The Whole Delivery

From 26 years ago, it's "Freaks Come Out At Night" from Houdini, staring your Halloween weekend at TWD:

Somehow, conservatives will still advocate for more deregulation despite more disturbing evidence of why enforcing rules and laws on powerful industries is paramount to a country's sanity : Halliburton knew weeks before the fatal explosion of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico that the cement mixture they planned to use to seal the bottom of the well was unstable but still went ahead with the job, the presidential commission investigating the accident said on Thursday. In the first official finding of responsibility for the blowout, which killed 11 workers and led to the largest offshore oil spill in American history, the commission staff determined that Halliburton had conducted three laboratory tests that indicated that the cement mixture did not meet industry standards. Corporations such as these have no shame in cutting corners, if if they violate crucial safety rules. And we see the disastrous effects of not only their ill-advised choices, but also the lack of suffic...

Well, this story didn't take long to reach its final chapter. Joe Girardi will be returning to the Yankees after signing a 3 year deal with $9 million, ending any speculation of him going to manage the Chicago Cubs. Giradi's previous contract of 3 years at $7.5 million was set to expire this Sunday, so there ends any further discussion of that.

Though released earlier this week, it is very necessary to not forget the emphatic scolding of the Bank Bailout by its Special Inspector General. And this summary from the notable "Economic Populist" really burns everyone at the Treasury, especially Timothy Geithner. Hopefully though, as Geithner continues to get the hammering he deserves (with Obama his boss of course), people will never forget the architect of this Wall Street Welfare package Hank Paulson. He has continued to abscond from public condemnation so easily (just like all the other prominent figures of the Bush Administration), highlighting another element of our country's dysfunction. If you haven't had a chance to read that summary of the lengthy 338 page report , I encourage you to see an utter slapfest done in simply understandable Layman's term.

As you have clearly noticed, The Whole Delivery has long been inactive the last few weeks. The reason for this dormancy in the site is simply because of my current economic situation (job status), along with thoughts of trying to re-design this page to be more aesthetically pleasing to the readers. I thank you all, especially the handful of people, still checking on whether this site has come back to life on a daily basis. And hopefully the ball will get back to rolling again.

Photo from the AFP Always used as a beacon of beng an ideal "socialist country" by America's factually challenged right wing, France has acted in truly non-leftist ways over the last few months on two keys issues that reached contentious conclusions today. The Senate in Paris has decided to raise their pension retirement age from 60 to 62 , garnering a victory for President Nicolas Sarkozy at the backs of the proletariat. And the bleeding will likely continue, with the vote on raising the full benefits pension age from 65 to 67 next Friday. But Sarkozy's troubling wishes becoming actual law didn't stop there with the benefits, as the ban on full-facial veils, a move virtually targeted at the Muslim community in the nation, was officially ruled legal by France's highest court . The fact that France has somehow one-up America on Islamophobia sure is an extraordinary accomplishment in the most egregious of ways. So next time, when someone from the US tel...

Good : Today, the White House announced that President Obama will not sign H.R. 3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010, and will return the bill to the House of Representatives. The Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010 was designed to remove impediments to interstate commerce. While we share this goal, we believe it is necessary to have further deliberations about the intended and unintended impact of this bill on consumer protections, including those for mortgages, before this bill can be finalized. Notarizations are important for a large range of documents, including financial documents. As the President has made clear, consumer financial protections are incredibly important, and he has made this one of his top priorities, including signing into law the strongest consumer protections in history in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That is why we need to think through the intended and unintended consequences of this bill o...

In the midst of illegal foreclosures from the likes of GMAC and possibly the big banks being challenged , a bill that rushed through the House of Lords of all places is one Obama signature away from hurting homeowners : A bill that homeowners advocates warn will make it more difficult to challenge improper foreclosure attempts by big mortgage processors is awaiting President Barack Obama's signature after it quietly zoomed through the Senate last week. The bill, passed without public debate in a way that even surprised its main sponsor, Republican Representative Robert Aderholt, requires courts to accept as valid document notarizations made out of state, making it harder to challenge the authenticity of foreclosure and other legal documents. The timing raised eyebrows, coming during a rising furor over improper affidavits and other filings in foreclosure actions by large mortgage processors such as GMAC, JPMorgan and Bank of America. How convenient that while 450 other bills f...

