Happy Halloween everyone!
Of course I wanted to find a great Halloween themed clip, but comedy and Halloween is relatively weak. A lot of bits are either a little too scary for the kiddos or just not that good. There have been some laughs on TV with Halloween, but most of the time the punchline is someone's scared. Wow, what a reach for a Halloween show. Let's face it, has there been an original script for one of these Halloween shows in 40 years?
With limited options, I told myself, "if I am going to be stuck with people scared, let's go with the Muppets." For your viewing pleasure, it's the Alice Cooper episode from the original series. Alice Cooper was pretty gutsy to do this, but in the end, working with the Muppets was a very cool Halloween match.
I really do enjoy this clip. Enjoy, and save a peanut butter cup for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbLG7KvzmmY&list=PLwnOWN1VC-SLaslz0T0-DbviSwK5BdniH&index=4
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
The Tilted Field
It's amazing Republicans don't control the majority of government. You read right, I'm shocked by it, but it's not because their ideas resonant with more than the ultra wealthy and the willfully ignorant. It's because they have tilted the election playing field so much in their favor, they should control everything. The fact they control half of government, at best, is a testament of how unpopular they've become. The only thing keeping them from turning into the Whigs is the tilted field.
Here is how the right has made a mockery of the election process:
Running through this list, should make you angry, furious even, but it should also make you laugh. Even with such a tilted playing field, the right barely can hold onto any power, and have to vote in unison, with zero dissent, maximizing arcane procedural rules and motions to have a say in government. It is only a matter of time before even the current tilt isn't enough anymore.
Here is how the right has made a mockery of the election process:
- They have gerrymandered many districts into safe zones for Republicans, splitting the Democratic vote across as many right leaning areas as possible, neutralizing their impact. When they have a Democratic strong area too large to diffuse, they take as many Democratic voters as they can, usually from poorer and minority areas, and create one large Democratic district, limiting the poor and minority voice in our government. This is why 2010 hurt the Dems so bad (the districts are set by the incoming majority on census years), and why 2020 should already be on everyone's radar.
- They hide their candidates. When was the last time you saw a political sign outside of the strongest of Republican strongholds say "proud Republican?" They create political messaging which disguises their candidates affiliation, sometimes even masquerading them as Democrats.
- Republicans go out of their way to avoid talking about their true positions on all issues. They'll accuse a journalist of having an agenda for merely asking them to clarify their positions.
- Unless they are woefully behind, they never want to debate. Debates force them to, vaguely, outline their positions and agenda, something the modern GOP'er is terrified of doing. They don't want to put anything on the record which might come back to haunt them.
- When they do have to debate, they insist on controlling the venue, the audience, the topics, the questions, the media accessibility, and every tiny detail, creating a sheltered "public" forum, usually stocked with their supporters.
- They create dog whistle ballot initiatives for major election years, initiatives which represent the worst of us as a society (anti gay, anti minority, anti voting rights, anti women's rights; usually wrapped in false patriotism and/or religion). These initiatives successfully deliver the dregs of humanity, and their unbridled hatred, to the polls. The right knows these dregs usually vote Republican.
- They have a massive amount of control over the media in this country. The right owns a large portion of the media, and what they don't own has been browbeaten into submission with their McCarthy-esque methods, ensuring a right friendly/left unfriendly message is relayed to the masses.
- When they can't control the message, they either avoid talking about certain stories altogether, or create a new crisis (like ebola) to dominate the news cycle.
- Through unchecked dark money flowing into elections, the GOP and their supporters outspend the competition on advertisement at obscene levels. 10 to 1, 15 to 1 and even 20 to 1. That's $20 spent by Republicans and their backers for every $1 for the Democrats.
- When a voter registration campaign, especially one geared to getting minority voters registered, has success, they will do everything to shut it down.
- Voter registration drives run by Republicans have a tendency of mishandling registrations filled out by Democrats. When voter registrations are delivered to Republican campaign officials, some districts seem to have consistent trouble getting them entered into the system.
- Under the false flag of trying to stop criminals from voting, Republican voting officials purge hundreds of thousands of legal voters from the voting ranks by simply removing popular names, names usually common in the African American and Latino communities.
- The right and their puppet masters spend millions every election cycle to discourage voting. They know they will lose if Democrats turn out to vote, so they create false apathy to keep the voting public at home.
- The right knows making voting easier by expanding voting hours hurts their end results. They will always fight to limit voting hours.
- The right inflated an extremely minor problem, voter fraud, and used their fear mongering to justify requiring voter ID's. The GOP will insist state issued college ID's are not legal voter ID's, but NRA membership cards are, knowing who their are disenfranchising. At worst, making people pay for an ID to vote is an outright poll tax.
- Republicans love some tactics which are extremely low. They put out misinformation about voting days, hours and polling places in an attempt to confuse the voters. They also engage in threatening robo-calls to intimidate people from voting.
- Polling stations in poorer communities are usually understaffed and under equipped, purposely, to make waiting times and voting lines long, knowing this too will discourage some.
- They purposely draft confusing ballots and unclear instructions which are designed to create large numbers of disqualified ballots.
- And let's not forget the shocking amount of ballots from poorer and minority voting areas which seem to disappear every election.
Running through this list, should make you angry, furious even, but it should also make you laugh. Even with such a tilted playing field, the right barely can hold onto any power, and have to vote in unison, with zero dissent, maximizing arcane procedural rules and motions to have a say in government. It is only a matter of time before even the current tilt isn't enough anymore.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Change is Good
One thing is glossed over in regards to the ebola story. It's how the initial response in Texas and New Jersey is reminiscent to the old way we did healthcare in this country. The way these problems were eventually taken care of is reminiscent of the changes made through the Affordable Care Act, changes made for the overall good of the country.
The problem with healthcare in the USA prior to President Obama wasn't quality. It has always been the world's best health care. The problem came down to accessibility, profit being the number one priority and not looking at health care as something for the betterment of all, instead, just focusing on the patients who could afford it.
In Texas, a general apathy to immigrant and poorer patients, established protocol geared towards getting people out of the hospital quickly, lack of training, lack of proper equipment and staff, and an overall mentality to do things the cheapest way possible when dealing with a "non-profitable' medical crisis led to two healthcare workers getting sick, in addition to the original patient. They are very lucky it was only two. Thanks to the federal government, and their non-profit protocols, a major crisis was averted.
In New Jersey, ignorance over science and proven effective protocol, in addition to a Governor who wanted to prove the ACA was bad and self promote, led to a nurse, who didn't have ebola, being harassed for hours, getting quarantined in a parking lot, in a tent, with no heat, shower or toilet. It was only when she hired a civil rights lawyer did Governor Christie abandon his heavy handed, ignorant, unwarranted attempt at looking Presidential. By creating a fear just so he could quell it, Christie ended up exposing New Jersey to something far more dangerous for it's citizens than ebola, a civil rights lawsuit which they would have never had a chance of winning.
In both cases, the federal government, under the leadership of the President, came in and cleaned up the mess.
What these two cases should remind us of is how lucky we are to have Obamacare, because I surely never want to go back to where we were prior to it being enacted.
The problem with healthcare in the USA prior to President Obama wasn't quality. It has always been the world's best health care. The problem came down to accessibility, profit being the number one priority and not looking at health care as something for the betterment of all, instead, just focusing on the patients who could afford it.
In Texas, a general apathy to immigrant and poorer patients, established protocol geared towards getting people out of the hospital quickly, lack of training, lack of proper equipment and staff, and an overall mentality to do things the cheapest way possible when dealing with a "non-profitable' medical crisis led to two healthcare workers getting sick, in addition to the original patient. They are very lucky it was only two. Thanks to the federal government, and their non-profit protocols, a major crisis was averted.
In New Jersey, ignorance over science and proven effective protocol, in addition to a Governor who wanted to prove the ACA was bad and self promote, led to a nurse, who didn't have ebola, being harassed for hours, getting quarantined in a parking lot, in a tent, with no heat, shower or toilet. It was only when she hired a civil rights lawyer did Governor Christie abandon his heavy handed, ignorant, unwarranted attempt at looking Presidential. By creating a fear just so he could quell it, Christie ended up exposing New Jersey to something far more dangerous for it's citizens than ebola, a civil rights lawsuit which they would have never had a chance of winning.
In both cases, the federal government, under the leadership of the President, came in and cleaned up the mess.
What these two cases should remind us of is how lucky we are to have Obamacare, because I surely never want to go back to where we were prior to it being enacted.
Friday, October 24, 2014
The Friday Link for 10/24/14
This one seems predestined.
Earlier this week I saw one of those "best of, most outrageous, wildest" lists. I usually do not click on them, but when it was "funniest moments from classic sitcoms from the 70's and 80's," well, click away!
A lot of great moments were featured, including Soap, WKRP in Cincinnati, Cheers, Archie Bunker and The Jeffersons, but it was one scene I had forgotten completely about which had me laughing as hard as I did when I first saw it as a kid.
Taxi was a sitcom which launched numerous careers, including Christopher Lloyd who played the character Reverend Jim. In this scene, he had to go take his drivers test, accompanied by Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, the late Jeff Conaway and the stunning then, stunning now Marilu Henner. Missing from this scene are two other giants from the show, Andy Kaufman and Danny DeVito. What ensues is a display of genius from Lloyd, who keeps ramping this scene up and up into comedy gold. How any of them kept a straight face, I'll never know.
Here is why I said this was predestined. My son, whose birthday was last weekend, is having his 'friend' party tonight. Five 12/13 year old boys will eventually watch Back to the Future this evening. When I mentioned Christopher Lloyd was in a funny show when I was a kid, he wanted to see this clip. Not only was he laughing hysterically, he also asked "who's that" when he saw Marilu Henner.
Enjoy on your Friday night!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvn-tBeLpCk
Earlier this week I saw one of those "best of, most outrageous, wildest" lists. I usually do not click on them, but when it was "funniest moments from classic sitcoms from the 70's and 80's," well, click away!
A lot of great moments were featured, including Soap, WKRP in Cincinnati, Cheers, Archie Bunker and The Jeffersons, but it was one scene I had forgotten completely about which had me laughing as hard as I did when I first saw it as a kid.
Taxi was a sitcom which launched numerous careers, including Christopher Lloyd who played the character Reverend Jim. In this scene, he had to go take his drivers test, accompanied by Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, the late Jeff Conaway and the stunning then, stunning now Marilu Henner. Missing from this scene are two other giants from the show, Andy Kaufman and Danny DeVito. What ensues is a display of genius from Lloyd, who keeps ramping this scene up and up into comedy gold. How any of them kept a straight face, I'll never know.
Here is why I said this was predestined. My son, whose birthday was last weekend, is having his 'friend' party tonight. Five 12/13 year old boys will eventually watch Back to the Future this evening. When I mentioned Christopher Lloyd was in a funny show when I was a kid, he wanted to see this clip. Not only was he laughing hysterically, he also asked "who's that" when he saw Marilu Henner.
Enjoy on your Friday night!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvn-tBeLpCk
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Screaming at Glaciers
So I turned 46 on Sunday. Age is not like it used to be. When I was growing up, 'over the hill' meant 40. I still feel young, even as my point of view is taking a more aged slant, but on certain things, I don't mind be the more mature voice. One thing lately has me asking whether I'm becoming a cranky old man or is my concern valid. It has to do with social media videos of young kids dancing like a drop of water on a hot skillet.
Kids dancing to pop songs is nothing new, but it has been ratcheted up a notch since a young 11 year old dancer named Maddie Ziegler, a professional, was featured dancing in the music video for Sia's song Chandelier. Ever since, many parents and fans of dance are trying to find the next big thing and have been recording young kids dancing to other current pop songs. For some reason, the unedited version of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda, a raunchy, hip hop song with a catchy hook is the current song-du-jour.
I'm no prude, but I am a father of three kids. I'm not one of those parents who rails against popular culture like a caveman screaming at a glacier. My wife and I evaluate popular culture as it comes. Minecraft, fine. A smart phone, and with it unfettered access to the web, not until 16. Social media pages, currently no, but we'll revisit that on a case by case basis soon. Yoga pants. I laugh at people who will wear a Vikings jersey and tell me yoga pants should only be for yoga. We will teach our kids to respect themselves, and their bodies. When they get older, we'll address clothing styles as they come up, but no yoga pants until at least 16. That's the choices we've made for our kids, you can make those decisions for yours.
It'd be easy to fall back to the last sentence, in regards to these young kid's dance videos. "Matt, you don't like these videos, then don't watch them and don't put your kids in one." I have stopped watching them, and I won't allow my kids to be part of one, but these videos cross the line from encouraging a kids passion, heading full steam into creating a bad environment for the kids, allowing the kids to be taken advantage of, and the over sexualization of your girls under the guise of viral video celebrity.
Let's start with the complexity of the dance routines themselves. This isn't some kids getting together after school and learning a few dance steps. This is hours of training, day after day, to get this level of precision. The Minaj song came out in August, and even factoring in a dance students previous knowledge of certain moves, these kids must have put in a tremendous amount of time over the last few months. It's not healthy for a young child, as they're not ready to engage in a serious, adult level of exercise. Frankly, these kids don't look healthy for their age. They look disturbingly thin.
How about the music? I have seen other songs featured, but Anaconda is the most common for these videos. What parent of a 10 or 11 year old thinks this song, unedited, is appropriate for their young kids? It was at this point I was going to quote some of the lyrics from the song, but there is no way I can clean them up for this blog. Search engine at your own risk! I like the song, but I'm an adult. We are careful with what our kids watch and listen too, but no one can convince me a responsible parent would allow their child to have the unedited version of that song on their playlist, let alone be coordinating a dance routine to it.
Not all of the dance moves in the videos are sexually suggestive, but quite a few are. If I was to ever walk into a dance studio and see those moves getting taught to my 11 year old daughter, the instructor would be getting arrested. I'm not joking. You want to teach people 18 and older to dance that way, fine, but teaching young girls a routine more appropriate for a stripper is disgusting.
I mentioned exploitation earlier. These dance videos seemed to be getting commissioned by dance studios or clubs, as banners and logos adorn the clothes of the kids and the walls behind them. Why would you allow a dance instructor to have hours of access to your young child, work them like Vegas show girls, teach them a dance routine out of a Cinemax movie, to a song which would cause most adults to blush, and slap logos all over them like their NASCAR drivers, just so the dance studio can exploit your child in a viral video for their own self promotion? Is the kid getting paid? It's easy to fall back to, "the kid loves to dance," excuse, but kids love ice cream too. We don't allow them to eat Rocky Road for dinner. We're supposed to be the adults, and the parents of these kids should see what's really going on here.
It's at this point some people will be furious with me. "You don't get it Matt. You don't see the artistic nature of the dance, the ability, the sweat. These kids are good!" Rebuttal; You really don't get it. Is it creepy or cool for a grown adult man to watch a dance video of an 11 year old, who is not family or a friend's kid, gyrate like they're a pole dancer? It's wrong! Unless their is a reason you're attached to a specific child in the video, it's wrong to post video of a junior high volleyball practice, a young boys swim meet, and regardless of the amount of bad choices and decisions being made by the parents, instructors, clubs and grown adults who think it's cool, it's wrong to pass along a video of a young girl's dance routine featuring inappropriate sexuality. These videos are not something to be idolized.
