Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Happy New Year friends and readers
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Cooking with Jack: Fried Rice
By Jack Brummet
Fried Rice
4 tbs peanut or other oil (Note: I think Canola has a nasty taste)
6 Chinese sausages, sliced about 1/4" thick (or 1/2 lb. ham, or Chinese BBQ pork)
1 white onion diced (yellow onion is OK)
Salt and pepper
3 or fat cloves garlic, finely minced
3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
5 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias, white and green separated
1 cup fresh (in the summer) or frozen peas
Half cup finely diced carrots
2 or 4 celery sliced thin
A cup or cup and a half of peeled shrimp (raw, or use peeled tiny fresh cooked Oregon shrimp).
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 cups cold cooked long-grain rice (cooled overnight and grains separated by hand or with a utensil).
sesame oil to taste (2-3 teaspoons)
soy (tamari for GF) sauce - to taste, around 4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons of Mirin (optional but good)
Once you make it you'll have a sense of how to make it your own.
Heat a large heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet or wok to low heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the beaten eggs. You want to cook it too much, just firm enough to lift it out of the wok to cool. You can do them like a pancake or scrambled eggs with large curds, Put it on a cutting board and chop it into small pieces while your waiting for the heat to rise in the wok.
Crank up the flame. Add a teaspoon or two of oil and stir fry the sausage for a couple of minutes on high heat. Put in a bowl on the counter.
Crank the heat up all the way and work fast now. Add the onions and celery to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until onion is just sweated, stirring all the time. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and stir 30 seconds. Add the peas and carrots . Cook until just defrosted (if frozen) but leave them crisp. Empty the contents to the bowl of sausage.
Return the pan to the heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Get the wok smoking. Add the rice to the pan and use the wooden spoon to break up any clumps (you should have moistly done this earlier by hand). Season with pepper and stir-fry the rice to coat evenly with oil. Stop stirring, and let the wok go for 30 second increments between tossing and stirring. Add the mirin if using. Stir the rice again, breaking up any new clumps. Add the sesame oil to taste (at least two teaspoons-1 Tbs. I like a little more).
Add the shrimp if using. Stir for a minute. Add soy sauce--about 4 TBS but taste it after 2, you may like it just like that). Add in the chopped up eggs and contents of the bowl with sausage, herbs, vegies). Stir and toss. Add the scallion greens. Add salt and pepper if it needs a touch more (salt should be good). Eat with some other stuff.
Fried Rice
4 tbs peanut or other oil (Note: I think Canola has a nasty taste)
6 Chinese sausages, sliced about 1/4" thick (or 1/2 lb. ham, or Chinese BBQ pork)
1 white onion diced (yellow onion is OK)
Salt and pepper
3 or fat cloves garlic, finely minced
3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
5 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias, white and green separated
1 cup fresh (in the summer) or frozen peas
Half cup finely diced carrots
2 or 4 celery sliced thin
A cup or cup and a half of peeled shrimp (raw, or use peeled tiny fresh cooked Oregon shrimp).
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 cups cold cooked long-grain rice (cooled overnight and grains separated by hand or with a utensil).
sesame oil to taste (2-3 teaspoons)
soy (tamari for GF) sauce - to taste, around 4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons of Mirin (optional but good)
Once you make it you'll have a sense of how to make it your own.
Heat a large heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet or wok to low heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the beaten eggs. You want to cook it too much, just firm enough to lift it out of the wok to cool. You can do them like a pancake or scrambled eggs with large curds, Put it on a cutting board and chop it into small pieces while your waiting for the heat to rise in the wok.
Crank up the flame. Add a teaspoon or two of oil and stir fry the sausage for a couple of minutes on high heat. Put in a bowl on the counter.
Crank the heat up all the way and work fast now. Add the onions and celery to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until onion is just sweated, stirring all the time. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and stir 30 seconds. Add the peas and carrots . Cook until just defrosted (if frozen) but leave them crisp. Empty the contents to the bowl of sausage.
Return the pan to the heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Get the wok smoking. Add the rice to the pan and use the wooden spoon to break up any clumps (you should have moistly done this earlier by hand). Season with pepper and stir-fry the rice to coat evenly with oil. Stop stirring, and let the wok go for 30 second increments between tossing and stirring. Add the mirin if using. Stir the rice again, breaking up any new clumps. Add the sesame oil to taste (at least two teaspoons-1 Tbs. I like a little more).
Add the shrimp if using. Stir for a minute. Add soy sauce--about 4 TBS but taste it after 2, you may like it just like that). Add in the chopped up eggs and contents of the bowl with sausage, herbs, vegies). Stir and toss. Add the scallion greens. Add salt and pepper if it needs a touch more (salt should be good). Eat with some other stuff.
---o0o---
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
President's Nixon's Enemies List
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.
President Nixon's enemies list was part of a bizarre plan known as the “Political Enemies Project.” The list became public knowledge when John Dean mentioned it during his testimony before the the Senate Watergate Committee. Journalist Daniel Schorr, who was on the list, managed to obtain copies of it later that day.
The White House Counsel's Office (John Dean), said the list was kept was to use tax audits from the Internal Revenue Service, and by manipulating "grant availability, federal contracts, litigation, prosecution, etc." In a memorandum from John Dean to Lawrence Higby (August 16, 1971), Dean explained the purpose of the list:
Senators
President Nixon's enemies list was part of a bizarre plan known as the “Political Enemies Project.” The list became public knowledge when John Dean mentioned it during his testimony before the the Senate Watergate Committee. Journalist Daniel Schorr, who was on the list, managed to obtain copies of it later that day.
The White House Counsel's Office (John Dean), said the list was kept was to use tax audits from the Internal Revenue Service, and by manipulating "grant availability, federal contracts, litigation, prosecution, etc." In a memorandum from John Dean to Lawrence Higby (August 16, 1971), Dean explained the purpose of the list:
“This memorandum addresses the matter of how we can maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration; stated a bit more bluntly—how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies."IRS commissioner Donald C. Alexander refused to launch audits of the people on the list. In fact, John Dean later said that no real action was ever taken against any of the "enemies."
Senators
- Birch Bayh
- J. W. Fulbright
- Fred R. Harris
- Harold Hughes
- Edward M. Kennedy
- George McGovern
- Walter Mondale
- Edmund Muskie
- Gaylord Nelson
- William Proxmire
- Bella Abzug
- William R. Anderson
- John Brademas
- Father Robert Drinan
- Robert Kastenmeier
- Wright Patman
Black Congressmen and Congresswomen
- Shirley Chisholm
- William Clay
- George Collins
- John Conyers
- Ronald Dellums
- Charles Diggs
- Augustus Hawkins
- Ralph Metcalfe
- Robert N.C. Nix
- Parren Mitchell
- Charles Rangel
- Louis Stokes
- John Lindsay, Mayor of New York City
- Eugene McCarthy, former U.S senator
- George Wallace, Governor of Alabama
- Sargent Shriver, former director of the Peace Corps and 1972 Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate
Organizations
- Black Panthers, Hughie Newton [sic]
- Brookings Institution, Lesley Gelb [sic] and others
- Business Executives Move for VN Peace. Henry Niles, national chairman, Vincent McGee. executive director
- Committee for an Effective Congress. Russell Hemenway
- Common Cause, John Gardner, Morton Halperin,Charles Goodell, Walter Hickel
- Congressional Black Caucus
- COPE, Alexander E Barkan
- Council for a Livable World, Bernard T. Feld, pr idem: professor of physics. MIT
- Farmers Union, NFO
- Institute of Policy study Richard Barnet, Marcus Raskin
- National Economic Council, Inc.
