All of these are supposed to be annimated, but as usual, with Blogger, since taken over by Google, most annimated images don't animate. Bummer.
A place to enjoy good music, drink in some knowledge, and watch a little sports. Where there is always food for thought, topped with choice grillings of right wing talking points.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Have A Fun New Year's Eve!
All of these are supposed to be annimated, but as usual, with Blogger, since taken over by Google, most annimated images don't animate. Bummer.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Lights Out For Eartha Kit, Santa Baby
RIP, Eartha. Damn, what a fine lady and singer, and to die on Christmas (just as Dean Martin did). Sad way to end the holidays.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
"...Wow, What A Ride!"
“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body. But rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming—wow—what a ride!”
Amen, to that!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
5 Pies In On Night, And I Am Not Talking Pizza!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
And What Book Did You Read This Week?
Last year I was alarmed by a report that came out that indicated most Americans had not read a book in two years. I was one of those Americans, despite having an extensive library at home with at least 100 or more books (not counting reference or coffee table books). I would go on book buying binges, and then maybe read one of them.
When I put my grandson into the art class at Barnsdall Park, I had an hour to kill every Saturday while waiting for him, plus another hour and half when we went to McDonalds for lunch afterwards (where he would play in one of those playschool contraptions they have for the kids).
The first week of his class was right when Paul Newman had passed away, so I brought along the People magazine and read it cover to cover, to kill the hour.
The next week, I brought a book. I looked through my shelves and shelves, and the book, Nights In Rodanthe, by Nicholas Sparks, caught my eye. I had no idea I had even bought it years ago, and now it was a movie, so I took the slim book and read that second Saturday. I finished it the following Saturday. It was a pleasing read, but I was not impassioned by it. When I get passionate about a book, I generally don't stop reading it until I finish it.
The next book I picked to read was entitled My Father's House by Bela Plavin. That one I started on the Saturday, but I actually had to read it to the end by Sunday. It was only 342 pages, so it was easy to finish it off in two days. The story was intriguing and it was a slow paced narrative, with a hint of mystery, impending doom/surprise/possible good ending around the corner.
Zaire's art class is over until I sign him up for new one in January. But, yesterday he wanted to go to McDonalds for lunch, so I looked for another book I hadn't read in my library. This time I picked Michael Palmer's The Society. Damn. I didn't even go to work today, so that I could finish it! It was 352 pages, an easy two-day read for me. When I read the acknowledgments about the people the author interviewed concerning managed health-care, a part of me wanted to put the book back. But, then again, I usually bought books for a reason, if I didn't read them right away. This book was very much like riding a roller coaster. Plot twists, fast paced, detective slash romance slash medical mystery, with an epilogue out of the movie Body Heat! The intensity of the storyline had me taking a Valium half way through (laughs).
There are, of course, many books that are just boring. The Nanny Diaries comes to mind.
I used to be a voracious reader. Between television and the internet, not to mention managing three blogs and having a full time job, and a weekend custody relationship with my grandson, reading books seemed to be a passion that subsided, especially given the many hours I would "read" the net.
I'm glad I read this new book, especially given the trepidation I had at reading the prologue and acknowledgments.
I don't have enough time in my day to really read, especially based on my need to finish the damn thing as soon as possible. But it has been fun finding time in my life to put reading back on the agenda.
Thanks, Rix, for the inspiration to read more.
Appreciate This, Darth Cheney
Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that President-elect Barack Obama will “appreciate” the expansions of executive power achieved during the Bush administration and is unlikely to cede authority back to Congress.
“Once they get here and they’re faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place,” Cheney said during an interview on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show.
Delusional to the end. I clearly doubt that the president-elect, who spent 12 years teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School, would continue with the conscious disregard of the constitution Bush and Cheney and their gang enjoyed during their stay at the White House.
I think, more to the point, Obama will be shocked out of his shoes once he has a full grasp of just how much the Bush Administration trashed the constitution for personal gain, not to mention how hard it will be for him to right this country, and put America back on track.
Can The Senate (And That Means Democrats, Too) Suck Any Harder?
