It's Paul Ryan week, so here are a selection of stories and articles for you to mull over.......
1/ Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone with five reasons Ryan is a bad pick for VP........
Mitt Romney didn't just pick a running mate. He decided to undergo a brand transplant.
By tapping Paul Ryan, the high-profile mastermind of the House GOP's economic agenda, Romney appeared to concede that weeks of punishing attacks by the Obama campaign had done serious damage to his own brand. Far from the image he'd hoped to project to general election voters – of a competent business whiz hungry to work his turnaround magic on the American economy – Romney's been tagged instead by Team Obama as a job-killing outsourcing pioneer and as a tax cheat with who knows what to hide.
The Ryan pick represents a bold effort by Team Romney to hit the reset button, to forge a new impression with the electorate by transforming the endlessly malleable Romney into the pitchman for the Ryan brand. It's a risky move, with five fatal flaws that could cost Romney the election:
1) Who's the Boss?
Romney is the most awkward GOP nominee since George H.W. Bush. Ideally, he ought to have picked a dutiful, competent running-mate who wouldn't risk upstaging him. But Romney – like McCain before him – felt he needed a game changer. So he went with Ryan, a man who electrifies the party base farthan he ever could
http://www.rollingstone.com/
2/ But then there are some pretty compelling reasons for Romney to pick Ryan too......
9 Reasons Romney's Choice of Paul Ryan for Veep Is Smarter Than You Think
Romney's Ryan decision is a hugely dangerous step toward getting the Koch brothers' hand-picked star close to the presidency.
August 12, 2012 |
The candidates take the stage at a campaign event in High Point, N.C., the day after Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Photo Credit: © Jenny Warburg
Photo Credit: © Jenny Warburg
When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney tapped Paul Ryan, the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman, to be his running mate, progressives went on a happy-thon. That Romney chose the House Budget Committee chairman known as the architect of draconian budgets that would make huge cuts in every aspect of the safety net -- not to mention his quest to turn Medicare into a voucher program -- just seemed like a major blunder. My colleague, Joshua Holland, called it Romney's biggest mistake. Many were gleeful and shocked that Romney would seemingly play right into the Obama message on how the Romney agenda harms the middle class.
But I wasn't so happy. The Romney decision signals several things about the future, and none of them good -- rather scary and ugly, as a matter of fact. My gut told me that, for the Republican vice presidential candidate, I would much rather have a non-entity like Portman or Pawlenty as the Republican than a right-wing rock star. Any day.
Progressives are right when they say Ryan represents everything that shows how out of touch the Republicans are with the needs of the country. But they are not looking at Romney's Ryan decision for what it is -- a hugely dangerous step toward getting the Koch brothers' hand-picked star right to the verge of the presidency, which, if it should it come to pass, could dramatically transform the nature of American politics for our lifetimes. Whether Romney wins or loses, the Ryan pick poses a threat to the well-being of the nation.
If Romney wins, then Ryan occupies the Number Two spot with a money base and huge constituency of his own, far more than any vice president has ever enjoyed. With his own leadership PAC and a close relationship to the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity astroturf group, it is hard to imagine how Ryan doesn't immediately become a co-president or, at least, the most powerful VP in history. And, and this is a win-win for Charles and David Koch, the right-wing billionaire brothers: If Romney loses, then Paul Ryan is sitting pretty to be the nominee in 2016, when there is no incumbent....a far easier race to win after eight years of President Barack Obama, the Democrat, presiding over a difficult economy whose recovery Republicans have done everything they can to obstruct. I have always felt that many conservatives intent on taking over this country, known for their long vision and patience, have this strategy.
3/ Aimee Mann is a really good singer, but obviously the touring got her down so she got herself a robot to take some of the burden......Laura Linney plays the 'bot, and John Hodgman from the Daily Show plays her advisor........funny, imaginative video.....most original......
Bonus - the song is very good as well......
