does the world ever get you down?

as opposed to the last cartoon I posted, this one is not mine. But I do know 'em personally, if that counts for anything.....................If there are more I'll see about posting them...........................

An Awkward Conversation at a Dallas Office After the Cowboys' Opening Game Loss

Separated At Birth?

You be the judge.
Frequent political talking head on shows like Jon Stewart, former Editor of Newsweek International and new columnist for Time Magazine Fareed Zakaria:

and creepy actor Willem Defoe:

Weird huh?

Maybe the USA Soccer Team Wasn't That Good

Signs that Team USA was maybe not so good:

1. Prior to the game against us Ghana had scored 2 goals all World Cup, both on penalty kicks; they scored two goals against us.
2. How many goals in the first 0-20 minutes are we going to give up? 
3. Other teams seem to have "scorers".  And by that I mean players that just seem to bury the ball in the back of the net when they have a good chance; how many great chances did the USA waste?  With at-em balls (right at the goalie) or just wild misses?
4. We tie England on a fluke shot on goal that hit their golie square on.  England then gets their lunch handed to them 4-1 by the Germans.  Maybe that tie against England wasn't that great after all.
5. In the elimination game against Ghana the coach made an early first half substitution, all but admitting that the USA coach started the wrong guy.  Plus, after a half time formation adjustment the USA played in the Ghana end all second half.  As opposed to the first half, where the Ghana team was playing in the USA defensive end even though Ghana was in a supposed defensive formation.

USA! USA! USA!

First the USA vs. UK highlights Legos-style:

And a great front page:

Fort Worth PD to Attempt to Curb Officer Drinking and Driving

Yep.  The above is correct.  Forth Worth, Texas' Police Department is going to attempt to curb its officer's problem with drinking and driving.  That's how the headline reads from local DFW TV station CBS11's website.  They're just going to try to curb it.  Just lessen it.  Eliminate it?  Heck no. C'mon, let's not set goals that are too high.

Dallas Mayor Opposes Protesting Arizonza "Show Me Your Papers" Law

Mayor Leppert of our fair city, Dallas, Texas, is opposed to the Dallas City Council officially protesting Arizona's new "Show Me Your Papers" law.  What other things might Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert be opposed to?  How about Hispanic votes should he choose to run again? 

Spurs vs. Phoenix (Texas vs. Arizona)

How can a city and state get it so right (San Antonio, Texas) and one city and state get it so, so wrong (Phoenix, Arizona). 

On so many levels.

Number of Presidents, Texas - 2 (I only count native born Texans, which are LBJ and Dwight D. Eisenhower, not the Yankees, H.W. Bush and W. Bush); AZ - 0.

Number of NBA championships, San Antonio, TX - 4; Houston, TX - 2; Phoenix AZ - 0.

Number of laws offensive to Hispanics (keep in mind that each state has at a minimum about a 30% Hispanic population): Texas - 0; AZ - 1.

Way to go AZ (sarcasm intended here).  And way to go Texas (sarcasm not intended here).  Seriously, for all the different ways the GOP have tried to screw up Texas at least the Texan GOP'ers haven't decided to offend one of the largest voting blocks in Texas.  Of course, if Texas State Rep. Donna Riddle has anything to say about it we'll have a similar, intolerant law passed in Texas.  For lots of different reasons I'd like to see Gov. Rick Perry address this. 

Needless to say the immigration issue is a serious one.  But, to sports-minded people like me, the Spurs/Suns series is a big deal, albeit a much, much more minor deal than the immigration issue.  But, what a great coincidence - TX vs AZ.  Politics meets sports yet again.  I wonder if Manu Ginobli or Tony Parker will make sure to carry their visas everywhere they go in AZ in case they're asked for proof of citizenship (yes, I know the law's not effect now).  Tim Duncan was born in the Virgin Islands.  What does that make him?  And how will Eva Longoria "prove" that she's actually an American citizen?  All the Spurs, and their entourage, should, maybe, out of protest, wear their birth certificates, ID's, passports and visas around their necks to show and prove and protest their right to be in these, the United States of America.  

Oh, by the way, which was one of the last states to aknowledge that Martin Luther King, Jr. deservered a holiday for his contribution to us?  Oh, that's right, it was the state that keeps on discriminating in the post civil rights movement era, a state called AZ.  Way to go AZ.  Way to keep the trend going.

But, as usual I digress, AZ will play TX.  The Suns will play the Spurs.  Phoenix vs. San Antonio.  Who do you think has got it right?

So I Guess I'm Not Going to Arizona Anytime Soon

The AZ governor says that their new illegal immigration law won't lead to racial profiling.

Who are they going to stop and ask for their papers?  Blonde and blue eyed people?  People that look like illegal Canadian immigrants?  I can hear it now, "What's this all aboot?!?"  "I'm not your buddy, guy!"  "I'm not your guy, friend!"  "I'm not your friend, buddy!"  If there's two things I hate it's intolerance and Canadians.

Of course I'm kidding.

But, all kidding aside, because this is serious, AZ's new law may can lead down a serious, perilous, slippery slope of intolerances.  For example...

