Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tea Party Nation President Believes Only Property Owners Have Right To Vote

If you had any doubts about this country's direction regarding "leadership," this should be a wake up call. Courtesy of Tea Party Nation President Judson Phillips.

PHILLIPS: The Founding Fathers originally said, they put certain restrictions on who gets the right to vote. It wasn’t you were just a citizen and you got to vote. Some of the restrictions, you know, you obviously would not think about today. But one of those was you had to be a property owner. And that makes a lot of sense, because if you’re a property owner you actually have a vested stake in the community. If you’re not a property owner, you know, I’m sorry but property owners have a little bit more of a vested interest in the community than non-property owners.


Uh, ok. These backwards thinking assholes want to repeal Amendments to the Constitution that gave women the right to vote, decided that black people were not only to be counted as whole people, but that they could vote, want to remove birthright citizenship, overturn Roe v. Wade, go back to whites only and blacks only accommodations, etc. But this is the piece of cake that takes it all ... only people who own property should vote, because, you know, they have a vested interest! What the fuck? Why not just come out and say the truth you asshole, that only people with MONEY should be allowed to vote, because, after all, MONEY is what controls this world, and therefore, we pitiful slaves should just be grateful that the MONEYED people (and corporations, because after all SCOTUS says they are people too, with rights, no less) let us eat their left over scraps, and god forbid, actually live in their world and "rent" a place to escape the elements. But, I'm sure Mr. Phillips would be more than happy to find us non-property owners a cave or a bridge to sleep in/under.

Like I warned ... be afwaid, be vewwwy afwaid.

Monday, November 29, 2010

"Random Act Of Culture" -- Another Opera Flash Mob

As you already know, I'm a fan of flash mobs. But this latest opera flash mob syndrome is fascinating!



This time, it was in Philadelphia, and not Spain. Read the full article at Crooks and Liars for a full understanding of the significance of this particular place they Philly Opera Company decided to pull off this event.

What a wonderful way to close out my rather strenuous and not so positive day (dealing with "the problem"). One of our friends involved in this situation and helping out, actually passed out today at one of the "institutions" we were at visiting with Zaire, and had to be taken to a hospital by an ambulance. So, with nothing resolved today, and the lies by the "governmental agency" making MY nose itch just watching theirs grow, comes to some sort of head this Wednesday, at a court hearing.

This video just topped off my day in a good way. Enjoy!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

A Little Laura Nyro Christmas Stylings



Let the holiday spirit begin!

RIP Leslie Nielsen



Of course, most people are familiar with Leslie's work in "Airplane" and the "Naked Gun" series. But, back in the day, we knew him from "Forbidden Planet" with other actors such as Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis, a great old fashioned science fiction motion picture.

Chargers Kicked Some Colts' Butt Tonight!

Chargers kicked some serious butt out of Indianapolis tonight. As usual, the other team marched right down the field and scored the first goal, and with Peyton Manning at the helm (despite his loss last week against the Patriots), I still cringed.

But, Philip Rivers is on par, so it seems, to break some records this year. He's already number one in a few categories, despite the poor start, and the mediocre standings. At least we are only behind Kansas City in our division (Kansas City, really?), with our 6-5 record (K.C. is 7-4, Oakland is 5-6 and Denver is 3-8). I do believe the next three games are at San Diego, and they are against our division rivals.

My spirits were definitely lifted watching my Chargers kick some ass tonight!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving Day - What Are You Thankful For?

This year presents an emotional tragedy that I am not comfortable blogging about (only Rix knows what my situation is). I cannot enjoy today, it's too sad for me at the moment, and I won't get to a happy space for a few days now.

I am not in the mood to wax nostalgic over this holiday and wish everyone a happy day. My Thanksgiving meal that was planned for today has been canceled and my daughter and I are doing the best we can to put on a happy face in light of our distressing situation.

All I can say is pray for us that things turn out and a wrong is righted as quickly as possible.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

More than three weeks after he declared victory in the race for state attorney general, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley conceded defeat Wednesday as he trailed by more than 50,000 votes in one of the closest statewide races in California history.

