'nuff said!

Could anything be more serious?

Over the years, this blog has touched on many different topics. We’ve examined politics, religion, science, humor, tragedy, sarcasm, even stupidity. Believe it or not there are still a few we haven’t discussed. Like things we all do but take for granted such as sexual, religious, puritanical, ethnic, racist or personal reasons and why we choose to ignore them because they can make us blind or get us hurt or killed.

I’d like to get serious for a moment about a topic that involves all of us. The sooner we put this behind us, the sooner we can move on. This may be THE topic of the 2012 primaries, the Congressional Elections and even, yes, the Presidency! Nothing can be more important than this subject.

Yes. I’m talking about toilet paper…and how business has used greed to short change us.

There are a number of types of toilet paper, from ultra, downy soft (that won’t hold up to almost any kind of finger pressure but for some reason business thinks bears use it) to the brown paper towel-like roughage you find in Europe, Asia and most truck stops.

Back in the late 90s, Scott Tissue led the way in screwing the public by reducing their costs at the expense of the size of the sheets and increasing the price of the tissue. You may not know this but toilet paper sheets used to be a full 5 inches long by 4.5 inches wide! Those sheets were also around 5 thousandths of an inch thick. This provided a “comfort zone” for those who use the one of two procedures known as “fold and wipe.”

Normally, 4 sheets were removed from the roll, folded in half then in half again resulting in a nice piece 5 inches wide by 4.5 inches long and very comfortably and safely thick. If things weren’t especially oozily, liquidishly or gelatinously messy you could get by using just the four-fold sheets. Even if things were more like trying to clean up a tube of spilled toothpaste, one or two additional “folded sheet” combos were all that were required.

Scott Tissue bragged their rolls had a thousand sheets. This was great for it meant less trips to the store to purchase that necessity of life. If you used only 4 or 8 sheets of the "fold and wipe" procedure at a “sitting”, that one roll could last a family of 4 for nearly 2 weeks freeing up money for more frivolous desires.

The other type of “user” is the “baller.” They are typically Republicans who don’t care about money or the environment. Ballers roll off an exorbitant amount of toilet paper by winding it, seemingly, forever around their hand under the notion that unless 10 or 20 feet is used, some of the effluent could reach their pristine hand thus necessitating extra time at the sink to clean said hand (IF many actually use the sink or know how to!).

Ballers also don’t seem to give a shit (no pun intended) for saving trees as is evidenced by their “who cares” attitude while using as much tissue as possible otherwise they’d change to the “folded sheet” method. After all, they reason if their God didn’t want them to waste tissue on waste, he wouldn’t have given them and loggers dominion over the trees.

But here’s the gist of this article. Scott Tissue and now all the others have been reducing the size and thickness of toilet paper these last few years. You’d be hard pressed to find any sheets larger than 4.5 inches wide by the now tiny 3.75 inches long! And the thickness has steadily decreased from 5 thousands of an inch to a see-though 2.5 thousandths of an inch!

An original roll of Scott Tissue (on E-Bay they probably go for thousands of dollars per) was 416 feet long. Today that same roll of 90s tissue is only 312 feet long or 25% less. Since the thickness has deceased by half, to make it look as though you’re still getting “SOME” kind of product, instead of something the size of a roll of quarters, they have slyly increased the diameter of the cardboard tube the tissue is rolled on so it looks the same size as before.

The total volume of tissue used to be around 125 cubic inches. Today that roll provides 43 cubic inches or about a 250% decrease in volume at a 300% increase in price and profit! You can guess what that reduction does to the absorbency of their product...not that they really give a shit!

With this reduction in product though, these anti-turd peddlers are taking advantage of the public and have increased the wipe price from 59 cents a roll to $1.49 each! Now I’m all for making a decent profit by business but this is one item that is not up for negotiation! To say these tissue companies have us by the ass would be, well, correct.

When man was first starting out, back 6000 years ago according to Palinites, toilet paper was unheard of. The Sarahs of the day used smooth stones, twigs, leaves, fingers or sometimes nothing to take the place of toilet paper. E. Coli flourished. They then invented soap. We’ve come a long way since the first Sarah used the skin of a rabbit (insert joke about bears and a rabbit in the woods), Sabre Tooth, Mastodon or baby Raptor for her hygiene. But the greed of today’s business to take advantage of an absolute necessity is appalling.

At the current rate of decrease in size of this valuable commode-ity, it won’t be long before a simple finger spray-on will be developed, probably from some fossil fuel that will allow the Tissue Business to further increase their greedy profits. Then Wall Street speculators can get in on the greed.

Oh, some have suggested ways to “green up” the issue from allowing Monsanto to produce GMO foods that just turn to gas (with no solids to expel) to solar wipes (you use your fingers, let them dry in the sun then chip the solids off your fingers and from under your nails!)

I urge you to write your Representative and complain today. Ultra thin toilet tissue might just account for the odor emanating from Washington. This could become a very sticky subject for future generations because the mess won’t get any better. Tell them to make thick toilet paper a right for everyone. This is no subject to take sitting down. I’ve been behind this issue for years and have considered telling Scott Tissue and others what they could do with their product…but they already do that!

Next time, we’ll discuss reducing flatulence in humans to lessen pollution in the air.

When will the Republicans appoint an Inquisitor?

The stupid that is Sarah Palin is spreading throughout the Republican/Tea Bigot Parties.
I'm afraid I have to take issue with a comment Saborlas made concerning Palin as a virus. This may be a new strain of stupid to be impacted on the political scene circa 2008, and it comes from Wasilla. I always thought extreme cold kept pathogens to a minimum. If it's too cold for their widdle feetses to move around, you don't catch what they try to infect you with.
But this may be even stupider than anything Palin has ever said, if for no other reason than it's taught in 3rd grade which may be a grade higher than Dana Rohrabacher who uttered it, completed.

I can't do this justice with sarcasm, sardonic wit or even utter profanity. You just have to read it yourself and marvel at the lack of intellect this man exhibits.
I used to think they simply opened their mouths and said whatever came into their heads. Now I really, truly understand there is absolutely nothing between Republican/Tea Bigot ears. No rock, no jelly, no wood not even vacuum (the scientists are still flumoxed on that one).

Here it is. Read at your own risk. Keep away from sharp objects; send the kids to their rooms; grab all the Valium you can handle; get a 5 gallon bucket beside the computer.

Republican minds: where thinking goes to die.

Cut down the Rain forests to stop Carbon Emissions!

It's Time To Take Away Grandpa's Car Keys

by blondesense liz

I thought he must be delusional in '08 when he believed he could be president with Sarah Palin as VP, but now Senator John McCain has fallen out of his rocker by suggesting that Palin could beat Obama in '12. (Either that or he hates his country.)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested on Sunday morning that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin could defeat President Barack Obama should she run as the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.

"Of course she can," said the Arizona senator of Palin's chances in the hypothetical match-up on "Fox News Sunday." He added, however, that he doesn't know whether his 2008 running mate will ultimately decide to make a run for the White House.

The remarks from McCain come the same day that Palin is kicking off a bus tour of the eastern United States. The move, along with news of a documentary premiering next month on the rise of the big name Republican and her tenure as governor have stirred speculation that Palin could jump into the GOP primary race.

