Obama's Reaction To "Ant" Comment

From Obama today:

“We’re on the verge of passing the most comprehensive financial reform since the Great Depression—reform that will prevent a crisis like this from happening again. It’s reform that will protect our economy from the recklessness and irresponsibility of a few. Reform that will protect consumers against the unfair practices of credit card companies and mortgage lenders. Reform that ensures taxpayers are never again on the hook for Wall Street’s mistakes.

“But most of our friends in the other party are planning on voting against this reform. In fact, just yesterday, I was stunned to hear the leader of the Republicans in the House say that financial reform was like using a nuclear weapon to target an ant. That’s right. He compared the financial crisis to an ant. The same financial crisis that led to the loss of nearly eight million jobs. The same crisis that cost people their homes and their lives savings.

“Well if the Republican leader is that out of touch with the struggles facing the American people, he should come here to Racine and ask people if they think the financial crisis was an ant. He should ask the men and women who’ve been out of work for months at a time. He should ask the Americans who send me letters every night that talk about how they’re barely hanging on.

“These Americans don’t believe the financial crisis was an ant. They know that it’s what led to the worst recession since the Great Depression. And they expect their leaders in Washington to do whatever it takes to make sure a crisis like this never happens again. The Republican leader might want to maintain a status quo on Wall Street. But we want to move America forward.”

What Is The Point Of A Majority If You Can't Get Anything Accomplished?

While I certainly can't speak to Bennett's motivations or state of mind, I think his observations about Republicans are critically important. The party that once liked to throw around the "party of ideas" moniker has become devoid of almost all thought. Indeed, in most GOP circles, ideas themselves are suspect -- they're probably the result of some kind of egg-head intellectual who reads books instead of watching Fox News.

Bennett has to be frustrated that his career his is ending because members of his own party were outraged that he tried to solve problems by working with other senators (i.e., his job). But the more important point is that the development itself is evidence of a Republican Party with a kind of reflexive sickness -- an allergy to substance, problem-solving, compromise, and reason.

Interesting point from Steve Benen.

I was reading an earlier piece at Benen's site, The Washington Monthly, concerning the lock step approach to governing adhered to by the current Republican party by threatening members who "stray" from their ideological viewpoints with such things as taking away chairmanship of committees, among other things. While that has been common knowledge by most people, whether in politics or not, what comes to mind, as was noted in the article I read, was why the Democrats don't take the same type of approach. The point was made that if the Democrats HAD taken this road, most of the agenda that Obama tried to pass WOULD have passed. Instead, the inept Democratic party caved in all the time on everything that the Republican party did not like since Obama came into office and the Democratic party took over Congress. And even WITH the caving, the Republican party stayed together on it's "NO" votes, regardless of how much the Democrats gave them in concessions.

Imagine how much better the economy and life would be right now if only the Democrats figured out that they ain't gonna get no bipartisanship votes. We stormed the White House and Congress in 2008 for the sole purpose of overriding the bullshit that had been passing for government the past eight years under the Bush Administration, and right after that, the Obama Administration started playing pussyfoot with the other side. The end result is the complete mess we have today. Nothing major by way of any reform ... all half ass crap that doesn't go far enough to change the direction this country is heading in. And, of course, the failure of Obama to even attempt to try to push through the more progressive concepts he (supposedly) ran on. In fact, it is quite clear that Obama is distancing himself from the man we all rooted for during the campaign.

And for what? That is my big question. No one on the Hill that has an "R" next to his name likes him. Many, in fact, despise him, still think he's not an American citizen and is a Muslim! And the Blue Dogs ... well they mostly just shit on him, like good little doggies.

What is the point of a fucking majority if you can't get anything accomplished?

Wars Of Aggression Cheerleaders

Since I'm still on a rant about the "wars," as usual, one cannot state things as eloquently as Glenn Greenwald can.

Those who perpetrate wars of aggression invariably invent moral justifications to allow themselves and the citizens of the aggressor state to feel good and noble about themselves. Hence, even an unprovoked attack which literally destroys a country and ruins the lives of millions of innocent people -- as the U.S. invasion of Iraq did -- is scripted as a morality play with the invaders cast in the role of magnanimous heroes.

As usual, you need to read the FULL post. Hopefully, the tidbit above will whet your appetite.

Bachmann Being, Well, Bachmann

“So I think clearly this is a very bad direction because when you join the economic policy of different nations, it is one short step to joining political unity and then you would have literally, a one world government,” said Bachmann. “I don’t want to cede United States authority to a transnational organization.”

Matt Yglesias notes that “the existence of a global economy in which events outside our borders impact us is not something Barack Obama dreamed up, and the idea that having world leaders gather for occasional meetings constitutes a ‘one world government’ is insane.”

But it’s not new for Bachmann to dream up nightmarish scenarios about the U.S. ceding its economic sovereignty. Around the time of the 2009 G-20 Summit, she peddled a false conspiracy theory that the world was moving toward a unified global currency. “This is not Michele Bachmann being a kook,” declared the Minnesota congresswoman. It was and is.

Drink pretty much starting to kick in ... ahhhh, wingnuttia, where we all can enjoy our own insanity!

Republicans Don't Want To Extend Benefits To Homeless Veterans

On the one hand, the Republicans think that if they just paint the picture that life in America is falling fast into the big sinkhole, they will retake Congress in the next election. Except ...

The reason we are in this sinkhole is BECAUSE of the Republicans. The won't pass the extensions to the unemployment benefits AND paint those that are out of work as "lazy" and not deserving of said benefits (while they yell and scream that we just CANNOT let the tax cuts to the wealthy expire!!!!). Now they block the bill to help funding additional benefits for the HOMELESS VETERANS! Insanity, I tell you! Just plain insane. Look, the rich don't vote (um, how about that Republican candidate for Gov. of California LOL who hasn't voted in 28 years, but thinks she can be the "governator!") and by alienating the veterans, the seniors, the people of color, who the fuck is going to vote Republican?

Today, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) brought her bill — the Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans With Children Act — to the Senate floor seeking unanimous consent. Murray said the bill would “expand assistance for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children and would increase funding and extend federal grant programs to address the unique challenges faced by these veterans.” However, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) objected on behalf of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to this seemingly non-controversial issue:

McCONNELL: Madam president, reserving the right to object and I will have to object on behalf of my colleague Sen. Coburn from Oklahoma. He has concerns about this legislation, particularly as he indicates in a letter that I’ll ask the Senate to appear on the record that it be paid for up front so that the promises that makes the Veterans are in fact kept. So madam president I object.

"This is pretty low, even for Republicans,” the Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen said. While Murray pledged to continue to fight for the bill’s passage, Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) spokesperson said “Republicans have their priorities backwards — according to them, it’s OK to give tax breaks to CEOs who send American jobs overseas, but not to help out-of-work Americans and homeless veteran.”

