How many men die each year due to pregnancy related risks?
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Showing posts with label Medication Induced Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medication Induced Blogging. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Personhood Amendment
Goddammit.
Perhaps it is time that we introduce a new Personhood Amendment? Something to the effect that “Women are full human beings, with full rights over their bodies and complete freedom to make decisions respecting their bodies, health and futures.”
All of this new controversy over requiring that health insurance plans, regardless of where they are offered, cover birth control without copay, is absolutely absurd.
I have heard enough from Newt & Rick & Mitt & Ron Paul about ‘religious freedom’ and what an attack on the Catholic Church that this has been. Well, for thousands of years the Catholic Church, and other male dominated power structures, have been attacking women and our autonomy and it is about fucking time for a little push back.
This is not about abortion. This is not about birth control. This is not about the group of cells that may or may not be duplicating in someone’s uterus.
This is about Women.
This whole bullshit argument is about whether or not women can be trusted to think and decide for themselves what is best for themselves and their body and their future - or whether they need the state, or a man, telling them what they can or cannot do.
Women understand how our bodies work. We understand, and can comprehend, the multitude of issues that arise from our reproductive health and, thankfully, there are [still] organizations that can assist us in getting the care that we need.
Despite all of the arguments to the contrary, women are capable of making these decisions ourselves.
It is very simple: either I have control over my body or someone else does.
These arguments have always been about controlling women and limiting their abilities to control their own lives. Take away a woman’s choice about her own fertility and you limit every choice that that woman will ever be able to make for the rest of her life.
When, in this country, will we finally decide that women are full persons with all of the rights of a full person? Oh, that’s right, we have been trying to get a women’s ‘personhood amendment’ passed for 89 years and counting.
Read more!
Perhaps it is time that we introduce a new Personhood Amendment? Something to the effect that “Women are full human beings, with full rights over their bodies and complete freedom to make decisions respecting their bodies, health and futures.”
All of this new controversy over requiring that health insurance plans, regardless of where they are offered, cover birth control without copay, is absolutely absurd.
I have heard enough from Newt & Rick & Mitt & Ron Paul about ‘religious freedom’ and what an attack on the Catholic Church that this has been. Well, for thousands of years the Catholic Church, and other male dominated power structures, have been attacking women and our autonomy and it is about fucking time for a little push back.
This is not about abortion. This is not about birth control. This is not about the group of cells that may or may not be duplicating in someone’s uterus.
This is about Women.
This whole bullshit argument is about whether or not women can be trusted to think and decide for themselves what is best for themselves and their body and their future - or whether they need the state, or a man, telling them what they can or cannot do.
Women understand how our bodies work. We understand, and can comprehend, the multitude of issues that arise from our reproductive health and, thankfully, there are [still] organizations that can assist us in getting the care that we need.
Despite all of the arguments to the contrary, women are capable of making these decisions ourselves.
It is very simple: either I have control over my body or someone else does.
These arguments have always been about controlling women and limiting their abilities to control their own lives. Take away a woman’s choice about her own fertility and you limit every choice that that woman will ever be able to make for the rest of her life.
When, in this country, will we finally decide that women are full persons with all of the rights of a full person? Oh, that’s right, we have been trying to get a women’s ‘personhood amendment’ passed for 89 years and counting.
Read more!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
YES, It Has Come to This
Will Marry for Health Insurance dot com.
Not a joke. The real deal. Desperate woman with a story that I can very much relate to.
Fuck.
H/T to Thom Hartmann for interviewing her today.
Read more!
Not a joke. The real deal. Desperate woman with a story that I can very much relate to.
Fuck.
H/T to Thom Hartmann for interviewing her today.
Read more!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Obama Presidency is Officially Over
At least that is what one would have to believe if they had listened to any of the media reporting over the last 24 hours.
OK, Coakley ran a shitty campaign. Democrats took the seat for granted. The DSCC dropped the ball. And, the votes have not even yet been counted!
There are major problems with the MA election, and I am waiting for it to be certified before I cry defeat. (I get it that certification will probably come without the full investigation of the funny machines or the BS ballots, but I can always dream.) I do not understand why Coakley jumped so quickly to concede…I do not get it, unless she planned to lose. Her concession will make it a lot more difficult to actually count the ballots.
Enough said about Massachusetts. It does not mean shit. With Bayh, Landrieu, Lieberman, Nelson, Nelson and the others, we really never had 60 votes anyway.
I spend a lot of time listening to a lot of media. I have Left Wing radio on and MSNBC almost all the time. I never miss the Sunday shows. I read endlessly. I pay attention to what is being said and how it is being said. They are working overtime right now to spin this MA election as the end of the Obama Presidency and they are wrong.
We need to call and write and make clear why it is that the Dems lost the MA seat. We need to tell our representatives the truth. They will not be hearing the truth inside the beltway because the beltway common fucking wisdom is that the problem with Obama and his presidency is the DFH.
Maybe they are correct, but not in the way that they think.
The beltway press wants to spin this that the liberals were getting too much of their way, that Obama was too far to the left, that the Dirty Fucking Hippies ruined the Obama Presidency.
They’ll say that we have to move to the ‘center.’ That we have to act like the principle-less right wing. They are blaming MA on us; it is the DFH’s fault.
The only way that it is our fault is because we have not insisted loudly enough that the Congress follow the Progressive Principles that got them elected. We worked in 2006 & 2008 to send people to congress to get it done.