They're just going to ask Hispanics for their papers.  Maybe the armed police will just go door to door to all the residences that have Hispanic surnames listed as renters/owners.  Then, after they've asked for their papers, to make it easier next time, they'll have all Hispanics wear the picture of a taco or Our Lady of Guadalupe on their clothes to identify them as legal.

And then, AZ can just have all the "legal" Hispanics live in the same neighborhood, like a suburb, or apartment complexes or maybe ghettos.

Or better yet AZ can just have all Hispanics wear a bracelet with a number on it.  Odd number = legal.  Even number = illegal.  Just for the ease of the law enforcement officers.

Or even better yet, since they (the Hispanics) could maybe somehow rid themselves of the bracelets, maybe AZ will just pass a law that Hispanics have to get a tattoo on their wrist with the above referenced odd or even numbered designations indicating who is in fact here in the USA legally and who is not.

And keep in mind some Hispanic families have lived in the region since before it was a state.

And those with the even numbers (the "illegals"), when found, can just be put on buses or even better, trains, and shipped off to who knows where.

Way to go AZ.

I'm not going to lie, when I heard that this law was passed it was a punch to my gut.  But, it's also a gut-check.

The AZ law is, in my humble opinion, violative of not only the 14th Amendment but also the 4th Amendment of our Constitution for a number of reasons (reasons I will not go into right now but, trust me, it's unconstitutional).  Hopefully, it will be struck down as such in short order.

Fundamentally though, it smacks of intolerance and ease.  Not all Hispanics are illegal but, AZ would, simply and in an intolerant gesture, subject all Hispanics to the potential indignity of being asked, "for their papers," regardless of whether a person was born here in the USA or not.  We are, last I checked, a nation made up of immigrants (unless you're a Native American).  Of course, at times, this great nation has treated immigrants with reckless intolerance.  This is just another example.  Ask Italian or German or Japanese or Irish immigrants or their progeny about the indignities they faced in the last century or so.  There are African "immigrants" but, I don't include them in the previous list because their experience, with few exceptions and in large measure, and for obvious reasons, is unique.

But, as usual, I digress.

Again, I'll not be visiting AZ anytime soon if I can help it.

And of course, SNL, in the second "story" below incapsulates how asinine AZ's law is:


And as usual I welcome your comment.

Remember I Said November 2010 Is a Ways Away?

After health insurance reform passed the GOP'ers declared that they would use its passage as a rallying point to flip one if not both chambers of Congress during the midterm elections this year in November.  And I recall pointing out that there was a heck of a lot of time left until the midterms and finance reform was next on the list.

And now the GOP is "digging in" to oppose finance reform.  Really?  Do they think opposing finance reform is a good idea, especially in light of all the terrible press coming out as a result of the Goldman Sachs investigation?  Or do they just understand who butters their toast?  And don't get me wrong, the table was at least partially set for the whole financial mess when Bill Clinton signed the law repealing Glass-Steagall.  Reinstating Glass-Steagall should be number one on the list of reforms considered.

But, as usual I digress.

Either way, (whether the GOP really thinks the financial status quo is OK or they owe their benefactors on Wall Street) you have to admire the GOP for sticking to their guns as the party of no.  Even if it means alienating voters before the midterm elections.

Check This Out

Great, interesting post on another blog posits, "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" and the president was white.  The piece is by Tim Wise.

One of the Most Expensive Scratching Posts Ever?

Was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) In the Movie "Hannibal"

Judge for yourself:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) - above

Was that really Gary Oldman playing the above character in "Hannibal" or was it McConnell?

Poor (In Every Sense of the Word) Iceland

First, Iceland's economy collapses sending shock waves around the world, now this volcano there blows it's top.  To say that things have not been going well for Iceland recently would be like saying Sandra Bullock's marriage has been just a little shaky recently.

Weird Children's Show Stuff From Years Past, #5

Looney Tunes, of course, has to be included.  Here's Bugs Bunny introducing kids to a great piece of music, while at the same time you have the extreme violence (remember again, Elmer Fudd is trying to KILL Bugs Bunny) and cross dressing:

Weird Children's Show Stuff From Years Past, #4

Tom and Jerry.  Itchy and Scratchy have nothing on them except Itchy and Scratchy cartoons show what the actual outcome of the violence would be.  Violence galore.  Some drunnkeness.  Oh, and throw in some racist stereotyping just for good measure:

Weird Children's Show Stuff From Years Past, #3

Oscar the Grouch is a weird character to begin with.  See Dave Chappelle's stand up from Killing Them Softly.  But why is he telling kids how great trash is?  And did he sing, "rusty trombone?"

Weird Children's Show Stuff From Years Past, #2

More from the Muppet Show, here's a drum battle between Animal and Buddy Rich (like any kid would know who the heck Buddy Rich was).  And the lesson?  If you lose your drum battle, resort to violence:

Weird Children's Show Stuff From Years Past, #1

Remember the Muppet Show?  I know I sure do.  And I used to enjoy the musical numbers, I really liked the ones with just the Muppets.  Here's one that I always remembered.  Probably because it was so freakin' dark, especially for a young kiddo.  What they heck were they showing us?!?!  Were they trying to scare the crap out of us?:


(it's a cover of Buffalo Springfield's song For What It's Worth)

A Small Sign That Maybe Civilization as We Know It Is Not About to End

The MTV show "The Hills" was cancelled.  I teared up a little bit when I read this news.  Not because I was sad but, because it brought a glimmer of hope for our future.  A little hope for our future is better than none at all.

