Dear God! I have come full circle. I never thought I would live to see the day when Bob Dylan advertised for America. Yes, Bob Dylan was the unofficial, self-appointed poet laureate of the 60’s. He marshaled in protest and protest music like no one else. He stood for defiance and what was wrong with America’s youth. He stood against all our parents had fought for. Or did he?
The bad boy of the 60’s, that gravel-throated young man who had most American parents screaming “turn that commie pinko bastard off!!!” to their kids is now the grand spokesman for America. Pool hall, suit, and somewhere, an American flag.
For 43 years Big Bird has been the symbol of Sesame Street, the beloved childrens show featured on PBS that really made PBS America’s classroom. Many a child learned his or her colors, letters, and how to count from friends like Cookie Monster, the Count, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo and Big Bird. These colorful characters also taught some life lessons like not picking on the kid who wore classes and how to go get a police man or woman if you were in trouble. Sesame Street founds itself on the chopping blog during last night’s debates, in front of 50 million Americans.
Once again the PBS has been targeted by conservatives and is being plucked and defeathered for the old defunding stew pot in the sky. In fact, Mitt Romney ironically told the moderator, Jim Lehrer, a long time PBS anchor, that he would defund PBS during the debate.
“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
It sounds like Ye Olde City Council is going to cave in to the pompous prudes of purity in their quest to extinguish all erotica in the City of Manassas. The pitch forks have been sharpened and the torches lit.
After a closed session Monday night, the Manassas City Council unanimously passed a resolution aimed at regulating sexually-oriented businesses in the city.
City officials say the resolution will allow officials to keep future sexually-oriented businesses — dubbed SOBs in the paperwork — away from schools, churches, day care centers, playgrounds, youth activity centers and libraries.
The resolution also allows the council to hire outside lawyers to provide a “second opinion” on the validity of existing permits for such businesses. The action will costed [sic] an estimated $71,000.
The action comes in the wake of an uproar over a mother-and-daughter plan to open KK’s Temptations, an adult boutique, in Old Town next month.
It sounds like the Salem Witch Trials have begun. It might be cheaper for Ye Olde City Council to built a dunking pond over on ye Olde Museum Property. If it floats, it might be erotica.
What next? Don’t the airlines have enough problems? Federal regulators are considering restrictions or an outright ban on peanuts on commercial airlines because some people have severe allergies to peanuts.
Advocates say the move would ease fears and potential harm to the estimated 1.8 million Americans who suffer from a peanut allergy. Peanut farmers and food packagers, however, say it would be overreaching and unfair to their legume.
“The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack,” said Martin Kanan, chief executive of King Nut, an Ohio company that packages the peanuts served by most U.S. airlines. “What’s next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?”
We need to listen to the CEO of King Nut. Doesn’t this move sound rather ‘big brother?’ Surely people know if they are allergic to peanuts. People are allergic to dairy products and wheat products too. Do we ban all sandwiches and anything with milk in it, like cheese and real coffee creamer? How about perfumes and scented products like deodorant? Would travelers be forbidden to BTON? (Bring your own nuts)
Peanuts are a standard snack. People need to be responsible for their own dietary restrictions. If this kind of consumer ‘nannism’ continues, there will be nothing left to consume. So many different things have been proposed to ban that I am losing track: sugar, salt, trans fats, and now peanuts. If peanuts go on airlines, salt is sure to follow.
Some airlines have already banned peanuts. Where does a person even go to voice a complaint?
The other day, some of us were batting around some conversation here on ‘Howlings and the subject of a drive through tax came up. I said I had never heard of anything like that. I called a family member who works in the city and would have reason to know about drive through taxes. She said the city had a meals tax and that was all.
I came back with that response. Another reader came along and told me I must never go to McDonalds and told me politely that I was incorrect. There was a carry out tax. Ok. Me wrong? Not the first time and won’t be the last. I retracted, corrected and did what normal people do in situations like that. So today I swung into McDonalds to see what I was missing (other than heartburn). There it was, TAKE OUT TAX, right there on the receipt.
I was madder than hell at those supervisors for sneaking a tax through on us. Then I got mad at myself for being so unaware. Then I contacted a friend who works for the county in high places. I was told there was no PWC ‘TAKE OUT TAX’ and that I had been robbed.
Do places other than McDonald’s charge a TAKE OUT TAX? How dare a restaurant call something a tax that is clearly a surcharge on their services? Well, they don’t. I sent Mr. Howler out bright and early for one more McD’s trip. i told him not to come home without a receipt. Myth.
McDonalds is not charging a tax. They have stupid words in front of the word tax, like TAKE OUT. Some are marked EAT IN. It is simply the 5% VA sales tax. Panic over. Prince William County does not have a meals tax. Past referendums have not passed. The City of Manassas does have a meals tax. McDonalds does not have a special tax.
I hope this clears up this misconception. Feel free to dispute. If someone knows something I don’t, I am all ears.
Tomorrow is the big day! There is more excitement over the new apple Ipad than there is over the Easter bunny. Saturday, April 3, 2010, the Ipad goes on sale in Apple stores across the nation. Even the Apple employees have yet to see a real one.
Some of us love gadgets and cannot wait. I didn’t order one. I want to wait for the 3G one. It costs $130 more but you can drive around with it. Why be tethered to your wi-fi. Supposedly kids fight over them. No kid had better touch mine when I get it. It sounds like a good way to draw back a bloody stump.
