Friday, July 31, 2009
dana milbank, may i suggest
"have some issues much?" ale
in beer summit "spoof" milbank suggests hillary drink "mad bitch" beer - tpm
editors addendum: over @ the think progress comments thread, mce gives us the washpost contact info:
in beer summit "spoof" milbank suggests hillary drink "mad bitch" beer - tpm
editors addendum: over @ the think progress comments thread, mce gives us the washpost contact info:
ombudsman@washpost.com
main phone: 703-469-2500
main fax: 703-469-2995
mailing address:
p.o. box 17370
arlington, va 22216
update: the video has been pulled. but don't let that stop you from writing.
main phone: 703-469-2500
main fax: 703-469-2995
mailing address:
p.o. box 17370
arlington, va 22216
the brits show some cojones
and start interrogation of officials re: iraq (occupation)...on the telly. wonder if awol and rummy will be on their "witness" list. hopefully the questioning won't be interrupted by "britain's got talent" cuz' hopefully these politicos will be "singing."
tony blair and gordon brown will be quizzed live on tv by the man probing the Iraq war.
sir john chilcot also wants to grill "other senior figures involved in decision-taking" before the 2003 invasion.
he has pledged that as much of the inquiry as possible will be held in public - forcing a climbdown by the prime minister. - daily record
house congresscritters pass a food safety bill
it's not as strong as perhaps many would like, but it is further along than the 1940's style inspection process that the united states currently uses. some statistics to keep in mind, especially those without health insurance, approximately every 2 hours a u.s. resident dies from a food-related illness. every year, nearly 1-in-3 americans becomes seriously ill from food they thought was safe to eat, and about 325,000 wind up in the hospital.
some things that this house approved bill provides for...
but call your elected officials and tell them it is time to modernize our food inspection programs. our very mostly uninsured health depends upon it.
some things that this house approved bill provides for...
- increases the frequency of inspections of food facilities, and calls for more frequent inspections to at least annually for high-risk facilities and at least once every three years for facilities deemed a low risk.. (currently a facility is "generally" inspected every 10 years.)
- requires those importing food to the united states to meet the same safety standards as domestic food producers.
- gives the fda the authority to order a mandatory recall of contaminated food (currently, recalls are voluntary and the fda has to ask the facility to initiate).
- requires that food processors-with certain exemptions, such as farms-annually register with the fda and pay a $500 registration fee to help offset the inspection costs.
- requires that facilities report testing results to fda whenever they test food for contamination or adulteration. (this addresses the fiasco of the peanut corporation of america recall. they were ignoring positive salmonella tests until they received a negative result from a different lab.
but call your elected officials and tell them it is time to modernize our food inspection programs. our very mostly uninsured health depends upon it.
Labels: congress, food safety, healthcare, public health
betcha he's glad
he's got a government run healthcare option.
wouldn't it be nice if other men battling prostate cancer had that option instead of the "pay or die" option given them currently?
wouldn't it be nice if other men battling prostate cancer had that option instead of the "pay or die" option given them currently?
Labels: cancer, dodd, healthcare, senate
rep. anthony weiner (d-ny) you go, dude! you go!
he's tired of the rethuglican hypocracy and has called them on it.!
yesterday, rep. anthony weiner (d-ny) decided that it was “put-up or shut-up time for the phonies who deride the so-called ‘public option.’” he offered an amendment that would eliminate government-run medicare - think progressgive the congresscritter a call and tell him, you go, dude! 202.225.6616 or find a toll-free # at callcongress.org
Labels: healthcare, house of representatives, medicare, new yawk, republicans, right hypocrisy
lies about health care that can make you sick
sara robinson of the group news blog on the thom hartmann radio show discussing the myths of canada's universal health care plan.
speak truth to stupid
bill maher wants us to do just that to these "birther" crazies. he's so right.
...and once these stories get out there, they're hard to stamp out because our media do such a lousy job of speaking truth to stupid. vietnam, iraq and the spanish-american war were all sold on lies that were unchallenged or even abetted by the media. clinton got impeached and kerry got destroyed in large part because the media didn't have the guts to say, "this is nonsense."
lou dobbs has been saying recently that people are asking a lot of questions about the birth certificate. yes, the same people who want to know where the sun goes at night.
and lou, you're their new king. - latte times
Labels: birthers, cnn, conspiracy theories, liars, multi-millionaire media
Thursday, July 30, 2009
maybe they were afraid she'd quit half way thru her contract
via think progress, radio syndication giant (and former skippy employer) clear channel has passed on the idea of a sarah palin talk show. broadcasting & cable:
my own sources say much what they said when asked about a tv show for palin: don’t think so. while you might assume palin would be a better fit for conservative radio than the less partisan world of syndicated broadcast tv, my sources say the country’s biggest radio conglomerate, clear channel, has already passed on her.
the main objection to palin as radio talk-show host is that she would have to hold forth for three hours a day. while some of her recent remarks may indicate a talent for improvisation, anyone who’s listened to rush limbaugh or thom hartmann or don imus or howard stern or even ryan seacrest knows it’s the rare personality who can blab extemporaneously for 15 hours a week. and relying on callers to get you through won’t help, because as we’ve all experienced, callers-in are usually more embarrassing than compelling.
we've worked in radio, and it's a lot harder than it looks. if sarah thought governing was hard, just wait till she has to be coherent for a living!
the main objection to palin as radio talk-show host is that she would have to hold forth for three hours a day. while some of her recent remarks may indicate a talent for improvisation, anyone who’s listened to rush limbaugh or thom hartmann or don imus or howard stern or even ryan seacrest knows it’s the rare personality who can blab extemporaneously for 15 hours a week. and relying on callers to get you through won’t help, because as we’ve all experienced, callers-in are usually more embarrassing than compelling.
it's official: michelle malkin and ann coulter are nutty!
lynn sweet, the white house reporter who asked obama the now infamous question about the prof. gates arrest, takes issue w/malkin & coulter's insistence that she was a "white house plant":
ann, michelle, can we get a beer on this? i'll pay. i'll take an amstel light. what are your brews? because gals, you need to look elsewhere for a new conspiracy. coulter said on fox news that obama "had that question planted." she added, "i do have proof." on nbc's "today show" on wednesday morning, host matt lauer, asked malkin, "do you think this was a planned question?" replied malkin, "absolutely do."
you are both wrong. the obama white house did not have a clue what i would be asking. (and why again would they want to plant a question that would take him off his health-care message, a question that was likely to get him in hot water, and did?)…
got a call from the white house about 6:30 p.m. july 22 confirming that indeed i was going to attend the 8 p.m. press conference. i was told i "may" get a question. that was it. end of conversation.
before leaving for costa rica for a family wedding on friday, i wrote a column about how and why i asked the question because i received many queries from readers and viewers. i wrote what i thought were simple, declarative sentences: "no one asked me -- directly or indirectly -- about what i may be asking. no one from the white house tried to plant any question."
the idea that the obama media machine would try to plant that question -- or any question-- with me is nutty. if they had, my story would have been about their effort to plant a question. and again, why would they have even tried to orchestrate such an off-message query? by the time coulter and malkin spoke with such certainty, i had already said that obama did not have a clue about what i would be asking.
did you get that? "nutty." it's good to have our own opinions reaffired in the press.
you are both wrong. the obama white house did not have a clue what i would be asking. (and why again would they want to plant a question that would take him off his health-care message, a question that was likely to get him in hot water, and did?)…
got a call from the white house about 6:30 p.m. july 22 confirming that indeed i was going to attend the 8 p.m. press conference. i was told i "may" get a question. that was it. end of conversation.
before leaving for costa rica for a family wedding on friday, i wrote a column about how and why i asked the question because i received many queries from readers and viewers. i wrote what i thought were simple, declarative sentences: "no one asked me -- directly or indirectly -- about what i may be asking. no one from the white house tried to plant any question."
the idea that the obama media machine would try to plant that question -- or any question-- with me is nutty. if they had, my story would have been about their effort to plant a question. and again, why would they have even tried to orchestrate such an off-message query? by the time coulter and malkin spoke with such certainty, i had already said that obama did not have a clue about what i would be asking.
the not so hidden kay bailey hutchison
dirty campaign tactics. just might get her goobernatorial website banned from le google.
the statesman reported this morning that texas sen. kay bailey hutchison's new website for her gubernatorial campaign contained a list of more than 2,000 hidden keywords, including "rick perry gay".
campaign spokesman jeff sadosky said later that the "gay" statements would be removed, but indicated the rest would remain. current phrases include "the african american in texas" and "death of frank madla"...