We want real healthcare reform (and we want it now.) We want a real jobs package, a New New Deal (and we want it now.) We want the Employee Free Choice Act (and we want it now.) We want the banksters thrown out of the corporate world and we want their seats removed from the table at the Whitehouse (and we want it now.) We want control over our own bodies (and we want it now.) We want the ERA (and we want it now.) We want an end to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (and we want it now.) We want marriage available to any committed couple who wants it, gay or straight, (and we want it now.) We want the banking industry reformed (and we want it now.) We want the wars to come to an end (and we want it now.) We want Gitmo closed (and we want it now.) We want fairness for our people and accountability in our government (and we want it now.) We want the bankruptcy laws fixed (and we want it now.) We want the Bush Admin held accountable for their crimes (and we want it now.)
These are the messages that we need to impart to our congress critters. This is what we need to tell them. This is why we lost (if we really lost) Massachusetts. This is what we need to say to our friends and colleagues and representatives and President. This is what we need to tell them; the Obama Presidency is not over, we are just getting started. We want a Progressive congress and President (and we want it now.)
Cross posted at PAS.
Read more!
OK, Coakley ran a shitty campaign. Democrats took the seat for granted. The DSCC dropped the ball. And, the votes have not even yet been counted!
There are major problems with the MA election, and I am waiting for it to be certified before I cry defeat. (I get it that certification will probably come without the full investigation of the funny machines or the BS ballots, but I can always dream.) I do not understand why Coakley jumped so quickly to concede…I do not get it, unless she planned to lose. Her concession will make it a lot more difficult to actually count the ballots.
Enough said about Massachusetts. It does not mean shit. With Bayh, Landrieu, Lieberman, Nelson, Nelson and the others, we really never had 60 votes anyway.
I spend a lot of time listening to a lot of media. I have Left Wing radio on and MSNBC almost all the time. I never miss the Sunday shows. I read endlessly. I pay attention to what is being said and how it is being said. They are working overtime right now to spin this MA election as the end of the Obama Presidency and they are wrong.
We need to call and write and make clear why it is that the Dems lost the MA seat. We need to tell our representatives the truth. They will not be hearing the truth inside the beltway because the beltway common fucking wisdom is that the problem with Obama and his presidency is the DFH.
Maybe they are correct, but not in the way that they think.
The beltway press wants to spin this that the liberals were getting too much of their way, that Obama was too far to the left, that the Dirty Fucking Hippies ruined the Obama Presidency.
They’ll say that we have to move to the ‘center.’ That we have to act like the principle-less right wing. They are blaming MA on us; it is the DFH’s fault.
The only way that it is our fault is because we have not insisted loudly enough that the Congress follow the Progressive Principles that got them elected. We worked in 2006 & 2008 to send people to congress to get it done.
We want real healthcare reform (and we want it now.) We want a real jobs package, a New New Deal (and we want it now.) We want the Employee Free Choice Act (and we want it now.) We want the banksters thrown out of the corporate world and we want their seats removed from the table at the Whitehouse (and we want it now.) We want control over our own bodies (and we want it now.) We want the ERA (and we want it now.) We want an end to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (and we want it now.) We want marriage available to any committed couple who wants it, gay or straight, (and we want it now.) We want the banking industry reformed (and we want it now.) We want the wars to come to an end (and we want it now.) We want Gitmo closed (and we want it now.) We want fairness for our people and accountability in our government (and we want it now.) We want the bankruptcy laws fixed (and we want it now.) We want the Bush Admin held accountable for their crimes (and we want it now.)
These are the messages that we need to impart to our congress critters. This is what we need to tell them. This is why we lost (if we really lost) Massachusetts. This is what we need to say to our friends and colleagues and representatives and President. This is what we need to tell them; the Obama Presidency is not over, we are just getting started. We want a Progressive congress and President (and we want it now.)
Cross posted at PAS.
Read more!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Show Everyone Real Freedom of Speech
In Arizona alone: At Democratic congress woman Gabrielle Giffords healthcare meeting a rabid protester dropped a gun out of his pocket. Anne Kirkpatrick couldn't get hers started... The meeting was shut down, republi-cons bragged, calling it "recess roastings". Harry Mitchell's meeting was a farce, with "screamers" everywhere... no respect shown. Threats of violence were issued to Union members if they showed up to voice their opinions.
Last night, republi-con Jeff Flake held his meeting... it was civil and orderly, people outside joked with the media that they were "the angry mob". At Trent Franks meeting they were disappointed there wasn't enough room... again, very subdued and joking about being "the angry mob". John Shadegg's meeting was similar. All three republi-con congress members had one thing in common, respect shown.
Guns, screaming, threats of violence... no respect at the Democratic congress members meetings. Orderly, civil, subdued, and jokes about being "the angry mob" at all the Republican member meetings. That describes Arizona and the rest of the USA currently.
It's evident in Arizona, on FAUX News, right wing radio and through out America, free speech exists for the Republican party. Especially when it resorts to outlandish behavior, inciting violence and preying on people's fear.
Taking August off has once again played into the hands of the party of NO. The Democratic Party is reeling during this recess. The repukes had a strategy... absurd and idiotic as it is... it's effective, and it's taking the voice from the healthcare discussion. Democrats need to be smart about this right now... get organized... this could be a significant political turning point... time to stop fucking around. Democrats won majorities in both Houses, the Presidency... in other words, the vote... time to immediately pass effective healthcare legislation, show everyone real Freedom of Speech!!