Boehner's Boner Plan To Pay For The Wars!

Ensuring there's enough money to pay for the war will require reforming the country's entitlement system, Boehner said. He said he'd favor increasing the Social Security retirement age to 70 for people who have at least 20 years until retirement, tying cost-of-living increases to the consumer price index rather than wage inflation and limiting payments to those who need them.

"We need to look at the American people and explain to them that we're broke," Boehner said. "If you have substantial non-Social Security income while you're retired, why are we paying you at a time when we're broke? We just need to be honest with people."

My head is spinning. You have to read the whole piece and watch the videos.

The Republicans really, really, can't help themselves. They gave us two fucking wars that are bankrupting this country, gave themselves (and the rest of the rich people) tax cuts, among other things, and now they want to ensure that these unnecessary wars are paid for by cutting SOCIAL FUCKING SECURITY??????? Like that's going to go over well in middle America.

Stop playing toy soldiers and end the two wars. Remember, the one in Iraq was supposed to be over in a few weeks and pay for itself? Seven years later and here we still are ... life in Iraq sucks more than it did under their previous ruler, and life in America sucks equally as much now as it did under our previous ruler. But telling our seniors that THEY HAVE TO SUCK IT UP is pretty audacious, even for a Republican! My reply? You fucking give up your fucking salaries, dickheads, if you want to have YOUR stupid wars paid for. Stop "dumpster diving" into the only fall-back plan many seniors still have going for themselves.

(I need a drink, badly!)

UPDATE: From MoveOn.org, a great idea. Click on the link and follow the rules!

Makin' Whoopie

Rickie Lee Jones and Dr. John. Yeah, it's that kind of night!

Makin' Whoopie

Shopping In Hollywood

I don't normally have a short fuse in combustible situations, like being in an abnormal line during Christmas time shopping, etc.

For some reason, the local Ralphs was fully packed, and although I could have jumped the rather large line for the 15 or less aisle, I had 18 items, and you know me, I tend to be a stickler for fucking RULES!

So after waiting like 30 minutes for my articles to start to be checked, my feet were killing me and I was not enjoying how the new bag I purchased (with wheels - to make it easier to tote my groceries home) was waffling. Then, of course, after I paid for my weekly bus pass, I have to go to the center counter to HOPE that someone shows up in the next half hour to load my bus pass card.

I noticed one of the managers was actually in the area. Since I've lived here close to 17 years, I know everyone that works at my local Ralphs. (OK so I'm channeling DJ Rix, sue me). I grabbed my wallet, but left my purse in the shopping cart, and moved up the aisle to make sure the manager saw me so I could get the bus pass filled. However, I was forced to endure the lunatic ravings of a stark raving "queen" blabbering about how his hand full of rain checks couldn't be honored by Ralphs. What was pathetic was that the manager kept telling the person what he COULD do, but queenie couldn't get that part through her thick skull. He kept repeating lame crap about how this one and that one told him this and that. The manager kept saying "this is what I CAN do for you" and it was just completely lost on this guy. Then the manager tells the guy, look, let's go to the aisle, you tell me what you want, I'll order it, and it will be here in less than a week, and I will call you. The guy finally shuts up and decides to take the manager up on his offer. So, before the manager takes off, he sees me, of course he's known I was there for about 15 minutes listening to this garbage. So he tells the guy, do you mind if I just fill her Tap card and then I'll meet you in the aisle and we can go over your order. So the guy actually says to ME, what is wrong with this area, you are the second person to have an attitude .... Whoa .. so I tell him, hey, if you don't like the area, just leave. Then he says something under his breath as he pushes me aside (never mind that he had to push me, my bag with the wheels AND my shopping cart with my purse aside), and I say "bite me, bitch." He replies "suck on me" to which I yell out in reply "you ain't got anything I would want to suck on."

Just a typical day doing my grocery shopping.

The new bag was cool though. Folds up to fit in my purse, but opens up to hold about two eco friendly cloth bags, but with wheels!

The Full Monty

To get over my sadness after watching Team USA be beat, I'm watching The Full Monty to amuse myself.



Definitely one of the more fun endings to a movie! Of course, this is Tom Jones' version of You Can Leave Your Hat On. The Joe Cocker version resonates Kim Bassinger in 9-1/2 Weeks.

USA World Cup Run Stopped Cold

While it was still an exciting game, the tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched the game and saw team USA knocked out of this round.

Sigh.

I'm going to go shopping. I need an uplift in spirits.

Landon Donovan, USA God!

Well, in my neck of the woods, it's the hope that both Korea and USA win, so they can meet in the next round.

Fun video of reactions across the nation to his goal last Wednesday.

Critical Mass, 6th St., Los Angeles, June 25, 2010

Every last Friday of the month, bikers from all over the world amass and ride. They are known as Critical Mass. I took a video two years ago, at a staging area before they took off. Over the years, there have been two major ones that have gone down 6th street in front of my apartment building. The last one, they all turned left on La Brea heading up to Hollywood.



There have been a number of incidents with these events, some including police officers that intentionally trip the bicyclists, and some have even been caught on tape and posted on YouTube.

Tonight was something visually stunning, and I wish I had put new batteries in my video camera. This group that was going down 6th Street (and remember, they do not YIELD TO STOP SIGNS OR LIGHTS, THEY MAKE THE CARS HAVE TO STOP AND YIELD TO THEM) they were accompanied by cops on bikes, cops on motorcycles and some cops in patrol cars as well as unmarked cars. This was also the largest one I've seen, it took a full five minutes to get past my house. Must have been a few thousand bicycle riders.

Nice to see our men in uniform for once standing up and supporting people over cars!

Gov. Brewer -- YOU LIE!

Is this the biggest load of crap you have ever read:

"Well, we all know that the majority of the people that are coming to Arizona and trespassing are now becoming drug mules," Brewer said. "They're coming across our borders in huge numbers. The drug cartels have taken control of the immigration.

"So they are criminals. They're breaking the law when they are trespassing and they're criminals when they pack the marijuana and the drugs on their backs."

[snip]

T.J. Bonner of the National Border Patrol Council told CNN that Brewer's claims were "clearly not the case."

[snip]

Brewer's comments, Bonner said, don't "comport with reality -- that's the nicest way to put it."

The scare tactic. Now every Mexican crossing the border is automatically, according to the Arizona governor's interpretation, a drug smuggling criminal.

Nice work, bitch.

Stupidity Knows No Bounds As Judge Overturns Government Ban On DRILLING

You know, sometimes you think you've seen just about everything stupid that can be done or said or espoused by a group of people, but the recent overturning of Obama's ban on deep water oil drilling takes the cake this week for me. Add to that Gov. Jindal's irrational and frankly, untrue statement that the ban needs to be lifted in order to put people back to work on "the rigs" and I'm finding my head exploding.

