Rainbows In L.A.!

Using my cell phone comes in handy, but it most certainly is not the real professional way, and does not do justice to what I actually SAW live! I can't believe it was in the 70's and it rained, and we got this beautiful rainbow! Below is a still shot. WOW, is all I can say!

This Is Where America Is Headed

How do YOU feel about it? Bumped to the front page for more Republican idiocy.

Update: New DNC Ad.





And after the booing, he actually says this: "I would say any type of sexual activity has no place in the military." WTF? Now our military is to be celibate? Tell that to the young men and women being recruited by the military to go serve and protect our country! Sign up for four years, but oh, by the way, you are not allowed to have sex!

What is it with these people and sex?

And lest you think our court system is justly run, take a listen to Chief Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals tell her fellow judge to "shut up" and literally asks him if he "wants to leave?" I mean, people, wake up! The idiots are taking over everywhere. Justice is being silenced.



I know I saw this on Rachel Maddow's show, but I just have to put it up. The idiot is asked a question concerning a "what if" with respect to say Pakistan's nukes go missing, and this is what constitutes a reply?



I've played it over and over, and I still have not got a clue as to what the hell this guy is trying to say. And he wants to be President??????

And how about this:

Tar balls washed onto Gulf of Mexico beaches by Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month show that oil left over from last year's BP spill isn't breaking down as quickly as some scientists thought it would, university researchers said Tuesday.

Auburn University experts who studied tar samples at the request of coastal leaders said the latest wave of gooey orbs and chunks appeared relatively fresh, smelled strongly and were hardly changed chemically from the weathered oil that collected on Gulf beaches during the spill.

The study concluded that mats of oil — not weathered tar, which is harder and contains fewer hydrocarbons — are still submerged on the seabed and could pose a long-term risk to coastal ecosystems.

A round of applause for the POTUS and all his good work with BP! Screw the environment, and the people who used to make a living in the Gulf region.

I'm going to have to lift this entire post by John Aravosis from AMERICAblog ... it's fitting, and I won't do it justice but cutting and pasting bits of it.

Then [GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry] was asked: "To what extent do you view America's continued protection of Israel as a theological priority?" He answered:

Well, obviously, Israel is our oldest and most stable democratic ally in that region. That is what this is about. I also as a Christian have a clear directive to support Israel. So from my perspective, it's pretty easy. Both as an American and as a Christian, I am going to stand with Israel.

Whoa. That's something George W. Bush never did. Bush never said he had a Christian duty to stand with Israel, because to say such a thing would have been stupid and dangerous. By framing U.S. foreign policy in terms of a religious alliance between Christians and Jews, Perry is validating the propaganda of Islamic extremists. He's jeopardizing peace, Israel, and the United States.

And of course, what Perry doesn't tell his Jewish audience is that his "Christian duty" is to keep Israel in existence long enough for Jesus to come back and kill 2/3 of the world's Jews.

So, Perry's desire to save Israel is a lot like that Twilight Zone episode about the alien book titled "To Serve Man." Humans thought the book was an alien blueprint for all the neat ways the extra-terrestrials were going to bow down and aid humanity. It ended up being a cookbook.

This little tidbit caught my eye, courtesy of the rix mix.

BAY MINETTE, Alabama --

Non-violent offenders in Bay Minette now have a choice some would call simple: do time behind bars or work off the sentence in church.

Operation Restore Our Community or "ROC"...begins next week. The city judge will either let misdemenor offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year.

If offenders elect church, they're allowed to pick the place of worship, but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be dismissed.

CHURCH? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not a Christian and I don't go to church. What about the millions who are not Christian in this country? Why is church an option to serving out a criminal conviction? Why is the option of serving your sentence at YOUR particular house of worship not offered? Why is it confined to only Christian churches?

I think I've made my point ... again. But don't fret. Here is the ever increasingly popular Elizabeth Warren's video. You go girl!



Updated new one (9/15/11):

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson told his "700 Club" viewers that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer's is justifiable because the disease is "a kind of death."

Very Christian of you, Mr. Robertson. Just toss out the old garbage. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?