Read more!
Last night, republi-con Jeff Flake held his meeting... it was civil and orderly, people outside joked with the media that they were "the angry mob". At Trent Franks meeting they were disappointed there wasn't enough room... again, very subdued and joking about being "the angry mob". John Shadegg's meeting was similar. All three republi-con congress members had one thing in common, respect shown.
Guns, screaming, threats of violence... no respect at the Democratic congress members meetings. Orderly, civil, subdued, and jokes about being "the angry mob" at all the Republican member meetings. That describes Arizona and the rest of the USA currently.
It's evident in Arizona, on FAUX News, right wing radio and through out America, free speech exists for the Republican party. Especially when it resorts to outlandish behavior, inciting violence and preying on people's fear.
Taking August off has once again played into the hands of the party of NO. The Democratic Party is reeling during this recess. The repukes had a strategy... absurd and idiotic as it is... it's effective, and it's taking the voice from the healthcare discussion. Democrats need to be smart about this right now... get organized... this could be a significant political turning point... time to stop fucking around. Democrats won majorities in both Houses, the Presidency... in other words, the vote... time to immediately pass effective healthcare legislation, show everyone real Freedom of Speech!!
Read more!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary!
After 61 days of waiting, Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis finally gets past "The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee". Finally *raises hands towards the heavens*, if she is approved by the full Senate... a pro-Union, pro-safety, pro-green job, pro-healthcare Labor Secretary.
Could this be President Obama's Frances Perkins? I hope for all of us she is half what Perkins was!
Of course for me it's the sheer happiness I get from watching the Repbuli-cons worst nightmare become Labor Secretary... an empowered, pro-Labor, petite Hispanic Woman (reminds me of my wife). Hilda Solis is the polar opposite of these republi-con slimeballs. She had to work twice as hard to achieve her position, is probably the poorest member of Obama's cabinet and truly cares about working class Americans.
Let's have a big shout out for Hilda Solis!
Read more!
Could this be President Obama's Frances Perkins? I hope for all of us she is half what Perkins was!
Of course for me it's the sheer happiness I get from watching the Repbuli-cons worst nightmare become Labor Secretary... an empowered, pro-Labor, petite Hispanic Woman (reminds me of my wife). Hilda Solis is the polar opposite of these republi-con slimeballs. She had to work twice as hard to achieve her position, is probably the poorest member of Obama's cabinet and truly cares about working class Americans.
Let's have a big shout out for Hilda Solis!
Read more!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Apoplectic
First of all, I love that word. There are some words that are just plain fun and some that are fun to say (one of my favorites is "Odierno" - say it a few times with the emphasis on the "o"s - fun, isn't it?) Secondly, apoplectic is what every single pundit was today, over the gawd damned Daschle withdrawal.
What is the deal?
I do believe that Idio was correct, this is Monica on steroids and it is bad. I hope that the Dems wake the fuck up now and do not try to deal with the Wingnuts. The friggin' Wingnuts and their buddies, "The Liberal Media," are just falling all over themselves to see who can say that the Obama Presidency is an abject failure first.
It is the media's fault that they are so quick to grab the GOP narrative on everything rather than report the stoopid news as it really is...and they do not even report the fucking news. We have to find the actual news ourselves because the media is so busy trying to make scandals where none exist [target: Democrats] and so busy ignoring actual scandals and catastrophes [target: Republicans.]
I was so furious today because our fucking country is going down the shitter and it is going down quick - due to the Republican hacks who fucked us endlessly. The People got busy and threw the bums out. The media seems not to notice that the villagers are restless and instead of reporting on what is really wrong, what we are really mad about, these pricks spend all of their time creating problems where none exist. Why do the media dumb asses hate this country??
Listen, and this is to us impatient Liberals too, Obama was handed over a shitstorm of nasty that he has barely even had the time to uncover, the GOP are being the obstructionists that they are (I do not think that they are capable of being anything else - even when they are in charge,) the GOP has managed to block Obama's Cabinet on top of their other sabotage activity, the media is reaming him endlessly and the whole fucking country is asking him why everything isn't better yet and because the whole world has not miraculously changed in the two fucking weeks that he has been in office does that mean that he has broken his campaign promises?
Jeebus people. Everyone is freaking out because Bushco has not yet been indicted and is not yet sitting in prison when Obama's Attorney General was not even sworn in until today! Crap!
Let's all just take a deep breath, settle down, relax, take a chill pill and at least allow Obama to have his staff in place and sworn in before we demand that all things be better. Apoplexy be damned!
/Rant over.
Read more!
What is the deal?
I do believe that Idio was correct, this is Monica on steroids and it is bad. I hope that the Dems wake the fuck up now and do not try to deal with the Wingnuts. The friggin' Wingnuts and their buddies, "The Liberal Media," are just falling all over themselves to see who can say that the Obama Presidency is an abject failure first.
It is the media's fault that they are so quick to grab the GOP narrative on everything rather than report the stoopid news as it really is...and they do not even report the fucking news. We have to find the actual news ourselves because the media is so busy trying to make scandals where none exist [target: Democrats] and so busy ignoring actual scandals and catastrophes [target: Republicans.]
I was so furious today because our fucking country is going down the shitter and it is going down quick - due to the Republican hacks who fucked us endlessly. The People got busy and threw the bums out. The media seems not to notice that the villagers are restless and instead of reporting on what is really wrong, what we are really mad about, these pricks spend all of their time creating problems where none exist. Why do the media dumb asses hate this country??
