Opinion: I Got What America Needs Right Here by Jimmy Carter
Sometimes I'm a little stupid, maybe, a little slow in the head, so I'm wondering if you can help me get something straight. Maybe you can help me understand one fucking thing right now, America, and explain to me what in the Christ is going on here. 'Cause, unless I'm missing something, this country is in the middle of a motherfucking shitstorm, and I have no fucking idea what you're gonna do to get out of it. I mean, are you seriously considering voting for one of these shitbags you got here in '08? Fat fucking chance....
Oh, what's that I hear? The weather's all screwy? You got a global warming problem? Boo-fucking-hoo! I was telling you morons to turn off your lights and unplug all your shit at night to conserve energy in 19-fuckin'-75, for chrissake. Gee, I wonder what woulda happened if we'd all switched to solar power like I fucking did back when we had a fucking chance to do something about it....
You had your chance with Jimmy Carter, and you fucking blew it. So get fucked. Fucking country.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars, Geovany!
While losing 25 pounds helped, Geovany Soto [MONK!] attributed his breakthrough 2007 to the power of positive thinking. "At one point, I just started breaking boundaries," Soto said. "It’s good to hit .260, .270, .280 but why just that? Why not .350, .360? I was believing and working hard. You would be amazed at what kind of stuff you can do." Soto, long viewed as a future backup at best, is set to enter this year as the Cubs' starting catcher. "No doubt. I feel ready," he said. "I think I’m prepared to play in the major leagues. You have to work hard and never sit back on your achievements to be the best player you can be."
Yeah, why not .360? and why not 35 homers??
Yeah, why not .360? and why not 35 homers??
Friday, January 18, 2008
Morgellons? Sounds like a Horror middle reliever
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Division of Research launched a study to learn about an unexplained skin condition known as Morgellons. Persons who suffer from this condition report a range of symptoms including non-healing skin lesions associated with the emergence of fibers or solid material from the skin, abnormal skin sensations (such as stinging and biting or pins and needles) and non-cutaneous symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and short-term memory loss. Researchers hope to learn more about who might be affected, what symptoms they experience, and factors that may contribute to their illness...Interested persons are encouraged to visit the CDC’s Unexplained Dermopathy/Morgellons web site."
ShinGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Field of Dreams II?
The Cubs have reportedly agreed to terms with former White Sox closer Shingo Takatsu.
Even the Chad Fox signing was more likely that this. Mr. Zero had a terrific 2004 in his first year in the U.S., but he was a bust in 2005 and he spent the last two years back in Japan, finishing with ERAs of 2.74 in 42 2/3 IP in 2006 and 6.17 in 23 1/3 IP last season. It's unlikely his assortment of soft stuff will allow him to succeed in the majors at age 39.
The Cubs have reportedly agreed to terms with former White Sox closer Shingo Takatsu.
Even the Chad Fox signing was more likely that this. Mr. Zero had a terrific 2004 in his first year in the U.S., but he was a bust in 2005 and he spent the last two years back in Japan, finishing with ERAs of 2.74 in 42 2/3 IP in 2006 and 6.17 in 23 1/3 IP last season. It's unlikely his assortment of soft stuff will allow him to succeed in the majors at age 39.
Look at it this way: at least humans aren't the only ones being totally phokked up the @ss by BushCo.
Die Whales, Die!!!!
President Bush exempted the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the California coast — a practice critics say is harmful to whales and other marine mammals.
President Bush exempted the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the California coast — a practice critics say is harmful to whales and other marine mammals.
Phokking Canucks
Wait until we get a hold of some of these yella newfies and stuff hockey pucks down their stinking throats...
Canada puts US on 'torture list'
The United States has been listed as a country where prisoners are at risk of torture in a training document produced by the Canadian foreign ministry. It also classifies some US interrogation techniques as torture. The manual - part of a training course on torture awareness for diplomats - also includes Israel, China, Iran and Afghanistan on its watch list.
Canada puts US on 'torture list'
The United States has been listed as a country where prisoners are at risk of torture in a training document produced by the Canadian foreign ministry. It also classifies some US interrogation techniques as torture. The manual - part of a training course on torture awareness for diplomats - also includes Israel, China, Iran and Afghanistan on its watch list.
I am shocked--SHOCKED!
I think this is just playing on a loop now...
Bush's $145 billion plan
President Bush calls for $145 billion in tax relief to let "Americans* keep more of their money."
It appears to be working already:
Stocks fall after Bush announces stimulus plan
*code for "the very wealthy" and "corporations"
Bush's $145 billion plan
President Bush calls for $145 billion in tax relief to let "Americans* keep more of their money."
It appears to be working already:
Stocks fall after Bush announces stimulus plan
*code for "the very wealthy" and "corporations"
suddenly, there's hope...
I'm gonna let Fung check this out first...
Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships
Love, marriage, and sex with robots? Not in a million years? Maybe a whole lot sooner. From a leading expert in artificial intelligence comes an eye-opening, superbly argued book that explores a new level of human intimacy and relationships—with robots.
Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships
Love, marriage, and sex with robots? Not in a million years? Maybe a whole lot sooner. From a leading expert in artificial intelligence comes an eye-opening, superbly argued book that explores a new level of human intimacy and relationships—with robots.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
What hope is there for us?
Eddie Murphy is getting a divorce after being married for TWO WEEKS.
(Did she just see Norbit?)
(Did she just see Norbit?)
a hair malfunction might be all that stands in the way
Senate joins House in passing transit bill
(AP) — The General Assembly on Thursday approved Gov. Rod Blagojevich's changes to legislation that will prevent deep service cuts at Chicago-area transit systems. The measure passed the House 61-47 Thursday and the Senate 32-19.
(AP) — The General Assembly on Thursday approved Gov. Rod Blagojevich's changes to legislation that will prevent deep service cuts at Chicago-area transit systems. The measure passed the House 61-47 Thursday and the Senate 32-19.
