1/ The always intelligent Frank Rich on the Arizona shootings......he truly has a sense of analysis of the big issues facing this country, and he often does his best work after the instant punditry has faded.....an excellent column, well worth reading.....
As the president said in Tucson, we lack not just civil discourse, but honest discourse. Much of last week’s televised bloviation was dishonest, dedicated to the pious, feel-good sentiment that both sides are equally culpable for the rage of the past two years. To construct this false equivalency, every left-leaning Web site and Democratic politician’s record was dutifully culled for incendiary invective. If that’s the standard, then both sides are equally at fault — rhetoric can indeed be as violent on the left as on the right.
But that sidesteps the issue. This isn’t about angry blog posts or verbal fisticuffs. Since Obama’s ascension, we’ve seen repeated incidents of political violence. Just a short list would include the 2009 killing of three Pittsburgh police officers by a neo-Nazi Obama-hater; last year’s murder-suicide kamikaze attack on an I.R.S. office in Austin, Tex.; and the California police shootoutwith an assailant plotting to attack an obscure liberal foundation obsessively vilified by Beck.
Obama said, correctly, on Wednesday that “a simple lack of civility” didn’t cause the Tucson tragedy. It didn’t cause these other incidents either. What did inform the earlier violence — including the vandalism at Giffords’s office — wasan antigovernment radicalism as rabid on the right now as it was on the left in the late 1960s. That Loughner was likely insane, with no coherent ideological agenda, does not mean that a climate of antigovernment hysteria has no effect on him or other crazed loners out there. Nor does Loughner’s insanity mitigate the surge in unhinged political zealots acting out over the last two years. That’s why so many — on both the finger-pointing left and the hyper-defensive right — automatically assumed he must be another of them.
2/ And [sort of] on the same subject, Saturday Night Live takes on Fox News and their attempt at civility in political discourse.....check out Hannity's response.....a very funny 4 minutes......
3/ The Middle Class
It's all about jobs....but even when people who have been unemployed or laid off find work the pay is often less that they were earning before.....companies can get away with paying less for the same work because of the desperation out there.....and so we watch the middle class get nickel and dimed again and again.....sobering story from the Wall Street Journal.....
The severity of the latest downturn makes it likely that many of the unemployed who get rehired will take wage cuts, and that it will be years, if ever, before many of their wages return to pre-recession levels, says Columbia University labor economist Till von Wachter. "The deeper the recession, the lower the wage you're going to get in the next job and the lower the quality of your next job," he says.
While difficult for individual workers, lower wages can make U.S. industries and companies overall more competitive and allow employers to hire more workers than they would otherwise. In the long run, that may make the nation more prosperous.
4/ Interesting column from Nicolas Kristof on how the Chinese revere education....and we don't. Even though China is up there at the top of the international rankings for education, they don't take this excellence for granted.
Contrast this to the US - every state's instincts in this budget crisis is to slash away at the school funding....exactly the wrong reaction......we are truly in deep trouble as a nation.....
An international study published last month looked at how students in 65 countries performed in math, science and reading. The winner was: Confucianism!
At the very top of the charts, in all three fields and by a wide margin, was Shanghai. Three of the next top four performers were also societies with a Confucian legacy of reverence for education: Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. The only non-Confucian country in the mix was Finland.
The United States? We came in 15th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math.
5/ Movie trailer - "Sanctum", directed by James Cameron [Titanic, Avatar].......looks scary, moody and darkly adventurous....in 3D....coming in February.....2 minutes.....
6/ You know the mantra of American industry over the last decade has been "cut costs, cut costs"......this has led a major drug corporation into the morass of recalls, loss of confidence and brand erosion. Johnson and Johnson, owners of Tylenol, Rolaids, Benadryl and others has had to recall millions of it's products because of quality control problems, factory issues and lack of oversight......
The only reason this intense focus on profit margins and lowering costs has been noticed in J&J's case is because of a federal agency [the FDA] doing their job properly....otherwise J&J could continue to sell their sometimes dangerous products to us, the unsuspecting consumers.
Of course the FDA is under intense pressure from Republicans to "be nice" to the drug companies.....but the phrase "it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy [company] applies here.....bastards.....
“Looking for Tylenol pain relief products?” asks one of the signs. The notices at CVS serve as a stark reproof to Johnson & Johnson, whose brands have for more than a century been synonymous with quality. Some of its products are in short supply at drugstores and supermarkets because the McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit of J.& J. last year recalled about 288 million items, including about 136 million bottles of liquid Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl for infants and children.