4/ Underreported in the furore over Paul Ryan is the fact he is a determined opponent of women's choice, and co-sponsored bills in the House to define Personhood at conception, essentially banning birth control, and moved an Ultrasound bill through the House as well.....
Rachael Maddow with a scoop - noone else has focused on these extreme views of Ryan. It's one thing to blurt out on TV, as Romney did, that he supports Personhood, but another to actually try to move legislation through the Congressional process.
This guy is a abortion looney......excellent 7 minute segment by the best reporter on TV.......
5/ There is confusion [deliberate] in the Republican ads on Medicare........but this is the essence of what the controversy is.....not so difficult when you read it, is it?
6/ Ever play pool or billiards? Yes? So you know how difficult it is to get those damn balls in the pocket? Have a look at this guy's tricks with a cue ball......amazing......3 minutes......the obstacle is a little distracting though......
7/ An article from the Times, with the implication that Paul Ryan is waaaay too close to the Koch Brothers and their money......makes the picture a little clearer.......another bought and sold politician........
This month, as a handful of Republicans auditioned at town halls and on bus tours to be Mitt Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan joined a private conference call. For 20 minutes, he walked through his plan to cut government spending and bashed President Obama for weakening welfare work requirements.
His audience: Several hundred field organizers for Americans for Prosperity, the Tea Party-inspired group founded by the billionaire conservative philanthropists Charles and David Koch.
When Mr. Romney announced that Mr. Ryan would be his running mate, his campaign emphasized the congressman’s detailed knowledge of the federal budget and his chemistry with Mr. Romney. Less well-known are Mr. Ryan’s close ties to the donors and activists who have channeled Tea Party anger into a $400 million political machine, financed by a network of conservative and libertarian donors that now rivals, and occasionally challenges, the Republican establishment behind Mr. Romney.
Mr. Ryan is one of a very few elected officials who have attended the Kochs’ biannual conferences, where wealthy donors sit in on seminars on runaway government spending and the myths of climate change.
He is on first-name terms with prominent libertarians in the financial world, including hedge fund billionaires like Cliff Asness and Paul Singer, and spent his formative years immersed in the Republican Party’s supply-side wing, working for lawmakers and conservative policy advocates like Jack Kemp.
He has appeared for years at rallies, town hall meetings, and donor briefings for groups like the Club for Growth, which spends millions to defeat Republicans deemed squishy on taxes and spending, and Americans for Prosperity, a grass-roots group focused on economic and budget issues that is now trying to channel Tea Party energy into a permanent electoral force. Its fourth chapter was founded in Mr. Ryan’s home state, Wisconsin.
Now Mr. Ryan could provide Mr. Romney with a critical political and intellectual bridge to the rising conservative counterestablishment represented by the Kochs and their allies, who are planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars and deploy thousands of volunteers to defeat Mr. Obama.
8/ Let's not forget the problems Ryan's running mate is having.......Tom Tomorrow with some commentary on Romney.......
9/ Footage from Paul Ryan town hall meetings in Wisconsin....watch a senior citizen say "he's been paying SS..... for 50 years" and the cops take him out and throw him to the ground.....and Ryan laughs and makes a joke.....2 minutes......
10 And our last Paul Ryan story.....an amusing one from Gail Collins......
Paul Ryan is everywhere! Nobody can talk about anything but the congressman from Wisconsin. We now know he is the intellectual, spiritual and moral center of the House of Representatives, who keeps his body fat below 8 percent and excels at a sport that involves sticking your hand inside a catfish, grabbing it by the tonsils and pulling it out of the water. Also, I believe he may have been the guy who ran the men’s relay race in the Olympics on a broken fibula.
Today, let’s consider what the selection of Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate will mean to the American health care system. To start, there’s good news for senior citizens: You can stop worrying! Neither Ryan nor Romney wants to change Medicare coverage for people over 55.
Also, the news media is going to quit calling you senior citizens. You are now Medicare Sensitive Voters.