The decision means that San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris will assume the post of California's top law enforcement official, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the statewide offices.

Just one of the reasons I knew I didn't have to vote in this election with respect to my state. It's blue, through and through.

Congratulations to Harris, and good-bye Rove protege Cooley!

The race for California's Attorney General is getting dirty. Unusual national interest is suddenly coming to California's election from a group in Alexandria, VA called The Republican State Leadership Committee, a group cofounded by Karl Rove. This committee just put 1.1 million to fund attack ads against Harris now showing in Los Angeles.


DeLay Guilty! Oh Happy Day!

The courts have spoken and Tom Delay is going to jail. All Hail Turkey Day. We've just received some extra gravy to go with our mash potatoes. He's one of the biggest slime balls to ever serve in Congress and who helped create K Street politics. Chris Matthews will be devastated.
H/T to Crooks and Liars.

Of course, expect an appeal. In today's court system, especially when it comes to Republicans, guilty is synonymous with appeal, appeal, appeal.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Random Ramblings

With all the brouha over the TSA's abusive screening process at airports, I am glad that I have chosen train travel over air travel. I flew my daughter to NYC over the summer, and for weeks and weeks I kept waiting for the prices to come down to something reasonable, like when I last flew (ok, so that was pre-9/11 prices, and yup, I haven't been on a plane since 9/11), but it still blew me away that the cheapest flight I could get her on that was direct (no one wants to really take off and land and take off and land a few times just to get to NYC), cost me $489.00 round trip, inclusive of taxes and fees, but exclusive of baggage charges! I think she paid $50 each way, so that is close to $600! Yeah, the train takes longer, and is more expensive, but it is so relaxing, and when you factor in your own sleeper room, I just cannot fathom having to sit in a crowded box, no leg room, subject to everyone's germs and whatnot, no free meal, free movie or free anything and rude people! The train is on slow motion when compared to a plane.

I'm going to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year. I haven't had the pleasure for the past few years because my daughter and her son have been going to her father's place is San Diego. That stopped, though, after the last gathering (a few weeks ago) when her father's crazy (literally, not figuratively) wife got too drunk and out of control, and started with her conspiracy theories and her dad was to the point that he said the "d" word to everyone. Naturally, my daughter told me about it and I gave her some tips to give to her father so he would be prepared, like this is a community property state (he has his house in his name, and like most idiots, thinks it would be his if he got a divorce), they have been married for over 15 years, so she'd obviously get spousal support. And given the fact she is literally crazy, she can't work, and he makes six figures, so his support would huge. After I gave her a list of the cons of divorcing at this stage, apparently he has concluded that his wife is the love of his life, and comes first over everyone else in his family, including his daughter and her son. So, she says she's done with that crap, having already went through it when she turned 18, and he didn't speak to her for the next ten years.

Pulled out all my Christmas stuff, rearranged the furniture in the dining area to accommodate where the tree will be going, and re-set the dining table and put out the Christmas dishes. The new Grundig piece I recently acquired was perfect in size for my ever growing Christmas village collection!

I purchased a Thanksgiving meal from Whole Foods (this old broad is not going to even TRY to make a turkey meal with all the trimmings!). It was damn expensive, and did not even include a pie or vegetables, just a turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberries. Granted, all the food is organic and healthy, with no bad ingredients, but at $89.00 it should at least have a vegetable and a pie, damn it! The turkey meals from Ralphs last time I bought one (maybe three or four years ago) was only $39.99, and included vegetables and a pie), but then again, I could not vouch for the treatment of the bird before it came to my table, nor if there are any preservatives in the other ingredients. And, I am the pie maker in the family anyway, so I would rather make my own pumpkin, apple or pecan pies.

This year went by fast.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Early Christmas FRT!