Read more to find out about Palin's big eastern tour of the US from DC northward. I'm not really sure how many fans she has in this neck of the woods as she has demonstrated time and time again that she failed to grasp any knowledge about the history of the US, how the government was formed and how it works. Perhaps she even willfully dismissed any factual information that would give her one iota of credibility when she speaks in public to those of us who do have an inkling of the history of the country. The only fans she has so far are those who are equally as ignorant. Perhaps her eyes will open if she pays attention on her tour and heaven only knows, maybe she'll pass some facts on to her fans and lift them out of the darkness.

PS. Did anyone read that Gov Rick "Texas ranks 45th in high school completion" Perry of Texas may run for Pres? (the comments from the Texans are great) After I ROTFLMAO, I was thinking that McCain should run again but then I read the above story and saw that he really lost it.

Who has a shot of beating Obama in the GOP? Anyone sane out there?

It's a Beautiful Day - HOT SUMMER DAY

Late 60's Goodness from It's a Beautiful Day
(wiki): a band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967, the brainchild of violinist David LaFlamme.LaFlamme, a former soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, had previously been in the band Orkustra, and unusually, played a five-string violin. The other members were his wife Linda (keyboards), Pattie Santos (vocals), Hal Wagenet (guitar), Mitchell Holman (bass) and Val Fuentes (drums). Although they were one of the earliest and most important San Francisco bands to emerge from the Summer of Love, It’s a Beautiful Day never quite achieved the success of their contemporaries such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Santana, with whom they had connections. It’s A Beautiful Day created a unique blend of rock, jazz, folk, classical and world beat styles during the seven years the band was officially together.
The Summer of Love (wiki):The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a cultural and political rebellion. While hippies also gathered in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and across Europe, San Francisco was the center of the hippie revolution,[1] a melting pot of music, psychoactive drugs, sexual freedom, creative expression, and politics. The Summer of Love became a defining moment of the 1960s, as the hippie counterculture movement came into public awareness.[2] This unprecedented gathering of young people is often considered to have been a social experiment, because of alternative lifestyles that became common, both during the summer itself and during subsequent years. These lifestyles included communal living; the free and communal sharing of resources, often among total strangers; and free love.[3]
In contrast, the summer of 1967 also saw some of the worst violence in US cities in the country's history — this was because of the race riots/insurrections that occurred in places such as Detroit and Newark. This aspect of the summer of 1967 is often called "The Long, Hot Summer". The cause of this violence is generally attributed to racial discrimination against African-Americans and the frustration and anger it inspired in black people.[4][5][6]

A Helpful Tip from Australia

Has it curdled yet?

Palin Intolerant?

Kudos to "Pissed Off Patricia" for the idea.

Click image to embiggen!

MMOWGLI -- The US military's first online war game

US Navy recruits gamers to help in piracy strategy


I sure hope Blondesense's favorite gamer (and master sarcastic wit) SABORLAS stops by with his 2 cents// so I can add a review to this post.

I have no response. Maybe it's because I never got past pac man and space invaders -- and more likely because the rest of the games that followed didn't come along with a comfy leather swirly chair, a big glass table top screen, and AN ICE COLD BEER FOR THE OTHER HAND!.... Oh the good old days of video game playing.

Anyway -- here's the story I read at physorg
*(be sure to read the comments)

The US Navy is turning to the wisdom of the crowd to forge military strategy, inviting the public to join an online game in which Somali pirates have hijacked commercial ships.

The Office of Naval Research plans this month to launch the US military's first online war game to draw on the ideas of thousands of people instead of the traditional strategy session held inside the Pentagon's offices.
The approach "is designed to produce ideas and potential solutions to our toughest problems and challenges," Lawrence Schuette, director of innovation at Office of Naval Research, told AFP.
"Piracy off the Horn of Africa has been an enduring problem that has many stakeholders. We selected this topic for the pilot scenario," Schuette said.
The scheduled starting date for the project had to be delayed by a month as about 9,000 people have signed up, instead of the 1,000 that planners expected, officials said.

Here's another story from scoopdeck at the MilitaryTimes --

No matter the case, overwhelming interest from prospective players has forced the Office of Naval Research to delay the start of a counter-piracy wargame that was supposed to have its opening salvo May 16. About 1,000 players were expected, but major media outlets across the country picked up on ONA’s plans, and more than 12,000 people registered.
“We are overwhelmed at the positive response this game has generated. We are delaying the launch to be sure to extract the very most for the Navy from this, and our future online game series,” said Larry Schuette, ONR’s director of innovation.
While people were probably attracted to the game because it’s about piracy, ONR is more interested in the game’s platform, the Massive Multiplayer Online Leveraging the Internet system, or MMOWGLI, as a research tool. The platform is kind of a blend of social media, reddit and a turn-based strategy game. Basically, players will break into teams and will be presented with videos and graphics about piracy. Teams will then have to develop a response, with players then voting on the best course of action. In all, the game lasts three weeks and has three phases. ONR wants to use all the data generated in this process to figure out how effective policies are developed.
“Attracting good ideas is the lifeblood of ONR’s cutting-edge science and technology,” said Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of naval research. “I am encouraged by the enormity of interest in MMOWGLI and hope that this crowdsourcing tool will harness the power of collective thought to help drive external innovation for the Navy.”

*

Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) -- A breakdown of Netanyahu's Appearance in US Congress

Thank you for saying it like it is Cenk.




Watch our congress give Netanyahu a standing ovation.






It's pretty obvious to me

that we

will live in perpetual war

forevermore.....

thanks to Israel and The US Congress.

UN

FUCKING

BELIEVABLE

Just a little advice

Additional Info:
There are a lot of sites where you can check to see if a file you have has problems or not. One of the better is:

Jotti

Upload the file you want tested for bugs and 20 different anti-v's will check it...FREE!; But be warned, because of coding in programs, not everything that checks as a virus or trojan or worm really IS one! There are a lot of false positives because of compression techniques used in certain coding. But it still is rather nice when all the checkers come back with "nothing found."

*****************************

I’d like to take a minute away from all the religious praise of the wonderful government of our Corporate States of America to offer a little advice to you computer users. For many of you, this is probably not necessary but for the general user it could mean the difference between ID Theft and/or a Hi-jacked Computer or even losing all your data.

There’s been a recent exponential increase in computer invasion attempts from some of the ne’er-do-wells, especially from China. They have these quaint programs that send out “pings” or sort of like requests on the net to IPs around the world, In particular, they seem to really like us. These are automated robotic programs or “bots” or spiders or a number of other names.

The nasty people start these programs and let them run to find any computer that won’t reject their advances. It’s entirely possible that your computer could be attacked many times a day or hour or even many times a minute.

If your anti virus software is up to date, it MIGHT stop these. Most firewalls can stop them…provided people configure them properly – which 90% DON’T! The result? You might just as well put a sign on your front lawn telling everyone where you keep your valuables in your house. It’s the same thing.

To give you an idea, I am getting hit over 40 times an hour from a few provinces in China (and that doesn't count the ones from Eastern Europe, Sweden, Netherlands, Russia and of course the good ol' U.S. of A. among many others) What can be done? Well if you call your provider you’ll find out just how much they care about anything concerning you except the money you pay them.

