Cause the news is just too depressing, so let’s ooh and awww at a puppy instead. K?

Puppy pomeranian! brought to you by Funny Tube

In a brief, 389 word editorial, BBC Mid East Editor Jeremy Bowen describes the events in Egypt – (some of) the reasons and (some of the possible) results. No one really knows what is going to happen. But this short editorial does lay out the scene, some obvious, others not so much.

The events of the last week will have profound consequences for the Middle East for years to come. Egypt’s role in the region is going to change.

President Hosni Mubarak has been the central pillar of the alliance between Western powers and authoritarian Arab leaders and without him it may not be sustainable. He has been the only Arab leader the Israelis trusted. Their biggest fear is that without him their cold – but so far resilient – peace with Egypt will be in danger. The president has been the West’s necessary man in the Middle East for 30 years.

That is why Egypt has continued to receive vast amounts of American aid, as well as political support from Britain and other European countries – despite a deplorable human rights record, crooked elections, the suppression of virtually all organised political opposition and rampant corruption. Those are some of the reasons why tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets.
Read the rest of this entry »

Last night I was just hanging out, surfing teh interwebs. I clicked on a link to a You Tube video in a comment, and managed to spend the next two hours watching clips of one of my favorite shows of all time-The West Wing. This gave me a happy, but also a sad. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a President like Jeb Bartlet? This show ran from 1999-2006 during the Bush administration. At the time, could anyone have imagined that, as bad as that was, it would look like a haven of sanity and reason compared to today’s climate?

I loved this show for many reasons. The characters, from Jed, Leo, Josh and Toby to C.J., Abigail and Donna. The way the writers did not dumb down issues for the audience. You had to pay attention, because there was a lot going on. These people talked-a lot!! I can only imagine what getting a new script each week was like In this clip the President (through Leo) offers a job to a young Republican who just whooped Sam in a debate on one of the Sunday talk shows. Needless to say she is somewhat taken aback at the prospect.

This scene is one of my favorites. Jed is railing at God, angry at the circumstances he finds himself in, grief-stricken over the senseless death of Mrs. Landingham and just generally pissed off. So what does he do? He goes off, in a cathedral, in Latin!
Read the rest of this entry »

Media Matters, an unbelievable media watchdog, has found that News Corp. has called itself “opinionated news.” A couple of things stuck out to me in this story.

Now we know that over in the U.K. — where News Corp. is frantically jumping through regulatory hoops in an effort to buy out BSkyB, the largest pay-TV broadcaster – News Corp. isn’t even pretending Fox News provides objective reporting. [Emphasis added]

They don’t frantically do anything over here except spew the propaganda! And I’m not sure we have much in the way of regulatory hoops to jump through when one media conglomerate merges or buys out or takes over another media conglomerate. A recent example – Comcast NBC Universal.
Read the rest of this entry »

I know you Bumz on the East Coast are getting hit again with a nor’easter that we sent up your way. Sorry about that. January is actually one of my favorite months here in Texas. We can get a little ice and sometimes snow, but what I like best is that the holidays are gone, there is no hot weather, the sun is at a good angle and almost all the nasty critters and plants that bite are in hiding. (Thorns, spines and burrs are still hanging out, though.) I took this shot while hiking out at the ranch with just me and my four pups the other day at sunset.

’cause y’all used up the last one.

Open topic.

I still say exercise is overrated. After all Jack didn’t live quite till forever.

Jack LaLanne, Founder of Modern Fitness Movement, Dies at 96

….
Mr. LaLanne, 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds or so with a 30-inch waist, maintained that he disliked working out. He said he kept at it strictly to feel fit and stay healthy. He built two gyms and a pool at his home in Morro Bay, and began each day, into his 90s, with two hours of workouts: weight lifting followed by a swim against an artificial current or in place, tied to a belt.
…..
“I can’t die,” he most famously liked to say. “It would ruin my image.”

Are you ready for some football? Yes, it is Championship Weekend. Two games to decide who is going to the Super Bowl and who is going home to set at tee time and watch the big game on TV. FYI, the games are a later start than a usual Sunday, beginning at 2:00 BHT with the late game at 5:30.

