Listening

I was thinking of Rush Limbaugh (Why? Because I was reading a post from Citizen K.) and the revelation came to me; the reason he says the most ridiculous and inane things is because he isn't talking to you or I. He's talking to his audience, the judgmental non-thinkers, and that's why it sounds so strange to those of us that employ critical thinking in our everyday lives. And that audience eats it up! He feeds them the exact kind of swill they love so that they will come back each day and support his immense ego. None of his blathering was ever intended for our consumption and to listen to it is like listening to a private conversation.

The audience? Well, if I understand the figures correctly, it is right around the 20 million mark. That's 20 million out of a possible…say, 200 million? That's 10% and that means 90% are not listening to him! Whew! I feel better already. But…if his audience ever gets to 20% or 30%, then we know that our education system has failed us completely.

Judging

The more I read about the idiots that are attacking Judge Sotomayor the more I'm convinced that you have to give up a lot of gray matter when you decide to become a conservative. She is currently being condemned for having feelings, for being empathetic. Her critics say that those who decide on law must be free of all emotion. The law is the law is the law. And Justice is blind, right? OK, then why do we need judges at all? We could have one computer to search out all of the relevant facts and then make that painful decision for us. After all, it's only the law. It's simply data after all and a computer could do it faster and cheaper than 8 old men and a woman. And a whole lot cheaper!

But in my readings this morning, I came across this gem and had to post it…

"…former Bush adviser Karl Rove said that despite her stellar academic credentials, Sotomayor was "not necessarily" smart. "I know lots of stupid people
who went to Ivy League schools," said Rove."

Well, Karl…can you name just one of those 'stupid people' for us? If you have forgotten his name, I certainly can remind you.

Link to Think Progress…and Citizen K.

Op-Ed Columnist - .Mr. Kristof

- Would You Slap Your Father? If So, You’re a Liberal - NYTimes.com:

"If you damage your prefrontal cortex, your I.Q. may be unaffected, but you’ll have trouble harrumphing."

I really enjoyed this article. As an advocate of the Myers - Briggs Type Index, I see conservatives and liberals in much the same way. It's hard wired into our psyche. Thank goodness! For instance, I'm an INFP type and the F stands for "Feeling'. I feel emotions rather than the opposite, which is simply 'Thinking' about them.

Right now the usual right wing nutjobs are blasting Judge Sotomayor for being empathetic. I can guarantee you that she has a 'Feeling' personality; she can 'feel' someones pain, where a 'Thinking' person is sympathetic and will send them a get-well card. Now what kind of judge do you want? One that is conservative, remote, and thinks dispassionately or one that can see the whole picture and knows full well what her decision will do to the parties involved? I'll take the latter, please.

Gingrich

on Sotomayor: “Latina woman racist should also withdraw”

Sorry, we have an overabundance of Republican fat old white men already...it's time for a change.

How can you take this guy seriously when he says these things without even knowing her? Oh, that's right! It's politics... it doesn't have to make sense!

Blogger jailed

for contempt in Smith case

Interesting story...and what I found to be a dangerous precedent was the fact that she was jailed because the judge 'thought' she was lying. Proof? Shouldn't that be a factor in his decision? Maybe he just had a bad morning and she's in jail because the coffeemaker didn't work? Who knows, maybe she was lying...it doesn't really matter; the fact remains that the judge simply decided that on his own and without any evidence. And that is scary!

Whatever...the bigger story here is the fact that the internet is not the free place it should be. And I suppose I should come up with some sort of disclaimer for my little piece of the internet. Or perhaps I can change the title from Projections to 'Simply an Opinion' and call it good.

From Citizen K.:

Introducing Sonia Sotomayor:

"In right-wing looney land, the only way for President Obama to prove that he isn't a racist would have been to nominate Sotomayor's opposite: A privileged white male, and the dumber the better. We had that for eight years in the Oval Office. Do we really need it in a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court?..."

I wish I had said that. I didn't...but I did think it! Read it all!

Justice?

Let me see...the California Supreme Court said that gay marriages are illegal and then added that the 18,000+ gay marriages already performed are legal. Does anyone see the logic? That decision should be overturned just because it simply makes no sense to legalize what you just decided was illegal. Or was it the other way around? Either way, the justices should be ashamed of themselves.