First, let's get educated. The ban is on drilling, not on rigs that are pumping oil or are already functioning in that aspect. Current estimates (they vary as you search the web ... why is that?) put the number of oil rigs currently operating ... not drilling, in the Gulf region at more than 3,800! The rigs that are affected by this ban are about 35! People ... get your brain around the truth, and stop buying into big oil's boo hoo stop the ban drama and lies.

Here's a picture showing the number of rigs currently operating in the Gulf region.

I am quite sure that the average American had no idea there were that may offshore rigs pumping oil in the Gulf region. The ban only relates to the rigs that have yet to reach the oil. In other words, the ones that are DRILLING. The BP accident involved DRILLING, not pumping, DRILLING. The ban is in place for a few months so that a better understanding of how to prevent the blowout that occurred during the DRILLING (not pumping) to the oil!

Fortunately, Obama is appealing the decision by the idiot, Judge Martin Feldman (who has not withheld the fact that he has stock in the very same companies that are affected by the ban).

Americans need to stop allowing themselves to be dumb downed by media and right wing nutjobs and the oil corporation hacks whose sole purpose is to play the Wizard of Oz regarding TRUTHS about DRILLING.

It's mind boggling to me that there are that many oil rigs in operation in the Gulf region. And still, we as a nation continue to consume so much oil that foreign oil is necessary, despite what is produced at home!

Some Bayou Sounds

In a Louisiana mode tonight. Gulf spill drawing my attention to Katrina (NOLA), and my fondness for zydeco music.

I'm pretty much a fan of Wayne Toups. Enjoy.

Sweet Joline



Big Mamou

PTSD Coming To An Oil Spill Near You

You know it's bad when the locals start committing suicide because they are overwhelmed by the reality of the BP oil disaster. Continuing on earlier post theme:

After waiting a while, the deckhands returned to the boat, which was moored where they had left it, Vinson said. They went aboard and found Kruse at the captain's bridge above the wheelhouse, Vinson said. He had been shot in the head. A Glock handgun was later recovered from the scene, and investigators do not suspect foul play, Vinson said.

[snip]

But he said it's not surprising the oil spill had weighed heavily on his mind, as it has on many local fishermen no longer able to support themselves with deep-sea sport fishing trips for marlin and the like, Vinson said.

"All the waters are closed. There's no charter business anymore. You go out on some of the beaches now, with the oil, you can't even get in the water," Vinson said. "It's really crippled the tourism and fishing industry here."

WWII Photo Icon (Kiss In Times Square) Dead

Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt

Edith Shain passed away today. She was 92. One of the most famous photographs to come out of WWII.

If You're Going, To Pensacola, Be Sure To Wear, Some Flowers In Your Hair

I've been to Pensacola and other cities in that area. I was blown away by the pristine white beaches and the crystal clear, very blue and aqua water. I found the area to be equal to or better in quality and view than the beaches in Hawai'i.

It's sad what is happening to the western shoreline of Florida from the BP spill. Watching the news day after day is heartbreaking. Anyone with a brain already knows this is it. There is no recovering from this oil disaster. BP and Obama's government can do all the covering up and PR dusting they want. The damage has been done, and it will all be revealed in the months to come just how much has been destroyed and can never be repaired or replaced.

Good-bye and God bless our environment. As this is happening world-wide, not just in the Gulf (but with a lot less press coverage elsewhere) it's impossible not to fathom that we will soon see a polluted world water system.

TEAM USA TAKES GROUP C!!!

AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

I swear, I cried when team USA finally got a goal that wasn't called back! Because they had more goals than England, team USA wins Division C, and advances along with England.

My stomach hurts, and now I have to get ready for work!

UPDATE: 7:00 P.M.:

I found this part of a report about the game pretty funny.

As the need for a goal increased, Bradley sent in Benny Feilhaber at the half, Edson Buddle at the 64th minute, then Beasley. Now it was the old pro football drill of everybody go long. How American was that? Only instead of Joe Montana sending everybody deep, it was Howard, the American keeper who plays in England, half-Hungarian, half-African-American.

Now, because of goals scored (more than England), it is the English that will have to face the big, bad Germans, and team USA plays Ghana in the next round.

World Cup Watching In Koreatown

As many of you know, I work in Koreatown, and since Korea's game against Nigeria was at 11:30 a.m. today, I took advantage of it being aired in a big park on two screens.

This picture is from the screen on top of the building. I watched most of the second half of the game from that screen.

This next three pictures are where Radio Korea set up another screen, had speakers, and a Korean announcer calling the game, as well as some dancers and drummers sparking the crowd.

Another picture of the same area. You can see the screen next to the while ribbon hanging from the building.



It was fun to be in a crowd rooting for a team that's not a Los Angeles team, be it Lakers, Kings, Dodgers or whatever.

Now, on to tomorrow's game. GO USA!!! BOOO ENGLAND! USA has a chance to move on, so long as England doesn't score many goals against Slovenia and team USA does as well (or better) than England. If both teams tie their opponents, and team USA still has more goals for, they advance with Slovenia. Even if England draws and team USA draws, as long as team USA has the more goals, they WILL advance.

Blade Runner

I am watching Blade Runner. The best part of Blade Runner. Especially before Sean Young went nutzo!

Spanish ... So, Mexican, Cuban, Brazilian, Spanish?

So many people have no clue about "spanish" music.

I found it funny that at the Baja Fresh franchise (which offers primarily MEXICAN fare) they play Cuban music! They rarely play any Mexican music. It's always Cuban, or other South American songs.

Here's Cuban music:

El Negro Bembon


Here's Mexican:
Dicen.

Avatar

I've got nothing to say. Finally saw it (ok, not 3d). Totally the best movie ever ever ever I have seen.

In awe.

Oh, And, Um, Congratulations To Lakers (The Fans Don't Riot-Only Soccer Fans Riot)

A belated congrats to the Lakers and their championship win last week. And, yes, I did watch the game! I used the DVR to record the shows I wanted to watch but had to miss because of the game seven.

Two images from the game: One we like ...

one we don't like ...



Photos from Reuters.


Which brings to mind a comment made at the start of the World Cup from a certain Glenn Beck.

I don't get the baseball thing, but the soccer thing, I hate it so much -- probably because the rest of the world likes it so much, and they riot over it, and they continually try to jam it down our throat." [snip] It doesn't matter how you sell it to us. It doesn't matter how many celebrities you get. It doesn't matter how many bars open early. It doesn't matter how many beer commercials they run. We don't want the World Cup. We don't like the World Cup. We don't like soccer. We want nothing to do with it. You can package it any way -- you can spend all kinds of money. You can force it on our television sets. We will not enjoy the World Cup.

