Rachel Maddow and her guest debunk all the myths revolving around Daylight Saving Time.
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Basically no one saves energy. It helps business. It makes people feel good.
Spring forward. Set your clocks an hour ahead tonight. Your computer, your cable box, your DVR will all spring forward by themselves.
Weren’t those people removed from setting up camp on DMV property or was that just wish fulfillment in my dreams?
Mr. Howler had to go to DMV the other day. He has put it off and put it off because going there is akin to refined torture for him. He prefers a root canal without anesthesia. He came home spitting mad. He had had a close encounter with Larouche-ites. And I had to listen to him, for hours, grousing.
They were by the front door of DMV so you could not get in without interacting with them. They approached him because he was wearing team attire, typical lead-in to establish conversation. They had their usual pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache and other ant-Obama paraphernalia attacking the president of the United States. They were on a tear about ‘change,’ health care, and anything else they could associate Obama.
Mr. Howler told them to have a nice day to dismiss them and their response was that it would be when THEY got Obama out of office and gave him a knowing look.
People shouldn’t have to go through that in order to do business with the Division of Motor Vehicles, regardless of what state they live in. Who let these clowns back on DNV property? Weren’t they legally prevented from being there, sort of like the [Moonies] Hare Krishna were finally thrown out of airports?
When was the Larouche cult allowed back on DMV property? Were they banned or were they just on break? Is their leader still in jail or is he a free man? I would like to be able to conduct state business without dealing with thugs and cult members. Who knows the scoop on the Lyndon Larouchers?
And no, I won’t apologize for calling them thugs and clowns. They have blighted state property for too many years. They have become poster children for those descriptors.
REMINDER
The Prince William County, VA Coffee Party will hold its kick-off meeting on National Coffee Party Day, March 13th, 2010, from 10:00 to 11:00 A.M. The kick-off meeting will be held at the Haymarket Town Hall. The address is:
15000 Washington Street
Haymarket, VA 20169-2975
(703) 754-4816
To register for this event, please go to the Prince William County Coffee Party facebook page or www.coffeepartyusa.com For more information about the lovely town of Haymarket, please visit www.townofhaymarket.org.
Let’s re-examine what the experts say.
Paulson on AIG and Lehman
Buffett a Year After the Crash
It makes more sense to hear what the experts say than it does for non experts to fight about the economy on the blogs. And if I am not mistaken, Paulson and Buffett are both Republicans. Both have forgotten more about money than I have ever learned. Paulson is also out of Goldman Sachs. He is well respected and worth a fortune. He stepped up to the plate to serve his country. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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I am sure Glenn Beck is disappointed that there just wasn’t more red meat out there. But as Jon Stewart says, he got a new sign off slogan. I liked the dog best.
And on another score, I feel like I have been wasting my time trying to establish dialogue on issues that people are talking about or want to talk about. Interesting, that Elena and I can be insulted at the drop of a hat, and if we so much a speak back, the self righteous start in on us again about our manners. That’s not going to work any more.
I don’t feel like swimming through a sea of partisan politics and sound bites only to be insulted. I don’t feel like spending the day defending one lone person who comes through the blog on his way to work and throws a poke at the Tea Party. Not meaning to be Gospel Moonie but, “First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
I do hope this subject doesn’t have to be revisited. Enjoy Jon Stewart. He is funny in this video and I am simply too tired to look for anything more stimulating.
From Yahoo News:
COVINGTON, La. – A Louisiana man accused of helping his father hide the body of a Ku Klux Klan recruit pleaded guilty Thursday to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to a prosecutor’s spokesman.
Prosecutors believe Shane Foster, 21, also helped his father clean the camp site in rural St. Tammany Parish in southeastern Louisiana where Cynthia Lynch, 43, was shot to death in November 2008, district attorney’s office spokesman Rick Wood said.
Foster’s father, Raymond Foster, 45, is set for trial April 5 on a second-degree murder charge.
