Fox News Worried Its Viewers Can't Tell a Cartoon from News

From 2007. Still true. Via BuzzFlash.

Thanks to LiberalViewer. Much more.

Momma Love The Short Track

You might think this should be at Fixer & Gordon, but this song is such a hoot I wanted to put it here where sane people might see it.

From the movie On Any Sunday Revisited. A short blurb about the late Mark Brelsford by fimmaker Bruce Brown, then the song.

Thanks to AJ259.

Saturday Emmylou Blogging

One of my favorites.

Emmylou Harris Pancho And Lefty, Jazz Fest 2009 New Orleans

Thanks to sjohnnyi.

Gordon-inspired Tina Turner blogging ...

Thanks to Gord's post below:

Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It?

O Canada! and/et La Marseillaise

Fixer put up the Canadian and French National Anthems below. After kidding my Frogophile Friend a little in the comments, and being ein bissell intellectually curious, not being a Repug and all, I went and looked stuff up just for the hell of it.

French National Anthem

La Marseillaise was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 and was declared the French national anthem in 1795.

Let's go children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny's
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!

Refrain

Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your batallions!
Let us march! Let us march!
May impure blood
Water our fields!

I know it was written in the wake of the French Revolution, a noble undertaking to be sure, but my God, it sounds like the teabaggers! Oh, if they only knew the French were spoutin' the same stuff they are! Heh. Irony lives!

The difference being that the French actually did something good for themselves and the teabaggers are just mouthin' off about something they know nothing about and are too cowardly and comfortable to actually get off their asses and go do what they say. They're revolting enough as it is.

Now, there are other verses still in use, but as if the verse and refrain above aren't bloody-minded enough, there are several verses that are not used any more. Here's just one:

Tremble, tyrants! and you, traitors,
The disgrace of all groups,
Tremble! Your parricidal plans
Will finally pay the price! (repeat)
Everyone is a soldier to fight you,
If they fall, our young heros,
France will make more,
Ready to battle you!

Big talk from a buncha surrender monkeys! (Boy, am I gonna hear about that comment! Heh.)

Makes 'The Star-Spangled Banner' seem kinda tame, huh?

In fairness, I went and looked up O Canada. There is an official English version:

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

And an official French version:

O Canada!
Land of our ancestors,
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious
garland of flowers.
As in thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic
Of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.

There's also an Inuktitut version, Uu Kanata, which I couldn't find a translation of, but which I bet contains the phrase "white devils" in it somewhere. I'll work on it.

It seems there is a cultural divide in The Great White North as if they brought the English Channel with them!

On the basis of these different versions of the anthem, the English Canadians seem to me to be just like Americans, only without the attitude of superiority, more polite, and they get cheaper meds which may explain it.

The French Canadians are ready ta rock 'n roll on anybody's ass that fucks with 'em. Much more romantic, though.

Two kinda interesting factoids:

Many have noted that the opening theme of "O Canada", composed in c. 1880, bears a great resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" (March of the Priests), from Die Zauberflöte, composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. [...]

The religious right would love that in our national anthem, if it wasn't about Catholics. "Batcrap crazy hatin' preachers" might be a little hard to fit in.

During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Stephen Colbert and Michael Bublé performed the lyrics of "O Canada" to the tune of The Star Spangled Banner (the US national anthem.)[

Now there ya go!

This was probably the most pointless thing I've done in weeks days before lunch today, just a little Fixer-inspired frivolity, but it was fun.

A Final Word on the Health Care Summit

Following up on yesterday's post and apparently in between hangovers, The Rude One addresses the burning question of who got over on whom at the health care 'summit'. A good read.

Just an aside from this ol' mountain man: 'Summit' does not necessarily mean the top of a mountain or a pinnacle or a high or lofty place or the place where gods convene and from whence commandments are handed down to us mortals. It's merely the dividing line between drainages, which I think fits yesterday's meeting perfectly.

What Obama did yesterday will either go down as the naive last gasps of hope and change on health care reform or as a stroke of genius, providing cover for Democrats and resuscitating an effort that will progress from the degraded baseline of the current bill. With what seems to be honest-to-Christ momentum towards reconciliation, the Rude Pundit believes the latter. He thinks that Barack Obama calmly, gently, even, fucked the Republicans in the ass yesterday, his well-lubed thrusts just enough to make them comfortable until the very end.

I'm down wit RP. Not only do I believe it, I hope it's so.