Christmas style! Remember to load up your music player with Christmas songs, and then hit "random." These are mine, tonight. Enjoy.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree


The Christmas Waltz


Santa Baby


A Holly, Jolly Christmas


Have Yourself A Merry Christmas


Jingle Bell Rock


Mary's Boy Child


Christmas Don't Be Late


Sleigh Ride


O Holy Night



Of all the songs, "O Holy Night" is my favorite to sing. With or without music, it's an inspirational number to do during the Christmas season.

Rosie/Jessica
Johnny Mathis
Eartha Kitt
Burl Ives
Jewel
Corey Feldman (yeah, you got that right!)
Charlotte Church
Alvin & The Chipmunks
Ella
Aaron Neville

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Starting Christmas Early


It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas


If consumerism can start Christmas before Thanksgiving, so can I.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year


So, shoot me for starting early, damn it!

DWTS, As If!

Bumped from earlier post.

First off, I am not a regular viewer of DWTS. I'm more a purist, and watch SYTYCD. But I am aware of the show, and admit that I have seen an episode or two over the years. Last season I watched because of Pamela Anderson's participation (LOL-tittie fascination), and this year, I had to watch based on Jennifer Grey's participation (because of a pre-show tidbit about her "channeling" Patrick Swayze), and found out Bristol Palin was on the dance list. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how Bristol makes the "stars" category of "dancing with the" part of the program.

I can't believe the judges' fawning over Bristol Palin on tonight's show. This is supposed to be Dancing With The FUCKING Stars, not Dancing With People In The News, Even If Just Periperhally.

I don't care to comment on her dancing, because, to me, that is not the issue. I will acknowledge the hard work I know she's gone through being a dancer myself. Still, the issue to me is, should she have even been considered for a role on this dancing television reality show? What defines a "star" would be the first question. And, while I will admit that Bristol's mother has managed to rise to the lower level of the star totem pole as a "candidate" for the "vice presidency" of the United States of America, does that make her relatives stars? Bristol? What the hell has she done to be a star, in any term that can be used to define a star. What, are relatives of famous people now going to be used for Dancing With The Stars?

Bristol just has to be voted off soon. If this was a Fox show, I could call it. But this is ABC/Disney (still right wing owned, but less "in your face" than Fox). The clear top two are Brandy and Jennifer Grey.

UPDATE: Ok, so Bristol over Brandy? There's definitely some hanky-panky going on with this voting thing. Hmmmm, seems like every time there is a Republican .... voting gets tampered with .... hmmmmm.

Just saying!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Glee, Gwyneth Paltrow, And Gwen Verdon



Cee Lo's "Fuck You" ("Forget You" for the clean air crowd).

I was definitely anticipating tonight's "Glee" since Gwyneth Paltrow was performing. I've known Paltrow could sing since 2000 when I saw her perform in the movie "Duets" (which, by the way, is one hell of a movie, trust me -- go rent it and watch it). I love playing some of her songs for people and asking them to name the artist because NO one guesses it's her!

This song was not performed IN the movie, but it played over the credits. Just about everyone was able to identify the male singer (Baby Face) but NO ONE ever figured out it was Paltrow.



Her dance scene with Lea Michele doing "Nowadays" from "Chicago" was rather interesting.



And I certainly enjoyed the ending mashup of "Singing In The Rain" and Rihanna’s “Umbrella" which was pretty damn inspiring, as far as mashups go.



Here's Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon (who was 50 or so at the time of this airing in 1975) on Mike Douglas' show. Gwen was married to Bob Fosse for a long period of time, and she pretty much channeled Fosse.



Gwen Verdon has always been my dance idol. Those legs ... sheesh!

Andy Harris Demands To Know Where His Obamacare Is!

Oh, now I get it! Health care managed by the federal government is a good thing, but only for those lucky enough to be in the government!

A conservative Maryland physician elected to Congress on an anti-Obamacare platform surprised fellow freshmen at a Monday orientation session by demanding to know why his government-subsidized health care plan takes a month to kick in.

Republican Andy Harris, an anesthesiologist who defeated freshman Democrat Frank Kratovil on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, reacted incredulously when informed that federal law mandated that his government-subsidized health care policy would take effect on Feb. 1 – 28 days after his Jan. 3rd swearing-in.