- National Education Association, Sam M. Lambertpresident
- National Student Association, Charles Palmer[disambiguation needed] president
- National Welfare Rights Organization, George Wiley
- Potomac Associates, William Watts
- SANE, Sanford Gottlieb
- Southern Christian Leadership, Ralph Abernathy;
- Third National Convocation on the Challenge of Building Peace, Robert V Roosa, chairman
- Businessmen's Educational Fund.
- Karl Feller president, International Union United Brewery. Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink and Distillery Workers, Cincinnati
- Harold J. Gibbons, international vice president,Teamsters
- A F Grospiron, president, Oil, Chemical Atomic Workers International Union, Denver
- Matthew Guinan, president, Transport Work. Union of America, New York City
- Paul Jennings, president, International Union Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers, Washington D.C.
- Herman D. Kenin, vice president, AFL-CIO. D
- Lane Kirkland, secretary-treasurer. AFL-CIO (we must deal with him)
- Frederick O'Neal. president. Actors and Artists America, New York City
- William Pollock, president, Textile Workers Union of America, New York City
- Jacob Potofsky general president, Amalgam. Clothing Workers of America, New York City
- Leonard Woodcock, president, United Auto Workers,Detroit
- Jerry Wurf, international president, American Federal, State, County and Municipal Employ Washington D.C.
- Nathaniel Goldfinger, AFL-CIO
- I. W. Abel, Steelworkers
- Jack Anderson, columnist, "Washington Merry-Go-Round"
- Jim Bishop, author, columnist, King Features Syndicate
- Thomas Braden, columnist, Los Angeles Times Syndicate
- D. J. R. Bruckner, Los Angeles Times Syndicate
- Marquis Childs, chief Washington correspondent, St. Louis Post Dispatch
- James Deakin, White House correspondent, St. Louis Post Dispatch
- James Doyle, Washington Star
- Richard Dudman, St. Louis Post Dispatch
- Jules Duscha [sic], Washingtonian
- William Eaton, Chicago Daily News
- Rowland Evans Jr., syndicated columnist, Publishers Hall
- Saul Friedmann, Knight Newspapers, syndicated columnist
- Clayton Fritchey, syndicated columnist Washington correspondent. Harpers
- George Frazier, Boston Globe
- Lou Gordon, The Detroit News columnist and television talk show host
- Katharine Graham, editor, The Washington Post
- Pete Hamill, New York Post
- Michael Harrington, author and journal member, executive committee Socialist party
- Sydney J. Harris, columnist, drama critic and writer of 'Strictly Personal,' syndicated Publishers Hall
- Robert Healy, Boston Globe
- William Hines, Jr., journalist. science education,Chicago Sun Times
- Stanley Karnow, foreign correspondent, Washington Post
- Ted Knap, syndicated columnist, New York Daily News
- Erwin Knoll, Progressive
- Morton Kondracke, Chicago Sun Times
- Joseph Kraft, syndicated columnist, Publishers Hall
- James Laird, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Max Lerner, syndicated columnist, New York Post: author, lecturer, professor (Brandeis University)
- Stanley Levey, Scripps Howard
- Flora Lewis syndicated columnist on economics
- Stuart Loory, Los Angeles Times
- Mary McGrory, syndicated columnist on New Left
- Frank Mankiewicz, syndicated columnist Los Angeles Times
- James Millstone, St. Louis Post Dispatch
- Martin Nolan, Boston Globe
- Ed Guthman, Los Angeles Times
- Thomas O'Neill, Baltimore Sun
- John Pierson, Wall Street Journal
- William Prochnau, Seattle Times
- James Reston, New York Times
- Carl Rowan, syndicated columnist, Publishers Hall
- Warren Unna, Washington Post, NET
- Harriet Van Horne, columnist, New York Post
- Milton Viorst, reporter, author, writer
- James Wechsler, New York Post
- Tom Wicker, New York Times
- Garry Wills, syndicated columnist, author of Nixon Agonistes
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- St Louis Post Dispatch
- Robert Manning, editor, Atlantic
- John Osborne, New Republic
- Richard Rovere, New Yorker
- Robert Sherrill, Nation
- Paul Samuelson, Newsweek
- Julian Goodman, chief executive officer, NBC
- John Macy, Jr, president, Public Broadcasting Corp, former Civil Service Commission
- Marvin Kalb, CBS
- Daniel Schorr, CBS
- Lem Tucker, NBC
- Sander Vanocur, NBC
- Carol Channing, actress
- Bill Cosby, comedian
- Jane Fonda, actress and political activist
- Dick Gregory, comedian and civil rights and peace activist.
- Steve McQueen, actor
- Joe Namath, former New York Jets Quarterback
- Paul Newman, actor
- Gregory Peck, actor
- Tony Randall, actor
- Barbra Streisand, actress and singer
- Charles B. Beneson, president, Beneson Realty Co.
- Nelson Bengston, president, Bengston & Co.
- Holmes Brown, vice president, public relations,Continental Can Co.
- Benjamin Buttenweiser, limited partner, Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
- Lawrence G. Chait, chairman Lawrence G. Chait & Co., Inc.
- Ernest R. Chanes, president, Consolidated Water Conditioning Co.
- Maxwell Dane, chairman, executive committee, Doyle, Dane & Bernbach, Inc.
- Charles H. Dyson, chairman, the Dyson-Kissner Corp.
- Norman Eisner, president, Lincoln Graphic Arts.
- Charles B. Finch, vice president, Alleghany Power System, Inc.
- Katharine Graham, editor and publisher, The Washington Post
- Frank Heineman, president, Men's Wear International.
- George Hillman, president, Ellery Products Manufacturing Co.
- Bertram Lichtenstein, president, Delton Ltd.
- William Manealoff, president, Concord Steel Corp.
- Gerald McKee, president, McKee, Berger, Mansueto.
- Paul Milstein, president, Circle Industries Corp.
- Stewart R. Mott, Stewart R. Mott, Associates.
- Lawrence S. Phillips, president, Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.
- David Rose chairman, Rose Associates.
- Julian Roth senior partner, Emery Roth & Sons.
- William Ruder, president, Ruder & Finn, Inc.
- Si Scharer, president, Scharer Associates, Inc.
- Alfred P. Slaner, president, Kayser-Roth Corp.
- Roger Sonnabend, chairman, Sonesta International Hotels.
- Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace and New National Priorities
- Morton Sweig, president. National Cleaning Contractors
- Alan V. Tishman, executive vice president, Tishman Realty & Construction Co., Inc.
- Ira D. Wallach, president, Gottesman & Co., Inc.
- George Weissman,, president, Philip Morris Corp.
- Ralph Weller, president, Otis Elevator Company
- Clifford Alexander, Jr., member, Equal Opportunity Commission; LBJ's special assistant
- Hugh Calkins, Cleveland lawyer, member, Harvard Corp
- Ramsey Clark, partner, Weiss, Goldberg, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; former attorney general
- Lloyd Cutler, lawyer, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, Washington, D.C.
- Henry L. Kimelman, chief fund raiser for McGovern. president, Overview Group
- Raymond Lapin, former president, FNMA; corporation executive
- Hans F. Loeser, chairman, Boston Lawyers' Vietnam Committee
- Robert McNamara, president, World Bank; former Secretary of Defense
- Hans Morgenthau, a pioneer in the field of international relations theory.
- Victor Palmieri, lawyer, business consultant, real estate executive, Los Angeles.
- Arnold Picker, Muskie's chief fund raiser; chairman executive committee, United Artists
- Robert S. Pirie, Harold Hughes' chief fund raiser: Boston lawyer.
- Joseph Rosenfield, Harold Hughes' money man; retired Des Moines lawyer.