Let's make this very plain. Bob Corker just led the charge to kill the American auto industry, and with it some 10% of the American economy, because he wasn't allowed to bust the UAW. As such, Bob Corker is definitionally one of the most traitorous and despicable human beings ever to track slime across the floors of the Senate. He is attempting to take advantage of the financial crisis to literally dismantle the American middle class. He is beneath the contempt with which partisans regard even their most radical and craven domestic political opponents. And to see three of the most prominent leaders of the party that portrays itself as the party of working Americans line up to commend this sanctimonious puppet of big money, this enemy of working Americans . . . well, it's disgusting. There's really no other word for it.
There is a sickness in the Senate if the people who are supposed to fight for working Americans have anything but utter revulsion for Bob Corker.
Good diary up at Daily Kos. Give it a read. I've already posted my take on them congresscritters!
Limits? We Don't Need No Stinking Limits!
Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism for reviewing executive compensation and penalizing firms that break the rules.
But at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said. The change stipulated that the penalty would apply only to firms that received bailout funds by selling troubled assets to the government in an auction, which was the way the Treasury Department had said it planned to use the money.
Now, however, the small change looks more like a giant loophole, according to lawmakers and legal experts. In a reversal, the Bush administration has not used auctions for any of the $335 billion committed so far from the rescue package, nor does it plan to use them in the future. Lawmakers and legal experts say the change has effectively repealed the only enforcement mechanism in the law dealing with lavish pay for top executives.
Hmmm. Now, why does that NOT surprise me? Stupid, stupid, congresscritters! When are you idiots going to wake up from your stupor and actually do something right for a change? And, just because Obama will be taking over in January, I don't for a moment think that congress will present itself in any stronger position. The only salvo is that the new president won't be such a lying asshole and things like the above won't be slyly "written" into legislation. Congress, however, will continue to be populated by idiots, most of whom couldn't differentiate between their right hand or their left hand when it comes to jacking off.
"So What?"
In an interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz yesterday, the president reflected on the war, saying, "One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand."
Raddatz interjecting, noting that Iraq was not a major theater for al Qaeda until after the U.S. invasion. "Yeah, that's right," the president said. "So what?" He added that he believes the terrorist group is "becoming defeated."
So what? SO WHAT? This is what passes as a legitimate response from the highest "elected" (cough cough) official of the United States of America about a war he started without provocation, and about which he continues to lie? So what?
Isn't that more like what a child says to another child when confronted with something they know they did wrong, but could care less? So what?
I think it's way past time for someone to take this man out in back of the shed and beat the crap out of him. Then let him say -- "so what."
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Carrie's Milestones!
Champagne for everyone!
Will Anyone EVER Hold The Bush Administration Accountable?
What you have is a two-tiered system of justice where ordinary Americans are subjected to the most merciless criminal justice system in the world. They break the law. The full weight of the criminal justice system comes crashing down upon them. But our political class, the same elites who have imposed that incredibly harsh framework on ordinary Americans, have essentially exempted themselves and the leaders of that political class from the law.
They have license to break the law. That’s what we’re deciding now as we say George Bush and his top advisors shouldn’t be investigated let alone prosecuted for the laws that we know that they’ve broken. And I can’t think of anything more damaging to our country because the rule of law is the lynchpin of everything we have.
Read more from the Bill Moyers interview of Glenn Greenwald (one of my most favorite political pundits).
I have no idea what Obama is going to do with all the law breaking information he will become privy to after taking office. I know he's all for fixing this country and not necessarily for doling out punishment to the malfeasants that broke the law under the guise of running the Bush Administration's idea of government.
Personally, I think they all should be prosecuted, from George W. Bush, to Dick Cheney, on down to Rumsfield and Rove, then Gonzales, and, oh what the fuck, the list is so damn long.
Obama not only has to repair the damage that this administration did to the country, but he has to restore America's likeability throughout the rest of the world. And allowing tyrants such as those that ran this government the past years to break international laws (like rendition, and let's not forget the complete disregard for the Geneva Convention), establish illegal prisons, torture, invade other countries (the list is too long to really put up in one post) will not bode well. There has to be some retribution for the criminal acts committed by the Bush Administration the past eight years.
