1/ Two excellent articles about class in America - if you are politically aware read both of these.....
An eye-opener of a column from Bob Herbert, and he confirms we have class warfare in this country, and the wealthy are winning.....the aim is to destroy the middle class and over a few years bring wage costs down to Chinese levels.....and if you don't think this is happening you must be in dreamland.....
On the same day that The Times ran its article about the third-quarter surge in profits, it ran a piece on the front page that carried the headline: “With a Swagger, Wallets Out, Wall Street Dares to Celebrate.”
Anyone who thinks there is something beneficial in this vast disconnect between the fortunes of the American elite and those of the struggling masses is just silly. It’s not even good for the elite.
There is no way to bring America’s consumer economy back to robust health if unemployment is chronically high, wages remain stagnant and the jobs that are created are poor ones. Without ordinary Americans spending their earnings from good jobs, any hope of a meaningful, long-term recovery is doomed.
Beyond that, extreme economic inequality is a recipe for social instability. Families on the wrong side of the divide find themselves under increasing pressure to just hold things together: to find the money to pay rent or the mortgage, to fend off bill collectors, to cope with illness and emergencies, and deal with the daily doses of extreme anxiety.
Frank Rich's column is titled "Still the Best Congress Money Can Buy", about our dysfunctional political system that has been purchased by the corporate oligarchs....it's all for sale in Washington, and we [the middle class] don't have any money.....don't forget the oligarchs aren't too concerned about you and I - in the future they will be concentrating on the emerging Chinese and Indian middle classes for their profits....
We are so screwed.....
That would be big money — the big money that dominates our political system, regardless of who’s in power. Two years after the economic meltdown, most Americans now recognize that that money has inexorably institutionalized a caste system where everyone remains (at best) mired in economic stasis except the very wealthiest sliver.
It’s an industry that can buy politicians as easily as it does dwarfs, which is why government has tilted the playing field ever more in its direction for three decades. Now corporations of all kinds can buy more of Washington than before, thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and to the rise of outside “nonprofit groups” that can legally front for those who prefer to donate anonymously. The money laundering at the base of Tom DeLay’s conviction by a Texas jury last week — his circumventing of the state’s post-Gilded Age law forbidding corporate campaign contributions directly to candidates — is now easily and legally doable at the national level.
2/ President Obama, under attack from the right wing for pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey, defends his decision.....satire of course, from Onion News...or is it? Two minutes.....
3/ Here's an Afghanistan story you may not have heard too much about - for months General Petraeus has been negotiating with an alleged senior Commander of the Taliban, paying him a lot of money and giving him access.....turns out he's an imposter. A fake.
Another farcical episode in this medieval cesspit that is swallowing hundreds of billions of our money every year......
We’ve heard a lot about the shadow world of Afghanistan, but this is ridiculous. We’re bargaining with the shadow of a shadow. Even President Karzai may have been fooled. The man taking us for a ride may have been taken for a ride.
Indeed, sometimes it feels as if the entire region is taking us for a ride. Everybody is lining up for Western cash, treating America, the British and NATO like suckers. President Karzai and his brother toy with us for their immense personal profit, even as they corrupt their own elections. Karzai undermines the American military plan by going up against General Petraeus on night raids. And the Taliban and the Pakistan intelligence service are playing us as well.
America is stomping around the moonscape of Afghanistan trying to do the right thing, but we can’t because we’re clueless about the culture to the point where we can be faked out by an imposter masquerading as Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, a high-level Taliban commander.
4/ CNN poll - only 46% of Americans know the GOP took control of the House in the Nov. 2 elections......not really much to say, is there?
(CNN) – The Republican Party won decisive control of the House in this year's midterm elections, but it appears less than half the country is aware of it.
According to a new Pew poll, only 46 percent of those surveyed correctly identified that the Republican Party won the House as a result of the November 2 elections. But it's not all bad – 75 percent did know the Republicans performed better than the Democrats, it's just that many aren't aware exactly what the party won.
5/ "Human" from the Killers - excellent video shot in beautiful desert [Utah?] with mountain lions, eagles. This song has one of the best chorus lines ever - "are we human, or are we dancers"...not sure what it means but they sure sing it nicely......4 minutes.....
6/ A DDD favourite.....