Stay Classy Tea Partiers

Check out this class act, the Tea Partier in the tie, that mocks a man (by making it rain?!?!?!) suffering from Parkinson's disease, also notice the Tea Partier on the left of the shot with the baby in the baby carrier appearing noticably uncomfortable:

And I know some will say that the above is just one bad apple.  There are a multitude of examples of Tea Party gatherings being supposedly marred by a few "bad apples" that don't reflect the true views of their movement.  I wonder why the Tea Party movement attracts so many "bad apples"?  The answer to that question probably says a lot about the Tea Party movement. 

Here's my answer to why the Tea Party movement attracts so many "bad apples": the Tea Party movement, at least in part, preaches a politics of fear of change, fear of the different, and just plain fear.  If, in part, the Tea Party continues to preach fear, other fear-preaching groups and individuals will continue to be attacted to the Tea Party.  Exactly how many bad apples have to be caught on video or photographed before it's decided that maybe the whole barrel is tainted?

"I'm Not Saying, I'm Just Saying"

More on the politics of the day (especially since lousy Kansas destroyed my bracket).  I know the GOP and Tea Partiers and rubbing their hands together getting ready for a huge gain in one or both chambers of our fair Congress.  But, 8 months is a long time.  Look at recent history, for example.  Don't forget, McCain was polling great against both potential Democratic presidential nominees, Obama and Clinton, in late March and early April of 2008 in key batteground states.  Let me be clear, I think the Dems will lose seats in the House for sure and maybe even the Senate.  However, it may not be as bad for Dems and good for GOP'ers.   

Things can and will change.  Voters attention will shift away from health insurance reform by Nov. 2010, trust me.  Surely Glenn Beck will come up with another political crisis at which he can point his fanatical Tea Party followers by Nov. 2010.  And don't forget that Tea Party candidates may run and split the GOP votes in some midterm elections.  Look at what happened in the upstate New York special election in 2008, a Dem won a seat that been held by the GOP since Reconstruction.  Financial regulation reform is the next political fight to be had and it should be a doozy.  Who knows what will be at the top of voters' lists as THE important issue when Nov. 2010 rolls around.  Memories fade.  It's only March 2010 not November 2010.  8 months till the midterm elections is a long, long, long time, especially in politics.  To quote a good friend of mine, "I'm not saying, I'm just saying."

Who Said Change Was Going To Be Easy

Health insurance reform passed.  At least some form of it.  Here's a decent synopsis of what's in the bill.  It's not what ultra-liberals wanted, a single-payer, run by the government, health insurance option available to all people regardless of income level.  It's definitely not what conservatives wanted, which was to maintain the status quo in which 30+ million Americans were without healthcare. 

Remember, conservatives have been against every major piece of progressive, "liberal" legislation in the last one hundred years including, but, not limited to, labor laws (including mandatory maximum work weeks, establishment of a minimum wage and every increase since then for example), social security, disability, medicare, medicaid.  I'm sure there's more but, that's all that I can think of off the top of my head.  Tea partiers must be besides themselves.  And will Limbaugh really leave the country now?

Obama ran on change and this legislation is certainly that.  Health insurance legislation was one the cornerstones of Obama's change platform.  The Dems won the presidency and both chambers of Congress on the coattails of Obama's pledge of change.  And when a party wins both the presidency and the Congress you get change.  And then you get a political backlash against that change.  It almost happens like clockwork, especially in a president's first term.  In fact only 3 presidents since Reconstruction have netted seats in midterm elections (FDR-first midterm gain, Clinton-second midterm gain and W.-first midterm gain; I attritbute W.'s midterm success in 2002 to the goodwill directed towards him and the GOP in the aftermath of 9/11, but, that's just my take).  Let's see what happens next.  Maybe the Dems lose the House or Senate in the midterm elections.  I certainly doubt they lose both.  Dodd's financial reform bill just flew through the Senate committee and is headed to the Senate floor for debate.  More change on the way?  Who could possibly be against financial rules changes in the wake of "too big to fail?"

But, as usual, I digress.  So there will be changes in health insurance but not as much as some wanted and way more than others desired.  That compromises were made should surprise no one.  Don't forget some of the definitions of compromise: 1. To arrive at a settlement by making concessions; 2. To reduce the quality, value, or degree of something.

Rick Barnes Is Brilliant, But Why?

I made a snarky comment on facebook, something like, "Rick Barnes is brilliant because he's the basketball coach at a football school?  Do you think he's a facebook friend of the Duke football coach?"

Seriously, since 2002 UT has made the sweet sixteen or better 6 times.  Three elite 8's and one final four.  Not bad.  But, this year they went from being ranked number 1 in the nation to getting bounced out of the tourney in the first round.  And I would guess that Rick Barnes' job is secure.  For now. 

The last and only final 4 UT has reached since Barnes has been at the helm was in 2003.  And this year was a major step backwards.  UT is regressing as a program.  Albeit regressing from a final 4 appearance in 2003 but nevertheless still regressing.  If they continue to on their current track next season (make the tourney and get bounced in the first or second round, or worse don't make the tourney) then Barnes should maybe worry.  Maybe.  Remember, he's a basketball coach at a football school.

