This has special meaning for me, even though I was only 9 when it happened. But this weekend is going to be dedicated to the best of Woodstock. If you have suggestions, leave them in comments. But let's get started:
Let's move on.org to Richie Havens...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Do You Watch MSNBC?
If you watch MSNBC, regardless of whether you live in this asshole's district, please email him and say, "I watch MSNBC." Do it for konagod.
Just be aware, I tried emailing him and he apparently doesn't care what Americans outside his district think about his moronic views, despite going on national television to spew them. Oh, and he doesn't mind if non-residents sign up to get HIS views. Asshole.
So why not just give his office a call and let him know that you watch MSNBC. It really doesn't make much difference as he isn't likely to take your call or your email.
Houston Phone: (713) 682-8828
Washington Phone: Phone: (202) 225-2571
Thank God I don't live west of Houston.
Get to know a district!
Big thanks to Petulant for getting the video and a post up so quickly.
Just be aware, I tried emailing him and he apparently doesn't care what Americans outside his district think about his moronic views, despite going on national television to spew them. Oh, and he doesn't mind if non-residents sign up to get HIS views. Asshole.
So why not just give his office a call and let him know that you watch MSNBC. It really doesn't make much difference as he isn't likely to take your call or your email.
Houston Phone: (713) 682-8828
Washington Phone: Phone: (202) 225-2571
Thank God I don't live west of Houston.
Get to know a district!
Big thanks to Petulant for getting the video and a post up so quickly.
Friday Pussy Blog: Yeah, I'm Relaxed; It's Friday Edition
I just washed sheets in the last day or so and therefore Sissy will nap against my pillow. She loves clean sheets!
And while it may be summer, and hot as hell in Texas, the Tot still likes to catch some rays.
He's too lazy to put on his pretty face today.
TGIF!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Awkward Moments in Television
For those of you who missed this on Hardball last night, I present you with one of the most uncomfortable interviews I have ever seen. I joked to txrad that Sarah Palin should choose this woman to be her VP running mate on 2012.
But seriously, why this woman would choose to go on national television is beyond my comprehension.
But seriously, why this woman would choose to go on national television is beyond my comprehension.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
My Sentiments Exactly
It's not my work but it sums up my feelings lately...
This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.
I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.
After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.
On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.
After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.
And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Our Biggest Problem (What? Only One??)
Your morning dose of reality as seen through the eyes of Bob Herbert, op-ed columnist for the New York Times.
I've already come to terms with the fact that our standard of living is as unsustainable as our current health care system. But that doesn't have to translate into a tragedy. Some of us, perhaps most of us, are going to need to make adjustments in our "American Dream."
But what is really shocking about the current unemployment situation is the impact on younger Americans and especially minorities (well, that part isn't shocking at all; it's the status quo, just on a larger scale).
And I can't help but wonder how involved these age groups are in the critical health care debate. I fear the entire dialogue is being driven by those baby-boomers who have been paying attention and have seen the rampant inflation in the health care sector, and have experienced the costs first-hand, and the baby-boomers on the right who are having their fears stoked by various media figures and right-wing fringe elements throwing up the socialist red scare all over again.
America's youth need to be paying attention and getting involved now. Health care needs for those in their 20s may seem to be a low-priority (perhaps a couple of rungs below the crisis of Twitter being hacked) right now, but this is an opportunity to influence the debate and help shape a system on which they will depend in another 15 years or so.
I know, I know. I'm dreaming again. That is about as likely as Dennis Kucinich winning the 2012 Democratic nomination.
Some 247,000 jobs were lost in July, a number that under ordinary circumstances would send a shudder through the country. It was the smallest monthly loss of jobs since last summer. And for that reason, it was seen as a hopeful sign. The official monthly unemployment rate ticked down from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent.
But behind the official numbers is a scary story that illustrates the single biggest challenge facing the United States today. The American economy does not seem able to provide enough jobs — and nowhere near enough good jobs — to maintain the standard of living that most Americans have come to expect.