Breaking News

The New York Times

"President Obama has chosen Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the Federal Appeals Court as his nominee for the Supreme Court, officials said on Tuesday, and has scheduled an announcement for 10:15 a.m. at the White House."

Can you hear that squealing? That's the sound of a million 'righteously indignant' right wing wackos as they come to grips with the President's choice...

(Comics)

National Security: Why Are Republicans Still Setting The Terms Of The Debate?

Another good one from Tom...

Stop That!

I guess I'm going to have to put 'Comment Moderation' on my blogs. Someone's 'Bot' has picked on my posts that mention any word pertaining to the medical field, and that is when the bot drops off a short but inane comment with a link to a software site that sells automated phone service to doctors. I sent them an email, asking them to knock it off, but it was ignored and I found another one this morning.

From Gail Collins

an Op-Ed Columnist - When Did Cowboys Get Wimpy? - NYTimes.com

I love this story. Which points out the fact that even Democratic Party Senators, who should know better, are not immune from complete stupidity. Maybe it's the water in Washington D.C. that makes these people say the weirdest things!

From Wired...

Beyond Detroit: On the Road to Recovery, Let the Little Guys Drive:

"...auto writer Warren Brown. 'Detroit makes good cars.'

Alas, so does the competition. One month after the Fusion came on the market, Honda launched a new version of the Insight, a five-passenger hybrid with almost the same fuel efficiency as a Fusion—and a base price of $19,800, about a quarter less than the Ford's $27,270 price tag..."

and further in the article...

"A similar fate may well await GM's forthcoming plug-in electric car, the truly innovative Chevrolet Volt, which unlike typical hybrids uses its gas engine only to charge and extend the range of its heavy-duty battery, drastically cutting fuel consumption. The problem is that "the rest of the Volt is just an ordinary family sedan, for which they are charging more than $40,000," says Michael Cusumano, a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management. "If they sell more than a few thousand, I'll be surprised."

Those price tags did not come from a greedy union; they came from a top heavy industry that has never seen an innovative idea they didn't hate.

From Citizen K.

Other Priorities

You really need to read the David Broder piece here and then scroll down to the list of Republicans and Pundits with their public service records alongside their names. Oh, yes, the Democrats have a list, you might want to read their service records as well.

Do you have to be brain dead to be a Republican pundit? Apparently.

Norway Thrives

by Going Against the Tide - NYTimes.com

But...but, I don't understand. These people are SOCIALISTS! They have to fail. All of my Republican friends have told me so...

The Pioneer Woman

Cooks - Ree Drummond

I don't know if we have any cookbooks left. Maybe a few? But why? There are so many recipes available on the internet that it doesn't make a lot of sense to burden the bookshelves with redundancy.

Anyway, this is a website I enjoy visiting. To read and to view the great photos. And for some reason, the photo of the bread in the Dutch oven (scroll down) got my taste buds tingling. I have to make this. It's too simple not to. And according to the Pioneer Woman, any herb would be good here and I'm thinking Rosemary....

U.S. says

most dead in Afghan strikes were Taliban |From Reuters

Most? And how was that determined? Did they have Taliban driver's licenses? Taliban uniforms? Or were they just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

It is never acceptable for civilians to be killed...for any reason. And to call it 'unfortunate' is shameful.

California

voters nix nearly all budget issues - UPI.com

Gosh! How did we get in such a position? Was it a curse from an evil witch or a troll? Satan? Bad karma? Were our 'planets' in the wrong house? Or was it just partisan politics? Yep! that was it. Well, now that we're here...in this very deep hole, perhaps we should rid ourselves of those that put us in the hole. Yes, voters have some responsibility for the problem and non-voters have even more guilt to bear, but...none of us, the citizens, are professionals at governance and we have been paying people who claimed that they were. They were, and are, liars. Not one legislator has tried to gather consensus and all have done their best to blame others...

California

The ungovernable state | The Economist:

"“...No real conversation is possible on anything that matters,” he says, whether it be California’s fraught water supply, its barbaric prison conditions or its teetering public education."

Yes, we need a new state constitution.