Why the UT Mens' Basketball Team Lost

I feel my bad fandom regarding the mens' Texas Longhorns basketball team contributed to their early exit from the Big 12 tournament. Plus, they didn't score as many points as their opponent. Come to think of it, the points thing probably had more to do with them losing then my fan apathy. They're just not playing as well as they were early in the year and Baylor actually has a pretty darn good team.

To compare and contrast, I even made a point to wear my lucky UT "Hawaiian-style" shirt to the football Big 12 Championship this year. I/we/they needed every thread of that shirt to pull out the win. Although, I did wear the same shirt while watching  the National Championship on TV and they didn't win. But, I've determined that the shirt is fine, it's just that I wasn't watching the National Championship game in person.

The Scariest Thing I've Seen In a While

I was flipping channels and stopped for a good 2 minutes on a PBS broadcast of "Celtic Thunder: Entertainment!" while some weird group, dressed in tuxedos, with a karaoke-caliber lead singer performed that "I Would Walk 500 Miles" song from years ago. Then I shook myself out of the trance the show had me in and change...d the channel quickly. It scared me badly. Still not sure what the lasting effect will be.

The Funniest Show On TV? The Funniest Person On TV?

The Funniest Show On TV?  Maybe it's Tosh.0 on Comedy Central, Wed. nights 9:30pm, central time.

The Funniest Person On TV?  In my humble opinion it's Daniel Tosh, host of, you guessed it, Tosh.0.  I choose Tosh over Ricky Gervais and his show on HBO only because Gervais has the benefit of one Kyle Pilkington.  Tosh is, what I like to call, "offensive but, funny, so it's OK to laugh."  Some could attempt to discount Tosh.0 as merely a YouTube/internet video clip show.  That would be like people saying The Soup with Joel McHale (another great show and funny dude-wow there is some stuff worth watching on TV) is just a TV clip show.  Those same people probably think Big Trouble In Little China is just a "B" movie.  But, I digress.  Tosh.0 is so much more than just an "internet video clip show."  Yet, here I am imploring you to check out a clip.  Is that irony?  I don't know.  Alanis Morisette, I blame you for my confusion about what is ironic and what is just a coincidence:

Tosh.0
Oh My Gosh
www.comedycentral.com
Web Redemption 2 Girls, 1 Cup Reaction Demi Moore Picture

And no, I'm not being paid to promote the show.  But gosh, I wish I was.  But, I'd only accept payment in the form of non-sequential, unmarked bills, a mix of 20's and 100's, delivered at random, never-used-twice drop areas.  And Tosh.0's people would go along with it.  Don't worry, I'd report the income on my taxes.  I really do believe in the rule of law.  But, the Tosh.0 people wouldn't necessarily know that.  They'd have to be wondering if they were somehow helping me break the law by paying me in this crazy way.  And that would let me know they really care.

This REALLY Gets On My Nerves For Some Reason

Yes, I watched the Academy Awards last night. And at least twice last night, that I recall, presenters said Avatar is the top grossing movie of all time.  As I've written before, if you adjust for ticket price inflation, Avatar is nowhere near the top.  When you adjust for ticket price inflation you get a number that at least approximates the number of tickets actually sold.  And that means Avatar (Dances With Blue Aliens) is at best number 11 when adjusted for ticket price inflation.

Why do I dislike Avatar?  Because I dislike James Cameron.  Why?  Because I blame him for bolstering the career of one Celine Dion (cue the song from Titanic in your head, "Near, far, wherever you are...").  See, you don't like it either.

I'll leave you with this.  Celine Dion walks into a bar, the bartender says, "why the long face?"

Tea Partier Says She Wants to Hang Sitting U.S. Senator

So this right wingnut, Tea Partier essentially said that she wants to hang sitting Washington State U.S. Senator Patty Murray. I'm a big fan of protected free speech. But, I'm also as big an opponent of unprotected speech that advocates violence. Can you say terroristic threat? You cannot go around threatening violence, period, much less violence against a sitting U.S. Senator. So the this Tea Partier's mantra is, "you're either with me or I'm going to kill you?"

Please, let Tea Partiers continue to speak. And let GOP'ers continue to try to woo Tea Partiers. That should help the GOP'ers reach out to all those independent voters.

Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakas

I know this has been around for a while but, that doesn't mean it's not funny.
Here's the first one with guest Michael Cera:

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

And here's another with guest Jon Hamm:

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

If liked those 2 there are more, just click the link above.
And if you like Zach Galifianakas you should check out the movie/documentary called Comedians of Comedy.

Check Out "Scott Meets Family Circus"

Here's an example. Funny.

Go to ScottMeetsFamilyCircus.tumblr.com for more and the most recent.

GOP'ers Wish It Was 1776 Again

Some GOP'ers have gathered at Mount Vernon and signed "The Mount Vernon Statement" in which they profess a desire that the USA harken back and emulate the era of our Founding Fathers circa 1776.

In their little manifesto (who the heck issues manifestos these days besides radical weirdos?) reads, "The selfevident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist." What "truths" from 1776 are they writing about? Or are they only cherry picking the easy, still embraced "truths" from that era (like all [people] are created equal) and forgetting the other less likeable "truths" from that era?