...that might not be enough to get hutchison out of the woods on the web, however. danny sullivan, editor-in-chief of search engine land and one of the leading authorities in the field of search-engine optimization, said that no matter the purpose of the hidden text, the practice went against standard webpage building procedure. - austinist
Labels: dirty tricks, governor, internets, texas
self-hating jaws
kimberly krautter explains why she's not swimsuit-ready over @ huffpo. it's because of the movie "jaws":
we were very frightened of glove boxes ever since then.
also, about the same time, we remember seeing a coming attraction for an outer limits where a guy, driving in his car, looks in his rear-view mirror and sees an alien suddenly appear in the back seat.
so from then on, we were terrified of riding in a car. any number of terrible things could happen to us!
luckily a friend of ours put our minds at ease with this simple solution. when we asked, what if an alien suddenly appears in the backseat? he said, just ask him to open the glovebox!
now, if we could only feel good about ourselves in a swimsuit...
the theatre was packed to the gills. we had to stack up in the seats. i sat on my dad's lap. my brother sat on my mom's. we even had to sit in different rows. frankly, i don't think i recovered from that first scene. i still have nightmares about "the tug." oof. my stomach just flipped with the thought of it. my little brother passed out when the head popped out of the boat. ok, maybe he didn't pass out, literally, but mom swears he "went limp."
it is said that i didn't take a bath for months, and i do recall that i developed an impressively strong bladder because i was very suspicious of the toilet…
the great thing is that when you have no plans to go to the beach, you have no pressure to participate in the annual season of dread known as swimsuit shopping. you have no reason to suffer the glare of overhead fluorescent lights that cast a sickly pallor on your skin and expose every dimple on your flesh. there is every reason to ignore your expanding hips and waistline.
what about the pool, you ask? well in addition to my rather convenient phobia, i also have paper-white irish skin, so in general, the sun is not my friend. another reason to avoid the swimsuit. hurray for me!
personally, we know how kimberly feels. when we were young, we watched an old movie where roddy mcdowell killed his blackmailer by putting a poisonous snake in the man's glovebox in his car, the place where he always kept his cigarettes. then, while driving down a curvey mountainous road, he opened the glove box for more cigarettes, and, boom! the snake bit him, he ran off the road, crashed and died.it is said that i didn't take a bath for months, and i do recall that i developed an impressively strong bladder because i was very suspicious of the toilet…
the great thing is that when you have no plans to go to the beach, you have no pressure to participate in the annual season of dread known as swimsuit shopping. you have no reason to suffer the glare of overhead fluorescent lights that cast a sickly pallor on your skin and expose every dimple on your flesh. there is every reason to ignore your expanding hips and waistline.
what about the pool, you ask? well in addition to my rather convenient phobia, i also have paper-white irish skin, so in general, the sun is not my friend. another reason to avoid the swimsuit. hurray for me!
we were very frightened of glove boxes ever since then.
also, about the same time, we remember seeing a coming attraction for an outer limits where a guy, driving in his car, looks in his rear-view mirror and sees an alien suddenly appear in the back seat.
so from then on, we were terrified of riding in a car. any number of terrible things could happen to us!
luckily a friend of ours put our minds at ease with this simple solution. when we asked, what if an alien suddenly appears in the backseat? he said, just ask him to open the glovebox!
now, if we could only feel good about ourselves in a swimsuit...
matt taibbi's the man...again
and cuts to the chase on the "healthcare reform" fiasco.
the reason a real health-care bill is not going to get passed is simple: because nobody in washington really wants it.we, the american people, been pooched...again. don't let them tell you any differently.
...it won’t get done, because that’s not the way our government works. our government doesn’t exist to protect voters from interests, it exists to protect interests from voters. - taibblog
Labels: congress, dc, government, healthcare, public health, senate
money losing banks receiving taxpayer financial first aid
apparently are "healthy" enough to pay bonuses to incompetents.
citigroup and merrill lynch, which together lost $55bn in 2008, paid bonuses of more than $1m each to a total of 1,400 employees, according to a new york state report on thursday on bonus payments by banks propped up with taxpayer funds. - ft.comthey aren't financial institutions...they're crooks.
Labels: banking, bankruptcy, financial markets, taxpayers
shatner goes green
and gives h-p a green"piece" of his mind.
computer maker hewlett-packard was targeted on tuesday by environmental campaigners including star trek actor william shatner.
greenpeace activists scaled the company’s headquarters in palo alto and painted the words “hazardous products” in enormous letters on the roof to draw attention to its backpedalling on a pledge it made to remove toxic chemicals from its products by the end of the year.
....“you promised me a toxic-free computer by 2009,” he said in the recording. “now my friends at greenpeace tell me that i’ll have to wait until 2011. what’s up with that?” - ft.com
computer maker hewlett-packard was targeted on tuesday by environmental campaigners including star trek actor william shatner.
greenpeace activists scaled the company’s headquarters in palo alto and painted the words “hazardous products” in enormous letters on the roof to draw attention to its backpedalling on a pledge it made to remove toxic chemicals from its products by the end of the year.
....“you promised me a toxic-free computer by 2009,” he said in the recording. “now my friends at greenpeace tell me that i’ll have to wait until 2011. what’s up with that?” - ft.com
Labels: ecology, environment, hollywood, star trek
get a look at this...
goddamn, tori, where did that come from? not that i'm complaining -- you just almost made me wish i was straight for a moment there...
Labels: music
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
and don't make fun of the jesus horses
this should be fun...p.z. myers is taking several members of the secular student alliance to the creationist museum next month:
the creation "museum" is experiencing some dread and trepidation about our visit, and they have sent a letter to me and to the ssa expressing their concerns. these are some reasonable worries, given that there will be a huge number of us (240 and counting) showing up in one mass. here's what they have to say, and my comment to all of you…
there are a number of things you will not do, however.
do not show up wearing obscenities or particularly abusive articles of clothing. dress casual, but look good — you are setting an example. pro-science t-shirts are excellent, t-shirts with naked lesbians masturbating with bibles will give them an excuse to throw you out, so don't do it. the ssa won't even give you a ticket if you show up looking like you want to brawl.
ah, we wanted to see lesbians masturbating w/bibles.
re: creation museum visit - notice of policies
dear dr. paul ("p.z.") myers and the ssa:
as the security manager for the department of public safety at the answers in genesis creation museum, i am writing in regard to your planned visit to the museum, along with those associated with the group called the secular student alliance, scheduled for august 7, 2009.
the purpose of this letter is to advise you of our standard policies and requirements concerning guest behavior.
succinctly stated, and posted on signs at a number of locations at the museum premises, is the following notice:
the creation museum is private property, an outreach of answers in genesis. guests at the museum are expected to conduct themselves in a polite, respectful manner at all times. loud, disrespectful, destructive, obscene, or abusive behavior will not be tolerated, and may result in your removal from the premises. please be courteous to other guests, security personnel, and our staff while you are here. thank you!...
here's what i expect: everyone in our group will be firm, rational, and will not shy away from asking hard questions. you will feel free to wear some distinguishing clothing — a scarlet a, a darwin fish, a t-shirt, something so that we can tell we are members of the same group. you will discuss the material on display with your peers, but with other visitors to the "museum" if and only if they invite it. dear dr. paul ("p.z.") myers and the ssa:
as the security manager for the department of public safety at the answers in genesis creation museum, i am writing in regard to your planned visit to the museum, along with those associated with the group called the secular student alliance, scheduled for august 7, 2009.
the purpose of this letter is to advise you of our standard policies and requirements concerning guest behavior.
succinctly stated, and posted on signs at a number of locations at the museum premises, is the following notice:
the creation museum is private property, an outreach of answers in genesis. guests at the museum are expected to conduct themselves in a polite, respectful manner at all times. loud, disrespectful, destructive, obscene, or abusive behavior will not be tolerated, and may result in your removal from the premises. please be courteous to other guests, security personnel, and our staff while you are here. thank you!...
there are a number of things you will not do, however.
do not show up wearing obscenities or particularly abusive articles of clothing. dress casual, but look good — you are setting an example. pro-science t-shirts are excellent, t-shirts with naked lesbians masturbating with bibles will give them an excuse to throw you out, so don't do it. the ssa won't even give you a ticket if you show up looking like you want to brawl.
better beware congresscritter boehner
oh...i forgot. you've got government socialist healthcare if you get cancer.
tanning beds rated as top-tier cancer risk. tanning beds are as deadly as mustard gas, arsenic, plutonium and other known carcinogens, international cancer experts have ruled. - toronto star
Labels: cancer, congress, healthcare
the governator hates children
the governator hates old people
the governator hates ill people
the governator hates state parks
the governator hates democrats
the governator hates education
the governator gives a big "f** you" to californians
the governator hates ill people
the governator hates state parks
the governator hates democrats
the governator hates education
the governator gives a big "f** you" to californians
gov. arnold schwarzenegger on tuesday ended the months-long saga over california's enormous budget deficit, but not before slashing nearly half a billion dollars more from services to the poor, sick and elderly.
schwarzenegger signed a package of legislation to wipe out a $24 billion deficit, cutting health and human services, k-12 and higher education, prisons and other state services, and making up the rest through borrowing and accounting gimmicks.
but unsatisfied with the final product produced by the legislature, the republican governor used his veto authority to make $489 million in additional cuts - a move that democrats said might be unlawful. -sfgate
Labels: budget, california, depression, education, governator
good thing the police didn't arrest a japanese cellist
jack and jill politics has the top 5 gates "yo mama" jokes, including our favorite:
yo mama is so dumb, that she thought the harlem renaissance was a dance
it's a lie
opponents of obama's health care plan are called moderates. it's a lie; they aren't moderates. murderers is more like it. every opponent of the public option borrowed trillions to give rich republicans tax breaks. every opponent of the public option borrowed trillions of dollars to bomb hospitals in iraq. every opponent of the public options says we can't afford to give your grandmother medicine or sick kids medical care.
they are murderers not moderates.
they are murderers not moderates.