Fascinating, absolutely hypnotic overhead pictures of developments and sub-divisions in Southwest Florida......who lives in these places? Who could possibly want to?
It's almost surreal how crowded some of these developments are....but there are also pictures of failed communities, 200 empty lots with one house.....
Excellent visual presentation of why Florida's housing market collapsed.....
7/ Some of you are runners....
Some of you are British.....
Some of you are in your 30's.....
Some of you like an interesting story........so this is a link to my son John's blog, which chronicles his efforts to get ready for the New York Marathon, which he ran in and finished in a quite respectable time. The blog starts in early September till race day on November 7th. I'm of course not biased or anything but he has a wonderfully descriptive style of writing, like a documentary in words....
John lives in London, is a professional musician and is studying to become a lawyer in the UK.....
Start the blog at the bottom....Sept. 5th is the first entry......
8/ A Palin Re-Education camp for liberals.....coming in 2012......
9/ A farmer, an actual farmer in the Midwest describes how he has been coping with extreme weather events over the last few years....you know we can go on and on about climate change, but a story like this, real events that happened to a real person puts it in human terms.
An excellent story......
THE news from this Midwestern farm is not good. The past four years of heavy rains and flash flooding here in southern Minnesota have left me worried about the future of agriculture in America’s grain belt. For some time computer models of climate change have been predicting just these kinds of weather patterns, but seeing them unfold on our farm has been harrowing nonetheless.
My family and I produce vegetables, hay and grain on 250 acres in one of the richest agricultural areas in the world. While our farm is not large by modern standards, its roots are deep in this region; my great-grandfather homesteaded about 80 miles from here in the late 1800s
There were a couple of additional articles in the Times today - one was detailing how we need to act to clean up the air, and reduce emissions of ozone, methane and HFC's. The other was how we can build on some of the the states efforts to get cleaner energy.....but I'm not going to put them in because nothing is going to get done with a Republican House that doesn't believe in climate change......
10/ I know a lot of people try to be green....not using plastic bags in the supermarket is one prime example. But the reusable bags [green, black] you get at Publix may be contaminated with lead....they are, of course, made in China.
Ironic isn't it - you try to do the right thing for the environment and otherwise responsible corporations give you bags bad enough to be considered hazardous waste....
TAMPA, Fla. — The Publix supermaket chain is asking suppliers to find ways to make reusable grocery bags with less lead after a newspaper investigation found elevated levels in some Florida bags.
The Tampa Tribune tested more than a dozen bags from major grocers and found certain bags sold in Winn-Dixie and Publix stores had lead levels that concerned health officials. In a preview of a Sunday article, the newspaper's website reported that some bags had enough lead they could be considered hazardous waste if residents disposed of them in household trash
11/ "36 hours in Ft. Lauderdale", from the Travel section of the Times.
It's really interesting to read these snapshots of a city you know about.....a lot of places we know quite well, and more than a few we have missed!!....Fun.....
12/ Oh boy - just what the Florida Keys need - an invasive species of fish. The lionfish is driving out native snapper and grouper, so it's now open season on these predators. The good news - they're good eatin'........the bad news - they lay millions of eggs every four days......
If the lionfish’s impact on other parts of the Caribbean is any guide, Mr. Walton and others in the region are right to be concerned. It is a formidable predator that can devastate fish populations wherever it feeds. Researchers here examined more than 1,000 lionfish stomachs and found more than 50 species of prey fish inside, including juveniles of commercially important grouper and snapper. The fish also eat juvenile parrotfish, which graze on algae and keep it from overgrowing and killing corals.
“What we do know is what we can see in areas like the Bahamas where you go to a particular reef and all you can see is lionfish,” says Sean Morton,
Todays video - a DDD favourite....I love this one.....The best seatbelt commercial ever made....British.....
Todays joke of the month
Three men - a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and an
Aussie are all walking together one day..
They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it.
'I will give each of you one wish, which is three wishes in total',
says the Genie.
The Canadian says, 'I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada '
POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.
Osama was amazed, so he said, 'I want a wall around Afghanistan , Palestine , Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadians can come into our precious land.'
POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.
The Aussie says, 'I am very curious.
Please tell me more about this wall.'
The Genie explains, 'Well, it's about 5,000 feet high, 5oo feet thick and completely surrounds the countries. Nothing can get in or out;
it's virtually impenetrable.'
