Strongly recommend you watch #1....it's one of the finest TV moments I have ever seen.....
DDD will be on hiatus till [hopefully] next Tuesday, due to a road trip....have a good weekend....
1/ You need to look at this interview with Michael Moore from Tuesday nights' Rachael Maddow show - I don't think I have seen such powerful television for years. This was the day when the Wisconsin legislature snuck through the bill to strip unions of collective bargaining.
Moore is passionate, outraged and very articulate.....he makes total sense and he's right, this is class warfare by the wealthy against you.....whether you like him, respect him or hate him - he is on your side.
This is 12 minutes of essential viewing - make the time. Watch it.
2/ John Boehner is Speaker of the House, and the head of the Republican caucus. Important man, yes? A lot is riding on his skill and competence, which is why this look at Boehner and where he came from is so devastating. Matt Taibbi is one of our best political writers, and this piece written in January will be fascinating as background as you watch the mess we are about to see when Boehner has to handle the raucus Tea Partiers.
Highly recommended.....
John Boehner is the ultimate Beltway hack, a man whose unmatched and self-serving skill at political survival has made him, after two decades in Washington, the hairy blue mold on the American congressional sandwich. The biographer who somewhere down the line tackles the question of Boehner's legacy will do well to simply throw out any references to party affiliation, because the thing that has made Boehner who he is — the thing that has finally lifted him to the apex of legislative power in America — has almost nothing to do with his being a Republican.
The Democrats have plenty of creatures like Boehner. But in the new Speaker of the House, the Republicans own the perfect archetype — the quintessential example of the kind of glad-handing, double-talking, K Street toady who has dominated the politics of both parties for decades. In sports, we talk about athletes who are the "total package," and that term comes close to describing Boehner's talent for perpetuating our corrupt and debt-addled status quo: He's a five-tool insider who can lie, cheat, steal, play golf, change his mind on command and do anything else his lobbyist buddies and campaign contributors require of him to get the job done.
Just by coincidence I saw this segment from Rachael Maddow show from mid-February, titled "John Boehner is Really Bad at his Job", so here is a video if you prefer your Boehner news on the screen.....also cleverly done....
3/ Today started the first committee hearings by Peter King, the Republican head of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to look into Muslims in America. This witchhunt will get some headlines, especially of course on Fox News, as King tries to demonise the American Muslim community. Bob Herbert has something to say about this....
Representative Peter King, a Republican from Long Island, appears to harbor a fierce unhappiness with the Muslim community in the United States. As the chairman of the powerful Homeland Security Committee, Congressman King has all the clout he needs to act on his displeasure. On Thursday, he plans to open the first of a series of committee hearings into the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism and the bogus allegation that American Muslims have failed to cooperate with law enforcement efforts to foil terrorist plots.
“There is a real threat to the country from the Muslim community,” he said, “and the only way to get to the bottom of it is to investigate what is happening.”
That kind of sweeping statement from a major government official about a religious minority — soon to be backed up by the intimidating aura of Congressional hearings — can only serve to further demonize a group of Americans already being pummeled by bigotry and vicious stereotyping.
So who is this Peter King? What makes him tick? Part of the puzzle is his unwavering support for the Irish Republican Army, which battled the British Army for decades in Northern Ireland. A terrorist group. He worked for a group of terrorists that killed, tortured and maimed thousands of Irish and British in the 70's and 80's. And he is trying to demonise US Muslims.
This is one hypocritical bastard.......
But as Mr. King, 66, prepares to preside Thursday as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee at the first of a series of hearings on Muslim radicalization, his pro-I.R.A. past gives his many critics an obvious opening. The congressman’s assertions that 85 percent of leaders of American mosques hold extremist views and that Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement have alarmed Muslim groups, some counterterrorism experts and even a few former allies in Irish-American causes.
Mr. King, son of a New York City police officer and grand-nephew of an I.R.A. member, offers no apologies for his past, which he has celebrated in novels that feature a Irish-American congressman with I.R.A. ties who bears a striking resemblance to the author.
Of comparisons between the terrorism of the I.R.A. and that of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, Mr. King said: “I understand why people who are misinformed might see a parallel. The fact is, the I.R.A. never attacked the United States. And my loyalty is to the United States.”
4/ Well there's another cold front coming through, and this means problems for idiots - Brooke Alvares from Onion News has the story....