- Henry Rowen, president, Rand Corp., former assistant director of budget (LBJ)
- R Sargent Shriver, Jr., former US. ambassador to France; lawyer, Strasser, Spiefelberg, Fried, Frank & Kempelman, Washington, D.C. [1972 Democratic vice presidential candidate]
- Theodore Sorensen, lawyer, Weiss, Goldberg, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York.
- Ray Stark, Broadway producer.
- Howard Stein, president and director, Dreyfus Corporation.
- Milton Semer, chairman, Muskie Election Committee; lawyer, Semer and Jacobsen
- George H. Talbot, president, Charlotte Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. ; headed anti-Vietnam ad
- Arthur Taylor, vice president, International Paper Company [presently CBS president]
- Jack Valenti, president, Motion Picture Association.
- Paul Warnke, Muskie financial supporter, former assistant secretary of defense
- Thomas J. Watson, Jr., Muskie financial supporter; chairman, IBM
- Michael Ellis DeBakey, chairman, department of surgery, Baylor College of Medicine; surgeon-in-chief,Ben Taub General Hospital. Texas
- Derek Curtis Bok, dean, Harvard Law School
- Kingman Brewster, Jr., president, Yale University.
- McGeorge Bundy, president, Ford Foundation.
- Noam Chomsky, professor of linguistics, MIT
- Carl Djerassi, professor of chemistry, and co-inventor of the first oral contraceptive pill Stanford University
- Daniel Ellsberg, professor, MIT.
- George Drennen Fischer, member, executive committee. National Education Association
- J. Kenneth Galbraith, professor of economics, Harvard
- Patricia Harris, educator, lawyer, former US. ambassador; chairman welfare committee Urban League
- Walter Heller, regents professor of economics,University of Minnesota
- Edwin Land, inventor of instant photography.
- Herbert Ley, Jr., former FDA commissioner; professor of epidemiology, Harvard.
- Matthew Stanley Meselson, professor of biology,Harvard
- Lloyd N. Morrisett, professor and associate director, education program, University of California
- Joseph Rhodes, Jr., fellow, Harvard; member,Scranton commission on Campus Unrest
- Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist; director, A. Philip Randolph Institute, New York.
- David Selden, president, American Federation of Teachers.
- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., professor of humanities, City University of New York
- Jeremy Stone, director, Federation of American Scientists
- Jerome Wiesner, president, MIT.
- Samuel M. Lambert, president, National Education Association
---o0o---
A strange poem on a failed painting
By Jack Brummet
I found this old painting I did (maybe 20 years ago). It was stashed away somewhere at my in-laws mansion, and surfaced as people were cleaning it out. The painting was failed, clearly. It had scratch outs and cancellation marks all over the canvas. But I'd also tried to write a poem on a patch of red paint.
---o0o--
Friday, December 26, 2014
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
"The President is not available, Mr. Prime Minister"
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.
Brent Scowcroft and Dr. Henry Kissinger put off the PM of England, Edward Heath, while President Nixon is in the bag. . .
Brent Scowcroft and Dr. Henry Kissinger put off the PM of England, Edward Heath, while President Nixon is in the bag. . .
---o0o---
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Saturday, December 20, 2014
God's Own Drunk by Lord Buckley
I’d like to do a little creative wig bubble for you called “God’s Own Drunk”
Said, just like I say before, I'm a non-drinkin' man. Never drank for some reason or other - didn't like it. But like I said, too, I promised to take care of my brother-in law's still while he went in to vote.
Went up there and it was just where the map said it was. And I'm a gonna tell ya somethin', there was no li'l old five or ten cent still. It was laid there just like a golden mountain opal. With a kind of a honey dew cry a comin' from it.
I aren't a drinkin' man like I explained to you but that big old yellow moon was a hangin' out there, and God's lanterns was a hangin' in the sky and that curiosity got the best of me. And I took a slash. And I got a crazy revolutionary feelin' in my body. That yellow whiskey went down my throat like honeydew vine water. Huuuuh!!! It tasted mighty good! I felt a revolution goin' through my body like there was a great neon sign's a goin' up and sayin' "There's a great life a comin'!"
I could feel it talkin' to me and I took another slash and I got another jolt and I took another slash and I started to sing. I started to sing and that big ol' yellow moon a hangin' out there and God's sweet lanterns are hangin' in the sky. And I’s a singin'. Never could sing a note before in my life but I was singin' as fine and as pretty as you'd ever wanna hear.
And I took another slash. And then I took a big, full - that big ol' yellow moon a hangin' out there, God's lanterns hangin' in the sky, and suddenly I got a tremendous revolution of emotion in my body, like I was fallin' in love with everything in God's sweet world that moved. Lived, didn't live, animate, inanimate, black, blue, green, pink, mountains, fountains. I was in love with life. 'Cause I was DRUNK!
I wasn't fallin' down slippin 'n' slidin' drunk, I was God's own drunk - a fearless man.
And that's when I first saw the bear. Big ol' Kodiak lookin' fellah about 16 foot tall. I walked right on up to that bear 'cause I was God's own drunk and I loved everything in this world, walked right up tight to 'im about four and a half feet and I looked right up in his eyes and I wanna tell you somethin' brothers and sisters, my eyes was redder 'n his was - hung 'im up.
I told him, I said, "Mr. Bear, I'm God's own drunk and I love every hair on your twenty seven acre body. I'm a fearless man."
I said, "I want you to go - I know you got bear friends over the hill there, Harry Bear and Tim Bear and Jelly Bear and Tony Bear and Teddy Bear, Phil Bear, Hazel Bear, John Bear, Pete Bear and Rare Bear. Go over and tell all of 'em that I'm God's own drunk tonight, and I love everything in God's green creation, and I love them like brothers. But if they give me any trouble. I'm gonna run every GOD DAMN one of 'em off the hill!"
I moved up, don't you know he moved back two feet. I reached up and took the bear by the hand. I said, "Mr. Bear, we're both beasts when it comes right down to it."
He's a lookin' down at me. I said, "I want you to come with me. You're gonna be my buddy, buddy bear."
Took him right by his big ol' shaggy island size hand and led him on over, sat him down by the still.
Well, he's sniffin', he's sniffin, he's knows there's honey dew around there, some kind of honey bear honey dew of some kind, he's a sniffin'. I know what he's a sniffin' at. I took a slash or two myself to taste her out and I filled him a bottle. Did ya ever see them bears, the silhouette a them bears at the circus suckin' up that sarsaparilla Aaaaah it was a fine lookin' sight.
And he downed another bottle and he downed another bottle and I put two more on 'im and pretty soon he started sniffin' and snortin', tapped his foot. He got up and started to do the Bear Dance - two sniffs, three snorts, a half a turn and one grunt. And I'm tryin' to do it, but I couldn't do it 'cause it was just like a jitterbug dance - it was so simple it evaded me.
But we was a dancin' and yellin', and God's sweet moon hangin' in the sky and God's sweet lanterns out there and there's jubilation and love on that hill and finally it piled up and up and up and got so strong it overwhelmed my soul. And I laid back on that sweet green hill with that big ol' buddy bear paw right in mine and I went to sleep.
And I slept for four hours and dreamt me some tremulous dreams. And when I woke up, that ol' yellow moon was a hangin' in the sky, and God's sweet lanterns was out there, and my buddy the bear was a missin'. And you want to know somethin' else brothers and sisters? So was the still.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Drawing: Faces #969 - Birdhouse
By Jack Brummet
[pencil and Sharpie on white painted birdhouse]
[pencil and Sharpie on white painted birdhouse]
click to enlarge
---o0o---
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The U.S.A. did not cave in to the Sony hackers; Sony did
By Jack Brummet, Terrorism & Film Ed.
People keep postulating that the decision to cancel the release of the movie "The Interview" is caving into the hackers' demands. It is more nuanced than that.