The over sexualization of young children in a pathetic attempt for viral celebrity is wrong. If that makes me a cranky old man, so be it.
Kids dancing to pop songs is nothing new, but it has been ratcheted up a notch since a young 11 year old dancer named Maddie Ziegler, a professional, was featured dancing in the music video for Sia's song Chandelier. Ever since, many parents and fans of dance are trying to find the next big thing and have been recording young kids dancing to other current pop songs. For some reason, the unedited version of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda, a raunchy, hip hop song with a catchy hook is the current song-du-jour.
I'm no prude, but I am a father of three kids. I'm not one of those parents who rails against popular culture like a caveman screaming at a glacier. My wife and I evaluate popular culture as it comes. Minecraft, fine. A smart phone, and with it unfettered access to the web, not until 16. Social media pages, currently no, but we'll revisit that on a case by case basis soon. Yoga pants. I laugh at people who will wear a Vikings jersey and tell me yoga pants should only be for yoga. We will teach our kids to respect themselves, and their bodies. When they get older, we'll address clothing styles as they come up, but no yoga pants until at least 16. That's the choices we've made for our kids, you can make those decisions for yours.
It'd be easy to fall back to the last sentence, in regards to these young kid's dance videos. "Matt, you don't like these videos, then don't watch them and don't put your kids in one." I have stopped watching them, and I won't allow my kids to be part of one, but these videos cross the line from encouraging a kids passion, heading full steam into creating a bad environment for the kids, allowing the kids to be taken advantage of, and the over sexualization of your girls under the guise of viral video celebrity.
Let's start with the complexity of the dance routines themselves. This isn't some kids getting together after school and learning a few dance steps. This is hours of training, day after day, to get this level of precision. The Minaj song came out in August, and even factoring in a dance students previous knowledge of certain moves, these kids must have put in a tremendous amount of time over the last few months. It's not healthy for a young child, as they're not ready to engage in a serious, adult level of exercise. Frankly, these kids don't look healthy for their age. They look disturbingly thin.
How about the music? I have seen other songs featured, but Anaconda is the most common for these videos. What parent of a 10 or 11 year old thinks this song, unedited, is appropriate for their young kids? It was at this point I was going to quote some of the lyrics from the song, but there is no way I can clean them up for this blog. Search engine at your own risk! I like the song, but I'm an adult. We are careful with what our kids watch and listen too, but no one can convince me a responsible parent would allow their child to have the unedited version of that song on their playlist, let alone be coordinating a dance routine to it.
Not all of the dance moves in the videos are sexually suggestive, but quite a few are. If I was to ever walk into a dance studio and see those moves getting taught to my 11 year old daughter, the instructor would be getting arrested. I'm not joking. You want to teach people 18 and older to dance that way, fine, but teaching young girls a routine more appropriate for a stripper is disgusting.
I mentioned exploitation earlier. These dance videos seemed to be getting commissioned by dance studios or clubs, as banners and logos adorn the clothes of the kids and the walls behind them. Why would you allow a dance instructor to have hours of access to your young child, work them like Vegas show girls, teach them a dance routine out of a Cinemax movie, to a song which would cause most adults to blush, and slap logos all over them like their NASCAR drivers, just so the dance studio can exploit your child in a viral video for their own self promotion? Is the kid getting paid? It's easy to fall back to, "the kid loves to dance," excuse, but kids love ice cream too. We don't allow them to eat Rocky Road for dinner. We're supposed to be the adults, and the parents of these kids should see what's really going on here.
It's at this point some people will be furious with me. "You don't get it Matt. You don't see the artistic nature of the dance, the ability, the sweat. These kids are good!" Rebuttal; You really don't get it. Is it creepy or cool for a grown adult man to watch a dance video of an 11 year old, who is not family or a friend's kid, gyrate like they're a pole dancer? It's wrong! Unless their is a reason you're attached to a specific child in the video, it's wrong to post video of a junior high volleyball practice, a young boys swim meet, and regardless of the amount of bad choices and decisions being made by the parents, instructors, clubs and grown adults who think it's cool, it's wrong to pass along a video of a young girl's dance routine featuring inappropriate sexuality. These videos are not something to be idolized.
The over sexualization of young children in a pathetic attempt for viral celebrity is wrong. If that makes me a cranky old man, so be it.
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Friday Link for 10/17/14
Performance, as an art form, can be quite lovely, but there is one type which we often don't label as art, comedy. When was the last time you saw something funny and then marveled at the artistic nature of it?
My sister-in-law has been visiting from Rhode Island this week. She was a theater teacher for many years and was telling me most actors have the hardest time with comedy. She says it's the timing. Makes a lot of sense. Most actors might not have experienced the exact tragedy of the character they are portraying, but can draw on their own tragedy to help convey the emotions. Doesn't work the same way for comedy.
If you go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, on the 2nd floor, tucked in the back, is an exhibit on Nature Art. In one of the video areas they're showing what at first looks like a nature video about a certain animal, but actually is a comedy bit, which is very artistic on many different levels. The artist is Ze Frank and he has a whole video channel dedicated to these videos. They are a riot, at times a little adult, but very well done.
I also think the guys voice and delivery are near perfect.
The first video of his I watched was the one I'm linking to tonight, True Facts About the Owl. Enjoy, it's your Friday link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeFxdkaFzRA
Follow him on You Tube and check out all of his work. Very Solid!
My sister-in-law has been visiting from Rhode Island this week. She was a theater teacher for many years and was telling me most actors have the hardest time with comedy. She says it's the timing. Makes a lot of sense. Most actors might not have experienced the exact tragedy of the character they are portraying, but can draw on their own tragedy to help convey the emotions. Doesn't work the same way for comedy.
If you go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, on the 2nd floor, tucked in the back, is an exhibit on Nature Art. In one of the video areas they're showing what at first looks like a nature video about a certain animal, but actually is a comedy bit, which is very artistic on many different levels. The artist is Ze Frank and he has a whole video channel dedicated to these videos. They are a riot, at times a little adult, but very well done.
I also think the guys voice and delivery are near perfect.
The first video of his I watched was the one I'm linking to tonight, True Facts About the Owl. Enjoy, it's your Friday link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeFxdkaFzRA
Follow him on You Tube and check out all of his work. Very Solid!
Staying true to Yourself
I am very disappointed in more than a few Democrats this election cycle. I'll explain more in a sec, but first...
Worthless Republicans, who have been plotting to stymy President Obama since the night he was sworn into office, politicians only concerned with their own power and agenda, willing to really hurt many Americans to make sure their goals are achieved, will likely win enough seats in November to ensure the final two years of his presidency are mired in absolute gridlock. They said they wanted to create a political mess in Washington DC, just to prevent Obama from getting any accolades, and they have succeeded, making a feast of incompetence, stonewalling and partisan bickering on levels rarely seen in America.
This is the Republican Party's official stance, on Thursday afternoon, on two subsequent news stories:
1) We can't hold Bush accountable for torture, something the Bush administration approved, and bragged about.
2) Obama is personally bringing ebola to America.
Sweet Jesus. Not only should no one ever vote for a Republican, but frankly some of them should go to jail for the lies and pain they have caused the vast majority of Americans.
In November of 2014, they will win enough to ensure nothing gets done. They will either be one or two seats shy of a majority, but still effectively control the entire narrative of the Senate, or they will actually have a majority, and, due to milquetoast Democrats who won't give the right a small taste of the same treatment they have given the left for the last 8 years (one of the reasons I am disappointed), the GOP will spend the next year trying to make sure the Obama Presidency never happened. They will put the most hate filled, vile, racist, sexist, homophobic bills out there and create a carnival of photo ops (birth certificate, Benghazi, and ebola hearings) to feed the far right rhetoric hate machine more fuel for the puppet masters and zealots who push the buttons and ring the bells, while the idiots who vote for them wait at the bottom of the chute for the anti-Obama kibble to come down to them.
For the second year, 2016, they'll be frantically hitting the erase buttons on their computers and using the white out on their papers to try to remove the racist stink all over their legislative legacy for the first non-white president. They will try to say "what an honor" and "I was privileged" when they never were. Their legacy for eternity is sealed, a political party so betrothed to the money which controls their every decision, and the racists who make up a shocking number of their loyal followers, they've become something their relatives will distance themselves from for generations to come.
The only redeeming factor to them having a one seat majority in the Senate is it won't allow anyone to vote against the legislation spoon fed to them by their big money, Machiavellian leaders. They will be thrown out of office in force in 2016.
The House is a loss. They gerrymandered it into a safe zone for the Republicans, at least until 2018, when I think even their most strident followers will start to pull the curtain aside.
Here is why I am angry at the Democrats. 2006 taught us if you are proud to be a Democrat you win, even in right leaning districts and states. Since those impressive wins, the left has slowly been giving the power back to the Republicans by shying away from, no, running away from, being Democrats. Where are all of the big Senate losses going to come this election cycle? In states where the Democratic candidates are distancing themselves from the President and the Democratic agenda. They did so because they bought the lies the right was selling; You can't win being a proud Democrat. Shame on you for believing their narrative.
When Democrats proudly stand up and wave their banners, they win. Don't ever be afraid of being a person who thinks everyone should get a fair chance, everyone deserves the same opportunities, and everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy, deserves the same rights; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Worthless Republicans, who have been plotting to stymy President Obama since the night he was sworn into office, politicians only concerned with their own power and agenda, willing to really hurt many Americans to make sure their goals are achieved, will likely win enough seats in November to ensure the final two years of his presidency are mired in absolute gridlock. They said they wanted to create a political mess in Washington DC, just to prevent Obama from getting any accolades, and they have succeeded, making a feast of incompetence, stonewalling and partisan bickering on levels rarely seen in America.
This is the Republican Party's official stance, on Thursday afternoon, on two subsequent news stories:
1) We can't hold Bush accountable for torture, something the Bush administration approved, and bragged about.
2) Obama is personally bringing ebola to America.
Sweet Jesus. Not only should no one ever vote for a Republican, but frankly some of them should go to jail for the lies and pain they have caused the vast majority of Americans.
In November of 2014, they will win enough to ensure nothing gets done. They will either be one or two seats shy of a majority, but still effectively control the entire narrative of the Senate, or they will actually have a majority, and, due to milquetoast Democrats who won't give the right a small taste of the same treatment they have given the left for the last 8 years (one of the reasons I am disappointed), the GOP will spend the next year trying to make sure the Obama Presidency never happened. They will put the most hate filled, vile, racist, sexist, homophobic bills out there and create a carnival of photo ops (birth certificate, Benghazi, and ebola hearings) to feed the far right rhetoric hate machine more fuel for the puppet masters and zealots who push the buttons and ring the bells, while the idiots who vote for them wait at the bottom of the chute for the anti-Obama kibble to come down to them.
For the second year, 2016, they'll be frantically hitting the erase buttons on their computers and using the white out on their papers to try to remove the racist stink all over their legislative legacy for the first non-white president. They will try to say "what an honor" and "I was privileged" when they never were. Their legacy for eternity is sealed, a political party so betrothed to the money which controls their every decision, and the racists who make up a shocking number of their loyal followers, they've become something their relatives will distance themselves from for generations to come.
The only redeeming factor to them having a one seat majority in the Senate is it won't allow anyone to vote against the legislation spoon fed to them by their big money, Machiavellian leaders. They will be thrown out of office in force in 2016.
The House is a loss. They gerrymandered it into a safe zone for the Republicans, at least until 2018, when I think even their most strident followers will start to pull the curtain aside.
Here is why I am angry at the Democrats. 2006 taught us if you are proud to be a Democrat you win, even in right leaning districts and states. Since those impressive wins, the left has slowly been giving the power back to the Republicans by shying away from, no, running away from, being Democrats. Where are all of the big Senate losses going to come this election cycle? In states where the Democratic candidates are distancing themselves from the President and the Democratic agenda. They did so because they bought the lies the right was selling; You can't win being a proud Democrat. Shame on you for believing their narrative.
When Democrats proudly stand up and wave their banners, they win. Don't ever be afraid of being a person who thinks everyone should get a fair chance, everyone deserves the same opportunities, and everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy, deserves the same rights; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
I Can't Wait
Colbert from last night. This could have the greatest payoff line at the end...ever.
http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/akzlpt/say-yes-to-rick-scott
http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/akzlpt/say-yes-to-rick-scott
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Hockey Fight
The attendance for an NHL hockey game in Miami, with the Florida Panthers, was 7,311. This wasn't a game played in late March when the team is woefully out of contention. This was their 2nd home game of the season.
The NHL needs to realize their dabbling in southern franchises is, outside of two teams, a failure. The two teams which have succeeded are the LA Kings (an older franchise with a loyal fan base in the country's 2nd largest city) and Tampa Bay (an anomaly). Teams in Florida, Carolina, Dallas, Phoenix and even teams in Anaheim and San Jose should be moved to a town where there is at least an understanding of the sport. The Mason Dixon line is your cutoff.
The Canadian dollar isn't as weak as it used to be, so some of these franchises could move there, but hockey is a sport where any cold weather city, even one with a relatively small metro area, would outdraw multi-million populations where ice is something used for drinks and watching the game is more akin to watching Cirque du Soleil.
Where would I move teams? There are three obvious choices: Seattle, Kansas City and Quebec. Seattle is a great town, with big businesses to help maintain the franchise, Kansas City has an NHL ready ice arena in town just waiting for a franchise and Quebec is as hockey crazy as ever. The Nordiques franchise was doomed by the bad exchange rate of the time, not the loyalty of the fans. If you then moved San Jose to San Francisco ( I am not saying this is a great option as they have had franchises fail in that town too, but it's better than San Jose), that would leave two more teams to move to a cold weather metro.
Let me float a really radical idea. Go with Anchorage, Alaska and Halifax, Nova Scotia. I know some people would say I'm crazy, but hear me out. Both Anchorage and Halifax are extremely smart hockey towns where the locals know the sport. These would be the only pro teams in each city, creating instant fan loyalty, they both have thriving local industry (in Halifax - natural gas, fisheries and agriculture. Anchorage - drill baby drill!), and putting the franchises in those two towns would strengthen the league over time, as opposed to embarrassing headlines about empty arenas when fan interest is supposed to be at its highest.
I would agree the time zone issue would be difficult, but manageable. Alaska weeknight home games verses the Mountain and Central time zones could not start later than 6 PM, and weeknight home games verses the Eastern and Atlantic time zones start no later than 5 PM. Nova Scotia weeknight home games must start 8 PM or later and the Pacific and Alaskan time zone teams could be managed into the weekends (6PM Halifax start time on a Saturday verses 1 PM start time in Alaska).
I am not saying definitively this plan would work, but it's better than your current situation. It's either move these teams or fold five or six of them. It's hard to make a league sound successful when a fifth of their franchises could disappear overnight.