For example, my wonderful people are CommieCast. IF I were to contact CommieCast and tell them these intruders from China were hitting my computer relentlessly, they will tell me unless the intruding IP is from a CommieCast affiliate, all I can do is contact the provider of the intruder! Ain’t that sweet? They won’t do anything about Chinese hackers trying to get into my computer, but they will joyfully and freely cooperate with the RIAA, MPAA , Local and State Law Enforcement Agencies and even the BurgerKing down the road to make sure I ain’t doin’ anything Corporate America doesn’t like.

So, you contact the provider of the offending IP and of course they take care of it right away! NOT! The providers in China have a fantastic way of ignoring requests like these. And the offenders continue their merry intrusions. So what can you do about it?

There’s a fantastic program called Malwarebytes that is quite reasonable, $24.95 for a one time shot, that can protect your computer maybe better than some of the very expensive Anti-V programs out there. And you don’t have to be a Chinese hacker to configure it on your computer. Actually, you install it, turn it on, and set automatic updates, and voila! It protects your computer from those pesky intruders. Of course, no program is completely safe. But this one is the best I’ve seen in many, many years.

For what it’s worth, I don’t work for Malwarebytes, don’t know anyone who does, don’t have any stock in the company and don’t get a penny for this post. Once you try it or buy and install it, it’ll block unauthorized attempts to get into your computer from outside nasties. As a bonus, it’ll also tell you when something ON your computer is trying to send data FROM your computer. A little window pops up in the lower right of your screen to tell you it stopped something from some IP attempting to access your computer or connect to another one on the net.

But a nice thing it does is it gives you the IP of the attempting intruder. With that data, you can go to one of the sites that can identify IPs and see who and from where someone is trying to access your files. If you know the site is safe, like maybe you get updates from Benny the 16th every day, you can add that IP to an ignore list and it’ll let all his wisdom right on through.

Sorry about the length of this but I think it’s rather important.
Here is the url for Malwarebytes. You can try it for free, but the free version doesn’t do all the stuff you really, really need. (That’s typical business, but they want to make money to and they DO offer a great product).

Malwarebytes

Once you Buy IT and install it and find a neat little IP that is blocked, here is a url you can use to check who is at your front door.

What's My IP Address

Just type in the IP you get from Malwarebytes and you can see where your intrusion is coming from. You just might be surprised.

One of the nice things about this program and the people who run it is the fact that they update it literally many times a day. You can set the automatic updates to monthly or weekly (wouldn’t recommend that!), daily (ok) or even hourly!
Do yourself a favor, at least try it out. Once you see how many times your computer is getting hit from everywhere, you’ll want to buy it.

Here’s an example of the log files this morning from my computer that shows how many times an intrusion has been attempted just in the space of 30 minutes

08:08:27 IP-BLOCK 221.192.199.48 (Type: incoming)
08:19:26 IP-BLOCK 58.218.199.227 (Type: incoming)
08:19:26 IP-BLOCK 58.218.199.227 (Type: incoming)
08:19:26 IP-BLOCK 58.218.199.227 (Type: incoming)
08:19:26 IP-BLOCK 58.218.199.227 (Type: incoming)
08:19:26 IP-BLOCK 58.218.199.227 (Type: incoming)
08:36:32 IP-BLOCK 221.192.199.43 (Type: incoming)
08:36:32 IP-BLOCK 221.192.199.43 (Type: incoming)
08:36:32 IP-BLOCK 221.192.199.43 (Type: incoming)
08:36:32 IP-BLOCK 221.192.199.43 (Type: incoming)

If you’re interested, go to the above url, type in any of these numbers to see where they’re coming from.

You may or may not be getting hit as much. This intrusion started with me about a month ago although some friends have had it happen since January. If you aren’t getting hit now…YOU WILL BE. Be prepared.

Unfortunately, I don't believe it's available for the Mac but you might email them and ask. (You Mac-ademians never have to worry about viruses or bad stuff anyway, right? That's why you bought a Mac!)

This has been a PSA from your friends a Blondesense!

(Oh...and if you already use Malwarebytes...never mind!)

Fuck Godwin's law, is this is 1930s Germany or 21st Century America? I can't tell the difference any longer.

This was up a couple of days ago. There are stories the guy in the wheelchair was drinking or flipped off the cops or maybe he even said good morning to them. There was even a report that he "attacked" one of the 250 pound, steroidal SS. Does it really matter? It's kind of a shame there were only two Dark Shirts to take care of this obvious threat to their safety.

In their defense, I'm sure they didn't have time to call for back up or reinforcements to help them subdue this heinous perp since the situation was near riot conditions. If they don't get a commendation for this, it'll be a crime. Then these jackbooted, above the law types will be able to use any type of force to justify action like this.

With this kind of behavior nearly now the norm, these palace guards need to go. I imagine it won't be long before mandatory pictures of the current president on the walls of Polizeistation are replaced with the idolized image of Heinrich Himmler. He must be so proud to see the fruit of his ideals become the status quo.




I wonder if this makes the likes of Lee Greenwood "Proud to be an American?"

No words...there just aren't any words...

Honest FCC, we here at Comcast aren't going make MSNBC into Fox Lite! Honest! Cross our hearts and hope to die! So go ahead. Let us buy them. We'll be fair.

From Wonkette:

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele has been named MSNBC political analyst. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, and is effective immediately.

Steele, who has been a frequent guest on MSNBC, will now regularly appear on the full lineup of MSNBC programming as part of the network’s diverse group of analysts and contributors.

“I’m thrilled to have Michael join MSNBC,” said Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC. “His strong voice and opinions will be a great addition to all of our programs.”

There's more if you can stomach the hypocrisy and total bullshit Phil Griffin vomits. Is there a bigger piece of drek in cable other than those connected with Fox?

Been fun NBC. Sorry to say I won't be watching Rachel any more. Might just read her blog. With any luck, she can join Keith on Current TV.

Can't wait for Clear Channel to buy CBS.

The trifecta: CommieCast and NBC; Disney and ABC; Clear Channel and CBS! wait for it.

Liberal media my ass!

Just a little diversion...

Ok. Let’s play one of the popular games from the hit TV Show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” It’s called “Song Titles.”

I’ll set a topic and everyone gets to make a pertinent comment as though two people were conversing about that topic but can only speak using a title of a song.

For instance:

If the topic were 'Raining Outside', the first comment from person one could be, “Stormy Weather” to which person two might add “I can see clearly now” followed by number one's “It’s raining men.”

However, if you can’t think of a song title that goes with the theme, start a new one based (sometimes loosely) on the previous comment. Like, “You don’t bring me flowers anymore” The next commenter can add whatever he or she chooses to add to that comment but should try to stay apropos of the topic. Eventually it will devolve into something completely different.

Here goes:

Topic - A Typical Day in Congress

Two politicians meeting in the halls:

Person 1: "Lies" - Knickerbockers

Person 2: "Anyway you want it" - Dave Clark Five

Person 1: "We Didn't Start the Fire" - Billy Joel

Person 2: "Takin' Care of Business" - BTO

Things that Make My Brain Hurt on a Monday

There are times when I just want to yell that, very loudly.