An Iraqi Insult - Shoes Hurled At George W. Bush
McClatchy identified the man as Iraqi television journalist Muthathar al Zaidi and reports he threw both of his shoes at Bush just after he finished prepared remarks.
The New York Times notes that the first shoe “narrowly missed” and the second shoe also missed. “This is a farewell kiss, you dog,” Zaidi shouted.
Courtesy of Think Progress.
Sorry, Obama Family, No Room At The Blair House For You
President Bush’s aides have turned down a request from President-elect Barack Obama to move from Chicago into Blair House, the official guest residence across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, in time for Mr. Obama’s daughters to start school in Washington on Jan. 5.
The Obamas were told that they could move into Blair House on Jan. 15, but no earlier, because it is booked, an Obama transition official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,” the official said. “But there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.”
White House officials declined to disclose specifically who is using Blair House during that period, for what purpose or how they could take precedence over the president-elect of the United States when it came to government housing; one White House official would say only that it had been booked for “receptions and gatherings” by members of the departing Bush administration. Those receptions, the official said, “don’t make it suitable for full-time occupancy by the Obamas yet.”
Of course the "White House" is not going to give any concrete reasons for why they won't let the Obamas move in. They haven't been truthful to the American public for eight years, why start now?
This man is spiteful, cruel, mean-spirited, disgusting, and quite frankly, I personally would like to see him leave the White House dragged by a rope behind a horse's ass.
The Death Of America As We Know It, Circa 2008
We have gone, when Reagan came into office we were the largest exporter of manufactured goods and the largest importer of raw materials on the planet. And the largest creditor. More people owed us money than anybody else in the world. Now just twenty eight years later we're the largest importer of finished goods, manufactured goods, exporter of raw materials which is kind of the definition of a third world nation and we're the most in debt of any country in the world. This is the absolute consequence of Reaganomics.
Courtesy of Thom Hartman.
Republicans Leading The Way To Full Blown Depression In America
Congress quickly, and I mean quickly, enacts provisions that allow trillions of taxpayer dollars to go to failed banks, Wall Street institutions, and AIG, but refuse to let a paltry $14 billion go to the auto industry because, let me get this straight, congress wants the workers who are part of the "union" to give up their American wages and accept wages comparable to those paid to foreign workers. I thought this comment by Morgan Johnson, president of the UAW, was on point, and amusing:
"I don't know what Sen. Vitter has against GM or the United Auto Workers or the entire domestic auto industry; whatever it is, whatever he thinks we've done, it's time for him to forgive us, just like Sen. Vitter has asked the citizens of Louisiana to forgive him, " said Johnson, president of Local 2166. Otherwise, Johnson said of Vitter, it would appear, "He'd rather pay a prostitute than pay auto workers."
Then, of course, there's this little ditty, sent out to Senate Republicans, regarding the auto bailout:
From:And what about the trillions of American taxpayer money already dolled out?
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:12 AM
To:
Subject: Action
Alert -- Auto Bailout
Today at noon, Senators Ensign, Shelby, Coburn and DeMint will hold a press conference in the Senate Radio/TV Gallery. They would appreciate our support through messaging and attending the press conference, if possible. The message they want us to deliver is: 1. This is the democrats first opportunity to payoff organized labor after the election. This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it. 2. This rush to judgment is the same thing that happened with the TARP. Members did not have an opportunity to read or digest the legislation and therefore could not understand the consequences of it. We should not rush to pass this because Detroit says the sky is falling. The sooner you can have press releases and documents like this in the hands of members and the press, the better. Please contact me if you need additional information. Again, the hardest thing for the democrats to do is get 60 votes. If we can hold the Republicans, we can beat this.
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.That's right. REFUSING to let American taxpayers even know who received American taxpayer dollars! TWO FUCKING TRILLION taxpayer dollars, no less! But, of course, the Senate isn't going to give a lousy $14 billion to the auto industry, because, you know American taxpaying citizens are making too much money!
My head is spinning. I need more coffee.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Right Wingnut Rove And Others Pretend Half Million Job Loss In November Did Not Happen
Yesterday on Fox News, Bill O’Reilly and Karl Rove went on a tirade against the media for hyping the struggling state of the economy. They claimed that it’s not as bad as reports are making it out to be, and journalists are overstating the case in order to help President-elect Barack Obama:O’REILLY: All right, so you are agreeing with me then that there is a conscious effort on the part of The New York Times and other liberal media to basically paint as drastic a picture as possible, so that when Barack Obama takes office that anything is better than what we have now?