The NHL needs to realize their dabbling in southern franchises is, outside of two teams, a failure. The two teams which have succeeded are the LA Kings (an older franchise with a loyal fan base in the country's 2nd largest city) and Tampa Bay (an anomaly). Teams in Florida, Carolina, Dallas, Phoenix and even teams in Anaheim and San Jose should be moved to a town where there is at least an understanding of the sport. The Mason Dixon line is your cutoff.
The Canadian dollar isn't as weak as it used to be, so some of these franchises could move there, but hockey is a sport where any cold weather city, even one with a relatively small metro area, would outdraw multi-million populations where ice is something used for drinks and watching the game is more akin to watching Cirque du Soleil.
Where would I move teams? There are three obvious choices: Seattle, Kansas City and Quebec. Seattle is a great town, with big businesses to help maintain the franchise, Kansas City has an NHL ready ice arena in town just waiting for a franchise and Quebec is as hockey crazy as ever. The Nordiques franchise was doomed by the bad exchange rate of the time, not the loyalty of the fans. If you then moved San Jose to San Francisco ( I am not saying this is a great option as they have had franchises fail in that town too, but it's better than San Jose), that would leave two more teams to move to a cold weather metro.
Let me float a really radical idea. Go with Anchorage, Alaska and Halifax, Nova Scotia. I know some people would say I'm crazy, but hear me out. Both Anchorage and Halifax are extremely smart hockey towns where the locals know the sport. These would be the only pro teams in each city, creating instant fan loyalty, they both have thriving local industry (in Halifax - natural gas, fisheries and agriculture. Anchorage - drill baby drill!), and putting the franchises in those two towns would strengthen the league over time, as opposed to embarrassing headlines about empty arenas when fan interest is supposed to be at its highest.
I would agree the time zone issue would be difficult, but manageable. Alaska weeknight home games verses the Mountain and Central time zones could not start later than 6 PM, and weeknight home games verses the Eastern and Atlantic time zones start no later than 5 PM. Nova Scotia weeknight home games must start 8 PM or later and the Pacific and Alaskan time zone teams could be managed into the weekends (6PM Halifax start time on a Saturday verses 1 PM start time in Alaska).
I am not saying definitively this plan would work, but it's better than your current situation. It's either move these teams or fold five or six of them. It's hard to make a league sound successful when a fifth of their franchises could disappear overnight.
Friday, October 10, 2014
The Friday Link for 10/10/14
I will be blunt, I love Jon Stewart.
I dread the day he will retire. He has been sensational, correcting the unfiltered morons in this country, mainly the ones who work for and visit Fox News, with a stinging, straight forward tone. The writing for his show has been the best. He is able to unravel the thick, bloviated bull shoveled at the American people in one or two simple but brilliant sentences. He is hands down the funniest late night show in this country. That's not saying there isn't late night competition. Colbert, Letterman, Fallon, O'Brien, Kimmel, and Ferguson are all brilliant and at times the best on any given night, but no one is as consistent as Stewart and the Daily Show. (Okay, Colbert is close.)
Speaking of Colbert, The Daily Show has been the tilled soil which has grown the funniest people from the last 10 plus years. The list of alumni is impressive. It's the one show I watch everyday, after I get done with the morning show. I can't stay up to watch it live, and it is hit or miss on whether the show is ready for viewing before I go into the station.
If you just write off Jon Stewart as just some liberal mouth piece, you really are an idiot. He points out other people's (mostly conservatives) arrogant mistakes and makes light of them. If you want him to leave the right alone, then ask for a better quality of conservative pundent/reporter/host.
Let me give you two tonight, and yes the language is a little salty. One is from the night he returned from vacation, addressed the Ferguson nightmare, and the other is from when Megyn Kelly was an amazing idiot, insisting no one on Fox News ever used Nazi References. Enjoy, they are your Friday links.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ufqeuz/race-off
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/euiark/24-hour-nazi-party-people
I dread the day he will retire. He has been sensational, correcting the unfiltered morons in this country, mainly the ones who work for and visit Fox News, with a stinging, straight forward tone. The writing for his show has been the best. He is able to unravel the thick, bloviated bull shoveled at the American people in one or two simple but brilliant sentences. He is hands down the funniest late night show in this country. That's not saying there isn't late night competition. Colbert, Letterman, Fallon, O'Brien, Kimmel, and Ferguson are all brilliant and at times the best on any given night, but no one is as consistent as Stewart and the Daily Show. (Okay, Colbert is close.)
Speaking of Colbert, The Daily Show has been the tilled soil which has grown the funniest people from the last 10 plus years. The list of alumni is impressive. It's the one show I watch everyday, after I get done with the morning show. I can't stay up to watch it live, and it is hit or miss on whether the show is ready for viewing before I go into the station.
If you just write off Jon Stewart as just some liberal mouth piece, you really are an idiot. He points out other people's (mostly conservatives) arrogant mistakes and makes light of them. If you want him to leave the right alone, then ask for a better quality of conservative pundent/reporter/host.
Let me give you two tonight, and yes the language is a little salty. One is from the night he returned from vacation, addressed the Ferguson nightmare, and the other is from when Megyn Kelly was an amazing idiot, insisting no one on Fox News ever used Nazi References. Enjoy, they are your Friday links.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ufqeuz/race-off
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/euiark/24-hour-nazi-party-people
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Door Knocking
I want to share with you the Republican who is running to represent my district in the Minnesota House. I've blotted out his contact info because I just don't want to show it.
Let's just start from the top and work our way down, shall we:
1) There is a lot going on in that photo. The hair, reflective glasses, stache, tie, flag, cigar, "leaning back on the hood of the car" look all says used car salesman from central casting. There is also a "I can't believe I just won my court case" thing to it. That photo screams...well it just screams.
2) I know the Scandinavian thing flies to a point in Minnesota, but the "ö?" How do I pronounce it?
3) Nothing projects I want to be your duly elected representative more than the phrase "I am not a professional politician!" "I am not a plumber but I want you to allow me to come into your house and tinker with the pipes." Uhhh...no.
4) The e-mail handle for the Republican candidate for MN House Seat 46B is "Senator Hat Rack."
5) I don't know if Ben Franklin would want you, or anyone it today's politics, quoting him on their campaign literature, but that aside, are you saying you want to be elected just so everyone can question you constantly? Pretty weak to try to validate your own candidacy by wrapping yourself in a founding father, like they endorsed you.
But wait, there's more!
Let's just start from the top and work our way down, shall we:
1) There is a lot going on in that photo. The hair, reflective glasses, stache, tie, flag, cigar, "leaning back on the hood of the car" look all says used car salesman from central casting. There is also a "I can't believe I just won my court case" thing to it. That photo screams...well it just screams.
2) I know the Scandinavian thing flies to a point in Minnesota, but the "ö?" How do I pronounce it?
3) Nothing projects I want to be your duly elected representative more than the phrase "I am not a professional politician!" "I am not a plumber but I want you to allow me to come into your house and tinker with the pipes." Uhhh...no.
4) The e-mail handle for the Republican candidate for MN House Seat 46B is "Senator Hat Rack."
5) I don't know if Ben Franklin would want you, or anyone it today's politics, quoting him on their campaign literature, but that aside, are you saying you want to be elected just so everyone can question you constantly? Pretty weak to try to validate your own candidacy by wrapping yourself in a founding father, like they endorsed you.
But wait, there's more!
Alright...
6) WOW! Let's start with the concept of centering the subject of the photo in the middle, not wanting to be off to the side or leaving a lot above the top of the head. That is the expression of a man who just hypnotized himself, found out he has a serious illness, found out he is a magician, or maybe lunch just isn't agreeing with him. I love the look of the photo, like you snapped it in a random aisle at the public library. And nice jacket. Is that from the Colonel Sanders collection?
7) Why are you in front of the books? Are you trying to prove you can read? You're smart? Are you hoping to relate to people who recognize the books behind you? Are you trying to imply endorsement from the authors or the subjects? Like using the Franklin quote, weak.
8) I get it, you think government is bad, but even if by a miracle of the ages you managed to get elected, how do you think you are going to convince the rest of the Minnesota government to shut itself down for the betterment of the state? Armed insurrection on the floor of the House? We do not live in a 30 person town or in some Libertarian experiment. We live in a state of five and a half million and in a city of three and a half million. You thinking you can turn off the government by flipping a switch is ignorant.
9) "Because I am not a professional politician." No, REALLY???
10) You don't look to state government for solutions? When the 35W bridge collapsed the government shouldn't have rebuilt it? The state shouldn't try to help the farmer, or help keep our waters clean? Are you insisting government doesn't serve a purpose in your life? Look at your photo on the other side of your own flyer. The street lights, vehicle you're leaning on, infrastructure for the office building behind you, the cigar in your own hand, all aided, and kept safe and working, thanks to the government. And you're wearing a US flag tie. How can you show support for the country your delusional political mindset would annihilate? It's like saying, "I love Star Wars, especially when Marty takes the time machine back to 1955."
11) Stop with the give a man a fish/teach a man to fish parables. Our current system is so corrupted by greed, the regular guy would have zero chance without some level of fairness being preserved by government. If not for these basic rights, the middle, lower and working class would get steamrolled by the wealthy and powerful. One of the main tenants of a government is to protect all citizens and help give the most vulnerable some level of fair representation. They barely accomplish that as is, but it would be an Ayn Rand free-for-all without the basic security net the government reserves for all of it's citizens
This is what happens when a political party just writes off districts. They make themselves look worse by hooking their wagons to unqualified, rhetoric spewing simpletons. The Republicans couldn't find anyone else to run in 46B?
He asked me if I wanted a street sign. I said no.
Weasels
This week, we had good news about gay marriage in America, and soon, gay marriage will be legal in all 50 states. The minute one state made gay marriage legal, the Federal Government was bound by that state's decision, mainly for tax purposes. Many states don't need the feds to come tell them what is right or wrong. These Supreme Court rulings are more for the ignorant and stubborn ones. History is full of these quirks; a small decision besets change on a grand scale. What was the federal government to do when someone moved from a state which recognized gay marriage and needed to file tax returns in their new state which didn't? It's a shame the Supreme Court has decided to do the 50 step method of enlightenment, as opposed to issue one ruling. It makes me wonder if judges on the court are doing that to allow conservatives to either try to find a legal foothold which allows them to revisit the issue, or get used to the inevitability of gay marriage being legal without a feeling of jack booted thugs kicking open doors to make them tolerant.
But lest us not forget...
In the 90's, the right was in trouble. They had lost the blue collar and union workers who, mysteriously, liked Reagan, and the failure of H.W. Bush to win re-election against the Democrats was hard. What is lost today is how quickly things turned on the Republicans. There was a SNL skit (I think it was the 91-92 season) where the joke was how no one wanted to be the Democratic nominee for President for the 92 election, and I don't believe Clinton was even a character in the "debate." The Republican Shangri-La came crashing down. I have a theory; all the money and support which was helping H.W. Bush maintain his popularity was diverted into resurrecting the image of Reagan, which had suffered in the years since he left office. The right thought H.W. Bush didn't need their help, as he was the president when the Berlin Wall came down. Then came Clinton, and history.
It was in the years after that election, while the people behind Reagan and H.W. Bush licked their wounds, watching Bob Dole get trounced in 96, they came up with a plan. It involved a multi faceted strategy. First, embrace the extreme far right: extreme Christians, gun nuts, militias and racists who'd supported the Republicans by proxy but had always been kept at arms length. By welcoming in those groups, they replenished some of their foot soldiers.
The second phase was more complicated, but necessary. The GOP's platform was becoming unpopular with a majority of Americans, but they still wanted to vanquish the unions, undo workers rights, kill beloved social programs, go after certain countries and international organizations, and create a corporate and ultra wealthy tax haven. To do so, they had to get past the United States election system. They started to take over states, not just Governor and Legislative offices, but the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and state Auditor positions, positions which help mold elections. If they could mutilate elections in a few toss up states, and disenfranchise a lot of voters who traditionally vote Democrat, they would be able to hold enough power to reach their goals. It ended up working like a charm. Purging voter roles, limiting voting hours, creating hoops to jump through and gerrymandering took care of the voting process, and loosening the money rules, voter intimidation, creating voter disinterest and other unethical practices tilted the voter turnout in their favor, and Republicans rode back into the White House. After 9/11, they played America's emotions, and fine tuned their modus operendi to gain full control of the Federal government, and the majority of state governments.
Since Republicans will never make abortion completely illegal (A - they didn't want to lose a loyal voting block, or their donations, B - they didn't want the religious people reading the rest of the bible, a majority of which supports liberal policies, and C - abortion will always be legal for the wealthy in the US. They might describe the procedure with a different name, but it would still be an abortion, done in a high income neighborhood, designer clinic for people with platinum credit cards), the GOP needed another issue to get the Christian right and the "ugly" right (racists, anti-semites, homophobes) to the polls. This is where the Rovian politics got truly evil. They threw the gay community under the bus.
Republicans started pushing for anti gay marriage ballot initiatives in major election years. They insisted they needed to defend traditional marriage by writing hatred and discrimination into state constitutions, a myth their followers could wrap themselves in. They targeted swing states and important senate districts, and succeeded. They wouldn't tout these ballot initiatives during the odd year elections, just the big ones to help Bush and the Conservative majority, which it did. Eventually, the right couldn't convince people to vote for them any longer, regardless of ballot initiatives, they lost the House and Senate in 06 and the White House in 08, but the ballot initiatives continued.
They put anti-gay marriage laws and amendments in place knowing they would eventually be overturned, knowing they were on the wrong side of history. They knew it would cost states millions of dollars in legal fees to fail defending them. They knew they were bastardizing a religion, Christianity, and turning it from a loving, cherishing institution into a politicized mantra, bent on hatred and bigotry, wrapped in a laughable religious freedom argument. The politicians who made it all happen, the neo-cons and Karl Rove are now long gone. Their mission was accomplished. They got their guy another four years, and when they realized they couldn't repeal the social policies of this country, they tried to bankrupt the system, creating a mess they hope will facilitate throwing the entire system out.
In Minnesota, if they'd had put the anti gay marriage amendment on the ballot in 2011, they probably would have won, but the Republicans wanted nothing to do with that year's election. They got big eyes waiting for 2012, but they also got their trousers handed to them, when, for the first time, a state voted them down.
The politicians, outside of the most weak minded of opportunists, have started move away from the hatred they fanned the flames of, and are trying desperately to white wash their records. The only ones left are the feeble minded Christian zealots and right wing ideologues who bought into the false flag excuses used to enact these laws, insisting their repeal are the result of a decaying America or a war on religion.
We need to remember how truly evil the right was under the Bush umbrella. They took religion, rewrote it and edited it for their political purposes, and then used it as a weapon to openly discriminate against millions of Americans, preaching hate and second class citizenry. Karl Rove, the neo-cons and the Republican party decided to trample on the rights of millions of Americas for political gain. I will do everything in my power to make sure there legacy is always remembered.
But lest us not forget...