How to be a total failure and yet profit immensely...
...lie, too. Something for George W. Bush to consider (say, baseball will need a new commissioner in 2013, unless Bud lies again and signs for another extension).
Bud Selig [click at own risk] on Thursday was given a three-year extension as baseball commissioner through the 2012 season. Financial terms weren't released, of course, but Selig received $14.5 million in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2005, according to MLB's last available tax return. Selig insisted when his last extension was done that he'd be retiring after it expired following the 2009 season. This sets him up as commissioner through age 78.
Bud Selig [click at own risk] on Thursday was given a three-year extension as baseball commissioner through the 2012 season. Financial terms weren't released, of course, but Selig received $14.5 million in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2005, according to MLB's last available tax return. Selig insisted when his last extension was done that he'd be retiring after it expired following the 2009 season. This sets him up as commissioner through age 78.
Drugs are bad, mkay
Effects Of Drugs And Alcohol On Spider Webs
If you can't watch video, well, then you're missing out...
If you can't watch video, well, then you're missing out...
Funny Stuff
Don't forget to check out 101 Dumbest Moments in Business. Haven't been thru the whole thing, but my favorites so far...
10. Electronic voting machines
Election officials in Florida promptly order 5,000 units Diebold tightens security after it is revealed that a simple virus can hack its electronic voting machines. Months later a hacker uses a picture of a key from the company website to make a real key that can open the company's machines.
Election officials in Florida promptly order 5,000 units Diebold tightens security after it is revealed that a simple virus can hack its electronic voting machines. Months later a hacker uses a picture of a key from the company website to make a real key that can open the company's machines.
13. DisneylandIt's a fat world, after all
Disneyland announces plans to close the "It's a Small World" attraction to deepen its water channel after the ride's boats start getting stuck under loads of heavy passengers. Employees ask larger passengers to disembark - and compensate them with coupons for free food.
Is this an editorial or a a Swift Boat-style smear email?
Hard to tell...
Obama's Church
Election 2008: Since we first drew attention to Barack Obama's Afrocentric church a full 12 months ago, other media have weighed in. And additional disturbing information has come to light....
Investor's Business Daily? Never read it, but apparently they're trying to make the Wall Street Journal seem like Pravda.
Obama's Church
Election 2008: Since we first drew attention to Barack Obama's Afrocentric church a full 12 months ago, other media have weighed in. And additional disturbing information has come to light....
Investor's Business Daily? Never read it, but apparently they're trying to make the Wall Street Journal seem like Pravda.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Nothing Else Needs To Be Said - Except We Need This Leader. Now.
Franklin Roosevelt's Address Announcing the Second New Deal
October 31, 1936
Senator Wagner, Governor Lehman, ladies and gentlemen:
On the eve of a national election, it is well for us to stop for a moment and analyze calmly and without prejudice the effect on our Nation of a victory by either of the major political parties.
The problem of the electorate is far deeper, far more vital than the continuance in the Presidency of any individual. For the greater issue goes beyond units of humanity--it goes to humanity itself.
In 1932 the issue was the restoration of American democracy; and the American people were in a mood to win. They did win. In 1936 the issue is the preservation of their victory. Again they are in a mood to win. Again they will win.
More than four years ago in accepting the Democratic nomination in Chicago, I said: "Give me your help not to win votes alone, but to win in this crusade to restore America to its own people."
The banners of that crusade still fly in the van of a Nation that is on the march.
It is needless to repeat the details of the program which this Administration has been hammering out on the anvils of experience. No amount of misrepresentation or statistical contortion can conceal or blur or smear that record. Neither the attacks of unscrupulous enemies nor the exaggerations of over-zealous friends will serve to mislead the American people.
What was our hope in 1932? Above all other things the American people wanted peace. They wanted peace of mind instead of gnawing fear.
First, they sought escape from the personal terror which had stalked them for three years. They wanted the peace that comes from security in their homes: safety for their savings, permanence in their jobs, a fair profit from their enterprise.
Next, they wanted peace in the community, the peace that springs from the ability to meet the needs of community life: schools, playgrounds, parks, sanitation, highways--those things which are expected of solvent local government. They sought escape from disintegration and bankruptcy in local and state affairs.
They also sought peace within the Nation: protection of their currency, fairer wages, the ending of long hours of toil, the abolition of child labor, the elimination of wild-cat speculation, the safety of their children from kidnappers.
And, finally, they sought peace with other Nations--peace in a world of unrest. The Nation knows that I hate war, and I know that the Nation hates war.
I submit to you a record of peace; and on that record a well-founded expectation for future peace--peace for the individual, peace for the community, peace for the Nation, and peace with the world.
Tonight I call the roll--the roll of honor of those who stood with us in 1932 and still stand with us today.
Written on it are the names of millions who never had a chance --men at starvation wages, women in sweatshops, children at looms.
Written on it are the names of those who despaired, young men and young women for whom opportunity had become a will-o'-the-wisp.
Written on it are the names of farmers whose acres yielded only bitterness, business men whose books were portents of disaster, home owners who were faced with eviction, frugal citizens whose savings were insecure.
Written there in large letters are the names of countless other Americans of all parties and all faiths, Americans who had eyes to see and hearts to understand, whose consciences were burdened because too many of their fellows were burdened, who looked on these things four years ago and said, "This can be changed. We will change it."
We still lead that army in 1936. They stood with us then because in 1932 they believed. They stand with us today because in 1936 they know. And with them stand millions of new recruits who have come to know.
Their hopes have become our record.
We have not come this far without a struggle and I assure you we cannot go further without a struggle.
For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.
For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace--business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred.
I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.
The American people know from a four-year record that today there is only one entrance to the White House--by the front door. Since March 4, 1933, there has been only one pass-key to the White House. I have carried that key in my pocket. It is there tonight. So long as I am President, it will remain in my pocket.