5/ You know how you get an epiphany on a subject, where something you read or see opens your eyes to a new set of truths? Well this column by Paul Krugman, and the column below by Bob Herbert did that about our college students of today and their prospects for the future in the US economy. Remember the story last week on software that does legal research?
Now white collar jobs in general management are becoming at risk......
And the hole in the middle has been getting wider: many of the high-wage occupations that grew rapidly in the 1990s have seen much slower growth recently, even as growth in low-wage employment has accelerated.
Why is this happening? The belief that education is becoming ever more important rests on the plausible-sounding notion that advances in technology increase job opportunities for those who work with information — loosely speaking, that computers help those who work with their minds, while hurting those who work with their hands.
Some years ago, however, the economists David Autor, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane argued that this was the wrong way to think about it. Computers, they pointed out, excel at routine tasks, “cognitive and manual tasks that can be accomplished by following explicit rules.” Therefore, any routine task — a category that includes many white-collar, nonmanual jobs — is in the firing line. Conversely, jobs that can’t be carried out by following explicit rules — a category that includes many kinds of manual labor, from truck drivers to janitors — will tend to grow even in the face of technological progress.
And here’s the thing: Most of the manual labor still being done in our economy seems to be of the kind that’s hard to automate. Notably, with production workers in manufacturing down to about 6 percent of U.S. employment, there aren’t many assembly-line jobs left to lose. Meanwhile, quite a lot of white-collar work currently carried out by well-educated, relatively well-paid workers may soon be computerized. Roombas are cute, but robot janitors are a long way off; computerized legal research and computer-aided medical diagnosis are already here.
6/ The idea has been in the past you go to university to learn how to think, to develop your critical faculties and reasoning abilities. But as Bob Herbert points out a new study finds todays colleges aren't teaching these skills, and this has been going on for decades. This is part of the dumbing down of America folks - you wonder sometimes why students aren't outraged at the unfairness of our society and what's being done to their future with climate change, and you look back at the totally involved university campuses protesting and ultimately ending the Vietnam war in the 60's.
That's gone - these students are numb, just gimme my electronics and social media.....that's me done ranting, the column is much more sensible....
A provocative new book, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses,” makes a strong case that for a large portion of the nation’s seemingly successful undergraduates the years in college barely improve their skills in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing.
Intellectual effort and academic rigor, in the minds of many of the nation’s college students, is becoming increasingly less important. According to the authors, Professors Richard Arum of New York University and Josipa Roksa of the University of Virginia: “Many students come to college not only poorly prepared by prior schooling for highly demanding academic tasks that ideally lie in front of them, but — more troubling still — they enter college with attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors that are often at odds with academic commitment.”
Students are hitting the books less and partying more. Easier courses and easier majors have become more and more popular. Perhaps more now than ever, the point of the college experience is to have a good time and walk away with a valuable credential after putting in the least effort possible.
What many of those students are not walking away with is something that has long been recognized as invaluable — higher order thinking and reasoning skills. They can get their degrees without putting in more of an effort because in far too many instances the colleges and universities are not demanding more of them.
..............................
While there are certainly plenty of students doing very well and learning a great deal in college, this large increase in the number of students just skating by should be of enormous concern in an era in which a college education plays such a crucial role in the lifetime potential of America’s young people. It can leave the U.S. at a disadvantage in the global marketplace. But, more important, the students are cheating themselves — and being cheated — of the richer, more satisfying lives that should be the real payoff of a four-year college experience.
“You have to ask what this means for a democratic society,” said Professor Arum. “This is the portion of the population that you would expect to demonstrate civic leadership in the future, civic engagement. They are the ones we would expect to be struggling to understand the world, to think critically about the rhetoric out there, and to make informed, reasoned decisions.
“If they’re not developing their higher order skills, it means they’re not developing the attitudes and dispositions that are needed to even understand that that’s important.”
7/ Bruno Mars - "Just the Way You Are"....nice song, cute girl and a very clever video with a gimmick.....fun.....3 minutes....
8/ NPR has had a bad week - one of their executives was caught on tape by the same asshole who made the Acorn tape, saying bad stuff about the Tea Party....
In the video, the executive, Ronald Schiller, tells people posing as Muslim philanthropists that the Republican Party has been “hijacked” by the Tea Party and that Tea Party supporters are “seriously racist, racist people.”
The video was the product of James O’Keefe, a Republican provocateur, whose organization helped trick Mr. Schiller into attending a lunch and sharing what he said were his personal opinions.