[snip]

“Although he voted against Obamacare, Mr. Kratovil refuses to commit to its repeal. Dr. Harris understands that the Obama-Pelosi-Hoyer agenda threatens to pull the plug on America's long-term health," Harris said in an Oct. 30 statement. "In Washington, I will never vote to raise taxes, I will fight to repeal health-care reform, and I will work to balance the budget."

Oh, boo hoo, crybaby Republican. In my book, what's obviously good for you has to be good for your constituents. Of course, you still stand by your commitment to repeal the health care bill. It's just unAmerican that the rest of the country have access to health care. Why, only the rich and protected classes should have these types of "amenities." They certainly weren't meant for average Americans, right?

Read the rest of the piece at Politico. Obviously, he was against it before he was for it, but after he gets it, he'll be against it.

Banging. Head. On. Keyboard.

Monday, November 15, 2010

GRUNDIG MAJESTIC 8090

Bumped from an earlier post.



This picture is actually more like the one I have, except the reel-to-reel is not a part of the unit. Apparently it did not come with the model, it had to be special ordered. So I have a section with sleeves for the vinyl records on the left, and the turntable is on the right. But this looks pretty much like the one I have. As you can see, it's a beautiful piece, regardless of it's operational capabilities!


I know this is a tiny picture, but trust me, I am having a difficult time in finding out anything about this piece except that someone has/had a service manual online (in supposed mint condition) selling for about 7 bucks on Ebay.

What IS cool, is that this very model is sitting in the basement of my office, and it's been there for years for anyone to just take. I didn't realize the items OUTSIDE of the storage area are like junk you leave on the corner outside of your apartment/house and someone who wants it usually picks it up.

This is not just a stereo, but it is an early version of a recorder. As in tape or vinyl of something. I looked at the little pull out part, and it had knobs labeled bass, treble, record, etc. which is not what one would find on just your basic old school hi fi system. Plus, it's free! As soon as I can, I am getting some guys to haul it to my house, and I'll dust it up, and for the time being, it will be a table/shelf (and I'll move the one that occupies the space this will go into my dining room area). I might even buy the service manual and see what I can do to even start this sucker. It has a turntable, and space for your vinyl albums.

Man, this is so old school! Grundig was the name back in the day. We even owned a reel-to-reel personal tape recorder in the 1950's and taped family things, such as we kids singing like the Lennon Sisters (laughs, already posted about them).

I think this is a fabulous find, and if anyone can get me information about this model (other than the gazillion links to the Ebay service manual) I'd be greatly appreciative!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Hit No. 20,000 Comes From Australia



Searching web for the Opera Flash Mob, which is great, by the way!

I'm Stunned, I Tell You, Just Stunned, So Says Lindsey Graham

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a recent visit, said on Sunday he was "stunned" at Karzai's comments to a Washington newspaper, which appeared at odds with U.S. military strategy.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Karzai said he wants the U.S. military to scale back the visibility and intensity of its operations in Afghanistan and end night raids that he said incited people to join the Taliban insurgency.

Karzai's comments put him at odds with General David Petraeus, who has made "capture-and-kill" missions a central part of counterinsurgency strategy, the Post said.

[snip]

In the Washington Post interview, Karzai said his comments were not meant as criticism of the United States and that candor could improve what he called a "grudging" relationship between the two countries.

"Grudging" is the operative word here. Same can be said with our "relationship" to many countries in the Middle East, like Iraq and Pakistan, for starters. This perpetual state of occupation and war will do to the United States what it has done to other occupiers in the past, like Great Britain and Russia. Eventually, they took their losses and went home. But, as I mentioned in my post below, with American's not getting that great of an education here, it is quite easy to herd the minions off to war by simply using a few key words, oh say, Muslim, Islam, terror and jihad. That ought to do it for the grunts that are on the ground risking their lives for an ideology that is based on falsehood and outright lies. Those in the government, however, don't get a pass in my book. I'm with the "round 'em up and try 'em in the courts" group. If I'm never supposed to forget what happened on 9/11, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to forget what happened after 9/11.