Those who used to have pass-keys are not happy. Some of them are desperate. Only desperate men with their backs to the wall would descend so far below the level of decent citizenship as to foster the current pay-envelope campaign against America's working people. Only reckless men, heedless of consequences, would risk the disruption of the hope for a new peace between worker and employer by returning to the tactics of the labor spy.
Here is an amazing paradox! The very employers and politicians and publishers who talk most loudly of class antagonism and the destruction of the American system now undermine that system by this attempt to coerce the votes of the wage earners of this country. It is the 1936 version of the old threat to close down the factory or the office if a particular candidate does not win. It is an old strategy of tyrants to delude their victims into fighting their battles for them.
Every message in a pay envelope, even if it is the truth, is a command to vote according to the will of the employer. But this propaganda is worse- it is deceit.
They tell the worker his wage will be reduced by a contribution to some vague form of old-age insurance. They carefully conceal from him the fact that for every dollar of premium he pays for that insurance, the employer pays another dollar. That omission is deceit.
They carefully conceal from him the fact that under the federal law, he receives another insurance policy to help him if he loses his job, and that the premium of that policy is paid 100 percent by the employer and not one cent by the worker. They do not tell him that the insurance policy that is bought for him is far more favorable to him than any policy that any private insurance company could afford to issue. That omission is deceit.
They imply to him that he pays all the cost of both forms of insurance. They carefully conceal from him the fact that for every dollar put up by him his employer puts up three dollars three for one. And that omission is deceit.
But they are guilty of more than deceit. When they imply that the reserves thus created against both these policies will be stolen by some future Congress, diverted to some wholly foreign purpose, they attack the integrity and honor of American Government itself. Those who suggest that, are already aliens to the spirit of American democracy. Let them emigrate and try their lot under some foreign flag in which they have more confidence.
The fraudulent nature of this attempt is well shown by the record of votes on the passage of the Social Security Act. In addition to an overwhelming majority of Democrats in both Houses, seventy-seven Republican Representatives voted for it and only eighteen against it and fifteen Republican Senators voted for it and only five against it. Where does this last-minute drive of the Republican leadership leave these Republican Representatives and Senators who helped enact this law?
I am sure the vast majority of law-abiding businessmen who are not parties to this propaganda fully appreciate the extent of the threat to honest business contained in this coercion.
I have expressed indignation at this form of campaigning and I am confident that the overwhelming majority of employers, workers and the general public share that indignation and will show it at the polls on Tuesday next.
Aside from this phase of it, I prefer to remember this campaign not as bitter but only as hard-fought. There should be no bitterness or hate where the sole thought is the welfare of the United States of America. No man can occupy the office of President without realizing that he is President of all the people.
It is because I have sought to think in terms of the whole Nation that I am confident that today, just as four years ago, the people want more than promises.
Our vision for the future contains more than promises.
This is our answer to those who, silent about their own plans, ask us to state our objectives.
Of course we will continue to seek to improve working conditions for the workers of America--to reduce hours over-long, to increase wages that spell starvation, to end the labor of children, to wipe out sweatshops. Of course we will continue every effort to end monopoly in business, to support collective bargaining, to stop unfair competition, to abolish dishonorable trade practices. For all these we have only just begun to fight.
Of course we will continue to work for cheaper electricity in the homes and on the farms of America, for better and cheaper transportation, for low interest rates, for sounder home financing, for better banking, for the regulation of security issues, for reciprocal trade among nations, for the wiping out of slums. For all these we have only just begun to fight.
Of course we will continue our efforts in behalf of the farmers of America. With their continued cooperation we will do all in our power to end the piling up of huge surpluses which spelled ruinous prices for their crops. We will persist in successful action for better land use, for reforestation, for the conservation of water all the way from its source to the sea, for drought and flood control, for better marketing facilities for farm commodities, for a definite reduction of farm tenancy, for encouragement of farmer cooperatives, for crop insurance and a stable food supply. For all these we have only just begun to fight.
Of course we will provide useful work for the needy unemployed; we prefer useful work to the pauperism of a dole.
Here and now I want to make myself clear about those who disparage their fellow citizens on the relief rolls. They say that those on relief are not merely jobless--that they are worthless. Their solution for the relief problem is to end relief--to purge the rolls by starvation. To use the language of the stock broker, our needy unemployed would be cared for when, as, and if some fairy godmother should happen on the scene.
You and I will continue to refuse to accept that estimate of our unemployed fellow Americans. Your Government is still on the same side of the street with the Good Samaritan and not with those who pass by on the other side.
Again -- what of our objectives?
Of course we will continue our efforts for young men and women so that they may obtain an education and an opportunity to put it to use. Of course we will continue our help for the crippled, for the blind, for the mothers, our insurance for the unemployed, our security for the aged. Of course we will continue to protect the consumer against unnecessary price spreads, against the costs that are added by monopoly and speculation. We will continue our successful efforts to increase his purchasing power and to keep it constant.
For these things, too, and for a multitude of others like them, we have only just begun to fight.
All this--all these objectives--spell peace at home. All our actions, all our ideals, spell also peace with other nations.
Today there is war and rumor of war. We want none of it. But while we guard our shores against threats of war, we will continue to remove the causes of unrest and antagonism at home which might make our people easier victims to those for whom foreign war is profitable. You know well that those who stand to profit by war are not on our side in this campaign.
"Peace on earth, good will toward men"--democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live without that true religion which gives a nation a sense of justice and of moral purpose. Above our political forums, above our market places stand the altars of our faith-altars on which burn the fires of devotion that maintain all that is best in us and all that is best in our Nation.
We have need of that devotion today. It is that which makes it possible for government to persuade those who are mentally prepared to fight each other to go on instead, to work for and to sacrifice for each other. That is why we need to say with the Prophet: "What doth the Lord require of thee -- but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God." That is why the recovery we seek, the recovery we are winning, is more than economic. In it are included justice and love and humility, not for ourselves as individuals alone, but for our Nation.