Any other questions? Let’s start with you over there in the corner — the one jumping up and down and hysterically waving your arms.
I am 54! How come nobody cares about myhealth care?
As Romney said on “60 Minutes,” the Republican ticket is “looking for young people down the road and saying, ‘We’re going to give you a bigger choice.’ ” So the good news is that: A) you are getting a choice, and B) you are now officially a young person.
No, I’m not! I am totally falling apart! And now you’re telling me that people just one year older than me will get guaranteed government coverage that everybody likes, while I am going to be getting a choice? What if I don’t want a choice?
Freedom is always good.
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.
You are much too young to know that song.
11/ I'm not sure if it's kicking into the American pysche how serious this drought is in the Midwest, with food prices in the next months going through the roof domestically and food riots and starvation coming in the third world.......but drought is here to stay. Scientists have come down off their perches and are actually getting serious about telling us about the effects of climate change.
I do have to say if I lived in the Southwest US I would seriously consider moving, before the stupids realise what is happening.......
This is a serious story from the Times, and it's not good news.....
BY many measurements, this summer’s drought is one for therecord books. But so was last year’s drought in the South Central states. And it has been only a decade since an extreme five-year drought hit the American West. Widespread annual droughts, once a rare calamity, have become more frequent and are set to become the “new normal.”
Until recently, many scientists spoke of climate change mainly as a “threat,” sometime in the future. But it is increasingly clear that we already live in the era of human-induced climate change, with a growing frequency of weather and climate extremes like heat waves, droughts, floods and fires.
Future precipitation trends, based on climate model projections for the coming fifth assessment from theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, indicate that droughts of this length and severity will be commonplace through the end of the century unless human-induced carbon emissions are significantly reduced. Indeed, assuming business as usual, each of the next 80 years in the American West is expected to see less rainfall than the average of the five years of the drought that hit the region from 2000 to 2004.
That extreme drought (which we have analyzed in a new study in the journal Nature-Geoscience) had profound consequences for carbon sequestration, agricultural productivity and water resources: plants, for example, took in only half the carbon dioxide they do normally, thanks to a drought-induced drop in photosynthesis.
In the drought’s worst year, Western crop yields were down by 13 percent, with many local cases of complete crop failure. Major river basins showed 5 percent to 50 percent reductions in flow. These reductions persisted up to three years after the drought ended, because the lakes and reservoirs that feed them needed several years of average rainfall to return to predrought levels.
12/ I love these NASA Hubble space photos.....not just for the incredible technology, but the beauty and power of deep space.......
This is one of the Tarantula Nebula, with a new slideshow of many other galaxies underneath. Just a "wow"......
13/ July fails from Twisted Nederland......dumb, unlucky, brave and/or drunk people doing idiotic stuff.......9 minutes......
14/ If Fox ever bids for the Olympics and wins, I can't imagine how horribly they would screw it up.....NBC was bad enough.......anyway the Hate Network got in a dither about the Olympics......
8 Crazy Fox Freakouts About the Olympics
Most people consider the Olympics a celebration of athletic prowess, but for the folks at Fox News, they're a source of endless outrage.
On Fox, there seems to be no end to the indignities its mostly older, white Christian audience must bear. From uppity women who refuse to accept their place and “heterosexist” gays trying to impose their “agenda” on conservative children, to the African American community's casual reverse-racism and the grave insult of characterizing neo-Nazis as members of the far-right – everyone, it seems, is out to destroy their “way of life.” And all with the willing complicity of scientists, scholars, and of course, the media.
So now we come to the 2012 Olympics, which, if you haven't noticed, is absolutely full of foreigners. And it gets worse: foreigners, apparently, don't share the American Right's love of America (or, apparently,Israel)! Also, too, there are an awful lot of dark-skinned people – all in all, it's just one unacceptable insult after another
15/ A very good Jon Stewart, nailing the hypocrisy of the media and the coverage of the Republicans.......