"California’s current constitution rivals India’s and Alabama’s for being the longest and most convoluted in the world, and is several times longer than America’s. It has been amended or revised more than 500 times and now, with the cumulative dross of past voter initiatives incorporated, is a document that assures chaos."

But, do Californians have the courage to demand one?

Of Black Holes

and Radio Silence | Antemedius

Isn't the internet a great thing? I was just browsing and I came across a link to this article on the My Left Wing blog. And I found a well written article on the dilemma we face if we pursue prosecution of the previous administration. As much as I would like to see it happen yesterday, this article provides some good reasons to wait...

From Time Goes By

and Saul Friedman's Reflections on War...

"I can’t think of a war that could not have been prevented."

Well and thoughtfully written. By someone who has seen it and understands it.

I like to think that I'm a pacifist, but I probably wouldn't be a good one. And Mr. Friedman puts words to my thoughts on the matter...

The GSS Jiggle!

The GSS Jell-O Mold Competition

Truth; I can hardly wait to see what the finalists come up with. (is Jell-O an art form? Sure, why not!)

From My Left Wing

Monday Open Thread:

"'The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in
what opinions are held, but in how they are held:
instead of being held dogmatically, they are held
tentatively, and with a consciousness that
new evidence may at any moment lead
to their abandonment.'" Bertrand Russell

In a nutshell, this is what makes conservatives so angry. They can't understand people who are not dogmatic, people who think...

Click on the link for more of Bertrand's quotes

GOP leader?

Pelosi should show proof or apologize - CNN.com

Oh, Mr. Boehner...I believe it's supposed to be the other way around. She has already called them liars. Where's their defense? She doesn't need one.

(Back in my day as a project manager...this was known as BIC or Ball in Court. CIA now has the BIC. Pelosi put it there. It's now their play.)

Conservatives

Map Strategies on Court - NYTimes.com

These people are amazing. Not a candidate in sight, but they are prepared to denounce him/her/them. It's no wonder the republicans are irrelevant...they aren't even American as far as I can tell.

Obama Honored

But Puts Notre Dame's Catholic Standing at Risk -

Irrelevant.

Can't FOX come up with real news?

Still Browsing...

From Dinosaurs and Robots: "Mon Oncle" Modern Home Replica

I spotted this and the name Jacque Tati. Have you ever seen his classic movie, Mr. Hulot's Holiday? There is no finer comedy movie than that one...Here's a clip, but not one of the best.


This one is a good one!

Browsing…

I opened up the home page of the Limbaugh Wire a few minutes ago and now I feel…unclean. I'm not going to include any link to the site; if you have to see it, you can Google it yourself. I know, I know…the site is exposing him to ridicule and probably should be seen and read. They are doing a public service, but I really can't read it for more than a minute or so before I start to feel, well…slimy. And that was certainly not the intention of those that created the site. They really want to punish him with his own words, but I can't stick around long enough for that to happen.

When I read the stuff on this site, I have to wonder what it is that attracts people to him? If you use any sort of critical thinking to make your way in this world, you would avoid him like the plague. Are there really that many people that have lost their way, intellectually? Or do people listen to him as some form of masochism? Like, reading People magazine when you really know better? OK, I admit I have done that. I'm not proud of it. But, in my defense, it was the only magazine in the waiting room. What was I to do?

Now, people who listen to Rush don't have that excuse. There are a gazillion other radio stations to listen to and tuning in to hear his spiel, just gives him credence that he does not deserve. C'mon folks, he's an entertainer and he's using you!

An Opinion

- Chastise Cheney - NYTimes.com:

"Look at it this way: Cheney’s positive rating (18%) is even lower than George W. Bush’s. And he shouldn’t speak for the Republicans either.

Unless he wants to apologize."

Detainee Furor

a Rare Dent in Pelosi Armor - NYTimes.com

Let's resolve this. I'm tired of the veiled accusations. I think Pelosi said that the CIA lied. OK, that's a direct challenge for the agency to rebut the claim by showing us proof that they didn't lie. Just telling us that they didn't lie doesn't make any sense...this agency is paid to lie! That's their job...sheesh!