I've already come to terms with the fact that our standard of living is as unsustainable as our current health care system. But that doesn't have to translate into a tragedy. Some of us, perhaps most of us, are going to need to make adjustments in our "American Dream."
But what is really shocking about the current unemployment situation is the impact on younger Americans and especially minorities (well, that part isn't shocking at all; it's the status quo, just on a larger scale).
Only 65 of every 100 men aged 20 through 24 years old were working on any given day in the first six months of this year. In the age group 25 through 34 years old, traditionally a prime age range for getting married and starting a family, just 81 of 100 men were employed.
For male teenagers, the numbers were disastrous: only 28 of every 100 males were employed in the 16- through 19-year-old age group. For minority teenagers, forget about it. The numbers are beyond scary; they’re catastrophic.
This should be the biggest story in the United States. When joblessness reaches these kinds of extremes, it doesn’t just damage individual families; it corrodes entire communities, fosters a sense of hopelessness and leads to disorder.
And I can't help but wonder how involved these age groups are in the critical health care debate. I fear the entire dialogue is being driven by those baby-boomers who have been paying attention and have seen the rampant inflation in the health care sector, and have experienced the costs first-hand, and the baby-boomers on the right who are having their fears stoked by various media figures and right-wing fringe elements throwing up the socialist red scare all over again.
America's youth need to be paying attention and getting involved now. Health care needs for those in their 20s may seem to be a low-priority (perhaps a couple of rungs below the crisis of Twitter being hacked) right now, but this is an opportunity to influence the debate and help shape a system on which they will depend in another 15 years or so.
I know, I know. I'm dreaming again. That is about as likely as Dennis Kucinich winning the 2012 Democratic nomination.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
New Blogging Accessories
I really shouldn't be splurging on such things during the current economic climate but sometimes a boy needs new toys. I recently got a KVM switch so that I can have ONE monitor on my desk, one keyboard, and one mouse, but two computers: one for work and one for play.
All was well except that neither of my keyboards are USB which is required by the KVM switch. However, after living a year with two monitors, two keyboards, and two mice on my desk, I figured two out of three isn't bad and I could handle two keyboards, at least for awhile.
Here's the problem: I would be switching back and forth between PCs and forget to swap out the keyboards, and I'd start typing away and wondering why nothing was appearing on the monitor. For someone who works in a lot of spreadsheets, this could potentially cause a major data disruption if I'm not careful, so it was obvious a keyboard correction was in order. Especially after I shoved my personal keyboard off to the right one day, right into the slightly elevated edge of the higher printer table between me and txrad, and broke a leg off it.
I'm on a big ergonomic push right now due to some back troubles and I'm trying to correct all the wrongs in my work desk environment. No more twisting to the left for employment duties and then twisting to the right for blogging or other personal work.
This keyboard might not fit the ergonomic definition but I really love the quiet notebook-style keypad and the backlit keys.
Also love the ultra-slim design! This baby is almost wafer-thin.
I'm rather embarrassed to admit that I've never used programmable function keys before now. And I love that I can use the keyboard to mute sound, increase and decrease volume, and jump directly to my email with one keystroke.
Best of all, I took a gamble that there wouldn't be a huge difference in price between Amazon and Fry's Electronics here in Austin. I saw this at Fry's today and bought it for around $58 plus tax. I told myself I was not going to check the price on Amazon, but while shopping for a cordless mouse (by the way, the keyboard is corded and I'm fine with that), I ran across this keyboard for $69.99 and because it is shipping through an outside vendor, not Amazon, there's an additional $6.89 shipping charge. So I got quite a deal.
Interestingly enough, the Logitech mouse I have ordered is $99.99 at Fry's, plus sales tax which in Austin would be another $8.25 for a total lof $108.24. I ordered the mouse on Amazon for $66.36 with free shipping and no sales tax.
It pays to shop around.
