The weather has cooled down to that wonderful fall crispness and the nights are chilly. This is really football weather.
Who are these 99%-er people?
From The Washington Post:
“It’s not that 99 percent of Americans want a revolution,” Ezra Klein wrote Tuesday. “It’s that 99 percent of Americans sense that the fundamental bargain of our economy — work hard, play by the rules, get ahead — has been broken, and they want to see it restored.”
Almost 15 days later, the submissions are appearing at a more rapid pace. At the same time, thousands of people can now protest in their home cities, as Occupy Wall Street has spread nationwide.
Voicing opposition to everything from corporate greed and bank foreclosures to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and unemployment, the Web site Occupy Together estimates there are now “Occupy” movements in 291 cities.
As the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations move across America, I am becoming more and more convinced that this is a unique movement and isn’t just your usual professional demonstrator and anarchists. Yes, some of them are there. They have to be somewhere. However, more and more people in that sea of folks seem to be Americans who are just frustrated by foreclosures, joblessness, political rhetoric that misses the point, and general malaise concerning their fate in their America.
It is in the interest of the tea parties, the GOP and some Democrats to dismiss these people as kooks, commies, pinkos, anarchists, and professional agitators (that’s what they used to call them back in the day). Why? Because Occupy Wall Street (OWS) could end up being a huge groundswell of EveryAmerican who lacks the face of any political party and who just wants to put a stop to the absurdities and obstructionism going on in this country. Obviously the tea parties want to be the new kid on the block, but they aren’t really. They are just another branch of very conservative Republicanism, despite protests to the contrary. Read More
Jon Stewart on the Occupy Wall Street Protesters: Let them eat steak
This skit is a pretty good cross section. I am not ready to write them off as hippies.
These kids might not be the best people to address the problem, but they do know something is wrong and it is affecting their world. Their elders have certainly not taken the bull by the horns.
Look what the younger generation did for the Vietnam War.
Steve Jobs 1955-2011
I am heartbroken. Steve Jobs has died, one day after iphone 4s was introduced. There is simply nothing to say, his influence was so enormous. He was a genius who hung in with Apple until nearly the bitter end. Who didn’t think of him yesterday when Tim Cook led the event? I think we all wondered where the black turtleneck and blue jeaned icon was.
The black shirt and the jeans will live on in our culture for eternity. He has forever changed the way we interact with media and technology.
http://www.apple.com/
Excellent website: http://www.allaboutstevejobs.com/
Please leave your memories and thoughts about the many contributions of Steve Jobs.
Who are those Occupy Wall Street Protesters?
By now, everyone is familiar with the Wall Street protesters. All sorts of folks have commented on who they are and billing them as anti capitalists. I am not so sure that is correct. The protesters have not delivered their message well.
From CNN.com:
To be fair, the reason why some mainstream news journalists and many of the audiences they serve see the Occupy Wall Street protests as incoherent is because the press and the public are themselves. It is difficult to comprehend a 21st century movement from the perspective of the 20th century politics, media, and economics in which we are still steeped.
In fact, we are witnessing America’s first true Internet-era movement, which — unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or even the Obama campaign — does not take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals and understand itself as having a particular endpoint.
So who are these protesters? We do we think vs what do we know? Are these simply people who want reform? Wall Street isn’t innocent so they should not be playing the victim. Is CNN right in its assessment?
Young Evangelicals doing “it” too
One thing that I have found amazing, as a vintage lady, is that some of the same conversations are going on now that were going on when I was growing up. Grown ups and politicians are still trying to think up ways to keep young people from having sex. I don’t mean teeny boppers necessarily, but young people in their late teens and twenties. It didn’t work back when I was growing up and after watching Prohibition, I see it didn’t work real well during the roaring 20’s either.
According to the religious section in Washingtonpost.com:
Relevant Magazine, an evangelical Christian publication, made ripples in religious circles with their recent article titled“(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It”about some “surprising” findings on evangelicals and sex.
The October issue article citedresearch showing that unmarried evangelicals are having sex almost as frequently as everyone else. While 88 percent of all young people (ages 18-29) said they have had sex, 80 percent those who self-identify as “evangelical” had.
Wolf Rips into Grover Norquist on House Floor
Rep. Frank Wolf ripped into lobbyist Grover Norquist on the floor of the House today, stating that his no-taxes pledge has “paralyzed” Congress from doing what is necessary to tackle the deficit.
According to Politico.com:
“Simply put, I believe Mr. Norquist is connected with, or has profited from, a number of unsavory people and groups out of the mainstream,” Wolf said.
In an interview, Norquist dismissed Wolf’s remarks as a “hissy fit.”
“He gets in these silly attacks on me that are plagiarized from racist websites,” Norquist told POLITICO. “He’s got to know that this is garbage.”
Wolf, a 16-term congressman who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, also accused Norquist of using his no-taxes pledge – signed by virtually every congressional Republican — as leverage to push causes that the lawmaker said “many Americans would find inappropriate.
Wolf, who has a long conservative voting record, has not signed Norquist’s pledge.
Wolf emphasized that he himself did not support tax increases – essentially the mission of Norquist’s organization, Americans for Tax Reform. But the no-taxes pledge, Wolf argued, was hamstringing Congress from being able to “realistically” pursue tax reform – which Wolf said was a critical component in taming the nation’s debt.