Labels: healthcare, moderate voice
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
skippy's tuesday nite music club
to all those hard worker bees out there
zee avi - "honey bee"
zee avi - "honey bee"
Labels: bees, music, skippy's music club
say hello
rocket woman
healthcare reform deathwatch
posted over at my place because it contains foul language
Labels: bipartisanship, healthcare, politicians
universal healthcare is in the democratic party platform
if they vote for something sponsored by the insurance companies that does not include at least a public option, they aren't democrats.
they seem to forget this is about providing access to health care....not insurance.
the woman who was denied treatment for breast cancer because she failed to note on her insurance papers that she had acne treatment as a teenager had insurance. she wasn't given health care.
they seem to forget this is about providing access to health care....not insurance.
the woman who was denied treatment for breast cancer because she failed to note on her insurance papers that she had acne treatment as a teenager had insurance. she wasn't given health care.
a bipartisan group of the senate finance committee is “closing in on a health care compromise.” the tentative agreement would create “a network of nonprofit cooperatives,” instead of establishing a new public health plan as favored by senior house democrats. also, the Senate “moderates” won’t mandate employer coverage. - think progressthose in congress have sold out to the highest bidder....the lobbyists...not the american people.
Labels: democrats, healthcare, liars
and now, some japanese women youtubery...
i've admired shonen knife for a long time. and this video is just plain cool.
enjoy...
Labels: music
quote of the day
via anne laurie @ balloon juice, we find pareen @ gawker discussing sarah "iquitarod" palin's resignation speech:
actually, this is our favorite line:
“in the winter time it’s the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn’t it split the cheechakos from the sourdoughs?”
it’s like peggy noonan, jack london, and william faulkner wandered into the woods with three buttons of peyote and one typewriter, and only this speech emerged.
actually, that sounds like a soiree we'd love to attend!
“in the winter time it’s the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn’t it split the cheechakos from the sourdoughs?”
it’s like peggy noonan, jack london, and william faulkner wandered into the woods with three buttons of peyote and one typewriter, and only this speech emerged.
cruddy news network...
as of 7 am eastern time, this is the main headline on cnn's website: "source: jackson doctor gave him powerful drug."
that isn't from the entertainment section. that's on the home page. that's the biggest current story in the world, according to cnn.
i suppose i could go on a rant about what a lousy outfit cnn is, but jon stewart has already done that plenty of times, and he's much better at it than i'll ever be. so i'll just say this...
f&%k cnn. i'm done with it.
Labels: cnn
Monday, July 27, 2009
skippy's monday nite music club
a little monday blues with one of my favorite underappreciated musicians, ry cooder.
ry cooder & the moula banda rhythm aces - "down in mississippi"
ry cooder & the moula banda rhythm aces - "down in mississippi"
Labels: mississippi, music, skippy's music club, youtube
happy 4th blogiversary
to vagabond scholar!
the mainstream media may be useless as breasts on a bull, but jimmy still needs the occasional king crimson fix...
enjoy...
Labels: music
born freeway blogger
the freeway blogger visits santa monica.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
skippy's sunday nite music club
another sign of the apocalypse - modo is making sense
we can't believe we're about to write these words, but...we agree w/maureen dowd:
it's one thing for the police to arrest someone that appears to be a threat, or is interferring w/police procedure. that makes sense.
but the police should not be allowed to arrest someone simply for disrespecting the badge. the badge does not give them the last word. it gives them the power to keep peace and protect the citizenry, not to win arguments and score macho points.
however many different versions you read about the incident, all agree that the officer was aware that prof. gates owned the house he was in, and was a member of the harvard faculty, not some indigent burglar.
no matter how offensive the professor's behavior appeared (and that in itself is up for question), he should not have been arrested in his own home for being indignant w/a civil servant, albeit one w/a badge and gun.
as modo says, being obnoxious is not a crime. if it were, we'd be in rikers right now.
(tip o'the kangaroo tail to balloon juice for the link!)
addendum: from the comments section on balloon juice, comrade jake puts it much more succinctly than we:
being obnoxious isn’t a crime.
as we reflect on the arc of civil rights dramas from jim crow to jim crowley, my friend john timoney, the police chief of miami, observes: “there’s a fine line between disorderly conduct and freedom of speech. it can get tough out there, but i tell my officers, ‘don’t make matters worse by throwing handcuffs on someone. bite your tongue and just leave.’ ”
as the daughter of a police detective, i always prefer to side with the police. but this time, i’m struggling.
no matter how odd or confrontational henry louis gates jr. was that afternoon, he should not have been arrested once sergeant crowley ascertained that the harvard professor was in his own home.
of course, we ourselves are not a daughter of a detective, but other than that, we are 1000% w/modo on this one.as we reflect on the arc of civil rights dramas from jim crow to jim crowley, my friend john timoney, the police chief of miami, observes: “there’s a fine line between disorderly conduct and freedom of speech. it can get tough out there, but i tell my officers, ‘don’t make matters worse by throwing handcuffs on someone. bite your tongue and just leave.’ ”
as the daughter of a police detective, i always prefer to side with the police. but this time, i’m struggling.
no matter how odd or confrontational henry louis gates jr. was that afternoon, he should not have been arrested once sergeant crowley ascertained that the harvard professor was in his own home.
it's one thing for the police to arrest someone that appears to be a threat, or is interferring w/police procedure. that makes sense.
but the police should not be allowed to arrest someone simply for disrespecting the badge. the badge does not give them the last word. it gives them the power to keep peace and protect the citizenry, not to win arguments and score macho points.
however many different versions you read about the incident, all agree that the officer was aware that prof. gates owned the house he was in, and was a member of the harvard faculty, not some indigent burglar.
no matter how offensive the professor's behavior appeared (and that in itself is up for question), he should not have been arrested in his own home for being indignant w/a civil servant, albeit one w/a badge and gun.
as modo says, being obnoxious is not a crime. if it were, we'd be in rikers right now.
(tip o'the kangaroo tail to balloon juice for the link!)
addendum: from the comments section on balloon juice, comrade jake puts it much more succinctly than we:
on friday npr had a segment where they interviewed two police chiefs. both clearly implied that the officer should have taken his lumps and walked away after establishing there was no break-in. good cops don’t let personal insults turn a lousy situation into an out-of-control spectacle.
double addendum: from the washpost:"my suspicion is that this was not about race, this was about power," said richard weinblatt, director of the institute for public safety at central ohio technical college. "in the old days, we used to call this 'contempt of cop.' this person was charged with 'contempt of cop' because they kept pushing and pushing.
someone else is on fire this time
canada is still ablaze.
stat of the day
ponder this.
according to the latest data, the number of vacant u.s. homes touched 18.7-million in the second quarter. that is a daunting figure, of course, but it is more fun to put it in context. assuming four people per household, the u.s. currently has enough surplus housing to put the entire population of the u.k., with room left over for israel. - infectious greedh/t - treehugger
Labels: greed, homeless, housing bubble
environmental news story sunday
those pesky stories that seem to hide from the front pages.
mine operators not restoring mountains. - coal operators in southern west virginia are not restoring large strip-mining sites to their "approximate original contour," despite a state policy change meant to require such reclamation, according to a previously unpublished federal government report. - charleston gazette mail
private, rural wells not tested for contamination. - despite widespread dependence on private wells, federal and state oversight is scant, leaving those who rely on private wells in wisconsin mostly on their own. but with 10 percent or less testing their wells, most are leaving their health to chance - madison wisconsin state journal
water quality checks aim to allay purity concerns. - the healthiness of local water has been a growing concern in recent years as possible carcinogens have been found in some private wells, forcing homeowners to spend thousands of dollars on systems to clean that water - poughkeepsie journal
quick, quiet genetic corn approval questioned. - the canadian food inspection agency has quietly approved a new genetically engineered corn with eight different insect- and weed-fighting traits, but farmer and environmental groups in canada say the approval was rushed and environmental risks ignored - canwest news service
energy firms help pay for state regulators' far-flung trips. - state officials who lead california's war on global warming often travel abroad on trips supported by the major greenhouse gas polluters they regulate, a bee investigation has found. industry lobbyists and executives routinely join them - sac bee
report says lake drainage is worse. - a u.s. and canadian study exploring recent lower water levels on lakes michigan and huron has dramatically miscalculated the amount of water the lakes have lost due to erosion on the st. clair river, a new report says - milwaukee journal sentinal
aging wells, high demand pushes carson city to rare Stage 2 water alert. - carson city's water operations manager rit ralmer said the stage 2 water alert declared last weekend was a convergence of high temperatures, the breakdown of two of the city's wells and the inability to access water from marlette lake. - carson city nevada appeal
mine operators not restoring mountains. - coal operators in southern west virginia are not restoring large strip-mining sites to their "approximate original contour," despite a state policy change meant to require such reclamation, according to a previously unpublished federal government report. - charleston gazette mail
private, rural wells not tested for contamination. - despite widespread dependence on private wells, federal and state oversight is scant, leaving those who rely on private wells in wisconsin mostly on their own. but with 10 percent or less testing their wells, most are leaving their health to chance - madison wisconsin state journal
water quality checks aim to allay purity concerns. - the healthiness of local water has been a growing concern in recent years as possible carcinogens have been found in some private wells, forcing homeowners to spend thousands of dollars on systems to clean that water - poughkeepsie journal
quick, quiet genetic corn approval questioned. - the canadian food inspection agency has quietly approved a new genetically engineered corn with eight different insect- and weed-fighting traits, but farmer and environmental groups in canada say the approval was rushed and environmental risks ignored - canwest news service
energy firms help pay for state regulators' far-flung trips. - state officials who lead california's war on global warming often travel abroad on trips supported by the major greenhouse gas polluters they regulate, a bee investigation has found. industry lobbyists and executives routinely join them - sac bee
report says lake drainage is worse. - a u.s. and canadian study exploring recent lower water levels on lakes michigan and huron has dramatically miscalculated the amount of water the lakes have lost due to erosion on the st. clair river, a new report says - milwaukee journal sentinal
aging wells, high demand pushes carson city to rare Stage 2 water alert. - carson city's water operations manager rit ralmer said the stage 2 water alert declared last weekend was a convergence of high temperatures, the breakdown of two of the city's wells and the inability to access water from marlette lake. - carson city nevada appeal
Labels: coal, drought, ecology, energy, environment, food safety, gm, lobbyists, mine, politicians, water
but he don't know nuttin bout birthers no babies!