Hmmmm. So soccer fans riot, but true American sports fans don't.

I seem to remember the Republicans hijacking the term "soccer mom" to brand them more representative of "middle America." Now, soccer is a pejorative term used by the Republican right?

The term came into widespread use near the time of the 1996 Republican National Convention. The first use of the term in a news article about that election appeared in the July 21, 1996 edition of The Washington Post. E.J. Dionne, the article's author, quoted Alex Castellanos (at the time a senior media advisor to Bob Dole) suggesting that Bill Clinton was targeting a voting demographic whom Castellanos called the "soccer mom." The soccer mom was described in the article as "the overburdened middle income working mother who ferries her kids from soccer practice to scouts to school." The article suggested that the term soccer mom was a creation of political consultants. Castellanos was later quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying "She's the key swing consumer in the marketplace, and the key swing voter who will decide the election."

A Point, Is A Point, But Team USA Deserved The Win

That goal should have counted. Umpire Jim Joyce and referee Koman Coulibaly have something in common. A bad call affecting a game in a dramatic way. However, unlike Joyce, who immediately knew he had made a mistake, Coulibaly has remained silent about his disallowed goal in the USA/Slovenia game, a goal that would have given USA the lead, and possibly the win (and the three points that go with it).

First off, team USA came back from a two goal deficit at the half, to tie Slovenia, which in and of itself was a magical feat to begin with. But when the Edu goal was called back, team USA had to settle for a draw, and a single point.

The only good news is the rumor that Coulibaly will be pulled from refereeing any further World Cup matches.

FIFA will now assess Coulibaly’s performance, and will almost certainly keep him from refereeing any more matches in the World Cup. However, this doesn’t mean that he won’t have one more opportunity to break the heart of another football-loving nation (yes, we love it now, and it loves us). Coulibaly may find himself barred from refereeing another match, but according to FIFA, he might be eligible to be a line judge in the knockout round.

Soccer’s governing body would be hard pressed not to keep this guy as far away from the field as possible. A repeat performance by the man of a thousand shrugs is, hopefully, not going to happen.

Texas Budget Shortfall To Affect Buying Textbooks Right Wing Texans Mandated Changes To!

Well, well, well. Now isn't this just a bit ironic: After all of the grandstanding by far-right members of the Texas Board of Education in textbook standards to make changes in school textbooks like the re-naming of slave trade to the "Atlantic Triangle Trade" (among other weird changes), it appears Texas does not even have the funds to purchase the damn schoolbooks! Sweet!

The Texas State Board of Education’s three-day showdown in May over social studies standards attracted reporters from across the country, from The New York Times to Fox News. Accounts focused on the fiery, often entertaining back-and-forth over which historical figures to include: the Dolores Huertas or the Phyllis Schlaflys?

After the final votes on the new standards (Huerta and Schlafly both made it in), the cameras were packed up, onlookers drained from the room—and the board voted to postpone buying the new science textbooks it spent much of 2008 and 2009 debating.

The argument over science curriculum centered on whether to require that students learn the “strengths and weaknesses” of the theory of evolution. In the end, social conservatives lost that struggle; of the many changes made to the curriculum, one of their few successes requires biology teachers to explain “any data of sudden appearance” in the fossil record—proof, supposedly, of evolution’s fallibility. They also succeeded in requiring students to “distinguish between scientific hypotheses and scientific theories.”

Now it appears that Texas kids will have to glean those points from supplementary materials rather than new textbooks that were supposed to arrive in the fall. The state normally replaces textbooks on a rotating basis every 10 years. With Texas facing a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion in 2011, the money isn’t going to be there. Textbooks covering the new science standards would have cost $400 million, and the Legislature is already expecting a bill of $888 million for textbooks already ordered.

Lakers' Win, But Does Slovenia Connection Bode For Bittersweet Possibilities For USA Soccer Match Tomorrow?

A player from Slovenia keeps the Lakers alive enough to win the championship.

This does NOT bode well for USA's game against Slovenia tomorrow!

60 Pianos To Be Dropped Into New York For Anyone To Play

“Play Me, I’m Yours” is an artwork by British artist Luke Jerram who has been touring the project globally since 2008.

At 9am on Monday the 21st June, 60 pianos will be distributed and then unveiled across New York City by Sing for Hope. Located in public parks, streets and plazas the pianos will be available until 5th July for any member of the public to play and engage with.

Totally cool idea.

Dumpster Diving For Children, According To Rush

H/T to Crooks and Liars.

I think, you know what we're going to do here, we're going to start a feature on this program: "Where to find food." For young demographics, where to find food. Now that school is out, where to find food. We can have a daily feature on this. And this will take us all the way through the summer. Where to find food. And, of course, the first will be: "Try your house." It's a thing called the refrigerator. You probably already know about it. Try looking there. There are also things in what's called the kitchen of your house called cupboards. And in those cupboards, most likely you're going to find Ding-Dongs, Twinkies, Lays ridgy potato chips, all kinds of dips and maybe a can of corn that you don't want, but it will be there. If that doesn't work, try a Happy Meal at McDonald's. You know where McDonald's is. There's the Dollar Menu at McDonald's and if they don't have Chicken McNuggets, dial 911 and ask for Obama.

There's another place if none of these options work to find food; there's always the neighborhood dumpster. Now, you might find competition with homeless people there, but there are videos that have been produced to show you how to healthfully dine and how to dumpster dive and survive until school kicks back up in August. Can you imagine the benefit we would provide people?

It's a good thing I already had my dinner, or I might just upchuck.

Perhaps the hungry children should run this worthless piece of shit into a corner and cannibalize him. He's fat enough. He's certainly stupid enough that no one will miss his gross and disgusting body. Dumpster dive Rush, that's what I say.

Republican Joe Barton Apologizes To Big Oil For "Guvment Shakedown"

H/T AMERICAblog. Your congress in action - Republican leaders:

I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown. In this case, a $20 billion shakedown.

This from Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). He's more concerned about the profits of the oil company that just caused the worst man-made disaster in this country, eveah.

This is what oil money has done to our government. Corrupted it so that not even a sitting congressman is afraid to voice his sentiments that go deeply toward the "unfairness" of our government to "force" the giant oil company to put up money in an escrow account to be sure there are funds to pay for the clean-up and reimburse those AMERICANS who lost money, and will continue to lose money, thanks to BP, et al. Comparing it to a "shakedown," of all things.

You know, last time I looked, Texas has some land that hits the Gulf Coast. Just saying. You Texans with property and business on the Gulf better be praying hard that this oil doesn't end up on your shores. Because, we all know your congresscritter ain't gonna stand up for your rights.