What on earth? What year is this? Cynthia Lynch, 43, was shot to death in November of 2008. Her crime? She was trying to leave an initiation ritual and head for home. She had hooked up with the Louisiana KKK group run by Raymond Foster via the Internet. She was described as a troubled woman who was trying to fit in somewhere. That probably fits the description of many people who are attracked to the KKK. Just a group of misfits.
All too often groups like this are blown off. Do-gooders try to tell us that the KKK is irrelevant nowadays and that any concerns about this organizaton are simply an over-reaction. This killing doesn’t sound like an over-reaction to me.
Do these sentences sound a little on the lean side? If you shoot someone to death, why is that second degree murder? Another female, Danielle Jones, pleaded guilty to being an accessory. She spent a year in jail. Is Louisiana soft on crime or is it just soft on KKK krime? How much a part of the south is the KKK in 2010?
Just in case anyone forgets who the Klan hates, here is a pretty good reminder. 🙄
Creative Loafing Atlanta presents: The Georgia Knight Riders and Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rallied for a crowd of more than 500 on Feb. 20 in the town of Nahunta, Ga.
These good ole boys are all pleased with themselves.
ACLU
UPDATE: See Video at end of Post
March 11, 2010FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; [email protected]OXFORD, MS – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today against a Mississippi High School that has canceled prom rather than let a lesbian high school student attend the prom with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo to the event. In papers filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the ACLU asks the court to reinstate the prom for all students at the school and charges Itawamba County School District officials are violating Constance McMillen’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
“All I wanted was the same chance to enjoy my prom night like any other student. But my school would rather hurt all the students than treat everyone fairly,” said McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. “This isn’t just about me and my rights anymore – now I’m fighting for the right of all the students at my school to have our prom.”
How about let’s just alter this scene just a little bit. How about if the girl didn’t say she was a lesbian and 2 girls just showed up at the door to go to prom, like unromantic friends. Would they be denied admission? What is wrong with schools?
There was a suggestion made that a private group should sponsor a private prom for ”people like this.’ Now just what is that supposed to mean? I read in the paper that Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church did sponsor a special prom for gay and lesbian students last spring. Good for them. That church is a real standard bearer for helping those who are under-represented. I hope they will do that every year, despite the fact that local bloggers (many who claim to be good Christians) had a field day and made extremely disparaging remarks about the church and the kids. It’s easy to point fingers. Its harder to step up to the plate and provide for those amongst us who might not have an advocate.
Most of the time I think the ACLU is a pain in the ass. I think we are supposed to think that. However, this is one time I am glad they are out there, defending those who might not otherwise have a line of defense. Schools need realize that gay and lesbian students are not all closeted like they were a generation ago, not should they be.
If the school wants to ensure that people’s sensibilities are not offended, it needs to address the behavior of everyone coming to the dance. It needs to set standards of conduct and stick to its guns. It should demand the same lines of decency from the heterosexual students as it is obviously going to do with the homosexual students. They can all do their dirty dancing after the prom.
More from the hometown newspaper
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
From Marketwatch:
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — After months of trying to get Republican support for tougher regulations to prevent the next global financial crisis, Sen. Chris Dodd has decided to move ahead with or without bipartisan backing.
Dodd desperately wants a financial reform bill as a capstone to his 36-year career in Washington. But his lengthy negotiations with his Republican counterparts Richard Shelby and Bob Corker had produced little agreement, just headlines.
Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced Thursday that he would present his own bill to his committee on Monday. The banking committee — with 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans — will likely vote on the bill next week.
Dodd’s decision to abandon an endless quest to reach a bipartisan deal may make it more likely that Congress will actually enact legislation this year to rein in the worst of the abuses that helped lead the global economy to the brink.
The more Dodd negotiated with Shelby and Corker, the more watered-down the bill became. Each compromise with the Republicans made it less likely that the House of Representatives — remember them? — would go along.
