Archive for September, 2010
“Citizens United Productions” — Watch For This Symbol in Political Ads
I’m watching Olbermann and I just saw an ad that was designed to scare the bejesus out of me. (Can’t find it on the Internets at the moment but I’ll keep looking.)
The ad opened with this symbol on the screen for about a second:
Heads up folks. Citizens United is the group that wants to buy our government out from under us.
Oh, and this is one to watch for too:
Two Years Ago, Fox News Wanted Us to Think of TARP as a “Rescue”
Two years ago today, one of Fox’s premier White House stenographers, Neil Cavuto, also known as the “managing editor of business news for the Fox News Channel,” took his queues from the then Bush administration and fellow stenographer Fred Barnes, and tried to reframe the Wall Street bailout as a Wall Street “rescue” (note the chyron):
Three days later, on October 3, 2008, George W. Bush would sign the Troubled Asset Relief Program bill or, TARP, after his Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, waved a single piece of paper in front of freaked-out Senators while telling them that the world as we knew it would end if they didn’t vote in favor of the few paragraphs written on it.
Fast forward to today, and the conservative media has succeeded in convincing almost half of all Americans that TARP was passed during the Obama administration (which took office on January 20, 2009).
Bottom line? While Bush was in office TARP was a “rescue.” When the Obama administration took office, it was a BAILOUT, BAILOUT, BAILOUT.
Happenings in Ecuador
Insofar as our media doesn’t cover anything that happens outside the boundaries of the United States, I thought I alert to the fact that something is happening in Ecuador. Sounds like a disorganized, spur-of-the-moment coup attempt because people, as in the police, are pissed off at the “austerity measures” the government wants to implement. People are suffering everywhere. Thanks Wall Street!
Ecuador’s army chief has demanded that a group of renegade police officers end an uprising against the government, which has already shut down the country’s main airport and sent the president to the hospital.
A state of emergency was declared on Thursday after officers stormed the runway at Quito’s international airport, while others burned tyres outside of bases across the capital.
The military is now in charge of public order, with civil liberties suspended and soldiers authorised to carry out searches without a warrant.
Rafael Correa, the president, was attacked with tear gas when he tried to speak to officers at a police barracks in Quito. The officers are angry about a law that has cut their benefits.
Local media reported that Correa challenged the officers to kill him.
“I’m not taking one step back,” he reportedly said. “Gentlemen, if you want to kill the president, here he is, kill him if you have the guts.”
General Ernesto Gonzalez, the army chief, has said that the officers involved “would have their rights respected” if they turn themselves in.
He said that the military remained loyal to Correa. “We are in a state of law. We are loyal to the maximum authority, which is the president,” he told reporters.
Millionaire Republican Senate Candidate Wants to “Review” the Minimum Wage — But Doesn’t Know How Much it Is
My God. Can you imagine, in the middle of a recession, with millions and millions of people out of work or losing their jobs, being a candidate for the United States Senate and — four weeks before the actual vote — not knowing how much the minimum wage is?!
Well, that would be the case with Linda McMahon, the Republican candidate for the Senate in Connecticut:
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Linda McMahon visited a commercial cleaning service contractor here on Thursday where she accepted the endorsement of a small business organization whose policy positions include opposition to increases in the federal minimum wage.
“What I think what we have to look at whenever we’re talking about minimum wage increases is where is our economy is at this particular point, and how’s that going to impact the businesses that are going to have to pay those wages?” McMahon said.
Asked for clarification on just how she perceives the minimum wage after the news conference, McMahon said she does not endorse getting rid of the minimum wage, but she believes any proposed or scheduled increases should be reviewed.
[...]
Pressed further, McMahon admitted she did not know the current minimum wage or if anyone at World Wrestling Entertainment is earning that amount.
More rich arrogance.
Unbelievable.
Break Time — Mexican Food!
I can’t decide whether Mexican or Italian/Mediterranean food is my favorite but the photos and descriptions of Mexican dishes in this article — Genuine Mexican Foods That You Must Not Miss When You’re in Mexico — make me think I’m leaning Mexican today.
These tacos look so scrumptious I went out this morning and bought some pork, some cilantro and an avocado and I’m gonna make them for dinner tonight:
Before anything else: stop. right. there.
You might think you’re all too familiar with the famous taco. After all, you’ve had dozens of it before in food fairs and at the cafeteria; but there is nothing the like having a taco in its hometown. Ordering a taco from a fast food chain back home is different from stepping outdoors at seven in the morning, the sunlight hitting your half closed eyes still yearning for sleeps, and wobbly making your way to the corner to join the other people in the neighborhood who are lining up for some fresh, steaming tacos on their way to work.
Make sure you pace yourself when the taquero expertly carves the meat and spoons it onto the warm tortillas; then watch closely as he folds the tortillas into manageable, moon-sized pieces. Bet your local food chain doesn’t do that.
The real Mexican taco comes not just with ground meat and cheese but also a number of other toppings starting with the guacamole, some cilantro and a dabble of chili sauce to spike. These flavors go terrific with the taste of the corn and meat that there’s simply no point in comparing it to the ones back home. It is also customary to finish off the taco with your fingers, licking each one to rightfully end your meal.