No, it's not a good bill. But it's a bill that will help many, many people. That's the bottom line. It will make insurance companies richer. It will please lobbyists and donors. But it will also help millions of people. That's the fucking trade-off. And the subconsciously subversive part of it is that, in a few years, it will show how ridiculous it is to not have nationalized health care (which is one reason the Rude Pundit thinks that some Republicans oppose it).

Ya got that one dead nuts, Rude Man. Health care for the citizens means nothing to the soulless Repugs, but profit for their masters sure as shit does.

That was the final, full-shaft fucking. The President called out the Republicans on their greatest hope, that the failure of health care reform will end the Democratic majority in Congress. Obama told them to bring it. And, most frighteningly for them, he fucked them calmly, like he knows he's right.

Of course, nothing is done until Democrats in Congress actually prove they're not willing to be the bitches of the minority. But, at least for that moment, the President showed who could do the fucking, too.

Plain old fucking to show who's got the power. Love ain't got nothin' to do with it.

"Final word", huh? I don't think so...

Agreed ...

Fez on the 'lympics:

I believe it has been established the Canadians have the second best National Anthem (France always wins the Gold this category).

You decide.

The Silver:



And the Gold:

If the Republicans ...

Had any "intellectual curiosity", they wouldn't be Republicans ...

Live Irish Coffee Blogging the First Hour or So of the Greatest Summit in the History of Anything Vaguely Health Care-Related

The Rude Pundit of course. There's an awful lot of crapola on this thing out there today, but for sheer entertainment value I'll go with RP. The Irish Coffee ain't as quick-acting as his usual straight Old Overshoes paint & liver remover whiskey so it's quite long. Enjoy.

You know, you'd think these fuckers were meeting over something more than a few marginal improvements in the savage health care system of America. But Irish coffee, bigoted a name though it may be, is a hell of a drink in the snowy a.m. Let's CSPAN-3 this motherfucker, yo.

9:58: Aw, shit, there comes Obama down the street. Someone cue the Reservoir Dogs music.

10:47: What Obama has done here is fascinating. He's making a public demonstration of the competence and bipartisanship of the Democrats. If Republicans were smart, they'd walk out. They're about to get their asses handed to them. A walk-out would change the story. But, you know, they're Republicans. They're gonna try to bully their way out of this.

10:49: And Reid is kicking all kinds of ass right now.

Maybe I was wrong about the Irish Coffee...

11:07: Coburn wants to ration care by limiting testing. Actually, he's talking competently and reasonably about prevention and nutrition. If he could lift Mitch McConnell's balls and get out from under his taint, Coburn might actually have something to say.

11:11: Ooh, Coburn proposes undercover patients as a solution to fraud. Secret spy shit. It works so well in stopping drug dealing.

Good idea! I propose undercover agents on senate staffs for exactly the same reason.

More tomorrow, maybe later.

The Irish Coffee musta finally kicked in.

Also see:

GOP Crapping Their Pants Over Reconciliation

Jim Demint shit himself so completely that he even splattered his aides when he called reconciliation "tyrannical," which means he thinks that passing a bill by a majority of Senators in, you know, the whole Senate is the equivalent of Pol Pot. He promises to try to gum up the works with endless amendments. DeMint is pretty much the underwear bomber of the Senate, though, so it's to be expected that he'll be a total dickbag.

You know you've got your opponent cornered when he starts saying that the rules of the game are rigged against him.

Instead of rigged for him and he still loses. Heh.

Why Washington Is Tied Up in Knots

A good read is this week's Time magazine cover story on why our alleged government is stuck on stupid.

In the 1980s, discrediting government was not the strategy of the congressional GOP, for two reasons. First, the sorting out hadn't fully sorted itself out yet: the Senate alone boasted moderate Republicans from blue states like Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Oregon, where activist government weren't dirty words. These moderates — who met every Wednesday for lunch — chaired powerful committees, served in the party leadership and helped cut big bipartisan deals like the 1986 tax-reform bill, which simplified the tax code, and the 1990 Clean Air Act, which set new limits on pollution. Second, because Republicans occupied the White House, making government look foolish and corrupt risked making the party look foolish and corrupt too.

They've quit trying to hide it. The GOP's foolishness and corruption are blatant and out in the open for all to see. They think all of us are like The Dead End Quarter - too stupid to notice. They're wrong.

