Gipsy Kings - Volare

Bits and Pieces for the Week of November 21 - 27

Are you a fan of our justice system? Then don't read this scathing exposé if you don't want to puke your guts out. (Mike)

How Ireland plans to force a large portion of its population into poverty. Notice how they leave corporations alone.(Mike)

My feel good story for this Thanksgiving Holiday... a homeless man returning a backpack that didn't belong to him has his future changed. In the meantime, it temporarily restores my faith in humanity. (7 of 6)

"A 2-year-old boy died in Staples Center at a Lakers game..." a few days ago after scaling a balcony ledge. This will feed the paranoia of millions of parents. But you know what? A lot of careless parents should be more paranoid. (Mike)

Corporations are sitting on piles of cash and not hiring. But are still hesitant to hire because they are worried about, "... consumer demand that's still slack..." How do you get it through their thick skulls? Demand will increase if you hire, because people will have money to spend, thus stimulating the economy!!! (7 of 6)

This USA Today quiz (only 5 questions) says that I was born in 1938. That's a couple of decades off, but the quiz was still fun to take. (Mike)

Why the new TSA scanners and pat-downs at airports are so important. (Mike)

If you have some $$ that you literally want to throw away, go contribute to this and support a former candidate who lost but refuses to believe it. (Mike)

While people celebrate Thanksgiving this week, there will be 18 families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan last week. Lets get out of Afghanistan... NOW! (7 of 6)

If the thawing of Siberian permafrost doesn't startle you yet, read this article. (7 of 6)

Billionaire... Warren Buffett says rich should pay more tax. "...I think that people at the high end – people like myself – should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it." (7 of 6)

The Arizona GOP

Seriously, folks. The TSA's newest airport screening procedures are not an attempt to make our lives more any more miserable. There's no foreign terrorist conspiracy to make our lives slightly less convenient. The new methods (full-body scan and optional pat-down) are the best ones we currently have available to detect explosives that are now so refined that the most recent security procedures would have missed them.

If just one or two of these explosives successfully brought down airliners over the US, the entire air travel industry would be thrown into chaos. Besides the loss of lives, the economy would likely take a nosedive, and people would be scared shitless to board another commercial plane.

The distain so many people are showing these days about the new security is insane. The government is actually trying to insure, the best way they can on a large scale, the safety of everyone. This is one of the prime objectives of all democratic governments. If there was a better and less intrusive way of doing this, it would be happening now. The spoiled, selfish nature of many Americans is quite evident with this latest uproar.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of November 14 - 20

Another mortgage scam raking billions off homeowners and investors. Is this financial madness ever going to stop? (Mike)

Sign me up... Antimatter Breakthrough Could Lead to Starships, Says Scientist (7 of 6)

Sad news for manufacturers of solar panels. Decreased worldwide government subsidies may force many out of business. (Mike)

What a relief. It was made clear that Neo-Nazi's marching in Phoenix were not welcome... even with help from police guaranteeing their right to assemble, it was a bad scene when a riot with protesters broke out and eventually sent them on their way. Sad to hear about the violence, but what's a little rock upside the head of skinhead? (7 of 6)

Wonders never cease! After all the provisional ballots were counted... "Arizona will be the 15th state to legalize medical marijuana." (7 of 6)

Best. Parody. Ever!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Manchurian Lunatic
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Freddy Jones Band - In A Daydream

Quantitative Easing Explained

Strong Democrats with Simple Politics

Liberals to Dem leaders: Hold a vote just on extending middle class tax cuts. "Now Dem Reps. Raul Grijalva and Lynn Woolsey, the two co-chairs of the House Progressive Caucus, have endorsed this approach, sending a letter to Nancy Pelosi asking her to carry it out:"

As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, we would like to reiterate our support for President Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal that would extend the Bush tax rates for the middle class, but permit the tax levels to return to previous levels for single taxpayers making more than $200,000 or married couples making more than $250,000. We respectfully request that we have a Caucus discussion regarding our position before any proposal is brought to the Floor.... We believe extending the Bush tax cuts would be a giveaway to the nation's wealthiest people and would significantly increase government debt. This debt, in turn, will be paid by the lower and middle classes through increased interest payments and decreased social services for generations to come. This astronomical sum could instead be used to close our budget deficit. It is critical that we pass President Obama' s middle-class tax proposal without providing an even greater lift for the wealthiest Americans who don't need it.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of November 7 - 13