More yummy stuff at the link above.
The Incredible Arrogance of the Rich
John Stossel, in an article against, natch, “Taxing the Rich,” quotes Donald Trump in a jaw-droppingly arrogant statement:
Donald Trump, who knows something about making money, says of course the rich will leave when hit with higher taxes. “I know these people,” he told me. “They’re international people. Whether they live here or live in a place like Switzerland doesn’t really matter to them.”
You haven’t left, I told him.
“I haven’t left yet. … Look, the rich people are going to leave. And other people are going to leave. You’re going to end up with lots of people that don’t produce. And then that’s the spiral. That’s the end.”
So, in other words, the rich produce everything and we, the Little People lemmings, would be lost without them. The country would collapse.
Wow.
Kim Jong-Il Selects the Fattest Kid in North Korea to Succeed Him
North Korean president Kim Jong-il has selected his son, Kim Jong-un to be his successor and today, for the first time ever, we get to see what he looks like:
What is Karl Rove Afraid Of?
Karl Rove is set to deliver a speech at the University of California/Merced on October 8. The Merced Sun-Star wrote an editorial today protesting the restrictions Rove and his handlers have placed on the event and they ask the obvious question: What is Karl Rove afraid of?
Our View: ‘Censorship’ Fog Hangs over Rove Speech
Karl Rove, “Bush’s Brain,” according to a best-selling biography by Jim Moore and Wayne Slater, will speak at UC Merced on Oct. 8.
First lady Michelle Obama and former President Jimmy Carter also have come to speak here. And it keeps UC Merced up to speed with CSU Stanislaus, which hosted former vice-presidental candidate and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in June.
But UC Merced should be ashamed of itself for kowtowing to the ground rules Rove and his handlers have imposed: the event is not open to the public — you have to buy a ticket to attend; all recording devices must be turned off after the first five minutes of Rove’s speech; reporters are not permitted to record Rove’s speech; there will be no media availability before or after Rove’s lecture; the question-and-answer session is for audience participation only.
Carter’s appearance was a ticketed affair, but there were no coverage restrictions, and he gave a one-on-one interview to the Sun-Star.
These are unreasonable restraints on a free press and the public’s right to know.
Who is Rove afraid of? What is UC Merced afraid of? How could an accurate and full account of Rove’s remarks damage either the speaker or the institution? Is it Rove or is it UC Merced who’s scared to let real live reporters ask questions? Or are both too timid to field questions from professional journalists?
And Rove acts like such a tough guy.
Best Environmental Photos of 2010
The National Geographic is out with its “Best Environmental Photos of 2010.” They are fantastic, amazing and wonderful. Check them out.
Here’s a sample:
Like a soothsayer with a crystal ball, a fly rubs a bead of water in the backyard of Bulgarian photographer Radoslav Radoslavov Valkov, winner of the “Under 21″ category of the 2010 Young Environmental Photographer of the Year award.
“At first I was astonished to know that I was even shortlisted, and later absolutely delighted to realize that I have received my first serious international artistic recognition,” Valkov said in a press statement.
A green pit viper eyes a hummingbird in Hungarian photographer Bence Mate’s winning picture
Good Morning
I’m trying to think of a good reason why it’s a good morning but I can’t because I’m up and out of bed before I want to be.
It IS nice and cool though, so that’s good.
Carl Paladino’s Thugs Act Like Mafia Dons
If you’re older than ten you probably remember seeing clips of brawls in the governing chambers of broken-down, desperate, third world countries and you probably remember the newsreader looking down his or her nose in arrogance and disgust while saying something like, “This would never happen here!”
Here, as in the USofA.
Look at this video of New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino being confronted by a reporter. Watch Paladino’s henchmen:
Point being — we’re getting there — to that third world place.
Michael Moore Has Twice as Many Followers on Twitter as Glenn Beck
“Some” might say this is trivial and, in the grand scheme of things it is, but insofar as Glenn Beck gets four bazillion times more “liberal media” attention than Michael Moore does I thought I’d point out that Moore has twice as many Twitter followers than Beck.
——————————————
So, say it again? Why is Beck everywhere and Moore isn’t? Because the liberal media rules the world?
Yeah. Right.
Meg Whitman’s Story About Her Housekeeper Doesn’t Hold Up
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman says she was “stunned” when she learned that her former housekeeper, Nicandra Diaz — who she had employed for nine years — was an undocumented worker?
According to a spokeswoman at the Social Security Administration, all employers are required to verify Social Security numbers before hiring someone, and that it “has been the case for ten years or longer.” Further, the Internal Revenue Service requires employers to use Social Security numbers to report wages.
So we’re supposed to believe that over the course of nine years — NINE YEARS! — Whitman had no idea what Diaz’s status was?
That’s just flat out unbelievable.
Sorry the Blog is so Boring Today
… nothin’s grabbing me.
I think I have a severe, severe, case of outrage overload and that I’m having a day of uncontrollable numbness.
Who Knew There Were So Many Favored Salts?
Geez, I just stumbled upon the website “SaltWorks.”