Listen, and this is to us impatient Liberals too, Obama was handed over a shitstorm of nasty that he has barely even had the time to uncover, the GOP are being the obstructionists that they are (I do not think that they are capable of being anything else - even when they are in charge,) the GOP has managed to block Obama's Cabinet on top of their other sabotage activity, the media is reaming him endlessly and the whole fucking country is asking him why everything isn't better yet and because the whole world has not miraculously changed in the two fucking weeks that he has been in office does that mean that he has broken his campaign promises?
Jeebus people. Everyone is freaking out because Bushco has not yet been indicted and is not yet sitting in prison when Obama's Attorney General was not even sworn in until today! Crap!
Let's all just take a deep breath, settle down, relax, take a chill pill and at least allow Obama to have his staff in place and sworn in before we demand that all things be better. Apoplexy be damned!
/Rant over.
Read more!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Nationalize the Banks Already!
We really need to Nationalize the bad banks before we dump anymore money into them. This site explains why. And it makes economics easy to understand.
Read more!
Now why is nationalization a better use of money? Well first, we are much too far down the road to discuss hands off policies (even though I advocated for this long ago because I knew things like TARP and Ben Bernanke’s nutty work were simply money being flushed down the toilet). First, with nationalization we own the banks flat out. We can then do the following:Amen brothers and sisters!! Can I get a big Amen?
-Shareholders get eliminated
-Bondholders get eliminated
-Management gets the boot
-Then and only then, do we separate out the good and bad assets. The good assets we try to sell them off to the market. The bad assets, we assess and slowly process a pricing model and get rid of them. Yet we know since the ownership is now ours that we’ll try to mitigate the loss for taxpayers. Right now with TARP and possibly the bad bank, banks are trying to off load as much of the crap at the highest cost to taxpayers while keeping the caviar assets all for themselves.
-This will get credit moving again because now instead of absurd capital injections, banks will now need to lend money because guess what, we freakin own them and we can decide whether we loan or not!
There is nothing more preposterous than a bad bank...
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Top Stories of 2008?
The AP's Top 10 2008 stories:
What are your top stories of 2008?
Plans tonight anyone? New Year Eve Open Thread.
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1. U.S. ELECTION.Sarah Palin at 7? Maybe if you combine it with John McCain's failure to select a more qualified V/P pick. I think the Environmental disaster in Tennessee should be in the top 10.
2. ECONOMIC MELTDOWN.
3. OIL PRICES.
4. IRAQ.
5. BEIJING OLYMPICS.
6. CHINESE EARTHQUAKE.
7. SARAH PALIN.
8. MUMBAI TERRORISM.
9. HILLARY CLINTON.
10. RUSSIA-GEORGIA WAR.
Stories that almost made the Top 10 included Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 84,000 people in Myanmar; Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which wreaked deadly damage in the Caribbean and on the U.S. Gulf Coast; and the seesaw fate of same-sex marriage in California, where a court ruling approving it was later overturned by a ballot measure.
Several write-in votes were cast for two developments that occurred too late to be included on the AP ballot — the indictment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the efforts of struggling U.S. automakers to get a federal bailout. The alleged financial scam involving Bernard Madoff also was revealed too late to make the ballot...
What are your top stories of 2008?
Plans tonight anyone? New Year Eve Open Thread.
Read more!
Monday, December 22, 2008
A Feel Good Story of the Holiday Season
Who here can't resist "throwing a big shoe" at bu$h? I know I can't... what this young man did took some "Grande Huevos" and should be taught in schools as a way of protesting any corrupt regime, government or monarchy. Anything to delay the (illegal) process of an out going pResident from screwing over the populace during their last 60 days in office.
We will know right away if Obama will fight for what is environmentally right! This case will also test Ken Salazar upon confirmation: Will he fight big corporations and their explotation of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management? Or will he stand with the environmentalist?
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.
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Tim DeChristopher Throws Utah Oil And Gas Drilling Leases Auction Into ChaosMy wish for the Holiday Season is that Tim DeChristopher has a lot of donations to help his legal fund and the federal court drags this into the Obama Administration. Then an immediate pardon from Obama.
An environmental activist tainted an auction of oil and gas drilling leases Friday by bidding up parcels of land by hundreds of thousands of dollars without any intention of paying for them, a federal official said.
The process was thrown into chaos and the bidding halted for a time before the auction was closed, with 116 parcels totaling 148,598 acres having sold for $7.2 million plus fees.
"He's tainted the entire auction," said Kent Hoffman, deputy state director for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Utah.
Hoffman said buyers will have 10 days to reconsider and withdraw their bids if they think they paid too much.
Tim DeChristopher, a 27-year-old University of Utah economics student, said his plan was to disrupt the auction and he feels he accomplished his goal.
DeChristopher won the bidding on 13 parcels, auction records show, and drove up the price of several other pieces of land.
"I thought I could be effective by making bids, driving up prices for others and winning some bids myself," the Salt Lake City man said.
Some bidders said they were forced to bid thousands of dollars more for their parcels, while others fumed that they lost their bids...
We will know right away if Obama will fight for what is environmentally right! This case will also test Ken Salazar upon confirmation: Will he fight big corporations and their explotation of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management? Or will he stand with the environmentalist?
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.
Read more!