Just saying ...

No More "F's" On Report Cards

The dreaded F has been all but banished from the grade books.

The report cards that arrived home late last week showed few failing grades but instead marks of "I" for incomplete, indicating that students still owe their teachers essential work. They will get Fs only if they fail to complete assignments and learn the content in the months to come.

[snip]

Mary Mathewson, an English teacher, says a number of her colleagues are "livid" about the grading change, which "takes away one of the very few tools we have to get kids to learn." The possibility of failing is a motivator, she says, and now "kids are under the impression they can do it whenever they want to, and it's not that big of a deal."

[snip]

"If we really want students to know and do the work, why would we give them an F and move on?" Noonan said." . . . I think the students who are struggling should not be penalized for not learning at the same rate as their peers."


This is what we as Americans get in our education system when we have a government (local, state, federal) that believes in "home schooling," no extra funding, and poor salaries for teachers and educators. The "rich" don't deal with this because their method of "home school" is a private school education, one in which they realize they have to pay bucket loads of money to get their kids educated. Unfortunately, the irony is lost on the rich and privileged. They don't want their kids educated in a public setting and they strive as a unified block to cut any funding for education. One of the prominent aspects of America used to be its free public education system. Now it's so pathetic that they have to start experimenting with taking away the dreaded "F" from the grading lest we "alienate" the kids from properly addressing the course of study they "failed" at.

As the rich get richer, thanks to the selected few that control our society, our children waste away. Of course, there's always the indoctrination one can receive at certain right wing Christian schools, and of course, those that actually do home school (many of them right wing Christians) -- these people may know their Bible, spelling and math, but they sure as hell don't get it when it comes to geography, history, social studies and science, which in many ways makes them just as stupid as those that come out of the public school system.

Just my opinion.

Hit Me Baby 20,000 Times

Getting close to my 20,000 hit ... sheesh! After five years, I should have hit that damn mark ages ago! LOL

Holiday greetings begin.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Morocco?



Another hit for my Las Vegas piece. CSI must have recently aired in Morocco.

Just Another Stroll In The Neighborhood

I had a rather interesting day today, the kind that makes me love living in the neighborhood that I do. But, the first part had nothing to do with where I live.

I'm not sure how many of my readers are aware of what "flash mobs" are about. They sort of hit the scene a few years back, generally just to make a simple but silent statement. They grew into different types of scenarios, including the ones that appeared around the world on the 25th anniversary of "Thriller" in 2008.



This morning's flash mob that I read about and watched was an opera flash mob! It was such a cool way to start the day.



Went to work for a few hours, then came home because basically, everything was closed and not a whole lot had to be done. So, since it was like 3:30, I decided to walk to the market to pick up a few items that I don't get at the health food store (like my rum, candles, sponges, diet Coke, etc.). I thought the "little" bus was not running since it was a holiday which is why I decided to walk (with my bum knees no less), and half way to the store, I saw the "little" bus and was like, damn, I didn't have to walk. So, I figured I'd get in and out, and I'd at least be able to take the "little" bus home and not have to walk. But, when I got out of the store, I realized I had just missed it, and since they changed it from running every fifteen minutes to every half hour, I just decided to slowly walk back home (about 6 city size blocks). I get just across the street and run into someone that manages the old apartment building I used to live in, so we start chatting up things, and before you know it, an hour had passed (with me standing the whole time with my shopping tote -- it has wheels though). Finally, it turns dark, and the El Rey theater lights go on (signaling a show is probably happening later tonight) and we say bye and move on. Then I get to the end of the block where I have to turn and go up one more block to my apartment at the end, and I run into the two security guards that work at the El Rey, having some coffee at Starbucks at the corner. So I pull up my bag, and hang out for like another half hour just going over things, catching up since I hadn't seen them in a few weeks (I ride the bus home with one of them, when she is usually on her way to work!). Told them about Zaire's suspension for the prank, and we all had a good laugh. Then it was time for them to get their asses to work, so I turn the corner and start walking. I see a couple with a little baby and a large stroller. The baby was walking and the stroller was empty and I made a comment like "you can just wheel me home, my feet hurt so much!" Of course, we started talking, and the funny thing was that this couple had their apartment recently redone on an HGTV series call The Antonio Treatment, which episode I had seen (but, honestly I did not recognize the couple from just walking up the block). So, I made a couple of new friends on that walk, not to mention maybe getting a hit vis-a-vis an apartment design make-over!