In the 90's, the right was in trouble. They had lost the blue collar and union workers who, mysteriously, liked Reagan, and the failure of H.W. Bush to win re-election against the Democrats was hard. What is lost today is how quickly things turned on the Republicans. There was a SNL skit (I think it was the 91-92 season) where the joke was how no one wanted to be the Democratic nominee for President for the 92 election, and I don't believe Clinton was even a character in the "debate." The Republican Shangri-La came crashing down. I have a theory; all the money and support which was helping H.W. Bush maintain his popularity was diverted into resurrecting the image of Reagan, which had suffered in the years since he left office. The right thought H.W. Bush didn't need their help, as he was the president when the Berlin Wall came down. Then came Clinton, and history.
It was in the years after that election, while the people behind Reagan and H.W. Bush licked their wounds, watching Bob Dole get trounced in 96, they came up with a plan. It involved a multi faceted strategy. First, embrace the extreme far right: extreme Christians, gun nuts, militias and racists who'd supported the Republicans by proxy but had always been kept at arms length. By welcoming in those groups, they replenished some of their foot soldiers.
The second phase was more complicated, but necessary. The GOP's platform was becoming unpopular with a majority of Americans, but they still wanted to vanquish the unions, undo workers rights, kill beloved social programs, go after certain countries and international organizations, and create a corporate and ultra wealthy tax haven. To do so, they had to get past the United States election system. They started to take over states, not just Governor and Legislative offices, but the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and state Auditor positions, positions which help mold elections. If they could mutilate elections in a few toss up states, and disenfranchise a lot of voters who traditionally vote Democrat, they would be able to hold enough power to reach their goals. It ended up working like a charm. Purging voter roles, limiting voting hours, creating hoops to jump through and gerrymandering took care of the voting process, and loosening the money rules, voter intimidation, creating voter disinterest and other unethical practices tilted the voter turnout in their favor, and Republicans rode back into the White House. After 9/11, they played America's emotions, and fine tuned their modus operendi to gain full control of the Federal government, and the majority of state governments.
Since Republicans will never make abortion completely illegal (A - they didn't want to lose a loyal voting block, or their donations, B - they didn't want the religious people reading the rest of the bible, a majority of which supports liberal policies, and C - abortion will always be legal for the wealthy in the US. They might describe the procedure with a different name, but it would still be an abortion, done in a high income neighborhood, designer clinic for people with platinum credit cards), the GOP needed another issue to get the Christian right and the "ugly" right (racists, anti-semites, homophobes) to the polls. This is where the Rovian politics got truly evil. They threw the gay community under the bus.
Republicans started pushing for anti gay marriage ballot initiatives in major election years. They insisted they needed to defend traditional marriage by writing hatred and discrimination into state constitutions, a myth their followers could wrap themselves in. They targeted swing states and important senate districts, and succeeded. They wouldn't tout these ballot initiatives during the odd year elections, just the big ones to help Bush and the Conservative majority, which it did. Eventually, the right couldn't convince people to vote for them any longer, regardless of ballot initiatives, they lost the House and Senate in 06 and the White House in 08, but the ballot initiatives continued.
They put anti-gay marriage laws and amendments in place knowing they would eventually be overturned, knowing they were on the wrong side of history. They knew it would cost states millions of dollars in legal fees to fail defending them. They knew they were bastardizing a religion, Christianity, and turning it from a loving, cherishing institution into a politicized mantra, bent on hatred and bigotry, wrapped in a laughable religious freedom argument. The politicians who made it all happen, the neo-cons and Karl Rove are now long gone. Their mission was accomplished. They got their guy another four years, and when they realized they couldn't repeal the social policies of this country, they tried to bankrupt the system, creating a mess they hope will facilitate throwing the entire system out.
In Minnesota, if they'd had put the anti gay marriage amendment on the ballot in 2011, they probably would have won, but the Republicans wanted nothing to do with that year's election. They got big eyes waiting for 2012, but they also got their trousers handed to them, when, for the first time, a state voted them down.
The politicians, outside of the most weak minded of opportunists, have started move away from the hatred they fanned the flames of, and are trying desperately to white wash their records. The only ones left are the feeble minded Christian zealots and right wing ideologues who bought into the false flag excuses used to enact these laws, insisting their repeal are the result of a decaying America or a war on religion.
We need to remember how truly evil the right was under the Bush umbrella. They took religion, rewrote it and edited it for their political purposes, and then used it as a weapon to openly discriminate against millions of Americans, preaching hate and second class citizenry. Karl Rove, the neo-cons and the Republican party decided to trample on the rights of millions of Americas for political gain. I will do everything in my power to make sure there legacy is always remembered.
Friday, October 3, 2014
The Friday Link for 10/3/14
First off, thank you so much to all who visited the site this week. I had well over 200 visitors!
I mentioned Monty Python a few weeks back, referring to them as the as the gold standard of comedy. They were the most consistent group, never wavering from sheer outlandish brilliance. In my opinion, The Kids in the Hall are about the closest anyone has gotten to them. So witty, well written and extremely well acted. I knew these guys were brilliant when I first saw this sketch.
Enjoy something funny from Canada on a cool Friday night in the Twin Cities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojKWw77Az2s
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Giving Train Wrecks a Bad Name
I have told the story before of why I vote Democrat. Back in 1992, I remember walking to the Lake Calhoun Business Center in Minneapolis to vote, not really knowing who I would vote for, Clinton, Bush or Perot. I really started to separate from moderate Republicans more than a decade ago. When Bush, Cheney and the administration of neo-cons decided to pull the troops out of Afghanistan to start a new, "made up" war in Iraq, I was furious. Not only did they not finish the job mandated by the 9/11 attacks, you do not put troops in harms way just so you can line your pockets with tax payer dollars, in a conflict solely being fought for a personal agenda. Thousands of dead American service members and tens of thousands of permanently wounded soldiers later, I determined I could never vote another Republican into the White House if their standard was to lie to the American people on such a large and devastating scale.
A few years later I vowed to never vote Republican again, even for lesser offices, when, after being confronted with overwhelming evidence the White House just made up the justifications for the Iraq War, the right ignored the truth. They accused anyone who pushed for an investigation as being driven by "sour grapes" or the "blame game." The thought of Republicans screaming "sour grapes" at families standing over the coffins of dead American soldiers sickens me still today.
But now, I'm confronted with a undeniable reality. The majority of people who vote for GOP candidates seem to be politically broken to their core, by choice. People who identify themselves as Republican not only choose to ignore the outright favoritism GOP policy gives to the extremely wealthy and large corporations and ignore any Democratic policies which help them and their community every day, but they've become comical in how far they will go to overlook Republican politician's personal defects. Having such a belligerent group of followers makes Republicans smile, knowing they will never have to answer for their warped decisions, atrocious behavior or lack of action.
How bad is it? A Republican candidate for a Minnesota House seat, Roger Weber, sawed his neighbors garage in half. Re-read that...I am not making this up. Here is the link:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/22/1331517/-MNGOP-House-candidate-power-saws-neighbor-s-garage-in-half
The MNGOP Paul Bunyan did this because of a property dispute with the previous owner of the house. Most rational people would feel as if someone who cuts someone else's private residence in two, committing crimes of vandalism and destruction of private property, might want to sit the election out, let alone question Weber's clear lack of conflict resolution skills.
The response from the right was shocking, but then again, shockingly predictable. The conservative voters I heard from implied it was admirable (you have to respect his initiative[!]), somehow comparable (yeah, but at least he didn't suggest a train between Minneapolis and Chicago[?]), or just made up a heinous lie about a Democrat to justify not caring about it (who cares while Mark Dayton is doing drugs in the Governor's mansion [?!?]). I have a hard time imagining they would feel the same way if it was their garage. Many who vote Republican, to prevent from ever being wrong, choose to live in a self induced, ignorant stupor, creating the most bizarre excuses to never have to acknowledge their chosen leader's faults.
Want more proof the Republican voter is broken? Look at the Minnesota GOP ticket and you realize Johnny Lumberjack is just part of a larger problem. McFadden (Sen - incompetence, lack of media savvy, anti Minnesota business positions, Romney-esque), Johnson (Gov - lack of focus, campaign disarray, incoherent), Hagedorn (MN-01 - misogynistic, racist and homophobic comments), Kline (MN-02 - the chair of the House Education Committee, on his knees for the for-profit higher education industry, ruining many Americans future and credit ratings), Paulson (MN-03 - does he really even exist?), whomever the GOP is running in MN-04 and MN-05 (???), Emmer (MN-06 - anti worker, anti gay rights), Westrom (MN-07 conflict of interest and proposed legislative profiteering), Stewart Mills III (MN-08 - unabashed pro ultra-wealthy, spokespeople with questionable judgement and a Romeny-esque speech that outdoes Romney. Seriously, watch it: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/08/hubbard_broadcastings_decision_to_pull_anti-stewart_mills_attack_ad_sparks_controversy.php ), Severson (Sec. of State - Religious zealot, thinks public schools program socialism), my personal favorite Randy Gilbert (Auditor - SEX! http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3560986.shtml?cat=1 and his name is Randy!), Michele MacDonald (Supreme Ct. - just finished up with her personal trial where she was found guilty on two counts), and the list goes on and on.
But none of this documented debacle matters to the modern Republican voter. They will blindly vote for these people and never ask what the right has ever done for them, cursing all Democrats regardless of how much the left's policies have helped them directly. Remember when the right wanted to get rid of Social Security? How many Republicans initially loved the idea, but as they realized what the GOP was going to do, the voting right woke up and started to ask, "you're going to do what?" That idea disappeared overnight from the GOP platform.
Republican voters, pay attention. Hold the people you vote into office accountable! Ask if the people you are going to vote for are worthy of the office. As long as they never have to answer for their political decisions, or their personal conduct, they will continue to take you for granted and never deliver on anything. Don't feel like you succeeded because the Democrat didn't win. If you realize the Democrats are responsible for the majority of government you want to keep, and the Republicans are responsible for the majority of government you want to get rid of, you can at least begin to see if your representation is delivering for you.
I'm not holding my breath. I'm sure there will be another school lunch, salute, pair of jeans, color of a suit, photo, handshake, or other made up Obama outrage for you to cower in the shade of to avoid the bright rays of Republican incompetence.
A few years later I vowed to never vote Republican again, even for lesser offices, when, after being confronted with overwhelming evidence the White House just made up the justifications for the Iraq War, the right ignored the truth. They accused anyone who pushed for an investigation as being driven by "sour grapes" or the "blame game." The thought of Republicans screaming "sour grapes" at families standing over the coffins of dead American soldiers sickens me still today.
But now, I'm confronted with a undeniable reality. The majority of people who vote for GOP candidates seem to be politically broken to their core, by choice. People who identify themselves as Republican not only choose to ignore the outright favoritism GOP policy gives to the extremely wealthy and large corporations and ignore any Democratic policies which help them and their community every day, but they've become comical in how far they will go to overlook Republican politician's personal defects. Having such a belligerent group of followers makes Republicans smile, knowing they will never have to answer for their warped decisions, atrocious behavior or lack of action.
How bad is it? A Republican candidate for a Minnesota House seat, Roger Weber, sawed his neighbors garage in half. Re-read that...I am not making this up. Here is the link:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/22/1331517/-MNGOP-House-candidate-power-saws-neighbor-s-garage-in-half
The MNGOP Paul Bunyan did this because of a property dispute with the previous owner of the house. Most rational people would feel as if someone who cuts someone else's private residence in two, committing crimes of vandalism and destruction of private property, might want to sit the election out, let alone question Weber's clear lack of conflict resolution skills.
The response from the right was shocking, but then again, shockingly predictable. The conservative voters I heard from implied it was admirable (you have to respect his initiative[!]), somehow comparable (yeah, but at least he didn't suggest a train between Minneapolis and Chicago[?]), or just made up a heinous lie about a Democrat to justify not caring about it (who cares while Mark Dayton is doing drugs in the Governor's mansion [?!?]). I have a hard time imagining they would feel the same way if it was their garage. Many who vote Republican, to prevent from ever being wrong, choose to live in a self induced, ignorant stupor, creating the most bizarre excuses to never have to acknowledge their chosen leader's faults.
Want more proof the Republican voter is broken? Look at the Minnesota GOP ticket and you realize Johnny Lumberjack is just part of a larger problem. McFadden (Sen - incompetence, lack of media savvy, anti Minnesota business positions, Romney-esque), Johnson (Gov - lack of focus, campaign disarray, incoherent), Hagedorn (MN-01 - misogynistic, racist and homophobic comments), Kline (MN-02 - the chair of the House Education Committee, on his knees for the for-profit higher education industry, ruining many Americans future and credit ratings), Paulson (MN-03 - does he really even exist?), whomever the GOP is running in MN-04 and MN-05 (???), Emmer (MN-06 - anti worker, anti gay rights), Westrom (MN-07 conflict of interest and proposed legislative profiteering), Stewart Mills III (MN-08 - unabashed pro ultra-wealthy, spokespeople with questionable judgement and a Romeny-esque speech that outdoes Romney. Seriously, watch it: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/08/hubbard_broadcastings_decision_to_pull_anti-stewart_mills_attack_ad_sparks_controversy.php ), Severson (Sec. of State - Religious zealot, thinks public schools program socialism), my personal favorite Randy Gilbert (Auditor - SEX! http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3560986.shtml?cat=1 and his name is Randy!), Michele MacDonald (Supreme Ct. - just finished up with her personal trial where she was found guilty on two counts), and the list goes on and on.
But none of this documented debacle matters to the modern Republican voter. They will blindly vote for these people and never ask what the right has ever done for them, cursing all Democrats regardless of how much the left's policies have helped them directly. Remember when the right wanted to get rid of Social Security? How many Republicans initially loved the idea, but as they realized what the GOP was going to do, the voting right woke up and started to ask, "you're going to do what?" That idea disappeared overnight from the GOP platform.
Republican voters, pay attention. Hold the people you vote into office accountable! Ask if the people you are going to vote for are worthy of the office. As long as they never have to answer for their political decisions, or their personal conduct, they will continue to take you for granted and never deliver on anything. Don't feel like you succeeded because the Democrat didn't win. If you realize the Democrats are responsible for the majority of government you want to keep, and the Republicans are responsible for the majority of government you want to get rid of, you can at least begin to see if your representation is delivering for you.
I'm not holding my breath. I'm sure there will be another school lunch, salute, pair of jeans, color of a suit, photo, handshake, or other made up Obama outrage for you to cower in the shade of to avoid the bright rays of Republican incompetence.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Gardy
Ron Gardenhire was fired today. The former Minnesota Twins head coach and his entire staff were let go. Here is my problem with firing Gardy; if you fire your head coach because they failed to deliver when it came to the success of the team, then your argument is that someone could have taken the same roster of players and done better than Gardenhire. No one, alive or dead, could have taken the dead weight which was the roster for the Twins this season and gotten the team to .500, let alone had a winning program. There is no way.
If you agree with me, then firing Gardy is the ownership, which insisted the new stadium built in part with tax payer dollars would make them more competitive, taking the easy out and not admitting they are responsible for the talent level on the field.