That is the road to peace.
October 31, 1936
Senator Wagner, Governor Lehman, ladies and gentlemen:
On the eve of a national election, it is well for us to stop for a moment and analyze calmly and without prejudice the effect on our Nation of a victory by either of the major political parties.
The problem of the electorate is far deeper, far more vital than the continuance in the Presidency of any individual. For the greater issue goes beyond units of humanity--it goes to humanity itself.
In 1932 the issue was the restoration of American democracy; and the American people were in a mood to win. They did win. In 1936 the issue is the preservation of their victory. Again they are in a mood to win. Again they will win.
More than four years ago in accepting the Democratic nomination in Chicago, I said: "Give me your help not to win votes alone, but to win in this crusade to restore America to its own people."
The banners of that crusade still fly in the van of a Nation that is on the march.
It is needless to repeat the details of the program which this Administration has been hammering out on the anvils of experience. No amount of misrepresentation or statistical contortion can conceal or blur or smear that record. Neither the attacks of unscrupulous enemies nor the exaggerations of over-zealous friends will serve to mislead the American people.
What was our hope in 1932? Above all other things the American people wanted peace. They wanted peace of mind instead of gnawing fear.
First, they sought escape from the personal terror which had stalked them for three years. They wanted the peace that comes from security in their homes: safety for their savings, permanence in their jobs, a fair profit from their enterprise.
Next, they wanted peace in the community, the peace that springs from the ability to meet the needs of community life: schools, playgrounds, parks, sanitation, highways--those things which are expected of solvent local government. They sought escape from disintegration and bankruptcy in local and state affairs.
They also sought peace within the Nation: protection of their currency, fairer wages, the ending of long hours of toil, the abolition of child labor, the elimination of wild-cat speculation, the safety of their children from kidnappers.
And, finally, they sought peace with other Nations--peace in a world of unrest. The Nation knows that I hate war, and I know that the Nation hates war.
I submit to you a record of peace; and on that record a well-founded expectation for future peace--peace for the individual, peace for the community, peace for the Nation, and peace with the world.
Tonight I call the roll--the roll of honor of those who stood with us in 1932 and still stand with us today.
Written on it are the names of millions who never had a chance --men at starvation wages, women in sweatshops, children at looms.
Written on it are the names of those who despaired, young men and young women for whom opportunity had become a will-o'-the-wisp.
Written on it are the names of farmers whose acres yielded only bitterness, business men whose books were portents of disaster, home owners who were faced with eviction, frugal citizens whose savings were insecure.
Written there in large letters are the names of countless other Americans of all parties and all faiths, Americans who had eyes to see and hearts to understand, whose consciences were burdened because too many of their fellows were burdened, who looked on these things four years ago and said, "This can be changed. We will change it."
We still lead that army in 1936. They stood with us then because in 1932 they believed. They stand with us today because in 1936 they know. And with them stand millions of new recruits who have come to know.
Their hopes have become our record.
We have not come this far without a struggle and I assure you we cannot go further without a struggle.
For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.
For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace--business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred.
I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.
The American people know from a four-year record that today there is only one entrance to the White House--by the front door. Since March 4, 1933, there has been only one pass-key to the White House. I have carried that key in my pocket. It is there tonight. So long as I am President, it will remain in my pocket.
Those who used to have pass-keys are not happy. Some of them are desperate. Only desperate men with their backs to the wall would descend so far below the level of decent citizenship as to foster the current pay-envelope campaign against America's working people. Only reckless men, heedless of consequences, would risk the disruption of the hope for a new peace between worker and employer by returning to the tactics of the labor spy.
Here is an amazing paradox! The very employers and politicians and publishers who talk most loudly of class antagonism and the destruction of the American system now undermine that system by this attempt to coerce the votes of the wage earners of this country. It is the 1936 version of the old threat to close down the factory or the office if a particular candidate does not win. It is an old strategy of tyrants to delude their victims into fighting their battles for them.
Every message in a pay envelope, even if it is the truth, is a command to vote according to the will of the employer. But this propaganda is worse- it is deceit.
They tell the worker his wage will be reduced by a contribution to some vague form of old-age insurance. They carefully conceal from him the fact that for every dollar of premium he pays for that insurance, the employer pays another dollar. That omission is deceit.
They carefully conceal from him the fact that under the federal law, he receives another insurance policy to help him if he loses his job, and that the premium of that policy is paid 100 percent by the employer and not one cent by the worker. They do not tell him that the insurance policy that is bought for him is far more favorable to him than any policy that any private insurance company could afford to issue. That omission is deceit.
They imply to him that he pays all the cost of both forms of insurance. They carefully conceal from him the fact that for every dollar put up by him his employer puts up three dollars three for one. And that omission is deceit.
But they are guilty of more than deceit. When they imply that the reserves thus created against both these policies will be stolen by some future Congress, diverted to some wholly foreign purpose, they attack the integrity and honor of American Government itself. Those who suggest that, are already aliens to the spirit of American democracy. Let them emigrate and try their lot under some foreign flag in which they have more confidence.
The fraudulent nature of this attempt is well shown by the record of votes on the passage of the Social Security Act. In addition to an overwhelming majority of Democrats in both Houses, seventy-seven Republican Representatives voted for it and only eighteen against it and fifteen Republican Senators voted for it and only five against it. Where does this last-minute drive of the Republican leadership leave these Republican Representatives and Senators who helped enact this law?
I am sure the vast majority of law-abiding businessmen who are not parties to this propaganda fully appreciate the extent of the threat to honest business contained in this coercion.
I have expressed indignation at this form of campaigning and I am confident that the overwhelming majority of employers, workers and the general public share that indignation and will show it at the polls on Tuesday next.
