1/ George Carlin with "The American Dream".......it's time to watch this again and see how right he was......remember he said all this in 2007......
This is an extended version of 4 1/2 minutes with some new material....
Here's a quote from his rant - "nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care"....and this applies to the next two stories.....#2 and #5......
2/ Nicolas Kristof in the Times with an excellent, if depressing article on how the infrastructure of this country is deteriorating because of our political dysfunction and how the wealthy are protecting themselves from this erosion of services.......
There is no more "common good", with minimal investment in things that benefit everyone. The extreme right has poisoned the discussion so badly that no politician will touch anything to do with the common good....
In upper-middle-class suburbs on the East Coast, the newest must-have isn’t a $7,500 Sub-Zero refrigerator. It’s a standby generator that automatically flips on backup power to an entire house when the electrical grid goes out.
In part, that’s a legacy of Hurricane Sandy. Such a system can cost well over $10,000, but many families are fed up with losing power again and again.
(A month ago, I would have written more snarkily about residential generators. But then we lost power for 12 days after Sandy — and that was our third extended power outage in four years. Now I’m feeling less snarky than jealous!)
More broadly, the lust for generators is a reflection of our antiquated electrical grid and failure to address climate change. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave our grid, prone to bottlenecks and blackouts, a grade of D+ in 2009.
So Generac, a Wisconsin company that dominates the generator market, says it is running three shifts to meet surging demand. About 3 percent of stand-alone homes worth more than $100,000 in the country now have standby generators installed.
“Demand for generators has been overwhelming, and we are increasing our production levels,” Art Aiello, a spokesman for Generac, told me.
That’s how things often work in America. Half-a-century of tax cuts focused on the wealthiest Americans leave us with third-rate public services, leading the wealthy to develop inefficient private workarounds.
It’s manifestly silly (and highly polluting) for every fine home to have a generator. It would make more sense to invest those resources in the electrical grid so that it wouldn’t fail in the first place.
But our political system is dysfunctional: in addressing income inequality, in confronting climate change and in maintaining national infrastructure.
The National Climatic Data Center has just reported that October was the 332nd month in a row of above-average global temperatures. As the environmental Web site Grist reported, that means that nobody younger than 27 has lived for a single month with colder-than-average global temperatures, yet climate change wasn’t even much of an issue in the 2012 campaign. Likewise, the World Economic Forum ranks American infrastructure 25th in the world, down from 8th in 2003-4, yet infrastructure is barely mentioned by politicians.
So time and again, we see the decline of public services accompanied by the rise of private workarounds for the wealthy.
3/ Rachel Maddow with an interesting 7 minute segment, where she looks at the "moderate" noises coming from the Senate and House Republicans, and compares this to the Republicans at the local and State level, where it's "bash the immigrants" and "contraception is evil" as if nothing happened.....a complete disconnect.....
Rachel Maddow spent a segment on her Monday MSNBC show contrasting the differences between what she called Beltway media coverage and local news coverage of the Republican Party.
On the national stage, Maddow said, it sounds as though Republicans are engaged in what she called a "course correction," walking back the party's rhetoric on some issues including immigration and contraception rights.
But where Republicans are really in control of government, as in Kansas for example, Maddow said the party is taking steps to "crack down on immigrants who want to go to college." She also said that the Republican leadership in Indiana is moving to add a constitutional ban on gay marriage to the state constitution—in a state where gay marriage is already illegal. In Ohio, Maddow said, one of the first things the state government did after the November election was hold a hearing on defunding Planned Parenthood.
4/ Flying with eagles......guys on parasails feeding eagles in flight......a very cool 2 minutes......
5/ Ho hum....just another story about climate change, and sorry if this bores some of you, but this is an excellent story from the Toronto Star about the deep trouble we are in and how your kids and grandkids future is screwed......
The article refers to Bill McKibben in Rolling Stone and how the fossil fuel companies, the richest and most powerful corporations on the planet, are driving us over the cliff.....
But "nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care"......
In the interest of fighting climate change, most of us avoid buying SUVs — fortress-like vehicles that aren’t necessary unless one intends to take the whole family for a spin through downtown Baghdad.
Most of us also recycle and keep the thermostat low. However, these gestures are doing almost nothing to stop the warming of the planet.
Yet climate change has disappeared from the political agenda. While the media diligently scrutinize the security risk posed by a hot relationship between a general and his biographer, there’s little airtime to consider the security risk posed by something even hotter: the planet. (A Pentagon-commissioned study in 2003 concluded that global warming would lead to brutal storms, flooding, drought and widespread human strife. “Once again, warfare would define human life.” But back to the general . . .)