Here is the article I just had published on MinnPost today:
One addition to my argument the Twins front office is obsessed with Mauer; the National League batting champion is Justin Morneau, the former first baseman for the Twins. Part of the reason he's no longer with the team is because they needed to put Mauer, an oft injured catcher who is making $23 million a year, somewhere. They decided first base. Without thinking about the talent loss the team would suffer by not trying to keep Justin, they insisted it was best to jettison Morneau, for the non-power hitting, barely major league quality first baseman, Mauer.
If Morneau was still on this team, they would have had 10 more wins this year and Gardy wouldn't have been fired. Still think the front office's Mauer obsession is nothing to worry about?
Friday, September 26, 2014
The Friday Link for 9/26/14
Hi all!
It's been a light week here on the blog, but I hopefully will have a few different articles I've written over the last few days published elsewhere soon. I'll let you know if it happens.
I was a member of the improv group Comedy Olympix back in the 90's. This was the comedy improv Legion of Doom to the Justice League that was, and is, Comedy Sportz. I'm not sure exactly what the heck happened between the two groups but there was a lot, and I do mean A LOT, of animosity between the guy who owned CO and the people from CS. I wasn't the best performer, but I did have fun. We eventually parted ways.
Two observations about my time doing comedy improv:
First, the only career field with a larger percentage of emotionally screwed up people than radio is comedy improv.
Second, my tenure there led to the funniest letter I ever received. CO would offer improv workshops, something I desperately needed. The guy who ran them (not the owner) was great. He was very funny, knew the basic set ups for bits and was very helpful when it came to learning the basics. On the second workshop I did with him, he ended up having to be gone for the last class, so another comedian from CO, who still works in Twin Cities comedy today, took over for the final week. She didn't really teach anything that class. We went through a few improv drills and then we ran through a show format. At the end she said nothing and we left.
I got a letter from her; a critique of my performance. It was seven paragraphs of the most vicious, insulting, out of line, unjustified professional and personal attacks I have ever received. There was nothing constructive about anything she wrote, only insult after insult. "You suck at this, you're the worst ever at that, you don't really look good enough to be on stage." It went on and on and on. I was wondering, since she hardly spent anytime in the workshop, if it was actually a twisted joke. I was assured later, even though she tried to play it off as a joke, she was serious, having sent similar letters to many others in the workshop.
The best part was the last paragraph. After her vile criticism, she wrote, "Your performance aside, I think you're really nice and hope we can stay friends." I framed the letter and had it on my wall for a few years. Like I mentioned, emotionally screwed up!
My time with Comedy Olympix taught me a little about what makes good comedy, and I did have the pleasure of working briefly with some extremely funny people. I do love when a great comedy skit clicks and the clip for tonight is one of the best. Everything in this is funny, with the subtle Seth MacFarlane stealing the show. Top 20 comedy skit all time from SNL, easy. Enjoy, it's your Friday link!
https://screen.yahoo.com/puppet-class-000000155.html?query=snl+puppets
It's been a light week here on the blog, but I hopefully will have a few different articles I've written over the last few days published elsewhere soon. I'll let you know if it happens.
I was a member of the improv group Comedy Olympix back in the 90's. This was the comedy improv Legion of Doom to the Justice League that was, and is, Comedy Sportz. I'm not sure exactly what the heck happened between the two groups but there was a lot, and I do mean A LOT, of animosity between the guy who owned CO and the people from CS. I wasn't the best performer, but I did have fun. We eventually parted ways.
Two observations about my time doing comedy improv:
First, the only career field with a larger percentage of emotionally screwed up people than radio is comedy improv.
Second, my tenure there led to the funniest letter I ever received. CO would offer improv workshops, something I desperately needed. The guy who ran them (not the owner) was great. He was very funny, knew the basic set ups for bits and was very helpful when it came to learning the basics. On the second workshop I did with him, he ended up having to be gone for the last class, so another comedian from CO, who still works in Twin Cities comedy today, took over for the final week. She didn't really teach anything that class. We went through a few improv drills and then we ran through a show format. At the end she said nothing and we left.
I got a letter from her; a critique of my performance. It was seven paragraphs of the most vicious, insulting, out of line, unjustified professional and personal attacks I have ever received. There was nothing constructive about anything she wrote, only insult after insult. "You suck at this, you're the worst ever at that, you don't really look good enough to be on stage." It went on and on and on. I was wondering, since she hardly spent anytime in the workshop, if it was actually a twisted joke. I was assured later, even though she tried to play it off as a joke, she was serious, having sent similar letters to many others in the workshop.
The best part was the last paragraph. After her vile criticism, she wrote, "Your performance aside, I think you're really nice and hope we can stay friends." I framed the letter and had it on my wall for a few years. Like I mentioned, emotionally screwed up!
My time with Comedy Olympix taught me a little about what makes good comedy, and I did have the pleasure of working briefly with some extremely funny people. I do love when a great comedy skit clicks and the clip for tonight is one of the best. Everything in this is funny, with the subtle Seth MacFarlane stealing the show. Top 20 comedy skit all time from SNL, easy. Enjoy, it's your Friday link!
https://screen.yahoo.com/puppet-class-000000155.html?query=snl+puppets
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Weekend Observations
Here are just a few things I pondered today as I watched my kids baseball.
I saw a story about Secession and how nearly 1 in 4 Americans would support a state or region trying to become it's own country. I think it's funny people who protest government overreach support an idea which would create a mandate by the seceded territory to tax and rule with an iron fist for 50 years. Good thinking genius! Also, I think if the current president was Republican and white, the same people who think secession is a good idea would be the ones screaming 'Merica, love it or leave it!
Why is Home Depot not getting far more grief for their data breach, a much larger one than Targets? Sure I know that Targets happened during the holiday shopping season, and I also have no doubt the outrage machine was being fueled by Target's competition, but Home Depot's data breach happened after corporate America was supposed to have learned from Target's mistakes, and is on a much larger scale. Is it because Home Depot is a manly man store with lumber and tools and tough guy stuff, and Target isn't? Is it because Target is in liberal Minnesota and Home Depots corporate offices are in conservative Georgia? Who knows, but if we are looking for places to bomb which are hurting American interests, how about we light up Serge or Vlad or whomever is the person behind this theft from the American people. We'd only have to do it once...
The scariest modern trend in religion for me is the new form of Christianity built on validating the economic policies of the tea party conservatives and ultra wealthy. To actually distort Christian teachings to validate wealthy people as being more blessed, that poor people only deserve a certain amount of pity and charity, and that Jesus really wants a wealthy person to have a kick caboose jet ski, is terrifying. Ayn Rand, Reagan and Libertarian economic policies are not based on Christian dogma.
How poorly are Native Americans still viewed in the modern USA? Native Americans were given an opportunity, by the Daily Show, to tell predominately Caucasian Americans their insistence a horrible, racist name and mascot for an NFL football team isn't actually "honoring" them. Now, the Caucasian Americans are trying to portray themselves as victims because the minority group they insist they are spokespeople for have told them they are hurting not helping. It's like when racists in the south tried to tell African Americans they should be honored by the flag of the political ideology that wanted to keep them as slaves. Change the dang name already.
Talk to you tomorrow morning!
I saw a story about Secession and how nearly 1 in 4 Americans would support a state or region trying to become it's own country. I think it's funny people who protest government overreach support an idea which would create a mandate by the seceded territory to tax and rule with an iron fist for 50 years. Good thinking genius! Also, I think if the current president was Republican and white, the same people who think secession is a good idea would be the ones screaming 'Merica, love it or leave it!
Why is Home Depot not getting far more grief for their data breach, a much larger one than Targets? Sure I know that Targets happened during the holiday shopping season, and I also have no doubt the outrage machine was being fueled by Target's competition, but Home Depot's data breach happened after corporate America was supposed to have learned from Target's mistakes, and is on a much larger scale. Is it because Home Depot is a manly man store with lumber and tools and tough guy stuff, and Target isn't? Is it because Target is in liberal Minnesota and Home Depots corporate offices are in conservative Georgia? Who knows, but if we are looking for places to bomb which are hurting American interests, how about we light up Serge or Vlad or whomever is the person behind this theft from the American people. We'd only have to do it once...
The scariest modern trend in religion for me is the new form of Christianity built on validating the economic policies of the tea party conservatives and ultra wealthy. To actually distort Christian teachings to validate wealthy people as being more blessed, that poor people only deserve a certain amount of pity and charity, and that Jesus really wants a wealthy person to have a kick caboose jet ski, is terrifying. Ayn Rand, Reagan and Libertarian economic policies are not based on Christian dogma.
How poorly are Native Americans still viewed in the modern USA? Native Americans were given an opportunity, by the Daily Show, to tell predominately Caucasian Americans their insistence a horrible, racist name and mascot for an NFL football team isn't actually "honoring" them. Now, the Caucasian Americans are trying to portray themselves as victims because the minority group they insist they are spokespeople for have told them they are hurting not helping. It's like when racists in the south tried to tell African Americans they should be honored by the flag of the political ideology that wanted to keep them as slaves. Change the dang name already.
Talk to you tomorrow morning!
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Friday Link for 9/19/14
I'm doing this video for two reasons. The first is due to the the guy who apparently walked out of a Hennepin County courtroom as he was being convicted of attempted murder.
"Guilty? Okay, out the door, take the left for the prison bus. Guilty? Great, out the door, take the left for the prison bus. Guilty?"
"No, freedom."
"What?"
"I'm supposed to go free."
"Well, then congratulations..."
I'll save it for the video.
The other reason I'm posting this one today is because it's Monty Python. I was talking to a guy about cigars. He loved them, but I don't smoke them. Cigars remind me of my grandfather who used to pull out the portable TV and watch Benny Hill followed by Monty Python on Friday nights on PBS. He would be smoking those stogies and laughing/coughing gregariously until tears were streaming down his face. Monty Python is the funniest comedy troupe ever. The surrealism of their comedy, from the silly to the ethereal, is unmatched and everyone else is still trying to play catch up (Kids in the Hall got close).
By the way, after Python was Doctor Who. :-)
This is from Life of Brian (I'm Catholic and I think this is hilarious), so be duly warned, blasphemy ahead. It's your Friday Link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9knToyK-wUs
"Guilty? Okay, out the door, take the left for the prison bus. Guilty? Great, out the door, take the left for the prison bus. Guilty?"
"No, freedom."
"What?"
"I'm supposed to go free."
"Well, then congratulations..."
I'll save it for the video.
The other reason I'm posting this one today is because it's Monty Python. I was talking to a guy about cigars. He loved them, but I don't smoke them. Cigars remind me of my grandfather who used to pull out the portable TV and watch Benny Hill followed by Monty Python on Friday nights on PBS. He would be smoking those stogies and laughing/coughing gregariously until tears were streaming down his face. Monty Python is the funniest comedy troupe ever. The surrealism of their comedy, from the silly to the ethereal, is unmatched and everyone else is still trying to play catch up (Kids in the Hall got close).
By the way, after Python was Doctor Who. :-)
This is from Life of Brian (I'm Catholic and I think this is hilarious), so be duly warned, blasphemy ahead. It's your Friday Link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9knToyK-wUs
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Both Sides Do It
Regular listeners of the show recognize our Wednesday guest, Jeff Stein. He's an old friend from my Ames, Iowa days and he is one of the smarter political minds I know. He never panders to one side or the other, much to the chagrin of the listeners. He often says, "Both sides do it," when referencing political mistakes and improprieties, in an effort to look neutral, but his continued use of the phrase has actually earned him a regular sound effect, only played when he says "both sides do it."
I don't like "both sides do it," (BSDI). I can't stand it when someone says BSDI in regards to an issue where it might be true, but the severity of the offense is wildly uneven. Both sides have PAC's airing ads for them, but the overwhelming amount of the dark money being spent is lobbed towards the Republicans. Big Oil and Big Coal spend billions to keep promoting their agenda, and as a counter point, they excuse their behavior by pointing out the "real" villain, Big Green(!), which apparently is making loads of cash by not ripping the earth apart for it's resources. Okay...? It's like saying the murderer and the kid who stole a lollipop are both criminals. While technically true, we can all acknowledge there is difference in the severity of the crimes, or can we?
This morning I was relaying to my sister in law and her husband about Sarah Palin, and the entire Palin clan's, wild drunken brawl in the suburbs of Anchorage. Seriously, former GOP Vice Presidential candidate and her family, the supposed embodiment of good Christian Values, were in a raging, liquor fueled street fight. You can't make it up.
My sister in law and her husband are cynical in regards to the news. They don't vote and they don't pay attention to politics, but even factoring that in, what they said after I told them about the Palin clan made my jaw drop.
"Both sides do it."
Hey, I will be the first to acknowledge bone headed mistakes by Democrats over the years, but to my knowledge, no one from the left is rounding up their extended family and a few bottles of Jack, heading out to a upscale soiree, and then delivering beat downs left and right. No, both sides DON'T do it. It's become the easy way out for both far right apologists and political weary cynics to say BSDI. They dismiss the bad news because they either don't trust the messenger, they have become so turned off by political malfeasance they're looking to get out of the topic quickly, or they are trying to dismiss the bad press. "See, BSDI so there is no need to pay attention to this story." This is a problem.
If we allow Republican mistakes, important, newsworthy events, to be quickly dismissed, while at the same time, watching the most minor of indiscretions and outright lies about the left being turned into week long news cycles, we have no chance. Take my lead; when anyone says BSDI, if it's not true, then call them on it. Challenge them. Make them defend their self imposed dismissal. I'm not saying it will change anyone's minds, but by not saying anything, we allow the BSDI crowd to win by default.
I don't like "both sides do it," (BSDI). I can't stand it when someone says BSDI in regards to an issue where it might be true, but the severity of the offense is wildly uneven. Both sides have PAC's airing ads for them, but the overwhelming amount of the dark money being spent is lobbed towards the Republicans. Big Oil and Big Coal spend billions to keep promoting their agenda, and as a counter point, they excuse their behavior by pointing out the "real" villain, Big Green(!), which apparently is making loads of cash by not ripping the earth apart for it's resources. Okay...? It's like saying the murderer and the kid who stole a lollipop are both criminals. While technically true, we can all acknowledge there is difference in the severity of the crimes, or can we?
This morning I was relaying to my sister in law and her husband about Sarah Palin, and the entire Palin clan's, wild drunken brawl in the suburbs of Anchorage. Seriously, former GOP Vice Presidential candidate and her family, the supposed embodiment of good Christian Values, were in a raging, liquor fueled street fight. You can't make it up.
My sister in law and her husband are cynical in regards to the news. They don't vote and they don't pay attention to politics, but even factoring that in, what they said after I told them about the Palin clan made my jaw drop.
"Both sides do it."
Hey, I will be the first to acknowledge bone headed mistakes by Democrats over the years, but to my knowledge, no one from the left is rounding up their extended family and a few bottles of Jack, heading out to a upscale soiree, and then delivering beat downs left and right. No, both sides DON'T do it. It's become the easy way out for both far right apologists and political weary cynics to say BSDI. They dismiss the bad news because they either don't trust the messenger, they have become so turned off by political malfeasance they're looking to get out of the topic quickly, or they are trying to dismiss the bad press. "See, BSDI so there is no need to pay attention to this story." This is a problem.