All that changed when Bill Clinton took office. With the GOP no longer controlling the White House, a new breed of aggressive Republicans — men like Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay and Trent Lott — hit on a strategy for discrediting Clinton: discredit government. Rhetorically, they derided Washington as ineffective and conflict-ridden, and through their actions they guaranteed it. Their greatest weapon was the filibuster, which forced Democrats to muster 60 votes to get legislation through the Senate. Historically, filibustering had been rare. From the birth of the Republic until the Civil War, the Senate witnessed about one filibuster per decade. As late as the 1960s, Senators filibustered less than 10% of major legislation. But in the '70s, the filibuster rule changed: Senators no longer needed to camp out on the Senate floor all night, reading from Grandma's recipe book. Merely declaring their intention to filibuster derailed any bill that lacked 60 votes.

With these acts of legislative sabotage, Republicans tapped into a deep truth about the American people: they hate political squabbling, and they take out their anger on whoever is in charge. So when the Gingrich Republicans carried out a virtual sit-down strike during Clinton's first two years, the public mood turned nasty. By 1994, trust in government was at an all-time low, which suited the Republicans fine, since their major line of attack against Clinton's health care plan was that it would empower government. Clintoncare collapsed, Democrats lost Congress, and Republicans learned the secrets of vicious-circle politics: When the parties are polarized, it's easy to keep anything from getting done. When nothing gets done, people turn against government. When you're the party out of power and the party that reviles government, you win.
...

All this, it turns out, was a mere warm-up for the Obama years. [...]

Enjoy. I do not necessarily agree with the author's conclusions on what needs to done to knock off the cheap shit, but it's food for thought.

I've been ...

Where Kieth Olbermann was last night. During the course of the past 20 years, my wife and I have had to make those decisions for our mothers, and will have to for her father as well when his time comes. It is not something I wish on anyone.

...

And as I left that night the full impact of these last six months washed over me. What I had done, conferring with the resident in ICU, the conversation about my father's panicky, not-in-complete-control-of-his-faculties demand that all treatment stop, about the options and the consequences and the compromise - the sedation -- the help for a brave man who just needed a break... that conversation, that one -- was what these ghouls who are walking into Blair House tomorrow morning decided to call "Death Panels."

Your right to have that conversation with a doctor -- not the government, but a doctor -- and your right to have insurance pay for his expertise on what your options are when Dad says "kill me" or what your options are when Dad is in a coma and can't tell you a damn thing, or what your options are when everybody is healthy and happy and coherent and you're just planning ahead -- your right to have the guidance and the reassurance of a professional who can lay that out for you... that's a quote "death panel."

That, right now, is the legacy of the protests of these sub-humans who get paid by the insurance companies, who say these things for their own political gain... or like that one fiend... for money.

...

These people have no soul.

Acupuncture on Ice

Hey, Olympic Committee, yer missin' a bet for the Winter Games! I mean, ya got this perfectly good speed skating venue just goin' ta waste after the skaters are done, and you'll get a whole new audience! Beer sales'll go through the roof! Band-aids too if one o' these things makes it inta the stands...

Jsspeedway coureur Johnny Tuinstra in actie. Mylène de la Haye maakte een beeldcompilatie voor www.panorama.nl

Thanks to Mylene2, Netherlands.

More Olympics:

I've actually been watching some of the curling. I don't understand a damn thing the announcers are saying about it, but the Norwegian men's team pants are to die for!

The title of the song is "Hearts On Fire". Must have something to do with the burritos at the concession stand...

HammerFall vs. The Swedish Womens Olympic Curling Team.

Thanks to Inspector71.

A few more days of Olympics and my brain will be returned to me. They promised...

Dear Sarah: Say it is so, run for president

Leonard Pitts in the Miami Herald:

Dear Sarah Palin:

I hear you're pondering a run for the White House in 2012. Last week, you told Fox news it would be ``absurd'' to rule it out.

I'm writing to ask that you rule it in. I very badly want you to run for -- and win -- the Republican nomination for the presidency.

I know you're waiting for the punch line. Maybe you figure I think you'd be a weak candidate who would pave the way for President Obama's easy re-election.

That's not it. No, I want you to run because I believe a Palin candidacy would force upon this country a desperately needed moment of truth. It would require us to finally decide what kind of America we want to be.

Mrs. Palin, you are an avatar of the shameless hypocrisy and cognitive disconnection that have driven our politics for the last decade, a process of stupidification creeping like kudzu over our national life.