1) These aren't the demands of hackers. The hackers were the water boys, messengers, and thieves, in this operation. They were working for Kim Jong-un and the North Korean government. Any demands and threats were, yes, delivered by the hackers, but ultimately came from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In a country under a totalitarian family dictatorship, or, really, an absolute monarchy, this means the orders came from the top, e.g., Kim Jong-un.
2) People keep writing, posting, tweeting, etc., that the U.S. capitulated to the terrorists. The U.S. Government actually had nothing to do with this. Believe me, BHO, The Supremes, and especially Congress have virtually no control or influence over Sony. This was a decision by Sony, for Sony. Sure, I wouldn't necessarily rule out that that they came under pressure from BHO, or the NSA/Homeland Security, or another three letter agency, but for now it doesn't appear they actually did.
3) This is not the U.S.A. capitulating to terrorists. It was an economic decision on Sony's part, and one they may come to regret. It appears that--despite the critical merits of the film (reportedly not very good)--it could have been a blockbuster with people wanting to see what the fuss is all about. I suspect they will end up releasing the film once the smoke has cleared. And when they do, it won't be because they're standing up to terrorists. The go/no go will be based strictly on economics.
As always, I reserve the right to switch my position 180 degrees any moment.
People keep postulating that the decision to cancel the release of the movie "The Interview" is caving into the hackers' demands. It is more nuanced than that.
1) These aren't the demands of hackers. The hackers were the water boys, messengers, and thieves, in this operation. They were working for Kim Jong-un and the North Korean government. Any demands and threats were, yes, delivered by the hackers, but ultimately came from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In a country under a totalitarian family dictatorship, or, really, an absolute monarchy, this means the orders came from the top, e.g., Kim Jong-un.
2) People keep writing, posting, tweeting, etc., that the U.S. capitulated to the terrorists. The U.S. Government actually had nothing to do with this. Believe me, BHO, The Supremes, and especially Congress have virtually no control or influence over Sony. This was a decision by Sony, for Sony. Sure, I wouldn't necessarily rule out that that they came under pressure from BHO, or the NSA/Homeland Security, or another three letter agency, but for now it doesn't appear they actually did.
3) This is not the U.S.A. capitulating to terrorists. It was an economic decision on Sony's part, and one they may come to regret. It appears that--despite the critical merits of the film (reportedly not very good)--it could have been a blockbuster with people wanting to see what the fuss is all about. I suspect they will end up releasing the film once the smoke has cleared. And when they do, it won't be because they're standing up to terrorists. The go/no go will be based strictly on economics.
As always, I reserve the right to switch my position 180 degrees any moment.
---o0o---
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
F*** Yeah: Alamo Drafthouse Theater to Show 'Team America' In Place of 'The Interview'
From the Hollywood Reporter:
"After Sony canceled the release of the North Korea assassination comedy The Interview, a Texas theater said it would swap the film with Paramount's 2004 film Team America: World Police for one free screening.
"We're just trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation," James Wallace, creative manager and programmer at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's Dallas/Fort Worth location, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
"American flags and other patriotic items will be given out by theater employees, Wallace says.
"The plot of Team America, co-written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, revolves around Kim Jong Il, the father of current North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The posters promoting the R-rated movie in 2004 included the tagline, 'Putting the 'F' Back in Freedom.' "
---o0o---
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Ex-Governor Jeb Bush is running for President
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.
He's in. This is going to make things really interesting for some of his fellow candidates.
I bet he's in at least as far as Iowa and New Hampshire. Don't forget that the last time the GOP won the White House without a Bush on the ticket was 1972, when Richard Nixon trounced George McGovern.
He's in. This is going to make things really interesting for some of his fellow candidates.
I bet he's in at least as far as Iowa and New Hampshire. Don't forget that the last time the GOP won the White House without a Bush on the ticket was 1972, when Richard Nixon trounced George McGovern.
---o0o---
The U.S. switchover to metric
By Jack Brummet, Measures Ed.
This is a map of countries not using the metric system (it's puzzling, yes, but I'm OK with it).
I was in that generation of 60's kids who were completely indoctrinated in the metric system in Elementary School--our teachers were trained, and schools were given all sorts of metric teaching tools, and metric trash and trinkets. We were ready for the big switchover. Ever since, I can convert back and forth in my head pretty seamlessly. But along the way we faltered, and ended up really only converting wine and whiskey to the new system (and, as someone noted when I posted a version of this on Facebook, the packaging of street drugs taught entire generations about people about micrograms, grams, and kilograms).
Liberia, Myanmar, and the U.S.A.--keep rocking your system!
This is a map of countries not using the metric system (it's puzzling, yes, but I'm OK with it).
I was in that generation of 60's kids who were completely indoctrinated in the metric system in Elementary School--our teachers were trained, and schools were given all sorts of metric teaching tools, and metric trash and trinkets. We were ready for the big switchover. Ever since, I can convert back and forth in my head pretty seamlessly. But along the way we faltered, and ended up really only converting wine and whiskey to the new system (and, as someone noted when I posted a version of this on Facebook, the packaging of street drugs taught entire generations about people about micrograms, grams, and kilograms).
Liberia, Myanmar, and the U.S.A.--keep rocking your system!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Dancing With Carrots
You have to wait until about a minute in before the carrots make their appearance. The video has over 2 million views on YouTube.
---o0o---
"Hang The President," proclaims the Tea-Republican Party once again
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.
I'm sure demonstrations--and words--like this damage the Tea-Republican party far more than they engender support for their "cause." And yet, it's just depressing to still be hearing this so many years later.
I'm sure demonstrations--and words--like this damage the Tea-Republican party far more than they engender support for their "cause." And yet, it's just depressing to still be hearing this so many years later.
---o0o---
Douglas "yaW gnorW" Corrigan
By Jack Brummet, Avionics Ed.
Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan (1907– 1995) was an American pilot nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938 after a flight from Long Beach, California, to New York. to Ireland. After leaving Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, he landed in Ireland, although he had filed a flight plan for Long Beach. He claimed this was due to a "navigational error," caused by heavy cloud cover and a misread compass. Corrigan was a trained aircraft mechanic and pilot, (he helped build Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis) He had also made modifications to his own plane for transatlantic flight. He was denied permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland, and the "navigational error" was seen as intentional. Wrong Way never publicly admitted to intentionally flying to Ireland.
Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan (1907– 1995) was an American pilot nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938 after a flight from Long Beach, California, to New York. to Ireland. After leaving Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, he landed in Ireland, although he had filed a flight plan for Long Beach. He claimed this was due to a "navigational error," caused by heavy cloud cover and a misread compass. Corrigan was a trained aircraft mechanic and pilot, (he helped build Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis) He had also made modifications to his own plane for transatlantic flight. He was denied permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland, and the "navigational error" was seen as intentional. Wrong Way never publicly admitted to intentionally flying to Ireland.
---o0o---
Friday, December 12, 2014
Frank Sinatra performs the tablecloth trick
Found by Jack Brummet, Images Ed.
[photographer: John Dominis, Life Magazine; context unknown]
Frank Sinatra performs the old tablecloth trick; it looks like he mostly succeeds.
---o0o---
Dickens' Christmas Carol retold by a master: Scrooge by Lord Buckley
By Jack Brummet, Holiday Ed.
Since the first time I heard it in California in 1985 I was blown away. Take ten and a half minutes and listen. I say the same thing every Christmas.
A Hip Christmas Carol
by Lord Buckley
"Yes, me, I'm Scrooge and I got all Marley's barley,
and I'm the baddest cat in all dis world.
I been studyin' all my life how to Scrooge people,
and I guarantee I done some fine work in dat direction.