Aside from this phase of it, I prefer to remember this campaign not as bitter but only as hard-fought. There should be no bitterness or hate where the sole thought is the welfare of the United States of America. No man can occupy the office of President without realizing that he is President of all the people.
It is because I have sought to think in terms of the whole Nation that I am confident that today, just as four years ago, the people want more than promises.
Our vision for the future contains more than promises.
This is our answer to those who, silent about their own plans, ask us to state our objectives.
Of course we will continue to seek to improve working conditions for the workers of America--to reduce hours over-long, to increase wages that spell starvation, to end the labor of children, to wipe out sweatshops. Of course we will continue every effort to end monopoly in business, to support collective bargaining, to stop unfair competition, to abolish dishonorable trade practices. For all these we have only just begun to fight.
Of course we will continue to work for cheaper electricity in the homes and on the farms of America, for better and cheaper transportation, for low interest rates, for sounder home financing, for better banking, for the regulation of security issues, for reciprocal trade among nations, for the wiping out of slums. For all these we have only just begun to fight.
Of course we will continue our efforts in behalf of the farmers of America. With their continued cooperation we will do all in our power to end the piling up of huge surpluses which spelled ruinous prices for their crops. We will persist in successful action for better land use, for reforestation, for the conservation of water all the way from its source to the sea, for drought and flood control, for better marketing facilities for farm commodities, for a definite reduction of farm tenancy, for encouragement of farmer cooperatives, for crop insurance and a stable food supply. For all these we have only just begun to fight.
Of course we will provide useful work for the needy unemployed; we prefer useful work to the pauperism of a dole.
Here and now I want to make myself clear about those who disparage their fellow citizens on the relief rolls. They say that those on relief are not merely jobless--that they are worthless. Their solution for the relief problem is to end relief--to purge the rolls by starvation. To use the language of the stock broker, our needy unemployed would be cared for when, as, and if some fairy godmother should happen on the scene.
You and I will continue to refuse to accept that estimate of our unemployed fellow Americans. Your Government is still on the same side of the street with the Good Samaritan and not with those who pass by on the other side.
Again -- what of our objectives?
Of course we will continue our efforts for young men and women so that they may obtain an education and an opportunity to put it to use. Of course we will continue our help for the crippled, for the blind, for the mothers, our insurance for the unemployed, our security for the aged. Of course we will continue to protect the consumer against unnecessary price spreads, against the costs that are added by monopoly and speculation. We will continue our successful efforts to increase his purchasing power and to keep it constant.
For these things, too, and for a multitude of others like them, we have only just begun to fight.
All this--all these objectives--spell peace at home. All our actions, all our ideals, spell also peace with other nations.
Today there is war and rumor of war. We want none of it. But while we guard our shores against threats of war, we will continue to remove the causes of unrest and antagonism at home which might make our people easier victims to those for whom foreign war is profitable. You know well that those who stand to profit by war are not on our side in this campaign.
"Peace on earth, good will toward men"--democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live without that true religion which gives a nation a sense of justice and of moral purpose. Above our political forums, above our market places stand the altars of our faith-altars on which burn the fires of devotion that maintain all that is best in us and all that is best in our Nation.
We have need of that devotion today. It is that which makes it possible for government to persuade those who are mentally prepared to fight each other to go on instead, to work for and to sacrifice for each other. That is why we need to say with the Prophet: "What doth the Lord require of thee -- but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God." That is why the recovery we seek, the recovery we are winning, is more than economic. In it are included justice and love and humility, not for ourselves as individuals alone, but for our Nation.
That is the road to peace.
just anudder bump on the End Times highway
Of course, these are probably the same dopes who said it was going to snow in Philly last Sunday night, so dere's a good chance of either nothing happening or the world coming to an end without warning... and anudder reason not to get a cell phone.
From NOAA via "GIM International" newsletter:
http://www.gim-international.com/news/id2773-NOAA_Forthcoming_Solar_Cycle_Could_Disrupt_GPS,_Communications.html
Source: NOAA Website: http://www.noaa.gov
NOAA: Forthcoming Solar Cycle Could Disrupt GPS, Communications
10/01/2008
A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for military and civilian communications, including GPS signals, showed signs it was on it its way with the appearance of the cycle's first sunspot, NOAA scientists said.
The sunspot appeared in the sun's Northern Hemisphere, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "This sunspot is like the first robin of spring," said solar physicist Douglas Biesecker of Nova's Space Weather Prediction Center. "In this case, it's an early omen of solar storms that will gradually increase over the next few years."
A sunspot is an area of highly organized magnetic activity on the surface of the sun. The new 11-year cycle, called solar cycle 24, is expected to build gradually, with the number of sunspots and solar storms reaching a maximum by 2011 or 2012, though devastating storms can occur at any time, according to NOAA.
During a solar storm, highly charged material ejected from the sun may head toward Earth, where it can bring down power grids, disrupt critical communications, and threaten astronauts with harmful radiation. Storms can also knock out commercial communications satellites and swamp GPS signals. Routine activities such as talking on a cell phone or getting money from an ATM could suddenly halt over a large part of the globe, NOAA warned.
"Our growing dependence on highly sophisticated, space-based technologies means we are far more vulnerable to space weather today than in the past," said Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "[NOAA's] space weather monitoring and forecasts are critical for the nation's ability to function smoothly during solar disturbances."
Last April, in coordination with an international panel of solar experts, NOAA issued a forecast that solar cycle 24 would start in March 2008, plus or minus six months. The panel was evenly split between those predicting a strong or weak cycle. Both camps agree that the sooner the new cycle takes over the waning previous cycle, the more likely that it will be a strong season with many sunspots and major storms, said Biesecker. Many more sunspots with solar cycle 24 traits must emerge before scientists consider the new cycle dominant, with the potential for more frequent storms, NOAA said.