Always one of the realest videos to go with a song. From 2002, it's Common's "Come Close" as today's wakeup call:

It will be unfathomable for some to look back and see that the question of whether Roy Halladay could pitch in the postseason was actually uttered. It really was a legitimate ask, especially considering how the proven playoff performer he replaced, Cliff Lee, just came off another impressive outing to start baseball's second season. Now that question will be eligible for all the audio laugh tracks around the country. In what is clearly the greatest debut ever for a pitcher in the postseason, Halladay produced only the 2nd no-hitter in postseason history to give the Phillies a historic 4-0 Game 1 victory over the Reds. Even more on this remarkable feat later. And to see all 27 outs , there's the link.

Cliff Lee produced the desired return to the postseason for the Texas Rangers, as the ace left hander produced seven stellar innings to go along with an impressive offensive onslaught on David Price in their 5-1 win over the Rays. The full review is here .

Photo from the AP If things couldn't get more bizarre after Marshawn Lunch was traded away from Buffalo to Seattle in a rare NFL mid season trade, think again. After trouncing the Dolphins last night, it's being reported that the Patriots are on the verge of trading Randy Moss to his first team, the Minnesota Vikings. Talk about one of the jaw droppers of all time in league history with this happening. More on this in a little while.

In the latest Beltway book that will garner some attention, Think Progress' industrial Igor Volsky certainly got a major catch today from Tom Daschle talking about his new book about how health insurance reform happened. It's a revelation that sure won't endear the Obama Administration towards the base it has already upset too many times before : I asked Daschle if the White House had taken the option off the table in July 2009 and if all future efforts to resuscitate the provision (the public option) were destined to fail: DASCHLE: I don’t think it was taken off the table completely. It was taken off the table as a result of the understanding that people had with the hospital association, with the insurance (AHIP), and others. I mean I think that part of the whole effort was based on a premise. That premise was, you had to have the stakeholders in the room and at the table. Lessons learned in past efforts is that without the stakeholders’ active support rather than a...

For those who have a Blackbery, here are a few ways to speed it up: Apparently, President Obama, Vice President Biden, the Administration that preceded them, and the ticket to the most dysfunctional campaign in modern history are secret characters in the new NBA Jam. The future of Silicon Valley is questioned in a lengthy piece from Tech Crunch .

Thanks to our sad media culture, Republicans like former Bush budget director Rob Portman continue to get away with uttering tort reform as a good idea After advocating for more tax cuts for the affluent and more deregulation, the third most absurd domestic policy request Republicans and conservatives love to make is their continued belief (or just their blatant interest for just the rich) that tort reform would be the chief problem solver for America's miserable health care system. Both Rob Portman and Linda McMahon in their respective debates for the Senate last night unsurprising went to the same sad GOP playbook again. Even more depressing, however, was the fact that no one decided to fact check them about the continued ineffectiveness of that ridiculous idea. To reiterate for another time, "tort reform" would do not a single thing except protect the powerful from their punishable mistakes . In fact, "tort reform" has always been a serious attack on the ...

Photo from MLB.com The playoffs are set, as the San Francisco Giants, behind Jonathan Sanchez and their brilliant bullpen, are National League West champions after defeating the San Diego Padres 3-0. The loss eliminates the Padres from postseason baseball and allows Bobby Cox another day to manage, as the Atlanta Braves have won the Wild Card based on the result. So the postseason in baseball is set, and more about it later at The Whole Delivery.

Photo from AP Mike Vick's injury and Donovin McNabb's successful (if not pedestrian) return were all you needed to know with the Redskins 17-12 win over the Eagles. The Texans get off to a fine 3-1 start with a 31-24 win over the Raiders in Oakland. It was blowout city in San Diego today, as the Chargers hammer the Cardinals 41-10. Josh Scobee's remarkable 59 yard kick gave the Jaguars a dramatic 31-28 win over the Colts. And the Giants knock out not only Jay Cutler, but his backup Todd Collins , in a needed victory over the Bears. Chicago's loss has now lead to the Kansas City Chiefs being the only undefeated team left in the league.

(Photo from the AP) Joe Flacco grew as a quarterback today, leading the Ravens to a satisfying 17-14 road win over the Steelers to go to 3-1 with their bitter rivals. In the other AFC North contest, the battle of Ohio, Senace Wallace and Peyton Hillis lead the Browns to their first win of the season over the Bengals 23-20. Terell Owens did have a remarkable day however, finishing with 10 catches for 220 yards. The Jets hammered the Bills 38-14 behind another rejuvenated effort from LaDanian Tomlinson. They go to 3-1 while the Bills are still winless. It was heartbreak for the 49ers today, as the Falcons pull it off with a field goal from to win 16-14. Atlanta goes to 3-1, while San Francisco still desperate for that first win. The Saints were able to pull off their latest close one at the Superdome this week, holding off a valiant Panthers team 16-14. The same could be said of the Lions being tough, but their qualify effort was not enough in the Packers getting a 28-26...