Twitter

In one way, I am a late-bloomer on Twitter. In another way, I had an account before anyone really knew what it was or used it.

Covering the 2008 debates on my blog, I was invited by CSPAN to utilize their web videos and blog about the debates. That was my first time utilizing video editing on the blog, but it was cool. I was featured as a blogger on the CSPAN website.

On the page, you can see the "twitter" side, and the "blog" side. I ended up with a twitter page just cuz it was there, but I never figured out the tweeting part.

Since I wanted to get out the word regarding Gia's song, I knew I had a Twitter account, so I activated it.

Some of the funniest "tweets" I am following come from the BP spill. BPGlobalPR is funniest. TravelGulfCoast comes in a close second!

The Tony's

Million Dollar Quartet is a Broadway musical surrounding a recording by four greats in the 1950's, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is the new smash-hit musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.

Here's a recording someone sent me a few years back in 2003.

The title which most critics seem to highlight is Presley’s rendition of "Don't Be Cruel," one of his major hits of 1956 (see 1956 in music). This is not Presley singing Presley, but his imitation of Jackie Wilson, then the lead singer with Billy Ward’s Dominoes, imitating him. It appears as though the Presley entourage spent a few days in Las Vegas (most likely during Presley's short-lived tenure earlier in the year at the Frontier Hotel) and went to watch Jackie Wilson, who had obviously built an impersonation of Presley into his act.

Presley describes Jackie Wilson tearing up Las Vegas audiences with a house-on-fire rendition of "Don't Be Cruel". He goes on to say that, "He tried so hard until he got much better, boy, much better than that record of mine.... I went back four nights straight and heard that guy do that," he says, imitating Wilson's bluesy smolder and big finish.

"He sung the hell out of the song," Elvis can be heard saying with admiration, adding with a laugh, "I was on the table lookin' at him, 'Get 'im off, get 'im off!'" Obviously on a roll, Presley, then ripped into a slower, sassier version of his latest RCA single "Paralyzed," backed up by Perkins and his trio.

Brown Eyed Handsome Man/Don't Be Cruel

More Ukelele

Since I'm on a family ukelele night, here are two songs, sung in Spanish, and with a uke. Songs are sung by my counsin's kids, Aria Bruss and Gia Sky Sachs. Enjoy!

Kindly Heart


O Amigo

"Tonight, You Belong To Me" On Ukelele

Note at the beginning of this video, the camera zooms in on the inside of the ukelele. This is one of the ukes that my family makes, and the name CK stands for my grandmother, Clara Kelly. She's the one that taught all of us grandchildren to play the instrument, when she lived in Hawai'i and we would visit in the summers. My aunt started manufacturing the ukelele's a while back. They come with a zipper cloth holder/case, and a tuner, a pick, and a small screwdriver (for tightening when tuned).

Anyway, I gave one of these to this guy who is playing below. He was one of the teachers at the music school where I had Zaire learning to play piano. He taught drums, bass, bass guitar, guitar and some other things. I felt compelled to give him one of the ukeleles, and at the time I gave it to him, he did not know how to play it.

Here he is maybe, what 18 months later, and not bad. Plus the promo on the CK info is cool (grins).

The song is "Tonight, You Belong To Me" from the movie "The Jerk" which Steve Martin sang in and played a uke.

North Carolina Sure Has Some Combative Congressmen

Un-fucking-believable!

SciFi Friday Night To Become A Thing Of The Past

Before the SciFi channel went SyFy, I was a die hard fan, dating back to the Farscape and Stargate era. It seemed that they always came up with some new and interesting original programming. Right now, Stargate Universe and Merlin are interesting enough to keep watching.

But SyFy has now decided it wants to replace the Friday night programming with ... wait ... drum roll please ... “Friday Night SmackDown”wrestling! Yeah, you got that right!

Ultimately “SmackDown” marks the devolving of the network for a sweet, sweet slice of that 18-to-34 male demographic that sponsors love so much. That means money.

So move over, nerds! This is the jocks’ table now. Or it will be come October when the “SmackDown” deal takes effect.

Um, the 18-35 male demographic that would actually watch wrestling will be OUT ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, NOT SITTING AT HOME WATCHING WRESTLING, DIMWITS!

It's we science fiction nerds that are home on a Friday night watching your damn stations. Putting SciFi Friday Night on Tuesdays ... yeah, ok, whatever. I'll be watching, even if it is DVR'd and watched on FRIDAY, damn it! Good luck with getting those manly studs to stay home on Friday to watch your wretched Smack Down shows!

Right Wingers Open To Lifting Cap For Liability To BP? Hold On There, Buddy ...

I read a "rumor" that the Republicans in Congress are now eager to back a raise on the cap of $75 million for the BP oil spill. The reasoning goes that if this does, in fact occur, BP will have no choice but to file for bankruptcy protection -- leaving the clean-up costs, and payouts for the Gulf Coast businesses to the American taxpayer. And, of course, just blowing off the ecological damage to the Gulf that America will probably never ever recover from.

Remember when the Exxon Valdez was given that hefty fine that was eventually reduced to pennies on the dollar after 20 years? Let that be a warning. Oil companies across the globe own America. Drill, baby, drill is not the mantra we should be spouting. Kill, baby, kill is more likely, as the damage done by this man made disaster (let's not get caught up in the right wing meme that this is a natural disaster), could have been prevented but for the bottom line (dollar) that these corporations are squeezing out for their base (shareholders and congresscritters).

And don't get be started on mountain top removal coal mining.

From Ashley Judd:

But the ache I feel for my mountain home is now more than a bittersweet nostalgia accrued through inimitable generations of belonging. There is a searing tear, a gaping wound in the fabric of my life and the lives of all Appalachians. And it gets bigger with every Appalachian mountaintop that is blown up, every holler that is filled, every stream that is buried, every wild thing that is wantonly and recklessly killed, every ecosystem that is diminished, every job that is lost to mechanization, every family that is pitted one against the other by the state-sanctioned, federal government-supported coal industry-operated rape of Appalachia: mountaintop removal coal mining.

H/T to Crooks and Liars.

I Thought This County Abolished "Debotr's Prison" In 19th Century? What's Up With This?

It's not a crime to owe money, and debtors' prisons were abolished in the United States in the 19th century. But people are routinely being thrown in jail for failing to pay debts. In Minnesota, which has some of the most creditor-friendly laws in the country, the use of arrest warrants against debtors has jumped 60 percent over the past four years, with 845 cases in 2009, a Star Tribune analysis of state court data has found.

Not every warrant results in an arrest, but in Minnesota many debtors spend up to 48 hours in cells with criminals. Consumer attorneys say such arrests are increasing in many states, including Arkansas, Arizona and Washington, driven by a bad economy, high consumer debt and a growing industry that buys bad debts and employs every means available to collect.