Update:

As it turns out, Paul was not speaking purely in hypotheticals. Back in 2008, Kent Snyder — Paul's former campaign chairman — died of complications from pneumonia. Like the man in Blitzer's example, the 49-year-old Snyder (pictured) was relatively young and seemingly healthy* when the illness struck. He was also uninsured. When he died on June 26, 2008, two weeks after Paul withdrew his first bid for the presidency, his hospital costs amounted to $400,000. The bill was handed to Snyder's surviving mother (pictured, left), who was incapable of paying. Friends launched a website to solicit donations.

Think Progress:

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) voted for over $120 billion to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, funds that were used to construct and repair schools, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure.

Now, Cantor is opposing President Obama’s proposal to spend $30 billion to modernize 35,000 American schools. Reuters has the story:

U.S. House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said on Monday he will not support President Barack Obama’s proposal to renovate U.S. schools as part of the administration’s bill to spur job growth.

He added that Obama should focus instead on cutting federal regulations that he says kill U.S. jobs…

Update on the above, courtesy of Crooks and Liars:

A day later, Berry told Fox 29 he was wrong.

We asked Berry why the change of heart. “We had time to reconsider. It was simply a mistake."

Berry then read from a prepared statement, which said Rendon would be paid her full salary until another position opened at the company.

Fox 29 asked Berry if the Aviation Institute Of Maintenance would pay Rendon until she can reapply, and then decide if they would give her the job back after it received her application.

"Yes, that's what the letter states,” Berry said.

We then asked if the offer was not the same thing as giving Rendon her job back.

"No, it's according to our policy and procedure,” Berry said.

From the NYT:

Despite a widespread belief that contracting out services to the private sector saves the federal government money, a new study suggests just the opposite — that the government actually pays more when it farms out work.

The study found that in 33 of 35 occupations, the government actually paid billions of dollars more to hire contractors than it would have cost government employees to perform comparable services. On average, the study found that contractors charged the federal government more than twice the amount it pays federal workers.

C&L's explanation of the killing of the United States Postal Service ... just read it!

More crap here:

A Wisconsin state employee has been fired after he revealed that a Department of Transportation official had instructed workers to not notify citizens that IDs necessary for voting could be obtained for free.
[snip]

Just a day earlier, The Capital Times had revealed the memo written by Department of Transportation's Steve Krieser.

"While you should certainly help customers who come in asking for a free ID to check the appropriate box, you should refrain from offering the free version to customers who do not ask for it," Krieser told Division of Motor Vehicle employees.

Sheesh.

I've got more, but to lighten it up, and show that Americans are not as nasty as the politicians ...

Best Soundtrack! The Big Chill

I watched The Big Chill last night. Great movie, probably in my top ten list, but the soundtrack is just the greatest.

Undoubtedly, the best scene in the movie.



Soundtrack:

1. Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
2. Temptations - My Girl
3. The Young Rascals - Good Lovin'
4. Smokey Robinson - Tracks of My Tears
5. Three Dog Night - Joy To The World
6. Temptations - Ain't To Proud To Beg
7. Aretha Franklin - Natural Woman
8. Smokey Robinson - I Second That Emotion
9. Procol Harem - Whiter Shade Of Pale
10. The Exciters - Tell Him

Dear GOP Candidates: Do You Really Believe That Americans That Don't Have Insurance Should Just Die?

Powerful video.

Amy Winehouse, Happy Birthday Up There Girlfriend

I am sad that she ended up in the 27 club, but glad that all the gossip about how she actually died turned out not to be true. The woman had a problem with alcohol, as anyone who ever saw her perform knows FOR A FACT! She always had her Jack and Coke on the stage, and by the end of her shows, she was plastered. For me, that was what was enthralling about her. She could record these perfect songs, but her performances were marred by her addiction to alcohol, and she was real, even if totally drunk. I just loved her.

Not a day goes by since 2007 that I don't listen to at least one Amy song. Most of the time I listen to her entire Back to Black album, as well as other songs from her concerts.

Happy Birthday, Amy. You certainly impacted my life.



Just Friends ... story of my life with (married) men!

This song is dedicated to a lover I had, that didn't really "get" me.