"Cratchit!"
"Yes, sir."
"You busy?"
"I shorely is, sir."
"See dat you keep busy.
Don't want no danglin' wanglin' around here.
Keep everybody tight.
And tell dem two cats come in here want to get some money
I ain't givin' no money away.
"Dey messin' wit Scrooge.
I'm takin' it in. I ain't puttin' it out.
Issat clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, keep it clear. People comin' around here
wantin' my gold dat's all, tryin' to pry into my vault.
Every time I turn around somebody's tryin' to snap...
"Tell my nephew I don't want to have no dinner wid him
an' if he never comes in here again dat'll be too soon."
"I'll tell de cat."
"See dat ya do.
"I don't understand dese people who are after my gold.
I close up dis here place and den dey ...
"What, what? Yeah, let me tell you somethin else -
You think that you gonna get off Christmas day?"
"Well I was hopin', sir, dat you'd let me knock off just a little while
for Christmas Eve cause I want to go home and cool da goose."
"Well if you gonna get off Christmas Eve
you gonna have to work aaalllll day Christmas.
You hear me?"
"I hear ya, sir. I'm wid it."
"Well I guess I'll go on home here."
So Scrooge takes off and he cuts on down the street.
And the snow's blowin' and da winds is wooooooooin',
and Scrooge is goin' along in his loose soul
and his loose clothes and his hard cash box
and his big money mind goin' on in his wig
and he ding ding ding up da stairs
and he open his door and he gets inside
and he puts a double lock on da door
cause he a little bugged tonight.
He bein' sayin' "Humbug" so long, "Humbug dis," an' "Humbug dat,"
he done give himself a natural Humbug.
He's got da bug hummin' in him, see.
So he double-lock da door.
And he sit dere and all of a sudden
dere's an old bell layin' over dere in the corner
and da bell goes, "ding-ding-ding-ding"
and Scrooge say, "Whassat?"
Dang- dong. "Whassat?"
Bell started ringin' "DING DONG DOONG DOONG"
Pretty soon all da bells all over the house started ringin'
"Ding Ding Dang Dang Dong
Ring Dong Boom Boom, Ding dong,
Boom boom"
And he hear somethin'
like some chain cats are pullin'
all da chains from the chains of time
up the hill 'a strife ringing' and dinglin'
wid his whole head ringin' and dingin' wid dem chains.
And bloooop!
In come a cat, da wildest lookin' cat ya ever see in his life.
Real gone cat.
And Scrooge does a real wild take
"I know who dat stud is - dat's Marley!
I know dat's Marley!
What's he doin' here? Say, Marley?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Man, you sure chained up dere,
man, you got chainsville all over you dere!"
"Well, I put em on myself, dat's da way I lived it.
I chained myself. I hung myself up wid all dese chains, you know,
bein' parsimonious, ya understand what I mean?
I can't get 'em off now.
I been luggin' dese chains all over da country
for the past seven years."
"Dat's a long time.
What's you want wit me dere, Marley Marley?
cause I got your barley."
"I don't mess wid no barley no more.
I wish I'd given it all away when I had it
and I'm gonna tell you somethin' else, too,
I'm a spook, you know dat."
"You tellin' me. I know dat.
You a spook, man, an' I wanna get straight."
"I'm gonna tell you somethin else, too, Mr. Scroogie Scrooge,
Dere gonna be three more gas lightin' spooks comin' in to see you."
"Three more gas lightin' spooks.
Say, one spook's enough.
Can't I have 'em all at one time?"
"No. Dey comin' one at a time.
First one be eleven,
next one be twelve,
next one'll be one."
"Man, if I had known this..."
"Tell you what. You dig, Scrooge, it's what you puttin' down.
You been a real sorry cat all dis time.
You gonna be gassed now by dese spooks."
"Well, dey say if I gotta be gassed..
Ain't gonna cost me no money, is it?"
"Cost you more 'n dat, Scrooge."
"Dey ain't no more den money!"
"You find out."
Brrrrt.
And Marley split.
And old Scrooge is sittin' dere sweatin' and dinglin' danglin'.
And all of a sudden, man,
he hears some crazy wild kind of a thing goin' on.
He don't know just what it is and all of a sudden . . .
Boom
Here comes a great big fat spook,
look like takes a hundred and seventy wings
lift him off over da house top
and he's got de old beat up cat and spandly legs,
and strangly arms and pedicured eyes,
and a hole out of his skull wiggin' up a storm
and he looks at old Scrooge and he says...
Scrooge is standin' dere in the corner
he feel like a disrupted small disregarded
and unclaimed white mice midget-style,
he's sittin' over dere.
And dis spook say, "Come wid me
'cause I is The Ghost of da Christmas Past!"
And Scrooge say, "Do I hafta?"
Say, "You certainly do!"
And he got on the ghost's wing and - brrt - they took off.
And he's flyin' old Scrooge over da top of da mountain
da wind is blowin', da wind is partin' his way,
and he's lookin' down, and seein' all dese crazy scenes goin' on.
Zoom!
He goes over a few more miles
Takes him down to a sun-lit pasture.
And da sun-lit pasture's full of children,
and de're singin' and dancin' and lovin' and goin' and swingin'
and Scrooge say, "Look, look, look! Dat's me down dere!"
"Yeah, dat's you, dat's you."
"I look pretty good"
"Yeah but ya don't look good now,"
He say, "I wanna hip you gotta get yourself ?
Zoom!
He takes him over to another place
and he shows him a pretty little chick
got dimples, three dimples on each chin,
and she got three little dimpled children,
and the next little dimple on da way,
and dere's a real swingin' cat around there,
and it's a happy time,
looks like seventeen carnivals takin' off.
An' Scrooge look at dis chick and say,
"I remember dat chick. I could 'a married her once."
"Yeah, you coulda if you wasn't so tight wid your purse.
You all was thinkin' about yourself, dat's what happened."
Say, "Let me hip you further, Mister Scrooge,
Let me tell you one thing:
you better get everything straight that you wanna
and you better straighten up."
"An' take me home."
"Yeah, I will."
Brrrrm Boom
And he's home again.
So man, that was a shaker.
This whole thing, this whole thing is shakin' me up pretty bad.
He say, I want to tell you right now . . .
Boom!
Here comes another big spook
Ooooohhhh He's a wild lookin' spook.
He's a crazy lookin' spook.
He's a far-out spook, he's a gas-light spook.
He's got a gas light right on the top of his wig
goin' around like one of them dramatic ? pilot lights
in a light house and he's there gassin' up the whole scene.
He say "Come with me. I'm The Ghost of Christmas Present"
And Scrooge look around and sees
the joint is loaded with apples and bananas and oranges and,
and credalies and acralonchs and ripalips
all kinds of crazy wild grapes and crazy Chistmas scenes
and nuts and candy.
And he say, "Come wid me."
Brrrrrttt.
Done took off again,
He said "I am The Ghost of Christmas Present."
He say, "I'm gonna show you what's goin' on in dis world
and how to dig Christmas and how to all enjoy
And he took him up to a little old outcast.
And there sittin on a small beat-up rock
was two studs chompin' up on a can 'a beans singin',
"Merry Christmas widch you,
Merry Christmas widch you.
Merry Christmas to the whole world"
And so on and so forth.
And he showin' him the people jumpin' for joy,
see how the cats that ain't got nothin' got somethin' anyway,
and they're all jumpin' for joy singin' "Merry Christmas," and da bells is ringin'.
Now you get yourself straight and see how things is ....
So they fly over da Cratchit's place,
there little old Tiny Tim, He's sittin' over in the corner
crochetin' a little crazy scene,
fiddlin' around, ya know what I mean?
