate him).

Fact - of course there's a culture war. It's a war between those who don't want to be judged for any behavior and for those that believe restrictions on behavior is a good thing. People like to lay this conflict at the feet of solely the secular progressives because typically they are the ones who are for lowering standards of behavior and making arguments for normalization of all behavior, deviant or otherwise but the far right is just as bad. The far right doesn't want to be judged for its radical behavior either. The culture war goes beyond progressive vs conservative and is really a battle between the selfless and mature vs the selfish and immature. Selfish people care only about themselves to the exclusion of all else and they can be either liberal or conservative. Selfish people are the ones lowering the debate to the benefit of themselves without thinking about the consequences for others. Selfish people do all of this without wanting to be confronted because rationally they have no leg to stand on. That's the culture war in a nut shell and it's been going on since the necessity of having to tolerate your neighbor or family member was replaced by the well-meaning but utterly disastrous notion that the government is responsible for caring for individuals.

3) It really doesn't matter who we vote for, or if we vote at all. Politicans are pretty much all the same.

Fiction - some are smarter and more thoughtful than others. Some are dutiful while others simply seek a kingdom to call their own. Some politicians are guided by their personal ethics while others only act in defense of their own elite position. The system balances things out making some politicians less or more effective than others but ultimately if you don't see the difference between Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi and how they affect Washington differently then you are not really paying attention. Now, do all of these have personal foibles? Of course they do as they are human afterall. But that doesn't mean that all politicians are the same just because they are all fallible. Those are two different issues.

4) Having more than just 2 dominant political parties to choose from is one primary solution to our nation's plights.

Fact - If the Europeans do anything right, it's their electoral process. I like having lots of candidates to choose from with more than one decisive election to determine who should be the main leader. I think the run-off elections are a capital idea. I think people like Ralph Nader and Ron Paul should be viable options for American voters rather than having to choose between two lite brands or safe choices (John Kerry I'm looking in your direction). If the CT election of 2006 is any indication, Joe Lieberman shows us that in today's political culture, there is room for independants in the electoral process. Nowing, establing a viable third party than adequately threaten the big two will be a feat considering both are loathe to give up their dominance.