H/T to AMERICAblog.

Just another sad commentary on the state of the union.

New Money Source Found In Afghanistan - Americans On It Like Flies On Shit

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

Not sure what that means to the U.S. just yet, but it might change Karzai's tune from just a week ago.

Two senior Afghan officials were showing President Hamid Karzai the evidence of the spectacular rocket attack on a nationwide peace conference earlier this month when Mr. Karzai told them that he believed the Taliban were not responsible.

“The president did not show any interest in the evidence — none — he treated it like a piece of dirt,” said Amrullah Saleh, then the director of the Afghan intelligence service.

Mr. Saleh declined to discuss Mr. Karzai’s reasoning in more detail. But a prominent Afghan with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Mr. Karzai suggested in the meeting that it might have been the Americans who carried it out.

Yeah. The Americans did it, as usual (and I am not saying that "tongue in cheek" - I really mean it, since the Americans generally are the bad guys in these areas and with these types of things).

We're all over the Middle East and pretty much on the wrong side of just about everyone except Israel.

Want to cut the deficit? Yeah, let's take away Social Security from the up and coming baby boomers, but let's not touch the trillions of dollars being handed over to war profiteers and the Arab countries that hate our guts.

Nice work, America.

Barney Frank's Pipe Dream

A panel commissioned by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is recommending nearly $1 trillion in cuts to the Pentagon’s budget during the next 10 years.

The Sustainable Defense Task Force, a commission of scholars from a broad ideological spectrum appointed by Frank, the House Financial Services Committee chairman, laid out actions the government could take that could save as much as $960 billion between 2011 and 2020.

Measures presented by the task force include making significant reductions to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which has strong support from Defense Secretary Robert Gates; delaying the procurement of a new midair refueling tanker the Air Force has identified as one of its top acquisition priorities; and reducing the Navy’s fleet to 230 ships instead of the 313 eyed by the service.

Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen! We can't even get this government (or the past one) to stop giving our taxpayer money to Arab nations while American's starve to death, are homeless by the thousands and FUCKING UNEMPLOYED IN THE MILLIONS! Good luck getting the military contractors and their war machine on board with this, Barney!

What Happened To Chuck Schumer?

You know, I used to like Senator Chuck Schumer, especially when he was grilling bad people while serving on certain committees in Congress.

But this speech he gave a week ago pretty much ended any affection I may have had for the man as a United States Senator.

SCHUMER: The Palestinian people still don’t believe in the Jewish state, in a two-state solution. More do than before, but a majority still do not. Their fundamental view is, the Europeans treated the Jews badly and gave them our land — this is Palestinian thinking [...] They don’t believe in the Torah, in David [...] You have to force them to say Israel is here to stay. The boycott of Gaza to me has another purpose — obviously the first purpose is to prevent Hamas from getting weapons by which they will use to hurt Israel — but the second is actually to show the Palestinians that when there’s some moderation and cooperation, they can have an economic advancement. When there’s total war against Israel, which Hamas wages, they’re going to get nowhere. And to me, since the Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas, while certainly there should be humanitarian aid and people not starving to death, to strangle them economically until they see that’s not the way to go, makes sense.

Sounds very similar to the Christian rant we hear a lot of from the fringe far right - "they don't believe in the Bible, they don't believe in Jesus as their lord and savior."

Religious tolerance - a thing of the past.

Will Post Tomorrow, Got Tons To Say

I have a lot of posting I'll try to get up tomorrow. Watched the England/USA soccer game, and am glad to come away with a tie.

I hope Arno is ok, and no one he knows was in the area where the flooding occurred.

Went out to a club with the daughter last night. Decided not to see second show, and thought I could take the bus home (it was only 10:15 p.m.) but didn't know my bus home (2.5 miles) was running only every hour (because it has to navigate Hollywood Blvd., so at night, they cut the route) and I didn't know it, not generally taking the bus home. I ended up walking the 2.5 miles. Got home around 11:15 p.m., not too bad for an old broad with bad knees!

Peace, Out!

World Cup Schedule

Artists perform during the World Cup opening ceremony at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Luca Bruno/Associated Press)

For those following the World Cup, just click on the link above for the FIFA schedule of all the games. USA plays its first game against England tomorrow. S. Korea plays Greece tomorrow, as well.

Hey, I work in Koreatown, damn it! I have to know these things (grins).

Go USA, go USA!

Netroots Really Not Defeated By Halter's Loss

There will be many post-mortems in the days and weeks ahead. In absolute terms, we lost. Our candidate came up short. And there will be the inevitable false equivalencies about our grassroots efforts to move the Democratic Party back to the left with Teabagger attempts to move their party to the lunatic fringe. But that's merely more misinformation. Our candidates haven't been on the left side of our own political spectrum, they have been squarely in its middle. Those we have opposed haven't been squarely in the middle of our own political spectrum--they have been former Republicans and opponents of our own president's centrist agenda. The Teabaggers, however, have been taking down mainstream members of their party, while they themselves represent values that most Americans do not share.

Come autumn, both the Teabag Republicans and the Dino Dems will discover some truths that are less apparent during primary season. The electorate isn't moving to the political polar fringes, it is moving to the left. Teabaggers will win Republican nominations, but we will see how many of them get elected. Conservative Democrats will retain some of our party's nominations, but we will see how many of them hold on to their offices. We put a scare into the Democratic Party establishment this week, but that establishment will be even more frightened when they try to figure out what happened after November.

There's been much glee from certain parts of both the Democratic party and the Teabagger Republicans concerning the one election that we did not succeed in electing "our" candidate. But the above piece on Daily Kos most certainly states what and how we netroots feel, and are still feeling.

We're only invigorated by this defeat.

When BP Spills Coffee

This is hysterical.

BP And US Officials Still Prohibiting Press From Covering Spill

Journalists struggling to document the impact of the oil rig explosion have repeatedly found themselves turned away from public areas affected by the spill, and not only by BP and its contractors, but by local law enforcement, the Coast Guard and government officials.

Can't see pictures of the Iraq war and the casualties. Can't see pictures of the Afghanistan war and the casualties. Can't see pictures of the dead from these two wars coming home. Can't see the real pictures of Katrina. Can't see the pictures of the Massey mine disaster(s). Can't see pictures of the BP oil spill.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Chicago Wins First Stanley Cup In 49 Years

Bruce Bennett - Getty Images


AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Bruce Bennett - Getty Images

Last nights game was awesome. First off, as you all know I was rooting for the Hawks to win. They were up 3-2 on Philly, but playing in Philly, and home ice had been an advantage in the series thus far.