Explorer-Scouts

Train in Post-9/11 Law Enforcement Methods - NYTimes.com:

"“This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,”"

And if you don't happen to agree with this, you are... NOT true blooded? I don't mean to offend any of these budding fascists, but this really should be illegal.

From Tom Tomorrow...

The Real Life Ticking Bomb Scenario

Tune in again...tomorrow.

From Just my little piece of the world:

There is a Bill in Committee H.Con Res. 121, We Don't Need it to Become a Law

Just read the 'Whereas's'...and then shake your head. These are people who give christianity a bad name.

Getting Old-er

I was reading the daily post from Time Goes By today and found myself in agreement with Ronni Bennett. The topic was ageism and how we, as elders, perceive it and even practice it. Yes, we are sometimes guilty of discriminating against our fellow elders. We may try to deny it, but we are influenced by the culture that surrounds us and so we have to make a conscious effort to deny ageism a place in our thoughts.

As for me; I am guilty of being frustrated by 'old' people and I even use that word. When the truth is…those people were 'old' when they were thirty. They have always been 'old'. We really need to find a better word to use to describe people who resist change at all costs. Narrow minded people. I know it would be easy to simply call them Republicans, but that wouldn't be fair either.

I'm old and I am proud of the fact that I am an elder. But I'm not 'old'. See the difference? This is why we need a different word for those who are stereotyped as 'old'. I'm thinking…

Link to Time Goes By

GOP

RNC to rebrand Democrats as 'Socialists' -

This story tells you everything you need to know about the maturity level of the Republican Party. (If I were a Republican, I would be very upset with the people that have hijacked my party.)

New

Something new on Short Laps…

The Plan

to Shift Military Spending Faces Skepticism - NYTimes.com:

"opponents of his risk assessment are attacking the spending plan as rendering America unprepared for traditional war."

Ah! 'Traditional' war! And would that be the kind of war where each side uses swords and spears? No? It used to be. Or is it the the kind of war where everyone lines up in neat rows and someone blows a bugle before killing each other? Is that another no? Trench warfare? No? Let's see then...how a big old bomb that simply kills everyone. We wouldn't have to worry about traditions after that one!

Or, why don't we create a new tradition? No war. Concentrate our energy on waging peace...it's never been tried before.

The Story of Stuff

with Annie Leonard

I saw this short video quite awhile ago, but it's certainly worth watching again...

Link to NY Times article...

From Just my little piece of the world

Meet the New GOP, Same as the Old GOP

39 seconds that will make you shake your head and smile...

(Who is Newt Gingrich? And why would I care about him?)

Now what?

I had a bad computer experience yesterday morning. I had some back pain early on, so I decided that I was going to use the laptop and sit in my comfortable chair and play a game of Scrabble. It never happened. I was sitting there, with the computer on my lap, ready to click on the Scrabble icon, when it suddenly displayed the 'Blue Screen of Death'. Click. Click. Click. The drive was toast. Darn it! I had plans for that computer! That was going to be my communication and entertainment tool during my post surgery period when it would be difficult to get to my usual computer at the other end of the house. I had already checked out the networking capabilities and the laptop connected just fine from the family room. Ah, technology!

What will it cost to repair it? A new hard drive would be just under a $100 if I install it myself. And then I would have to reinstall the operating system and all of the programs. Or, should I just use the 'stimulus' money and buy a netbook, which would be lighter and easier to hold after my surgery. That old laptop is definitely not a lightweight. And I believe that one of the cooling fans is non-operational as well. Which might have contributed to the HD failure. If so, that would have to be repaired as well. Ah, technology! It always comes with a price tag…

I Like!

After browsing the news, in print and on the computer, I had this comforting thought; I am very happy with our president. Not because I agree with him on every issue, because I don't. I am happy with him because he thinks...and it shows. We can come to different conclusions and not agree on lots of things, but I know for a fact that he has thought carefully about any position he takes. Intelligence (and civility) trumps ideology any day!

(Comics)

Mister Vice President, Should Americans Worry?

We finally have the VP we need. He's kind of silly at times, but at least he isn't evil.

Right-Wingers

Go Nuts Over Obama and National Day of Prayer

There is some connection between Conservatives and the truth...but very little.