Over at Crooks and Liars, there is a video clip of Sarah Palin holding forth to Jean Pirro on that woman's Fox 'News' show. As usual, Miss Clueless 2008 was holding forth about President Obama and here's what happened:



Hear that? Palin considers Obama to be our "temporary leader."

I wonder if the Half-Term Governor realized as she said this that ALL Presidents of the United States are temporary. It's a temp job that a person holds for a maximum of eight years (longer if you're Franklin Roosevelt).

I'm certain, though, that Obama won't just up and quit before his term's out ... like a certain female Governor of Alaska did.

Palin's said that she had the "fire in her belly" about running for President. My advice is to take some Prilosec and concentrate instead on how pissed off her daughter will be to find Mama Grizzly moving into the same state she lives in. Yeah, that's right, Sarah's considering moving to Arizona - until she discovers it's got a lot of non-white people who'll make her uncomfortable (just like it did when she attended (briefly) the University of Hawaii).

She's now an attention whore, pulling in scads of moolah from her book sales, speaking fees and her show on Fox, where even Roger Ailes considers her stupid.

If she runs, she could conceivably get nominated.

Greeks have talent? (and) Are they shooting blanks?

I can't believe I'm actually posting this. From what I can gather, these two guys appeared on Greece's Got Talent last year (explains a lot). The video has now washed up on our shores. Is there no FCC equivalent in Greece?



(must have been a hard one for the judges - eh?)


APPENDAGE:

Perfect timing for the video -- Looks like Greece is really getting dicked around.

Coming from Zerohedge today: Jean-Claude Juncker - Europe Is Doing God's Work By Lying About Greek Insolvency, And Keeping EURUSD Longs Profitable

Jean-Claude Juncker is the longest standing head of government with undisputed democratic credentials in the world.



Good Goddess above, I can't keep up with the play on words for this one...

Post Apocalypse: Left Behind

by blondesense liz

It appears that I have been left behind. So far everyone I know is still here including those who were sure they'd be raptured. I must admit that I was secretly hoping that the rapturists would make their exit over the weekend and that traffic would clear up, the job market would open up and there'd be a little less "crazy" in the world.

It's kind of funny that the bible was used to calculate the day and time of the rapture and yet the same bible insists that NO ONE knows the day and time that Jesus will come back. Even if Jesus was planning on coming back over the weekend, he'd have to pick a new date because it's supposed to be a surprise! (the people who use the bible for prophecy ought to read all of it.) And furthermore, the same bible warns that everyone should always be ready for judgment day. Well now the rapturists who sold all their stuff are ready. I wonder if they will try to get on Medicaid now.


Meanwhile in other news, the only people feigning disgust at President Obama's suggestion that Israel move their borders back to those borders of 1967 are misinformed Evangelists who want Jesus to return and the corporate media who despise anything the president suggests even if Republicans suggested it first. Presidents Bush and Clinton also proposed this, so it's nothing new.

The RCC (catlicks) can bite me for not taking responsibility for their deviant priests. If they had taken my suggestion and not made the RCC a safe haven for perverts in the first place, there wouldn't be so many of them joining the priesthood. For instance, if I were a pervert and the RCC publicly prosecuted pedophile priests, I would look elsewhere for a career. Duh.

Are most of the readers here left behind too?

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Vell! IT looks like ve can discern zomezing frum zie oops, yezterday. I haf notized zat alle uf zie Evangelicals, Vall Ztreet ZEOs, uhzzer criminalz ist zhtill hier! Ja!

Und ezpezially I've haf notized zat ALL uf die "Fuchs Nachrichten Menschen" ist ztill hier! Rush ist hier, Hannity ist heir, Billo ist heir und even Megyn und zose dumbies frum zie morning zhow ist ztill hier! (Zo ist Mikka und Joey!)

But efen more amazing, Benney za 16s ist ztill hier! Und to my zurprize, zo are all zie Americanisher politicians! I zought zure zey vould be no more! Ach du lieber Himmel! Ve can draw zum concluzions frum zis.

Eins: Zat all zie Menschen isn't good enuff to be zelected by un lieber Vater, zey ist all zinners und Gott don't vant zem.

Zwei: Zie rapture zing ist bunk und Camping ist ein fraud along mit religion.

Drei: It vasn't time yet fur Gott to beam zem up.

I zink zis ist all a big bunch uf hooey und...

MEIN GOTT! I CAN WALK.....

The OFFICIAL 'Official Friday Sex Post' -- The RC Church on sex abuse: BLAME IT ON WOODSTOCK

A five-year study commissioned by the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops to provide a definitive answer to what caused the church’s sexual abuse crisis has concluded that neither the all-male celibate priesthood nor homosexuality were to blame.

Instead, the report says, the abuse occurred because priests who were poorly prepared and monitored, and were under stress, landed amid the social and sexual turmoil of the 1960s and ’70s.

The “blame Woodstock” explanation has been floated by bishops since the church was engulfed by scandal in the United States in 2002 and by Pope Benedict XVI after it erupted in Europe in 2010.

But this study is likely to be regarded as the most authoritative analysis of the scandal in the Catholic Church in America. The study, initiated in 2006, was conducted by a team of researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City at a cost of $1.8 million. About half was provided by the bishops, with additional money contributed by Catholic organizations and foundations. The National Institute of Justice, the research agency of the United States Department of Justice, supplied about $280,000.

GAG - ME - WITH - A - SPOON








Spot on comment at the link from Stephen J in New Haven CT --

"After the social and sexual revolutions of the 1960s and 1970s, people became much more open about sexual behavior: more willing to talk about what used to be taboo subjects. Once people started talking, lo and behold! - the number of reported cases of priestly sexual misconduct went way up. This does not mean that the behavior hadn't existed before, only that we were too inhibited (and too in awe of authority) to talk about it. This is like blaming the reporter for the bad news."

Connecting the dots...

The CDC's "zombie apocalypse" marketing ad campaign is back up online. It crashed yesterday from too much traffic.

(Maybe it was part of their humorous attempt at marketing?)

and then we have


FEMA's earthquake drill going on this week in the area of the New Madrid Fault Line


Is it a plan to divide and conquer america?


I also caught this related piece on NPR's Fresh Air Yesterday:
On The Horizon: Busy Season For Hurricanes

OK I'll stop.

WAIT WAIT -- one more:

GOP cuts NOAA satellite weather forecasting and hurricane tracking

The 12 Greatest End of the World Prophecy FAILs

From ranker:

Because this is just something people should know about (it's pretty funny, and a little sad), here's what's going on with this weekend's Rapture.

And in everyone on this list's defense, it makes sense that everyone thinks they're in the "end times" because life, in general, for people in pretty much any era in human history, almost always seems like it can't get any worse...

Your call is very important to us.

Some one sent this to me but didn't cite the source. Who ever penned it needs kudos!
I'm sure some of us can fill in the blank and maybe email to the appropriate business!




Your call is very important to us.
All operators are currently assisting other callers.
Your call will be answered in the order it was received.
There are currently five thousand two hundred and eighty six calls ahead of yours.
Your approximate wait time is two point nine centuries.
Thank you for using ________ (fill in the Blank)

A Bit of Bad Art

The Lion said, "There's so much space!
Whenever I walk anyplace
I don't have to say,
'Get out of my way!'
But everyone does ... just in case."