Got home in time for cocktail hour! I definitely love my neighborhood! (But, boy do my feet hurt!)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

"Kitchen Nightmares"

I am such a fan of Chef Ramsey, and I especially like watching marathons of his show, "Kitchen Nightmares." Forget all the bleeped out "fucks" and "bloody" and "shit" and all the other swear words that are part of the show. I find it fascinating that Ramsey is such a great chef that he can turn crap into shinola ... that is, if there are the ingredients and temperament to handle his very direct, in your face, recovery program.

Plus, it definitely makes me aware of the food I eat at restaurants ... cough, cough (barf, barf)!

Felony Hit And Run Charges Dropped For Morgan Stanley Wealth Manager Because His Income Capacity Would Be Affected!

There is something terribly wrong when this happens:

A Morgan Stanley wealth manager will not face felony charges for a hit-and-run because Colorado prosecutors don't want him to lose his job.

Martin Joel Erzinger, who manages more than $1 billion in assets for Morgan Stanley in Denver, is being accused only of a misdemeanor for allegedly driving his Mercedes into a cyclist and then fleeing the scene, Colorado's Vail Daily reports. The victim, Dr. Steven Milo, whom Erzinger allegedly hit in July, suffered spinal cord injuries, bleeding from his brain and, according to his lawyer Harold Haddon, "lifetime pain."

But District Attorney Mark Hurlbert says it wouldn't be wise to prosecute Erzinger -- doing so might hurt his source of income.


Read more here.

So, now, apparently, criminal prosecutors will take into consideration whether to charge someone with a felony based on how that charge would affect their ability to earn an income -- but of course, high end income. After all, if it was a black person selling crack cocaine, charging him with a felony would be a no brainer, and whether or not that person's income would be affected would not be a factor.

Only in a corporate controlled society where capitalism is the rule of law, could we see something so sickening as this.

Dudes, the guy hit a man on a bike with his car, and simply fled the scene, leaving him to die for all he knew. How fucking utterly sick is that? I sure hope that the biker sues the man for every fucking penny he has ... I know a few lawyers that could give a shit if someone like that has his earning capacity drained. In fact, I know a few people that would ... well, never mind.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Do I Know My Music, Or What?

I know some of you who read my blog know for a fact that I am on top of the music scene, and generally have a feel for the current artists, even if I don't have a radio or watch MTV!

So, watching tonight's episode of GLEE, a song was sung this evening, and although I had never heard it, I "felt" the style, and figured it was a Katy Perry song. Mostly, I knew it was because she has a way of styling her singing, much like how Eminem is known for the way he phrases his rap lyrics. You sort have to know music to get what I mean, but anyway ...

Bingo! Damn, I'm good!

Teenage Dream

We're In For A Bumpy Ride, Folks

REP. ALAN GRAYSON: Well, my defeat was part of a wave across the country that had Republicans winning because Democrats didn’t vote. We have the results from the pre-election turnout; we don’t have the results from the Election Day turnout yet. In my district, when you compare that to 2008, the Republican turnout in the early voting was down by 20 percent, and the Democratic turnout in early voting was down by 60 percent. And that wasn’t true just in my district; that was true all around Florida and pretty much the whole country, except for the West Coast and New England. And as a result of that, virtually every Democrat who won in 2008 by less than ten points loss this year. There was only one exception out of twenty-four. And there were forty-four more Democrats who won by more than ten points in 2008 who managed to lose this year, because their Democratic voters didn’t turn up. It’s not a situation where Democrats—Democratic voters decided to vote Republican; it’ a situation where Democratic voters didn’t vote. And when Democrats don’t vote, Democrats can’t win.
Courtesy of Democracy Now.