No, you represent the latest iteration of an anti-intellectualism that periodically rises in the American character. There is, historically and persistently, a belief in us that y'all just can't trust nobody who acts too smart or talks too good -- in other words, somebody whose "general persona'' indicates they may have once cracked a book or had a thought. Americans tend to believe common sense the exclusive province of humble folks without sheepskins on the wall or big words in their vocabularies.

More to the point, something is wrong when we celebrate mental mediocrity like yours under the misapprehension that competence or, God forbid, intelligence, makes a person one of those "elites" -- that's a curse word now -- lacking authenticity, compassion and common sense.

So no, this is not a clash of ideologies, but a clash between intelligence and its opposite. And I am tired of being asked to pretend stupid is a virtue. That's why I'd welcome the moment of truth your campaign would bring. It would force us to decide once and for all whether we are permanently committed to the path of ignorance, of birthers, truthers and tea party incoherence you represent, or whether we will at last turn back from the cliff toward which we race.

If the latter, wonderful, God bless America. If the former, well, some of us can finally quit hoping the nation will return to its senses and plan accordingly. Either way, we need to know, and your candidacy would tell us. If you love this country, Mrs. Palin, you can do it no greater service.

Run, Sarah, run.

Ya got balls, Lenny. If Plan A prevails, all's right with the world. Plan B? Look out Canuckistan, here we come, eh?

Morford on Woods

I think golf is a silly game. I think golf courses are best suited to throwing feet-up third gear 60 mile an hour powerslides on an open pipe 40 inch Triumph (or BSA if you're so encumbered). Now that gives me goose pimples, but I couldn't give a shit less about Tiger Woods or any other multi-millionaire who made his bucks chasing a ball around like a little kid. He's got problems? Yeah, as soon as he got caught. Fuck him.

Mark Morford puts his 'apology' in perspective:

ABC's George Stephanopoulos called Tiger's little speech "one of the most remarkable public apologies ever by a public figure." Clearly, Stephanopolous might be more of a mental fluffball than anyone originally thought. (Gee, ya think? - G)

Dick Cheney slithering forth and apologizing for being a cancerous, warmongering monster whose brutal profiteering and shriveled soul cost thousands of young American lives? The GOP stepping out and admitting they killed health care reform because they really wanted to ding the scary black president, and don't really give a flying crap about your sick and uninsured children? Now those would be remarkable public apologies. A comatose golfer saying he's sorry for nailing some hookers whilst his family rolls around in $500 million worth of Escalades, diamond-crusted teaspoons and Swiss ski chalets? Not a remarkable apology. Clear?

But here's the bigger truth: Tiger wasn't apologizing to actual people, to his wife or kids or even his confused fans. Tiger was apologizing, straight up and to the bone, to capitalism itself. To his own brand. It was a scary attempt to shore up the multimillions in endorsement deals, his future as a billion-dollar icon. Tiger the man was apologizing to Tiger, Inc., mostly for tainting its earnings potential.

Perhaps there's still hope. Perhaps someday, a politician/celeb/icon embroiled in a crazy drug/gay/sex scandal will step up and say, "Hey, my apologies to my loved ones. I was a hypocrite. I lied about some stuff. I was sort of stupid about it. It happens. We all do it. I'm working on it. But you know what? No one died. Everyone will be OK. Life goes on. What's more: No one really cares. Or if you do, you really need to get out more.

"Did you know there are multiple, appalling wars going on right now? Disease and suffering of the highest order? The planet is dying in coughs and spasms? Do you know your kids can't get decent health care? Fish stocks are collapsing? A billion humans live in slums?

"So I slept with a gay hooker and enjoy a line of blow now and then. This really matters? You really care? We are flawed and silly species, each and every one of us. If we don't laugh and dance and face our demons like the grinning, preposterous monkeys we so very much are, we're all dead anyway. Who wants wine?"

By all means, wine! And waiter...open a new box. Nothing but the best for this preposterous monkey!

More. You should read.

Toast ...

He's off his meds:

WASHINGTON — For Scott Brown, the tea party appears to be over.

Literally overnight, the fledgling Republican senator who ended Democrats' filibuster-proof majority by winning a special election in Massachusetts has gone from being the darling of America's conservative activists to being their goat.

...

Looks like some of Teddy's essence rubbed off when he took the old man's seat. His career as a Republican is already circling the bowl. Good on him by the way.

Do over!

Maru:

Fox Noise prior to CPAC: "This is where the next President will be anointed!"