An carryin' on, see,
and they are all talkin' about this here goose,
and dey look down here and this little goose
about the size of a beat up retarded sparrow,
and everybody's ooohin' and aahhhin' all over dis goose,
and day sayin' when are we gonna spread it,
and Tiny Tim say, "God bless everyone,
and even up to and including Scroogy Scrooge.
God bless everyone!" That's what Tiny Tim say.
And old Scrooge got red-eyed.
Brrrrt .
Took 'im back again.
Sound like the whole side 'a the buildin' open up
and in come a long angular spook
seventeen gas lights and stove pipes
hung together with
jingle jangle bells all over
Scrooge takes a look at this cat,
Says, "Do I have to go with you?"
He says, "You certainly do, 'cause I'm The Ghost of Christmas Future."
He say, "Come wid me."
Say, "Where we goin'?"
"None 'o your business!"
He takes old Scrooge they cut off flyin' around
the moonlight is shinin' down.
Booom!
They're in the grave-yard.
Oooh a wild OOOOoooohhhh
crazy spooky graveyard
and Scrooge is walkin' around
and finally something stepped out at him
like he was struck with the force of his eye lids,
some sort of an electronic pitchfork,
and he reads on one of them billboards in that grave-yard,
it say, "Dis is Scrooge, the baddest cat that ever lived.
He don't have nothin' he ain't got nothin' and he ain't got nothin now."
Period
And Scrooge looked at it and . . .
They're going to another place,
and there's a cat say "You goin' to the funeral?"
and he say, "Not me, man, I wouldn't go near that cat, dead or alive.
They couldn't pay me to get near that cat."
Say, "What cat is that?"
And suddenly Scrooge is takin' in the coffin factory
and seeing all these coffins layin' around,
and see one coffin,
all the rest of 'em got flowers around
'n 'dis poor little coffin got nothin on it but just some pinewood boards
an' old Scrooge look up and over and he's lookin' at this and that
and look all away 'cause he knows who is in dat coffin.
Zooooommmm.
He's swings on back again and the ghost puts him down
and old Scrooge is shakin' and shiverin'
and he finally falls into a real wild, crazy miser's coma.
And he falls out for how long he don't know
when and he wakes up and
Mornin'!
Aaaaahh, the sun was shinin' on the glorious snow
and old Scrooge is feelin' so groovey 'n so wired
and he tip tip tip tip tip toes over to the window.
He open the window, see a little cat, he say, "Hey, boy."
"Yes, sir."
"You know that great big giant king-size bird
down in Doodley's window?"
"You mean the prize bird?"
"No," he say, "I mean that great big king-size bird."
Say, "Go get that bird. Here's a twenty."
He knocks a twenty on him. "Go get dat bird.
And here's ten more for a cab,
an here's five dollar for your sister,
and here's twenty-two-fifty for your uncle's new bicycle.
Tell anyone who wants anything, 'See Scrooge.'
I'm flyin' this here Christmas.
I want to see Cratchit swing out
with a great big swingin' happy dinner.
I'm wid it all da way!"
An' old Scrooge get dressed and he's walkin' down the street,
and Ding Dong, Ding Dong Ding, the bells is ringin'.
Scrooge got a big smile on his face,
and people he's seen for twenty years never said hello,sayin'
"Good morning, Mr. Scrooge."
"What you say, Baby?"
An' he carryin' on, carryin' on, happy as the day is long.
And he finally fell into old Bob Cratchit's place
and he's got Christmas toys and Christmas joys
and Christmas presents for everybody.
And they'd just opened the goose,
and then little Tiny Tim see him comin',
he say, "God bless Mr. Scrooge.
He done did the turn about.
He's the Lord's boy today."
And that's the story of Scrooge.
You can get wid it if you want to.
There's only one way straight to the Road of Love.
---o0o---
Since the first time I heard it in California in 1985 I was blown away. Take ten and a half minutes and listen. I say the same thing every Christmas.
A Hip Christmas Carol
by Lord Buckley
"Yes, me, I'm Scrooge and I got all Marley's barley,
and I'm the baddest cat in all dis world.
I been studyin' all my life how to Scrooge people,
and I guarantee I done some fine work in dat direction.
"Cratchit!"
"Yes, sir."
"You busy?"
"I shorely is, sir."
"See dat you keep busy.
Don't want no danglin' wanglin' around here.
Keep everybody tight.
And tell dem two cats come in here want to get some money
I ain't givin' no money away.
"Dey messin' wit Scrooge.
I'm takin' it in. I ain't puttin' it out.
Issat clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, keep it clear. People comin' around here
wantin' my gold dat's all, tryin' to pry into my vault.
Every time I turn around somebody's tryin' to snap...
"Tell my nephew I don't want to have no dinner wid him
an' if he never comes in here again dat'll be too soon."
"I'll tell de cat."
"See dat ya do.
"I don't understand dese people who are after my gold.
I close up dis here place and den dey ...
"What, what? Yeah, let me tell you somethin else -
You think that you gonna get off Christmas day?"
"Well I was hopin', sir, dat you'd let me knock off just a little while
for Christmas Eve cause I want to go home and cool da goose."
"Well if you gonna get off Christmas Eve
you gonna have to work aaalllll day Christmas.
You hear me?"
"I hear ya, sir. I'm wid it."
"Well I guess I'll go on home here."
So Scrooge takes off and he cuts on down the street.
And the snow's blowin' and da winds is wooooooooin',
and Scrooge is goin' along in his loose soul
and his loose clothes and his hard cash box
and his big money mind goin' on in his wig
and he ding ding ding up da stairs
and he open his door and he gets inside
and he puts a double lock on da door
cause he a little bugged tonight.
He bein' sayin' "Humbug" so long, "Humbug dis," an' "Humbug dat,"
he done give himself a natural Humbug.
He's got da bug hummin' in him, see.
So he double-lock da door.
And he sit dere and all of a sudden
dere's an old bell layin' over dere in the corner
and da bell goes, "ding-ding-ding-ding"
and Scrooge say, "Whassat?"
Dang- dong. "Whassat?"
Bell started ringin' "DING DONG DOONG DOONG"
Pretty soon all da bells all over the house started ringin'
"Ding Ding Dang Dang Dong
Ring Dong Boom Boom, Ding dong,
Boom boom"
And he hear somethin'
like some chain cats are pullin'
all da chains from the chains of time
up the hill 'a strife ringing' and dinglin'
wid his whole head ringin' and dingin' wid dem chains.
And bloooop!
In come a cat, da wildest lookin' cat ya ever see in his life.
Real gone cat.
And Scrooge does a real wild take
"I know who dat stud is - dat's Marley!
I know dat's Marley!
What's he doin' here? Say, Marley?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Man, you sure chained up dere,
man, you got chainsville all over you dere!"
"Well, I put em on myself, dat's da way I lived it.
I chained myself. I hung myself up wid all dese chains, you know,
bein' parsimonious, ya understand what I mean?
I can't get 'em off now.
I been luggin' dese chains all over da country
for the past seven years."
"Dat's a long time.
What's you want wit me dere, Marley Marley?
cause I got your barley."
"I don't mess wid no barley no more.
I wish I'd given it all away when I had it
and I'm gonna tell you somethin' else, too,
I'm a spook, you know dat."
"You tellin' me. I know dat.
You a spook, man, an' I wanna get straight."
"I'm gonna tell you somethin else, too, Mr. Scroogie Scrooge,
Dere gonna be three more gas lightin' spooks comin' in to see you."
"Three more gas lightin' spooks.
Say, one spook's enough.
Can't I have 'em all at one time?"
"No. Dey comin' one at a time.
First one be eleven,
next one be twelve,
next one'll be one."
"Man, if I had known this..."
"Tell you what. You dig, Scrooge, it's what you puttin' down.
