Friday, August 28, 2009

- stray musings

The below is an assortment of old ideas that were maybe going to be a cartoon or it's own post and may still be. But, I was inspired to just throw my stray musings up below in a post after reading a great (and funnier) list a good friend forwarded me. Here you go:

- Do employers know that just because they blocked YouTube does not mean that Hulu.com is blocked?

- I am seriously, deeply conflicted during fantasy football drafts and seasons, to the point where I won't draft many players in the same division as my home team or start players playing against my home team. OK, I will start them if I still have a mathematical chance to win the fantasy football league. Money is money.

- I understand that some pregnancies are difficult but, when the full term, by-the-book, no complications birth of a baby occurs is the baby really a "miracle"? Did an angel visit the mother and impregnate her? Did the baby part a sea or any other body of water? Maybe to those in olden' times a baby's birth was considered a "miracle". Don't get me wrong having a baby is great. I just don't like it when the word "miracle" is thrown around. It's called reproductive biology. Open a book.

- Sports athletes, it seems like it's usually football players, talk about being "warriors" or "soldiers" or "going to war" or "doing battle" or "being in the trenches". I know Kellen Winslow got in trouble for it a couple of years ago but, I swear they still do it. They do know that USA service people, actual real soldiers, real warriors, are abroad actually doing battle, at war, right? As for being "in the trenches" I assume that's a reference to WW1 trench warfare. Does that mean football players have explosives lobbed into their trenches? Do football players have to eat, sleep, fight, use the restroom and even live near corpses of friends for days or weeks on end in their trenches? So note to football player, I'd estimate that our military service people die at a greater clip than NFL players. And they're not paid ridiculous amounts of money for it. So football player, less talkie talkie, more touchdowns.

- Why do we use the initials "rsvp" for invitations? You know that those initials stand for a phrase in French that means "please reply" or some such? I don't know or speak French. When else do you use a phrase in another language to respond to something? When someone says "thank you" to me my response from now on will be, "viva la revolucion".

- Some people say I'm a "back seat driver". No, I'm not, I'm not driving at all. I'm actually a "terrified passenger" when most other people drive because the way most people drive freaks me the hell out.

- Sometimes people say, "we treat our pets like they're our children". Do they really? Do they:

set up a college fund for Spot?

tell their pet to stop crying or they'll give them something to really cry about?

force their pet to stay at the dinner table until their plate is empty?

force their pet to take lessons on violin when the pet really wants to take piano lessons?

tell their pet that if they pee the bed again they'll have to sleep in the back yard.

forever cripple their pet's self-esteem by telling their pet that they'll never amount to anything?


- People should only say that they're "starving" if it's been at least multiple days since they ate. If you missed breakfast that really doesn't count. That'd be like saying "I'm a master carpenter" because you put something together from IKEA. Don't exaggerate. It insults those that are starving and master carpenters.

- I like french fries and I like mayonnaise. Don't judge me for dipping the former in the latter.

- I'm not saying it's as bad as Bernie Madoff but, explain to me again why it's not a rip off to pay so much for bottled water?

- Why do we use the phrase "politically correct". I think most of the time it's just being considerate of the feelings of others. Or just not being a blatant bigot, misogynist or a person who makes fun of the disabled.

- Facebooking while intoxicated is the new drunk dialing.

- The term "spam email" is an insult to the deliciousness that is the canned meat product Spam.

- They say you're not supposed to talk about money, politics or religion in polite company. Can we all agree to add the weather to that too? Of course then you'd have nothing to talk about. And I don't consider myself polite.

- Why do we always cheer for the underdog? I don't necessarily cheer for the underdog as much as I cheer against the favorite so that those that always have things go their way have a taste of the losing and misery we all ingest regularly.

- Watching over and over the movie "A Cry in the Dark", in which Meryl Streep plays an Australian mother who says, "a dingo stole my baby," is my own way of getting back at all the Australian actors for taking all the movie roles with American accents from American actors.

- Is Brett Farve going to regale his younger teammates with stories about cassette tapes and black and white TV?


Wednesday, August 26, 2009

- Hi I'm a Dem (Obama) & I'm a GOP (Cheney), Part 3

(been busy, the below seems timely given the Attorney General has opened an investigation into treatment of detainees. It was originally posted a while back.)



Saturday, August 15, 2009

- Birther Leader is a Loon

Here is an excerpt from an Esquire article by John H. Richardson detailing the other things that Orly Taitz, attorney, real estate agent, dentist and the defacto leader of the birthers believes to be true:

Goldman Sachs runs the treasury.

Obama is a puppet.

There's a cemetery somewhere in Arizona where they just dug 30,000 fresh graves, which wait now for the revolution.

Baxter International — a major Obama contributor — developed a vaccine for bird flu that actually kills people.

Google Congressman Alcee Hastings and House Bill 684 and you'll see that they're planning at least six civilian labor camps.

Google an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about train cars with shackles.

The communist dictator Hugo Chavez way back in 2004 purchased the Sequoia software that runs our voting machines and the mainstream media won't report any of it — not even Fox because Saudi Arabia bought a percentage of Fox in 2007.

If she believes all the above then, of course she believes Obama was born in Kenya. She can probably also tell you how we never went to the moon, where Elvis is currently living and how the Royal Family killed Princess Di. You tell me if you think she has a grip on reality.


Friday, August 14, 2009

- New Details on Cheney's "Scorched Earth" Memoir

It seems if people are going to knock down Mr. Cheney he's going to bring others down with him, specifically President George W. Bush. Using legalese phrases like, "the statute of limitations" on his secrets have expired, Mr. Cheney has let fly new details about his memoir (the announcement of which was previously discussed here on PTN).