If we allow Republican mistakes, important, newsworthy events, to be quickly dismissed, while at the same time, watching the most minor of indiscretions and outright lies about the left being turned into week long news cycles, we have no chance. Take my lead; when anyone says BSDI, if it's not true, then call them on it. Challenge them. Make them defend their self imposed dismissal. I'm not saying it will change anyone's minds, but by not saying anything, we allow the BSDI crowd to win by default.
Friday, September 12, 2014
The Friday Link for 9/12/14
Stephen Colbert is one of the funniest people I have ever seen. He has stayed in character, of the self righteous, self serving, delusional, arrogant, Machiavellian right wing political talk show host, for so many years. It will be hard for me to see him just be Stephen Colbert when he takes over for Letterman next year.
When he started his show, I remember some conservatives thought he was a "real" character.
Here is him losing it on air five times. This is a little raunchier in points than I usually will post, so viewer be warned. Enjoy!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/stephen-colbert-breaking-character_n_4109895.html
When he started his show, I remember some conservatives thought he was a "real" character.
Here is him losing it on air five times. This is a little raunchier in points than I usually will post, so viewer be warned. Enjoy!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/stephen-colbert-breaking-character_n_4109895.html
The Piñata
This morning I had Diane from St. Louis Park call in. I was talking about the joke Pioneer Press editorial written by Mike McFadden, GOP candidate for Senate against Senator Al Franken. Part of the editorial was about foreign policy, namely the group ISIS/ISIL and President Obama's response to the terrorist organization. It was a minor point overall, but Diane called in and insisted I was not being politically correct, as ISIS is also Isis, an ancient Egyptian deity. Her point was the right uses ISIS while the president uses ISIL so we should be culturally sensitive and not upset anyone who worships ancient Egyptian gods. Okay...?
Diane upset me, but not because I can't take the grammar police pulling me over, usually for my misuse of your/you're or there/they're/their. She upset me because she so perfectly highlighted what the heck is wrong with the left. Here is the Republican nominee for Senate in Minnesota, writing an amazingly foolish editorial, ripe for the scorn I was about to level upon it, and Diane derails the whole talk topic with ISIS verses ISIL.
Democrats, we have to stop tripping our own selves up. There is an element of the left so enamored with the well worded memo, Lincoln v. Douglas debates, Mr. Smith goes to Washington pipe dream, they don't realize the other side just doesn't care. Not only does that perfect debate world not exist, the right depends on the left romanticizing the idea of an eloquent speech so they can control the entire political process. The win over the crowd speech, akin to the one given at the end of the movie Revenge of the Nerds, will not happen today because either the nerd would have been beaten to a pulp the minute he said, "I have something to say...", or the opposition would have just walked away and ignored it. Even if you were to manage to stop the right and force them to listen to your point of view, they'll never acknowledge you're right. The left, so wanting to win on the merit of their argument, forgets the forest, just so they can pat themselves on the back for the one leaf of grass they trimmed to perfection.
We need to get over this. Let's look back into history, to the time the current masterminds pulling the strings of the modern Republican party are trying to return us too, the 1870's to the 1920's. Back then, 50 or so people at any given time were making the decisions for all of us. Most of those people were not politicians, but extremely wealthy businessmen who happened to be at the forefront of the industries which would drive the country for the next 100 years and beyond. The people who ran steel, oil, trains, and eventually cars were, for the most part, ruthless, letting their accumulated wealth buy their legacy after their deaths. This country, with the population in the beginning stages of abandoning the farm and moving into the metro areas, had a incredibly large poverty class who would do anything to survive. They would work in near slave labor conditions, with death almost a daily occurrence in the workplace. There were no workers rights. You just sat back at took it with a smile. If a worker ever did try to read their well worded memo about the conditions, they were fired, beaten, and often killed.
It took a combination of things happening for change to begin; the horrific deaths and atrocious working conditions being exposed and the workers realizing they far outnumbered the 50 or so people who were pulling the strings. Big business back then despised the idea of workers rights, and the notion of a union having a seat at the table in business decisions was tantamount to the destruction of the democracy itself. Change was slow to come, until the businesses screwed things up so bad, we ended up in the Great Depression. FDR was not a looney leftie. He just realized the old system was unsustainable if the country was going to develop into the powerhouse it would eventually be. Workers rights groups now had the backing of the President, and equal rights for all began its path forward. Many of the business leaders of the time were so upset at FDR, they even tried to assassinate him and overthrow the government. They failed, and the country moved into the golden age of the worker.
The modern Republican can trace it's roots back to the late 1950's, early 1960's. Big business, realizing they could never go directly back to the way things used to be, realized in a two party system they could control a lot of the debate if they ran one of the parties. They chose the Republican Party, as they were recently flush with Dixiecrats, furious over the desegregation of the south. These guys were perfect foot soldiers to start the march back to the old ways of doing things.
The plan was daunting, but relatively simple; get control of one of the political parties, slowly take over the Federal government first, state governments second, and then local governments, infiltrate all departments of the federal government with appointees, appoint judicial activists to the bench who will side with business first, slowly take control of the media, offer the idiots, zealots and idealists who will vote for you regardless of their circumstances a few core issues to keep them loyal, and offer the rest of the country a few scraps along the way to keep them content enough.
There were a few hiccups (Carter, Iran Contra, the Internet) but they achieved tremendous success, a lot of their advances coming with Reagan's popularity with unions and the working class from 1983 to 1986, but the people pulling the strings realized they had a problem, they were far too successful at turning back the clock. Moderate Republicans started to peel away from the GOP. To replace them, the cabal started moving more and more to the right, replenishing their ranks with groups and organizations who were never welcome to the table before: the religious right, tea partiers, Libertarians, and militias. Each group brought in more foot soldiers for the right's cause, but middle America started to wash their hands of the Republican Party.
The right's political and economic lies of the last 40 years, like trickle down economics, aren't fooling anyone anymore. To maintain their power, the right had to tilt the playing field almost onto it's side to stay in power. They outspend the left 20 to 1 in elections, purge voter lists, gerrymander districts, limit voting, and cultivate indifference, all while unleashing their media to convince you how much the left has failed you. Even with the overwhelming system to help them win, their lies have caught up to them. They can't win solid majorities, they can only hope to obstruct the undoing of the system they have created. They are not trying to win anymore, they are just trying to stop the other side from succeeding.
Which brings us to another topic of this morning, Sarah Palin. The GOP nominee for Vice President in 2008, and her family, were in a drunken street brawl in Alaska. The right, so desperate to maintain what little control they have left, depend on the popularity a candidate has with the extreme far right base first and foremost, foregoing vetting and evaluation just to try to appease the extremists that now control their selection process. As funny as the Palin fiasco is (and it is HILARIOUS!), look at the Republican Candidates in Minnesota. McFadden, Johnson, Mills, Hagedorn, Emmer, Westrom, MacDonald whoever their running in the 4th and 5th; they're a laughing stock. Even the 'established' politicians left in the GOP, Kline and Paulson, are empty suits, thin memories of what the Republican Party used to be. The GOP ticket this year would have never gotten nominated to run 30 years ago, and more than a few would not have even been allowed into the nominating convention. They have become a low hanging, shoddily made, breaking apart piñata, hoping, heck praying, a light breeze doesn't shatter it.
What do you want to do, talk about the politically correct way to refer to ancient Egyptian gods, or grab a bat and swing away? Don't get caught up in the metaphor, don't criticize me for being too violent for suggesting hitting a piñata, don't have a debate on whether the bat is made from recyclable material, and for goodness sake, do not prioritize the feelings of the opposition over what is the right thing to do. If we don't start swinging away, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Batter up!
Diane upset me, but not because I can't take the grammar police pulling me over, usually for my misuse of your/you're or there/they're/their. She upset me because she so perfectly highlighted what the heck is wrong with the left. Here is the Republican nominee for Senate in Minnesota, writing an amazingly foolish editorial, ripe for the scorn I was about to level upon it, and Diane derails the whole talk topic with ISIS verses ISIL.
Democrats, we have to stop tripping our own selves up. There is an element of the left so enamored with the well worded memo, Lincoln v. Douglas debates, Mr. Smith goes to Washington pipe dream, they don't realize the other side just doesn't care. Not only does that perfect debate world not exist, the right depends on the left romanticizing the idea of an eloquent speech so they can control the entire political process. The win over the crowd speech, akin to the one given at the end of the movie Revenge of the Nerds, will not happen today because either the nerd would have been beaten to a pulp the minute he said, "I have something to say...", or the opposition would have just walked away and ignored it. Even if you were to manage to stop the right and force them to listen to your point of view, they'll never acknowledge you're right. The left, so wanting to win on the merit of their argument, forgets the forest, just so they can pat themselves on the back for the one leaf of grass they trimmed to perfection.
We need to get over this. Let's look back into history, to the time the current masterminds pulling the strings of the modern Republican party are trying to return us too, the 1870's to the 1920's. Back then, 50 or so people at any given time were making the decisions for all of us. Most of those people were not politicians, but extremely wealthy businessmen who happened to be at the forefront of the industries which would drive the country for the next 100 years and beyond. The people who ran steel, oil, trains, and eventually cars were, for the most part, ruthless, letting their accumulated wealth buy their legacy after their deaths. This country, with the population in the beginning stages of abandoning the farm and moving into the metro areas, had a incredibly large poverty class who would do anything to survive. They would work in near slave labor conditions, with death almost a daily occurrence in the workplace. There were no workers rights. You just sat back at took it with a smile. If a worker ever did try to read their well worded memo about the conditions, they were fired, beaten, and often killed.
It took a combination of things happening for change to begin; the horrific deaths and atrocious working conditions being exposed and the workers realizing they far outnumbered the 50 or so people who were pulling the strings. Big business back then despised the idea of workers rights, and the notion of a union having a seat at the table in business decisions was tantamount to the destruction of the democracy itself. Change was slow to come, until the businesses screwed things up so bad, we ended up in the Great Depression. FDR was not a looney leftie. He just realized the old system was unsustainable if the country was going to develop into the powerhouse it would eventually be. Workers rights groups now had the backing of the President, and equal rights for all began its path forward. Many of the business leaders of the time were so upset at FDR, they even tried to assassinate him and overthrow the government. They failed, and the country moved into the golden age of the worker.
The modern Republican can trace it's roots back to the late 1950's, early 1960's. Big business, realizing they could never go directly back to the way things used to be, realized in a two party system they could control a lot of the debate if they ran one of the parties. They chose the Republican Party, as they were recently flush with Dixiecrats, furious over the desegregation of the south. These guys were perfect foot soldiers to start the march back to the old ways of doing things.
The plan was daunting, but relatively simple; get control of one of the political parties, slowly take over the Federal government first, state governments second, and then local governments, infiltrate all departments of the federal government with appointees, appoint judicial activists to the bench who will side with business first, slowly take control of the media, offer the idiots, zealots and idealists who will vote for you regardless of their circumstances a few core issues to keep them loyal, and offer the rest of the country a few scraps along the way to keep them content enough.
There were a few hiccups (Carter, Iran Contra, the Internet) but they achieved tremendous success, a lot of their advances coming with Reagan's popularity with unions and the working class from 1983 to 1986, but the people pulling the strings realized they had a problem, they were far too successful at turning back the clock. Moderate Republicans started to peel away from the GOP. To replace them, the cabal started moving more and more to the right, replenishing their ranks with groups and organizations who were never welcome to the table before: the religious right, tea partiers, Libertarians, and militias. Each group brought in more foot soldiers for the right's cause, but middle America started to wash their hands of the Republican Party.
The right's political and economic lies of the last 40 years, like trickle down economics, aren't fooling anyone anymore. To maintain their power, the right had to tilt the playing field almost onto it's side to stay in power. They outspend the left 20 to 1 in elections, purge voter lists, gerrymander districts, limit voting, and cultivate indifference, all while unleashing their media to convince you how much the left has failed you. Even with the overwhelming system to help them win, their lies have caught up to them. They can't win solid majorities, they can only hope to obstruct the undoing of the system they have created. They are not trying to win anymore, they are just trying to stop the other side from succeeding.
Which brings us to another topic of this morning, Sarah Palin. The GOP nominee for Vice President in 2008, and her family, were in a drunken street brawl in Alaska. The right, so desperate to maintain what little control they have left, depend on the popularity a candidate has with the extreme far right base first and foremost, foregoing vetting and evaluation just to try to appease the extremists that now control their selection process. As funny as the Palin fiasco is (and it is HILARIOUS!), look at the Republican Candidates in Minnesota. McFadden, Johnson, Mills, Hagedorn, Emmer, Westrom, MacDonald whoever their running in the 4th and 5th; they're a laughing stock. Even the 'established' politicians left in the GOP, Kline and Paulson, are empty suits, thin memories of what the Republican Party used to be. The GOP ticket this year would have never gotten nominated to run 30 years ago, and more than a few would not have even been allowed into the nominating convention. They have become a low hanging, shoddily made, breaking apart piñata, hoping, heck praying, a light breeze doesn't shatter it.
What do you want to do, talk about the politically correct way to refer to ancient Egyptian gods, or grab a bat and swing away? Don't get caught up in the metaphor, don't criticize me for being too violent for suggesting hitting a piñata, don't have a debate on whether the bat is made from recyclable material, and for goodness sake, do not prioritize the feelings of the opposition over what is the right thing to do. If we don't start swinging away, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Batter up!
Good Gravy!
Here is the story about Sarah Palin, of the Fightin' Palins!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/palin-family-brawl_n_5805816.html
Sorry the last two weeks have been light. Kids went back to school last week and their schedule went nuts, my sister in law and husband are in visiting from Portland, Oregon (by the way, an amazing town!), and the allergy season has begun, hence why I was a full octave lower on my voice this morning.
I promise to get better with the updates soon. Thanks!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/palin-family-brawl_n_5805816.html
Sorry the last two weeks have been light. Kids went back to school last week and their schedule went nuts, my sister in law and husband are in visiting from Portland, Oregon (by the way, an amazing town!), and the allergy season has begun, hence why I was a full octave lower on my voice this morning.
I promise to get better with the updates soon. Thanks!
Friday, September 5, 2014
The Friday Link for 9/5/14
Elections are, to a point, popularity contests. How does the candidate relate to the people? Part of that is displaying a comedic quality. People like it when someone can make them laugh by showing off their lighter side.
Republicans stink at comedy. Good conservative comedy is rare, mainly because it usually devolves into a backhanded insults of some group or minority. When it doesn't, it usually is so tone deaf to the sentiment of the country it leaves people shocked in a bad way. Proof? Behold the comic stylings of W.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKX6luiMINQ
Looking back on that 'bit,' it's embarrassing to think he was the leader of the country.
Democrats, when not sexting a photo of their junk to the world, have a better track record with comedy. President Obama knows how to work a room and can be outright hilarious at times. Some uptight individuals will criticize him for participating at all, but they would criticize him regardless of what he does. They hate him, so to heck with them. They can't take a joke.