I can't verify the figures that Rep. Grayson quoted, but try to even imagine that Democratic voters in his district were down 60% from last year, and that tells you something. It means the Republicans have not won based on anything the American people are voicing over preferring Republican ruling to Democrats ruling. It's as I have said all along, that the Republicans will take over in 2010 because the liberal base shut down, stayed home and didn't give a fuck.

And it's going to get uglier based on the fact that the newly elected idiots think they have the American people on their side, so they are threatening to completely dismantle what little Obama was able to accomplish his first two years. Couple that with the Obama administration basically feeling they now need to bend over even more to accommodate the new idiots in Congress.

Try to imagine the chaos.

The backlash to all this might in someway benefit liberals come 2012, that is, if the liberal base can find any people like Grayson to run. That will be difficult, however, in light of the Citizen's United decision that proved in this election cycle corporate dollars, and rich peoples' interests currently are the priority of the Republican party. If things pan out the way the Republicans (and that includes the idiots that became governors of many states) say they want, we will see more debt, rollbacks and cutbacks in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment benefits, etc. And, we will see more homeless regular Americans, more out of work Americans, more poor Americans that used to be middle class Americans, and more angry Americans. Media will no longer be independent in any fashion as everything will be owned by Murdoch-like minded rich conservatives consumed with the idea they can control the world mind think (just like Hearst did back in his day). Internet freedom will go down the "tubes" and hate speech will become the norm, especially on the airwaves. Money will still be flowing into two countries that should be flowing back into the American economy. Some idiot will push for bombing something in Iran, and all hell will break loose in the Middle East. And, oh look, south of the border, some pretty scary terrorists will be forcing more and more Mexicans into leaving and heading north to get away from the drug cartel's control of their country. Hell, why not throw in a plague or two -- ok, I'm not going to really go there, but the fact that our FDA has no backbone and people keep getting sick and die from their lack of oversight should not be treated lightly. You have to remember that most of Americans who shop at places like Walmart or large grocery chains like Ralphs/Food4Less/Kroeger, these places buy their food, meat and produce NOT from local growers, but from giant corporations that have contempt for regulations that keep their bottom line from growing. What's a few dead Americans to them?

Personally, I'm thinking French Revolution time in the near future. Anyone got a guillotine?

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Surprise? Coral Reefs Dying Off Gulf Of Mexico


Photo by Associated Press - Dying coral with attached brittle starfish photographed this week near the capped gulf oil well.

Well, well, well. Seems that the oil that "disappeared" from the Gulf spill has settled on the bottom, and is killing off coral reefs.

Drill, baby, drill, because, of course, Americans know there is no impact to the environment. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

To Tweet, Or Not To Tweet

Schwarzenegger Just called to congratulate @JerryBrown2010. Looking forward to Maria & me getting together w/ him & Anne to talk abt a smooth transition.

Schwarzenegger Speaking to No on 23 party just now. World Series or an election, I'll always take California over Texas

Schwarzenegger We beat Texas last night and now we're here getting pumped up to beat Texas on Prop 23 tonight.

Twitter was first introduced to me in the 2008 election when CSPN2 asked me to be one of their blog contributors in a feature they titled Debate Hub. I was offered a twitter account at that time. I couldn't figure it out, but I did save my "name" and my "password."

Now, it's a couple of years later, and "everyone" is "twittering." So, I logged into my account, and voila, a few followers and a few I follow.

At first, I thought this was perfect for doubling my blog audience. But then, it really became obvious that only the "famous" people use this social communication method to keep a following and/or put out to a mass audience an opinion. Lady Gaga does that, and I have no problem admitting I am one of her "lil monsters" as she affectionately calls her followers.