The last straw may have been when Corker demanded that any consumer protection agency would not only have to be toothless, but it would also have to be run by the Federal Reserve, the omnipotent agency that utterly failed to protect consumers, the banks or the economy during the housing bubble.
The path to landing a final bill on President Barack Obama’s desk will still be complicated. Dodd will have to clear the bill out of his own committee and then find at least one Republican in the 100-member Senate to help him overcome the inevitable filibuster. And then he’ll have to compromise with the House.
By all accounts, the Republicans negotiated in good faith. But there were some issues that just couldn’t be compromised. It is time to act.
It seems like regulations are desperately needed. I don’t ever want another September 2008 again, where we all sit there and watch whatever we have accumulated melt away before our eyes. I don’t want the rich to get richer and the middle income folks to become poor folks, often at our expense. This is one reason that the Republicans have earned the moniker ‘The Party of NO.
Dodd has nothing to lose. He isn’t coming back. I thank him for sticking with this one. He was also offered Kennedy’s chair. He refused it because he wanted to deal with campaign finance. It’s time for Democrats and Republicans to do the right thing and pass some reform, even if in incremental steps.
From WTOP and the Associated Press:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people, essentially overriding the state attorney general’s advice to colleges.
McDonnell’s directive Wednesday came amid a public uproar over Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli’s letter last week telling public colleges they lack the authority to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Cuccinelli told colleges to rescind or change any anti-discrimination policies that include protection for gay people.
The Republican attorney general’s letter was denounced by gay-rights groups and Democrats. In the letter, Cuccinelli said colleges can’t include gays in their anti-discrimination policies without General Assembly authorization.
The Richmond Times Dispatch further adds that the AG is all happy that the governor has issued his ‘don’t discriminate’ decree. Now what’s wrong with this picture?
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who says there’s nothing in Virginia law to protect gay state workers from discrimination, is welcoming Gov. Bob McDonnell’s decree against bias on the basis of sexual orientation.
However, it’s not clear from a written statement just issued by Cuccinelli whether he backs the governor’s legal thinking in issuing a so-called executive directive protecting gay employees.
“I applaud Gov. McDonnell for the tone he is setting for the commonwealth of Virginia,” said Cuccinelli.
“I will remain in contact with the governor and continue to work with him on issues important to Virginians. I expect Virginia’s state employees to follow all state and federal anti-discrimination laws and will enforce Virginia’s laws to the fullest extent.”
So if you are feeling just a little bit confused, welcome to my world. Has someone contacted Jon Stewart to tell him its OK here in Virginia now? The Guv has nullified the AG. Maybe he will now retract his remark about our gay flag.
Perhaps Gov. Moderate McDonnell has discovered that Virginia really does want a mainstream governor and that this nonsense just isn’t going to fly. I am glad he made this decision.
Kudos to Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Congressman Steny Hoyer should be getting the ethics award or at least the ‘Did the right thing’ award. Rewind to complaints on Congressman Massa who just keeps on shooting himself in the foot. The stories that are surfacing about this guy both when he was in the navy and post navy are just almost unbelievable.
Don’t let anyone tell you that there are no ethics in Congress. Steny Hoyer didn’t turn a blind eye on a bad situation just because the complaints he was hearing were about a fellow Democrat:
Hoyer is the one a top Massa aide took complaints to about the congressman’s conduct. Massa’s own accounts (apparently depending upon his mood) acknowledge inappropriate language, groping a male staffer and (I still can’t get over this) tickling to the point of breathlessness. Kudos to Ron Hikel, Massa’s former deputy chief of staff, for speaking up, and kudos to Hoyer for making clear that if Massa didn’t bring the matter to the House ethics committee, he would.
Hoyer, as Roll Call notes, has long been an advocate for internal House ethics investigations. And it’s particularly refreshing that Hoyer didn’t let party considerations enter into his calculation of what’s right and what’s wrong. Now that’s something to be tickled about
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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Is it ok to be mortified now? Shame on both Cuccinelli and McDonnell.