Holiday Open Thread
OMG, Toyota's posting it's first operating loss since 1950! It's all the Unions fault... damn Unions, causing Toyota to go broke... oh yeah, Toyota doesn't have Union workers.
UPDATE: Just when I get flippant about Toyota and Unions, emptywheel puts out a great article on Toyota being a model for success.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.
Read more!
UPDATE: Just when I get flippant about Toyota and Unions, emptywheel puts out a great article on Toyota being a model for success.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Solstice, Wonderful Kwanzaa and Happy New Year.
Read more!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Obama’s First Scandal
The RNC demands to know “what did Obama know, and when did he know it?!?!”
The media has had their tits in wringers for two days now. All that the talking heads seem to be able to do is express their abject horror about how Blagojevich is the most corrupt politician ever [and he is a Democrat in Chicago and there are all kinds of webs and strings and common friends of Blagojevich and Obama.] There has been more insinuating on the TeeVees the last two days, than one usually receives in a topless bar in Canada.
It is worse than guilt by association; it is The Hunting of the President – The Sequel.
Id talked about this not long ago. We have actually discussed in several threads how this will be “the 90s on meth.” I am afraid that it might be worse. If we allow them even an inch on the rope that they are tying into a noose, if we let them draw even one line on their map to the witch hunt, it will easily get out of control. We have to stop this now…even before the oath. We cannot allow the Right Wing nuts to control the narrative. We have to quit bringing knives to gunfights and quit putting our faith in “the process.”
The process has changed and it is time that we Liberals figure out what game that we are really playing. We can’t allow goals to be scored while we are still trying to figure out the rules. It is a whole new ballgame now. One need only look at the hypocrisy of the “Great Chicago Scandal of 2008!” Consider that were actual connections between Right Wing Queen Palin and seven-time convicted felon Ted Stevens and we never saw the media reporting on these connections or even mentioning Stevens and Palin in the same sentence. The standard is so double that it has been divided into something that is not even a standard at all.
We might have to lower our standards a little to figure it out; I am not advocating immorality or the ends justify the means. All that I am saying is that when we are swimming around with a bunch of bottom feeders we cannot always expect to use the sunlight to see.
I do agree that Coyote is right, laugh at the bastards and call their absurdity what it is. I also think that we need additional strategies. I see things getting awfully ugly – the Right is digging in their heels and they are hanging on tight. They will not give up their hundred year rule wet-dream easily, they just won’t.
Read more!
The media has had their tits in wringers for two days now. All that the talking heads seem to be able to do is express their abject horror about how Blagojevich is the most corrupt politician ever [and he is a Democrat in Chicago and there are all kinds of webs and strings and common friends of Blagojevich and Obama.] There has been more insinuating on the TeeVees the last two days, than one usually receives in a topless bar in Canada.
It is worse than guilt by association; it is The Hunting of the President – The Sequel.
Id talked about this not long ago. We have actually discussed in several threads how this will be “the 90s on meth.” I am afraid that it might be worse. If we allow them even an inch on the rope that they are tying into a noose, if we let them draw even one line on their map to the witch hunt, it will easily get out of control. We have to stop this now…even before the oath. We cannot allow the Right Wing nuts to control the narrative. We have to quit bringing knives to gunfights and quit putting our faith in “the process.”
The process has changed and it is time that we Liberals figure out what game that we are really playing. We can’t allow goals to be scored while we are still trying to figure out the rules. It is a whole new ballgame now. One need only look at the hypocrisy of the “Great Chicago Scandal of 2008!” Consider that were actual connections between Right Wing Queen Palin and seven-time convicted felon Ted Stevens and we never saw the media reporting on these connections or even mentioning Stevens and Palin in the same sentence. The standard is so double that it has been divided into something that is not even a standard at all.
We might have to lower our standards a little to figure it out; I am not advocating immorality or the ends justify the means. All that I am saying is that when we are swimming around with a bunch of bottom feeders we cannot always expect to use the sunlight to see.
I do agree that Coyote is right, laugh at the bastards and call their absurdity what it is. I also think that we need additional strategies. I see things getting awfully ugly – the Right is digging in their heels and they are hanging on tight. They will not give up their hundred year rule wet-dream easily, they just won’t.
Read more!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Open Thread
Ya. It is an open thread, what of it?!
I still have pneumonia. I finally cooked my bird on Sunday and had a few people over. I way overdid it, so now I am back to couch living and trying to get well.
Thank gawd that kiddo and husband are back to work and school though, 'cause I was going to kill them. Boss wants and needs a project done, that is why my computer is on.
All you're getting from me is an open thread...
Read more!
I still have pneumonia. I finally cooked my bird on Sunday and had a few people over. I way overdid it, so now I am back to couch living and trying to get well.
Thank gawd that kiddo and husband are back to work and school though, 'cause I was going to kill them. Boss wants and needs a project done, that is why my computer is on.
All you're getting from me is an open thread...
Read more!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving
Part 1
Part 2
"If ya wanna end war and stuff, ya gotta sing loud." - Arlo Guthrie
Every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, at 12 noon, KZOK (our local classic rock station) has played "Alice's Restaurant." No matter what we are doing everything stops so that we can listen; for 18 minutes and 20 seconds.
Having had the ability and honor of seeing Arlo live a couple of years ago, and hearing him sing it live, has increased my appreciation for the genius of Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie and the entire Guthrie family.