Bad Art (c) me
Limerick (c) I have no idea - I was seven when I first read this ....

Third time's a charm Paul... Good luck to you and yours!

Looks like Blondesense Liz lost out again!

From the BS archives, May '08

Ladies, He's Available Again
Sir Paul McCartney, the man I was supposed to marry in 1964 after I first laid eyes on him, listened to him sing and wag his moppy head, but I was too young for him, is now available once again.

Paul, if you're reading this, I'm older now... and better. I never loved you for your money. I loved you for being you. And get this... I'm a singer/songwriter now which I wasn't in 1964. We are both so much wiser and I really need to get off this island. Call me.
L

DON'T MISS THIS 2006 PERFORMANCE OF Till There Was You (from the Space within Us DVD)


You can read about the importance of this song in the Beatle's repertoire here.

The truth of the matter is that the song was a major determining factor in the Beatles being signed to EMI’s Parlophone Records in Britain, thereby catapulting them to fame throughout the world. If it wasn’t for the Beatles adding “Till There Was You” to their repertoire, they no doubt would have had the same fate of most of the ‘beat groups’ of the Liverpool music scene,....

O'Bama's Moneygall

Moneygall? Oh the writers on The Daily Show must be having a field day.

Guinness is even sending a master brewer for the occasion!


Looks like the folks in Moneygall have been waiting for his arrival for a few years now. Good for them! I hope they have THE PARTY of a lifetime!!


Uhhhh, Mr. President one thing though -- DON'T get any ideas...

Jon Stewart is RIPPING Fog News a new one... OUTSTANDING

The Daily Show - The Not Running Man
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Remembering Joe, a redneck revolutionary

"I always say that if Obama was delivered to the White House with Jesus Christ, a five-piece band and six gilded seraphims holding up his fucking balls he still won't be able to do anything because the country's broke and Congress is bought and sold."

LINK

Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind...

New York World's Fair 1964


Liz and Jersey...and anyone else,

We were looking through some old boxes and found an old roll of 35 mm slide film - undeveloped - for 47 years! Scribed on the metal case was 'nywf64.'
I wasn't sure it could be processed but a good friend has a dark room and all the necessary stuff so he suggested we try it.
17 of the slides came out. They aren't in the best shape but after scanning them, I'm in the process of cleaning them up but I thought some of you "old folks" that live in the New York area and who might have been there, well, this just might jog some memories.
I was fortunate enough to have visited the fair 3 times. I've been to a couple since and New York's was by far the best, at least in my opinion.

If you'd like to see all the pictures, click on the link to go to flickr.com.

By the way, that was my first experience riding the subway - very interesting. The one thing I got a great kick out of was getting off the car and seeing, written on the wall, "Frodo Lives!"
The people I was with had no idea what it meant until I told them. I had just read the books and simply stood there in rapt amazement. Of course there was a host of other scribblings to read and most of them were rather entertaining.
A year later, Simon and Garfunkle released "The Sound of Silence" and many of the passages came back vividly.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.


















Jersey and Wonkadelica,
Update: Here's a picture of the Sky Ride someone else took. It was like a cable car ride in Europe or Tram. These are the towers you see in the back of my picture. If you click on my picture and enlarge it you can see the "blurs" along the cables. Those are the cars moving during the time exposure.

Egad! PORN Found in bin Laden's Abbottabad Lair?!

According to this report, a stash of pornographic materials was found in the house where Osama bin Laden was hiding. There's no report either way on whether it was his own or belonged to one of the people living in the house with him (although we do know he took a local type of herbal Viagra).

I don't find this surprising at all, since according to this report Pakistan is #1 in the world in porno searches, with things like zooerasty and even pederasty predominating.

The more you know ...

Pity the Republicans

Yes, I wrote that.

After the unveiling of the Paul Ryan Budget that would essentially eviscerate Medicare and Social Security, once and for all labeling the GOP as the Party that Broke the Social Contract, the House GOPers went traipsing off to their constituencies to crow about their accomplishment.

Much to their surprise, their appearance was greeted with all the cheer of the arrival of the tax man.

It seems that the old fogies in the Tea Party who spearheaded the 2010 campaign from the security of their government-funded scooters don't like the idea of the Evil Gummint messing about with Medicare. Several House Republicans cut their appearances short or ran away from the topic like whipped curs. In Alan West (R-South Florida Fucking Crazy)'s district a local radio reporter was actually arrested for asking this asshole a question. But we have to remind ourselves that West is known for war atrocities and has the Outlaws motorcycle gang as allies, so his behavior isn't all that amazing.

In any event, the Left blogosphere and the Democrats have wasted little time in hanging this albatross around the Elephant's neck. Good for them, I say.

But this isn't all we have to pity the Republicans for.

Mittens Romney held forth about his Massachusetts health care plan, saying basically that we should all just forget that it's very much like the Affordable Care Act (even down to the individual mandate, that Mittens now says is unconstitutional). All of the right-wing media have been piling on poor Willard the past few days about this - it appears that the usual level of rank hypocrisy has been exceeded by Romney.

And hey! Hey! Romney's Massachusetts plan also provides for abortions! The ACA doesn't (because of the Hyde Amendment, of course). That's another thing to bash him over the head with. So much, then, for Romney becoming the nation's first Mormon President, at least at this stage of the game.

Newton Gingrich tossed his semen-smeared hat into the ring this week. He said that if he didn't run in 2012 he'd be a "fraud" - hoping we'll all forget, I guess, that it was ethics violations that got him run out of his Speakership like a poison mushroom. Newt, you're supposed to know history. The last Speaker to become President was James K. Polk, who was so colorless his opponents used to chant "Who is James K. Polk?"

And just today Ron Paul decided to have another go at it. I think his first task ought to be to shut his son's mouth and sew it closed. Rand equated the ACA with slavery the other day, for which he earned a swift punch in the mouth (he hasn't gotten it yet, however). Ron, I find it hard to believe that this uncouth little "self-certified" spawn could have erupted from your loins.

To add insult to injury, Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, 'won' the self-congratulatory circle jerk that was the GOP candidates' debate. Put on by the propaganda wing of the Party (Fox 'News'), it featured absolutely none of the purported Party A list: Palin, Gingrich, Romney, Huckabee, et. al. stayed away. Instead we were treated to the ad lib stylings of Tim Pawlenty, a man so colorless he makes white look dingy. We also got a look at Rick Santorum, who had the eponymous frothy mixture of lubricant and fecal matter oozing from his mouth every time he opened it.

So feel a tiny, just the tiniest, soupcon of pity the next time you see a Republican holding forth about their chances in 2012.

At this point in time, I really just don't see it.

Who's gonna kill the US High Speed Rail System?

I heard this on the car radio yesterday whilst driving to New Haven: Suspicious package in New London disrupts Amtrak service Oh Well - it was bound to happen -- we were warned.

I just want to know WHY THE HECK IT IS TAKING SO LONG for this country to get its act together on high speed rail??

Monday's announcement by the USDOT on funding attracts fans and foes.