Johnson & Johnson has had to recall such a variety of products because of quality-control problems across product lines, in multiple factories and in several units last year. Some of its consumer products, for instance, may have contained bits of metal. Others came in bottles with a moldy smell. And some products have gone missing from stores with hardly an explanation. All of this has put the company and its manufacturing under the intense scrutiny of lawmakers and officials at the Food and Drug Administration.
7/ Oh boy, we're slipping fast, aren't we.......
One of the few solar panel manufacturers in the US is closing it's factory in Massachusetts and shifting production to China.....this story is illuminating.....the state [Mass.] has heavily subsidised the factory but to no avail - even with the tax breaks it's cheaper in China because the Chinese government is betting heavily on green technology.....this kind of program has no chance in the US because the huge energy oligarchs own, lock, stock and barrel, the US Congress and don't want any green initiatives threatening their lock on our energy supply.
BEIJING — Aided by at least $43 million in assistance from the government of Massachusetts and an innovative solar energy technology, Evergreen Solar emerged in the last three years as the third-largest maker of solar panels in the United States.
But now the company is closing its main American factory, laying off the 800 workers by the end of March and shifting production to a joint venture with a Chinese company in central China. Evergreen cited the much higher government support available in China.
8/ Music video - Arcade Fire "Ready to Start", a DDD favourite. One of the best concert videos I've seen......this band rocks......
9/ States around the country are in deep trouble - all the easy stuff has been cut, and almost all states are facing billion dollar shortages. But raising taxes is off the table, so painful cuts are coming.....get ready people, you won't like it. Here in Florida our Governor, Rickey boy, is poised to announce slashing cuts to [of course] anyone who doesn't have a lobbyist.....
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — If 2011 is hinting at a national recovery, there is little sign of it in statehouses across the country.
States that already have raided their reserve funds, relied on borrowing or accounting gimmicks, and imposed deep cuts on schools, parks and public transit systems no longer can protect key services in the face of another round of multibillion dollar deficits.
As governors roll out their budget proposals and legislatures convene this month, they do so amid a sputtering economic recovery and predictions of slow growth for years to come. State and local governments face lackluster revenue projections, worries from Wall Street over looming debt and the end of federal stimulus spending.
In the first weeks of 2011, Republican and Democratic governors alike have begun detailing across-the-board pain for education, health care, transportation, public safety and other programs. Some say the year of reckoning for state and local governments is at hand, with calls for structural changes that could radically shift expectations of what services government provides.
Many believe the months ahead will be the most challenging in memory, with consequences for millions who depend on government funding.
10/ How to seal up your house against heat loss, or in Florida's case, loss of cold......good article from the home section that might save you money.....
A typical home is supposed to exhale about 33 percent of its air every hour, sparing your lungs from mold, dust and other tiny invaders.
My house doesn’t breathe. It hyperventilates. Every hour it purges about 75 percent of its air — which is fine for my family’s health, but it kills me to think that we pay to heat that air and then quickly set it free.
I’ll explain the source of that 75 percent figure a little later. Right now let’s focus on the basic mission: finding where the air is escaping, plugging those holes and watching the heating bill shrink.
11/ Great story on the Detroit Auto Show, with news from every manufacturer about the new models coming...and there sound some interesting ones....the Mini Paceman, VW Passat with a 43mpg diesel, Audi A6 etc....signs of life in the car industry.....
WINDING through the virtual showroom that is Detroit’s annual auto show, passing plug-in Fords, a made-in-America Volkswagen and a more spacious Toyota Prius, a visitor may catch a glimpse of it: a light at the end of the tunnel.
Just after closing 2010 on a positive sales note, the auto industry began humming its old upbeat tune, accompanied by new cars and trucks it hoped can sustain the momentum and smooth any economic dips ahead. The North American International Auto Show opened last week with two press days; it is open to the public through Jan. 23.
After two years of recessionary gloom inside Cobo Center — and a near-depression in the Detroit neighborhoods beyond its doors — every hometown automaker is still standing. Brands that could no longer carry their own weight in stripped-down corporations, including Hummer, Pontiac, Saturnand Mercury, were gone, and the survivors seemed ready to move beyond bankruptcies and bailouts to the more entertaining fare typically associated with auto show
12/ Book Review - a wonderful review of not just a book about the environment, but a celebration of life, nature and the beauties of our world...."The View From Lazy Point" by Carl Safina sounds like a must read.....Mary, it's my birthday soon....