I never thought Virginia’s flag was gay looking. Hrrruummpphhhht
Each year, part of the Oscar ceremony memorializes movie stars who have died during the past year. This year was no different and the Memorial Montage rolled on. Unfortunately, Farrah Fawcett, who died last summer, was left out. Friends and long time significant other Ryan O’Neal protested to Bruce Davis, the executive director of the film academy who said she was better known as a TV star. He further suggested she should be mentioned at the Emmys.
Hmmmm, how does that explain Michael Jackson’s inclusion in the Oscar Memorial Montage? Shouldn’t he have been memorialized at the Grammys. using this logic, since he was known for his recordings and music videos? Farrah Fawcett’s death was greatly overshadowed by the death of Jackson at the time it happened. In fact, Larry King cancelled her friends’ remembrance of her on the Larry King Show because of Michael Jackson’s untimely death. To my knowledge, this remembrance was never rescheduled.
According to Timesonline:
Facing a barrage of criticism after failing to honour the late Charlie’s Angels star, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences executive director Bruce Davis said that organisers did consider including Fawcett, but decided that she was better known for her “remarkable television work”.
The Academy believed it would be more appropriate for the actress, who died from cancer in June last year, to be honoured at the Emmy Awards, Davis told AP.
The reasoning is unlikely to placate Fawcett’s family, who released a press statement following Sunday’s ceremony, saying that they were “deeply saddened” and “bereft” after watching Patrick Swayze, Natasha Richards, Brittany Murphy and others remembered during a performance by James Taylor.
Hollywood icon Jane Fonda led a raft of critics in expressing their disappointment on the social networking site Twitter: “Where was Farah Fawcett?” Fonda wrote. “She should have been included”.
The influential, veteran US film critic Roger Ebert tweeted: “No Farrah Fawcett in the memorial tribute? Major fail.”
The Academy’s decision to include Michael Jackson while excluding Fawcett has further fuelled the criticism, but Davis said organisers honoured the King of Pop as he had appeared in a popular theatrical film, This Is It, recently.
“Think of all the blogging we would have gotten if we had left him out!” he said.
…Actor Gene Barry, who starred in the original sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds, was also excluded.
Davis said that “an unusual number of extremely distinguished screenwriters” died this year, and the academy tried to honour many of them in the short time allowed.
“There’s nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all. They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we’re sorry for it.”
The Oscars, always sticking a fake gold finger into the political winds, have screwed up again. Farrah made 19 movies over a span of 3 decades. It is important to note that Bea Arthor was also dissed by the Oscar. I am glad I didn’t watch. And I never thought I would say this, but good for Jane Fonda!
Ex-Congressman Eric Massa’s behavior, rhetoric, and constantly changing story today on Glenn Beck had Arianna Huffington, Anderson Cooper, and David Gergen so amused/disgusted/incredulous that Huffington said she actually sympathized with Glenn Beck for having to interview Massa for an hour.
According to Huffington Post:
Gergen used a similar analogy. “People say that Washington politics is a freak show,” he observed. “And Eric Massa is writing a whole new chapter.
Whenever the chapter is complete, it may contain a memorable quote form Gergen about his time in the Navy.
“I don’t remember any tickle fights.”
Perhaps Massa’s story about the shower is purely a figure of his imagination. No one seems to be buying into his line of bull these days, from either camp. I doubt if anyone cares that he is gone. Glenn Beck protected his audience from having to observe the book of tickle fights that Massa brought with him. Beck looked simply dumbfounded that anyone would be showing a book like that. (Something from Massa’s Navy days)
The Texas Textbook Wars have begun and it is truly a clash of cultural warriors vs. mainstream America. So why does anyone care what textbooks Texas purchases? Texas is the 2nd largest purchaser of textbooks in the nation. California is the first. However, California’s financial woes are so bad that they have postponed purchasing textbooks for the time being.