From cab drollery

Your Basic Rules of the Off-Road

As I have been saying for years now, GM, Ford and Chrysler are NOT American companies...they are multinationals. They fly any flag your might like. And our bailout dollars will benefit the stockholders around the world, not the American workers. Even if GM goes bankrupt, as Chrysler is doing, the only thing that will change will be the 'name' of the owner. The workers will continue to produce cars but at a lower wage rate. But, cab drollery explains it better than I...

How about it, Oprah?

 

Read about it here, on Time Goes By

Kill the 'death tax' ? -

From a commentary - Los Angeles Times

Opinion from a bureaucrat versus at least two of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett...who support the inheritance tax because it is fair.

Post-Katrina

trailer residents fearful as eviction day looms - Los Angeles Times

Hey! Rules are rules ya know.

Now get serious, what is FEMA going to do with that trailer? Anyone? Anyone?

Sheesh!

Comment Noted

Ima, in the Comments on the previous post, has a good point. I (we) should be thankful that we have any health insurance at all. And we are. I don't know what we would do without Medicare…

Yes, it's one of those entitlements. And yes, I am entitled to it because I have paid into those funds for many years. Politicians on the Right may say that SSI and Medicare were never supposed to be covered to the extent that they are…but that's not what they told us at re-election time. That's when they claimed they were looking out for us in our old age. OK, 'perception is reality' and the majority of the populace perceives that we are entitled to good healthcare and that we should all pitch in so that all are covered. And Medicare should be expanded to cover us all.

And back to my original post about med records…if doctors would embrace technology; record keeping technology, medical care costs would decrease and medical; care would become more efficient (safe) for us all. But no, they continue to shuffle paper…and we lose.

 

 

Morning

So, what else is new? Well, I finally received my medical record CD from our medical group. I now have the complete record of my health care for the past 3 years on my computer and soon that same record will be on my secure space on Google Health. From there, I can choose to distribute the information, as needed, to any other health professional. Cool? Not really. I had to wait for a few weeks to receive the CD which contains a Portable Document File (pdf) with the scanned contents of my actual health record. I had to pay the doctor $20 for this. For my own records…and records that could just as easily have been emailed to me within an hour of my request. Or, I should have been able to drop by the office with a jump drive and ask them to drop my file onto it. 30 seconds later I could be on my way. But no, I have a file on a CD and that file takes up 1/200^th of the space on a plastic disk. Tell me; who uses CD's anymore?

The medical profession is so far behind the times when it comes to electronic records that it is an embarrassment, or it should be. Electronic record keeping systems are 20^th century, not a future dream. Let me tell you…

Some years before I retired, the construction company I worked for decided to digitize all of their records and install record management software. The initial effort was not easy as they had to scan in years worth of invoices, contracts, audits, etc, etc. Once that was complete, scanning became a daily task for every piece of paper transmitted to our corporate offices; that was paper from all 16 of our branch offices. Eventually the branch offices began to scan as well and paper no longer flowed through the system, electrons were the new messenger. All of which enabled me, or anyone else in the company, to search and access any document we needed. Did I want to see a payroll record for June of 1998 from the Memphis office? Click! How about a shipping document from the Mystic office? Click. There it was and I could even see who signed for the shipment. Now that's cool! And this whole scenario could be played out in a doctor's office in a fraction of the time it took us.

Truth is, I'm not at all upset about the $20 for the CD. But, I am upset that this is the best that they can come up with. Where is their vision? Sigh…

From an Op-Ed Columnist -

The Long Voyage Home - NYTimes.com

Reasoned words here. Mr. Brooks vision could be embraced by both parties. Why can't we see more of this kind of thinking?