the president of the southern poverty law center calls on cnn to fire lou dobbs:
to this we say: alan keyes is also, among other things, full of sour grapes from having his ass handed to him by obama in the illinois race for senate five years ago.
the fact that birther polemic is racist-based does not mean that it is only and entirely racist-based. there's many, many colors of crazy, and a whole lot of them are in the birther movement.
on the july 15 edition of "lou dobbs tonight," mr. dobbs questioned the official certificate provided by the president and the state of hawaii and complained that president obama has not made public the "original document." on his radio program, mr. dobbs has repeatedly questioned the president's fitness for office, demanding he "show the documents" and, at one point, jokingly suggesting president obama may be "undocumented."
the truth about the president's birth is not in dispute. it has been verified by factcheck.org, among many other serious news organizations, and his official birth documents have been made public. cnn itself has repeatedly reported on the falsity of the claims of the "birthers," and the network's esteemed legal analyst, jeffrey toobin, recently called those claims "a joke." as you know, even mr. dobbs' frequent fill-in anchor, kitty pilgrim, debunked the birthers on the july 17 edition of mr. dobbs' own cnn show. the fact that mr. dobbs suggests otherwise on cnn — while real cnn reporters tell the truth — is both deplorable and an embarrassment to all serious journalists.
as he has in several other instances, mr. dobbs, in taking up the birthers' claims, is adopting an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that originated on the radical racist right. as gawker.com has reported, this particular conspiracy theory was first developed by an open anti-semite and circulated by right-wing extremists who cannot accept the fact that a black man has been elected president of the united states. among its adherents was neo-nazi james von brunn, the alleged murderer of a security guard at the u.s. holocaust memorial museum in washington, d.c., this june. von brunn had helped spread the birthers' claims on the internet and attacked the "dishonest & conspiratorial media" for not taking them up…
respectable news organizations should not employ reporters willing to peddle racist conspiracy theories and false propaganda. it's time for cnn to remove mr. dobbs from the airwaves.
now, we realize that the hardly-ever-right counters charges of birther racism w/the canard "but, alan keyes is a birther! and a negro, too!"the truth about the president's birth is not in dispute. it has been verified by factcheck.org, among many other serious news organizations, and his official birth documents have been made public. cnn itself has repeatedly reported on the falsity of the claims of the "birthers," and the network's esteemed legal analyst, jeffrey toobin, recently called those claims "a joke." as you know, even mr. dobbs' frequent fill-in anchor, kitty pilgrim, debunked the birthers on the july 17 edition of mr. dobbs' own cnn show. the fact that mr. dobbs suggests otherwise on cnn — while real cnn reporters tell the truth — is both deplorable and an embarrassment to all serious journalists.
as he has in several other instances, mr. dobbs, in taking up the birthers' claims, is adopting an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that originated on the radical racist right. as gawker.com has reported, this particular conspiracy theory was first developed by an open anti-semite and circulated by right-wing extremists who cannot accept the fact that a black man has been elected president of the united states. among its adherents was neo-nazi james von brunn, the alleged murderer of a security guard at the u.s. holocaust memorial museum in washington, d.c., this june. von brunn had helped spread the birthers' claims on the internet and attacked the "dishonest & conspiratorial media" for not taking them up…
respectable news organizations should not employ reporters willing to peddle racist conspiracy theories and false propaganda. it's time for cnn to remove mr. dobbs from the airwaves.
to this we say: alan keyes is also, among other things, full of sour grapes from having his ass handed to him by obama in the illinois race for senate five years ago.
the fact that birther polemic is racist-based does not mean that it is only and entirely racist-based. there's many, many colors of crazy, and a whole lot of them are in the birther movement.
vampire squids
lovely amazing creatures being given a bad rap by wall street mafioso pirates.
more on the real vampire squids from hell from national geographic
the nytimes article - is wall street picking our pocketsit's been just over three weeks since the july 3rd arrest of former goldman sachs it executive sergey aleynikov inadvertently blew the lid off the intricacies of exactly how those great vampire squids on wall street manage (no past tense here) to suck main street dry.
(actually, come to think of it, that didn't take long at all.)
the high frequency trading ("hft") scam on wall street is being exposed to the masses as we blog. - bob swern' diary on the great orange satan.
more on the real vampire squids from hell from national geographic
Labels: animals, goldman sachs, lawlessness, pirates, wall street, youtube
climate change is so dangerous
the former administration kept evidence classified.
photos from us spy satellites declassified by the obama white house provide the first graphic images of how the polar ice sheets are retreating in the summer. the effects on the world's weather, environments and wildlife could be devastating. - the guardian
Labels: aWol, climate change, ecology, environment, global warming, nasa
some of us are okies now
especially in parts of california.
in one dreadful year, this dusty city in the heart of the most productive agricultural region in the nation has become a desperate place where mothers wash disposable diapers for reuse, children are sleeping in cars, and the unemployed trudge door to door to beg for food.
the fact that the unemployment rate in mendota, 38.5 percent, is the highest in california doesn't even raise an eyebrow here. the anguish, frustration and hunger are visible in every corner and on every face of this town of 7,800 people 35 miles west of fresno - and nobody sees any relief in sight. - sfgate
meanwhile, one banker's paycheck is looking to be $100 million dollars.
don't tell me we are in a recession...we're in the second republican depression.
Labels: agriculture, california, depression, poverty, unemployment
Saturday, July 25, 2009
skippy's saturday nite music club
swing dances were a staple for me many moons ago. and, no swing dance would be complete with out the incomperable louis jordan and his tympany five.
louis jordan and his tympany five - "caledonia" from the three stoogies movie "swing parade of 1946"
louis jordan and his tympany five - "caledonia" from the three stoogies movie "swing parade of 1946"
Labels: comedians, movies, music, skippy's music club, youtube
why is james carville
politiking over in afghanistan?
the famous democratic strategist who got bill clinton elected to the white house has signed on with another dark horse presidential candidate — this one in afghanistan. - npr
Labels: afghanistan, america, clinton, louisiana, politicians, politics
gates opened this week at del mar
where the "surf meets the 'astroturf'"
we understand that our favorite blogger playing the ponies and politicos, left at the gate, is out on the left coast to enjoy warm breezes and the accented stretchdrive calls.
we wish him luck with his picks and thank he and his family for bringing their tourista dollars to the near bankrupt sandy eggo area and our crumbling state.
we understand that our favorite blogger playing the ponies and politicos, left at the gate, is out on the left coast to enjoy warm breezes and the accented stretchdrive calls.
we wish him luck with his picks and thank he and his family for bringing their tourista dollars to the near bankrupt sandy eggo area and our crumbling state.
Labels: blogtopia, california, horses, san diego
2,000 show up for free healthcare
no..not in some 3rd world country...virginia.
nearly 2,000 people crowded onto a southwest virginia fairgrounds friday and waited hours to receive free dental care, eyeglasses and medical procedures.perhaps the next clinic should be held in georgetown outside the houses of the congresscritters who receive "socialist" gov't sponsored healthcare so they can actually see the working slobs who need healthcare.
remote area medical founder stan brock said the daily limit of 1,600 patients for the three-day clinic in wise county was reached by 5:30 a.m. friday. another 200 people were admitted to the treatment area later in the morning, but several hundred more had to be turned away.
"if there's an event that more dramatically displays the need for health care, i don't know what it is," said gov. timothy m. kaine, who spent an hour volunteering at a registration table friday. - wtvr.com
Labels: feinstein, healthcare, public health
Friday, July 24, 2009
skippy's friday nite music club
happy national tequila day
the ventures - "tequila"
the ventures - "tequila"
Labels: holiday, music, skippy's music club, youtube
cnn - conspiracies not news
that seems to be the new motto...
cnn/us president jonathan klein is rebuffing the mounting criticism of the network over lou dobbs’ continued airing of “birther” theories, saying that lou runs “his own show” that merely hosts “panels” with birther theorists and asserting that cnn respects viewers enough to let them “make up their own minds.” - the plum linei've made up my own mind....never watch cnn again.
Labels: cnn, conspiracy theories, teevee
why is tom campbell (r) for governor
running ads on firedoglake and other progressive blogs?
two reminders of who this guy is...
robert over at calitics puts it succinctly...
two reminders of who this guy is...
- during the impeachment debate, campbell suggested that clinton's misleading statements about his relationship with monica lewinsky had incapacitated him from serving as president.