Secondly, I had my show, So You Think You Can Dance, on at 8 p.m., and they were picking the 10 finalists (down from 20 in the previous seasons - why, I don't know), so the game had to be over by then, or I was going to have to do some taping.

Lastly, I have something to do on Friday evening with my daughter which will prevent me from watching a game seven, so I needed it to END at game six!

The damn game went into overtime, which of course, was exciting as hell. The entire game was fast paced with lots of hitting and back and forth. The kind of game hockey fans generally appreciate.

In overtime, the winning goal was sort of surreal, as the puck slid past Leighton and stuck in the net. The light never went on, there was no call from the refs, only Patrick Kane knew he hit it in, and dropped his stick, and skated towards his goalie, his hands up and screaming like a banshee. I was like, did that go in? It took a few minutes for the instant replays to show that it was, in fact, a goal! Happy that the team won, I put the remainder of the game on record, and went back to SYTYCD, and after THAT show was over, watched the celebration after the win. I'm ok that Toews (pronounced "tays") got the Conn Smythe (MVP of series) but I really thought it should have gone to Antii Neimi, their rookie goaltender from Finland. And I am glad Hossa FINALLY won a cup!

Now that hockey season is over, twiddling thumbs waiting for football to start.

Prop 16 And 17 Are Toast

When I went to bed last night, the Mercury Insurance backed initiative (Prop 17) was projected as a Yes, along with PG&E's backed initiative (Prop 16).

However, as of this morning, both have flipped to the NO column! All I can say is HALLELUJAH!

Rut-Roh, White House Bad Mouthing Labor Now

It does seem odd that after hearing Lincoln won, the first instinct of a "senior White House official" was to pick up the phone to call Ben Smith in order to trash Labor for spending money against Lincoln:

A senior White House official just called me with a very pointed message for the administration's sometime allies in organized labor, who invested heavily in beating Blanche Lincoln, Obama's candidate, in Arkanas.

"Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members' money down the toiled on a pointless exercise," the official said. "If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November."

That set off a firestorm on twitter.com and I'm sure we'll hear more about it. Apparently, the White House political team, which has a reputation for being clumsy, thinks it controls labor's political spending. Weird. And, yes, "clumsy" and "inept" are the words I hear most from people around town when describing that political operation at the White House, which is under the jurisdiction of Rahm Emanuel and Jim Messina. And, for the record, I don't think the exercise was "pointless." Incumbents aren't royalty. If they're not voting for with a constituency, that constituency should not only try, but has an obligation, to beat them. The NRA never backs away from a challenge like that -- and that's why they're powerful. The fear of a primary challenge keeps members in line.

It"s a mixed bag of emotions out there after last night's election. To a certain degree, what won most in California was big money candidates on the Republican side. Good luck with that when the general election comes around.

The push back from the White House in the Halter/Lincoln matter will hurt them. As most progressives are already indicating, Lincoln will not be able to hold on to her seat, and they are moving on. Oh, we are sure to receive all kinds of requests to "help out" financially in that upcoming race, but the White House keeps forgetting that you can only slap a bitch a few times before the bitch will leave. First they threw the GLBT group under the bus, now the unions. Where else do they think MONEY is going to come from to support them? The same groups that give money to the Republicans? Yeah, pretty sure that's where they are counting their fund raising dollars. So, as I've often gloom and doom projected, the White House and Congress could lose the advantage we netroots handed them on a silver platter in 2008, simply because they have shown they can't aim the gun straight, and keep shooting their feet.

From Crooks and Liars, the AFL-CIO response:

"If that's their take on this, then they severely misread how the electorate feels and how we're running our political program. When we say we're only going to support elected officials who support our issues," said AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale. "When they say we should have targeted our money among some key house races among Blue Dog Democrats — that ain't happening."

"Labor isn't an arm of the Democratic Party," Vale said. "It exists to support working families. And that's what we said tonight, and that's what we're going to keep saying."

Well, Halter Did Not Fare Well

Blanche Lincoln's victory will be widely painted as a crushing loss for the left. Labor poured a huge amount of cash into the race, and there's no quibbling with the fact that this is a disappointing defeat.

But make no mistake: Progressive activists and labor mounted a challenge that was barely months in the making, and rallying behind Bill Halter, came within a hair of unseating a longtime incumbent who had the backing of the entire Dem establishment and the two most recent Dem presidents.

No matter what you read about this, the Halter challenge was a show of force by the left. Period. If you don't belive that, ask yourself why Lincoln suddenly found herself backing a tough-on-derivatives proposal in the Senate, why Obama had to cut radio ads and robocalls to save Lincoln, and why Bill Clinton had to come into the state to instruct voters not to listen to unions in order to save Lincoln's hide.

It remains to be seen who on the left will lift a finger to help Lincoln from here on out. More on this tomorrow, but for now, it's clear that the Dem establishment threw its weight behind a candidate who polls show is less likely to win the general election -- and Dems may have just lost themselves a Senate seat.

From DailyKos quoting Greg Sargent.

I admit that not defeating Blanche Lincoln was a tough loss for we progressives, but as the quote above aptly states, it took the entire Democratic machine in Washington to head off we netroots, and she was fighting for her life -- an incumbent being challenged by someone hardly known, and who forced her to change a few stances, and brought out both Obama AND Billy boy.

This doesn't change the fact that if the Democrats in Congress don't start acting in the fashion that they were elected to act, they will continue to face uphill battles for seats they have, in the past, thought were rightfully theirs.

Peace, out.

Let's Go Halter!

Voting going on in a few primaries today, including California. I voted by mail. I did notice something odd, though, about California's primaries this year. It seems that I could have opted to vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries, although I am not sure why I would. I realize there was also an initiative on the ballot to make the primaries "open." But when it was actually time to fill out my mail in ballot, and I read the process to make sure I didn't make any mistakes, I saw this provision that said I could have asked for a mail in ballot for the Democratic or Republican primary. I'll scratch my head over that for a while and figure it out later.

I have contributed twice now to Halter's campaign to defeat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, and am proud that my dollars are going to help elect more progressives to Congress.

Over at DownWithTyranny, they have a post up indicating what a massive failure the teabaggers' choices are having, especially in California. It's not really projected that any of their candidates will win in their primaries -- so much for representing the "true" Americans in this country!

So, if you're in a state that has an election today, be sure to vote. It's the only way we Americans have of changing what is going on in politics. The corporations with their big money can influence Washington, but only we, the people, actually have the right to vote. Make sure yours counts.

The Helen Thomas Affair

Over here at my bar and grill, you can express a variety of odd sentiments (unless, of course, you go after me personally, then I just delete your comments).

I'm going to make may comments about the "Helen Thomas Affair."

First, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and say she got what she deserves like the rest of the media whores. Reading Dana Millbank, Ari Fleischer, Ann Coulter, and even Digby make that sort of reference just gets my craw, especially in light of the fact that these people (with the exception of Digby) have all said equally preposterous comments about Arabs and Muslims, Mexicans, and in Ann Coulter's case, even Canadians.

There has been hateful rhetoric in this country that has been escalating over the past 10 years. Very few people are losing their jobs over it, at least not those in the high ranks of say Ms. Thomas. Rush is still on the air with his evil rantings. Beck is still on the air spewing stupidity to the Foxites. Hell, after the flotilla attack, even I suggested that if Israel can't make nice with its neighbors, maybe they should just leave. It was more a sentiment then an actual idea, because DUH, where WOULD Israel go?

Helen is almost 90. I'm sure she can rest and relax on her savings and retirement, and not have to deal with the daily routine of trying to light a fire under our leaders, and pull a scrap of truth from Washington's ass.

It's a sad day when the White House Correspondents' Association disses Helen but tolerated Jeff Gannon. Washington is NOT the better for Helen Thomas being drummed out of the pit of hell. It just means that less transparency will continue to dominate our government vis-a-vis the press.

Oy, It's Early!

I couldn't sleep well. Woke up at about 4:30 a.m. Decided to get up, drink some beer and have a shot of rum. Listened to music, and also downloaded some more Pink Martini.

Read blogs, ate some food.

It's now about 6 a.m. Took two valium (20 mgs) and hope I'll fall asleep soon. Having the grandson for seven days definitely messed up my body clock!

Barf, Elton John, Barf, Rush Limbaugh

Conservative radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, 59, married Kathryn Rogers, 33, yesterday in Palm Beach, Florida. The wedding party was at the fashionable Breakers Hotel and featured Sir Elton John, who was reported to have been paid $1 Million dollars to sing at the affair. This is Limbaugh’s fourth marriage. Kathryn Rogers, an events coordinator, is a direct descendent of America’s second president and Founding Father, John Adams.

The Hawaiian-themed ceremony had some 400 guests, including such notables as Rudy Giuliani, political Odd Couple Mary Matalin and James Carville, George Brett, Karl Rove, Fred Thompson, and Sean Hannity. Limbaugh reportedly met Rogers in 2007 and the two had been dating steadily for some time. It was while visiting her parents in Hawaii last year that Limbaugh thought he had a heart attack. No word yet on where they are going to honeymoon, but Rush will be off the air until June 15. Many in the gay community are surprised that Sir Elton John would agree to sing at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding. But, a million dollars buys a whole lot of compromise.

Ok, time to probably delete my puter of Elton songs. Barfing (yeah, it is 5:30 in the morning). And YES, I kept the typos in!!!!

Dr. Who

I am definitely a newcomer to this show, since I've only known two Dr. Whos. (Laughing). I got addicted to last season's Dr. Who, but this new one is just as fun.

Saturday's are for catching up with "marathons" on television. I can't keep up with the cable shows, so I caught up on the few episodes I have missed of the new Dr. Who.

Car Show

I did my usual Saturday in L.A. (sans grandson - I've had him since last Friday, and I am totally worn out). Had my usual chili for lunch at Johnny Rockets, and at the Grove was a car show.

Pretty cool ... enjoy some pictures.

Pink Martini

No, it's not a drink, it's a band.



I was watching this special on PBS, and being me, of course, went on E-Mule and downloaded like crazy (well until it started to slow down, which is an indication my bandwith was exceeding its limits and time to turn off downloading lest the ISP police discovery me!)



I'm going to try to use the DivShare that DJ Rix always uses. Hope this works!

Donde Estas.


Bolero


Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler

The Perfect Game That Won't Count

The imperfect game stands.

An umpire’s tears and admission he blew a call failed to move baseball commissioner Bud Selig to award Armando Galarraga the perfect game he pitched. The play and its aftermath quickly became the talk of the sports world and beyond, even reaching the White House.

Selig said Thursday that Major League Baseball will look at expanded replay and umpiring, but didn’t specifically address umpire Jim Joyce’s botched call Wednesday night that cost Galarraga the perfect game—27 batters up, 27 batters down. No hits, no walks, no errors.

I'm all over the place on this. The one thing I have always loved about baseball is the imperfectness of the umpire's call. It's what makes me yell and scream and pull my hair out at baseball games. It's what brings the manager out and has him kicking sand at the feet of the ump. So many great images I have in my head of baseball ARE the managers and umps yelling at each other.

Now, in other sports, instant replay to me, is a must. But I do not want to see it in baseball. Just the other night, it was used twice to review possible goals in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. One became a goal after the game continued (because the review can't start until play stops), and they had to put the minutes back up on the clock. The other hit the post and slid along the goal line, never crossing it, and so it was not a goal (but damn sure looked like one when it was viewed live, without the benefit of instant replay).

The way the parties involved in this unfortunate bad call have acted could not be more generous and magnanimous, where it could have turned out bitter and ugly. The whole of baseball knows that Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game. What's even more amazing is that although this doesn't count in the record books, three perfect games were pitched in approximately one month this season. That, in and of itself, is a record.

Gaza Relief Victims Shot In The Head

Autopsy results by forensics experts in Istanbul revealed that all nine of the men killed by Israeli commandoes aboard the humanitarian convoy that had planned to dock in Gaza died of gunshot wounds.

The autopsy results give clues about how the violence unfolded after Israeli commandoes stormed the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in the pre-dawn hours on Monday.

Five of the men died with bullet wounds to the head, said Dr. Haluk Ince, the director of Istanbul's Medical Examination Institute, said Friday.

This just sickens me. Shot in the head, for goodness sake. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Israel's reaction to everything is simply overkill. There's nothing humanitarian in their actions, and I am at a loss as to why the world just let's them get away with it, over and over again. Israel likes to take aggressive and deadly action against minor threats -- and lies to the world that it is "protecting" itself from "the dangerous" enemies that "could" do damage to their tiny country. YOU'VE GOT A FUCKING NUCLEAR ARSENAL DAMN IT! You're the country everyone has to worry about -- it's not the other way around.

We're up for another confrontation with Israel as the Irish ship Rachel Corrie is heading to Gaza, and Israel's prime minister has vowed the ship will not reach land. I read earlier that the ship was in the original flotilla, but was delayed because of mechanical problems, and then after the dastardly actions of the chicken shit Israelis, and the deaths, the Rachel Corrie decided to outfit itself with video so that it can record and live stream it's approach to Gaza -- let there be no mistake this time as to who is perpetrating violence on who first.

Tiananmen Square, 21 Years Later

That was then.

Jeff Widener

This is now.


Mike Clarke/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A candle light vigil held in Hong Kong. This is the 21st anniversary of the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989.