Let's start with this truth: Mount Vernon, the namesake of their document and where they signed their manifesto, was Founding Father George Washington's plantation. Yeah, that's right, his plantation. Truth: Slavery was legal plus non-land owning men and women couldn't vote for quite a while after 1776. Another "truth" back then was that there should be no national income tax, that "truth" seemed to go away after a while. So these GOP'ers at worst want to go back to a time when slavery was legal and masses were disenfranchised and the federal government was broke. At worst they think that era is something to aspire to. Brilliant.

Yet Another Example of Why to Not Take Decisions Out the Hands of Judges and Juries

Read this story about a women serving 27 years on a first time non-violent drug offense. Tell me that her sentence makes sense. Tell me it makes sense when you know that this women is serving 10 more years than a similarly convicted person because she was busted with crack instead of powder cocaine. That's right, if a person is convicted of a crack cocaine offense the Federal mandatory-minimums dictate more time served than if a person is convicted of a powder cocaine offense. Even if the amount of drugs in each case is the same. Tell me that makes sense. The ACLU has joined in asking President Obama to commute her sentence. If you go to the ACLU's site you can ask President Obama to commute her sentence too.

Needless to say I think laws that take discretion away from judges and power away from juries are terrible. Mandatory-minimum federal drug sentencing laws are just one of many examples of such laws. GOP'ers usually say less government is good and to trust individuals. Generally, GOP'ers claim we should look to the Constitution and the Framers of the Constitution. Yet generally and ironically, GOP's support and pass blanket generalizations into law about law enforcement issues, for example, taking discretion away from judges hearing individual cases and power away juries of our peers in the individual cases they decide. "One rule fits all" does not work. Each case is different. Each defendant is different. Maybe people should pay attention to all parts of the Constitution, like the 5th, 6th and 8th Amendments, not just the parts of the Constitution that are easy to like.

Palin Outraged at Fox's Family Guy But Not Outraged Enough to Stop Cashing Fox News' Checks

Palin, via her daughter Bristol, expressed her "outrage" at the Fox network's Family Guy episode that mocked those with Down syndrome.

Who does Palin work for now? Oh, that's right, Fox News. I guess her outrage only translates to complaining about Family Guy. She's not actually going to take a stand and quit the company that pays Seth McFarlane to make Family Guy. So she'll quit being governor of Alaska when the going got tough but, she'll only express supposedly righteous indignation about a company that makes light of her child's disability and still take that same company's money? Hypocrite.

definition of hypocrite:

1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Support the Psychic Chimp in a Great Cause

Check out PsychicChimp.net and buy a t-shirt to support a great cause. The short of it is, help the PsychicChimp and a friend who lost a loved one to Cystic Fibrosis raise money to battle the disease. Go to PsychicChimp.net for a better explanation. Bottom line, buy freakin' a t-shirt.

Also, need a unique, custom t-shirt made? Check out the PsychicChimp.net's new site.
(And yes, I personally know the PsychicChimp and/or the owner/proprietor of PsychicChimp.net.)

SNL's Version of Rahm Emanuel's Apology

Update: I screwed up the earlier post, here's the actual fake Rahm apology:

In case you didn't hear, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used a derogatory term associated with those with mental disabilities when speaking privately about some liberals. Rightfully so, some, if not all, with loved ones with mental disabilities, like Sarah Palin, took offense. Emanuel apologized. Here's SNL's version of Emanuel's apology:



Here's the original Rahm address when President Obama took office:

Batman & Robin Comic Generator

So, whoever came up with the Batman Comic Generator had a great idea. Anyone can go to their site and insert dialog  into a comic panel where Batman is smacking the crap out of Robin. Here's my unsolicited contribution.

Tea Partiers Partying at Convention

The Tea Party Convention is up and running. In an earlier post I related the Tea Partiers intention to restrict media access. At the Democratic and Republican Conventions every aspect of the gathering is open to and covered by the media. That's not the case at the Tea Party Convention and there's been no real reason given as to why.

Fcuk Fox News

Fox New cut off the question and answer between the President Obama and the Republican House Caucus' retreat.

They just decided to cut it off. In the middle of the day. There was nothing else going on. How are the a new station again? My brain now hurts when "Fox" and "news" is used in the same sentence. As far as I'm concerned Fox is good for Sunday night animated comedies (see Simpsons, Family Guy).

How does the magical, weird, purple sky colored world of TV math work in the magical, weird world of Fox? I have an idea. As follows:

Homer Simpson (is greater than) > Bill O'Reilly
Marge Simpson (is greater than) > Glenn Beck
Bart Simpson is > Sean Hannity
Lisa Simpson > Great Van Sustreren
Maggie Simpson > Rupert Murdoch's soul

Just my thoughts.
                            

In Memoriam:

The Dude 1999-2010

Note/Update: To you that do not know, which is a fair number of you given the the confused emails/questions I've received, the Dude was a great cat/pet that a great friend of mine had since the date indicated above. The Dude left this plane of existence on the date of this post. To be honest he was the first pet since my childhood I cared about. He wasn't even mine. He was the pet of my great friend. This is a tribute to the Dude. And as part of that I changed the banner and link bar above to black. I'll change it back in a week of so.