ROVE: Yes.
This is really the height of stupidity, now. Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor:
Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply (-533,000) in November, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. November's drop in payroll employment followed declines of 403,000 in September and320,000 in October, as revised. Job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors in November.
This constant Orwellian commentary by the right wingnuts never ceases to amaze me! There is no real problem here. It's just being manufactured so that the left wing commie pinko socialists progressives can claim Obama is god (especially in light of the fact that it was supposedly god who told Bush to run for president -- ha ha).
Someone needs to wire Rove's mouth shut.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Another December 8th Remembering John Lennon
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Pearl Harbor, Remembered
Saturday, December 06, 2008
In The Holday Spirit, Yet?
I am definitely getting into the holiday spirit! We (Zaire and I) bought the Christmas tree today, and I pulled out all the ornaments and lights. Somehow, some stuff was missing, so I had to make a trip to Walgreen's to get a new skirt for the tree, some ornament hooks, and about two dozen new bulbs (seems I had a slew of kooky ornaments left, but no regular bulbs of the circular variety).
We'll decorate the tree tomorrow. I hope to take some pictures and will pray they come out (laughs!).
And who thought when he came out in the 1980's with Stray Cats, that this young dude (back then) actually had music talent? Well, I did ... was pretty sure he was not a one hit wonder.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Moulin Rouge Las Vegas
I found the CSI backstory tonight interesting. It focused on a club named the Chateau Rouge, known as the first integrated casino in old school Vegas.
As many of you know, I was born in Vegas in 1952. My dad played at the Desert Inn, and my aunt (who was not my aunt at the time) danced at the Desert Inn. Then, the Moulin Rouge opened, owned by Sammy Davis Jr. and others, which was the first integrated casino in Vegas.
I thought it was interesting watching fiction weave around reality, espically a reality I know about personally.
It burned down all but the facade in 2003. It's now a declared historical building in Vegas, and there are plans to redevelop it.
Joan and Sid ... then.
Leslie and Kelly - Moulin Rouge
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Novak Would Do It Again In A Heartbeat, Thanks To Those Hateful Liberals
Q: Let's talk about the Valerie Plame affair, which caused you so much grief. If you had it to do over again, would you reveal who she was?
A: If you read my book, you find a certain ambivalence there. Journalistically, I thought it was an important story because it explained why the CIA would send Joe Wilson -- a former Clinton White House aide with no track record in intelligence and no experience in Niger -- on a fact-finding mission to Africa. From a personal point of view, I said in the book I probably should have ignored what I'd been told about Mrs. Wilson.
Now I'm much less ambivalent. I'd go full speed ahead because of the hateful and beastly way in which my left-wing critics in the press and Congress tried to make a political affair out of it and tried to ruin me. My response now is this: The hell with you. They didn't ruin me. I have my faith, my family, and a good life. A lot of people love me -- or like me. So they failed. I would do the same thing over again because I don't think I hurt Valerie Plame whatsoever.
Wow. Nice going, Mr. Novak. Let's hope that bubble around your head doesn't get any tighter.
And tell me when, if ever, in this next century, is someone NOT going to blame the world's troubles on Bill Clinton?
Monday, December 01, 2008
Rove + Hollywood = Propoganda
Shortly after the attacks on 9/11, a delegation of high-level media executives, including the heads of every major studio, met several times with White House officials, including at least once with President Bush’s former top strategist, Karl Rove, to discuss ways that the entertainment industry could play a part in improving the image of the United States overseas.
Hilary Rosen, the former chairwoman of the Recording Industry Association of America, who was also present at the post-9/11 meetings, said that Mr. Rove and other White House officials were looking for the kind of support Hollywood gave the United States during World War II.
“They wanted the music industry, the movie industry, the TV industry to produce propaganda,” she said. “Rove was putting a lot of pressure on us.”
Hmmm. Now, why does that not surprise me? Fake reason for invading a country, and then asking Hollywood to put a good spin on it.