Fox Noise after Ron Paul wins the CPAC poll: "These things are way unscientific. It's really more about bragging rights, anyway. Somebody freeped the poll. There’s nothing to see here, move along."

...

Heh ... Like any good lawyer will tell you, don't ask the question of ya don't know what the answer will be.

See yas!

According to the Turk, Rahm is toast:

...

My second thought was, "Wow, what a hatchet job on Jarrett, Gibbs and Axelrod!" Since Rahm is obviously feeding this to Milbank, that is very revealing. You don't throw these kinds of bombs unless you've already lost. This is an act of desperation. It's bound to make mortal enemies of these people inside Obama's inner circle. You can't really work with these people anymore. That means you're already finished there.

...

Let's hope we'll see something resembling leadership from the White House in the future.

Thanks to ql for the link.

Sweet!

A coupla weeks ago I did a post on Aspartame. Here's an article in the EssEffChron on sugar and artificial sweeteners that may answer some questions if you have any.

One of our readers brought up agave syrup, which I hadn't heard of.

The sweetener that comes from a Mexican plant - the same one used to produce Tequila - is making quite a stir. Agave syrup or nectar is being used to sweeten teas, energy drinks, protein bars and pastries.

Its calorie and carbohydrate content is similar to that of sugar, but because it's about three times sweeter, you can use less. Unlike sucrose, agave can be up to 90 percent fructose, depending on how it's processed. The higher it is in fructose, the less likely it is to raise blood glucose levels, which is helpful to diabetics.

Oddly, scientists believe that fructose has the lowest glycemic index, a ranking system for carbohydrate foods based on their effects on blood glucose levels, of all sugars. This seems somewhat contradictory given that fructose is so often linked to obesity.

Although agave may seem like a safer choice for diabetics, experts warn to use it with caution. There is not enough scientific evidence yet to recommend it as a dietetic substitute.

While agave is seen by many consumers as a healthful alternative to sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, experts say don't let it fool you - it's sugar, plain and simple.

Its flavor benefits are that it sweetens without changing the flavor of other ingredients. And while it doesn't work with everything, agave is a fine substitute for sweetening tea, cereal and yogurts. Its best use that we know of: replacing the simple syrup in a margarita.

Sounds OK to me. They sell it at Costco and it's on our shopping list.

I don't usually do recipes, but as long as we're on sweet food, here's one for a Guadalajaran enchilada dish that's got my mouth watering! Enjoy.

Nursing Home Bikers

This is a heartwarming story.

NBC Chicago

Lydia Scheltes woke up in her bed at Bethesda Retirement Center one morning with pinkish hair, a tattoo on her arm and a hangover. Not a typical morning for the 90-year-old.

“Seniors are more fun than you’ll ever know,” she said.

You be careful, honey. Everybody's got a video camera. Heh.

Scheltes wasn’t alone: Seven ladies and one dude – aged 65 to 97 – all had a similar hazy look in their eyes after they hung out with bikers at the Evil Olive bar in Wicker Park on Feb. 11.

About 100 people showed up to the club, including members of the Latino American Motorcycle Association and Chicago’s Chapter of A.B.A.T.E.

ABATE is a state-by-state nationwide motorcyclists' rights outfit. Acronym of A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments against mainly custom bikes.

“One of our residents, Katie, just turned 97, and she got up with her walker and shook her booty," Kaplan said. "She shook it good."

The one thing the women didn’t get a chance to do was ride on a motorcycle, because it was too cold.

But that’s coming.

Better late than never. Have fun, ladies and gents. You've earned it.

Headline of the Day

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama joins Twitter

Now I've seen everything and there is nothing left to live for. You may shoot me.

Schwarzenegger calls GOP approach to health care ‘bogus’

I never would have thought I'd be saying this, but kudos to Ah-nold simply for telling the truth. Which is not Repug policy.

Raw Story

Breaking with the national Republican Party for the second time this week, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) told reporters Monday that GOP attempts to stall health care reform were out of line.

"I think any Republican that says you should start from scratch," with health care, "I think that's bogus talk, and that's partisan talk," the governor told reporters.

'Bogus' oughta be the Repugs' middle name.

On Sunday, Schwarzenegger told ABC's This Week he was proud to accept stimulus dollars for his state and praised the program for creating or saving over 150,000 jobs.

Schwarzenegger also lashed out at GOP politicians who voted against the bill then took credit for benefits provided to their states on Sunday.