Currently I have the great pleasure of having and caring for my own pets, namely Primo, Cindy, Gilda and Gene. I know I'll be a mess when any of them leave this plane of being. So, long story short:

To the Dude, he, like anyone or thing, will live on as long as we remember.

State of the Union Reaction Then Obama Schools GOP'ers at Their Own Retreat

First Jon Stewart's take on the State of the Union:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Speech Therapy
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Then, Obama shows up at the House GOPers' annual retreat with the press corps in tow. And the GOPers agreed to let him do a Q&A with the cameras rolling:


This should be an annual event. The sitting president should go to the other party's House caucus' annual retreat and do a Q&A. But, given how the above exchange went over I doubt the GOPers will let Obama come over to their winter retreat again next year. Here's SNL's take on the Q&A:

The Tea Party Strike That Never Was; Tea Party Convention Here We Come!

I remember hearing about a Tea Party strike planned for Jan. 20, 2010. Back in late December and early January it received a great deal of media coverage.

So what the heck happened?

The great, sure-to-show-the-strength-of-the-Tea Party strike of 2010 never happened.

Welcome to the world of populist movements where many different talking heads try to pull the "movement" in different directions. Organization is difficult at best and long term sustainability rare. The Tea Party is already showing signs of being pulled in multiple, different directions.

I mention this only because the of the forthcoming Tea Party convention, Feb. 4-6. The Tea Party convention will restrict media coverage of their event. Way to go supressing the freedom of the press Tea Partiers! I wonder what other rights found in the Bill of Rights will be restricted at their convention. Maybe the Tea Partiers will search some convention goers without a warrant, detain others without probable cause and force other conventioneers to quarter troops while attending.

Scheduled to appear/speak include but, are not limited to, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann.

Plus, the $500.00+ per ticket price tag to attend all the Tea Party convention events sure seems steep for a grassroots, every-person, working class movement. And that price doesn't include the travel and lodging for out-of-towners. How many "real Americans" can afford that I wonder?

That is if the convention actually happens. I mean, remember, the Jan. 20 Tea Party strike was going to happen too. So herd them cats away from the Jan. 20 Tea Party strike and toward the Feb. 4 Tea Party convention!

More on the Tea Party convention to come.

Update: Bachmann and one other Representative, Marsha Blackburn, have backed out on the Tea Partiers. And the convention is apparently having trouble selling tickets to Palin's keynote address.

OK, now that Bachmann has backed out will Palin actually show up? What wheels off moments will happen during the convention ? Please, comment below.

State of the Speech

(the following was written during/after the State of the Union - text here)

Key, but not all, topics covered: recession, stimulus bill, bailout, budget, environment/green tech, jobs bill, health insurance reform, financial reform, super-majorities in the Senate, education, Supreme Court decision regarding corporate spending on campaigns, national security, the wars, veterans, loose nukes, Haiti, civil rights, don't ask don't tell.

I'll be honest, to me it seemed a bit partisan and almost too casual at the beginning. Too much joking around. Too many jabs at the GOP'ers and veiled blaming of the past administration for the mess we're in. Were the jabs and assertions regarding the past administration deserved and/or true? Yes. But, the State of the Union doesn't seem like the time or place. Maybe that's just me.

Of course during the speech I also didn't like the GOP'er's snickers and and passivity. I especially found annoying minority whip Eric Cantor smirking and shaking his head every time they showed him--it was incredibly annoying. He looked like a second grade smart-aleck in the back of the room making fun of the kid giving a speech at the front of the classroom. And GOP minority leader John Boehner was as orange-tan as ever. Boehner and Cantor next too each other looked like Tan-man & Grinnin', the boy blunder.

Towards the end of the speech the tone turned more serious. The President dished out and took some blame for where we are.

Overall impressions: Tense. But, these are tense, hyper-partisan times we live in. I've seen better and I've seen him do much better too. It seemed a little like a campaign stump speech, especially at the beginning. I want State of the Union speeches to be inspirational and forward looking. And President Obama's speech was inspirational and forward looking at times, especially towards the end.

Overall grade for the speech according to yours truly: B (maybe because I expect a lot from President Obama-of course I expect a lot out of the Congress generally and especially the Senate.)

The Real Top Grossing Movies of All Time*

(*adjusted for inflation)

The asteric above and what it means are important, at least to me anyway. It's been getting on my nerves that Titanic is always declared the box office king year after year and now Avatar is number 2 on lists of the top grossing movies of all time. Lists that rank Titanic number 1 (and now Avatar has been declared to have over taken Titanic) neglect to adjust the box office receipts for ticket price inflation which of course makes a huge difference.

Comparing movies' receipts without adjusting for inflation is, for example, like equating a millionaire's buying power today with the buying power of a millionaire back in 1950. Sorry, it doesn't quite work that way. I'm not an economist or anything but, I'll go out on a limb and assert that a million dollars back in 1950 was worth just a little more than a million dollars today.

So, if you adjust ticket prices for inflation you get a ranking based of what each film made if each movies' tickets had been sold for an equal price. Or, in other words, you get a list reflective of the total number of actual tickets sold.

At least 2 different sites (click here or here) have a good list of the top grossing movies of all time adjusted for inflation. Guess where Titanic is. It's number 6 behind such movies as Gone With the Wind and Star Wars. Avatar is number 27.