You been a real sorry cat all dis time.
You gonna be gassed now by dese spooks."
"Well, dey say if I gotta be gassed..
Ain't gonna cost me no money, is it?"
"Cost you more 'n dat, Scrooge."
"Dey ain't no more den money!"
"You find out."
Brrrrt.
And Marley split.
And old Scrooge is sittin' dere sweatin' and dinglin' danglin'.
And all of a sudden, man,
he hears some crazy wild kind of a thing goin' on.
He don't know just what it is and all of a sudden . . .
Boom
Here comes a great big fat spook,
look like takes a hundred and seventy wings
lift him off over da house top
and he's got de old beat up cat and spandly legs,
and strangly arms and pedicured eyes,
and a hole out of his skull wiggin' up a storm
and he looks at old Scrooge and he says...
Scrooge is standin' dere in the corner
he feel like a disrupted small disregarded
and unclaimed white mice midget-style,
he's sittin' over dere.
And dis spook say, "Come wid me
'cause I is The Ghost of da Christmas Past!"
And Scrooge say, "Do I hafta?"
Say, "You certainly do!"
And he got on the ghost's wing and - brrt - they took off.
And he's flyin' old Scrooge over da top of da mountain
da wind is blowin', da wind is partin' his way,
and he's lookin' down, and seein' all dese crazy scenes goin' on.
Zoom!
He goes over a few more miles
Takes him down to a sun-lit pasture.
And da sun-lit pasture's full of children,
and de're singin' and dancin' and lovin' and goin' and swingin'
and Scrooge say, "Look, look, look! Dat's me down dere!"
"Yeah, dat's you, dat's you."
"I look pretty good"
"Yeah but ya don't look good now,"
He say, "I wanna hip you gotta get yourself ?
Zoom!
He takes him over to another place
and he shows him a pretty little chick
got dimples, three dimples on each chin,
and she got three little dimpled children,
and the next little dimple on da way,
and dere's a real swingin' cat around there,
and it's a happy time,
looks like seventeen carnivals takin' off.
An' Scrooge look at dis chick and say,
"I remember dat chick. I could 'a married her once."
"Yeah, you coulda if you wasn't so tight wid your purse.
You all was thinkin' about yourself, dat's what happened."
Say, "Let me hip you further, Mister Scrooge,
Let me tell you one thing:
you better get everything straight that you wanna
and you better straighten up."
"An' take me home."
"Yeah, I will."
Brrrrm Boom
And he's home again.
So man, that was a shaker.
This whole thing, this whole thing is shakin' me up pretty bad.
He say, I want to tell you right now . . .
Boom!
Here comes another big spook
Ooooohhhh He's a wild lookin' spook.
He's a crazy lookin' spook.
He's a far-out spook, he's a gas-light spook.
He's got a gas light right on the top of his wig
goin' around like one of them dramatic ? pilot lights
in a light house and he's there gassin' up the whole scene.
He say "Come with me. I'm The Ghost of Christmas Present"
And Scrooge look around and sees
the joint is loaded with apples and bananas and oranges and,
and credalies and acralonchs and ripalips
all kinds of crazy wild grapes and crazy Chistmas scenes
and nuts and candy.
And he say, "Come wid me."
Brrrrrttt.
Done took off again,
He said "I am The Ghost of Christmas Present."
He say, "I'm gonna show you what's goin' on in dis world
and how to dig Christmas and how to all enjoy
And he took him up to a little old outcast.
And there sittin on a small beat-up rock
was two studs chompin' up on a can 'a beans singin',
"Merry Christmas widch you,
Merry Christmas widch you.
Merry Christmas to the whole world"
And so on and so forth.
And he showin' him the people jumpin' for joy,
see how the cats that ain't got nothin' got somethin' anyway,
and they're all jumpin' for joy singin' "Merry Christmas," and da bells is ringin'.
Now you get yourself straight and see how things is ....
So they fly over da Cratchit's place,
there little old Tiny Tim, He's sittin' over in the corner
crochetin' a little crazy scene,
fiddlin' around, ya know what I mean?
An carryin' on, see,
and they are all talkin' about this here goose,
and dey look down here and this little goose
about the size of a beat up retarded sparrow,
and everybody's ooohin' and aahhhin' all over dis goose,
and day sayin' when are we gonna spread it,
and Tiny Tim say, "God bless everyone,
and even up to and including Scroogy Scrooge.
God bless everyone!" That's what Tiny Tim say.
And old Scrooge got red-eyed.
Brrrrt .
Took 'im back again.
Sound like the whole side 'a the buildin' open up
and in come a long angular spook
seventeen gas lights and stove pipes
hung together with
jingle jangle bells all over
Scrooge takes a look at this cat,
Says, "Do I have to go with you?"
He says, "You certainly do, 'cause I'm The Ghost of Christmas Future."
He say, "Come wid me."
Say, "Where we goin'?"
"None 'o your business!"
He takes old Scrooge they cut off flyin' around
the moonlight is shinin' down.
Booom!
They're in the grave-yard.
Oooh a wild OOOOoooohhhh
crazy spooky graveyard
and Scrooge is walkin' around
and finally something stepped out at him
like he was struck with the force of his eye lids,
some sort of an electronic pitchfork,
and he reads on one of them billboards in that grave-yard,
it say, "Dis is Scrooge, the baddest cat that ever lived.
He don't have nothin' he ain't got nothin' and he ain't got nothin now."
Period
And Scrooge looked at it and . . .
They're going to another place,
and there's a cat say "You goin' to the funeral?"
and he say, "Not me, man, I wouldn't go near that cat, dead or alive.
They couldn't pay me to get near that cat."
Say, "What cat is that?"
And suddenly Scrooge is takin' in the coffin factory
and seeing all these coffins layin' around,
and see one coffin,
all the rest of 'em got flowers around
'n 'dis poor little coffin got nothin on it but just some pinewood boards
an' old Scrooge look up and over and he's lookin' at this and that
and look all away 'cause he knows who is in dat coffin.
Zooooommmm.
He's swings on back again and the ghost puts him down
and old Scrooge is shakin' and shiverin'
and he finally falls into a real wild, crazy miser's coma.
And he falls out for how long he don't know
when and he wakes up and
Mornin'!
Aaaaahh, the sun was shinin' on the glorious snow
and old Scrooge is feelin' so groovey 'n so wired
and he tip tip tip tip tip toes over to the window.
He open the window, see a little cat, he say, "Hey, boy."
"Yes, sir."
"You know that great big giant king-size bird
down in Doodley's window?"
"You mean the prize bird?"
"No," he say, "I mean that great big king-size bird."
Say, "Go get that bird. Here's a twenty."
He knocks a twenty on him. "Go get dat bird.
And here's ten more for a cab,
an here's five dollar for your sister,
and here's twenty-two-fifty for your uncle's new bicycle.
Tell anyone who wants anything, 'See Scrooge.'
I'm flyin' this here Christmas.
I want to see Cratchit swing out
with a great big swingin' happy dinner.
I'm wid it all da way!"
An' old Scrooge get dressed and he's walkin' down the street,
and Ding Dong, Ding Dong Ding, the bells is ringin'.
Scrooge got a big smile on his face,
and people he's seen for twenty years never said hello,sayin'
"Good morning, Mr. Scrooge."
"What you say, Baby?"
An' he carryin' on, carryin' on, happy as the day is long.
And he finally fell into old Bob Cratchit's place
and he's got Christmas toys and Christmas joys
and Christmas presents for everybody.
And they'd just opened the goose,
and then little Tiny Tim see him comin',
he say, "God bless Mr. Scrooge.
He done did the turn about.
He's the Lord's boy today."
And that's the story of Scrooge.