Octoberfest is in full swing in Deutschland, as the nation celebrates a full two decades after the Berlin Wall collapsed : Chancellor Angela Merkel is leading the celebrations, hosted by the northern city of Bremen, where tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out. Capitalist West and communist East Germany merged on 3 October 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Sunday is also the day Germany makes the last payment on debt stemming from reparations imposed after World War I. (More to come in this edition of The Atlas.)

After last week's defeat to Manchester City, Chelsea regain their mantle as best team in the Barclays Premier League with a 2-0 defeat of Arsenal at Stanford Bridge. It was their 5th straight defeat of the Gunners, as it highlighted Didier Drogba's 13 goal against Arsene Wenger's side. It seemed Arsenal could still grab a late equalizer to share the points, but a wonderful free kick from Alex late in the 2nd half secured Chelsea another big three points. The Blues move four points ahead in the standings, with their conquerors from last week in 2nd now with 4 points after their 2-1 win over Newcastle. The result of Week 7 in this league though was clearly Blackpool's 2-1 road victory over Liverpool. Dire times indeed for Roy Hodgson and the Anfield Nation.

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(Viewer listener and discretion is strongly advised for this one). From a decade ago, a song near and dear to my heart since its video was filmed a few blocks away from me. Nothing but pure grittiness and not for the faint of heart, here's Brooklyn's M.O.P with "Anteeeeee Up, Kidnap that Fool." This one is really only for those deep embedded fans of the rap game, even if it's all about sticking someone up:

After his comments surfaced , not a surprised this was the inevitable end result . But man was his firing shift as possible.

Hopefully this will lead to all the jokes of a Twitter and MySpace movie ending, as "The Social Network" is finally hear for everyone to see. Jesse Eisenburg acts out his fellow "Burg" to a tee in 2010's latest class movie And it is certainly is among the quintessence of 2010 films, an eye brow raising reality considering how derided the original thought of it was. The top two keys that make this "movie of the year" material are its directing and the dialogue. All of it is highlighted in its glorified opening scene, as the Silicon Valley Mercury News' Charlie McCollum notes : You are plopped down in a Boston restaurant in the fall of 2003. On one side of the table, there's Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), then a Harvard student but soon to be the co-founder of Facebook. On the other side, there's Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), a Boston University coed he's been dating. What follows is a verbal knife fight between two smart peo...

Our government continues to love murderous mercenaries who caused serious harm to our nations troops because of their pestilent actions. From Mr. Ackerman : Never mind the dead civilians. Never mind the stolen guns. Never mind the murder arrests, the fraud allegations, and the accusations of guards pumping themselves up with steroids and cocaine. Through a “joint venture,” the notorious private security firm Blackwater has won a piece of a five-year State Department contract worth up to $10 billion, Danger Room has learned. Apparently, there is no misdeed so big that it can keep guns-for-hire from working for the government. And this is despite a campaign pledge from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ban the company from federal contracts. The State Department is so silent about this so far, that they have yet to indicate this news on their website as of this post. And no one in the State Department's Press Briefing today asked about this to Assistant Secretary Philip J. ...

From 1989, your Flashback Friday choice for this week is the forgotten British group Soul II Life with "Back To Life (However Do You Want It)." And because it's the first of the month, you have to bring in Bone Thugs as well:

Bobby Bright isn't just your typical annoying Blue Dog. For this week, Bright has made himself standout as the ideal example of how to just put a "D" after your name to get elected and do almost the exact opposite of what representing that "D" is. A few days ago, Bright was one of 3 Democrats to proudly join the nutcase party to vote against providing 9/11 heroes' needed health . And in his effort to top that hideous action, Bright has released this ad touting how much of a BFF he is to Mr. Tang of all individuals . I don't think even most Republicans would have their commercial indicate how they have an "80% voting record with John Boehner." Yet, because he has that wonderful "D" right after his name, this incumbent from Alabama's 2nd district gets a continued pledge from the DCCC: This is where the whole "Big Tent Party" theory can't even save face here. Here's a classless individual who then has ...