Don't know about you, but I am so over this circus of politics and politicians I can't wait for Nov. 7th.....but #10 and #13
are very interesting stories and got me thinking about the aftermath of the election - with all of the bitterness, vitriol, nastiness and dirty tricks does anyone expect that after it's over things will go back to "normal"? I guess we'll see........
1/ Excellent, excellent column from Thomas Friedman in the Times. I wish more people would give what being "pro-life" really means, especially so-called Christians.....
My favourite lapel pin says "I was a Republican till I read the Bible"......
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Why I Am Pro-Life
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: October 27, 2012 311 Comments
- GOOGLE+
- SHARE
- REPRINTS
HARD-LINE conservatives have gone to new extremes lately in opposing abortion. Last week, Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party-backed Republican Senate candidate in Indiana, declared during a debate that he was against abortion even in the event of rape because after much thought he “came to realize that life is that gift from God. And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” That came on the heels of the Tea Party-backed Republican Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois saying after a recent debate that he opposed abortion even in cases where the life of the mother is in danger, because “with modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance” in which a woman would not survive without an abortion. “Health of the mother has become a tool for abortions anytime, for any reason,” Walsh said. That came in the wake of the Senate hopeful in Missouri, Representative Todd Akin, remarking that pregnancy as a result of “legitimate rape” is rare because “the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/
2/ Always room for a cute animal video......quite a good one.....3 minutes.....
3/ Melissa Harris-Perry has a weekend show on MSNBC, and recently gave a passionate response to Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock and his comments on rape. MH-P was a rape victim.......
And does this Mourdock remind you of anyone? How about Satan?
This four minute video is not just for the ladies......very moving.....
MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry addressed Indiana U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's controversial comments on rape in a powerful segment Saturday morning.
Offered as an open letter to Mourdock, who has been roundly criticized for saying that pregnancies resulting from rape are "something that God intended to happen," Harris-Perry discussed her own experience as a sexual assault survivor.
4/ One of the most terrifying movies ever made was "The Exorcist", so of course some film students recut it as an 80's sitcom, complete with laugh track.....a distastefully amusing but quite bizarre three minutes......
5/ Hurricane Sandy has dissipated, but the damage to the Northeast won't be cleared up for months. Bill McKibben writes about this megastorm in the Daily Beast, and why these exrtreme weather events are now the new normal, and this is just the start. All of the "new weather" has been caused by just 1 degree C rise in temperature.....and it's accelerating.....
Read this, and watch the next video......
Watching Sandy on her careening path toward the Eastern Seaboard scares me more than it would have 15 months ago. That’s because my home state took the brunt of Irene, last year’s “sprawling,” “surly,” “record-breaking” Atlantic storm. I know now exactly how much power a warm sea can contain and how far that pain can spread.
And in the process, feeling that fear, I begin to sense what the future may be like, as more and more of the world finds itself facing ever-more-frequent assaults from the amped-up forces of the not-so-natural world.
You can’t, as the climate-change deniers love to say, blame any particular hurricane on global warming. They’re born, as they always have been, when a tropical wave launches off the African coast and heads out into the open ocean. But when that ocean is hot—and at the moment sea surface temperatures off the Northeast are five degrees higher than normal—a storm like Sandy can lurch north longer and stronger, drawing huge quantities of moisture into its clouds, and then dumping them ashore.
6/ After every storm, tornado, hurricane and flood comes the reckoning, which for most people it means an insurance check. Behind all of the insurance companies like Allstate are huge reinsurance conglomerates who back up Allstate's policies and take on part or most of the liability for a fee. The largest one in the world is Munich Re, a German global reinsurance company.
Munich Re isn't stupid, or political. It's a business. They deal in facts and science, so when as this speaker said last year global warming is real we should listen. A hard headed corporation which has to deal with the reality of extreme weather is saying it's real, no matter what Fox News or idiots like Senator Inhofe and most Republican politicians say.
It also means your insurance premiums are going up - can you imagine what the bill will be for the damage caused by Sandy? Suck it up - this is the reality of climate change......9 minutes......
Prof. Dr. Peter Höppe, Head of Geo Risks Research, Munich Re, speaks about Managing the Risks of Climate Change at ECO11 on 24 March 2011 in Berlin. The number of weather-related natural catastrophes and the amount of uninsured loss are rising.
7/ This could be the perfect video for guys....three minutes of golf, and magicians.......very clever.......hmmm....no babes though....
8/ Final story on climate change is a 7 minute clip from Chris Matthew's Hardball, who discusses the politics and the reality of global warming with a Princeton professor and Ed Markey.....
Mattheys is a character....loud, even occasionally obnoxious, but he has a good heart.....
Following the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, Chris Matthews laid into individuals—including politicians and major funders—who deny climate change theories.
Matthews spoke to Professor Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University and Rep. Ed Markey about Republican politicians who do not take environmental reform issues seriously. Markey said that Hurricane Sandy "frames the election next Tuesday," which comes down to "Mother Nature vs. the Koch brothers."