On Wednesday night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart was a little confused by the growing trend of "positivity" in Mitt Romney's campaign. In a speech on Tuesday, the GOP candidate made a call for Americans to come together in the same sentence that heinstructed the current President to "take [his] campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago."
"As a general rule, I find it helps not to frame a plea for national unity by insulting a major city within that nation," Stewart joked.
But the hypocrisy wasn't limited to that one comment. The last few months alone are a veritable treasure trove of divisive language from Mitt's side of the aisle, and Stewart has the footage to prove it.
16/ An intellectual looks at the rise of hostility to science, and how this is framing the discussion of climate change and quashing any initiatives to do something about it......
Don't be scared by my describing the author as "intellectual"....this essay is very well written with no big words......
After a hurricane surge leveled much of Panama City Beach some years ago, Florida's natural resources director opined that "The Lord showed them the setback line." Soon enough, however, even he ignored it.
Similar warnings abound today about the consequences of taking nature for granted. Even those who equate science with witchcraft should be able to see what a modern Noah might take as divine guidance. But still we can't be bothered with building an ark, and scoff at the Noahs among us.
The now-familiar extremes of weather -- blizzards, searing heat waves, record flooding and drought -- are among the predicted symptoms of global warming. Some still debate whether any one of these phenomena, such as the drought currently devastating agriculture in half the nation, can be pinned on man-made climate change. But even if they are coincidences rather than effects, they should alert us to what global warming can and will do.
We know that sea levels are rising at an accelerating pace, and not just because glaciers are vanishing. Warmer water expands. In South Florida, government planners are looking seriously at the prospect of a two-foot increase within a century. If that happens, much of Florida returns to the sea -- along with lots of Louisiana, Washington, D.C., New York City, and entire low-lying countries such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
Todays video - a VH1 bus filled with reality show contestants crashed in California today, causing serious concern.....
Todays Roseanne jokes - Comedy Central had a roast of Roseanne Barr last week, and in these roasts the jokes are vicious.....there are some of the best ones.....
“She’s one of those rare celebrities so famous that she’s referred to by just one name: bitch.” — Jane Lynch
“I waved to you outside but then I realized it was just one of those inflatable parking lot gorillas.” — Jane Lynch
“You converted to white trash when you married Tom Arnold…All that white powder on his lip made you think there must be a doughnut around somewhere.” — Jane Lynch
“Most of all, I loved seeing Princess Leia strangling you at the end of Return of the Jedi.” — Seth Green
“Roseanne broke into the reality world with Roseanne’s Nuts, a show about her and boyfriend Johnny Argent running a macadamia farm. Finally, a show that combined America’s love of macadamia nuts with their passion for Johnny Argent.” — Katey Sagal
“Oh wait, normally when I roast a pig, it has an apple in its mouth.” — Jeff Ross
“Comedy comes from pain, people. Nobody knows that better than this woman, the legendary Roseanne Barr, who was molested as a child. That poor molester.” — Jeff Ross
“You’re oversized, beat up, and you reek of marijuana. You’re kind of like Willie Nelson’s tour bus. Except people still want to ride that.” — Wayne Brady
“Roseanne, even though you’re a feminist icon, so many men have gotten rich off of you: Tom Arnold, John Goodman, the guy who owns the Cheesecake Factory.” — Anthony Jeselnik
“But here’s something positive: you had gastric-bypass surgery in 1998, and then you beat it.” — Anthony Jeselnik
“Her rolls of fat swaying and crashing, like a Japanese moonami.” — Gilbert Gottfried
“Rosie, this is true — she actually had ‘Property of Tom Arnold’ tattooed on her hip, which made me the fourth largest property owner in California.” — Tom Arnold
“I waved to you outside but then I realized it was just one of those inflatable parking lot gorillas.” — Jane Lynch
“You converted to white trash when you married Tom Arnold…All that white powder on his lip made you think there must be a doughnut around somewhere.” — Jane Lynch
“Roseanne broke into the reality world with Roseanne’s Nuts, a show about her and boyfriend Johnny Argent running a macadamia farm. Finally, a show that combined America’s love of macadamia nuts with their passion for Johnny Argent.” — Katey Sagal
“Oh wait, normally when I roast a pig, it has an apple in its mouth.” — Jeff Ross
“Comedy comes from pain, people. Nobody knows that better than this woman, the legendary Roseanne Barr, who was molested as a child. That poor molester.” — Jeff Ross
“You’re oversized, beat up, and you reek of marijuana. You’re kind of like Willie Nelson’s tour bus. Except people still want to ride that.” — Wayne Brady