The people he is heard talking to on the videotape were posing as members of the fictional Muslim Education Action Center Trust. They falsely claimed that they wanted to donate up to $5 million to public media. NPR did not accept any money from them.
However, was he wrong? No he wasn't. The Tea party is a [silently] racist organisation painting Hitler mustaches on a black President.....however the weenies at NPR fired the CEO in an attempt to placate the Republicans in the House, who want to defund NPR completely.
Here Jason Linkins makes the case for NPR to cut loose from federal funding and get free of the Republican attacks on it.....and continue the best news in the country. Remember, NPR is our last best hope of fair and balanced news.....
This is, to my mind, the more interesting part of the story. And today, Gawker's Hamilton Nolanmakes a pretty excellent argument that Schiller (Ron, not Vivian) was absolutely right. Says Nolan: "As long as NPR takes a single dollar from the U.S. government, it will be forced to appease and cater to Congressional Republicans, who know that NPR is a convenient target in the culture war. And--newsflash--NPR will never be able to appease the Republican Party. It simply won't happen."
NPR has the resources, and the talent, to compete with any news organization in America. But as the events of this week have demonstrated, it doesn't have the freedom to conduct itself as it sees fit. And it never will, as long as it takes government funding. It doesn't matter whether NPR is truly hostile to Republican interests; as long as some Republicans perceive it that way--or know that they can score political points back home by doing so--they'll use NPR as a political football. They don't want to pay for something they dislike. So don't make them.
9/ The Daily Show's John Oliver in search of the Wisconsin 14 in Illinoistan, a wild and wooly part of Amerika......funny....4 minutes....
10/ The 50 worst commutes in America - surprisingly enough only two in Florida make the list - the Dolphin Expressway in Miami and I-275 in Tampa.....slideshow....
Ah Florida.....there are so many stories I could use of the blatant corruption, stupidity and outright lies coming from this Governor and the Florida Legislature it's truly depressing. But here's a sampling.....
11/ Rachael Maddow wonders in a 2 minute segment whether your share of the American dream is going to diminish this year. And if it does, will it be because of the economy, or because you have a bad Governor? A two minute segment, pointing out again how incredibly, amazingly stupid we are in Florida to have elected a dangerous and evil crook as our leader ....
12/ Alan Hays, Republican State Senator from Umatilla seems to have swallowed the lobbyists kool-aid. Bought and sold by the corporations.
Here he is proposing that Florida residents "trust" the insurance industry to play fair and compete in the marketplace, without any regulation.....excellent column from Lauren Ritchie in the Orlando Sentinel....
Either way, the trend in Hays' bills is easy to spot. He's part of a movement toward "streamlining government," doing away with regulation and "enhancing the business climate."
Last week, Hays remarked that the state should be working to "make life good" for businesses already here.
The strategy used by Gov. Rick Scott — and now by Hays — is to keep it stupidly simple by constantly repeating small, upbeat sound bites to describe their goals. 'Streamlining government,' for example, leaves the image of a slick operation working so efficiently and smoothly that it slides noiselessly by in a blur and doesn't try to pick your pocket.
Who wouldn't want to streamline government? How could anyone possibly think that's a bad idea? For the lazy voter, the sound bite is the answer to a dilemma — he or she can appear to be on the right side of every issue without having to bother looking at the pesky specifics of what's being proposed.
'Deregulating' insurance business
But beware of the bites. They have teeth.
What, exactly, does "streamline" mean in practical terms for the average resident? And why, for example, has 'less government regulation' become by definition "good" in every imaginable situation, regardless of the consequences?
Last week, Hays remarked that the state should be working to "make life good" for businesses already here.
The strategy used by Gov. Rick Scott — and now by Hays — is to keep it stupidly simple by constantly repeating small, upbeat sound bites to describe their goals. 'Streamlining government,' for example, leaves the image of a slick operation working so efficiently and smoothly that it slides noiselessly by in a blur and doesn't try to pick your pocket.
Who wouldn't want to streamline government? How could anyone possibly think that's a bad idea? For the lazy voter, the sound bite is the answer to a dilemma — he or she can appear to be on the right side of every issue without having to bother looking at the pesky specifics of what's being proposed.
'Deregulating' insurance business
But beware of the bites. They have teeth.
What, exactly, does "streamline" mean in practical terms for the average resident? And why, for example, has 'less government regulation' become by definition "good" in every imaginable situation, regardless of the consequences?
