Rapacious Romney

In just 2 minutes and 51 seconds Robert Reich explains the ins and outs of private equity and, in doing so, how Romney and the Bain Gang got so rich.

WAKE THE F@CK UP!

Samuel L. Jackson is back and reminding us that we need to wake up and work just as hard for our country in 2012 as we did in 2008!

This version of the video is NSFW!

Follow this link to a “bleeped” safer for work version.
(But the NSFW one is more effective!)

Many thanks to JCER, the Jewish Council for Education and Research.

Sex Sells

Now that I have your attention...

Today is National Voter Registration Day!

Are you registered to vote?

Yes?
Excellent!
Well done!

Will you be voting in the upcoming presidential election on Tuesday, November 6, 2012?
Yes?
Excellent!
I’m really proud of you!

Wait - you’re NOT registered yet?

Take a deep breath. There’s still time.

Here are the deadlines for a few states where friends and family live:

Here in Massachusetts you have until Wednesday, October 17, 2012!.

In Georgia you only have until Tuesday, October 9, 2012!.

In Rhode Island you have just until Sunday, October 7, 2012!.

In Maine you have until Tuesday, October 16, 2012!.

In Arizona you have until Tuesday, October 9, 2012!.

In Washington you only have until Saturday, October 6, 2012!.

In California you have until Monday, October 22, 2012!.

Do you live in another state and need information on how to register?
Here you go:

National Voter Registration Day
RockTheVote’s voter registration
The United States Election Assistance Commission
HeadCount
TurboVote

And last, but not least, Huffington Post has Registration And Voting Instructions For All 50 States

psssst... Do Something!
Register To VOTE!

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Fly Me To The Moon - But Not With Mitt

In sixth grade, my science teacher - Mrs. C. - taught us the basics of how airplanes work. I remember this because every single time I get on an airplane I think about it. This is especially true if I am seated near the wing. That’s when I look out the window and make note of the ailerons. Yup. Sixth grade. Airplanes. Covering the basics.

Which is why this report in the Los Angeles Times by Seema Mehta left me gobsmacked. Scroll down to paragraphs six and seven.

“When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem.”
~ Mitt Romney, Republican candidate for President of the United States of America

It’s official. Mitt Romney is an idiot.

Two more points:
1. Ms. Mehta buried the lede.
2. Would a reporter please ask Mitt Romney a followup question about submarines? Please?

“Professor Warren”

Did anybody count how many times Scott Brown said “Professor Warren” during their debate last week? Can anyone count that high?

In his inimitable style, Charlie Pierce hits the nail on the head in his scathing and brilliant assessment of current Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown’s overall campaign strategy against his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren.

Voter Suppression

This video from Sarah Silverman is definitely NSFW. But she covers the absurdity and evil insidiousness of voter suppression quite effectively.



To understand more about voter suppression check out this article from the Brennan Center for Justice.

This Time He Was Crystal Clear

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said:

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president [Obama] no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…
...These are people who pay no income tax.
...my job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

David Corn at Mother Jones has all the details.

Ezra Klein at the Washington Post explains precisely why Romney’s statement is so illuminating and vitally important.

psssst... Do Something!

Are You Registered to VOTE?

Chocolate for Breakfast

This Saturday and Sunday ONLY you can download “Chocolate for Breakfast” by Martha Reynolds for FREE from Amazon! The Kindle App is available for your computer, iPad, and iPhone so you don’t need a separate Kindle device to read a Kindle book.

Here’s the link to “Chocolate for Breakfast” on the USA Amazon store.

Here’s the link to “Chocolate for Breakfast” on the UK Amazon store.

I knew Martha a million years ago and was delighted she had published her first novel. Now I am looking forward to her next book!

Read the reviews and download your copy right now while it is still FREE!

Look But Don’t Touch

I saw this cute little caterpillar in our dooryard this afternoon. I snapped a couple of photographs and decided to look it up to see if I could identify it. I’m so glad I didn’t touch it. It’s a Hickory Tussock Caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae). It is not poisonous. But some people who come in contact with the caterpillar - or even its hairs left behind in fallen leaves - can develop a mild to severe rash, similar to poison ivy. Proving once again, you can’t judge a book - er - bug by its cover or something like that!

Here’s some additional information.

FUN or fun.

I am addicted.
And I am very happy about it.

As I posted back on August 7th Chuck and I celebrated to Fun’s “We Are Young” after a particularly stressful adventure to the ER. Shortly after that we bought both of Fun’s albums: “Aim and Ignite” and “Some Nights”. Recently I discovered these two acoustic versions of “Carry On” and “We Are Young”. I LOVE them both! I covet them! Yet I must be content with these videos because I cannot find them as EPs or as legal downloads.