- in september 2004, campbell was named by california governor arnold schwarzenegger to his newly formed council of economic advisors. from 2004 to 2005 campbell took a leave of absence from his berkeley post to serve as director of the california department of finance in the schwarzenegger administration.
robert over at calitics puts it succinctly...
tom campbell isn't some kind of new republican. he's no moderate. instead, he is the same exact kind of republican that the party has offered dating back to herbert hoover. he is a man of the upper class, determined to protect the wealth and privileges of the upper class at the expense of everyone else.
campbell's economic policies are no different than reagan's, or bush's (either one, 41 or 43). campbell offers the vast majority of this state only reduced services and less money in their wallets. his hooverite policies would merely make the recession worse, and ensure that when economic recovery does come, only campbell's rich friends see any of its benefits, while everyone else is left behind. which will apparently be just fine with campbell, since everyone else should just take care of themselves anyway. - calitics
Labels: advertising, california, governator, governor, republicans
gov't run healthcare good enough for difi
but not good enough for us slobs...aka the hoi polloi...formerly known as americans.
sen. dianne feinstein said thursday she was not persuaded by president obama's news conference wednesday on health care, saying she is leery of expanding access to insurance unless costs are controlled.if you don't want entitlements, give up your gov't run healthcare entitlement and buy your own healthcare.
..."i'm concerned that there not be another entitlement," feinstein said. - sfgate
Labels: feinstein, healthcare, public health, youtube
for once he can opine on something he knows about
are the cabloids going to have g. gordon liddy on to discuss the cambridge case? he does have experience with being arrested for burglary.
Labels: criminal, racism, republicans
everybody doesn't like something, but nobody likes sarah p!
since sarah "iquitarod" palin has decided that actual governing would get in the way of her mission statement, america has finally begun to cool down in its fervor towards the ice queen of mean. washpost:
overall, the new poll found that 53 percent of americans view palin negatively and 40 percent see her in positive terms, her lowest level in post-abc polling since she first appeared on the national stage last summer as sen. john mccain's running mate.
the dip in palin's favorability comes as she gets ready to leave office sunday with about 18 months remaining in her term and plans to turn her attention to national politics. palin, 45, has said she intends to campaign for other like-minded candidates, and speculation has been rampant that she may seek the gop nomination to oppose president obama…
republicans and gop-leaning independents continue to rank palin among the top three contenders in the run-up to 2012, however, with 70 percent of republicans viewing her in a positive light in the new poll. but her support within the gop has deteriorated from its pre-election levels, including a sharp drop in the number holding "strongly favorable" impressions of her…
democrats, meanwhile, continue to express deeply negative opinions of palin, with more than three-quarters expressing unfavorable views, including 56 percent who feel that way intensely. among independents, 40 percent view her favorably and 51 percent unfavorably, the survey shows.
perhaps more vexing for palin's national political aspirations, however, is that 57 percent of americans say she does not understand complex issues, while 37 percent think she does, a nine-percentage-point drop from a poll conducted in september just before her debate with now-vice president biden. the biggest decline on the question came among republicans, nearly four in 10 of whom now say she does not understand complex issues. that figure is 70 percent among democrats and 58 percent among independents.
one reason for her percipitous dip might be her continuing struggle w/ethics, or at least w/accusations of ethics violations. the washtimes reports that bailin' palin soon will be found guilty of same:the dip in palin's favorability comes as she gets ready to leave office sunday with about 18 months remaining in her term and plans to turn her attention to national politics. palin, 45, has said she intends to campaign for other like-minded candidates, and speculation has been rampant that she may seek the gop nomination to oppose president obama…
republicans and gop-leaning independents continue to rank palin among the top three contenders in the run-up to 2012, however, with 70 percent of republicans viewing her in a positive light in the new poll. but her support within the gop has deteriorated from its pre-election levels, including a sharp drop in the number holding "strongly favorable" impressions of her…
democrats, meanwhile, continue to express deeply negative opinions of palin, with more than three-quarters expressing unfavorable views, including 56 percent who feel that way intensely. among independents, 40 percent view her favorably and 51 percent unfavorably, the survey shows.
perhaps more vexing for palin's national political aspirations, however, is that 57 percent of americans say she does not understand complex issues, while 37 percent think she does, a nine-percentage-point drop from a poll conducted in september just before her debate with now-vice president biden. the biggest decline on the question came among republicans, nearly four in 10 of whom now say she does not understand complex issues. that figure is 70 percent among democrats and 58 percent among independents.
the associated press claims that outgoing alaska gov. sarah palin will be found guilty of violating her state's ethics rules, citing a report leaked from the state personnel board on one of the 19 ethics complaints filed against her.
the governor may be counting down her final days in office, but she isn't letting the accusations go unanswered. she's even threatening to take some legal action of her own against the leakers.
according to the ap, the board will say she improperly used her public image to raise money for the legal defense fund created to fend off complaints made against her as an elected official. no punishment is expected for violating the rules; the board will only recommend that mrs. palin not take direct payments from the fund.
mrs. palin issued a lengthy statement late tuesday saying the fund "was the hallmark of legal compliance and prudent conduct."
meanwhile, here's sarah p. getting tackled by terry tate...
the governor may be counting down her final days in office, but she isn't letting the accusations go unanswered. she's even threatening to take some legal action of her own against the leakers.
according to the ap, the board will say she improperly used her public image to raise money for the legal defense fund created to fend off complaints made against her as an elected official. no punishment is expected for violating the rules; the board will only recommend that mrs. palin not take direct payments from the fund.
mrs. palin issued a lengthy statement late tuesday saying the fund "was the hallmark of legal compliance and prudent conduct."
a.p. cracking the whip
on upaid linky dinks.
taking a new hard line that news articles should not turn up on search engines and web sites without permission, the associated press said thursday that it would add software to each article that shows what limits apply to the rights to use it, and that notifies the a.p. about how the article is used. - nytimes
Labels: internets, newspapers
a fundraising beach party is more important to republicans
than providing healthcare to americans.
yesterday, rep. darrell issa (r-ca) took the unusual step of requesting the house clerk to read aloud a 55-page motion to recommit, a process that took over 40 minutes. the obstructionist tactic, the politico’s glenn thrush reports, appears to have been orchestrated by the gop in order to delay house proceedings so republicans could attend the annual “boehner beach party” fundraising event at the cantina marina, a d.c. restaurant near the waterfront - think progressthat's the same darrell issa who funded the enron/ahrnuhld takeover of the state of california.
Labels: congress, healthcare, liars, republicans
Thursday, July 23, 2009
skippy's thursday nite music club
sometimes little pickup bands have some name musicians...take the case of "the dirty mac"
the dirty mac - "yer blues"
vocals - john lennon
lead guitar - eric clapton
bass - keith richards
drums - mitch mitchell
the dirty mac - "yer blues"
vocals - john lennon
lead guitar - eric clapton
bass - keith richards
drums - mitch mitchell
Labels: music, skippy's music club
americas most trusted newsman
jon stewart. never mind that he's on the comedy channel. but you know...when he wants hard hitting news he turns to cnn...and when they want hard hitting news...they turn to skippy the bush kangaroo.
the late walter cronkite was once dubbed the "most trusted man in america," in his role as anchor for cbs news throughout much his career that spanned decades. after his death last week, time magazine's website ran a poll to see who the most trusted newsman in america is now and after the votes were tallied, the winner was…jon stewart. - cbs4.com
congrats, jon! we've trusted you for years.
h/t - atrios
Labels: comedians, daily show, jon stewart
randi rhodes has been talking about healthcare today
and specifically the wheelchair that costs $440 to buy but apria healthcare rents out $1,200 a month, billing medicare. hhhmmmm....lookie who owns apria now. the private investment firm, the blackstone group.
blackstone group lp agreed to buy apria healthcare group inc. for about $920 million after the stock was beaten down by concern that cutbacks in u.s. government health-insurance programs will crimp profit.
...blackstone, run by ('68 yale bonesman - ed.) chairman stephen schwarzman, has bought at least five health-care companies since 2004, - bloomberg
blackstone group, goldman sachs group inc. and credit suisse group ag are backing a new u.s. firm marketing insurance to small businesses and middle-income individuals.it's not about healthcare at all. it's not about keeping american citizens healthy and alive. it's about all about profit at the taxpayer expense. and a d.c. insider investment firm gambling that government health insurance programs won't kill their golden goose.
..insphere insurance aolutions will sell life, retirement and health products through 3,500 agents when the dallas-based firm launches in january, the company said in a statement. - bloomberg
Labels: gambling, healthcare, investments, public health, randi, wall street
obama isn't rushing public option healthcare
it's been an ongoing discussion since roosevelt.....teddy roosevelt.
he was the first u.s. president to call for universal health care and national health insurancebut i guess 100 years is rushing it for the inside the beltway crowd
Labels: healthcare, obama, public health
the governator has lost it
he thinks he's crocodile dundee now...."that's a big knife"
you shouldn't take such glee over destroying the once proud state of california and stickin' it to the working class.
so, i guess this is what is happening, in the world. california gov. arnold schwarzenegger made a video for his twitter followers yesterday, and for some reason, he is holding a gigantic g*******n knife at the beginning of it. seriously, look at that thing. - huffponot better government through cutlery? stabbing to death millions of californians with his draconian cuts to "the commons?"
"you sent a governor to sacramento -- not el stiffo, like some in the past were," schwarzennegger said. "[i am] someone a little bit more entertaining, and who has a little bit more fun with the whole thing, not have fun making the cuts -- they sadden me -- but fun with the job itself." - abcnewsno ahrnuhld...some voters with the help of enron sent an actor. and that is all you have been doing...just acting the part. being a governor is not a part, it is an actual job where actual hard work and negotiations need to take occur. an actual job where the selfish interests of the monied few should not take precidence over the future of the entire state and its citizens.
you shouldn't take such glee over destroying the once proud state of california and stickin' it to the working class.