Yet another immoral and unethical government bailout of our financial institutions is in the oven. (Mike)

Howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow (Mike)

Republicans Prefer Family, Democrats Prefer Murder. I think it's all the pent-up stress, from trying to act civilized towards the knuckle-dragging Republicans, that Dems are releasing by watching TV violence. (Mike)

Emboldened Neo-Nazis on the march in Phoenix, AZ. Is this really what this country has come too? (7 of 6)

12 Black Friday Secrets Retailers Don't Want You To Know (Mike)

The movie about CIA Spy, Valerie Plame, and her Husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, Fair Game, is currently playing at only one theater in the entire Phoenix area... our own District 9 here. (7 of 6)

Ya think! Oil traces found in Gulf food chain, scientists say. (7 of 6)

Republi-cons once again, working closely with President Obama in these times of crisis. "Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, refused to take a federal government shutdown off the table Sunday and said that President Barack Obama shares responsibility in running the government." No Eric, you control the purse strings, if there is a Government shut down, it is entirely congress's fault! (7 of 6)

It's BS science like this that turns seemingly intelligent and educated people into The Stupids. (Mike)

Some Friday Fun:

Veteran's Day

A touch of Americana this Veteran's Day. My Mother, Son and I went to visit my Father's gravestone at the National Memorial Cemetery Of Arizona. Flags lined the entry way along with Saguaros and Palo Verde. Boy scouts were doing volunteer work cleaning, raking and picking up trash. An old Navy Veteran asked me, "Where do I look for my Buddies grave markers?", so I pointed him in the right direction. Harley riders coming and showing their respect to their family members. Seeing all the weeping men, women and children for every Veteran laid to rest; it was an honor to see the respect shown.

Ted Rall: We need a revolution

Gut Microbes

You have between two and five pounds of microbes in your gut. How important are they? Very. Snippet:

"....We are born without any gut flora, and we cannot produce them. We must acquire them from the environment and from the food we eat. Processed industrial food, which is sterilized to avoid spoilage as it ages, prevents the natural transfer of healthy microbes from nature into our bodies. This is why laws in many states requiring pasteurization of dairy, nuts and other foods may do more harm than good: Pasteurization cuts off our needed supply of microbes. We get these necessary microbes from raw honey, which most people never eat, from raw almonds, which are illegal to sell in the supermarket, from whole grains, which most people don't buy and from fresh produce, which hardly anyone eats enough of, as well as from other sources. "A study conducted by Italian scientists found that African children who eat a diet of primarily millet grain, sorghum wheat, legumes, vegetables and even the occasional termite had vastly superior gut flora than Italian children who eat a typical Western diet high in animal protein, fat and sugar. Most likely because of that better flora, the African kids rarely get allergies, asthma or suffer from the wide range of autoimmune disorders common among European and American children...."

Echo Park

This song came out during the Vietnam War. I was way too young to appreciate its deeper meaning, a tribute to forgotten veterans and those whose lives were forever changed by the loss of those young Americans maimed and killed as a result of our nation's incessant imperialistic drive. These days our government, more than ever, entices our young to be all they can be, but fails to tell them that support, at the other end of their military career, will be worse than ever. Considering how we've most recently coerced and fooled our young into going to Iraq and now Afghanistan for no GOOD reasons, I think this song is even more appropriate today.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of October 31 - November 6

I know about different standards, but seriously, non-American, chairman, CEO, owner of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, can donate 2 million dollars to the Republi-con party, while Keith Olbermann gets suspended without pay for donating $7,200.00 to 3 Democratic candidates. (7 of 6)

I'm sure his sentence would have been much worse if the victim had been white.(Mike)

Current social mores will result in a continued increase in the percent of fat Americans. (Mike)