The Day After

After watching all the pomp and circumstance as it were, that we call football, especially on Sunday, any mention of Pat Tillman was strikingly and oddly missing. A man that left the NFL to join up and go fight that god awful "war on terror" in Iraq, only to find himself extremely at odds with it after he got there, then was shot by American troops in friendly fire ... while Bush and the American government and the military LIED about it, definitely tainted my beloved sport.

As much as I love football, I think opening season Sunday should have been cancelled just like it was on the first Sunday in 2001. All the NFL ribbons, the overblown flags, the pretend caring, was a bit much for me.

I watched football instead of watching anything that was part of the "remembrance" on the 10th anniversary. 9/11 is still a painful day for me, but I refuse to get on board the Macy parade like atmosphere that this day has now come to be.

And let us not forget that 77 Americans lost their lives yesterday in Afghanistan. For what? Peace? Love? Betterment of humanity worldwide? Nah ... American hatred, that's what 9/11 has morphed into.

Have a nice day.

Ten Years Later - 9/11/01

UPDATE 9/12/11: For Arno

The Only Living Boy In New York

The only American not on Earth on that day in 2001, NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, had a unique vantage point on the attacks. From the International Space Station, Culbertson snapped a photo of smoke streaming from the World Trade Center wreckage that day after two hijacked planes crashed into the Manhattan towers.

(link)



Paul Simon and a somber rendition of "Sound of Silence" today.



And here is a link to an interesting post concerning the Saudis, and our country's president, GWB, and others that allowed Bin Laden's family and other Saudis to fly out of the United States in the two days that followed 9/11, despite the no fly orders in place.

I am re-posting a piece I did 9/11/10. I cannot think of anything to say that I did not put in that piece. Also, Bob over at his blog has created a few posts over the past week that say more than I could ever say today, on this tenth anniversary of the tragedy.

Evil is not destroyed by shooting at it, by imprisoning it, by executing it. It is as at best only constrained. In that sense, evil's power is equal to love. But evil is destroyed by love.

This is really the way out of the death of this world - love. It is so unfortunate that such an idea is scoffed at by many.

Love is the Answer - England Dan and John Ford Coley's version of the Todd Rundgren song.



My September 11, 2011 post.






The first two or three years were the hardest for me. I could not work on that day, I was totally unable to even type or write "September 11" or "9/11" in any fashion. I watched like a maniac each and every program that was aired on that day those first couple of years, and back then, there was pretty much 24/7 coverage.

After the invasion of Iraq, there appeared to be less 24/7 coverage of the events of 9/11, and as I watch a complete repeat of a live broadcast on MSNBC, I already see the lies about the incident being fed to the media as we know some things to be different from hindsight. For a specific example, I take the comments made by the newscasters many, many times, (did I say MANY? You could get drunk if you took a shot every time the broadcasters and the people they were talking to said "no warning") that the government had absolutely no indication that terrorists would hijack a plane and fly it into a building, as one of those misleading statements, since we already know that the government WAS warned this very thing WOULD happen a month earlier!

The phrase "never forget" was utilized for a number of years, and has been taken in different ways. Some use "never forget" as the mantra for a continued war on the religion of Islam and countries that are Islamic, and others have taken it to remember what NOT to do, retaliate irresponsibly or even at all. Remember and never forget what hate creates. I subscribe to the latter view.

I am quite amazed at the level of hate that has slowly creeped into the mindset of some of America, thanks, in no part, to the manipulation of our media to keep up the "rah rah" for the Iraq invasion, and continue to associate the 9/11 tragedy with the Bush Administration's (and neocons alike) reason for invading Iraq (and not trying to capture and crush the revolutionary ideologues actually responsible for this attack - Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden). Had the U.S. taken true advantage of the world's outrage at this attack, and proceeded to take out Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and their control over the Afghans ... well, you can write in your own opinion after the ellipses.