I am definitely happier with this keyboard than I am the one I ordered from Amazon a couple of weeks ago... one of those pliable, roll-up keyboards. It is fine for very light typing, but at my usual typing speed and finger pressure, it would have produced a very cryptic blog post. I wrote a review of that gadget at Amazon.
All was well except that neither of my keyboards are USB which is required by the KVM switch. However, after living a year with two monitors, two keyboards, and two mice on my desk, I figured two out of three isn't bad and I could handle two keyboards, at least for awhile.
Here's the problem: I would be switching back and forth between PCs and forget to swap out the keyboards, and I'd start typing away and wondering why nothing was appearing on the monitor. For someone who works in a lot of spreadsheets, this could potentially cause a major data disruption if I'm not careful, so it was obvious a keyboard correction was in order. Especially after I shoved my personal keyboard off to the right one day, right into the slightly elevated edge of the higher printer table between me and txrad, and broke a leg off it.
I'm on a big ergonomic push right now due to some back troubles and I'm trying to correct all the wrongs in my work desk environment. No more twisting to the left for employment duties and then twisting to the right for blogging or other personal work.
This keyboard might not fit the ergonomic definition but I really love the quiet notebook-style keypad and the backlit keys.
Also love the ultra-slim design! This baby is almost wafer-thin.
I'm rather embarrassed to admit that I've never used programmable function keys before now. And I love that I can use the keyboard to mute sound, increase and decrease volume, and jump directly to my email with one keystroke.
Best of all, I took a gamble that there wouldn't be a huge difference in price between Amazon and Fry's Electronics here in Austin. I saw this at Fry's today and bought it for around $58 plus tax. I told myself I was not going to check the price on Amazon, but while shopping for a cordless mouse (by the way, the keyboard is corded and I'm fine with that), I ran across this keyboard for $69.99 and because it is shipping through an outside vendor, not Amazon, there's an additional $6.89 shipping charge. So I got quite a deal.
Interestingly enough, the Logitech mouse I have ordered is $99.99 at Fry's, plus sales tax which in Austin would be another $8.25 for a total lof $108.24. I ordered the mouse on Amazon for $66.36 with free shipping and no sales tax.
It pays to shop around.
I am definitely happier with this keyboard than I am the one I ordered from Amazon a couple of weeks ago... one of those pliable, roll-up keyboards. It is fine for very light typing, but at my usual typing speed and finger pressure, it would have produced a very cryptic blog post. I wrote a review of that gadget at Amazon.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Kittie Porn?
Nice try but no catnip!
Keep the cat away from the computer.
According to a sheriff's report, Jensen Beach resident Keith Griffin told investigators that pornographic images downloaded when his cat jumped on his computer keyboard while he was downloading music.
[...]
Sheriff's officials say a family friend is now caring for the cat.
Keep the cat away from the computer.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Friday Pussy Blog: PC Kitteh Edition
My supervisor was on the job this morning!
"Daddy has a camera; it must be Friday."
"Get a profile shot so they can admire my feline greatness!"
"Use that flash one more time motherfucker and I'll rip your fucking throat out!!"
"Hey, I was kidding! I LUVS my daddy!"
Happy flippity fuck it's Friday!
Happy flippity fuck it's Friday!
Chillin' with the KKK
An advertising agency in Belgium has created this ad to promote just how "relaxing" the Luxor hot tubs can be. Hmmm. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't find this relaxing or appealing. In fact, it's kind of disgusting.
Via.
Click to embiggen.
Via.
Credit Checks Are Screwing the Downtrodden
This isn't a new practice; in fact I read about this last year and another article appears in today's New York Times regarding employers running credit checks on job applicants and then refusing to hire those who appear to have a history of "bad decision-making."
Yeah, like the millions of people who made the "bad decision" to take a job at a company which would at some point lay them off, or the "bad decision" to feed their families vs. pay the mortgage when the option is either/or. And many made the "bad decision" to seek medical help for a serious injury when they had no health insurance because they can't afford it, and are now facing bankruptcy due to the enormous costs of health treatment.