"Well, you know, to me I find it interesting that you have a lot of the Republicans running around and pushing back on the stimulus money and saying this doesn't create any new jobs," said Schwarzenegger. "Then, they go out and they do the photo ops and they are posing with the big check and they say, 'Isn't this great?'"

To what do I ascribe Ah-nold's breaking with the Repugs and telling the truth? Since it's a well-known fact that truth has a liberal bias, the only thing I can think of is sleeping with Maria Shriver. I've heard of gettin' yer brains fucked out, but this may be the very unusual case of gettin' some brains fucked in.

And if anybody could un-shrivel Ah-nold's 'roid raisins and restore some sack, she could! Keep up the good work, Maria!

Bill would ban security contractors from war zones

Raw Story

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced the "Stop Outsourcing Security Act" on Tuesday. If passed, the act would force the United States to phase out its controversial use of private security contractors in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.

While the bill is likely to meet stiff opposition from the Pentagon and the defense industry, it's certain to be well received among progressives and peace activists, who have watched with alarm as the use of private contractors in war zones has skyrocketed in recent years.

In an interview with Russia Today earlier this month, Schakowsky said that the use of private contractors "masks the scope of our involvement" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"When the President asks for a 30,000 troop increase in Afghanistan, we are talking about at least that number of contractors too, which makes the mission much bigger. We don’t even count them when they get killed,” she said.

Schakowsky added: "We have seen these private hired guns, mercenaries if you will, actually in situations that have jeopardized the mission of the United States, have put our own troops at risk, have killed private civilians, really raising the question, can these private companies that don't seem to be part of the chain of command [or] have the same transparency or accountability as our military, can they actually get away with murder? And so far the answer has been yes."

Notice the unusual use of the word 'mercenaries'. Tell it like it is, sister!

Our military has been allowed, on purpose, to deteriorate in favor of for-profit companies to the point where our troops can't do the basic stuff like feeding themselves, guarding convoys, maintaining their own weapons, and providing security for our diplomats.

This is our tax money paying for this, and it's one tax the Repugs love because it goes to the private sector in pallet-loads for things that the military ought to be doing a lot more economically and with rigid accountability in cases of abuse of the system, unlike paying top dollar for waste, fraud, abuse, and even murder.

This is a bill that I hope passes even while I pretty much know it won't. Hats off to Senators Sanders and Schakowsky for trying.

35 years ago ...

Our government poisoned our Vietnam veterans with 'Agent Orange' defoliant. In this war, it's the 'burn pits':

they are killing our soldiers....slowly...painfully...horrifically.... it's time we start talking about them. it's time we stop them. it's time we start talking about the toxic hell we are leaving behind for the iraqi people to suffer through, too.

...

And, like Vietnam, they'll deny any responsibility until most of the guys who suffer from symptoms are dead and then grudgingly give care to the remainder.

My Homey, The Jamaica Ski Team

We reported on Boardercross four years ago, here and here, the breakout event of the Torino Winter Games. This year, Skicross was featured as well. These are sideshow events to the major skiing and boarding events, but mucho fun to watch.

NBC pissed me off. They showed the individual qualification runs, the semi-finals, and the final, but not the first heats, so I only got to see Errol once. He came in ninth.

Update: Mrs. G informs me that they showed the heat races during the repeat waaaay late at night.

My hat's off to this kid. Being of Jamaican descent and having dual citizenships, he managed a productive, er, snow job on the Jamaican ski association and got hisself into the Olympics when he never would have otherwise. Here's his site.

This vid will tell you a lot as he introduces himself in an interview and talks about the NBS which provides scholarships for athletes of color. That's Lake Tahoe in the background. Enjoy.

Thanks to KQSWproductions. They've also got a video of another Olympian Skicrosser, champion skier, and homeboy Daron Rahlves riding motocross. More good stuff too.

Despicable Phony Xtian Repug of the Day

And believe me, there are plenty to choose from.

Think Progress, links at site:

On Thursday, Virginia State Delegate Bob Marshall (R) spoke at a press conference against state funding for Planned Parenthood. He blasted the organization for supporting a women’s right to choose, saying that God punishes women who have had abortions by giving them disabled children:

...

“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”

Marshall is also fighting against health care reform, saying that “Obamacare” is trying to take “your soul.” Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been pushing back against high-profile figures and entities who have been attacking people with disabilities. Will she speak out against someone in her own party?

