The Shins (opening for Sebastian and Belle), Blink 182 (after they reunited), The Killers (three times), and Smashing Pumpkins.

Prior to that my only concert was when I was about 20 when I saw Michael Bolton after winning tickets on the radio. Nosebleed seats plus Michael Bolton; you can imagine how great that concert was.

What kind of low rent operation is this? First they don't spin the barrel and then when "Jay" reaches in to draw he could've easily been palming the winning ticket.

I don't think that it is quite as cut and dry as Maddow makes it seem here. The republicans may have been against the stimulus, but then it happened. All those tax dollars that they didn't want to see get spent DID, or at least they got earmarked for the purpose of the stimulus.

At that point, as a legislator, I suppose that one could say "NO! That is dirty money, and my state will have none of it!" But, that wouldn't really serve a practical purpose, and it would be political suicide.


Lets say you pool together with 9 friends to buy lottery tickets. Some of the group want any winnings to be split evenly 10 ways. Some want the individual holder of the ticket to get 50% of the winnings, and to split the other half among the remaining 9 members of the group. There is some debate about which method to agree to, and you decide that you like the second system where you would get 50% of the money if your ticket wins or 4.5% if another member's ticket wins. However, you are in the minority -- 6 people in the group prefer an even divide. Rather than scrapping the whole idea, your faction bows to the majority and goes along with the even divide plan.

The lottery rolls around, and one of your 9 friends has a winning ticket. You step up and ask for your 10% of the winnings, but your friend calls you a dirty, cheating hypocrite because before, you said that you would prefer the method whereby you would only be walking away with 4.5% of the winnings. Would you roll over, say "my bad", and take the lower amount even though you eventually agreed to the even divide plan? I doubt it.


I think that some of the specific examples that Maddow cites here actually are rather hypocritical stances taken by these republicans. But it is not hypocritical at ALL for a legislator who disagreed with the idea of the stimulus to ask for and demonstrate how stimulus funds can be used in their state. Their constituents paid the taxes that created the funds, just like the taxpayers in blue states. Trying to make the best out of a program, plan, or situation that you find to be flawed doesn't make you a hypocrite, it makes you practical.

I should note that I'm not personally particularly strongly pro or anti-stimulus, or pro or anti republican or democrat. I think the republicans have been making a lot of bone-headed moves recently that are extremely worthy of criticism, but this instance of "republican hypocrisy" is by no means anywhere near the forefront.

Does anyone remember the contest in the 80's where McDonalds mailed out many "vinyl" recordings of people trying to get this song right? Most failed, but there were a few that actually finished the song and those were the winning "ticket" to the contest?

(I put vinyl in parens because it was thin plastic, but you still played it on a record player)

genius marketing.

or am I crazy and dreamed the whole thing up?

Just for fun, I read the crawl this time.
I wonder if the juxtaposition of text with the interview is ever planned or if its mostly just random news bites...



(...)PHARMACIST WHO SHOT A WOULD-BE ROBBER ON MAY 19... 57-YR-OLD JEROME ERSLAND SHOT 16-YR-OLD ANTWUN PARKER ONCE IN THE HEAD INSIDE HIS STORE, THEN CHASED A SECOND ROBBER OUT THE DOOR... PROSECUTORS SAY ERSLAND WAS NO LONGER DEFENDING HIMSELF WHEN HE RETURNED AND SHOT PARKER FIVE MORE TIMES AFTER HE WAS ALREADY UNCONSCIOUS

NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS APPROVE BILL CHANGING STATE'S METHOD OF EXECUTION FROM ELECTROCUTION TO LETHAL INJECTION... NE HAS BEEN WITHOUT A MEANS OF EXECUTION SINCE FEB 2008 WHEN THE STATE SUPREMEME COURT RULED THAT THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AMOUNTED TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT... NE WAS THE ONLY STATE WITH ELECTROCUTION AS ITS SOLE MEANS OF EXECUTION

THREE SONS OF AN AL QUAEDA-LINKED CLERIC JAILED IN LONDON FOR RUNNING A CAR THEFT RING... THE MEN, ALL IN THEIR 20S, WERE SENTENCED ALONG WITH FOUR OTHERS TO PRISON TERMS RANGING FROM 2-4 YEARS. THE SCHEME INVOLVED STEALING LUXURY CARS FROM LONG-STAY PARKING LOTS, THOUGH THE MEN DENY FINANCING TERRORISM THROUGH THE SALES OF THE VEHICLES... THE MEN'S FATHER, 50-YR-OLD CLERIC ABU HAMZA, IS IN JAIL IN LONDON AND FACES EXTRADITION TO THE U.S. FOR ALLEGEDLY TRYING TO SET UP A TERROR TRAINING CAMP IN O

EXPLOSION IN A SHIITE MOSQUE KILLS 15, INJURES 50 IN SE IRAN NEAR THE PAKISTANI BORDER... IRAN'S SISTAN-BALUCHISTAN PROVINCE IS PLAGUED BY LAWLESSNESS AND IS A KEY ENTRY POINT FOR DRUGS... A SUNNI TERROR ORG CALLED JUNDALLAH IS ACTIVE IN THE PROVINCE, KILLING 11 SOLDIERS IN 2007 IN THE CITY WHERE TODAY'S BOMBING OCCURRED

AMERICAN JOURNALIST ROXANA SABERI, WHO SPENT FOUR MONTHS IN AN IRANIAN PRISON ON ESPIONAGE CHARGES, SAYS SHE INITIALLY CONFESSED TO BEING A SPY AFTER COMING UNDER PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURE... SABERI: "MY CONFESSION WAS FALSE AND I THOUGHT I TO (...)

(...)TO KEEP PRODUCTION QUOTAS AT PRESENT LEVELS, SAYING WORLDWIDE OIL INVENTORIES AT THE END OF LAST MONTH WERE AT 20-YR-HIGH... PRODUCTION CUTS COULD HAVE BACKFIRED ON OPEC BY BOOSTING PRICES AND MAKING IR MORE DIFFICULT FOR COUNTRIES TO PAY FRO CRUDE... PRICE OF A BARREL OF CRUDE IS CURRENTLY OVER $60, UP FROM APPROX #30 FOUR MONTHS AGO, BUT STILL FAR FROM 2008 HIGH OF $147

WHAT'S IN A NAME?... WINNING TICKET IN WED NIGHT'S $232 MIL POWERBALL JACKPOT WAS SOLD IN WINNER, SD... IT'S THE NINETH-LARGEST POWERBALL JACKPOT AND THE BIGGEST EVEN IN THE STATE. WINNER IS LOCATED IN SOUTH-CENTRAL SD AND HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 2,800

A TAX ON EVERYTHING?... THE PROSPECT OF A VALUE ADDED TAX (V.A.T) COULD BE GAINING TRACTION AS THE GOVT LOOKS FOR WAYS TO PAY FOR THE STIMULUS, BAILOUTS AND POSSIBLE HEALTH CARE REFORM... THE V.A.T AMOUNTS TO A NATL SALES TAX, AN IDEA THAT'S BEEN SUPPORTED BY SOME CONSERVATIVES, BUT ONLY AS A REPLACEMENT FOR THE INCOME TAX SYSTEM... HOWEVER A SR WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL TOLD THE WASH POST IT'S "UNLIKELY" THE V.A.T. WOULD BE USED AS A NEW SOURCE OF REVENUE

downvoting comments is fun.

Obama/McCain '08! Now thats a winning ticket!

I entered about 4 contests to win tickets to this... But no luck!