The prior Arlo quote - "If ya wanna end war and stuff, ya gotta sing loud," is one of my all-time favorite sayings. I believe it, in all of its incarnations. It is true no matter how I look at it...if we want to change the world we cannot be meek. Silent bitching in the privacy of my own home makes no difference. It is only in putting myself out there and participating in ways that I am not always comfortable - it is only in taking that risk that I can make a difference - that we can make a difference.
I tried to find some of the best versions of "Alice's Restaurant" - but they are all good. For those interested, here are the links to the scenes from the movie:
Dump Closed
Draft scene 1
Draft scene 2
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope that today is filled with much love and happiness for all of you.
We were to have a small party tomorrow, with the turkey and all of that, but, I am too sick to do it. We have postponed until Sunday. I am on an antibiotic, so hopefully my immune system will not be as screwey as it has been and the antibiotic will fix me fast. I hope so. I am really pissed that my [way too expensive, free range, organic] turkey is waiting. I would like to eat it now.
Read more!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Big Three
The current problem of “The Big Three” is not one of their own making – it is a problem of the media. Until we fix the current messaging of the media (including the Left) we cannot win this one.
By “winning” I mean saving American manufacturing.
(Yep, there's more. Click 'read more' for the rest of it.)
Pelosi just came out and said, of the Auto Companies, that “until they show us the plan, we won’t show them the money.”
The auto makers have, in fact, fucked themselves over the years. They have lied to the Congress, they have lied to the people, they married themselves to the oil companies, they have not put forward the products that the people need and in some cases they have pulled products off the market that the people wanted (see: “Who Killed the Electric Car.”) Yes, they have fucked themselves – and yes, they caused a lot of this – but that is not the current problem.
I am so frustrated with the reporting over this $25 Billion dollar Bridge Loan. [It is a loan, not a bailout. The auto makers have already promised to pay interest and have come up with terms, etc.] It has been just absolute bullshit. The media did not spend 1/10 of the time discussing the Trillion Dollar Bailout (that already happened,) that they have spent arguing about how horrible this Bridge Loan would be.
I am glad that people are discussing this (the other bailout should have been discussed as well,) but the myths that are being floated, just suck. Take a look at some of the crap written.
Chrysler is not publicly owned – so ‘fuck em.’
GOP suddenly care about being fiscally responsible.
And gawd-dammit it is not about the executives.
And, for christsakes, enough of the whole corporate jet BS. These executives could have ridden together, but their jets are not just for “comfort and convenience” – they also serve as offices so that the CEOs can continue to work, while traveling.
Enough about the Executives. Enough about the jets. Enough about how filing for bankruptcy. (Filing for bankruptcy will not work with “The Big Three.” Referring to the automotive industry as “The Big Three” ought to be the first clue as to why bankruptcy is not an option. If one fails, the others go. In addition, they will not be able to restructure, because they cannot get loans: see: the Credit Crisis in the US. Also, people tend to not buy vehicles from auto companies that are in bankruptcy because people would like to know that their warranties will be honored and they cannot be honored by a company that might not be there when you need to use your warranty. The people who think bankruptcy is an option (like Romney,) are Dumb asses.)
Enough about the unions and legacy costs being the problem. The legacy costs and the unions are not the problem. Killing the unions has long been the goal of these assholes and the BS reporting of the media helps to serve this beast. The real motivation of the Right is to destroy the unions. (This is probably the real motivation behind the media corps crappy 'reporting' as well.)
In addition, I have heard the GOP talking points about how “small business is the backbone of America” and that the government should invest in “small business.” What is the great benefit of “small business” and why might the Right Wing wish to promote it so: no benefits, no retirement, that explains the GOP's love of small business. I like small businesses too - I work for one, but small businesses do not have the ability to pay for healthcare or retirement and in many cases cannot pay the best wages either. The greatest benefit to small business - the greatest investment that government could make - would be Universal Healthcare and a restructuring of our retirement system. (This would also be the greatest benefit to the auto makers...more on that later.)
The GOP care only about the wealthy, they do not care about the middle class. They have proven this repeatedly and I have a hard time believing that they still have any constituency at all.
Meanwhile, the Dow is down, down, down under 8,000. That is a 50% drop.
In other grim financial news, the Feds are guarding against deflation. Deflation is a really bad thing.
There are some great charts here on the history of job losses. The article goes on to say:
Looking at the above situation, it only makes the auto industry situation more dire. If we lose the, minimum of, 3,000,000 jobs that the auto industry will take down with it we are looking at a serious, serious financial situation. The idea that any lawmakers would even toy with the notion of not helping the auto industry is unfathomable to me.
We have to save manufacturing in the United States of America. It is a National Security issue. It is a moral issue – we are talking about the very survival of millions and millions of people and their families.
I am so disgusted that the GOP thinks that the jobs of bankers are more valuable to the US than the jobs of auto workers and their suppliers. The GOP also thinks that employees of “The Big Three” earn too much money. In addition, they do not like the competition of the union workers wages with their non-union constituency. Many of the Republican Senators speaking out against this bridge loan represent non-American automobile manufacturers who employ non-union auto workers in their non-union states. (Free Market my ass.)
The greatest untold story in all of this is that the auto manufacturers do have new business plans. The problem is that the media has not reported it that way so the Dems have to play the game and put off the vote until December 2nd.