The new sunspot, identified as #10,981, is the latest visible spot to appear since NOAA began numbering them on January 5, 1972. Its high-latitude location at 27 degrees North, and its negative polarity leading to the right in the Northern Hemisphere are clear-cut signs of a new solar cycle, according to NOAA experts. The first active regions and sunspots of a new solar cycle can emerge at high latitudes while those from the previous cycle continue to form closer to the equator.
From NOAA via "GIM International" newsletter:
http://www.gim-international.com/news/id2773-NOAA_Forthcoming_Solar_Cycle_Could_Disrupt_GPS,_Communications.html
Source: NOAA Website: http://www.noaa.gov
NOAA: Forthcoming Solar Cycle Could Disrupt GPS, Communications
10/01/2008
A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for military and civilian communications, including GPS signals, showed signs it was on it its way with the appearance of the cycle's first sunspot, NOAA scientists said.
The sunspot appeared in the sun's Northern Hemisphere, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "This sunspot is like the first robin of spring," said solar physicist Douglas Biesecker of Nova's Space Weather Prediction Center. "In this case, it's an early omen of solar storms that will gradually increase over the next few years."
A sunspot is an area of highly organized magnetic activity on the surface of the sun. The new 11-year cycle, called solar cycle 24, is expected to build gradually, with the number of sunspots and solar storms reaching a maximum by 2011 or 2012, though devastating storms can occur at any time, according to NOAA.
During a solar storm, highly charged material ejected from the sun may head toward Earth, where it can bring down power grids, disrupt critical communications, and threaten astronauts with harmful radiation. Storms can also knock out commercial communications satellites and swamp GPS signals. Routine activities such as talking on a cell phone or getting money from an ATM could suddenly halt over a large part of the globe, NOAA warned.
"Our growing dependence on highly sophisticated, space-based technologies means we are far more vulnerable to space weather today than in the past," said Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "[NOAA's] space weather monitoring and forecasts are critical for the nation's ability to function smoothly during solar disturbances."
Last April, in coordination with an international panel of solar experts, NOAA issued a forecast that solar cycle 24 would start in March 2008, plus or minus six months. The panel was evenly split between those predicting a strong or weak cycle. Both camps agree that the sooner the new cycle takes over the waning previous cycle, the more likely that it will be a strong season with many sunspots and major storms, said Biesecker. Many more sunspots with solar cycle 24 traits must emerge before scientists consider the new cycle dominant, with the potential for more frequent storms, NOAA said.
The new sunspot, identified as #10,981, is the latest visible spot to appear since NOAA began numbering them on January 5, 1972. Its high-latitude location at 27 degrees North, and its negative polarity leading to the right in the Northern Hemisphere are clear-cut signs of a new solar cycle, according to NOAA experts. The first active regions and sunspots of a new solar cycle can emerge at high latitudes while those from the previous cycle continue to form closer to the equator.
Potty mouth good?
I nominate Smiff to do some "empirical testing"...
Swearing at work can 'cut stress'
Swearing at work helps employees cope with stress, academics at a Norfolk university have said.
A study by Norwich's University of East Anglia (UEA) into leadership styles found the use of "taboo language" boosted team spirit.
Professor Yehuda Baruch, professor of management, warned that attempts to prevent workers from swearing could have a negative impact.
But Professor Baruch discouraged swearing in front of customers.
'Maintaining solidarity'
He said: "In most scenarios, in particular in the presence of customers or senior staff, profanity must be seriously discouraged or banned.
"However, our study suggested that, in many cases, taboo language serves the needs of people for developing and maintaining solidarity, and as a mechanism to cope with stress. Banning it could backfire.
"Managers need to understand how their staff feel about swearing.
"The challenge is to master the art of knowing when to turn a blind eye to communication that does not meet with their own standards."
Swearing at work can 'cut stress'
Swearing at work helps employees cope with stress, academics at a Norfolk university have said.
A study by Norwich's University of East Anglia (UEA) into leadership styles found the use of "taboo language" boosted team spirit.
Professor Yehuda Baruch, professor of management, warned that attempts to prevent workers from swearing could have a negative impact.
But Professor Baruch discouraged swearing in front of customers.
'Maintaining solidarity'
He said: "In most scenarios, in particular in the presence of customers or senior staff, profanity must be seriously discouraged or banned.
"However, our study suggested that, in many cases, taboo language serves the needs of people for developing and maintaining solidarity, and as a mechanism to cope with stress. Banning it could backfire.
"Managers need to understand how their staff feel about swearing.
"The challenge is to master the art of knowing when to turn a blind eye to communication that does not meet with their own standards."
McDonald's counters...
McDonald's adds chicken to breakfast menu
Chicken for breakfast?Starting this spring at McDonald's, yes. Oak Brook-based McDonald's Corp. will offer a chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich in its nearly 14,000 U.S. stores in a few months, the company told analysts today at a Cowen & Co. conference in New York.
The new breakfast sandwich, which consists of a small fried chicken filet in a sliced biscuit, has been test marketed for over a year and is one of several new menu offerings from McDonald's. Late last year, it launched the McSkillet Burrito, its first new breakfast sandwich since the McGriddle came out in 2003. A new burger, the Angus Third Pounder, is expected to be rolled out nationwide this year. Currently, it's available in test markets, including in California and New York.
hey clowns, phokk you
Smiff headed back to Chicago?
Cubs invited C J.D. Closser, LHP Ed Campusano, LHP Geoff Jones, LHP Les Walrond, RHP Esmailin Caridad, RHP Jose Ceda, RHP Chad Fox, RHP Mike Smith, C Welington Castillo, C Josh Donaldson, C Koyie Hill, INF Andres Blanco, INF Luis Figueroa, INF Micah Hoffpauir, INF Casey McGehee, INF Bobby Scales, OF Tyler Colvin, OF Josh Kroeger and OF Andres Torres to spring training.
You know what da answer to dis is, don't you?