This has been a dismal year for the health of our planet. Evidence of human-caused catastrophe mounts daily with grim reports from sea, sky and land: disappearing species, the collapse of fisheries, deforestation, the shrinking ozone layer, higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, oceanic dead zones, warming temperatures, extreme weather, rising sea levels, depleted aquifers, melting glaciers, thawing perma frost. We have already crossed into an unimaginable new epoch, but we seem unable to unite behind efforts to change, or even slow, our disastrous course.
Why are we in such denial? Carl Safina’s ambitious new book, “The View From Lazy Point,” is a series of field reports entwined with a loving meditation on the interconnectedness of nature and humanity. The story he tells is “partly about a kind of heartbreak for a world that remains so vitally unaware of how imperiled it is.” But it’s also about how, despite the gloomy reports, “the world still sings.” Safina’s account of “a natural year in an unnatural world” can be harrowing, but its impassioned, informed urgency is also filled with hope, joy and love.
It’s possible only to hint here at the ground Safina explores in his travels, and his spiritual journeys are even more wide-ranging.
Todays video - Molson Beer commercial
Todays truthiness joke
Adult Truths
1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately
clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument
........when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm still
pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at
work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything
productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I
don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks
me if I want to save any changes to my 10-page technical report that I
swear I did not make any changes to.
14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not
to answer when they call.
15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
17. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
18. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just
nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they
said?
19. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team
up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong,
brothers and sisters!
20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get
dirty, and you can wear them forever.
21. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.
22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on
the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button
from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every
time!
And finally...
The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and
the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years
for men to realize that their brain is also important.
[Ladies.....Quit Laughing.]
Todays lawyer joke
Defense Attorney:Will you please state your age?
Little Old Lady:I am 94 years old.
Defense Attorney:Will you tell us, in your own words, what happened the night of April 1st?
Little Old Lady:There I was, sitting there in my swing on my front porch on a warm spring evening, when a young man comes creeping up on the porch and sat down beside me.
Defense Attorney:Did you know him?
Little Old Lady:No, but he sure was friendly.
Defense Attorney:What happened after he sat down?
Little Old Lady:He started to rub my thigh.
Defense Attorney:Did you stop him?
Little Old Lady:No, I didn't stop him.
Defense Attorney:Why not?
Little Old Lady:It felt good. Nobody had done that since my Albert died some 30 years ago.
Defense Attorney:What happened next?
Little Old Lady:He began to rub my breasts.
Defense Attorney:Did you stop him then?
Little Old Lady:No, I did not stop him.
Defense Attorney:Why not?
Little Old Lady:His rubbing made me feel all alive and excited. I haven't felt that good in years!
Defense Attorney:What happened next?
Little Old Lady:Well, by then, I was feeling so 'spicy' that I just laid down and told him
'Take me, young man. Take me now!'
Defense Attorney:Did he take you?
Little Old Lady:Hell, no! He just yelled, 'April Fool!' And that's when I shot him, the little bastard.
Little Old Lady:I am 94 years old.
Defense Attorney:Will you tell us, in your own words, what happened the night of April 1st?
Little Old Lady:There I was, sitting there in my swing on my front porch on a warm spring evening, when a young man comes creeping up on the porch and sat down beside me.
Defense Attorney:Did you know him?
Little Old Lady:No, but he sure was friendly.
Defense Attorney:What happened after he sat down?
Little Old Lady:He started to rub my thigh.
Defense Attorney:Did you stop him?
Little Old Lady:No, I didn't stop him.
Defense Attorney:Why not?
Little Old Lady:It felt good. Nobody had done that since my Albert died some 30 years ago.
Defense Attorney:What happened next?
Little Old Lady:He began to rub my breasts.
Defense Attorney:Did you stop him then?
Little Old Lady:No, I did not stop him.
Defense Attorney:Why not?
Little Old Lady:His rubbing made me feel all alive and excited. I haven't felt that good in years!
Defense Attorney:What happened next?
Little Old Lady:Well, by then, I was feeling so 'spicy' that I just laid down and told him
'Take me, young man. Take me now!'
Defense Attorney:Did he take you?
Little Old Lady:Hell, no! He just yelled, 'April Fool!' And that's when I shot him, the little bastard.
Todays British joke
Try this simple test
In front of you is a galloping horse, which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it.
Behind you is a galloping zebra. Both the horse and zebra are also travelling at the same speed as you.
What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?
For the answer, click and drag your mouse from star to star.
* Get off the merry-go-round, you're pissed. *
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