Lets make sure China speeds ahead of the U.S. in all areas of progress. Two republi-con governors-elect, vow to stop federally funded work on high speed rail projects in their states: John Kasich of Ohio, because as we all know Ohio certainly doesn't need 8,000 new jobs or a way to travel between their major cities; and Wisconsin's Scott Walker, ridiculous when you think it was part of the "...$810 million... stimulus grant..." (7 of 6)

The man who apologized to BP, Joe Barton, will now be in charge of the Energy and Commerce Committee. I can't help but laugh out loud! (7 of 6)

Pay attention people! "In fact 94% of the rest of the Progressive Caucus also won (compared to only 47% of the Blue Dogs)." - Jim Dean, Democracy for America (7 of 6)

All State of California election results are HERE. Propositions results are on page 37. (Mike)

Enough election news. Let's see how well a crash-proof motorcycle works. (Mike)

Californians might be clueless enough to elect Arnold Groperzenegger twice, but at least yesterday rested their celebrity-worshiping brain cells to pass a sanity-driven proposition that will change the requirement from 2/3 to Simple Majority Vote by the Legislature to Pass Annual State Budget (Mike)

We have to tax the super rich. "David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's budget director who once preached tax cuts, is now in favor of putting a one-time surtax on the rich." (7 of 6)

This opening minute of a newscast is funnier than watching a teabagger try to spell two-syllable words on a poster. (Mike)

Election day quote: "Impress upon children the truth that the exercise of the elective franchise is a social duty of as solemn a nature as man can be called to perform; that a man may not innocently trifle with his vote; that every elector is a trustee as well for others as himself and that every ...measure he supports has an important bearing on the interests of others as well as on his own." - Daniel Webster (7 of 6)

Congratulations... San Francisco! (7 of 6)

Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine. "But experts said it would be impractical and incorrect to outlaw alcohol." Amazing, the study doesn't even count prescription drugs. (7 of 6)

Meanwhile... 10 more service members were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. (7 of 6)

A Rant About the Left From the Left

"So there's going to be a lot of ink expended over the next couple of weeks trying to figure out how this happened, as if it's a goddamn mystery. This economy blows goats, and instead of being out there every day yelling HEY WE TRIED TO FIX IT THOSE FUCKERS WOULDN'T LET US ALSO BUSH BAILED OUT THE BANKS NOT US, Democrats pretty much figured the midterms were gonna be a bloodbath and hunkered down and hoped it wouldn't hit them too hard. Because that works. That always works. "Here's the problem, you gutless fucks. You had majorities. And I KNOW, okay, but all America sees is that you had majorities and you wasted them. Because that's what the GOP told them, and you said, "buh buh buh" and couldn't point to anything you did right, not even with the unwashed hippies holding your arm up for you. You had majorities, and you had Harry Reid, refusing to be mean to Republicans by shoving stuff through. You had majorities, and you had Barack Obama acting like he was already an ex-president and could be gracious and social with these pricks. You had majorities, used them to do some stuff, and then sat back and acted like we should be grateful when we can fucking count. "We can fucking count, out here. We know what 51 means. We know what 257 means. We're not morons. And all the procedural whatsit you argue today, about ConservaDems and Blue Dogs, doesn't mean shit. You had it, and we worked hard to give it to you, and we see you calling things impossible which are just very hard, and we get fucking annoyed, because we don't get to get away with that shit. Not at our jobs and not in our lives. "Now, I'm not excusing the Party of I Hate You or these teabagging excuses for human beings who think education is vaguely homosexual in some sinister way, but I am saying that the lesson we're all going to take away from this is that America just isn't a Democratic nation and we should all tack to the right and us hippies should just die in a fire already, which is bullshit. The lesson we should take away from this is that America doesn't like pussies, doesn't like whiners and it sure as fuck doesn't like parties that pretend to be able to do less than they can do just because they don't want to work that hard or have Chris Matthews call them mean. "You had majorities. You had power and you told us you were powerless. Why would anyone reward that with more power? Why would anyone think that's a good idea? "Schmucks."

LINK

Some Friday Fun:

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