April 30, 2017

Audubon Society asks us to adopt a bird

A worthy cause, to be sure.


Just one question: could I adopt THIS bald eagle?
S/he is my hero.

March 4, 2017

Best analogy I've seen so far

OK, I'm a sci-fi geek, so that might explain why I find this quote relevant to today's headlines:

emphasis added

Source: Bill Moyers "If Sessions Had Nothing to Hide, Why Did He Try to Hide it?"

March 1, 2017

It's happening elsewhere

My two thoughts about this video:
1. The current xenophobia is not just an American phenomenon. More violent than elsewhere, perhaps. But to learn that the Parliament in Denmark -- of all places -- approved this action is saddening to me personally (because I have an adopted Danish family who are people of color), and disheartening to see this madness spread around the world.
2. Why don't we use video and social media to put faces on what the current administration and legislature are trying to do here?

Your thoughts, please.

#RESIST

January 31, 2017

"All that we share"

This video brought tears to my eyes.

First, its message and method are so very powerful. Especially for me because I have very close friends who live where it was produced, Denmark.

Second, I am so filled with rage at what our nation has become. Since November, it has been all about putting fellow citizens -- and would-be citizens -- in boxes, then closing up those boxes, and wrapping steel bands around them. Throwing some boxes into the ocean, and others off a cliff.

But it does give me hope that one day we could rebuild our culture to resemble what's portrayed here.

Perhaps in 2018.

Because if we do not recover our collective sanity by 2020, I may be living in Denmark... if they're accepting refugees then.

January 30, 2017

Playboy: Drumpf "...Has Already Made America Great Again"

A female business acquaintance and FB friend posted this link to a Playboy article earlier today without comment. Given the fact that she is more than a bit conservative, I found her post intriguing to say the very least. I recall Playboy as having been a mostly-liberal publication. Until now.

Some of the points made by the writer -- one Bridget Phetasy (I shit you not, that's her byline) -- include:

HE’S INSPIRED PEOPLE TO TAKE ACTION
Okay, millions of us are marching and taking other actions to fight back against what appears to be the most regressive and oppressive regimes our republic has ever seen, but at what cost?

HE’S FORCED US TO FOCUS ON POLICY
I just wish there was a single, coherent policy emerging from the executive branch over the past few days, but wishing doesn't make things so. Please do carry on...

HE’S REVEALED OUR BLIND SPOTS
The author elaborates by stating:

Excuse me? Are you attacking liberals for a tactic that the Alt-Right have (ahem) honed to perfection? Don't recent events and statements from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue completely undermine your argument, such as it is? And must you compare the serious work by working journalists (excluding Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and other alt-Right channels) in adolescent terms?

HE’S FORCED US TO RECONSIDER OUR VALUES
This article was written over a week ago. I think "our values" are abundantly clear now, in light of recent developments, i.e. executive orders that would have made Hitler and Pol Pot blush (if not ejaculate, given the publication through which you've chosen to express this opinion), but please, do continue...

HE’S PROVEN JUST HOW ADDICTED WE ARE TO ENTERTAINMENT
Fine words from a masturbatory magazine (and cable TV channel, as I recall), but I agree: "we can do better." However, you're not helping by throwing gasoline on a Drumpster fire.

HE’S WOKEN US UP
Much in the same way that a two-by-four upside the head would. But at what cost? This is more than entertainment -- our lives and livelihoods are on the line here, as well as those of our fellow global citizens!

So Ms. Phetasy, my personal and professional recommendation is that you return to writing your "Sex and Dating" column and trolling celebrities on Playboy, and leave the serious commentary to others.

Your publication is no Esquire, and you, my dear, are no Charlie Pierce!

January 23, 2017

Did anyone else catch this gesture?

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/kellyanne-conway-snaps-at-chuck-todd-sean-spicers-lies-about-crowd-size-are-alternative-facts/

Those of us who have traveled to the U.K. or British Commonwealth countries -- or even just watched BBC-America -- recognize this gesture: index and middle fingers up, with the palm towards the one giving the gesture: "Fuck you!"

As much as we on this side of the aisle may have given the finger or other similar gestures to Mr. Todd privately, or among friends -- to do so in public, let alone on network TV -- is intolerable. By extension, she's giving all of us the finger.

Please allow me to retort:
"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on."

January 23, 2017

Is Barron "off limits," here and elsewhere?

A couple of recent posts on Facebook have sparked outrage on the part of some, arguing that mocking Barron Drumpf is beyond the pale.

The first was a meme I remember from my own adolescence (some decades ago), regarding nude photos of one's mother. The meme was posted in response to a GIF where the First Kid did not give a high five to his mother during inauguration ceremonies.

The other is a Change.org petition aimed at NBC/Bombast over something Tweeted by a cast member of SNL.

I have yet to weigh in on either discussion.

Some would argue "sauce for the goose" -- i.e. attacks against Chelsea Clinton, the Obama girls and even the Bush daughters did not prompt such outrage while their respective dads were in office -- so Barron is fair game.

Others argue that children -- including and especially those of public figures -- should be shielded from ridicule and even "bullying" in social media.

Your thoughts, please!

January 15, 2017

Alec Baldwin nails it again!

Note the Russian flag pin on his lapel.

January 11, 2017

Attn: Mr. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, the Turd

As I caught a few sound/video bites of your confirmation hearing on DU and other various websites (while at work, so I could not watch the full coverage), my advanced years of memories harkened back to the song by Neil Young, Southern Man.
Southern man, better keep your head
Don't forget what your Good Book said
Southern change gonna come at last
Now your crosses are burning fast!

How prophetic!

And how sad that -- over the past 40+ years -- we have not advanced. Indeed, we are regressing to an era that should have faded into history (if not oblivion)!

Perhaps Neil's lyrics can inspire another generation.
My plea to fellow Dems and others who still have a conscience.

For that, I thank you, Neil! We need you now more than ever!!

December 26, 2016

Naughty or nice?

Because the electrical tape fell off that part of my car's dashboard where it had covered up the "Maintenance Required" warning light, I spent Boxing Day morning at a local garage while getting this fluid changed, that filter replaced, and the other gadget adjusted.

In the waiting room, the TV was tuned (tooned?) to Fux Nausea, and the remote was nowhere to be found. As the sole customer at the time, I was not about to spend the next two hours engulfed in electronic dysentery. I pushed the correct button on the cable/satellite box to change the channel to CSPAN. Their call-in show was only slightly better -- at least there were no Big Pharma commercials or other snake-oil peddling.

Meanwhile, in walk several other customers. The first of them included a 30-ish white male with his wife and kid (who brings his family to an oil change?), the other was an older African-American male. The white dude made a not-so-sotto voce RWNJ comment at first, but once the program changed to a lecture series, everyone in the waiting room (except the toddler) sat up and paid attention. Maybe it's because the free-wifi sucked as much as the tired, old magazine collection, but at the end of the lecture, we agreed it was a good program.

It might have been naughty of me to change the channel without asking, but I consider the outcome -- thoughtful consideration of the topic (which happened to be scientific) -- to be nice.

Perhaps we should take this approach during the new year/regime: refocus and refine discussion. Drumpf-sters will not yield on political talking points, but maybe by changing the subject will open their eyes and ears.