Are there also millions of Americans who have abused credit cards, shopped for things they don't need and can't afford, simply because credit was easy? Of course. But this practice is screening out far too many honest workers who have been impacted by the current recession and making their lives far more difficult.
But hey, people who might easily pass a credit check are just one less thing to worry about because we know they aren't going to steal, right?
Business executives say that they have an obligation to be diligent and to protect themselves from employees who may be unreliable, unwise or too susceptible to temptation to steal, and that credit checks are a help.
“If I see too many negative things coming up on a credit check, it’s one of those things that raises a flag with me,” said Anita Orozco, director of human resources at Sonneborn, a petrochemical company based in Mahwah, N.J. She added that while bad credit alone would not be a reason to deny someone a job, it might reveal poor judgment.
“If you see a history of bad decision-making, you don’t want that decision-making overflowing into your organization,” she said.
More than 40 percent of employers use credit checks at least sometimes, according to a 2004 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, up from 25 percent in 1998. The share has almost certainly risen today, say career counselors.
Yeah, like the millions of people who made the "bad decision" to take a job at a company which would at some point lay them off, or the "bad decision" to feed their families vs. pay the mortgage when the option is either/or. And many made the "bad decision" to seek medical help for a serious injury when they had no health insurance because they can't afford it, and are now facing bankruptcy due to the enormous costs of health treatment.
Are there also millions of Americans who have abused credit cards, shopped for things they don't need and can't afford, simply because credit was easy? Of course. But this practice is screening out far too many honest workers who have been impacted by the current recession and making their lives far more difficult.
But hey, people who might easily pass a credit check are just one less thing to worry about because we know they aren't going to steal, right?
Thursday, August 06, 2009
What the fuck is a royal diadem?
I'm sorry, but this serves what purpose? I just see natural shit. Completely devoid of this lordness. But Good God does it inspire those simpletons who buy into it like a kid with a nickle in a 1930s candy store.
This is the mentality guiding YOUR health care debate. You can choose to sit back as if observing a circus, and you would not be entirely wrong, or you could engage yourself.
Think.
Another Thorn for the Right-Wing
Thankfully we have one breath of fresh air in the midst of the health care debacle. By a vote of 68 to 31, the Senate has confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as our next Supreme Court justice.
Now if we could only have such a smoothly paved road to health carereform complete and total overhaul. I'll have to get to this another day but I simply cannot fathom why we have subsidized childhood education for those who wish to use it (and private schools for those who don't), subsidized transportation networks (where toll roads aren't creeping in), subsidized fire departments, police departments, and military (coupled with the highly-successful private industry aspect). We even have subsidized health care for the elderly.
But when it comes to the working folks, or those who have been laid off, or those who are simply too poor to afford insurance, we just can't have that kind of "socialism" involved in our health care, despite the fact that we can handle "socialism" in the form of the aforementioned benefits.
I just don't get it.
This all reminds me of the push to get the US to adopt the metric system back in the 1970s. That went nowhere fast. I recall some of the same freak-outs from the right-wing back then, that the metric system was some Communist plot so that when the Russians marched in, we'd all be set to their liking and they wouldn't need conversion charts.
Delusional then, delusional now.
Democrats celebrated the successful nomination and relatively smooth confirmation process as a bright spot in a summer when they have been buffeted by several challenges, including rocky progress on their attempts to overhaul the nation’s health care system, President Obama’s falling approval ratings, the climbing unemployment rate and other lingering economic problems.
Shortly after the vote, President Obama said he was "deeply gratified" and confident that Judge Sotomayor would become an outstanding justice. The ideals of "justice, equality, opportunity" that guide the high court are the very ones that made the judge’s "uniquely American story" possible in the first place, the president said.
Now if we could only have such a smoothly paved road to health care
But when it comes to the working folks, or those who have been laid off, or those who are simply too poor to afford insurance, we just can't have that kind of "socialism" involved in our health care, despite the fact that we can handle "socialism" in the form of the aforementioned benefits.
I just don't get it.