Enjoy!

Belated Blog Thank You

First Sue and then Roo were both kind and generous when they chose to honor me with a “Thanks For Writing!” Award. They were especially generous because ever since my medical adventure in the summer of 2010, my posts here fell from nearly daily blogging to irregular bursts of activity. It’s true that I have passed the 12,000 Tweet mark over on Twitter. But the real culprit around here has been life and, sadly, death.

There are a few rules that go with the award:
Add the award Logo
Link the nominators Blog
Nominate 5 - 10 blogs you usually follow
Let the nominees know that they have been nominated and add their links
Say 7 random things about yourself

First, the bloggers:

Sue writes straight from the heart and sometimes makes mine ache with her vulnerability.
Roo inspires me with his photography and damn near always makes me laugh - even when he is writing about serious and important social and political matters.
Cathy Zielske teaches me a lot about digital scrapbooking and a whole bunch more about commitment and life.
Nicole has become the voice of Worcester - the smart, savvy, not-suffering-fools-gladly, frugal and feisty voice of Worcester.
Melanie has triumphed over adversity in the last year or so and never, ever lost her sense of humor.
Jeannette of Everybody Likes Sandwiches brings me recipes which are earthy, creative, healthy and usually have a twist which makes me ask: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Dancing Morgan Mouse and Wendy have both been quiet on their blogs of late, but not so on Twitter. So I have every confidence that they will be back to blogging soon. Wendy will bring us more slice of life moments of a South African living life to the fullest in London while pining for Cape Town. And Ms. Mouse will share Sydney’s flora, fauna and food with such wit as to make me want to fly nearly 24 hours just to experience it all firsthand.

Seven random things? After 1,500 posts on this blog I’m wondering what I haven’t shared already! But here goes:

1. As a kid, one of my favorite toys were “Liddle Kiddles”. They were the opposite of Barbie, who I also liked, and they had the cutest little house which doubled as a carrying case.

2. I add fruit such as sliced nectarines and strawberries to my homemade Sangria. When the Sangria is gone, I find the remaining wine-soaked fruit to be quite yummy over vanilla ice cream.

3. Back in my pre-teen and teenage days I learned that even though I was a shy kid who had trouble with extemporaneous speaking, I could get up in front of an audience or a congregation and speak from prepared texts with surprising ease.

4. I miss browsing in library card catalogues and encyclopedias. These days dang near everything we could want to know in this world can probably be found somewhere on the internet. But the serendipity of flipping through those tangible resources always brought some additional gift of knowledge.

5. I quit a job once because they insisted on promoting me to a position I didn’t want; on a schedule I didn’t want. The amazing thing was that they did it because they were so happy with my work. But they just wouldn’t let me stay where I was happy.

6. As an adult I have grown to love many vegetables which I never liked or even tasted as a kid. So it pleases me no end that Isabella, at the age of two, already has quite a broad veggie palate.

7. While I am happy to purchase and download an individual song from the internet, I have yet to feel comfortable downloading an entire album. For that I need to buy the physical CD.

Thanks again to Sue and Roo for their kindness!

September 11th

There were blue skies on a beautiful late summer day.

Then it all began to happen.

It changed us.
It changed us all.

Today, on this solemn eleventh anniversary, I want to remember the kindness. Citizens and leaders of countries all around the world reached out to us here in the United States. They expressed love, compassion, sympathy, friendship, solidarity and support. Ordinary folks of all ages took to the streets of their hometowns with signs and flowers and candles. They made their way to US embassies and signed condolence books. They ordered the flags of their own nations flown at half staff to honor the dead. They wept. They prayed. They rallied to our side. We were no longer one nation, but one world, indivisible, seeking liberty and justice for all.

Today, I will remember the kindness...

Twenty-One!

Chuck and I have known each other for twenty-seven years and, as of today, we have been married for twenty-one!

When we first got together we didn’t imagine the life we have now. Life does what it always does: throws curveballs. Most of what has come at us has all worked to good. This past year or so however, well, there’s no denying, it has been rough. But even when things aren’t ideal, we remain grateful to be going through all of it together.

Happy Anniversary Chuck - and thank you for every single minute!

Liberal

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The Wrong Direction

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The Newly Minted Ticket

Rapacious Mitt Romney has chosen the fanatical ideologue Paul Ryan to be his running mate.

It is not the gift to the sane people of this country it may seem to be.