It blows my mind everyday that I'm still wasting so much time (and gas) sitting in traffic and not zipping around on the rails. We are still in the FUCKING FUNDING PHASE, excuse me, but what the heck????

Really makes you wonder.

Census to Mark Plato, MO as Center of U.S.

From ozarksfirst

(Plato, MO) -- People searching for the center of America will have to wander through the Ozarks.

The U.S. Census Bureau will unveil a marker commemorating Plato, Missouri in Texas County as the mean population center of the country on Monday.

The center is the point at which an imaginary, flat map of the U.S. would balance when counting all 300 million Americans.

The events kick off at 1 p.m. in Plato.

Map showing changes to the mean center of population for the United States, 1790–2010 (U.S. Census Bureau)[1]via wiki




HAVE AT IT FOLKS

Lab rats and guinea pigs in the American Sunshine...

I'm soooo very glad that King Barry is protecting us from the bad guys -over there - so they don't "fight us" over here.
Do you feel a lot safer now that his majesty has removed the obvious physical but probably not mental threat of bin Laden? Hmmm? Buddy? Are ya feelin' lucky, chump?

You shouldn't be, because his Royal Pain in the Ass, at the prodding of his henchmen, has given his blessing to allow the bad guys over HERE to start killing us off and making us pay for our own demise! Score another big one for The Corporate States of America. Is "America" copyrighted or trademarked? No matter. It probably will be soon. That way anytime anyone on the tubes mentions it, we can be arrested and put into an imaginary detention camp, otherwise known as "We're talking everything you own now and forever, dude! And there's jack shit you can do about it!"

Thanks your lordship. Take an ear out of petty cash. (Can you say cornhole?)

From Americablog: read it, this excerpt then read the rest...and weep.

Weekend thoughts on Obama, Monsanto & food

[In January] the Obama administration has unbelievably chosen to approve three biotech crops, Roundup Ready genetically modified (GMO) alfalfa, Roundup Ready genetically modified (GMO) sugar beets and a new industrial biotech corn for ethanol production. Obama's recent approval of them will allow them to be planted as early as this spring, despite widespread acknowledgement that these crops are certain to contaminate both conventional and organic farmers non-GMO crops. ... [T]he USDA's approval of the new industrial biotech corn for ethanol production occurred despite massive outcry from major food companies who know that it will contaminate and possibly ruin the food they sell to you everyday.

These decisions are a devastating blow to our democracy and the basic rights of farmers to choose how they want to grow food on their land and the rights of consumers who increasingly choose organic and sustainably grown food for its positive health and environmental impacts.

It gets worse. Now we have farm police and The Vaterland can go after organic and regular farmers (and presumably that's most of us small home gardeners) who try to grow what we can in our own farms and back yards for having windblown detritus from Monsanto in our garden...unless we get permission from the Czar's Corporation!
All you anti-truthers out there, before you start up with whatever O-polgies you make up, remember the Homeland Security People (those whose ONLY job is to protect us from FOREIGN BAD GUYS) have seized and shut down web sites that showed current television and sports programming. I have some ideas what restrictions are next.

Hail Caesar!

The Holy Right Wing Empire

From Tom Wright at the Guardian:
Couldn't be any more on the nose!

America's exceptionalist justice

(Excerpt)
Consider the following scenario. A group of Irish republican terrorists carries out a bombing raid in London. People are killed and wounded. The group escapes, first to Ireland, then to the US, where they disappear into the sympathetic hinterland of a country where IRA leaders have in the past been welcomed at the White House. Britain cannot extradite them, because of the gross imbalance of the relevant treaty. So far, this seems plausible enough.
But now imagine that the British government, seeing the murderers escape justice, sends an aircraft carrier (always supposing we've still got any) to the Nova Scotia coast. From there, unannounced, two helicopters fly in under the radar to the Boston suburb where the terrorists are holed up. They carry out a daring raid, killing the (unarmed) leaders and making their escape. Westminster celebrates; Washington is furious.
What's the difference between this and the recent events in Pakistan? Answer: American exceptionalism. America is subject to different rules to the rest of the world. By what right? Who says?

In this photoshop world of ours, it's probably best Osama, I MEAN OBAMA, doesn't release "The Photo"

(where's the gun?)


(make it go away)

So, do you think they turned off all their computer screens before the picture?

Maybe their photographer used a state of the art photoshop app?



HAT tip to hurricanevanessa for the hatsituationroom mash up meme

here are more pics of Beatrice's Hat (trick)

It seems as though life has become one big media event...oh GE -- you bring so many "things" to life!

And the Heavens declare...

This is just plain incredible. A look at the Milky Way Galaxy (ours) from a number of different photos merged into one fantastic interactive shot. You can zoom in, slide right or left. Most won't be familiar to many but at the extreme right, you can see the constellation Orion and since it's angled to the upper right the top of which points north to give you a little perspective of how we see the sky in the northern latitudes.

Here is the main url that gives the info .
Sky Survey

If you click on the picture to the right that says "Zoom in", it'll take you to the picture which is composed of 37,000 exposures and takes up 5 giga pixels!
he guy travels a long, long way and time to get this.

It shows just how insignificant we really are in the grand scheme of things.
Here's the url to go there directly in case the page gets moved, or just click the picture.

Sky Survey Milky Way

Thanx to Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy
Enjoy!

Who Do You Trust?*

* Concerning our government;
also, A Game show hosted by Johnny Carson in 1957.


The latest example of government doublespeak is the bin Laden death/murder/execution bit.
Here’s a snippit from Americablog.com:

‘…First he had a gun, then he didn't, first he grabbed a woman as a human shield, then he didn't. First they shot him twice in the head, then they didn't.
(snip)

And now we find out that the extended firefight wasn't a firefight at all. The only shots fired were from a courier at the beginning of the raid. Osama didn't have a gun like we were told he did. But now we learn that there was a rifle within reach...

(snip)

This is being handled in an incredibly amateur way. It makes the White House look bad. It makes all of us look bad. One assumes the part about the dead guy being bin Laden is still true, but the rest of the story? Who knows at this point.’

Did John Wilkes Booth act alone?
Did the U.S. blow up the Maine to start a war?
Was the Lusitania carrying ammunition?
Did FDR “set up WWII" by letting the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor happen even though he supposedly knew in advance about it?
Did a spaceship crash in New Mexico in 1947?
JFK? Too much to question?
RFK? Because of Jimmy Hoffa?
Jimmy Hoffa? Did Teddy get even?
Did Reagan make a deal with Khomeni to get elected?
Who was behind Iran/Contra?
Was McCain involved in the Keating Scandal?
How much involved were Neil Bush and maybe Daddy Bush in the same scandal?
Was the 2000 election really fixed?
What really happened to cause 9/11?
Who and how many caused the financial collapse on 2008 and why?
Is bin Laden really dead?
Why do Americans choose to believe Big Business over the government?

Is there in truth, no conspiracy?
In all of these instances, our government has used the famous Star Wars line “Nothing to see here, move along, move along!”