The news on the climate front is devastating.
In a report earlier this month, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the world’s largest accounting firms, states the world has “passed the critical threshold” and that current carbon reductions amount to “a fraction of what is required against the international commitment to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.”
In order to keep within that limit by 2050, the accounting firm says the world will have to dramatically accelerate its annual pace of carbon reduction — to a rate never before achieved, and then continue at that rate “for 39 consecutive years.” No problem!
That’s if we want to keep warming to just 2 degrees Celsius — which may be too high. So far, we’ve warmed the planet by only 0.8 degrees Celsius — and yet that little bit of warming packs quite a punch, as the U.S. east coast learned last month.
The PwC report notes that, at current rates, we’re headed for 6 degrees of warming by the end of the century.
6/ I know, I know, this is bad.....but it's very funny too.......bad David, bad......3 minutes of "Substitute Teacher".....
7/ Will any action on climate change be taken by the US Government or Congress? Not for the next two years, because all legislation begins in the House Of Representatives, and a climate denier has been appointed to chair the House Science Committee.....yeech.....
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), a skeptic of man-made global warming, is set to take over the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology in the 113th Congress.
On Tuesday afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that the Republican Steering Committee had recommended Smith as the new chairman. The full House GOP caucus will vote on all chairmanships Wednesday and is expected to ratify the steering panel's choices.
Smith, like many of his Republican colleagues, has expressed doubt that global warming is caused by human behavior. In 2009, he criticized the media for not airing enough "dissenting opinions" about climate change
8/ Local news anchors have bad days too, and this is a collection of "News Fails".....an amusing 7 minutes when the corporate media message goes off script......
9/ Marco Rubio, one of Florida's two Senators, danced around a question last week that asked him how old the planet is......we have to assume he knows the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, but he wouldn't say so for fear of offending part of the Republican base, the religious whacko part.....
The story has a suggestion on how he could have answered it without offending anyone, but it's also a reminder of how stupid a significant portion of this country is and how right wing politicians appear to have taken leave of their senses.....
Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida and early favorite to enter the Invisible Primary ahead of the 2016 presidential election, is a creationist. He fell into the trap laid nicely byGQ, telling a reporter that the age of the Earth is up for debate. A mystery, he said.
Well, it's not. It's about 4.5 billion years old, give or take a few million.
Sadly, many Americans don't know how old the Earth is. Interestingly, many of them, including a lot of Democrats, seem to be tugged by their religious tradition, even if they are not orthodox about their beliefs.
I think there's a way for Christian conservatives who believe in the literal (or proximately literal) truth of the Bible to answer the question without denying science. Denying science is not just a position; it is fundamentally a denial of modernity, which is why it is so, well, stupid, to the ears of elites, and even to the ears of folks who just know that geology isn't a just-so story. Atheists won't be satisfied with the answer, but who said that Marco Rubio has to satisfy atheists?
10/ I don't know if you have ever watched "Robot Chicken", a stop motion cartoon that airs at midnight on the Cartoon Channel......thought not.....anyway this is one of the most subversive, irreverent, scatalogical and sometimes disgusting programs on the air. It's a HUGE hit with males under 40.....
This is a clip from one of the older shows.....and you can get the idea of their humour......
GI Joe's meet their newest recruit.....Fumbles....
11/ At last - a great column from Paul Krugman, with examples of the way conservatives deny reality.....he mentions Senator Marco Rubio and his creationist beliefs as one of the examples....
Excellent stuff.........
Earlier this week, GQ magazine published an interview with Senator Marco Rubio, whom many consider a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, in which Mr. Rubio was asked how old the earth is. After declaring “I’m not a scientist, man,” the senator went into desperate evasive action, ending with the declaration that “it’s one of the great mysteries.”
It’s funny stuff, and conservatives would like us to forget about it as soon as possible. Hey, they say, he was just pandering to likely voters in the 2016 Republican primaries — a claim that for some reason is supposed to comfort us.
But we shouldn’t let go that easily. Reading Mr. Rubio’s interview is like driving through a deeply eroded canyon; all at once, you can clearly see what lies below the superficial landscape. Like striated rock beds that speak of deep time, his inability to acknowledge scientific evidence speaks of the anti-rational mind-set that has taken over his political party.
By the way, that question didn’t come out of the blue. As speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Mr. Rubio provided powerful aid to creationists trying to water down science education. In one interview, he compared the teaching of evolution to Communist indoctrination tactics — although he graciously added that “I’m not equating the evolution people with Fidel Castro.” Gee, thanks.