So, now it is up to the auto makers, us, and the media, to report the truth. Two out of the three companies (Ford and Chrysler) have CEOs who are new to them and new to the auto industry. They were all turning a profit 1st quarter this year – the credit crunch has killed them. Auto sales have dropped some 30-45%. It is just a horrible situation for them. The Big Three has also renegotiated all of the contracts with UAW, the workers have offered a ton of concessions and they have begun to retool for more environmentally sound vehicles. In addition, GM is introducing to the marketplace some fabulous new battery technology.
I have also not heard but a few small blips that some of the real problems with the auto companies and their contracts is that we do not have Universal Healthcare and we have really shitty structuring of retirement costs. The media also will not report on this and God Bless Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for saying it when they give her a mike.
I know that the auto companies have, in the past, made horrible decisions. But that was then and this is now. We must save American manufacturing, unions, good wages and the American Dream. This is really what it is all about. It is time that we reframe it in this way.
Read more!
By “winning” I mean saving American manufacturing.
(Yep, there's more. Click 'read more' for the rest of it.)
Pelosi just came out and said, of the Auto Companies, that “until they show us the plan, we won’t show them the money.”
The auto makers have, in fact, fucked themselves over the years. They have lied to the Congress, they have lied to the people, they married themselves to the oil companies, they have not put forward the products that the people need and in some cases they have pulled products off the market that the people wanted (see: “Who Killed the Electric Car.”) Yes, they have fucked themselves – and yes, they caused a lot of this – but that is not the current problem.
I am so frustrated with the reporting over this $25 Billion dollar Bridge Loan. [It is a loan, not a bailout. The auto makers have already promised to pay interest and have come up with terms, etc.] It has been just absolute bullshit. The media did not spend 1/10 of the time discussing the Trillion Dollar Bailout (that already happened,) that they have spent arguing about how horrible this Bridge Loan would be.
I am glad that people are discussing this (the other bailout should have been discussed as well,) but the myths that are being floated, just suck. Take a look at some of the crap written.
Chrysler is not publicly owned – so ‘fuck em.’
GOP suddenly care about being fiscally responsible.
And gawd-dammit it is not about the executives.
And, for christsakes, enough of the whole corporate jet BS. These executives could have ridden together, but their jets are not just for “comfort and convenience” – they also serve as offices so that the CEOs can continue to work, while traveling.
Enough about the Executives. Enough about the jets. Enough about how filing for bankruptcy. (Filing for bankruptcy will not work with “The Big Three.” Referring to the automotive industry as “The Big Three” ought to be the first clue as to why bankruptcy is not an option. If one fails, the others go. In addition, they will not be able to restructure, because they cannot get loans: see: the Credit Crisis in the US. Also, people tend to not buy vehicles from auto companies that are in bankruptcy because people would like to know that their warranties will be honored and they cannot be honored by a company that might not be there when you need to use your warranty. The people who think bankruptcy is an option (like Romney,) are Dumb asses.)
Enough about the unions and legacy costs being the problem. The legacy costs and the unions are not the problem. Killing the unions has long been the goal of these assholes and the BS reporting of the media helps to serve this beast. The real motivation of the Right is to destroy the unions. (This is probably the real motivation behind the media corps crappy 'reporting' as well.)
In addition, I have heard the GOP talking points about how “small business is the backbone of America” and that the government should invest in “small business.” What is the great benefit of “small business” and why might the Right Wing wish to promote it so: no benefits, no retirement, that explains the GOP's love of small business. I like small businesses too - I work for one, but small businesses do not have the ability to pay for healthcare or retirement and in many cases cannot pay the best wages either. The greatest benefit to small business - the greatest investment that government could make - would be Universal Healthcare and a restructuring of our retirement system. (This would also be the greatest benefit to the auto makers...more on that later.)
The GOP care only about the wealthy, they do not care about the middle class. They have proven this repeatedly and I have a hard time believing that they still have any constituency at all.
Meanwhile, the Dow is down, down, down under 8,000. That is a 50% drop.
In other grim financial news, the Feds are guarding against deflation. Deflation is a really bad thing.
There are some great charts here on the history of job losses. The article goes on to say:
“The best read on total establishment job creation during the latest expansion is 7.2 million jobs. So far the economy has lost 1,179,000 jobs or 16.66%. So let's assume we see a rate of job destruction on parallel with the worst rate in the last 60 years. That would bring total job destruction to 3.6 million.
Now -- remember that we've already lost 1.2 million jobs. This means we have an addition 2.4 million to go. At a 240,000/month job loss clip (the rate we saw last month) we've got 10 months of heavy job losses left. That places the end of the news of terrible job losses somewhere next summer. And that assumes we'll see a rate of job destruction on par with the worst rate of the last 60 years.”
Looking at the above situation, it only makes the auto industry situation more dire. If we lose the, minimum of, 3,000,000 jobs that the auto industry will take down with it we are looking at a serious, serious financial situation. The idea that any lawmakers would even toy with the notion of not helping the auto industry is unfathomable to me.
We have to save manufacturing in the United States of America. It is a National Security issue. It is a moral issue – we are talking about the very survival of millions and millions of people and their families.
I am so disgusted that the GOP thinks that the jobs of bankers are more valuable to the US than the jobs of auto workers and their suppliers. The GOP also thinks that employees of “The Big Three” earn too much money. In addition, they do not like the competition of the union workers wages with their non-union constituency. Many of the Republican Senators speaking out against this bridge loan represent non-American automobile manufacturers who employ non-union auto workers in their non-union states. (Free Market my ass.)