You can get wid it if you want to.
There's only one way straight to the Road of Love.
---o0o---
Congress finally passes the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.
Congress has now passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. We really have no idea now how many people die during an arrest or while being held in jail. Some agencies report these figures, and others do not, or only report sporadically and incompletely. . .
Democratic Representative Bobby Scott , of Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, sponsored the House version of the bill. Thursday, he released this statement:
"It is clear that the federal government needs to exercise greater oversight of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to ensure that they are protecting and serving our citizens. To aid in that measure, we need data on deaths that occur within our criminal justice system. Without accurate data, it is nearly impossible to identify variables that lead to an unnecessary and unacceptable risk of individuals dying in custody or during an arrest. The passage of the Death in Custody Reporting Act will make this information available, so policymakers will be in a position to enact initiatives that will reduce incidences of avoidable deaths in our criminal justice system."
From Congress.gov:
The House of Representatives approved the Death in Custody Reporting Act by voice vote last December (2013), and the Senate passed the bill Wednesday night. The legislation will now go to the President for his signature. . .or veto.
Congress has now passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. We really have no idea now how many people die during an arrest or while being held in jail. Some agencies report these figures, and others do not, or only report sporadically and incompletely. . .
Democratic Representative Bobby Scott , of Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, sponsored the House version of the bill. Thursday, he released this statement:
"It is clear that the federal government needs to exercise greater oversight of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to ensure that they are protecting and serving our citizens. To aid in that measure, we need data on deaths that occur within our criminal justice system. Without accurate data, it is nearly impossible to identify variables that lead to an unnecessary and unacceptable risk of individuals dying in custody or during an arrest. The passage of the Death in Custody Reporting Act will make this information available, so policymakers will be in a position to enact initiatives that will reduce incidences of avoidable deaths in our criminal justice system."
From Congress.gov:
"Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 - Requires states that receive allocations under specified provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or otherwise, to report to the Attorney General on a quarterly basis certain information regarding the death of any person who is detained, arrested, en route to incarceration, or incarcerated in state or local facilities or a boot camp prison. Imposes penalties on states that fail to comply with such reporting requirements..
"Requires the head of each federal law enforcement agency to report to the Attorney General annually certain information regarding the death of any person who: (1) is detained or arrested by any officer of such agency (or by any state or local law enforcement officer for purposes of a federal law enforcement operation); or (2) is en route to be incarcerated or detained, or is incarcerated or detained, at any federal correctional facility or federal pretrial detention facility located within the United States or any other facility pursuant to a contract with or used by such agency.
"Requires the Attorney General to study such information and report on means by which it can be used to reduce the number of such deaths."
The House of Representatives approved the Death in Custody Reporting Act by voice vote last December (2013), and the Senate passed the bill Wednesday night. The legislation will now go to the President for his signature. . .or veto.
---o0o---
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Four Presidents elected twice by a majority vote: FDR, DDE, RWR, and BHO
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.
Question #1: 232 scholars think the President is rocking the Presidency. What about the other 188, or 523 scholars who don't?
It's true only these four Presidents we're elected twice with majorities. And it's awesome BHO is on the list. Yes, he has taken a substantial political and PR shellacking while racking up some great accomplishments. But so did the other three on this list (the shellackings anyhow).
RWR in particular was run through the mill--rightfully--his last two years in office, in addition to being portrayed as lazy and at times bizarre (e.g., consulting an astrologist regularly, seeing a UFO in 1974), on top of using drug money to arm the Anti-Sandinista Rebels, and the other clandestine acts of the Ollie North era.
Plenty of people called FDR treasonous after the Yalta meetings, and before.
Ike was often considered out of touch. He was pretty bland. He was smart, but too blind to race. He could have jump started the discussion. But he did not. He said a lot of smart things about the military and the munitions and war machine.
If BHO could communicate as passionately as he did when he was.a first term candidate, I think he would be on a lot steadier footing. That's never been my problem with him. Mine has been the hesitation, not waffling really, but kind of a Hamlet-like or Prufrockian pondering instead of acting.
Via Occupy Democrats - "OBAMA RATED BEST PRESIDENT IN PAST 50 YEARS, but you wouldn't know it. — Presidential scholars rank President Obama as the best president in the past 50 years, and Bush as the worst. Obama even bests the GOPper's sacrosanct cowboy, President Reagan. In fact, in the past 100 years only four presidents have been ranked better than Obama. Why then, do people question his achievements, ESPECIALLY in light of GOP obstruction bordering on sedition, and unprecedented voter suppression and extreme gerrymandering, along with Citizens United dollars? Eventually his rank will move higher on this list as Bush's moves toward the bottom of the barrel. But back to the premise of this image I created. Can there be any reason other than race that causes such widespread denial of presidential accomplishment and success? I conclude it can ONLY be about race. Millions of Americans will not give President Obama the respect he deserves not only as president but as a human being. The corporate owned media are among the worst sources for spreading these lies about the president's citizenship, academic accomplishment, presidential success, etc. These same deep rooted feelings of racial animus fuel the fear and hate that contributed to the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Racism has been institutionalized into our corporate hierarchies, into our prison and court systems and even into our police forces which are seven times as likely to kill black men as white men. Hopefully this image and the questions it raises, help put into perspective the deeply rooted racial undertones that guide our daily paths like the roads on which we drive, paths that dictate our sense of direction and our decisions, many of which are subliminal, yet have far reaching consequences, like police officer Darren Wilson wondering, "Can I legally kill this man?" Americans need to increase the intensity of this dialogue, to question their own conscious and unconscious decisions regarding race and its role in our lives. The future of our nation depends on this introspection, reflection and national conversation. Please share this image. Thank you. {Allow me to answer those of you who wonder about President Clinton's victories. You'll recall that H. Ross Perot mucked things up a bit, with Clinton winning but getting only 43% and 49% of the popular vote in 1992 and 1996 respectively." - Tracy Knauss
---o0o---
Times Square, 1979
By Jack Brummet, NYC Metro Ed.
Times Square, 1979, with Bill Murray, and a working gal. This was the center point of when we lived in NYC. I had to pass through Times Square often (I especially remember going there to the electronics stores, like 47th Street Camera to pick up a tape recorder, camera, or Walkman).
People can't conceive what a toilet Bryant Square Park was back then now that it's been so tidied up. Needles, hookers, bums, street kids, drunks, three card monte, hustlers. . .and the Irish bars and Tad's Steak House.
We'd pass through TS to go to the theater a/k/a Broadway, or sometimes actually go there to see a film in one of those amazing stadium style theaters (where you could still smoke at a movie) or sometimes even to see a grindhouse movie or a zombie double bill. It never felt scary (well, sometimes), but always felt sleazy. Now it's something more akin to Fisherman's Wharf or the Pike Place Market or The Grove in L.A.--a friendly tourist destination with a colorful past.
Times Square, 1979, with Bill Murray, and a working gal. This was the center point of when we lived in NYC. I had to pass through Times Square often (I especially remember going there to the electronics stores, like 47th Street Camera to pick up a tape recorder, camera, or Walkman).
People can't conceive what a toilet Bryant Square Park was back then now that it's been so tidied up. Needles, hookers, bums, street kids, drunks, three card monte, hustlers. . .and the Irish bars and Tad's Steak House.
We'd pass through TS to go to the theater a/k/a Broadway, or sometimes actually go there to see a film in one of those amazing stadium style theaters (where you could still smoke at a movie) or sometimes even to see a grindhouse movie or a zombie double bill. It never felt scary (well, sometimes), but always felt sleazy. Now it's something more akin to Fisherman's Wharf or the Pike Place Market or The Grove in L.A.--a friendly tourist destination with a colorful past.
---o0o---
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