The Aussie sits down , cracks a beer, lights a cigarette,
smiles and says,
'Fill the bloody thing with water.'
I pretty much vote this my favourite joke of the year....
Todays oldies jokes
GAMES FOR WHEN WE ARE OLDER
1.. Sag, you're It.
2. Hide and go pee.
3. 20 questions shouted into your good ear.
4. Kick the bucket
5. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over.
6. Musical recliners.
7. Simon says - something incoherent.
8. Pin the Toupee on the bald guy
SIGNS OF MENOPAUSE :
1.. You sell your home heating system at a yard sale.
2. You have to write post-it notes with your kids' names on them.
3. You change your underwear after a sneeze.
OLD IS WHEN:
1. Going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face.
2. You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go a long.
3. Getting a little action means you don't need fiber today
4. Getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot.
5. An all-nighter means not getting up to pee!
Thoughts for the weekend:
Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctr- Alt- Delete' and start all over?
If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called 'labor!'
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
Ponderisms
I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.
Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it was a valuable plant.
The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?'
Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt.'
Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if he's going to look up there anyway?
But Most Of All, Remember!
A Good Friend Is Like A Good Bra: Hard to Find, Supportive, Comfortable, And Always Close To Your Heart!
Do you ever wonder why you gave me your email address?
Subject: What a birthday!!!
I said, 'Thanks, Jane, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go !'
We went to lunch. But we didn't go where we normally would go.
She chose instead at a quiet bistro with a private table.
We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.
On the way back to the office, Jane said, 'You know,
It's such a beautiful day...
We don't need to go straight back to the office, Do We ?'
I responded, 'I guess not. What do you have in mind ?'
She said, 'Let's drop by my apartment, it's just around the corner..'
After arriving at her apartment,
Jane turned to me and said, ' Boss, if you don't mind,
I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment.
I'll be right back.'
'Ok.' I nervously replied.
She went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes,
she came out carrying a huge birthday cake ..
Followed by my wife, my kids, and dozens of my friends
and co-workers, all singing 'Happy Birthday'.
And I just sat there....
On the couch....
Naked.
Last week was my birthday and I didn't feel very well waking up on that morning..
I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my wife would be pleasant and say, 'Happy Birthday!', and possibly have a small present for me.
As it turned out, she barely said good morning,
let alone ' Happy Birthday.'
I thought.... Well, that's marriage for you, but the kids....
They will remember.
My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast
and didn't say a word. So when I left for the office,
I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.
As I walked into my office, my secretary Jane said,
'Good Morning Boss, and by the way Happy Birthday ! '
It felt a little better
that at least someone had remembered.
I worked until one o'clock , when Jane knocked on my door
and said, 'You know, It's such a beautiful day outside,
and it is your Birthday, what do you say we go out to lunch,
just you and me..'
I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my wife would be pleasant and say, 'Happy Birthday!', and possibly have a small present for me.
As it turned out, she barely said good morning,
let alone ' Happy Birthday.'
I thought.... Well, that's marriage for you, but the kids....
They will remember.
My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast
and didn't say a word. So when I left for the office,
I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.
As I walked into my office, my secretary Jane said,
'Good Morning Boss, and by the way Happy Birthday ! '
It felt a little better
that at least someone had remembered.
I worked until one o'clock , when Jane knocked on my door
and said, 'You know, It's such a beautiful day outside,
and it is your Birthday, what do you say we go out to lunch,
just you and me..'
I said, 'Thanks, Jane, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go !'
We went to lunch. But we didn't go where we normally would go.
She chose instead at a quiet bistro with a private table.
We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.
On the way back to the office, Jane said, 'You know,
It's such a beautiful day...
We don't need to go straight back to the office, Do We ?'
I responded, 'I guess not. What do you have in mind ?'
She said, 'Let's drop by my apartment, it's just around the corner..'
After arriving at her apartment,
Jane turned to me and said, ' Boss, if you don't mind,
I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment.
I'll be right back.'
'Ok.' I nervously replied.
She went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes,
she came out carrying a huge birthday cake ..
Followed by my wife, my kids, and dozens of my friends
and co-workers, all singing 'Happy Birthday'.
And I just sat there....
On the couch....
Naked.