“Roseanne, even though you’re a feminist icon, so many men have gotten rich off of you: Tom Arnold, John Goodman, the guy who owns the Cheesecake Factory.” — Anthony Jeselnik
“But here’s something positive: you had gastric-bypass surgery in 1998, and then you beat it.” — Anthony Jeselnik
“Her rolls of fat swaying and crashing, like a Japanese moonami.” — Gilbert Gottfried
“Rosie, this is true — she actually had ‘Property of Tom Arnold’ tattooed on her hip, which made me the fourth largest property owner in California.” — Tom Arnold
Todays misspeaking jokes.....
Have you ever spoken and wished that you could immediately take the words back...
Here are the Testimonials of a few people who did....
FIRST TESTIMONY:
I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly,
'How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?'
I turned around and walked back out and never went back.
I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly,
'How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?'
I turned around and walked back out and never went back.
My husband didn't say a word...he knew better.
SECOND TESTIMONY:
I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by
one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me.
Without thinking, I looked at him and said, 'I think I like playing with men's balls'
I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by
one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me.
Without thinking, I looked at him and said, 'I think I like playing with men's balls'
THIRD TESTIMONY:
My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts.
As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, ' No, I'm just looking at your nuts.'
My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts.
As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, ' No, I'm just looking at your nuts.'
My sister started to laugh hysterically.
The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away.
The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away.
To this day, my sister has never let me forget.
FOURTH TESTIMONY:
While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving 'right now' she would be punished.
While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving 'right now' she would be punished.
To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, 'If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!'
The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.
FIFTH TESTIMONY:
Have you ever asked your child a question too many times?
My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch, in between errands It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, she was clean. The realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said 'No' .. I kept thinking 'Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me.' Then I said, 'Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?' 'No,' he replied.
I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse.
Soooooo, I asked one more time, 'Danny did you have an accident ? This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled 'SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!'
Have you ever asked your child a question too many times?
My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch, in between errands It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, she was clean. The realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said 'No' .. I kept thinking 'Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me.' Then I said, 'Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?' 'No,' he replied.
I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse.
Soooooo, I asked one more time, 'Danny did you have an accident ? This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled 'SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!'
While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better, thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY:
This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens
when you predict snow but don't get any!
This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens
when you predict snow but don't get any!
We had a female news anchor that, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked:
'So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?'
Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!
'So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?'
Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!
Todays veterinarian joke
A dog lover, whose dog was a female and "in heat', agreed to look after her neighbors male dog while the neighbors were on vacation. She had a large house and believed that she could keep the two dogs apart.
However, as she was drifting off to sleep she heard awful howling and moaning sounds.
She rushed downstairs and found the dogs locked together, in obvious pain and unable to disengage, as so frequently happens when dogs mate.
Unable to separate them, and perplexed as to what to do next, although it was late, she called the vet, who answered in a very grumpy voice.
Having explained the problem to him, the vet said:
"Hang up the phone and place it down alongside the dogs. I will then call you back and the noise of the ringing will make the male lose his erection, then he will be able to withdraw."
"Do you think that will work?" she asked.
"It just worked for me," he replied.
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