I had no idea there were so many flavored salts.
Wow.
I want to try,
(But no way am I going to pay $12 plus postage for a few ounces of salt. Oh well.)
James O’Keefe’s White Privilege
Try and imagine that, this weekend, I plan to stage an elaborate “prank.” Because I disagree with her politics, I’m going to coax Ann Coulter out from Connecticut under the pretense that I’d like to interview her. When she arrives, alone, she’s encountered by me and a couple friends, who tell her we’d like to do the interview on a boat. She concedes, probably hesitantly, but off we go.
Once we’re out at sea, far away from land and decent cell service, I pull out dildos, condoms, hardcore porn magazines, handcuffs and a blindfold, and I begin to aggressively hit on Coulter. I compliment her sex appeal and then tell her the thesis of my ruse: I’m going to screw her like she screws liberals.
Imagine one of my friends is videotaping this, and that, while I don’t physically harm Coulter, I relentlessly pursue this intimate humiliation until I feel like we’ve got all the tape we need for our “joke.”
Two things would happen once we’d returned to shore, with Coulter embarrassed and scared: 1. My friends and I would be rightfully arrested for kidnapping and assault and 2. I’d never find employment ever again.
If this scenario sounds farcical, it’s not. It’s exactly what conservative prankster James O’Keefe—he of the ACORN pimp fiasco—had planned to do to CNN correspondent Abbie Boudreau, right down to the “condom jar” and “lube.” In a document he titled “CNN Caper, O’Keefe says his ultimate goal was to turn the tables on CNN: “Using hot blondes to seduce interviewees to get screwed on television, you are faux seducing her in order to screw her on television.”
Get it? He fakes trying to date rape you because you’re more liberal than him.
Thankfully, O’Keefe’s “Caper” failed, due mostly to the fact that one of his female colleagues, Izzy Santa, was disgusted with him and told Boudreau that she shouldn’t get on the boat. Had Santa not been there, who knows what might have happened.
Today, O’Keefe isn’t in jail or facing charges for attempted kidnapping or sexual intimidation. Instead, he remains at the head of Project Veritas, a group he founded in order to, apparently, sexually harass people with whom he disagrees. In fact, right now, he’s still accepting donations to continue his noble work—you can even book him to speak at events.
More…
The title of this post is, “James O’Keefe’s Latest Prank is a Tale of White Privilege,” which wouldn’t be more true. This wasn’t a “caper” as some in the media are calling it. It was an attempted assault or an attempted kidnapping and James O’Keefe should be facing charges. If he were a black man, he mostly likely would be.
296 Advertisers Are Boycotting Glenn Beck
Per a long article in the New York Times about Glenn Beck (hey, the guy needs a little publicity, don’t ya think?):
While Beck’s personal ventures and exposure have soared this year, his television ratings have declined sharply — perhaps another factor in the network’s impatience. His show now averages two million viewers, down from a high of 2.8 million in 2009, according to the Nielsen Ratings. And as of Sept. 21, 296 advertisers have asked that their commercials not be shown on Beck’s show (up from 26 in August 2009).
Fat Clothes for Fall
Micro rant: Long, drapey and cheap (no buttons or zippers or hems) — that would be the ugly sweater fashion trend this fall.
Are Howard Kurtz and Fox News in Cahoots — Dredging Up Old News to Bash Democrats?
This would be the Washington Post’s “media critic”and the host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Howard Kurtz today:
Again, Kurtz is allegedly a “media critic.” He sells himself as an objective guy who observes the media from afar.
That said, click on Kurtz’s link and you go to a website nobody has ever heard of called, “EyeblastTV.” Once there, you go to a post showing a 43 second video of Cindy Sheehan speaking on September 10, 2010 — 20 days ago:
On the day before the 9th anniversary of the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks, Cindy Sheehan, the darling protester the media gave plenty of coverage to due to her opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, spoke to a crowd at All Souls Church in Manhattan, stating that she is a 9/11 truther and believes it was an inside job. “I am a 9/11 truther”, Sheehan said. “I do believe it was an inside job.”
She continued, “We just don’t know – I don’t know – how far inside it went. But, you know, I’m sure Dick Cheney had something to do with it.” Her statements were met with a standing ovation from the crowd.
She also claimed that Barack Obama is doing everything he can to “protect the criminals of the Bush regime.”
Yo, Howard. Who sent you a memo asking you to bring this up today?
Corporations are Individuals — Citizens United 2.0
The Supreme Court is getting involved in an unusual freedom of information dispute over whether corporations may assert personal privacy interests to prevent the government from releasing documents about them.
The court on Tuesday agreed to a request from the Obama administration to take up a case involving claims made by telecommunications giant AT&T to keep secret the information gathered by the Federal Communications Commission during an investigation.
The administration wants the high court to rule that corporations may not claim a personal privacy exception contained in the federal Freedom of Information Act.
The exception may be used only by individuals, the administration said in a brief signed by Elena Kagan, the newest justice who served in the Justice Department until last month.
Per the Citizens United ruling, corporations are people. People are obviously individuals so we can see where this is headed.
Lordy, lordy. I don’t know if there’s any stopping this train.