What was Mr. Rubio’s complaint about science teaching? That it might undermine children’s faith in what their parents told them to believe. And right there you have the modern G.O.P.’s attitude, not just toward biology, but toward everything: If evidence seems to contradict faith, suppress the evidence.
The most obvious example other than evolution is man-made climate change. As the evidence for a warming planet becomes ever stronger — and ever scarier — the G.O.P. has buried deeper into denial, into assertions that the whole thing is a hoax concocted by a vast conspiracy of scientists. And this denial has been accompanied by frantic efforts to silence and punish anyone reporting the inconvenient facts.
But the same phenomenon is visible in many other fields. The most recent demonstration came in the matter of election polls. Coming into the recent election, state-level polling clearly pointed to an Obama victory — yet more or less the whole Republican Party refused to acknowledge this reality. Instead, pundits and politicians alike fiercely denied the numbers and personally attacked anyone pointing out the obvious; the demonizing of The Times’s Nate Silver, in particular, was remarkable to behold.
12/ Go figure. This awful video "Gangnam Style" has just become the most watched on YouTube ever, at 807 million hits......this is worldwide, so there a lot of Koreans and Chinese viewing these grody Miami Vice-like images and horrible song.......
Just to keep you up to date with global culture folks.......
13/ Paul Begala with an amusing analysis of the five distinct factions in the Republican party......I think he missed one component, the religious loonies, but you could lump them under "crazies".....
14/ An old one, but funny.....the title is "Her First Period", and it's a father talking to his daughter on a trail.....loudly......
15/ WalMart has had a rather lousy week, so their spokesman was on Fox News for an interview giving the corporate line......but Fox's corruption is more blatant than usual.....
WATCH: Fox Hands Walmart Easiest Interview Ever, Cuts To Walmart Commercial
16/ No well reviewed movies this week, but "Lincoln" and "Skyfall" are both still in theaters......both wonderful cinema......
Here is a TV series coming in January you might be interested in....."The Following", with Kevin Bacon, about a smart, cunning serial killer pursued by an FBI agent..........Mary buy some popcorn!
There's so much TV we're thankful for this holiday, but one of the most anticipated new shows of the season has yet to premiere.
HuffPost TV has the exclusive first look at Fox's newest promo for midseason drama "The Following" (premieres Mon., Jan. 21, 9 p.m. ET), above, starring Kevin Bacon as a former FBI agent brought back to work to track down a serial killer he once caught (James Purefoy), who has now escaped. But there's a big twist: This serial killer has amassed quite the fanbase since he was last captured, and now there are countless others doing his dirty work as well.
The show is shocking, scary, intense and edge-of-your-seat amazing. Watch the new preview above to get a taste
Todays video - the "Hamburger" scene from Pulp Fiction, where Jules and Vincent visit Brett in his apartment......salty language.....
Todays oldie but goodie joke
A family was driving behind a garbage truck when a large dildo flies out and hits the windshield.
To hide her embarrassment the mother turns and says to her young kids, "My, what a big insect!"
To which her 7 year old says, " I'm surprised it could fly with a dick that big."
To hide her embarrassment the mother turns and says to her young kids, "My, what a big insect!"
To which her 7 year old says, " I'm surprised it could fly with a dick that big."
Todays Irish Christmas joke
Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.
'In honor of this holy season' Saint Peter said, 'You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.'
The Englishman fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. 'It's a candle', he said.
'You may pass through the pearly gates' Saint Peter said.
The Scotsman reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, 'They're bells.'
Saint Peter said 'You may pass through the pearly gates'.
The Irishman started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties.
St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, 'And just what do those symbolize?'
The paddy replied, 'These are Carols.'
'In honor of this holy season' Saint Peter said, 'You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.'
The Englishman fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. 'It's a candle', he said.
'You may pass through the pearly gates' Saint Peter said.
The Scotsman reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, 'They're bells.'
Saint Peter said 'You may pass through the pearly gates'.
The Irishman started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties.
St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, 'And just what do those symbolize?'
The paddy replied, 'These are Carols.'
Todays joke for English Majors
Finished and complete.
No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words.
In a recently held linguistic competition held in London, England, and attended by the best in the world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese man from Bachelors Adventure, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes.
The final question was: How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand. Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.
Here is his astute answer .... when you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. When you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED. And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!
He won a trip to travel the world in style and a case of 25 year old Eldorado Rum.
In a recently held linguistic competition held in London, England, and attended by the best in the world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese man from Bachelors Adventure, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes.
The final question was: How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand. Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.
Here is his astute answer .... when you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. When you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED. And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!
He won a trip to travel the world in style and a case of 25 year old Eldorado Rum.