Below is a good list of the top 10 movies adjusted for inflation:

Rank Title                                  Adjusted Gross                             Unadjusted Gross
1 Gone with the Wind                   $1,485,028,000                             $198,676,459 
2 Star Wars                                  $1,309,179,000                             $460,998,007 
3 The Sound of Music                   $1,046,753,000                            $158,671,368 
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial          $1,042,629,400                            $435,110,554 
5 The Ten Commandments            $962,850,000                               $65,500,000 
6 Titanic                                        $943,342,300                                $600,788,188 
7 Jaws                                          $941,379,300                                $260,000,000 
8 Doctor Zhivago                          $912,395,600                                $111,721,910
9 The Exorcist                              $812,679,700                                 $232,671,011
10 Snow White and the...             $801,150,000                                 $184,925,486

Campaign or Vacation

Unless you've been on a remote island with no means of communication then you've probably heard that Democratic candidate Martha Coakley lost the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat to Republican candidate Scott Brown in a special election.

How could a Republican win in mega-blue state, ultra-Democratic Massachusetts?

In the political campaign play book I don't think going on a week long vacation within 1 month of election day is recommended. Who would GO ON VACATION with an election for a U.S. Senate seat, you're supposedly trying to win, literally only weeks away? Martha Coakley would and did go vacation. Oh by the way, Coakley had a double digit lead in the polls before the ill advised vacation.

Also not found in the political campaign play book is the strategy of bad mouthing an admired statewide sports figure. Who would say that Curt Schilling is a Yankees fan, even if it was intended as a joke? Martha Coakley would and did. Moreover, she also made the Schilling-Yankees joke less than a month before the election. That would be like Kay Bailey Hutchison joking about Roger Staubach being an Eagles fan.

Furthermore, it's probably not a good idea to make fun of your opponent because he decided it would be a good idea to shake hands with voters outside Fenway Park.

So after losing the election what does team Coakley do? What every losing campaign seems to do these days, start pointing fingers at others. In this case the Coakley campaign started blaming the D.C. Democrats and White House for not helping out enough and thus causing the predicted Coakley loss BEFORE ELECTION DAY!

So let me get this straight, candidate Coakley goes on vacation for a week right before the election, makes fun of a local sports hero and lost to a guy that posed nude. Then, her campaign tries to throw the blame for the loss on out-of-town/out-of-state Dems? One definition of vacation is as follows:

vacation : an act or instance of vacating.

Coakley vacated her responsibility as a candidate when she and her campaign believed their own press and looked at the poll numbers and decided that it would be OK for her to take a break from trying to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Maybe those in glass vacation houses shouldn't throw stones at D.C.

Jimmy Fallon Doing Neil Young Doing Pants on the Ground

hilarious and a great impression:

Welcome to AfterThoughtsNow.com

Short Story: I will now be writing/cartooning/blogging/posting new stuff here at AfterThoughtsNow - ATN: AfterThoughtsNow.com.

Long Story: OK, I swear this is not change just for change's sake. It has literally been grating on my nerves that my blog/site is called Political Thoughts Now - PTN but, not all the stuff I post there is related to politics. I mean I've posted videos about "Chad Vader", cartoons about Tiger Woods, written about Avatar, and just look at the last cartoon I posted about Conan vs. Leno below. Don't get me wrong, I'll still write, cartoon and generally post about politics. Heck, I'll probably post about politics more than anything else. But, it felt unstable to have a site/blog called Political Thoughts Now when all the content was not related to politics.

So this is my solution, I'll be writing/cartooning/blogging/posting here at AfterThoughtsNow.com from now on. Everything that was at PTN will now be here at ATN (including archived stuff from any old sites/blogs I used to have such as Our Pets from OurPetsComicStrip.com and Episode from fyvpblog.com). Sorry for any confusion that this may cause. Fyi, this won't affect the twitter feed. If you have any questions or comments you can click on the "AFTERTHOUGHTS ABOUT THIS POST" link below or email me at jg@AfterThoughtsNow.com.

Conan vs. Leno

Rush Limbaugh Re Haiti

On My Reading List: Game Change

The book Game Change by New York magazine's John Heilemann and Time Magazine's Mark Halperin is out. I have not read it. Yet. It's on my reading list though. And other's have read it. Below are just some of the reported revelations in Game Change:

- the most reported revelation: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid privately said that America was ready for Obama to be a presidential candidate because he was a "light-skinned" African American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

- Regarding McCain's vetting of Palin: No one from the McCain campaign travelled to Alaska to interview Palin's husband or any of her political oppenents prior to McCain picking her as his VP running. I wonder if McCain wishes his campaign had vetted her just a little more. Remember, some things about Palin came to light after McCain picked her as his running mate. Matt Lauer asked McCain about his campaign's poor vetting of Palin on the Today show, it got kinda testy:


- On John Edwards: More than a couple people, including an at times distraught Mrs. Edwards, knew about John Edward's extra-marital affair early on during the primaries. I wonder if some of them knew before Iowa. If so, I wonder if Hillary wishes those that knew about the affair had said something before the Iowa caucuses.

- Regarding the Clintons and Teddy Kennedy: Bill Clinton, in trying to persuade Ted Kennedy to support Hillary, told Kennedy that a couple of years ago Obama would have been getting them coffee, angering Kennedy.