Labels: california, governator
health care update
i strolled over to my representative's web page to see what he has going on lately on the subject of health care and was happy to see he had a page with a "health care update". i read it and found it to be inadequate, so naturally i sent him an email. here's what i wrote to him:
that's how i left it. i didn't mention that he seems to be woefully under-informed on the subject of health care reform in spite of my numerous emails to him on this subject already. i guess i'll have to call his office more frequently.
folks, the insurance lobbyists are talking to your representatives every single day. if you want real reform that benefits you and not the insurance industry, you have to talk to your representative every day as well. it doesn't take much for smart people like you to send off an email on the subject, maybe with a link to something informative. go ahead and do it.
Congressman,
I read your statement on health care reform with great interest. It is full of statements that need clarification, so I thought I'd write to you and seek clarification of them. I'll be mentioning your web page to my neighbors and they'll probably want more clarity as well.
When you write that "the current [health care] system is full of waste, fraud and abuse", to what, specifically, are you referring? The current system is a private system, so it seems you are saying that private health insurance is full of waste, fraud, and abuse. I agree with that, but I'd like to know the details. Also, thank you for recognizing this, since it argues strongly for a public option.
You wrote "Doctors and patients should always have control over their health decisions – and I have serious concerns with plans that would allow bureaucrats or politicians dictate what treatments doctors and patients can or can’t use." I agree with that as well, but I notice that you don't mention that in all of the single payer systems in the world, government bureaucrats don't have any more control over health decisions than they have here. I notice you don't seem concerned about systems where insurance companies decide what health care one can receive based on how it affects their profits (are you unaware that insurance companies are paying bonuses to employees based on how good they are at denying coverage to sick people?), and I notice that you ignore the fact that medical boards already make those decisions. This issue you raise is a false one, since we already live in a world where those decisions are made outside the one-to-one, doctor-patient relationship. The discussion in health care reform is not about that issue anyway; it is about how we pay for health care coverage. I think you should remove that paragraph from your statement since it is misleading and not germane to the discussion.
You express concern over frivolous lawsuits in medical liability. Do you have some data to show that this is actually a problem? I ask because I have seen data that indicates this is a red herring and that "frivolous lawsuits" are not actually an issue in any way, shape, or form. In fact, there is already a mechanism for dealing with frivolous lawsuits: judges. Judges can dismiss any claims that are deemed frivolous. I really think you should strike this business about frivolous lawsuits as well, unless you can provide data that supports the claim.
that's how i left it. i didn't mention that he seems to be woefully under-informed on the subject of health care reform in spite of my numerous emails to him on this subject already. i guess i'll have to call his office more frequently.
folks, the insurance lobbyists are talking to your representatives every single day. if you want real reform that benefits you and not the insurance industry, you have to talk to your representative every day as well. it doesn't take much for smart people like you to send off an email on the subject, maybe with a link to something informative. go ahead and do it.
there go my weekends...
i'm going back to my old routine at the print shop: three twelve-hour shifts, beginning at 6:30 pm, sunday through tuesday. ah well.
the upshot: i also go back to having four days off a week, three if i choose to pull a little overtime. the bills will still get paid, that much i know -- i worked nights sunday through tuesday for six years without becoming homeless or going hungry, so i know what to expect and how to handle the sleep deprivation. but the thing is, and management knows this... i f*%k$#g hate working every f#*k@!g sunday. f&*k$%g hate it.
like it isn't punishment enough that i have to work while 80 percent of the american population is sleeping year after year -- i have to do it on a f%#k*&g sunday to boot. day of rest my ass.
dammit...
Labels: it is what it is, life
question of the day...
did glenn beck just admit to being a criminal?
(video credit: thinkprogress...)
Labels: questions
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
skippy's wednesday nite music club
who knew this song was so...sexy?
julie london and the bobby troup trio - "bye bye blackbird"
julie london and the bobby troup trio - "bye bye blackbird"
Labels: music, skippy's music club
rip gidget, the taco bell dog
one of mrs. skippy's favorites has passed: gidget, who played the taco bell dog in that company's famous ad campaign ("yo quiero taco bell!") has gone to doggie heaven. examiner.com:
the feisty little canine who declared, "!yo quiero taco bell!" has passed over the rainbow bridge. her name (yes, she was a girl) was gidget and she also played such beloved characters as bruiser's mom in the second legally blonde movie and was featured as herself - an icon of the 90's -- in a trivial pursuit commercial.
according to a report from people magazine, gidget died of a stroke tuesday night. gidget's trainer, sue chipperton reminds us that during her 15 years of life, gidget made millions of people happy with her memorable commercials.
here's one of our favs:according to a report from people magazine, gidget died of a stroke tuesday night. gidget's trainer, sue chipperton reminds us that during her 15 years of life, gidget made millions of people happy with her memorable commercials.
rest in peace, gidget.
how can you spoil something that's already gone bad?
we are not big fans of the "demon child trying to kill everyone" genre of movies. from the bad seed to the good son, we have avoided films concerning familicide. we suppose the subject matter hits too close to home for us, but that's another story for another venue, probably a psychaitrist's office (or homicide bureau).
that being said, we can't help but rubber-neck the upcoming flick the orphan, in a so-bad-it's-got-to-be-good ("no more wire hangers!") sort of way. but apparently, we are even mistaken in our estimation of good camp.
it looks not-scary. it also looks disturbing but not in an interesting, artistic way. just kids killing other kids, not our idea of a good time. even worse, it looks like another screenplay from the "plotpoint telegraph service" school of writing.
so, imagine our delight to find out the supposed "twist" in the film is so ludicrous as to make the entire endeavor pointless.
now, we are warning you here: if you don't want to know the surprise, don't read down:
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spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert :
"the orphan" sucks!!!
ok, we're just kidding. the real spoiler alert is this:
the little girl is actually a 33 year old prostitute w/dwarfism!
no lie! that's the actual movie (according to the innertubez)!
apparently she was raped by her father and so hates all pedophiles, and the father in the family that "adopts" her is a pedophile, so she kills everyone.
makes sense to us.
that being said, we can't help but rubber-neck the upcoming flick the orphan, in a so-bad-it's-got-to-be-good ("no more wire hangers!") sort of way. but apparently, we are even mistaken in our estimation of good camp.
it looks not-scary. it also looks disturbing but not in an interesting, artistic way. just kids killing other kids, not our idea of a good time. even worse, it looks like another screenplay from the "plotpoint telegraph service" school of writing.
so, imagine our delight to find out the supposed "twist" in the film is so ludicrous as to make the entire endeavor pointless.
now, we are warning you here: if you don't want to know the surprise, don't read down:
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p
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spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert spoiler alert :
"the orphan" sucks!!!
ok, we're just kidding. the real spoiler alert is this:
the little girl is actually a 33 year old prostitute w/dwarfism!
no lie! that's the actual movie (according to the innertubez)!
apparently she was raped by her father and so hates all pedophiles, and the father in the family that "adopts" her is a pedophile, so she kills everyone.
makes sense to us.
matt taibbi's the man
he talks with tom ashbrook of on point (wbur) re: the den of theives known as goldman sachs.
Labels: financial markets, goldman sachs, radio
out of the political blogging frying pan and into the furry fandom fire...
all i wanted to do was put politics aside until, maybe, the summer of 2010. in the meantime, i intended to hang out at that furry site i like, check out some anthropomorphic artwork, submit some music (which has, overall, been well received), maybe even hammer out the script and panels of a furry-oriented comic strip i have in mind (mostly pg or pg-13, occasionally r-rated, and thus far going in circles on the tarmac), write a journal (blog) entry now and then, and basically join in and enjoy the conversations -- including those with anyone who thinks they can convince me to spend $2,000 i don't have on a "fursuit" i would only wear once a year at most to something called an "anthrocon" when i haven't dressed up for halloween once since 1987.
so much for any political aspirations i might have still harbored.
but like any other subculture, the furry fandom has its own mental, moral, and spiritual defectives who make the rest of the fandom bang its collective head against the wall in frustration, embarrassment, anger, and sadness. i know some of you skippy readers think i'm an incurable head case, and frankly, i no longer give a rat's ass. but if you think i'm sick, get a load of these two. they're worse than republican creatures of congress.
this is just a sample of some of the insane crap that occasionally crops up in the fandom. turns out these two had accounts at the same site i visit, and they've both been subsequently banned.
and i thought blogtopia's right-wing trolls were maddening. damn...
Labels: it is what it is, life
major hollywood prop house is shuttering
and mulder's x-files cabinet is, among other things, for sale (kinda sacreglious if you ask me)
hollywood's second-largest prop house is going out of business with its owner saying he has fallen victim to film and tv production leaving california for other u.s. states that lure producers with tax incentives and fewer restrictions.
20th century props is closing its doors for good at the end of july and auctioning off a collection of 93,000 props from such films as "cleopatra" and "titanic", as well as tv's "the x files" and "golden girls" and music videos from michael jackson, britney spears and madonna.
"i ran out of money about three months ago. the hollywood business is leaving town and going to various other states," 20th century's owner, harvey schwartz, told reuters. - thr.com
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
skippy's tuesday nite music club
it's summertime...that means concerts at the santa barbara county bowl. thinking back on all the concerts i took in at that wonderful little venue, one of my favorites of all was inxs. they rocked.
inxs with michael hutchence - "suicide blonde"
inxs with michael hutchence - "suicide blonde"
Labels: australia, music, skippy's music club
"we've gotta stop him"
someone seems to be threatening the president of the united states.