Anyway, it MAY be nine years later, but I will never, ever, forget what happened. I don't harbor any hate toward the perpetrators or toward Islam, as many of the stupid people do. When you think of the nature of tragedies, man made and nature oriented, many more severe devastating and loss of life things have happened that far outweigh the carnage of 9/11. With that in perspective, I mourn for a place that was deep a part of me, the twin towers. I mourn for those that had to make a choice to burn up or jump off of the towers - I cannot even possibly get a grip of what that has to feel like. I mourn for those passengers on the airplanes when they realized they were going to fly into buildings and die, and their mindsets moments before they died. I mourn for those passengers of Flight 93 that did not allow the final plane to reach its intended destination, even though all aboard perished. I mourn for the loved ones that had to hear the last words of those that perished in these events of 9/11, and can only slightly begin to feel the pain such phone calls elicited of the recipients.

Mostly, I remember how easily corporate interests, and religious intolerance and hate can morph into what we have seen the past few years. Nothing has gotten better. It has only gotten worse. America has descended into economic chaos, and Osama bin Laden could not be happier. The stupid Americans are tripping all over themselves to undo all that is truly American, much to the amusement of Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda has fragmented and grown to such proportions that Osama bin Laden must feel proud that he was able to orchestrate Americans' intense divisiveness, and have turned on each other in ways "no one could have anticipated" to quote our government's favorite excuse.

And, unfortunately, all the speeches Obama as President makes, are meaningless, because he and his administration have espoused just about everything the Bush administration put forth in the realm of "state secrets" and homeland security issues, which policies don't exactly tell the truth that the Obama administration has actually gone many steps further than Bush, for example, the "shoot to kill" American citizens residing other countries, without a trial, without an arrest, without a conviction (even if it were in abstentia, but no, NADA provocative reason), such that to be an American right now is not exactly the best thing when compared to the overall state of the world.

I shall never forget, even if all I do is remind others of the REAL events that occurred, and steer them away from the perversion that has slowly creeped into the "understanding" of the events of 9/11.


Click on the link in the heading of the post to be directed to an interactive CNN website devoted to those who lost their lives on 9/11.

NFL Opening 2011 !!!

So, where will YOU be Thursday?

Prayer Rally Dwarfed By Texans Who Flock To Nearby Convention Center, Desperate For Free School Supplies

Prayer Rally Dwarfed By Texans Who Flock To Nearby Convention Center, Desperate For Free School Supplies: Houston’s biggest gathering on Saturday didn’t see national television news crews. It didn’t draw out protestors. It didn’t spark its own Twitter handle. And the event — which attracted an estimated 100,0000 people to a convention center just seven miles down the road from Gov. Rick Perry (R) and The Response prayer rally — had [...]

I used the "share" aspect to put forth this interesting post from Think Progress. I know it's a tad after the fact, but it is important.

Skirts Below The Knees?

I am not going to cut and paste any of this, but you have to go read the full blog post to understand the idiocy that is Wisconsin's Scott Walker. Seriously, taking away the coffee pots? Making the female teachers wear skirts below their knees? What era are we in? 1960's? Oh yeah, that IS what these nut job Republicans want. I forgot! It was soooooo much better back in the 1950's when women did not have to work (even if they wanted to, most of the men would not let them work), and their only job was to pop out babies and service their husbands!

Three Enforcers, Three Deaths

Like many hockey fans, I was stunned by the third death in as many months, of an NHL enforcer, one by suicide, one a supposed accidental overdose, and one determined to be non-suspicious.

The person familiar with Belak’s death said he hanged himself at a downtown luxury hotel and condo building. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity yesterday because details of the investigation were confidential.

[snip]

The body of 27-year-old Rick Rypien of the Winnipeg Jets was discovered earlier this month at his home in Alberta after a police official said a call was answered for a “sudden and non-suspicious’’ death. Former New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died in May at 28 because of an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone.

New Shot Glass From South Dakota!

You know you are appreciated when your local bartender brings you back a shot glass!

My grandmother was Norwegian, and she and her sister, Augut, settled in Sioux Falls, SD. When I discovered my NEW local watering hole bartender was also from SD and Norwegian, AND he was going back to look after some of his mother's affairs and what not, I asked him to bring me back a shot glass, since I collect them (about 100 and counting).

Tonight I saw him and first thing he does is put this bag in front of me (while he prepares my Bloody Mary, lol) and it was an amazing shot glass. My cell phone camera does not do justice to it, but here it is, in all it's glory!

Round of shots (whatever you want) from the bar!