Markey then listed off a number of ways that he said Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will cut back on climate change-related reforms to please the oil, gas and coal industries.
"Well Professor Oppenheimer, back in the 60s, we called such people pigs. Pigs. No, really. They don't care about the planet, they don't care about the destruction of war. All they want is what they got, their stuff, and they want more of it," Matthews said. "Is that what we're facing here, just greed? I'm not talking about the guy at the coal mine—that's hard work. I'm talking about people who won't listen to you, won't listen to science because they want more stuff."
9/ One of the things British TV does far better than anyone else are quiz shows, and here is an amusing three minute clip from "Quite Interesting", hosted by Stephen Fry. They are discussing the US prison system and how we have reinvented the slave trade......and they make this funny......
10/ I am sure all of you will be in front of the TV on November 6th, and this nightmare will be over.....or will it? With an election this close there could be some nightmare scenarios, as this story in New York magazine says.....
For you political junkies......
On Tuesday, October 23, precisely two weeks out from Election Day, ABC News and the Washington Post reported the second set of results from their homestretch tracking poll of 1,382 likely voters nationwide. The survey had Mitt Romney ahead of President Obama by 49 to 48 percent, a fashion-model-slender lead that, in fact, was even slimmer than those numbers suggested. (Pushing out two decimal places, the poll found Romney at 48.51 percent and Obama at 48.44.) And the ABC-WaPo tracker was no outlier. To the contrary. At this writing, on October 25, the RealClearPolitics national polling average gave Romney a 47.7 to 47.1 lead, and in all but one of the nine battleground states, the margin separating the two nominees was less than 3 percent.
Drilling down on the numbers at this late stage, a few conclusions are unavoidable. First, despite claims to the contrary by the Romney campaign, there is no massive wave of momentum carrying Mittens either nationally or in the battleground states—but the bump he received after the first debate elevated him sufficiently that he stands a plausible chance of winning this thing. Second, buoyed by his strong performances in the second and third debates, Obama’s position has stabilized and he holds a small but significant advantage in terms of the electoral map—but his sub-50 percent support levels in all of the battleground states is a cause for real concern among Democrats. All of which is to say, third and finally, that next Tuesday night is likely gonna be the emotional equivalent of riding the Cyclone at Coney Island: a nerve-jangling, empty-out-the-liquor-cabinet-
But here’s the thing: It could be even worse than that. At a moment when the bitter polarization that has poisoned our politics for so long has reached a new height (or depth) of vehemence and venom, there is a small but nontrivial possibility that come November 7, we will find ourselves facing an outcome that would trigger a national political meltdown, in which a large portion of each side decries the election result as illegitimate. Indeed, your columnist can imagine four such Armageddon scenarios. I present them in order, from the most to the least likely—and least to most horrific:
1. The Romney Squeaker Scenario
Begin with the fact that, given where the national polls are now and the historical precedent of undecided voters’ breaking strongly for the challenger at the end, it’s perfectly possible for Romney to end up with a bit north of 50 percent of the popular vote. Then proceed to the electoral vote, where the GOP nominee has always faced a difficult path to 270. But imagine that Romney achieves the first step of carrying the three southern swing states—Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia—which he may well do. And then either (a) takes Ohio plus Colorado, Iowa, or Wisconsin; or (b) falls short in Ohio but wins both Colorado and Wisconsin as well as Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada; or (c) conquers Colorado or Wisconsin plus all three of the smaller swing states. In any of these eventualities, Romney would win the White House with 271 to 276 electoral votes.
This would amount to the narrowest possible victory—and one that would all but certainly provoke the left into a howling fit. Given the controversies that have raged all year about voter-identification laws in states across the country, many Democrats would move instantly to claim that such laws were the reason Romney had prevailed. And that claim would just be the tip of a gnarly iceberg.
11/ Work for a corporation? Not many have ordered their employees to vote for Mitt Romney, but wait till 2016......corporations could be monitoring your yard signs, and your voter registration details......
By the way, all of these stories are about billionaires telling their staff to vote Republican, but I haven't seen one yet about any CEO telling his employees to vote for President Obama.....
Good story from the Guardian UK......
Can the company fire you for the way you vote?
Very likely, yes. When it comes to employees' political views, the free market, not free speech, is the power that rules America
Romney certainly hasn't done much to dispel this perception. In a conference call to the National Federation of Independent Business, the GOP candidate was recorded encouraging business owners to:"[M]ake it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections."
A number of Romney backers took it upon themselves to spell out more clearly to their workers what "the best interest for their job" really means. David Siegel, CEO of Florida's Westgate Resorts, emailed his employees that a second term for Obama would likely give him "no choice but to reduce the size of this company". Republican donor-activists Charles and David Koch were no less subtle when they sent 45,000 employees of their Georgia Pacific paper company a list of whom to vote for, warning that workers "may suffer the consequences" if Obama is re-elected.
12/ Ellen DeGeneres has a network chat show which mostly tackles womens issues, so her take on a new product - Bic Pens for Women took on a harder edge than the Bic Corporation would have liked......4 minutes of charm and humour.....