In my mind, this is the funniest thing he has done, "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis." It's a riot, very funny and got 23 million views. I'm proud this guy is my President.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/18e820ec3f/between-two-ferns-with-zach-galifianakis-president-barack-obama
Republicans stink at comedy. Good conservative comedy is rare, mainly because it usually devolves into a backhanded insults of some group or minority. When it doesn't, it usually is so tone deaf to the sentiment of the country it leaves people shocked in a bad way. Proof? Behold the comic stylings of W.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKX6luiMINQ
Looking back on that 'bit,' it's embarrassing to think he was the leader of the country.
Democrats, when not sexting a photo of their junk to the world, have a better track record with comedy. President Obama knows how to work a room and can be outright hilarious at times. Some uptight individuals will criticize him for participating at all, but they would criticize him regardless of what he does. They hate him, so to heck with them. They can't take a joke.
In my mind, this is the funniest thing he has done, "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis." It's a riot, very funny and got 23 million views. I'm proud this guy is my President.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/18e820ec3f/between-two-ferns-with-zach-galifianakis-president-barack-obama
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Sleeping In
I want to follow up on one of the talk topics from a week ago, the one regarding the study saying kids are too tired, and teenager school start times should be moved to 8:30 AM earliest. The story goes on to say:
"Delaying the start of the school day until at least 8:30 a.m. would help curb [teenagers] lack of sleep"
The whole story from the Associated Press and the Star Trib can be read here:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/272522381.html
Let's find our one piece of common ground. All kids do need to get a good nights rest. Will any child or adult consistently be able to get 12 hour of sleep daily? Unlikely.
When I brought this subject up, my point was simple. If the kids need more sleep, why not have them go to bed earlier? I got the impression, from about 50% of the response, I'm a fool to think parents can get their kids to go to sleep earlier. Why can't they? There is no right in this country to watch Colbert or catch a movie on a weeknight at 10:45. If you remove the option of kids going to bed earlier, your analysis of the problem becomes very one sided: kids must be able to sleep in!
If you believe the problem is kids need more sleep, then there are two options; have them go to bed earlier or have them start school later. I side with the easier, more cost effective, first option; have teenagers go to bed earlier. This is something controllable within individual households, without too much impact to modern society. The other option, having kids start their day later, would cause a dramatic shift in the modern working family paradigm, forcing most of American businesses to change their hours. It would impose extra financial and schedule conflicts for the modern working parent. It would change the way American's work or American companies do business, especially companies who need staff in-house early to work with European partners. Don't fool yourself, it would cost billions for the worldwide economy to adjust to Little Billy starting school later.
Then there's the complete upheaval in education. Every school in the country would have to change their hours of operation, dramatically affecting classroom plans and educational schedules.
This would also dramatically effect after school activities and potential employment for high school students. Little Susie currently works 4 to 10 PM, three evenings a week. Now she can't get to work until 5:30. Does she work 4.5 hours less per week, or do we now allow kids to work until midnight? If it's the later, aren't we just shifting the same problem to later into the night? How about not getting home from a sport, band practice or the school play until 11 PM?
I know there are some who will say, "well if I could have started school at 9AM, then I would have done better." I think it's candy coating the solution to imply a kid who has a problem getting going under today's schedule will be bright eyed and bushy tailed under the new schedule. My guess is they'd adjust their bed time accordingly, being just as late at 9 AM as they were at 7 AM, but even if that one individual would become a straight A student with the later start time, isn't it an unstable premise to apply the same conclusion for all kids? "It'll work for me, so let's do it for everyone!" Most teenagers are not failing due to earlier start times. Are we putting forward a later school start time theory without acknowledging there might be just as negative consequence on the kids who want to get up and get going earlier in the morning?
Alright, I'll play. Let's start school for all 6th graders this year at 9 AM, and progressively move the start time later as that class got older. In ten years, they graduate college and head out into the work world. Either we have completely changed American work environment or not. If we haven't changed, and the American business day is still the same as it is today, how difficult will it be for a group of people who have never had a real commitment before 9 AM to suddenly be awake and into the office for 7:30 AM conference calls, three days a week? They are going to have a tough transition at some point, so why not when they're in their teens?
If they have changed the business model and the working world didn't get going until 9AM earliest, what quality controls do you have in place to prevent the next group in 20 years from insisting the school day needs to start at 11 AM, and 20 years later, the school day starting at 1 PM. Eventually you might even get all the way around the clock and have kids going to bed at 9:15 PM for a 7:37 AM school start time (my 12 year old son's current bed time and first class time). My method avoids the constant shifting over the next hundred or so years.
This topic was never a judgment on anyone individually, or an individual's specific circumstance. It never was. At no point did I ever imply that.
Humor me; let's start by trying to get teenagers to bed earlier and go from there. If it doesn't work, then we can try the other options, but let's try the most controllable and least impactful option first.
"Delaying the start of the school day until at least 8:30 a.m. would help curb [teenagers] lack of sleep"
The whole story from the Associated Press and the Star Trib can be read here:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/272522381.html
Let's find our one piece of common ground. All kids do need to get a good nights rest. Will any child or adult consistently be able to get 12 hour of sleep daily? Unlikely.
When I brought this subject up, my point was simple. If the kids need more sleep, why not have them go to bed earlier? I got the impression, from about 50% of the response, I'm a fool to think parents can get their kids to go to sleep earlier. Why can't they? There is no right in this country to watch Colbert or catch a movie on a weeknight at 10:45. If you remove the option of kids going to bed earlier, your analysis of the problem becomes very one sided: kids must be able to sleep in!
If you believe the problem is kids need more sleep, then there are two options; have them go to bed earlier or have them start school later. I side with the easier, more cost effective, first option; have teenagers go to bed earlier. This is something controllable within individual households, without too much impact to modern society. The other option, having kids start their day later, would cause a dramatic shift in the modern working family paradigm, forcing most of American businesses to change their hours. It would impose extra financial and schedule conflicts for the modern working parent. It would change the way American's work or American companies do business, especially companies who need staff in-house early to work with European partners. Don't fool yourself, it would cost billions for the worldwide economy to adjust to Little Billy starting school later.
Then there's the complete upheaval in education. Every school in the country would have to change their hours of operation, dramatically affecting classroom plans and educational schedules.
This would also dramatically effect after school activities and potential employment for high school students. Little Susie currently works 4 to 10 PM, three evenings a week. Now she can't get to work until 5:30. Does she work 4.5 hours less per week, or do we now allow kids to work until midnight? If it's the later, aren't we just shifting the same problem to later into the night? How about not getting home from a sport, band practice or the school play until 11 PM?
I know there are some who will say, "well if I could have started school at 9AM, then I would have done better." I think it's candy coating the solution to imply a kid who has a problem getting going under today's schedule will be bright eyed and bushy tailed under the new schedule. My guess is they'd adjust their bed time accordingly, being just as late at 9 AM as they were at 7 AM, but even if that one individual would become a straight A student with the later start time, isn't it an unstable premise to apply the same conclusion for all kids? "It'll work for me, so let's do it for everyone!" Most teenagers are not failing due to earlier start times. Are we putting forward a later school start time theory without acknowledging there might be just as negative consequence on the kids who want to get up and get going earlier in the morning?
Alright, I'll play. Let's start school for all 6th graders this year at 9 AM, and progressively move the start time later as that class got older. In ten years, they graduate college and head out into the work world. Either we have completely changed American work environment or not. If we haven't changed, and the American business day is still the same as it is today, how difficult will it be for a group of people who have never had a real commitment before 9 AM to suddenly be awake and into the office for 7:30 AM conference calls, three days a week? They are going to have a tough transition at some point, so why not when they're in their teens?
If they have changed the business model and the working world didn't get going until 9AM earliest, what quality controls do you have in place to prevent the next group in 20 years from insisting the school day needs to start at 11 AM, and 20 years later, the school day starting at 1 PM. Eventually you might even get all the way around the clock and have kids going to bed at 9:15 PM for a 7:37 AM school start time (my 12 year old son's current bed time and first class time). My method avoids the constant shifting over the next hundred or so years.
This topic was never a judgment on anyone individually, or an individual's specific circumstance. It never was. At no point did I ever imply that.
Humor me; let's start by trying to get teenagers to bed earlier and go from there. If it doesn't work, then we can try the other options, but let's try the most controllable and least impactful option first.
Friday, August 29, 2014
The Friday Link for 8/29/14
This is the kind of stuff which I think makes the internet great. Something stupid and ludicrous, but done with intelligence, sincerity and enjoyable results.
I encourage you to watch all of these Epic Rap Battles of History, but this was the first one I saw and it makes me chuckle every time. For the most part clean, but some of these can get pretty dirty, so buyer be warned. The production quality is quite amazing, and some of the best up and coming talent in comedy occasionally shows up. Enjoy for a laugh on a Friday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HZ5V9rT96M
I encourage you to watch all of these Epic Rap Battles of History, but this was the first one I saw and it makes me chuckle every time. For the most part clean, but some of these can get pretty dirty, so buyer be warned. The production quality is quite amazing, and some of the best up and coming talent in comedy occasionally shows up. Enjoy for a laugh on a Friday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HZ5V9rT96M
A week of apologies!
I want to apologize for not getting more stuff up here this week. I do have three posts I want to finish up but this week has been nuts. My kids are all going back to school, so there were the open houses and school supply stuff, it is the last week of summer vacation so I have been trying to maximize the activities (MN Zoo, Pickle making, MN State Fair, Swimming at the beach and Fort Snelling today), and there are one or two other issues I've been dealing with. I promise some updates this weekend and when the kids get back into school, more regular updates! TAKE THAT AS A WARNING!
Friday, August 22, 2014
The Friday Link for 8/22/14
Tim Conway was, and is, a brilliant comedian. He could take a very talented group, like the crew from the Carol Burnett Show, and leave them rolling. In particular was his ability to absolutely ruin Harvey Korman in sketch after sketch.
Harvey Korman was an extremely funny man himself, as viewed in the riot Blazing Saddles, but there was something about Tim that would leave him doubled over. Someone told me a good straight man in a comedy bit is supposed to be the relay for the audience, and Korman did that too well, bowling over with laughter at Tim's performance, just like everyone else.
Supposedly, Harvey Korman wet himself during The Dentist skit. I believe it. There is nowhere for him to go. He is just the foil for Tim Conway and his brilliance. Enjoy on a Friday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk92O0SEjXc
Harvey Korman was an extremely funny man himself, as viewed in the riot Blazing Saddles, but there was something about Tim that would leave him doubled over. Someone told me a good straight man in a comedy bit is supposed to be the relay for the audience, and Korman did that too well, bowling over with laughter at Tim's performance, just like everyone else.
Supposedly, Harvey Korman wet himself during The Dentist skit. I believe it. There is nowhere for him to go. He is just the foil for Tim Conway and his brilliance. Enjoy on a Friday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk92O0SEjXc
What was your question...?
MNDoT running the message on their LED traffic signs that "Distracted driving is a major cause of accidents in Minnesota" could be the most ironic message ever.
Goofus and Gallant go to Washington
Let me introduce you to the irregular reality. Democrats, regardless of success of their initiatives, popularity of their platform, and increased quality of life for the vast majority of Americans when they are in charge, are constantly having to prove themselves, being painted successfully with gimmicky, untrue, bumper sticker slogans, and have zero threshold for error on any level. Republicans are a cluster, incompetent with policy, horrific with budgetary issues, Machiavellian, self serving war hawks, with policies that hurt the vast majority of us while overwhelmingly favoring a small percentage of wealthy Americans, but for some reason continue to be placed in decision making positions they truly no longer should be trusted with. Think I'm over reacting? Let's compare via the Goofus and Gallant method:
Gallant (D) comes into office with a horrific budget crisis created by Goofus (R), rolls up his sleeves and with little or no help for Goofus, pays off the debts incurred under Goofus' watch, gets spending under control, equalizes the tax system, even handing out tax cuts to many Americans, and makes the economy better for most. Goofus screams empty threats which are designed to scare the public away from Gallants leadership and put Goofus back in power, just to screw things up again.
Gallant understands the importance of making sure Americans have a pathway to success, trying to help with base needs such as food, shelter, healthcare, education, business training, unemployment assistance and a pathway to citizenship, not as a lifestyle, but as temporary aid. Goofus calls all people of a lower class moochers and lazy, insisting no help come from the government to make their lives better. In cases where government assistance can't be stopped, Goofus creates hurdles such a drug tests and public shaming, forcing the needy to have to grovel for help. Goofus then brags about it on social media, with a "it sucks to be them" quip he thinks is hilarious.
Gallant respects religion, and may or may not reference it in private decision making. Gallant feels an individuals personal faith decisions are up to the individual, and private. Goofus always trumpets his Christian faith as the one true religion and insists every decision they make is wrapped in scripture, even decisions which go completely against their own religious teachings. Goofus implies the founding fathers clear wishes to have separation of church and state actually means the founding fathers wanted a state ruled by about 5% of Christian doctrine, while ignoring the 95% of Christian doctrine that backs up Gallants political points. Goofus then invokes false piety in an effort to turn Christians against Gallant.
Gallant not only wants a strong economy, but a strong environment, education system, transportation system, post office, and workers rights for all. Goofus creates false bogey men to erode the public's faith in these institutions. Goofus does this under the false flag of standing up for a strong economy, but Goofus' policies actually weaken the economy as a whole.
Gallant wants a fair tax system, making sure the wealthiest people pay somewhere close to the same tax rates as the middle class does for the same freedoms. Gallant wants to make sure tax cheats are caught, that American companies are rewarded for keeping good paying jobs in America, and the American people see the benefit of their tax dollars at work. Goofus screams about 'cutting the fat' and 'tax and spend liberals.' Goofus screams class warfare at the mere suggestion the wealthiest tax rates are held to the same standard as the working classes and accuses anyone who criticizes American companies that ship jobs, their headquarters and profits overseas as Anti-American. In truth, Goofus doesn't want taxes to go down at all. He wants the tax rates to stay where they are at, finding a way to guide the money from the government's coffers into the accounts of the wealthiest Americans.
As you look at what the Republican Goofus' stand for, it shocks me anyone votes for them at all, but then you throw out Goofus' other problems (sex scandals, personal bankruptcy, grift, cronyism, extremist rhetoric, racism, homophobia, and other behaviors which contradict their own self promoted moral superiority with comic aplomb), them still being in a position of power boggles the mind. Is it any surprise the GOP has to redraw districts, disguise their candidates as Democrats, discourage voting, especially in the minority areas, limit voting hours, and outspend their opponents 15-1 to stay in power?
Meanwhile, if a Democrat has a hair out of place, the right's propaganda machine will insist all Democrats are bad. "This misplaced follicle signifies the complete and total failure of all democrat policies."
This country would be a lot better if Americans did what the GOP is terrified of them doing; stepping back and asking the question, who is actually helping me? For the vast majority of US citizens, the answer is Gallant and the Democrats.