A while ago on this blog and many others, questions were raised about 9/11. A group took it upon themselves to debunk the theory that the U.S. (in particular Cheney et al.) masterminded the whole operation so as to plunge the U.S into a fear mongered state, enter an illegal war with Iraq to steal oil and make their business friends wealthy beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Explanations went so far as to invent scientific evidence that stretched the imagination like a rubber band. In the end, with help from the government (who would never lie to us) the matter was thought to be put to rest. Many are still not convinced our government played no role in the incident. Whatever. Yet we’re expected to believe them because…well, because they’re like our parents or big brothers or sisters and only they know what’s best for us. Except that the big brother in this case may turn out to be Eddie Haskell!

With all of the above examples of situations that had no satisfying factual explanations or at least ones that the government served up on a platter to believe or not, is it any wonder people question the government's sincerity? (I don’t care if you believe this but the rest of the evidence/information/testimony is sealed…for National Security, etc. etc.)

Again, this is not to say that all of these events didn’t happen just the way the government said they did. But sometimes it’s hard to keep a straight face writing this stuff.

As the events become more numerous and the “logical explanations” become more questionable, more and more people begin to wonder who DO you trust?

I’m just throwing this out so the anti-truthers and conspiracy theorists have something new to do. I’m not saying anything is true or false, just that the way the story is presented leaves open the option of disbelief. Does the government not want us to learn the truth (if there is truth to be learned)? They believe we can’t handle the truth. Maybe they’re correct.

I’ve watched and listened to Americans the last 35 years ready, willing and able to accept that our government lies to them while at the same time they swallow anything big business spoons out with lawyer speak. Why is that? Maybe just because of incidents like those enumerated at the top…or the latest concerning bin Laden.

Is he really dead? Some don’t believe so. But those who don’t believe that might also believe climate change to be a hoax; that there is such a thing as clean coal or natural gas; that there’s a spiritual being in the sky who will forgive all of their transgressions because they really are deep down good but will punish others because…well, because they need punished.

These are the people who send money to the Nigerian Lottery, give to charities they never heard of then discover they've been duped, believe implicitly what is said on television, especially Fox and know that our government always lies to them…yet they choose to believe companies that we all know really do lie, time and again. These are the same people who then demand, that the government they feel lies to them, make them safe from their own stupidity.

So what’s real and not? I don’t know. I doubt anyone will ever know. A single bullet killed JKF then mystically turned 90 degrees to lodge in Connelly’s wrist, which his family won’t allow the body to be exhumed to corroborate. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon but never brought back the green cheese we all know is there. Instead he brought back rocks just like we have here on earth. Right! The list goes on. Does the government lie? Does business lie? Do we know if both are working together? It’s easy to give up and love big brother. Maybe that’s the whole idea, because it seems to be working.

One of my favorite quotes is from the old “Night Court” series. Shelley Berman plays a mentally confused person who tells Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) the following:

I don't know what to believe

"When I was young, my mother told me Santa Claus was real. But then, when I got older, she told me he wasn't.

One book says Jesus is real. One book says he isn't.

We're living in the greatest country on earth, and we're murdering each other in the streets.

What did they expect when they made us believe in the tooth fairy, and the Easter Bunny; and then gave us the nuclear bomb to play with?

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, is a lie like all the rest. The astronauts killed the man in the moon….growing up took care of the rest."

Shelley Berman, "Al", Night Court, 1987

Is bin Laden dead? Did Oswald kill JFK? Did Cheney and Company mastermind 9/11 for personal gain?

As for me, the only thing I know for a fact is…the check’s in the mail.

Pour it again, Sam.

The wrath of Sour Grapes!

On Releasing the Pictures

The Internet has turned many people into complete voyeurs.

There are those of us (myself included) who have "Two Girls, One Cup," "One Man, One Jar," and "Bathtub Girl" - to say nothing of the craziness that is Rotten.com and Ogrish.com - seared into our unconscious, never to be wholly expunged.

President Obama's decision to bar the release of the video and pictures of Osama bin Laden's death was, in my opinion, the correct one. It was correct for the following reasons:

1. We're already vilified as a pack of heartless ghouls who torture, humiliate and slaughter indiscriminately. We don't need to gloat like that.

2. The pictures, even sanitized, will only inflame those people who want to make Osama a martyr. These people are easily inflamed - just burn a Koran and see if you don't believe me.

3. Idiots in this country will immediately screech that the pictures and video are forgeries, part of a Mammoth Conspiracy that covers both political parties, all political persuasions, and extends all the way back to President Obama's conception by time-tripping Commie space aliens. Remember that we still have cretins loudly proclaiming that we didn't land on the Moon and that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago - there's no amount of proof that will pierce the defensive shield that is their private delusion pattern.

My two cents on the matter.

Dear Lord, How much more do we have to take? Make her go away!

Sometimes, it's all you can do to stay sane...

Another preciously wonderful Sarah Palin moment. Read it and try to remember it’s 2011 not 2008. Some things never seem to change regardless of presidential aspirations.

The Republican theme on education seems to be a smashing success…if you base it on the likes of their Senators, Representatives, candidates and today’s media. No Child Left Behind is just the beginning. Enter the “mama cum louder”, the half wit quitta from Wasilla, the only person to make the feigned dumb blonde comments of Jessica Simpson look like Bill Shakespear’s writing!

Is it possible that in the history of politics (or history itself?) anyone could be as vapidly stupid, less informed of…anything, more ignorant of life and her surroundings than ‘sirrah’ Palin or her brood?

One of life’s greatest challenges (since Summer of 2008) has been anyone’s ability to describe the mind numbing, feckless blatherings of this incredibly ignorant fool. (Can dodos Tweet? It would appear so!) Some will argue that she really is like Jessica Simpson and does it for the publicity. Others believe it obviously is a ploy for the cash those even more imbecilic than she throw at her.

It’s not possible to do justice to insults aimed at her. Someone once said watching Palin is like driving by an accident scene; you don’t really want to look but you can’t take your eyes away from the carnage.

And please don't even get me started on that voice! Dogs for miles around her appearances bites themselves silly upon hearing anything that shrill. Glaciers crumble, avalanches fall, fine crystal shatters when she screeches. Yet to some she's a modern day siren; I would imagine those people love sniffing skunks, too!

That she is looked up to, even revered, by what passes for humans today (who blissfully call themselves tea baggers, totally ignorant of the meaning...or not?) is a sad reflection on this society and the evident lack of education, but successful indoctrination by the Right, of those who worship her.

The Republicans are trying their best, with the help of the tumbleweed brainless in Texas and the gitar-pluckin’, pick-em-up-truck ridin’ mental midgets from Tennessee, to convince the rest of the country it’s better to live in rapturously ecstatic ignorance, continued abject poverty and thoughtless servitude to Corporate America. This way those already with the power and wealth can sit in their castles, eat their caviar, drink their Bollinger’s, and wonder what the “poor are doing”, all the while laughing their asses off at the ignorance that’s become epidemic in America all thanks to these "NeoPatricians" (I like that term much more than NeoCons. It describes them and their Ancient Roman attitude much better).

Palin makes Miss South Carolina seem smart. I know men marry women just for looks but, c’mon Todd, don’t you miss being able to have a semi literate conversation even once in a while? Unless, of course, you’re as well educated as your wife, in which case no explanation is needed. It’s just a shame you and she decided to pass on such an incomprehensible lack of knowledge. Sadly, Trig may turn out to be the brightest in this clan of ice cave grizzlies.