But, I realized that twittering didn't offer me a personal forum to express myself, although it did offer me an ability to get personal "tweets" from famous people. Now, I'm not getting Bieber or Kardashian tweets, mind you. But I do subscribe to Arnie's twitter page, and liberals Rachel Maddow and Sam Seder. I really don't care to tweet since I don't have followers (unlike the fact that I do have regulars that read my blog, where I can dispense my own personal opinions to those that care to read the blog) but it is very interesting to get tweets from people like the friggen governor of California. Or what Tommy Lasorda thinks about the world series.



Seriously, though, I find it interesting to use Twitter to follow, rather than to lead.

California Fared Well, I Suppose

Things did not change much here in California, which is why I was so apathetic regarding voting. It's not as if my liberal vote was going to counter any conservative vote; there are already many more liberals in California than conservatives. With that said, it is kind of cool to have Jerry Brown, AGAIN, as our governor, especially since he's probably the first governor that I actually liked. And he was dating Linda Ronstadt at the time, as well! He gave up the mansion and the private limo, opted for some cheap car to drive around in, brought us into the new age with solar energy and his drive for conservation. I am also enjoying how much of Meg Whitman's own personal funds were used to finance her rather awful campaign. Since she cheated her co-workers and shareholders when she was a "business woman," I'd say those that she cheated probably feel a little bit better now that she went ahead and wasted millions and millions of dollars! Yeah! Also, that scary-eyed Carly Fiorina (does she have a floating eye or am I just seeing things?) also spent millions of her own money just to lose by double digits to Barbara Boxer. Even now, Fiorina won't finally concedes the loss. What a dildo.

I can't tall you how many times in California the legalize pot measure has been before us, and it always goes down in flames. I don't understand, especially given how many millions of us Californians smoke the stuff! And, as I had already predicted, Prop 23 never stood a prayer's chance in hell of prevailing, and I am glad the Koch brothers and other similarly large energy companies lost a ton of money on that blood sucking bill.

On the national side, I am seriously sorry to see Alan Grayson was defeated. To me, he was one of the more progressive politicians we ever had in Washington, and his presence will be sorely missed. However, now that the nutjobs have gained some ground in Washington, it will be an interesting side show for the next two years. Americans probably elected the stupidest group of collective politicians that will attempt to either run or ruin this country over the next two years. I project more violence, more gibberish, more uncivility in the chambers, and possibly more invasions of middle eastern countries because, you know, we are Americans and we can do what we like, nanner nanner!

And at least half of the Blue Dog Democrats did not survive the vote, which brings a smile to my face. I mean, come on, if you are a DINO, then let's just give the job to the Rethug. At least you know what to expect, right?

So, how did some of you fare in your state?

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Take That, You Lying Sack Of Shit, Mr. Breitbart

The following letter was sent from ABC and received by Mr. Breitbart:

Dear Mr. Breitbart,

We have spent the past several days trying to make clear to you your limited role as a participant in our digital town hall to be streamed on ABCNews.com and Facebook. The post on your blog last Friday created a widespread impression that you would be analyzing the election on ABC News. We made it as clear as possible as quickly as possible that you had been invited along with numerous others to participate in our digital town hall. Instead of clarifying your role, you posted a blog on Sunday evening in which you continued to claim a bigger role in our coverage. As we are still unable to agree on your role, we feel it best for you not to participate.

Sincerely,

Andrew Morse

Monday, November 01, 2010

Ok, So The Giants Won The Pennant (Now Where Did I LAST Hear That?)

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

So ... the Giants won the pennant.

I have to admit after I saw Bush the other night, and my memories of what he did to that team as an owner (basically bankrupted it thanks to his "I can take this land" mentality, which unfortunately, after costly litigation the owners of the land he took got to be compensated by the then owners of the Rangers, not to mention the city), I had second thoughts about rooting for the Rangers. So, I became a closet rooter for San Francisco, and used my dear, departed uncle, a consummate Giants fan from the old days in New York, as the excuse!

Nice work, winning your first since 1954 (polishing off my memories of L.A.'s last win, in 1988).