|
A Progressive Political Playground |
From the monthly archives:
One of my favorite bands of all time, Clutch, and the video to their “Animal Farm”. Tastes just like chicken they say!
If these guys ever come anywhere near here let me know and we’ll go, k? I still got the old mosh boots. 
Complete lyrics after the jump… [click to continue…]
{ 0 comments }
This is really a very insightful Venn diagram:
If you aren’t familiar with Venn diagrams, they are typically used in set theory to explain relationships between different sets (groups of things).
{ 1 comment }
I like to Netflix documentaries (a true sign that your business has made it is when it’s name turns into a verb). The beauty of the service is that I get exposed to stuff I probably wouldn’t normally. Dark Days is one of those. Because I watch documentaries, good ones are recommended. The only thing that frustrates me is how late I seem to be on alot of them. I felt the same way after finding More. “How the hell did I miss this?!,” I continue to ask. Dark Days came out in 2000 and won three Sundance awards.
The movie follows a group of underground dwellers in New York City. Not underground in the sense of not mainstream (but that too). Physically and actually underground. People who live under the city in Amtrak tunnels. The film is the work of Marc Singer, who lived and worked in the tunnel with the homeless for months before getting starting on filming and eventually lived with them for over 2 years. I’d share more about how the film was actually made, but it would spoil what I think is the best part of the story. You have to look at the “making of” added feature if you watch it. Stunning. Thought provoking. Ultimately hopeful. Whatever your politics, this is a story worth seeing.
Trailer:
First ten minutes:
{ 0 comments }
Our government is sullying perhaps the last honorable profession left and training firefighters to be domestic spies for Big Brother.
A year ago, Homeland Security gave security clearances to nine New York City fire chiefs and began sharing intelligence with them. Even before that, fire department personnel were being taught “to identify material or behavior that may indicate terrorist activities” and were also “told to be alert for a person who is hostile, uncooperative or expressing hate or discontent with the United States.”
Unlike law enforcement officials, firemen can go onto private property without a warrant, not only while fighting fires but also for inspections. “It’s the evolution of the fire service,” said a Phoenix, AZ fire chief of his information-sharing arrangement with law enforcement.
Sigh. “Discontent.” That’s apparently all it takes to get reported to the government as a threat to Homeland Security. Re-education camps can’t be far behind, can they?
What’s wrong with having firefighters just be, you know, firefighters? Besides, there is that thing called the Fourth Amendment.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
{ 0 comments }
You have got to be kidding me. Congress voting on an AUMF forced the White House’s hand? Really? The joint resolution had 98% support from legislative GOPers, was introduced by the GOP, and was directed by the White House (read the notes section). In fact, here’s the original AUMF as drafted by the White House, in a press release from the day it was introduced.
What a liar.
{ 0 comments }
So I’m over at TownHall.com reading about Mike Huckabee and his “conservative credentials” and I see this scary ad that says:
“THE NEW YORK TIMES IS LEADING AN UNFAIR FIGHT AGAINST CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANITY” …
So I click on the link and- surprise! It takes me to a site sponsored by the Media Research Center (MRC).
The MRC, if you didn’t already know, is a conservative media criticism organization that “catalogs and reports on what it asserts to be widespread liberal media bias in the United States press.”
Anyway- the site is just a single page with a form and a single “survey” question:
Is the New York Times biased against religious belief and Christian believers?
Well crap- you already told me they were in your scary ad! What kind of stupid question is that?
Anyway- if you hit YES, they will send a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times in your name complaining that:
the New York Times avoids giving offense to Muslims but features material deeply offensive to the most cherished beliefs and symbols of Christians … has no problem with fabricated history that makes up calumnies against Jesus and His followers but finds the Gospel story of the Crucifixion repellent
If you hit NO, “your vote will be counted and included in reported total ‘YES’ and ‘NO’ votes”.
I encourage everyone reading this post to go HERE and CLICK NO.
{ 0 comments }
Powered by Twitter Tools.
{ 0 comments }
Well- as long as everyone else is talking about last night’s debate- I might as well add in my two cents…
If abortion is illegal, what should the punishment be?
This is a great question and I’m so glad they decided to use it. Of course, they all avoided answering the question saying “states’ rights” etc, etc.
Do you believe every word of The Holy Bible
Watch Rudy- and even Mike Huckabee- weasle out of answering this question. Anderson Cooper should have MADE them answer YES or NO.
But my favorite question came from Keith Kerr, a Brigadier General with 43 years of military service who also happens to be openly gay.
“Why do you think american men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays”?
Again squirming and avoiding the question. I would have had a lot more respect for the guy who answered : “Because I am a homophobe and gay people make me feel icky”
Note: You can watch all of the responses here.