First up we’ve got the Bears and the Packers. Let’s get this one out of the way right quick. I want the Bears to lose. Check that, I want the Bears to go down to humiliating defeat. I want them to get beat so bad that they go home embarrassed to show their faces to even their families. I want a Packers beat-down of epic proportions. Bitter, you say? Damn straight. After the way Chicago fans acted when the Saints played in Chicago after Katrina I think I have reason. There’s nothing wrong with a little trash talk, but there are too many stories of too many asshole Bear fans saying things that were way beyond the pale. That may be tarring with a broad brush, but it’s my Social and that is how I feel. The Bears can go pound sand as far as I am concerned.

Then we have the late game, the Steelers vs. the Jets. This is a problem. I’ve got no dog in this hunt, but picking a team to root for in a Conference championship game just makes things more fun, right? So…who to pick? On the one hand, the Steelers have Troy Polamalu. Do I really need to say any more? Really? The guy is just an awesome sandwich with chips on the side. And he’s cute also The Steelers are Lea’s team. As we know, she will be sitting in a corner watching the game, rocking back and forth until it is over. Then we have the Jets. They are brash. They are obnoxious. They are highly entertaining. Hell, just listening to their coach is worth the price of admission! Plus the Jets are Betsy’s team. So you can see the problem. Do I pick the favorite team of my twin sister from another mother, or the chosen team of our blogmistress? Do y’all really think I am going to make a pick in this game? I am just going to root for whoever has the ball and hope for an exciting game right to the end!

Let’s get ready for some football!!

By a vote of 245 to 189, House Repugnants voted to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010. Three Democrats joined them – the stoopids. Here is a list of what the Repugnants want: as posted in a comment to this story at TPM by rogu3ish at about 6 pm just after the vote was reported in the news.

This should be the beginning, not the end.

These clowns voted for repeal, now pin their asses to the wall for doing so.

Republicans voted to deny health insurance coverage to young adults.
Republicans voted to deny health insurance coverage to children.
Republicans voted to raise prescription drug prices for senior citizens.
Republicans voted to deny health insurance coverage for those with preexisting conditions
Republicans voted to deny reduced-cost health insurance coverage for small businesses.
Republicans voted to increase the federal deficit, despite their repeated insistence they would do the opposite.

They want political theater? Let’s give it to them. Make them own this vote.

Succinct. To the point. Easy to repeat and repeat some more. I’m sure the list can be longer, but this is an excellent start!

Add to this that so far only a handful of repugnants have decided to forgo their government health care benefits. To call them hypocrites is being too nice, but will suffice for now.

needed for the rest of the antics that will surely be coming. And don’t call me Shirley!

So here’s the deal – make a list by yourself first – and then read the article! Anyone can be included from any walk of life. See how many of yours are on their list, and in what order. You can either take a drink or eat a cupcake for each one on their list that you don’t have on yours. Or vice versa! Whichever gets you where you want to go!

The 50 Most Loathsome Americans of 2010
Posted by Murphy On January – 19 – 2011

EDITOR’S NOTE: 2010 was the most loathsome year on record, and it was difficult choosing between the literally hundreds of deserving scoundrels who could’ve made this year’s list. Some people are perpetually awful and we’re tired of writing about how awful they are, so there are some intentionally glaring omissions. We surely missed someone you hate. We missed a lot of people I hate. Check out the Loathsome Americans from 2002, (the dog eated it in 2003) 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 (wow, we’re getting old) before your head explodes because your favorite asshole isn’t featured above.

Oh, and like us on teh Facebooks and teh Twitters. Or whatever the kids are doing. And if you really liked this piece, click below on the picture of the delicious sandwich I have on layaway. Come on! I really want that sandwich! And I promise not to use your money to buy drugs. OK, I might use some of your money to buy drugs. But it’s really about getting that sandwich. And all that business about “You” being “loathsome” was just a little bit of fun. I meant everyone else, not you. You’re awesome. Really. I’m poor. Give me your money. Thanks.
-IM

P.S. In the original, in the Editor’s Note – each of those years is a linkie. To previous loathsome lists. So many….