It is, in fact, a call to action.

The alliterative Republican ticket will likely reassure the hidebound right-wingers that Romney’s term as governor of the “socialist” Commonwealth of Massachusetts was more like Dorothy’s Ozian dream and not simply more proof of the contortionist chameleon Romney really is. The deep right will see Romney’s choice of Ryan as Romney’s Come to Jesus moment and it may even allow them to overlook all the oddities of Mormonism which makes their evangelical blood run cold. (While evangelicals are not usually thrilled with Roman Catholics, in Ryan’s case the Vatican trumps the Temple.)

If you are not familiar with Congressman Paul Ryan, Ezra Klein has a quick overview here.

Paul Ryan Lowlights:

- Voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- Will end Medicare and turn it into a voucher system, thereby costing seniors thousands of dollars every year
- Will cut Pell Grants for education
- Voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
- Will ban all abortions even in the case of rape or incest
- Cosponsored a bill to ban common forms of contraceptives including many birth control pills
- Will increase taxes on the middle class and further reduce taxes on millionaires
- Voted against Marriage Equality
- Will cut funding to Head Start and other early education programs
- Voted to end funding for Planned Parenthood
- Will dismantle the Affordable Care Act - AKA “Obamacare” and, ironically, “Romneycare"
- Will slash funding for infrastructure - roads, bridges and rail
- In his budget, 62 % of the cuts will be taken from low-income programs
- Will cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Food Stamps 18%

No matter how repellent Ryan’s ideology and intentions are, we must not forget that he is cool under fire in debates and interviews. He also states his “facts” in a compelling way - rather like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. We must take action so as to avoid an equally disastrous ending.

We Are Young

Friday night into the wee hours of Saturday morning, Chuck and I were on tenterhooks. Chuck had what can best be described as a health crisis. We drove to the Emergency Room and after more than three and a half hours and lots of tests, we left reassured and almost relieved. The very long ride to the ER was taut and tense but punctuated with nervous laughter. Laughter after all is not only the best medicine it’s how the two of us cope with what comes along labeled as “Life.” The ride home was heavy on genuine laughter with a whole lot of counting of blessings.

Arriving home after 5:00 a.m., with the sky lightening to that beautiful marine blue of dawn, we were delighted to be home. As we pulled into the driveway the song “We Are Young” by Fun came on the radio. I put the Subaru in park, turned the engine off, but left the key in the ignition and turned the radio up. We got out of the car, left the doors open and danced to the music with our arms up in the air. The only thing missing was lighters held up toward the stage.

Here’s Fun’s video of “We Are Young”. To my taste, the video is just O.K. But the song is fabulous. Maybe if Fun ever does a re-shoot they can capture two people, with 123 years of life experience between them, dancing in their driveway, having just dodged a bullet...

The Best Response To Chick-Fil-A & Huckabee

Mike Huckabee decided it was very, very important to support fast food chain Chick-Fil-A, specifically the Cathy family that owns the corporation. So former Governor Huckabee organized “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” for August 1, 2012. Huckabee stepped in because he was unhappy that the Cathy family and Chick-Fil-A were taking heat for being anti-gay.

It’s important to note that the Cathy family and Chick-Fil-A didn’t engender such ire because of just one single comment its president, Dan Cathy, made to The Baptist Press back in July. In the Huffington Post, David Badash spells out a long history (with many source links) of anti-gay and anti-marriage-equality positions plus discrimination lawsuits in “Chick-fil-A: 5 Reasons It Isn't What You Think”.

So thanks to Mike Huckabee devoting his energy, time, public profile and position of power to “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” the fast food restaurants were jammed yesterday. I hoped they wouldn’t show up. I knew they would. It was all just too easy a target with the bonus of a 440 calorie sandwich replete with 16grams of fat.

Enter Matthew Paul Turner. He’s apparently a very religious guy from Tennessee. Turns out he is a fine writer and he wrote the best response I have read to Huckabee and all those prideful Christians who came out in droves yesterday:

5 Reasons Why The Church Failed Yesterday by Matthew Paul Turner.


Many thanks to Tracy AKA Cascading Waters for her ReTweet of Mr. Turner’s response.

Mitt Gets Worse

Many thanks to Julie Goodridge, Mitt Gets Worse and MoveOn.Org for shining a bright light on Mitt Romney.

50 Shades of Grey - The Musical

No worries! This little video send-up of the best selling trilogy is not BDSM set to music. (Christian and Anastasia already did that!) But this music video does begin to capture the debate around the book rather nicely.