13/ Moving to the Villages for many of us here in Mount Dora would be the equivalent of being lobotomised, but there are tens of thousands of Republicans who disagree.....and a few Democrats, who are under siege.....
If you are old, white and stupid there's a place for you in the Villages.....
Great article from the Orlando Sentinel about yard signs and the election........we are also having our own issues in Mount Dora......
THE VILLAGES — Residents of "America's Friendliest Hometown" have noticed a decidedly unfriendly tone of late. In this retiree sanctuary, emotions are running high about the presidential election, with both sides hurling insults and worse.
"This particular election seems to have brought out the worst in people," said Peter O'Connell, who moved to The Villages from Key Largo more than two years ago.
Most in the community northwest of Orlando — where registered Republicans
Joe Flynn, former director of The Villages Democratic Club, said he was cursed at and called a fascist, communist and anti-American while distributing campaign information at one of The Villages' popular town squares. He said he got similar reactions driving his golf cart, which is decorated with a "Vote Democratic — Support Working Families" sticker and an "Obama-Biden" sign.
"We can't roll over. We have to stand up for what we believe in," said Flynn, who has been living in The Villages for seven years. "It's the political atmosphere — and the overall atmosphere. If you're not of the ideology of the developer and his crew, you're not really comfortable here."
14/ If you have ever lived in Miami this book will be of great interest - Tom Wolfe has written about the new Miami with all of it's flaws and excitement......sounds really good......
BOOKS OF THE TIMES
A Dog-Eat-Dog World Along Biscayne Bay
‘Back to Blood’ by Tom Wolfe
In “Back to Blood,” Tom Wolfe tries to do for Miami what he did for New York in “The Bonfire of the Vanities” and Atlanta in “A Man in Full.” The result is a soapy, gripping and sometimes glib novel that’s filled with heaps of contrivance and cartoonish antics, but that also stars two characters who attest to Mr. Wolfe’s new and improved ability to conjure fully realized people.
As he steers this big boat of a story in careening circles of coincidence, Mr. Wolfe drives home his by now familiar Darwinian view of human nature, even as he showers us with his much-imitated confetti of status and sartorial details. Once again, he depicts a dog-eat-dog world in which people behave like animals, scratching and clawing their way up the greasy social pole. Once again, he uses racial tensions — and their political fallout — to fuel his story line.
And once again, he uses lots of exclamatory dialogue (“Dirty traidor peeg!”) and sarcastic generalizations (“on street patrol a Cuban cop like him would make sure he got a short-sleeved uniform one size too small that brought out every bulge” of his chiseled upper body) to create shameless stereotypes based on ethnicity and class.
As he’s done in the past, Mr. Wolfe excavates the world of the superrich with cackling glee, reduces politicians to caricatures of self-interest and mocks or eviscerates practically everybody else. Among the specimens he nets and tries to pin, wriggling, to the board are: Sergei Korolyov, a swaggering Russian oligarch who has suddenly arrived on the scene and donated $70 million in Russian modernist paintings to a new Miami art museum; Edward T. Topping IV, a social-climbing, scaredy-cat WASP, who finds himself editing The Miami Herald; Lantier, a self-hating Haitian professor, who wants his daughter to pass as white; and Dr. Norman Lewis, a randy, loathsome psychiatrist who specializes in treating pornography addicts.
Todays video - a classic Bud Lite commercial
Like that one? Here's four more.......
Todays collection of retiree jokes.....
Question: When is a retiree's bedtime?
Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep in the recliner.
Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.
Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors?
Answer: The term comes with a 10% discount. Sometimes 15%
Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?
Answer: Tied shoes.
Question: Why do retirees count pennies?
Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.
Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?
Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there.
SERENITY
Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep in the recliner.
Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.
Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors?
Answer: The term comes with a 10% discount. Sometimes 15%
Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?
Answer: Tied shoes.
Question: Why do retirees count pennies?
Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.
Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?
Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there.
SERENITY
Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, 'How old was your husband?' '98,' she replied... 'Two years older than me' 'So you're 96,' the undertaker commented.. She responded, 'Hardly worth going home, is it? |
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: 'And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?' the reporter asked.. She simply replied, 'No peer pressure.' |
The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs and have fun finding them. |
I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my driver's license. |
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor's permission to join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over. |
An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart. 'Wal-Mart?' the preacher exclaimed. 'Why Wal-Mart?' 'Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week' |
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be. |
Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out. |
It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffee maker. |
These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, 'For fast relief.' |
THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference |
Todays commuter joke
| |
Todays little old ladies joke
It was a small town and the patrolman was making his evening rounds..
As he was checking a used car lot, he came upon two little old ladies sitting in a used car..
He stopped and asked them why they were sitting there in the car or were they trying to steal it?
'Heavens no, we bought it.'
'Then why don't you drive it away.'
We can't drive.'
Then why did you buy it?'
'We were told that if we bought a Used car here
we'd get screwed ....so we're just waiting.
Print