Gallant (D) comes into office with a horrific budget crisis created by Goofus (R), rolls up his sleeves and with little or no help for Goofus, pays off the debts incurred under Goofus' watch, gets spending under control, equalizes the tax system, even handing out tax cuts to many Americans, and makes the economy better for most. Goofus screams empty threats which are designed to scare the public away from Gallants leadership and put Goofus back in power, just to screw things up again.
Gallant understands the importance of making sure Americans have a pathway to success, trying to help with base needs such as food, shelter, healthcare, education, business training, unemployment assistance and a pathway to citizenship, not as a lifestyle, but as temporary aid. Goofus calls all people of a lower class moochers and lazy, insisting no help come from the government to make their lives better. In cases where government assistance can't be stopped, Goofus creates hurdles such a drug tests and public shaming, forcing the needy to have to grovel for help. Goofus then brags about it on social media, with a "it sucks to be them" quip he thinks is hilarious.
Gallant respects religion, and may or may not reference it in private decision making. Gallant feels an individuals personal faith decisions are up to the individual, and private. Goofus always trumpets his Christian faith as the one true religion and insists every decision they make is wrapped in scripture, even decisions which go completely against their own religious teachings. Goofus implies the founding fathers clear wishes to have separation of church and state actually means the founding fathers wanted a state ruled by about 5% of Christian doctrine, while ignoring the 95% of Christian doctrine that backs up Gallants political points. Goofus then invokes false piety in an effort to turn Christians against Gallant.
Gallant not only wants a strong economy, but a strong environment, education system, transportation system, post office, and workers rights for all. Goofus creates false bogey men to erode the public's faith in these institutions. Goofus does this under the false flag of standing up for a strong economy, but Goofus' policies actually weaken the economy as a whole.
Gallant wants a fair tax system, making sure the wealthiest people pay somewhere close to the same tax rates as the middle class does for the same freedoms. Gallant wants to make sure tax cheats are caught, that American companies are rewarded for keeping good paying jobs in America, and the American people see the benefit of their tax dollars at work. Goofus screams about 'cutting the fat' and 'tax and spend liberals.' Goofus screams class warfare at the mere suggestion the wealthiest tax rates are held to the same standard as the working classes and accuses anyone who criticizes American companies that ship jobs, their headquarters and profits overseas as Anti-American. In truth, Goofus doesn't want taxes to go down at all. He wants the tax rates to stay where they are at, finding a way to guide the money from the government's coffers into the accounts of the wealthiest Americans.
As you look at what the Republican Goofus' stand for, it shocks me anyone votes for them at all, but then you throw out Goofus' other problems (sex scandals, personal bankruptcy, grift, cronyism, extremist rhetoric, racism, homophobia, and other behaviors which contradict their own self promoted moral superiority with comic aplomb), them still being in a position of power boggles the mind. Is it any surprise the GOP has to redraw districts, disguise their candidates as Democrats, discourage voting, especially in the minority areas, limit voting hours, and outspend their opponents 15-1 to stay in power?
Meanwhile, if a Democrat has a hair out of place, the right's propaganda machine will insist all Democrats are bad. "This misplaced follicle signifies the complete and total failure of all democrat policies."
This country would be a lot better if Americans did what the GOP is terrified of them doing; stepping back and asking the question, who is actually helping me? For the vast majority of US citizens, the answer is Gallant and the Democrats.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
ART - Vol. 1
I went out to Big Stone Mini Golf and Sculpture Garden in Minnetrista. That was a blast. It could be the best mini golf I've ever played. Extremely cool holes, very creative, and a lot of great art. FYI - 14 holes, and they take check or cash only, but a fantastic two hours with the kids.
Here is some of the art I really liked. One or two really appealed to me. ;-) Enjoy and go see them yourself
Here is some of the art I really liked. One or two really appealed to me. ;-) Enjoy and go see them yourself
Saturday, August 16, 2014
O Captain, My Captain
Since his tragic passing, most major television channels are breaking out the Robin Williams movie collection in force. After returning from a workout at the Y, I found Dead Poets Society airing on Flix. I was planning on watching a few minutes, just to get reminded of how great Williams was as Professor John Keating, and ended up catching it all the way to the end, with my kids eventually joining me. It's a tour de force for Williams, but it's also an amazing movie, which inspires just as strong today as it did back in the late 80's.
After I first saw it back in 1989, I wanted to be expressive, a writer, a thinker. I became more interested in the arts, not just poetry, but painting, acting, music, sculpture; things I still cherish today. It helped me learn to try new things. Doesn't mean I have to be good at them, but I usually don't shy away from a new challenge. Want proof: I really don't like heights but I volunteered to be an airborne traffic reporter, flying around the metro in a small Beechcraft Sport 2-seater. I'm impressed I sounded human on most of my reports. I only heaved once. I also did television. I only heaved once there too.
Watching the movie today, it makes me want to be a teacher. The pure joy William's character gets by teaching people to think differently is captivating. The scene where Ethan Hawke's character creates a terrific poem while under duress from Keating, and the look on William's face when it finally does happen, summarizes, I imagine, the joy a teacher gets from helping an individual muster the courage to take the next step on their individual path.
When this movie originally came out, one of the reasons it resonated was due to the prevalent 1980's 'Greed is Good' mindset in American life. Money and power were important. Your happiness is secondary to your standing. Being a successful business person trumped everything. Romanticism was dead and poetry, the arts and free thinking were the playthings of the lost and wasted mind. The movie was based in 1959, another time where human priorities had been detoured. Today...we definitely need Professor John Keating once again.
At the end of the movie, I lost it at the same exact place as I did back when I watched it in 1989. When the student named Hopkins (!), the jock-like dim bulb who said, "The cat sat on the mat," stood up, I was bawling. The heck with it, give me a desk to stand on...
O Captain, My Captain.
After I first saw it back in 1989, I wanted to be expressive, a writer, a thinker. I became more interested in the arts, not just poetry, but painting, acting, music, sculpture; things I still cherish today. It helped me learn to try new things. Doesn't mean I have to be good at them, but I usually don't shy away from a new challenge. Want proof: I really don't like heights but I volunteered to be an airborne traffic reporter, flying around the metro in a small Beechcraft Sport 2-seater. I'm impressed I sounded human on most of my reports. I only heaved once. I also did television. I only heaved once there too.
Watching the movie today, it makes me want to be a teacher. The pure joy William's character gets by teaching people to think differently is captivating. The scene where Ethan Hawke's character creates a terrific poem while under duress from Keating, and the look on William's face when it finally does happen, summarizes, I imagine, the joy a teacher gets from helping an individual muster the courage to take the next step on their individual path.
When this movie originally came out, one of the reasons it resonated was due to the prevalent 1980's 'Greed is Good' mindset in American life. Money and power were important. Your happiness is secondary to your standing. Being a successful business person trumped everything. Romanticism was dead and poetry, the arts and free thinking were the playthings of the lost and wasted mind. The movie was based in 1959, another time where human priorities had been detoured. Today...we definitely need Professor John Keating once again.
At the end of the movie, I lost it at the same exact place as I did back when I watched it in 1989. When the student named Hopkins (!), the jock-like dim bulb who said, "The cat sat on the mat," stood up, I was bawling. The heck with it, give me a desk to stand on...
O Captain, My Captain.
Friday, August 15, 2014
The Friday Link for 8/15/14
I remember being a kid in Rhode Island and watching television with my parents. What I remember most was the funny stuff, the stuff where my parents would both be laughing uncontrollably. Cheers was always a favorite, The Muppet Show too. I remember watching The Blues Brothers when it was the Saturday Night Movie of the Week! I can still she the tears of laughter on my moms face while my father chuckled loudly. Then there was The Pink Panther.
Peter Sellers was an amazing talent. His ability to stay in character, regardless of how ludicrous the situation, is unmatched. Some of his comedy is dated, especially with certain ethnic references, but his Inspector Clouseau was a thing of beauty.
Here is the best of his matches against Cato. I can still hear my parents laughing when I watched this many years ago. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbUD7FRStbY
Peter Sellers was an amazing talent. His ability to stay in character, regardless of how ludicrous the situation, is unmatched. Some of his comedy is dated, especially with certain ethnic references, but his Inspector Clouseau was a thing of beauty.
Here is the best of his matches against Cato. I can still hear my parents laughing when I watched this many years ago. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbUD7FRStbY
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
How Can I NOT Question What is Going On?
1) Stewart Mills, a wealthy Vice President of Mills Fleet Farm, who seems to have been chosen, groomed and inserted into the MN-08 race as the Republican candidate to try to unseat Congressman Rick Nolan, has a speech recorded at the 2nd Amendment and Liberty Rally this summer, in which he pulls a Mitt Romney, insisting the 99%'ers should never have negative feelings about wealthy 1% "job creators" and adds how the ultra wealthy should be allowed to keep most of their money, at the expense of the non-ultra wealthy.
2) The video is edited down for time constraints and placed into a political ad, making sure the voters see Mr. Mills' feelings about wealth and entitlement. Personally, I don't think the ad distorts Mr. Mills comments to the point where I feel it's misrepresentative. As a matter of fact, I think the ad actually softens Mr. Mills' overall point.
3) The ad is being aired on many media outlets in the state, with the exception being Hubbard Broadcasting's KSTP and WDIO. Both have refused to air the ads.
4) The Hubbard family insists this decision was made by the media company's legal department without any input from the Hubbard family themselves.
5) It's publicly known the Hubbard family are big supporters of Republicans. The Hubbard family wants Republicans to win elections. This is common knowledge throughout the Twin Cities radio portion of Hubbard Broadcasting; I worked for them for three years. I am guessing this is also known within the company's legal department.
6) Hubbard Broadcasting Legal Department political ad approval process is a mystery. They have not really explained their justification for pulling the ads, beyond their agreeing with the Mills campaign's "it's edited," and "that's not fair!" arguments, and the legal department doesn't seem to have the same approval standard for ads against Democrats where some of the allegations against them are quite exaggerated, at best. Once again, in my opinion, the Stewart Mills ads are not deceptive at all. Read the linked article and watch the un-edited tape yourself. As a matter of fact, forward the unedited video onto everyone you know, especially anyone who lives in the MN-08 district. They should see it.
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/08/hubbard_broadcastings_decision_to_pull_anti-stewart_mills_attack_ad_sparks_controversy.php
6) Stewart Mills has now used the Hubbard Broadcast Company's boycott of the ad as campaign fodder, talking about how the ads are untruthful because the ads were yanked in Minnesota. To my knowledge, the only media outlets to pull the ad are the two Hubbard Broadcasting properties.
7) The Hubbard family is a sponsor of a fundraiser for the Stewart Mills campaign being held 8/14, featuring John Boehner.
At the very least there seems to be a lot of incidental back scratching going on.
There's no evidence Mr. Hubbard or any of the Hubbard family are lying. He's a friend to certain members of my extended family, and for the record, I have some positive memories of my time at KSTP-AM. The Hubbards, and all of Hubbard Broadcasting, were outstanding when they stood behind my former Program Director after he was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash. The entire Hubbard family always treated me well and never told me directly what I should and should not talk about on air. My boss did with some regularity, and it always lined up with their political point of view.
Is it so hard to believe the Hubbard Broadcasting Legal Department knew the Hubbard's personal political preferences, knew of their personal support for Stewart Mills and his campaign, and knew it's important to the family that MN-08 go back to the GOP, and in turn used Mills campaign's flimsy argument to justify pulling the ads?
We trust media to be honest in their presentation of the news, but this series of events shows how people get a perception of an agenda driven media, and media as corrupt and bias. Where does the owners personal feelings end and where does the objectivity begin? In this case, that is a blurred line at best.
It's not on me as a listener or viewer to prove a media outlet has got an agenda, it's up to the news outlet to prove they are not being driven by an ulterior motive. Needless to say, I'll be watching what ads Hubbard Broadcasting does or does not approve this election cycle. I'll be very interested in what the Hubbard Broadcasting Legal Department's justifications in both cases will be.
2) The video is edited down for time constraints and placed into a political ad, making sure the voters see Mr. Mills' feelings about wealth and entitlement. Personally, I don't think the ad distorts Mr. Mills comments to the point where I feel it's misrepresentative. As a matter of fact, I think the ad actually softens Mr. Mills' overall point.
3) The ad is being aired on many media outlets in the state, with the exception being Hubbard Broadcasting's KSTP and WDIO. Both have refused to air the ads.
4) The Hubbard family insists this decision was made by the media company's legal department without any input from the Hubbard family themselves.
5) It's publicly known the Hubbard family are big supporters of Republicans. The Hubbard family wants Republicans to win elections. This is common knowledge throughout the Twin Cities radio portion of Hubbard Broadcasting; I worked for them for three years. I am guessing this is also known within the company's legal department.
6) Hubbard Broadcasting Legal Department political ad approval process is a mystery. They have not really explained their justification for pulling the ads, beyond their agreeing with the Mills campaign's "it's edited," and "that's not fair!" arguments, and the legal department doesn't seem to have the same approval standard for ads against Democrats where some of the allegations against them are quite exaggerated, at best. Once again, in my opinion, the Stewart Mills ads are not deceptive at all. Read the linked article and watch the un-edited tape yourself. As a matter of fact, forward the unedited video onto everyone you know, especially anyone who lives in the MN-08 district. They should see it.
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/08/hubbard_broadcastings_decision_to_pull_anti-stewart_mills_attack_ad_sparks_controversy.php
6) Stewart Mills has now used the Hubbard Broadcast Company's boycott of the ad as campaign fodder, talking about how the ads are untruthful because the ads were yanked in Minnesota. To my knowledge, the only media outlets to pull the ad are the two Hubbard Broadcasting properties.
7) The Hubbard family is a sponsor of a fundraiser for the Stewart Mills campaign being held 8/14, featuring John Boehner.
At the very least there seems to be a lot of incidental back scratching going on.
There's no evidence Mr. Hubbard or any of the Hubbard family are lying. He's a friend to certain members of my extended family, and for the record, I have some positive memories of my time at KSTP-AM. The Hubbards, and all of Hubbard Broadcasting, were outstanding when they stood behind my former Program Director after he was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash. The entire Hubbard family always treated me well and never told me directly what I should and should not talk about on air. My boss did with some regularity, and it always lined up with their political point of view.
Is it so hard to believe the Hubbard Broadcasting Legal Department knew the Hubbard's personal political preferences, knew of their personal support for Stewart Mills and his campaign, and knew it's important to the family that MN-08 go back to the GOP, and in turn used Mills campaign's flimsy argument to justify pulling the ads?
We trust media to be honest in their presentation of the news, but this series of events shows how people get a perception of an agenda driven media, and media as corrupt and bias. Where does the owners personal feelings end and where does the objectivity begin? In this case, that is a blurred line at best.
It's not on me as a listener or viewer to prove a media outlet has got an agenda, it's up to the news outlet to prove they are not being driven by an ulterior motive. Needless to say, I'll be watching what ads Hubbard Broadcasting does or does not approve this election cycle. I'll be very interested in what the Hubbard Broadcasting Legal Department's justifications in both cases will be.
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