Labels: republicans, treason
the corporate media state
chris hedges is spot on.
american culture -- or cultures, for we once had distinct regional cultures -- was systematically destroyed in the 20th century by corporations. these corporations used mass communication, as well as an understanding of the human subconscious, to turn consumption into an inner compulsion. old values of thrift, regional identity that had its own iconography, aesthetic expression and history, diverse immigrant traditions, self-sufficiency, a press that was decentralized to provide citizens with a voice in their communities were all destroyed to create mass, corporate culture. new desires and habits were implanted by corporate advertisers to replace the old. individual frustrations and discontents could be solved, corporate culture assured us, through the wonders of consumerism and cultural homogenization. american culture, or cultures, was replaced with junk culture and junk politics. and now, standing on the ash heap, we survey the ruins. the very slogans of advertising and mass culture have become the idiom of common expression, robbing us of the language to make sense of the destruction. we confuse the manufactured commodity culture with american culture. - truthdig and alternetjust heard him interviewed on thom hartmann...apparently he was also on npr. worth the listen. his new book, empire of illusion, i would say is probably worth the read, too, although i have not yet gotten my hands on it.
Labels: air america, america, books, pop culture
is it sexism or imagism?
should being "an politically correct image appropriate size" be a requirement to be surgeon general?
last i recall c. everett koop wasn't bony.
last i recall c. everett koop wasn't bony.
Labels: healthcare, public health, sexism
to put it in simple terms
republicans want americans to go bankrupt over medical bills.
republicans want american to suffer and die.
republicans are putting politics over people.
republicans are putting campaign contributions over country.
republicans want american to suffer and die.
republicans are putting politics over people.
republicans are putting campaign contributions over country.
a private memo distributed by the republican national committee calls for like-minded advocates to help defeat president barack obama's health care proposals by delaying its consideration.
..in an effort to slow down reform, the rnc advises its advocates to use a whole host of political tools, from organizing town halls, to writing letters to the editor, to booking surrogates on radio and television, to engaging in "street theater" protests outside democratic events. and in a bit of irony, the memo's authors encourage readers to frame the president as the one acting out of political motivations.- huffpo
Labels: healthcare, politics, public health, republicans
california in distress
h/t to dday/calitics
Labels: budget, california, disasters, flags, flickr
around blogtopia (and yes! we coined that phrase!)
instaputz thinks doug giles needs a psychaitrist
crooks & liars brings us a video of tom arnold out-thinking sean hannity
bad astronomy tells us jupiter got hit by a comet
the grumpy forester remembers walter cronkite
and steven d talks about ghost malls over @ booman tribune
crooks & liars brings us a video of tom arnold out-thinking sean hannity
bad astronomy tells us jupiter got hit by a comet
the grumpy forester remembers walter cronkite
and steven d talks about ghost malls over @ booman tribune
Monday, July 20, 2009
skippy's monday nite music club
one small step for man...one giant leap for mankind....and a fabulous theme song for nasa.
Labels: nasa, skippy's music club, space, youtube
thanks to the governator's wrecking crew
Labels: budget, california, governator, youtube
anyone bother to tell them
the oil off our coast isn't for cars?
oh...and we're the only state not charging an oil extraction tax? wtf!?!?!?
f 'em.
budget accord reached. .....welfare checks would go to fewer residents, state workers would be forced to continue to take unpaid days off and new drilling for oil would be permitted off the santa barbara coast. - latte timesand should there be a spill...we'll be stuck with clean up bill, too, i'll betcha.
oh...and we're the only state not charging an oil extraction tax? wtf!?!?!?
f 'em.
Labels: budget, california, governator, offshore drilling, santa barbara
rasmussen you ignorant slut
to paraphrase our old buddy kevin nealon when he was doing the weekend update segment on snl:
polls indicate that if the 2012 election were held today, a majority of americans would be really confused
rasmussen sez obama and mitt "don't call me baseball glove" romney would be tied, and obama would only be ahead of sarah "iquitarod" palin by 6%.
let's put aside the ability to travel in time necessary for this poll to actually mean something. rassmussen is known to tilt so far to the right that leon trotsky would look like he's standing up straight with an axe in his head.
we agree w/jazz shaw @ the moderate voice: rasmussen poll shows most americans hate rasmussen
polls indicate that if the 2012 election were held today, a majority of americans would be really confused
rasmussen sez obama and mitt "don't call me baseball glove" romney would be tied, and obama would only be ahead of sarah "iquitarod" palin by 6%.
let's put aside the ability to travel in time necessary for this poll to actually mean something. rassmussen is known to tilt so far to the right that leon trotsky would look like he's standing up straight with an axe in his head.
we agree w/jazz shaw @ the moderate voice: rasmussen poll shows most americans hate rasmussen
say hello
my quick take on the top stories of the day
the public seems to be disapproving of obama's "handling" of the healthcare issue.
(sorry, rethuglicans...they are not disapproving of him personally.)
if you are trying to defeat the president of the united states, you are an enemy of the country.
(yes...senator demint...that means you.)
if you want a united states soldier being held captive to be killed by the taliban to save legal fees, you don't support our troops.
(perhaps, lt. col. ralph peters, you should tell pfc. bergdahl's parents that face-to-face instead of to a faux news bimbo in a comfy studio.)
forget the ap for the iphone to find it...dude, just legalize it, tax its sales and have ads in the yellow pages.
while sanford's mistress is enjoying government paid healthcare in argentina, citizens of his state are losing their healthcare.
(why does your god tell you to allow americans to suffer and die prematurely, governor?)
if you are wanking about obama "hiding" budget numbers until august, where the hell were you when the bush crime family didn't even put the cost of the occupation (ok..war) into the budget? (sfx: crickets)
(talk about hot air...rethuglicans...you can't have your cake and eat it too...or force feed the "help" crumbs.)
there really isn't much difference between al quaeda and operation rescue. when the leaders of those organizations threaten violence against americans, why is only one taken "seriously?"
(oh, that's right...the rethuglicans get campaign donations from one of these terrorist groups.)
yeah...i'm mad as hell and i really can't take these lying liars and the sycophantic corporate media anymore.
(sorry, rethuglicans...they are not disapproving of him personally.)
if you are trying to defeat the president of the united states, you are an enemy of the country.
(yes...senator demint...that means you.)
if you want a united states soldier being held captive to be killed by the taliban to save legal fees, you don't support our troops.
(perhaps, lt. col. ralph peters, you should tell pfc. bergdahl's parents that face-to-face instead of to a faux news bimbo in a comfy studio.)
forget the ap for the iphone to find it...dude, just legalize it, tax its sales and have ads in the yellow pages.
while sanford's mistress is enjoying government paid healthcare in argentina, citizens of his state are losing their healthcare.
(why does your god tell you to allow americans to suffer and die prematurely, governor?)
if you are wanking about obama "hiding" budget numbers until august, where the hell were you when the bush crime family didn't even put the cost of the occupation (ok..war) into the budget? (sfx: crickets)
(talk about hot air...rethuglicans...you can't have your cake and eat it too...or force feed the "help" crumbs.)
there really isn't much difference between al quaeda and operation rescue. when the leaders of those organizations threaten violence against americans, why is only one taken "seriously?"
(oh, that's right...the rethuglicans get campaign donations from one of these terrorist groups.)
yeah...i'm mad as hell and i really can't take these lying liars and the sycophantic corporate media anymore.
Labels: faux news, liars, republicans, right hypocrisy, soldiers, traitors, treason
cnn.com: lying about health care in a big way
a couple of weeks ago I wrote about a terrible and misleading article from cnn.com, written by dana bash and lesa jansen, in which they tell the story, and "story" is the right word, of Shona Holmes, a woman who claimed her tumor brain tumor couldn't be treated quickly enough in canada and had to spend her own money to get it treated in the u.s.
except, as it turns out, she didn't have a brain tumor at all.
fact-checking at cnn.com? non-existent.
update: someone actually wrote something factual about this story...bit it wasn't at cnn.
except, as it turns out, she didn't have a brain tumor at all.
fact-checking at cnn.com? non-existent.
update: someone actually wrote something factual about this story...bit it wasn't at cnn.
mad about kindle
mad kane, that is!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
skippy's sunday night music club
it's sunday...do they play jazz in heaven?
ingrid lucia & irvin mayfield - "do they play jazz in heaven?" video promoted in conjunction with the putumayo world music new orleans brass compilation
ingrid lucia & irvin mayfield - "do they play jazz in heaven?" video promoted in conjunction with the putumayo world music new orleans brass compilation
Labels: music, new orleans, skippy's music club
whoa...
that's good. that's real good...
(almost forgot: credit to gordon of alternate brain for bringing animusic to the attention of brain readers everywhere...)
Labels: music
invasive mussels imperil western water system
and here i thought they were talking about the former bodybuilding governator.
but, no...it's quagga mussels.
but, no...it's quagga mussels.
despite efforts to stop their spread, scientists say it's only a matter of time before quagga mussels appear throughout the west's vast system of reservoirs and aqueducts, raising operation and maintenance costs by untold millions. - apbut since the republicans don't believe in funding anything involving "the commons", i guess this headline could fit.
Labels: budget, governator, water
someone else is on fire this time
our neighbors up in gorgeous british columbia.
*update* well...i spoke too soon. we are on fire...again.
we know this evacuation from monster fires all too well. our thoughts and prayers are with all affected. santa bar-b-que-ians are canadians today, eh.