2007 Inflation Rate: Up 4.1%
2007 Real Wages Rate: Down 0.9%
Now, you might think: raise salaries for workers and cut them for phokking fat-cat CEOs. Hah, good one! The real answer is: cut taxes for the very weathly. That way, they might invest in new ventures and hire you for that second job you need since you lost 5% of your money last year. Or, they might buy a yacht and help out the yacht makers. And if you're thinking, why not cut taxes on workers 5%? Hah, anudder good one! Uh, where da phokk have you been since Jan. 2001? Probably working 3 jobs and not paying attention. Also, 9/11 changed everything. So, oh yeah, let me speak for Fred Thompson et al. here: go phokk yourselves.
In related news:
QT Trickle-On Economics Update:
The average CEO in this country, as of today, has been paid so far this year what the average worker earns in seven years.
2007 Real Wages Rate: Down 0.9%
Now, you might think: raise salaries for workers and cut them for phokking fat-cat CEOs. Hah, good one! The real answer is: cut taxes for the very weathly. That way, they might invest in new ventures and hire you for that second job you need since you lost 5% of your money last year. Or, they might buy a yacht and help out the yacht makers. And if you're thinking, why not cut taxes on workers 5%? Hah, anudder good one! Uh, where da phokk have you been since Jan. 2001? Probably working 3 jobs and not paying attention. Also, 9/11 changed everything. So, oh yeah, let me speak for Fred Thompson et al. here: go phokk yourselves.
In related news:
QT Trickle-On Economics Update:
The average CEO in this country, as of today, has been paid so far this year what the average worker earns in seven years.
finally, some good news
The latest salvo in the fast food coffee wars? Chicago Dunkin Donuts stores are test marketing dark roast coffee and it's free on Mondays. Hmmm. Now where have we seen that marketing strategy before? Oh, right. At McDonald's, where they've been giving away premium Joe on Mondays since they introduced the stuff.
but the important thing is, socialized medicine isn't encroaching on our God-given freedom
ER waits dangerously long in U.S.: study
One-Quarter of Heart Attack Patients Wait 50 Minutes or Longer
One-Quarter of Heart Attack Patients Wait 50 Minutes or Longer
Whitey keeping darky down (cont)
Police: College Students Lied About Attack
Roommate Hit Girl With Lacrosse Stick To Fake Assault
Investigators said that Trista Sturdivant claimed that she had been attacked by a black man who jumped out of the woods.
OK whitey, we know your lives are all stressed out now because things ain't what they used to be. You used to be able to get all the cushy jobs, now you have to compete with darky and they have "affirmative action" to help them (cheat). But please, when you do something stupid, like claim you were assaulted or kidnapped or something, don't blame us for it. It's not our fault (OK, it is, but you started it), so pick one of your own to blame. Please.
Roommate Hit Girl With Lacrosse Stick To Fake Assault
Investigators said that Trista Sturdivant claimed that she had been attacked by a black man who jumped out of the woods.
OK whitey, we know your lives are all stressed out now because things ain't what they used to be. You used to be able to get all the cushy jobs, now you have to compete with darky and they have "affirmative action" to help them (cheat). But please, when you do something stupid, like claim you were assaulted or kidnapped or something, don't blame us for it. It's not our fault (OK, it is, but you started it), so pick one of your own to blame. Please.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
here's a shocker
News item: Climatic changes appear to be destabilizing vast ice sheets of western Antarctica that had previously seemed relatively protected from global warming, researchers reported yesterday, raising the prospect of faster sea-level rise than current estimates.
the democratic process
Dear MoveOn member,
In the last year, the major TV networks asked the presidential candidates 2,679 questions. Pop quiz: How many were about global warming?
A) 514 — after all, it's one of the top issues facing the country
B) 165 — as many as were asked about illegal immigration
C) 3 — the same number asked about UFOs
In the last year, the major TV networks asked the presidential candidates 2,679 questions. Pop quiz: How many were about global warming?
A) 514 — after all, it's one of the top issues facing the country
B) 165 — as many as were asked about illegal immigration
C) 3 — the same number asked about UFOs
poll finds shocking idiocy rate of 32%
POLL: A New Low in Approval Starts Bush's Final Year
Beset by growing economic concerns on top of the long unpopular war in Iraq, President Bush starts the last year of his presidency with the worst approval rating of his career.
Just 32 percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job, while 66 percent disapprove. Bush's work on the economy has likewise reached a new low. And he shows no gain on Iraq; despite reduced violence there, 64 percent say the war was not worth fighting, 2 points from its high.
Beset by growing economic concerns on top of the long unpopular war in Iraq, President Bush starts the last year of his presidency with the worst approval rating of his career.
Just 32 percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job, while 66 percent disapprove. Bush's work on the economy has likewise reached a new low. And he shows no gain on Iraq; despite reduced violence there, 64 percent say the war was not worth fighting, 2 points from its high.
Misplaced Priorities (cont)
Missing dogs found safe
While untold people are suffering all over this city, state, nation, continent, hemisphere and globe (once we meet the Vulcans I'll add solar system, galaxy and universe to the list), we're concerned about whitey's pooches..
While untold people are suffering all over this city, state, nation, continent, hemisphere and globe (once we meet the Vulcans I'll add solar system, galaxy and universe to the list), we're concerned about whitey's pooches.
but he's da gubnor -- he can do whatever he wants, or, dere is yet annudder YOOOGE delay directly behind dis one
Free rides offer could delay transit funding
CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich never discussed a plan to offer free rides for senior citizens with the head of the Chicago Transit Authority before making the idea public last week, the CTA chief said Monday.
CTA President Ron Huberman said he was concerned Blagojevich's proposal could scuttle final approval of a mass-transit funding bill.
CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich never discussed a plan to offer free rides for senior citizens with the head of the Chicago Transit Authority before making the idea public last week, the CTA chief said Monday.
CTA President Ron Huberman said he was concerned Blagojevich's proposal could scuttle final approval of a mass-transit funding bill.