“Have we really reached a point where one person’s demand for ideological purity is paralyzing Congress to the point that even a discussion of tax reform is viewed as breaking a no-tax pledge?” Wolf asked.
“He gets in these silly attacks on me that are plagiarized from racist websites,” Norquist told POLITICO. “He’s got to know that this is garbage.”
Good for Frank Wolf. He understands the meaning of compromise. Its about time someone sent Norquist packing.
Nationaljournal.com had the following to say:
Norquist was dismissive of Wolf’s attack in an interview with National Journal. “He either doesn’t understand what the pledge is or he is not accurate in how he portrays it,” Norquist said. “He had a melt-down and a hissy fit and I hope he’ll sober up and get back to the issue of holding spending down, not raising taxes.”
No one is quite sure what set Rep. Wolf off and no other congressmen or women jumped in to back him up.
Hank Williams Jr.: Out-Foxed and Outta ESPN
Longer version:
Gretchen disavows his remarks about the president.
Hank Williams Junior mouth flashed on Fox and Friends. He compared President Obama to Hitler. In addition, he said that Obama and Biden were the enemy. His bosses at ESPN didn’t like it and they fired him from singing “Are You Ready for Some Football,” his Monday night theme song.
PWC County Website–ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Personal property taxes are due Wednesday. I remembered for once and decided that rather than find all the bills, I would just pay online. In the first place, if you pay by credit card or debit card, you are going to get assessed a fee of 2.5% which I highly resent. There’s just something about getting charged $5-20 bucks (my cars are old) that irriates the living hell out of me in the age of electronics. If you pay by echeck, there is no charge. I chose to pay by echeck.
Secondly, has anyone ever tried to navigate the county website? Other than Park Authority, I don’t think there is a more poorly designed website. Just finding the right place to go to is no easy feat. I have to enlarge my page to 200% just to be able to see it. There is more junk on that thing. Major topics with sub topics would be great. Just floating through all the options is daunting.
Thirdly, I noticed that I was not assessed a county tag on my second vehicle. I could not just voluntarily pay the extra $24 bucks either. Now what happens if I get stopped? Will I be fined, hung out in the public square of humiliation? Where should I go confess?
Fourthly, my email address was wrong. I attempted to correct it. The freaking website would not accept the submission of change. I gave up. It is far easier to bitch about the lousy website than it is to do anything about it.
Don’t we have an IT office? Wasn’t that the office that embezzled millions of dollars from the taxpayers? Didn’t that money go out of country, to India or something, never to be returned? Is that what they were doing when this website got designed? I expect better. I expect not to have thieves in the office and I expect a website that is somewhat easy to navigate. Paying a bill shouldn’t take a half hour. Yes, I could go up to Sudley North, but I shouldn’t have to.
If I were running for supervisor, I would prioritize getting the website in order. That is the most contact most of us have with county government. May I rank my customer satisfaction? F
What we have no is close to being a disgrace. The Park Authority website IS a disgrace.
The Ghost of Bull Connor?
When I was a child, some of the most violent film footage of the Civil Rights battles came out of Alabama. I remember looking on in horror as demonstrating blacks were knocked down with fire houses and dogs were sicced on them. These actions were ordered by the Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety, Bull Connor. Men, women and children were the object of the hoses and the dogs. These were horrifying scenes, especially for children. I will never hear the word Alabama that I don’t think of the images branded in my mind.
These kinds of enforcement behaviors do not exist in a vacuum. Alabama will always wear the shame of those firehoses and police dogs. They will always have the tragedy of Birmingham Sunday in someone’s memory, as long as any of us alive during that time are still on this earth. Alabama needs to move away from its history of divisiveness.
Unfortunately, that is not happening. Recently enacted laws targeting illegal immigrants have some baggage attached to them that I am not sure Alabama is ready to handle. The new Alabama law seeks to collect data on all school children as to their status in the United States. Read More
No Gun Rights for Medical Marijuana Users
From the Miami Herald:
HELENA, Mont. — Firearms dealers in states that allow medical marijuana can’t sell guns or ammunition to registered users of the drug, a policy that marijuana and gun-rights groups say denies Second Amendment rights to individuals who are following state law.
Federal law already makes it illegal for someone to possess a gun if he or she is “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” marijuana or other controlled substances. A Sept. 21 letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, issued in response to numerous inquiries from gun dealers, clarifies that medical marijuana patients are included in that definition.
“There are no exceptions in federal law for marijuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by state law,” said the letter by Arthur Herbert, the ATF’s assistant director for enforcement programs and services.
Guns rights enthusiasts should be hopping mad over this ruling. Do people who use alcohol give up their gun rights? How about people on strong pain medication? This seems like people using medical marijuana are going asked to give up a great deal of personal safety. This ruling, like many, simply encourage lying and dishonesty.
How soon before public squawking gets this ruling overturned? I give it 2 weeks. Arthur Herbert isn’t going to even want his job when the NRA gets through with him.
Ken Burns: Prohibition
Everyone always loves a new Ken Burns release (Even those who want to defund PBS,) Tonight is the start of the 6 hour, long awaited release of Ken Burns’ Prohibition, which explores not only the 13 year dry period in the United States but also what lead up to the 18th amendment, until its repeal. We are told it might not be what we think.
The series will run 2 hours a night Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I can’t wait. The DVR will be on maximum overdrive this week.