- About Palin: Palin didn't know why there is a North and South Korea.

- About Bill Clinton: Looks like Slick Willy had another affair in 2006. Hillary's campaign braced for the affair to come to light but, as we all know, it never did.

Man oh man, there's so much more. I can't wait to read the book. I'm not even being sarcastic, I really, really want to read the book.

What Does Goldman Sachs Do ?

Seriously. Product? Service? What, from Goldman Sachs, reaches every day schmoes like you and me? I'd feel better about our government giving corporations like Goldman Sachs money if, and only if, they could answer those questions. Could someone explain what they do and why they seem to make so much money? Or is it just another pyramid scheme. I'll call it. The emperor has no clothes.

Rudy Giuliani: We Had No Domestic Attacks Under [George W.] Bush

Yes, Giuliani really said that, seemingly forgetting about the whole 9/11/01 terrorist attacks including the attack on the city he was mayor of at the time and the shoe bomber that same year. Surprising given Giuliani's repeated non sequitur references to the 9/11 attacks in speeches for years after.

What color is the sky in Giuliani-land I wonder?

Here's Biden bagging on how Giuliani constructs a sentence:


And here's Rudy bringing it back to 9/11 when asked about Hillary Clinton getting choked up on the campaign trail during the 2008 primaries:


Other things that, according to Giuliani, probably happened or didn't happen during W. Bush's administration:
- There was a link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
- The USA went to war in Iraq based on good intel.
- Colin Powell didn't lie to he UN about WMD's in Iraq.
- We found WMD's in Iraq.
- Giuliani won the GOP nomination in 2008 for president.
- We captured and/or killed Bin Laden.
- Cheney never shot anyone in the face.
- W. Bush took swift and effective action after Hurricane Katrina.
- The mission really was accomplished when W. Bush stood in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner on that aircraft carrier.
- The economy didn't tank during W. Bush's administration.

And here's the thing, Giuliani isn't the first, and probably won't the last, GOP'er to claim there were no attacks during W.'s presidency. Remember, W.'s former White House press secretary Dana Perino and former Dick Cheney aide Mary Matlin have gone on record saying the same thing. Do they think if they say it often enough or loud enough or really, really really believe no attacks occurred during W.'s presidency then everyone will agree with them? They do know that people can remember and read, right?

Man oh man, I do love the smell of revisionist history in the morning.

Bristol Palin Opened Up a Public Relations Firm

I'm serious. I am not joking at all.

In case you didn't hear, Bristol Palin, daughter of ex-gov of Alaska and ex-GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin, opened up a PR firm. Bristol is currently an "ambassador" for the Candie's Foundation, a pro-abstinence group. That'd be like the organization the Partnership for a Drug Free America hiring Amy Winehouse as a spokesperson.

In other news that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, Meghan McCain opened up a gateway to an alternate universe where her father won the presidency and Liz Cheney opened up for the Rolling Stones.

Bristol working for a pro-abstinence group is like...[fill in the blank by adding a comment below].

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Just kidding, I'm not surprised.

Tea Party activist Dale Robertson, who runs TeaParty.org, was photographed carrying a racist sign at a rally. Of course he misspelled the racist word. The sign read, "Congress = slave owner; taxpayer = n[-word]." You know Robertson is having issues when other Tea Partiers are distancing from him. And of course Robertson is from Texas. Way to make the Lone Star State look great Robertson. Racist moron.

What, you might ask, is my problem with Tea Partiers? Here's my problem.

Some Examples of Why the Last Decade Was Maybe Not So Good

A comment to the cartoon/post on Jan. 1, 2010 read, "[I] don't get it why did the decade suck."

I hope/think maybe they were joking. I essentially responded, in a comment to that post, as follows:


You're joking right? What about:

9/11

Iraq

Anthrax attacks

Afghanistan

Osama Bin Laden is still alive

Bush took the White House in 2000 after probably losing Florida and losing the popular vote

We re-elected him in 2004

The snuggy was invented

I'm pretty sure 1980's "fashion" was coming back towards the end of the decade there

We owe China WAY, WAY, WAY too much money now.

The Steelers won another Super Bowl and now have more than the Cowboys

Bennifer

Wall Street collapse

We bailed out Wall Street and they laughed all the way to he bank

Bernie Madoff

Housing bubble

ARM mortgages

DC sniper

Perry has been governor of Texas THE WHOLE DECADE

swine flu

bird flu

Sarah Palin

Tea Parties/Partiers/Baggers

Tiger is human

WAY too much reality TV

tsunami

Katrina

Ike

That's all I can think of right now. If anyone can think of more add a comment.


Side Note: Someone may bring up the whole argument/discussion that a decade doesn't begin until year one (1). For example, we don't start counting with the number zero (0) we start counting with one (1). So you wouldn't start a decade, much less a millennium with number zero would you? Meaning the past decade would have started in 2001 not 2000. Also, meaning a decade would end with year ten (10), in this past decade's case the year 2010 would actually be the last year of the decade not 2009. Weird to consider at best, boring at worst. I thought it was worth noting.

Scary, Part 4

Click here to start Our Pets from the beginning.

Happy New Year and Decade