So whats the big fight over? Texas has been known as clearing house for textbooks for several decades. What goes in, what goes, who gets mentioned and who is shunned is often determined ‘deep in the heart of Texas.’ Because California is not buying new textbooks, all the textbook publishers are kowtowing to Texas. According to Myfox in Phoenix:
What happens in Texas – is likely to impact your child’s textbooks, no matter where you live. That’s because the Lone Star state is one of the top textbook buyers in the world, so publishers write to Texas curriculum standards and the books are sold nationwide.
This week, the Texas State Board of Education will be hammering out social studies curriculum and stirring up plenty of controversy.
“The cultural war, has regrettably not ended. And of the biggest, most important fronts now are curriculum battles in Texas and indeed around the country because the next generation of young people need to understand good science, good history, comprehensive sex education.” said Barry Lynn, a church-state separation advocate.
But as 15 elected board members prepare to make those decisions in Texas this week, conservatives say there are organized, liberal groups in these textbook fights who want to sanitize our country’s history.
“Our founders acknowledge the reliance upon divine providence, that we’re endowed by our Creator with these inalienable rights, and this idea that now you remove that as if it does not exist it really goes to the depths of what these groups trying to get at, and that is to expunge any reference to America’s religious heritage.” said Jay Sekulow from the American Center for Law and Justice
Math seems to be fairly protected from politics. However, science and social studies texts are rife with contention. The biggest issue in science has to do with origin of the earth ideas and evolution/Darwinism. Many fundamentalist Christians oppose teaching about anything that is Darwin and words like ‘secular humanist’ are used to describe those who believe the earth is more than 6,000 years old.
Social Studies is also a huge area of controversy because of the foundations of this nation. There is also great dispute over who our national heroes really are and what their role is in history. Terms like revisionist history are thrown about as well as terms like afro-centrism and euro-centrism. Patrick Henry sometimes gives way to Benjamin Banneker. George Patton and Douglas MacArthur might not be included. Colin Powell might be the potential replacement. Conservatives hold dear to their heroes and insist that those who have been revered throughout history stay at the forefront for children to read about and to be standard bearers.
Religion and religious topics continue to be argued as some parents and politicians fight to retain holidays like Christmas and Easter as units of study while others want all reference to Halloween stomped out.
One parent, Vivian Scretchen says “One day my son came home with an assignment for– it was around– it was around Christmas.”
But other parents believe religious discussions aren’t suited to secular classrooms.
“What I’m saying is that public schools don’t need to place this in their curriculum. Because it is– it’s potentially offensive to some. And it– it isn’t what a public school should be teaching.” said Jane Miller, a parent.
The Texas Board has already had showdowns over whether to get rid of mentions of Christmas, the Liberty Bell and Neil Armstrong. Some of the debate continues, but the backlash was so bad when the public got wind of the Christmas issue that the Board quickly voted to save it.
How sad that even textbooks have become political and part of the culture wars. What can parents do to make sure their voice is heard? What impact does this battle front have on language arts? What if your school districts ends up with a very conservative set of text books because nothing else is available? What can schools do? How about the other direction? Are there remedies? Will climate change be as contentious as Darwinism?
The criticism about volunteering for Candidate Obama and Senator Webb seems rather bogus to me. What person in any grassroots movement hasn’t been involved with other campaigns. I would expect most people from the ‘other hot beverage’ group worked for their candidate. Just recently, in fact, some TPP in Massachusetts claimed credit for sending Senator Scott Brown to Washington.
I don’t see how nearly 100,000 people on face book can be considered a top down movement. It sounds to me like people are finding their regional niche and going for it. Hopefully out of all of this, people in various locations will meet other people who are willing to run for local office. Throwing the bums out starts at home.
Good for those who are making their voices heard. The political parties need to listen carefully to the constituents. Meanwhile, Annabel, you sounded great! Keep up the good work.