@SSHOLE Revisted
Dis guy changes his story with each bowel movement...
Yankees VP Hank Steinbrenner said his team was still in the hunt for Johan Santana. Steinbrenner said ESPN's report that the Yankees pulled their offer was untrue. "There wasn't an official offer anyway. You can't withdraw something that wasn't there," Steinbrenner said. "There was no official offer on the table at this time." According to Steinbrenner, there has been some dialogue between his club and the Twins. "It's still in the deciding process," he said. "We're still discussing it. There's still a little talk back and forth."
Yankees VP Hank Steinbrenner said his team was still in the hunt for Johan Santana. Steinbrenner said ESPN's report that the Yankees pulled their offer was untrue. "There wasn't an official offer anyway. You can't withdraw something that wasn't there," Steinbrenner said. "There was no official offer on the table at this time." According to Steinbrenner, there has been some dialogue between his club and the Twins. "It's still in the deciding process," he said. "We're still discussing it. There's still a little talk back and forth."
Monday, January 14, 2008
philly skilly phlubs da phorecast
Snow? No!
By Lea Sitton Stanley
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
So, where is it, that snow we steeled ourselves for?
"It didn't happen."
k-mad, reporting from da philly aeroport...
By Lea Sitton Stanley
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
So, where is it, that snow we steeled ourselves for?
"It didn't happen."
k-mad, reporting from da philly aeroport...
News Grouping
So I looked at the Trib's home page today, and I realised they grouped the stories all wrong. They use Nation, Local, Sports, Entertainment, Travel, etc. I propose a more logical, if slightly more wordy, grouping arrangement:
Why the phokk is this news?
7 people charged in weekend marijuana bust on Near South Side
No sign of Britney Spears at custody hearing
Eva Longoria gives Jessica Simpson advice
Stories you wouldn't normally care about, so we added something to the headline explain why you should care...
Dolphin dies at Brookfield Zoo
Naperville driver, 88, killed in car crash
'Pulp Fiction' screenwriter arrested
The whole story is in the headline, so keep moving...
Why the phokk is this news?
7 people charged in weekend marijuana bust on Near South Side
No sign of Britney Spears at custody hearing
Eva Longoria gives Jessica Simpson advice
Stories you wouldn't normally care about, so we added something to the headline explain why you should care...
Dolphin dies at Brookfield Zoo
Naperville driver, 88, killed in car crash
'Pulp Fiction' screenwriter arrested
The whole story is in the headline, so keep moving...
Amtrak cop loses part of thumb in door at Union Station
Chicken manure spill covers a mile of road in Iowa
We had to make the headline snappy to make you read this otherwise boring story...
Health Club: My favorite drug? Exercise
Why even bother?
Tom Skilling: Snow, frigid blast to whip Chicago area
New chief development officer named at WTTW parent
Brevity is key with voice mail
Early voting begins in Illinois
I could go on, but it makes my head hurt on this slow news day we have.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Poor Little Rich People
People I'm least concerned about:
"Violence in Kenya raises questions for those seeking safari trips"
- headline from the New York Times today.
American travelers were very concerned about the various tribal angers that seem to be boiling over as a result of a presidential election that was stolen and expressed solidarity with the oppressed of any nation at any time, as noted in the article below:
After seeing such images, Andrea Macari, a clinical psychologist from Great Neck, N.Y., rerouted her $30,000 two-week trip to Africa to avoid traveling in Kenya. Originally, Ms. Macari and her husband, Dylan Mitchell, were scheduled to use Nairobi as a jumping-off place to Rwanda for gorilla tracking before heading back to Kenya for a safari. Now the couple is bypassing Kenya completely by flying into Uganda, connecting to Rwanda and taking charter flights to get around. They have replaced their Kenyan safari with a stay at a tented camp in the Serengeti in Tanzania.
“I’m not going on a vacation to be anxious all the time for my safety,” said Ms. Macari, who departed for her trip without knowing if she would get a refund for the canceled Kenya safari.
Lisa Gramlich, a pediatric anesthesiologist from Chicago, who left for Kenya with three friends on Jan. 7, also took precautions. Two of the travelers who planned to take a public bus to Kilimanjaro will now fly there. And instead of shopping and sightseeing in Nairobi, Ms. Gramlich plans to stay on the grounds of her resort while she is in the capital. In a situation like this, she said, “the likelihood of becoming a victim of robbery or something becomes just a little more heightened.”
for the whole story go here.
"Violence in Kenya raises questions for those seeking safari trips"
- headline from the New York Times today.
American travelers were very concerned about the various tribal angers that seem to be boiling over as a result of a presidential election that was stolen and expressed solidarity with the oppressed of any nation at any time, as noted in the article below:
After seeing such images, Andrea Macari, a clinical psychologist from Great Neck, N.Y., rerouted her $30,000 two-week trip to Africa to avoid traveling in Kenya. Originally, Ms. Macari and her husband, Dylan Mitchell, were scheduled to use Nairobi as a jumping-off place to Rwanda for gorilla tracking before heading back to Kenya for a safari. Now the couple is bypassing Kenya completely by flying into Uganda, connecting to Rwanda and taking charter flights to get around. They have replaced their Kenyan safari with a stay at a tented camp in the Serengeti in Tanzania.
“I’m not going on a vacation to be anxious all the time for my safety,” said Ms. Macari, who departed for her trip without knowing if she would get a refund for the canceled Kenya safari.
Lisa Gramlich, a pediatric anesthesiologist from Chicago, who left for Kenya with three friends on Jan. 7, also took precautions. Two of the travelers who planned to take a public bus to Kilimanjaro will now fly there. And instead of shopping and sightseeing in Nairobi, Ms. Gramlich plans to stay on the grounds of her resort while she is in the capital. In a situation like this, she said, “the likelihood of becoming a victim of robbery or something becomes just a little more heightened.”
for the whole story go here.
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