While I can’t even begin to express the contempt and loathing I feel for this piece of useless flesh, I have an even more difficult time accepting the minions who not only follow her, idolize her or automaton-ically (?) believe every word she vomits from the cesspool she calls a mouth. That goes for the so-called press which is as much of a joke as Palin. Of course their excuse is for the story, to sell advertising so they and their employers can become wealthier at the expense of the ignorant masses.

Is it possible Palin is a 21st Century mutation of Sybil? A NeoPolitical Tourette? Is she the result of genetic mutation from eating Monsantoized food or the result of too much of Rummy's Aspartame or maybe residual affects of Chernobyl (after all if she could see Russia from her house, what’s to stop all that radiation from wafting up to her front porch as she and the first dude sat holding hands and drinking irradiated lemonade?) or has she ingested worms or other organisms from the moose (meese?), wolves and gawd knows what else she killed and ate that fed off the contaminated flora and fauna of the oil spilled fields of Alaska?

We’ve all felt like stepping out back and just letting loose one tremendous primal scream at times. This is one of them for me.

Imagine if you will, a country filled with those whose intellect only approaches Sarah Palin’s?
Imagine if you will a country whose people think someone with the reasoning power of a nematode is worthy to represent them?
Imagine if you will, America in 20 years if these NeoPatrician Republicans have their way now?

If Radical Right Wing dogma induced ignorance is bliss, Thomas More has got to be smiling somewhere. If you never read it, you owe it to yourself, but do so from the standpoint of today’s Radical Right with all you’ve heard them spew, all the regression they espouse. Why the Right idolizes Rand over modifying More’s ideas, I’ll never understand. I wonder if Ayn didn't read young Sarah Thomas More's work to lull her to sleep under a potato(e?, Eh, Dan?) patch?

Maybe you’ll join me out back...screaming like a Banschee!

Any way the windfall blows?

Much as I’d like to equate this Osama thing with missing White Girls or a mixed up pop singer dying, there are a number of other things that should be looked at.
There’s no doubt that Obama will enjoy a, probably, significant ratings bump. It might even be enough to carry him well into 2012 or possibly beyond, if it’s played properly.

We’ve already seen the Right trying to share this accomplishment by claiming Bush’s pathetic involvement in trying to capture or kill bin Laden really made it possible. They’re trying everything to downplay the sudden popularity increase for Obama. It’ll be a tough sell by the Wingnut Party but I have every confidence in Luntz telling his stooges how to think, what to say and how many times to say it.

So what’s to come? Well, Congress will provide the answers in the coming weeks if we look closely enough. This is a time for Obama to make political hay, if he really wants to make things right. How bad would it look for Republicans to fight his every proposal in public now? The people who don’t follow politics closely or at all may finally (with the help of Democratic cojones) see Republican obstructionism as a poorly disguised attempt at payback or even retaliation for a Right Wing sour grapes attitude over what Obama did…that Bush had 8 years to do with probably more [illegal] resources and manpower yet couldn’t or didn’t want to.

The upside:
The Democrats need to take advantage of this *NOW* by letting the people know Obama CAN get things done when he really wants to and the problem (partly) is the corporate sucking, pig-headed NO-NO attitude of the Republican Party. If the Democrats actively pursue this at every opportunity, it would be political suicide for McConnell, Boehner and most of the Right to fight against Obama’s policies right now, not only at the national but local levels.


The downside:
That said however, it could turn out to be the wrong edge of the proverbial sword. Obama has a remarkable penchant for listening to the wrong (in my opinion) advisers. If fools like Geithner continue to push him to concentrate on the moronic deficit bullshit or any changes to Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid, or if he even considers more icing to Wall Street and the Banksters, then this windfall of political capital will show his base and those not so enthralled with his policies he really doesn’t care about them at all and middle and lower class life will continue its downward spiral.

What Obama should NOT do right now is make the kind of deals he and his team made with Big Pharma and the like in those backrooms.
Now is NOT the time to increase the Fatherland thing; now is NOT the time to tighten controls on American Freedoms especially using the National Security excuse; now is NOT the time reward the wealthy for supporting him.

Now IS the time for Obama help the Americans who need jobs; who need to be able to afford food and gas, education and the merest basics of existence; who need decent mortgages for homes and who need not to be thrown out into the street.

Now IS the time for Obama to stand up to the Banks and stop their abuse of Americans.

Now IS the time for Obama to tell Congress, in no uncertain terms, it’s time to do real things for real people and forget the controlling avarice of big business.

Now IS the time to get fair, legitimate and working regulations passed by a lackluster Congress and to reign in business excesses. Now IS the time to fulfill campaign promises he made to the American People.

Some choice, huh? But it’s one he now has the political capital, in excess, to spend.

The question is… which Obama will we see, the one who spoke out against Wall Street and Bush’s corruptions during his campaign for the American people…

or the Obama who caters to Big Business and Wall Street?

It’ll be interesting to see which way the windfall blows.

Thoughts on the death of OBL

by blondesense liz

I'm not sure why I am not rejoicing. Maybe I've just grown so cynical in the past 10 years. The first thing I thought of when I heard the news that bin Laden is dead was if Obama would stop drone bombing in Pakistan. When did I turn into such a wuss liberal? Shortly after 9/11, I would have been leading the parade the celebrate bin Laden's murder even if cost many more innocent lives.

The New York local news has been focused on the big hole in NYC that is "ground zero" because hundreds of folks have gathered there since last night celebrating the death of bin Laden. Well, I suppose it's nice to see New Yorkers being happy about something (we're the MOST unhappy state in the union) ... but then again, only hundreds of New Yorkers gathered and there are several million of us... so it's not a very large percentage, is it?

This is the second time a president announced the death of an arch villain on May Day. On May 1, 1945, FDR announced the death of Adolf Hitler.

May 1st is also Mission Accomplished Day.

Even more interesting is that Celebrity Apprentice was pre-empted for the big news last night. When I was flipping through the channels last night, that was the first thing I noticed when I flipped to NBC.... it said "Celebrity Apprentice" on the show identification.

Faux News wasted no time exposing their wishful thinking.


Another fox channel had the newscaster say, "President Obama is dead." Sheesh. Shut up!

Does anyone think this story is strange? Official: Bin Laden buried at sea

After bin Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan, senior administration officials said the body would be handled according to Islamic practice and tradition. That practice calls for the body to be buried within 24 hours, the official said. Finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, the official said. So the U.S. decided to bury him at sea.

Wow. I'm still digesting this. Will Trump demand to see the long form death certificate? Or better yet, the body?

What are you all thinking?

Osama bin Missin is Osama bin Deaded!

YAHOO!

At about 11.35 PM Eastern Time last night, stealthy American special forces troops descended on a compound north of Islamabad in Pakistan. A firefight ensued, and a man was killed.

That man was Osama bin Ladin, a Saudi who was the founder and leader of al Qaeda. The leader of the terrorist group that bombed the World Trade Center, that bombed the embassies at Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam, that crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon ...

Is Dead! Dead! Dead!

We have his body, and the ID is firm.

The mission is accomplished.

My thanks go out to the Special Forces, to the military and the intelligence community, to the Pakistanis, and to President Obama.