Shorter: No. Even if she wanted to, which she probably doesn't and wouldn't if she did, Ailes wouldn't let her.

Go read the comments about the despicable Repug fuck in VA.

Old folks rule, Bunkie Dude!

Pot use among seniors rises

Long a fixture among young people, use of the country's most popular illicit drug is now growing among the AARP set, as the massive generation of baby boomers who came of age in the 1960s and '70s grows older.

Observers expect further increases as 78 million boomers born between 1945 and 1964 age. For many boomers, the drug never held the stigma it did for previous generations, and they tried it decades ago.

Politically, advocates for legalizing marijuana say the number of older users could represent an important shift in their decades-long push to change the laws.

Us Olde Phartes VOTE! We're going to get the chance later this year in California.

I left 'em a comment. 'Gordon' was already taken so I posted as '4Stroke', which I do sometimes. Reference is to motorcycle engines, not sexual endurance. Heh.

I'm 64 and started smoking weed in 1967. Most of my friends used it then and still do, and their kids grew up thinking smoking pot was something 'old people' did. I know people well into their 80s who use it daily.

I've been advocate for the legalization of marijuana for over 40 years and I see the day coming at last. The stuff is lemonade compared to harder drugs like heroin and alcohol, and the removal of the originally racist and later generational sanctions against it has been creeping forward for years. Legalization will turn an entire 'criminal class' into the law-abiding citizens they otherwise have always been, save a lot of money wasted on the failed War On Some Drugs and free up anti-drug resources that could be better used elsewhere, and generate some tax revenue.

Definitely an area where government needs to get out of people's freedom of choice.

Oh, by the way, since I got my iPod, I smoke the devil weed out of my ear trumpet. The smoke gets a good head start, great rush! Old folks rule, you whippersnappers!

So there...

Update:

My comment appears to be gone from the site. Harrumph.

Update II:

The comment is back. Twice. Must be gettin' old...

Quote of the Day

From P.M. Carpenter writing about CPAC (Crazy People Acting Crazy):

Republicans' worldview, on the other hand, necessarily contains the seeds of our own destruction; one simply cannot achieve progress through regression, any more than we can screw ourselves to virginal innocence, as "conservative" luminaries implore.

Related:

Gingrich and Beck Galvanize Conservatives

At least the Tin Men won't rust while they're waiting for a brain...

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Bush Lawyers Showed “Poor Judgment” Writing Torture Memos
Obama lawyers show “poor judgment” letting Bush lawyers off.

POLL
Majority Say Government Broken
Blame officials they voted for again and again.

Hawaii Happiest State, West Virginia Least Happy
After thousands of interviews with coal miners and hula dancers.

Toyota Reveals Fix For Uncontrollable Acceleration Problems
Drivers must say clearly, “Close the electronic acceleration system, Hal.”

I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that...

Two-Thirds of New Yorkers Hear Their Neighbors Having Sex
Most put ear to wall, but use of high-tech equipment gaining in popularity.

No equipment needed in the Klingon neighborhoods...

Thanks a lot ...

Schmuck:

...

But knowing all of that, you still chose to crash your airplane into an IRS office building. You chose to go out in a highly newsworthy way, you arrogant little fuck, and in so doing, you will end up triggering even more restrictions on the rest of us who fly. You couldn't go rent a Ryder truck and stuff it full of fertilizer soaked in diesel fuel, for that's been done before. You couldn't just shoot the folks you were angry at; that would rate 30 seconds on the national news, at best. You couldn't just torch the building, that's old news.

...

Links aplenty.

Where the money went ...

Fez haz a graph.

Quote of the Day

General Petraeus:

...

"I know, I served, in fact, in combat with individuals who were gay and who were lesbian in combat situations. Frankly, you know, over time you said, hey, how's this guy shooting or how is her analysis or what have you?" explained Petraeus.

...

When it comes down to brass tacks, proficiency matters and that's about it.

Peekskill Outrage

Funny how we always have to hear about this kinda shit from foreigners, huh?

The outrage that was Peekskill - September 4th 1949.

In 1932 Robeson had stated to the Daily Express in London that the modern white American was amongst the lowest form of civilization in the world. Apparently by 1949 not a lot had improved!

Nor by 2010, seems like. Teabaggers have gone by many names.

Banjostead again, UK. Thanks.

Dam, that's great!

I just love this!

Arlo Guthrie ~ Grand Coulee Dam

Thanks to banjostead, UK.