The farewell speech of U.S.A. President, Dwight Eisenhower. Given on 17 January 1961 and televised in the U.S.A.

Here is a portion of President Eisenhower’s Farewell Address. Should you wish to listen, here is a link.

But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. Of these, I mention two only.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or, indeed, by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
Read the rest of this entry »

The big kid’s birthday is this week. On the 19th my first baby will be ten years old! ZOMG!! How did this happen?! I was what my wonderful and funny OB referred to as a “mother of advanced maternal age”. Isn’t that a simply delightful euphemism for “old cow”? Yeah, whatever. I remember being so excited, and also scared to death, when I found out that he would be arriving. Seriously, I’d spent most of my adult life trying NOT to have a baby. Now days you can find out nearly at the moment of conception if you’re pregnant or not. Sometimes I think it might be better to be clueless for a few months. At least it makes the time go by faster! Since we were actually trying to start this parenting thing, I was my usual anal self in regards to calendars and dates and such. It made for a very long-seeming pregnancy! At that time I was working for an ophthalmology practice, driving to different offices depending on the day of the week, scheduling surgeries and generally running around like a loon all day long. Evidently this sort of activity makes babies go to sleep in utero. I believe this to be true because once I would get home and plop down to relax for a bit, that’s when the internal gymnastics would start. Madhubby and I would play “guess the bump”. By the time I was 8 months or so, I think it started to freak hubby out a bit. It cannot be a very comfortable thing when your wife’s belly suddenly resembles nothing more than a scene from “Alien”. I even had to endure the gestational diabetes test. That was the closest I came to upchucking the entire pregnancy. Seriously, that stuff they make you drink is vile!

Then, it was time to meet the big kid. We got up early that morning since the surgery was scheduled for 7 a.m. Yeah, no coffee for me. Bummer. At that point I had not slept well in weeks, I had a wicked head cold and was more than ready to meet this little alien that had caused me to eat Tums like they were Pez. Madhubby barely made it into the OR before the doctor began the surgery. Good thing he got behind the curtain in time, or the nursing staff would have been dealing with a very large dude passed out cold on the floor. Then, there he was. This little creature who had been kicking me for months was finally free. Of course they immediately swaddled him up and stuck a little hat on him. Hubby went off to the nursery with the baby while I waited for the feeling to return to my lower half. Once I had him I did the usual counting of finger and toes, and all the family started coming in to admire what a handsome fellow he was. Of course he was cute! Just about the time we got into a groove, it was time to go home. Those hospital people actually turned us loose with a newborn! Honestly, I had more in depth instructions the last time I bought a stereo!

As is often the case with first-borns, the boy is precocious! Even though he was a bit later than the norm with talking, once he started he almost immediately developed the vocabulary of an MIT grad student. Really, I had him tested for a gifted program when was 3. He tested off the charts for language, at his peer level for everything else. I found out later that it is damn near impossible for three year olds to test at gifted level. Whatever, he and I both know he is crazy-smart He is not the free spirit that his younger brother is, buttoned-down and by-the-book is more like how I would describe him. He came home from school at the beginning of kindergarten and announced that his brain must be very big, because he learned so much in school that day. Now he’s in the 4th grade, and still excelling. Last year he made straight A’s every grading period, and has done the same so far this year.

There are challenges too. Because he is a perfectionist, he doesn’t want to do anything that he can’t do perfectly the first time. Learning to ride a two-wheeler was a summer-long exercise in frustration. He balances his anal qualities with a very well-defined sense of right and wrong. He does not like to see cruelty or injustice, and tries to find remedies for it when he does. He’s a fierce ninja with a soft heart. He’s a proud geek who is not afraid to be who he is. I sincerely hope that as the teen years loom he does not lose his confidence that he can do what it is he sets his mind to do. The teen years can be hard, and I have sleepless nights worrying about how he will deal with what is to come. But I guess that is all part of the journey for parents, right?

Happy Birthday big kid!! Mommy and Daddy (and even the little guy!) love you very much!