Forget about it

I've been reading the headline stories about President Obama's plan to overhaul the tax codes that allow corporations to hide their profits in overseas accounts. Well, they aren't really hidden, they just aren't available to the IRS. And that's a bad thing. Most people don't realize that close to 70% of U.S. corporations don't pay any tax at all. Another bad thing. What we need here is a major revision of the tax codes so that all pay a fair amount. For every dollar that is successfully hidden from the IRS by a skilled accountant is a dollar that we all have to pay. But, wait…what am I thinking? American politicians have been promising to clean up the tax codes for a gazillion years now. It's part of their usual stump speech. They wouldn't be elected if they didn't include it in the speech! The fact that they never follow through is simply forgotten. So forget I even mentioned it…

From Serious Eats

Egg McBao

Isn't that a beautiful sight? I'm not sure how I ended up on this page, but I'm glad I did as it reminded me of all the manapua I used to eat when I had to visit our Honolulu office. (Had to visit? Sure!) The link below will take you to a site that has pictures of our typical lunch. One person in the office was designated to make the lunch run and then we would feast, with the telephones off!

Sigh...no manapua on the Planet Orland.

Link here should now work! (No more TinyURL)

Remember

I just ran across this photo, taken on May 4th of 1970...

How could that happen? No, don't tell me; I already know.

Failed

I read the other day that the Republican Party is embarking on a nationwide drive, an initiative, to beef up their ranks. With only 20+ % of the voters acknowledging that they are Republicans', they have a big job ahead of them. But after reading their game plan for this drive, I don't see how they can improve their position.

The initiative, called the National Council for a New America, will send party leaders across the country for a series of town halls on health care, the economy, energy and national security.

Members of the council include Arizona Sen. John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour

Look at the names of those leaders above. Do you really believe that consensus of any kind could be reached by that ego driven group? Do you believe that any one of those men would actually listen to a concerned voter? They only listen to themselves.

What these yahoo's don't realize is the fact that the majority of Americans hold lawmakers of both parties in contempt. That's the problem. Congressman, Senator…don't worry about the President's popularity numbers; look at your own and find out why no one trusts you. And you find out by asking the people who are not clamoring for your attention. Pay no attention to the 'shouters' and seek out the quiet people…the thinkers.

From Sugar Stacks -

How Much Sugar Is in That?

This is kind of fun...scary, yes, but fun.

Critics

Say Obama's Torture Ban Undermines Vow to Protect America -

"Michael Scheuer, a former CIA employee wonders how far Obama would go if the U.S. captured a terrorist who said nuclear weapons were set to go off in some American cities but refused to say which ones.

'What do you do in that case?' Scheuer said. 'Is the president's moral repulsion about techniques that have protected America more important that actually going after an attempt to use a nuclear device in the United States.'"

So you torture him and he tells you the truth? Right! He's a terrorist you idiot! That's what he does...he lies!

These people lack any sense of logic (or shame); they simply enjoy the thought of torturing someone.

Obama

calls 'empathy' key to Supreme Court pick - Los Angeles Times:

"'I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook,' he said. 'It's also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.'"

What's not to like about those qualifications? Everything!... if you're a Republican. (Right Wing Politics as usual)

Facts Anyone?

The first thing I note this morning is a story about Swine Flu, of course, and the CNN headlines boldly proclaim, "Number of H1N1 Cases Worldwide Soars". But when you read the story, you find that isn't really the case at all. "The jump in cases was due to ongoing testing of a backlog of specimens in Mexico, the WHO said." And this,
"What the increase reflects is that we are moving forward in confirming many of the cases that have been left untested for some time, so in an way that's reassuring,"

Reassuring? But that's not what we see in the headlines and how many people read the whole story when it's so much easier to simply read headlines and consider themselves well informed? This is a time when the news media should be acting responsibly, but old habits die hard and so you have to dig a little to find out the facts…on your own.

Facts about the flu virus are not hard to find these days, so it would be wise to spend some time doing basic research about the virus and its history. It only takes a few seconds on Google to find that influenza viruses are like all viruses, they mutate so that they can survive. They are living things and survival is their number one priority. And over the years it's been found that every 30 to 50 years this will happen. It's an unfortunate part of being human. It has nothing to do with the ethnicity of the victims, though the right wing xenophobes of this world would have you believe that. The disastrous influenza of the early 1900's was called the Spanish Flu, killing more soldiers during World War I than bullets did. In earlier times, the so-called culprits were whatever group was disliked the most. So we had Irish flu and Chinese flu. Humans just love to blame someone, anyone, and why would you blame people you like?

CN&R

A dog-and-pony show

The editor has it right...Dan Logue is a dangerous man, willing to bend the truth for his own purposes.