{ 0 comments }
Well, conservatives are beating the drums of war, and this time it’s about that old conservative saw: the alleged liberal/ACLU “War on Christmas”. Of course, we all know it’s not a war on Christmas, but actually a war on unconstitutional government endorsement of religion, but conservatives don’t like to let facts get in the way of a good rant.
Here’s one fact, however, that’s hard to ignore: the ACLU threatened to sue a county government in Hawaii last year if they didn’t put a Christmas tree up.
County workers raised a festive tree at the Kalana O Maui Building Wednesday with just five days to go before Christmas, after receiving a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union warning that the existing holiday display of a Hanukkah menorah was unconstitutional. The letter threatened a federal lawsuit if the display was not corrected.
“That’s fine, to have the menorah up, but it needed to be part of a holiday display that was secular in nature,” said Deputy Corporation Counsel Traci Fujita-Villarosa. “We’re just adding to the holiday decorations.”
In its letter to the county sent Tuesday, the ACLU cited case law that found government displays of religious symbols on their own could be perceived as an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. But government displays that included secular holiday symbols, like Christmas trees, alongside religious symbols, did not endorse religion.
“The goal of the ACLU is not to ruin the celebration of Hanukkah or any other religious holiday, but rather to ensure that the government does not endorse the views of one religion to the exclusion of others,” wrote ACLU Legal Director Lois Perrin.
And the rabbi who originally asked for the menorah to go up? Well, unlike right-wingers who hyperventilate about the mythical “War on Christmas” every year, he wasn’t a pansy. In fact, he supported the ACLU.
Rabbi Sholom Schusterman, who runs the Maui Mitzvah Center, wasn’t fazed by the last-minute addition of the Christmas tree to the display, and supported the action “100 percent.”
“I think it’s wonderful,” he said.
How refreshing. A man of faith who isn’t so insecure that he must have the government validate his faith at the expense of all others.
{ 2 comments }
So, the “famously liberal” (if you listen to rightwingers) cable news network CNN aired a “YouTube” debate last night. Except one of the questions selected wasn’t from a normal everyday citizen, like the spirit of the debate is supposed to be.
It was from Grover Frickin’ Norquist.
Are you kidding me? They reject FL Gov Crist (R) because he’s got “regular access to politicians”, and they reject DNC chair Howard Dean for the same reason, but they let Grover “I want to drown government in a bathtub” Norquist ask a question? The man could score sit-downs with Karl Rove while Rove still worked in the White House, for crissakes.
What a joke.
No, the media isn’t liberal – it’s incompetent at doing it’s job.
{ 2 comments }
It looks like Jonathon Sharkey (aka Jonathon THE IMPALER) is still running for president.
As you may remember, Sharkey is running as a member of the Vampire, Witches & Pagan Party of New Jersey.
His campaign promise: “AS PRESIDENT, TERRORISTS AND CRIMINALS WILL FEAR ME! ‘CAUSE I WILL IMPALE THEM!!!!! THE AMERICAN VAMPYRE FROM JERSEY, IS OUT FOR BLOOD! THE BLOOD OF OUR ENEMIES!!!”
And now, available only from cafepress.com, you too have show your support for Sharkey by buying your baby a Jonathon Sharkey Onesie for your little baby…
{ 0 comments }
According to the US Commerce Department the US “economy grew at a 4.9 percent pace in the third quarter, the fastest in four years.”
Matt at WMD was quick to jump on it crediting Bush and his tax cuts for the one piece of positive economic news to come out in a long time.
Problem is: if you read the whole article you’ll get a totally different picture.
The third quarter surge in the economy happened “before the full impact of the worsening housing recession and turmoil in credit markets took hold.”
According to economists, the odd of recession are “too close for comfort” and growth in the fourth quarter is predicted to be less than 1 percent.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims increase by 23,000- the most since February and the “number of people staying on benefit rolls was the highest in almost two years.”
And “homebuilding will drop at a 22 percent annual pace this quarter, the most since the last three months of 1981″
I’m certain not all of this is Bush and his tax cuts’ fault – but if you want to blame him for the good you’ll need to give him credit for the good news- you need to blame him for the bad news too.
{ 1 comment }
A study of the Canadian health care system…
In the studies of adult populations, with adjustment for potential confounders, private for-profit hospitals were associated with an increased risk of death (relative risk [RR] 1.020, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.003–1.038; p = 0.02). The one perinatal study with adjustment for potential confounders also showed an increased risk of death in private for-profit hospitals (RR 1.095, 95% CI 1.050–1.141; p < 0.0001).
Interpretation: Our meta-analysis suggests that private for-profit ownership of hospitals, in comparison with private not-for-profit ownership, results in a higher risk of death for patients.
What does this show? That patient survival is apparently a liability for for-profit hospitals. Efficiency is king! Profits rule all! If your health gets in the way of profits, too bad!
{ 0 comments }
BlogNetNews OhioPlunderbund is powered by the Thesis WordPress Theme from DIYthemes.