*update* well...i spoke too soon. we are on fire...again.
Labels: brush fires, canada, fire, fires
hoppy national ice cream day
what flavor are you celebrating with
environmental news story sunday
for those stories that you might not hear the sunday talking bobble-heads touch upon.
new pact to let european public track pollutants. - european citizens will be able to find out what dangerous substances are emitted in their neighbourhoods under an environmental treaty to go into effect in 17 countries in october, the united nations said on friday. - reuters
potential neurotoxin could be in our food.- one of the most comprehensive analyses yet of human exposure to pbdes, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, shows that the chemical — long used in everything from computers to sleeping bags — enters humans through their diets, not just their household - wired
higher tides affecting entire east coast region. - scientists are closely watching unusually high tides along the entire east coast, especially in mid-atlantic states including virginia, where average daily levels are running between 6 inches and 2 feet above predicted norms. - hampton roads virginian-pilot
world's bread basket, iraq now a basket case. - once the cradle of agriculture, the land between two rivers — the tigris and euphrates — has become a basket case for its farmers. iraq was one of the world's premier sources of aromatic rice and nearly 500 kinds of dates, but now imports nearly all the food its people eat. - mcclatchy newspapers
golf courses' environmentally fore-ward thinking. - golf is getting greener. across the united states, but especially in the pacific northwest and particularly in the portland area, golf courses are adopting environmentally sustainable practices. - portland oregonian
new pact to let european public track pollutants. - european citizens will be able to find out what dangerous substances are emitted in their neighbourhoods under an environmental treaty to go into effect in 17 countries in october, the united nations said on friday. - reuters
potential neurotoxin could be in our food.- one of the most comprehensive analyses yet of human exposure to pbdes, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, shows that the chemical — long used in everything from computers to sleeping bags — enters humans through their diets, not just their household - wired
higher tides affecting entire east coast region. - scientists are closely watching unusually high tides along the entire east coast, especially in mid-atlantic states including virginia, where average daily levels are running between 6 inches and 2 feet above predicted norms. - hampton roads virginian-pilot
world's bread basket, iraq now a basket case. - once the cradle of agriculture, the land between two rivers — the tigris and euphrates — has become a basket case for its farmers. iraq was one of the world's premier sources of aromatic rice and nearly 500 kinds of dates, but now imports nearly all the food its people eat. - mcclatchy newspapers
golf courses' environmentally fore-ward thinking. - golf is getting greener. across the united states, but especially in the pacific northwest and particularly in the portland area, golf courses are adopting environmentally sustainable practices. - portland oregonian
Labels: ecology, environment, pollution, united nations
this isn't starting to get irritating yet, but...
i'm on twitter, skippy is on twitter, and we both follow each other there. the thing is... i just don't understand twitter. skippy seems to have a firm handle on it. me, on the other hand...
what is going on over there? example: i had kevin smith of jay and silent bob fame following me -- as if i know that man personally, which i don't. i mean, i liked his character in clerks, but why in the hell would he follow me, of all people? he's never gotten in touch with me before. call me nuts, but i thought that was approaching the realm of spookiness.
discuss...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
skippy's saturday nite music club
putting a little yee in your haw with a tip o' the kangaroo tail to a saturday night veteran host
men with banjos who know how to use them - "foggy mountain breakdown"
men with banjos who know how to use them - "foggy mountain breakdown"
Labels: comedians, music, skippy's music club
steve writes so we don't have to
we perused mememorandum the other day, and were a bit bothered by the headline why trig has divided america, supposedly from politico.
now, unless the piece was about how high schoolers simply hate studying higher mathematics (which, from what we remember about sines and co-sines, could be very possible), the premise was about sarah palin's baby, and made no sense whatsoever.
it turns out the piece was written by gary "don't fall off that stage" bauer, head of jesus will kill all liberals or some other church organization, so the lack of reality involved suddenly made more sense. but still, we wondered aloud, what makes anybody on the right think that anybody on the left even thinks about trig, let alone gets divided by the poor little guy?
luckily for us, steve @ no more mister nice blog, was able to express our feelings before we even knew we had them:
poor little guy.
now, unless the piece was about how high schoolers simply hate studying higher mathematics (which, from what we remember about sines and co-sines, could be very possible), the premise was about sarah palin's baby, and made no sense whatsoever.
it turns out the piece was written by gary "don't fall off that stage" bauer, head of jesus will kill all liberals or some other church organization, so the lack of reality involved suddenly made more sense. but still, we wondered aloud, what makes anybody on the right think that anybody on the left even thinks about trig, let alone gets divided by the poor little guy?
luckily for us, steve @ no more mister nice blog, was able to express our feelings before we even knew we had them:
don't know anyone on the left who ever thinks about trig palin, but the right desperately wants us to despise him for existing -- and if we don't, the right will make up a trend of left-wing trig-hating out of the flimsiest of evidence. now i see that our old pal gary bauer (whom we actually do despise) has written a politico piece on the subject with daniel allott:…
as for the paliban daily piece, i see that it was so representative of the depraved thinking of the left that the editors of the site responded a day after it was published by asking readers whether he should be fired, and a day after that he quit writing for the site. the tpm piece was written not by a regular tpm writer but by a diarist with no "followers" -- in other words, he's just a blogger who decided to create his blog at tpm (a blog with a whopping two posts since late june), and who's elicited very little response.
i know you righties really, really want this to be about trig, just as you'd really like it if we lefties killed kittens for sport or engaged in similar heart-tugging acts of depravity. but listen to me: we don't care about trig. many of us, faced with a pregnancy in which down's syndrome was evident, would make a choice very different from palin's. but our response to palin's choice is "go with god" (or whatever the atheist or flying spaghetti monster-worshipping equivalent of that might be). we don't like palin and her followers using him as a prop, or a bloody shirt -- but her choice to bring trig to term is something we simplty don't think about.
we must needs echo steve's sentiments. the only reason the left even thinks about trig palin is because his mom flaunts him so incesssantly, and is so in-our-face about it, that there's no way we can't not be aware about him. ... at talking points memo, an article sarcastically suggested that palin resigned because "she wants to spread down syndrome ... because down syndrome is just too cute to be reserved for one in 800 births."
a paliban daily article titled "sarah palin’s retarded platform: more trigs!" interpreted palin's outspokenness on disability rights as a political ploy to win votes....
those reactions echoed the hateful response that met palin when she introduced trig on the campaign trail last fall. nicholas provenzo of the libertarian center for the advancement of capitalism discussed being "troubled" by trig’s existence because "it is crucial to reaffirm the morality of aborting a fetus diagnosed with down syndrome." ...
working backward, i'll start by saying it's news to me that "the libertarian center for the advancement of capitalism" -- which "is dedicated to advancing individual rights and economic freedom through ayn rand's philosophy of objectivism" -- is part of "the left."a paliban daily article titled "sarah palin’s retarded platform: more trigs!" interpreted palin's outspokenness on disability rights as a political ploy to win votes....
those reactions echoed the hateful response that met palin when she introduced trig on the campaign trail last fall. nicholas provenzo of the libertarian center for the advancement of capitalism discussed being "troubled" by trig’s existence because "it is crucial to reaffirm the morality of aborting a fetus diagnosed with down syndrome." ...
as for the paliban daily piece, i see that it was so representative of the depraved thinking of the left that the editors of the site responded a day after it was published by asking readers whether he should be fired, and a day after that he quit writing for the site. the tpm piece was written not by a regular tpm writer but by a diarist with no "followers" -- in other words, he's just a blogger who decided to create his blog at tpm (a blog with a whopping two posts since late june), and who's elicited very little response.
i know you righties really, really want this to be about trig, just as you'd really like it if we lefties killed kittens for sport or engaged in similar heart-tugging acts of depravity. but listen to me: we don't care about trig. many of us, faced with a pregnancy in which down's syndrome was evident, would make a choice very different from palin's. but our response to palin's choice is "go with god" (or whatever the atheist or flying spaghetti monster-worshipping equivalent of that might be). we don't like palin and her followers using him as a prop, or a bloody shirt -- but her choice to bring trig to term is something we simplty don't think about.
poor little guy.
think about it...
the bible says (boy, you know you're in trouble when you hear those words, don't you?) that god took the ancient jews out of egypt and under his wing, made them his chosen people, gave them a long-winded and exceedingly ponderous set of rules and regulations known as leviticus (following up on the big ten he smacked them with shortly after plucking them from egypt) which explained to his chosen people exactly how they should and should not conduct their lives if they wanted to hold onto his favor, no, that is not a threat, it is a promise -- oh, and if anyone should come along and preach a new religion to the jews, then they have his permission to kill them.
then, centuries later, god reveals himself to his jews in the form of an ordinary carpenter's son, and starts preaching a new religion to them. And the jews kill him.
now, i ask you... what did you expect was going to happen?
qed, folks. qed...
then, centuries later, god reveals himself to his jews in the form of an ordinary carpenter's son, and starts preaching a new religion to them. And the jews kill him.
now, i ask you... what did you expect was going to happen?
qed, folks. qed...
Labels: gay/lesbian, it is what it is, religion, right hypocrisy
aussies are fighting back against the banks
wonder if our congresscritters could get some "ideas"...nah...
banks will have to justify the costs of late payment and overdraft fees of $40 a hit which lawyers claim are significantly higher than the real cost to the banks. these are estimated to be less than $1 per transaction.- brisbane times
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