13/ These are excerpts from a speech by Nancy Argenziano, a former Republican member of the Public Service Commission....she really tells it like it is....
Policy has been selling for a high price in Tallahassee, and, it appears, throughout the United States. Inidividuals in leadership positions have been seling us out to the highest political contributors. Just follow the money, then follow the legislation all the way to becoming the law. Make no mistake:We are being sold out and heading toward a society ruled by a corporate oligarchy. I believe it's far worse than we may know.
On the drive to privatize Northeast Florida State Hospital in Macclenny:
No private company can or will do a better job or more efficient job than the great job those workers have done at that hospital.
On the Public Service Commission:
After serving on the PSC over three years and after what I have witnessed, I can say that there is no "fair" for ratepayers and there will be no "fair" until the PSC is taken away fro the Legislature and their corporate owners. I can honestly say the PSC is the worst public agency I ahve ever seen.
On measures to roll back rules and regulations:
What the heck do you think the Republican leaders have been doing for the last 14 years? ... The proposals today are just a way of getting essential rules out of the way in the pure interest of making more money, the societal cost be damned. The benefiting monied interests probably paid a lot for these legislative proposals and, by golly, they really want what they paid for.
On unions and education:
In addition to the destruction of public employee bargaining units -- the only possible counterweight to the corporate oligarchs to whom Scott, Haridopolos and Cannon are only too happy to turn over the keys to the kingdom -- they have public education in their sights. This I understand: Unless you eliminate the cohering cultural core, dumb down the population, elevate the lowest common measure of competency, you won't have a population capable of being persuaded by the likes of Glenn Beck and his crony fellow followers, all people less than impressed with the truth of the matters.
14/ I can't stand this - it makes me ashamed for living in a state with so many morons in our legislature, pandering to the religious loonies that seem to breed so well
in the heat down here......they are raising the evolution "debate" again....oh lordy.....
Evolution supporters say the language is another attempt by Florida lawmakers to undermine the teaching of evolution, introduce the faith-based concepts of creationism and intelligent design, and water down state science standards that were narrowly passed by the state Board of Education in 2008.
"We at Florida Citizens for Science oppose this theocratic attempt to introduce creationism into the Florida schools," group member Jonathan Smith said today. "We will be mounting a campaign to fight this in every way possible."
The bill was filed Saturday by Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, who chairs the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee. He has said in the past that both evolution and intelligent design must be taught in order to foster critical thinking.
15/ Movie review - Red Riding Hood, opening this week.....sex, violence and werewolves. And Gary Oldman!
Pretty decent review, if "goofily amusing" can be deemed to be decent ..........now if they only could have slipped in a few zombies.....
The bluenose brigade at the Motion Picture Association of America has stamped “Red Riding Hood” with a PG-13 rating for “violence and creature terror, and some sensuality.” Certainly this goofily amusing screen fairy tale includes bloodshed, but it’s generally tamer than its often-gruesome source. The creature terror meanwhile isn’t remotely frightening, though the designated mustache twirler (and scene chewer) Gary Oldman tries to rustle up scares. As to sensuality, Amanda Seyfried as You-Know-Who makes a delectable treat whether heaving her bosom or boogieing down in a bacchanal that’s more Burning Man than Bruegel.
The trailer - "Red Riding Hood" - 2 minutes.....
16/ Mount Dorans
There is a chili cook-off being held next week on Tuesday the 15th at 6pm, in the hall behind the Chamber of Commerce building in downtown Mount Dora. It's $10 to enter [proceeds to the Lake County Democratic Club] and sample some home cooked chili - beer and wine available, so it should be fun....but I am mentioning this because yours truly has agreed to make a batch of chili for this event, so come on by and sample some of my award winning [?] "Davids Colon Cleanser" if you dare, inspired by one of the jokes in todays DDD......
Todays video - one for the guys....dream on boys.....
Todays chili joke
| The Chili judge | |
Notes From An Inexperienced Chili Taster Named FRANK, who was visiting Texas from Canada: "Recently I was honored to be selected as a judge at an outstanding Famous celebrity chili cookoff in Texas. The original person called in sick at the last moment, and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking directions to the beer wagon when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted. | |
Todays Mormon joke
A Mormon was seated next to an Irishman on a flight from London .After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken.The Irishman asked for a whiskey, which was promptly brought and placed before him.The flight attendant then asked the Mormon if he would like a drink.
He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips."The Irishman then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "Me, too, I didn't know we had a choice.”
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