This all reminds me of the push to get the US to adopt the metric system back in the 1970s. That went nowhere fast. I recall some of the same freak-outs from the right-wing back then, that the metric system was some Communist plot so that when the Russians marched in, we'd all be set to their liking and they wouldn't need conversion charts.
Delusional then, delusional now.
RIP John Hughes
This shocked the hell out of me. I still watch his movies occasionally when I stumble across them while channel surfing. However, The Breakfast Club still stands as not only his best work, in my opinion, but it has survived the test of time and remains as one of my top-rated films. If that movie was a Beatles record, it would be the White album.
Hughes was only 59.
Hughes was only 59.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Happy Birthday, Barack & Helen, and a QoTD
This photo makes me smile!
Via.
Now, I have a rather unrelated question of the day to throw in. I have many readers in other countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Costa Rica to name but a few.
Please leave a comment and tell me what you like and/or dislike about your health care options in your country. And please remember to name the country. My mother is on board with that Obama wants to kill the old people bullshit. Of course, because he is a Socialist and Fox News never lies.
And have any of you seen the advertisement on television for Ambien CR? Jesus H. Christ, do we have problems in this country! Can't sleep? Well, pop this pill. You may well sleep...forever. Listen to the long laundry list of side-effects. It makes being awake all night sound like a walk in the park.
You know, somewhere in a nation of 300 million people, someone is under the influence of this drug and is driving a vehicle and... texting! Yikes!
Monday, August 03, 2009
Party Lessons
So... party #2 at kona ranch was a much larger affair than party #1 a few weeks ago when there were only six of us. And I really got on a roll yesterday morning making all kinds of dips from scratch. One thing I have learned (and I guess you learn something from every party) is to make a check list of everything you prepare so you won't forget to serve something.
I found the ginger tofu dip in the fridge after almost everyone had left.
At least I didn't forget to make margaritas!
I found the ginger tofu dip in the fridge after almost everyone had left.
At least I didn't forget to make margaritas!
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Buyers Beware
A few days ago I received a flyer in the mail from Kohl's promoting their 2-day "mega sale" with "power hours." This started at 3pm on Friday and continues today. The flyer contained a card offering an extra 15% off anything in the store.
YEA!
I had already purchased a couple of things last weekend so there was nothing I really needed but popped in there late yesterday afternoon just to see if perhaps there might be another pair of shorts I'd want, or anything else.
In the kitchen section, txrad was checking out food graters. Ours is a flat one that has a crack in the top and eventually it's probably going to snap in half while I'm trying to grate cheese. There could even be blood shed. So we got the fancy stand-up grater with a nice grip in the top. I believe it was 30% off and we got an additional 15% off that price.
We were feeling mighty fine with ourselves for getting this gadget for under just $12.
After we left Kohl's we drove over to the hooch emporium to procure adult beverages for the party we're having Sunday afternoon. They happen to have a kitchen section with nice high-end gadgets and I spotted the grater we'd just purchased at Kohl's. I just had to wander over there and check out the price so I could feel even better about that hot deal we got on "mega sale."
Hooch emporium price: $9.99
Enough said.
YEA!
I had already purchased a couple of things last weekend so there was nothing I really needed but popped in there late yesterday afternoon just to see if perhaps there might be another pair of shorts I'd want, or anything else.
In the kitchen section, txrad was checking out food graters. Ours is a flat one that has a crack in the top and eventually it's probably going to snap in half while I'm trying to grate cheese. There could even be blood shed. So we got the fancy stand-up grater with a nice grip in the top. I believe it was 30% off and we got an additional 15% off that price.
We were feeling mighty fine with ourselves for getting this gadget for under just $12.
After we left Kohl's we drove over to the hooch emporium to procure adult beverages for the party we're having Sunday afternoon. They happen to have a kitchen section with nice high-end gadgets and I spotted the grater we'd just purchased at Kohl's. I just had to wander over there and check out the price so I could feel even better about that hot deal we got on "mega sale."
Hooch emporium price: $9.99
Enough said.
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