The greatest untold story in all of this is that the auto manufacturers do have new business plans. The problem is that the media has not reported it that way so the Dems have to play the game and put off the vote until December 2nd.
So, now it is up to the auto makers, us, and the media, to report the truth. Two out of the three companies (Ford and Chrysler) have CEOs who are new to them and new to the auto industry. They were all turning a profit 1st quarter this year – the credit crunch has killed them. Auto sales have dropped some 30-45%. It is just a horrible situation for them. The Big Three has also renegotiated all of the contracts with UAW, the workers have offered a ton of concessions and they have begun to retool for more environmentally sound vehicles. In addition, GM is introducing to the marketplace some fabulous new battery technology.
I have also not heard but a few small blips that some of the real problems with the auto companies and their contracts is that we do not have Universal Healthcare and we have really shitty structuring of retirement costs. The media also will not report on this and God Bless Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for saying it when they give her a mike.
I know that the auto companies have, in the past, made horrible decisions. But that was then and this is now. We must save American manufacturing, unions, good wages and the American Dream. This is really what it is all about. It is time that we reframe it in this way.
Read more!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Some Doctor's Offices Have Better Magazines Than Others (And Some Doctor's Receptionists Let You Take Them if You Ask!)
(note from id - I edited this for size, it was driving me nuts!)(Picture courtesy of "Discover" magazine.)
Sometime within the last few weeks I was in my Rheumatologist's office and found my way to an issue of "Scientific American." It was a current issue, which is a really big deal in a doctor's office.
This issue, October 2008, has the article "Web Science: Studying the Internet to Protect Our Future." Very cool article with some fascinating charts.
In summary, the article outlines a relatively new science, beginning in late 2006, of studying the Web.
The article defines it as
“This new discipline will model the Web’s structure, articulate the architectural principles that have fueled its phenomenal growth, and discover how online human interactions are driven by and can change social conventions. It will elucidate the principles that can ensure that the network continues to grow productively and settle complex issues such as privacy protection and intellectual-property rights. To achieve these ends, Web science will draw on mathematics, physics, computer science, psychology, ecology, sociology, law, political science, economics, and more.”
The article then goes into the mathematical algorithms involved in “PageRank” and the need to “engineer out” properties such as “link farms.” The article continues discussing how the study of the Web and the understanding of scale-free networks has led to a cross application of disciplines by applying “power-law degree” distributions to business alliances and even using it at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to
“improve its models of sexual disease transmission and has helped biologists better understand protein interactions.”
As if the above weren’t fascinating enough, the article then began to discuss the impact of blogs. The leading graphs discuss the origin of the phrase “six degrees of separation” [damn I love Etymology] and then goes on to admit that no one really knows the size of the blogosphere.
"It is difficult to estimate the size of the blogosphere accurately. David Sifry’s leading blog search engine, called Technorati, was tracking more than 112 million blogs worldwide in May of this year, a number that may include only a mere fraction of the 72 million blogs purportedly in China. Whatever the size, the explosive growth demands an explanation. Arguably, the introduction of very simple mechanisms, especially TrackBack, facilitated the growth. If a blogger writes an entry commenting on or referring to an entry at another blog, TrackBack notifies the original blog with a “ping.” This notification enables the original blog to display summaries of all the comments and links to them. In this way, conversations arise spanning several blogs and rapidly form networks of individuals interested in particular themes. And here again large portions of the blog structure become linked via short paths—not only the blogs and bloggers themselves but also the topics and entries made."
The article goes into the rise of “Semantic Web.” From my vantage point this is nothing more than drilling down information to get you as close as possible to what you are actually looking for. However, for Web Scientists and Web Designers it has actually led to a new programming language,
"Engineers have devised powerful foundations for the Semantic Web, notably the primary language—the Resource Description Framework (RDF)—which is layered on top of the basic HTML and other protocols that form Web pages. RDF gives meaning to data through sets of “triples.” Each triple resembles the subject, verb and object of a sentence. For example, a triple can assert that “person X” [subject] “is a sister of” [verb] “person Y” [object]. A series of triples can determine that [car X] [is brand] [To¬yota]; that [car X] [condition is] [used]; that [car X] [costs] [$7,500]; that [car X] [is located in] [Lenox]; and that [Lenox] [is located in] [western Massachusetts]. Together these triples can conclude that car X is indeed a proper answer to our query. This simple triple structure turns out to be a natural way to describe a large majority of the data processed by machines. The subjects, verbs and objects are each identified by a Universal Resource Identifier (URI)—an address just like that used for Web pages. Thus, anyone can define a new concept, or a new verb, by defining a URI for it on the Web."
The physical magazine has a very cool map of the blogosphere, which I had to find in Discover Mag so that I could post it. The Discover article explains it better anyway. (It also reminds me of the cartoon map of the blogosphere that I have spent so long looking for now, because I do not remember where I saw it, that I am now bored to death with this entire post.)
This science of new science might lead to a discipline devoted to studying exactly how Obama won the election. Funny how science works that way.
For more information on next generation web technology, I found this forum of forums while doing this research.
If I were more ambitious (and maybe more well) then I might be interested in pursuing something in this direction. I find the convergence of sociology, poli-sci, psychology, math and technology pretty cool. However, since I am not that ambitious (and tend to get bored easily) maybe I will just pursue a subscription to “Scientific American.” Kiddo wants it for Christmas anyway, so I could kill two birds with one stone [that was a metaphor, never would I advocate the killing of any birds with any number of stones.]
Read more!
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