It looks like Mr. Cheney felt like his old BFF W. stopped hanging on Cheney's every word during their second term. Cheney, as he is accustomed to doing, apparently talks/writes out of both sides of his mouth calling W. soft and at the same time independent. I would guess Cheney thinks W. was soft when W. wouldn't start a third war in Iran. And W. was independent when he stopped listening to Crazy-Old-Man-Cheney (seriously, doesn't Cheney remind you of the bad guy in any number of Scooby Doo episodes - can't you see him saying, "I would have gotten away with invading Iran too if it wasn't for you kids and your internets and elections!").

So, to get back at W., Cheney's going to air all their dirty laundry (I hope). Oh Mr. Cheney, for being 197 years old you sure seem to act like a mean-spirited, jealous, petty 7 year old.

Here are some of my recent posts/cartoons regarding Crazy-Old-Man-Cheney:





Thursday, August 13, 2009

- Grassroots?


(or alternate title: It's Health Insurance Reform not Health Care Reform)

I know the above is mean. It is what it is.

It's health insurance reform, not health care reform, we are debating about. Let's be clear about that. No one's arguing we should change/reform the way we train our doctors and nurses in America are they? You see, most people have no problem with the health care they receive. The problem occurs when people don't have access to health care because they don't have health insurance. So what is being contemplated is health insurance reform.

Don't let the wingnuts frame the debate. Who likes health insurance companies? Not many. If you frame the debate as reforming health insurance there's a chance of convincing those on the fence that we actually do need health insurance reform. President Obama has tried to frame the issue as such. Others need to do so as well. The Dems, including Obama, have done a terrible job of combating the misinformation out there to date. Just remember, we're debating about health insurance reform, not health care reform.

Want to read more on the lies regarding health insurance reform? Click here.


And let me ask some other questions:

Why is anyone listening to Palin and her "death panels" nonsense? What's funny is that the provision Palin is mischaracterizing most likely will not be in the final bill. This is Palin remember? She's the one who reads all the periodicals, sees Russia from Alaska, and quit her job. Maybe she doesn't understand that any health care provider makes decisions as to what care they'll pay for. Does Palin think insurance companies don't have actuarial tables read by insurance agents that decide who receives what care and when? Would those be "Insurance Agents of Death" according to Palin?

Speaking of health insurance companies...are health insurance companies out to give you the best health care they can?

Or are health insurance companies, like any insurance co., in the business of collecting premiums and denying claims/benefits in an effort to maximize profits? (To quote from the greatness that is The Jerk, "Ahh, it's profit deal.")

Government backed health care like Medicare, Medicaid, health care for our armed forces and those in the Senate and House of Representatives is a good thing right?

But, offering a viable, government backed option to the roughly 50 million Americans without health care is bad? Really? Really?

And I'm tired of hearing about how much it's going to cost from Blue Dog Democrats and GOP'ers. How much did we spend (are we still spending) in Iraq again?

And where do all those folks yelling at the town hall meetings get those papers in their hands? Who's funding this "grassroots", town-to-town, bus tour called "Hands Off Our Health Care"? Where are the hard hitting journalists investigating who exactly is funding this bus tour? (FYI, unlike some other bloggers, I, in no way, consider myself a journalist.)

"Hands Off Our Health Care" sure sounds like something an insurance company would say doesn't it? Maybe someone should look into that. Just a thought.

Check out their ride:



- Part 5: HI I'M A DEM (RAHM EMANUEL) & I'M A GOP (RUSH LIMBAUGH)



For more on Rush's comments regarding Obama click here.

To view the first "I'm and Dem and I'm a GOP" cartoon click here.

In case you don't get it (and I'm sure you do), this is a take on the "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" computer ads.



Wednesday, August 12, 2009

- GOP TARGET PRACTICE

Email Your Elected Officials and Let Them Know How You Feel About an Issue

Email you Congressperson (you need your full zip code, ie, 12345-1234, if you don't know it click here to get it.)



I live in Dallas, Texas so:

For State of Texas issues email your State Senator or State Rep. by following the links here. Email the Governor of Texas here.

For Dallasites regarding municipal issues email the mayor, your council member or the whole city council by following the links here. (Not sure who your council member is? Click here for a map of the districts.)

You should let your elected officials in Washington D.C. or your state or your town know how you feel on issues important to you, no matter what side of any issue you're on. Imagine how tedious it was in decades past when you had to actually write a letter, address an envelope and take said letter to a mailbox. Now with this marvelous invention called the internet you have no excuse. And if you don't think they or their staff read emails you're wrong. They're in the business of getting elected so they take their constituents' emails very seriously. Click on the links above and email your elected officials and let them know what you think on any issue you'd like. Pass this along to others so they can too.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

- New Local News Website Launched

DallasSouthNews.org is up and running. It's a non-profit site that focuses on a myriad of things local, state and national. It pays particular attention to issues relevant to South Dallas, as you may have been able to infer by the title of the site and web address' url.

Yours truly has been asked to contribute to DallasSouthNews.org. Of course, I will still post first here on PTN. And, don't worry, I'll still post whatever I want, when I want here on PTN. It'll be up to those at DallasSouthNews.org to decide what content they choose to use from here at PTN.

So congratulations to DallasSouthNews.org on its launch.

Again, please check out DallasSouthNews.org for another angle on the news if you get a chance.

- New Local News Website Launched