Rotten Apple

Something to Shoot For - NYTimes.com

2011-11-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

Something to Shoot For - NYTimes.com: 'via Blog this'They told me "Cheer up, things can't get any worse" so I cheered up and they passed HR822. Do we need any further proof that we now have a "Rogue legislature, that the members of Congress are completely out of control? Their willful disregard of the rights and needs of American citizens has reached a point where mass impeachment is urgent.

The Dissent's Dilemma

2011-11-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

American Crisis Politics | Dissident Voice: 'via Blog this'When you can't vote for Obama and you won't vote for any of the possible candidates on the Republican slate, what do you do?Obama has betrayed our trust and demonstrated his intractable dedication to "business as usual". He has totally ignored virtually all of his campaign promises and allied himself solidly with Wall Street and the

Addicted to Exercise? - NYTimes.com

2011-10-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Addicted to Exercise? - NYTimes.com: "On the basis of the latest brain research, as well as practical experience, let’s acknowledge this profound truth: altruism and generosity can be hedonistic pleasures."'via Blog this'"On the basis of the latest brain research, as well as practical experience, let’s acknowledge this profound truth: altruism and generosity can be hedonistic pleasures."

The American Dream is a Myth

2011-10-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

storyimages_1319223516_screenshot20111020at11.27.19am.png (702×479): 'via Blog this'"Go to school, work hard, get a degree and you'll be a success" Maybe, once upon a time that was what people believed in America but it was a myth. Today,the son of a poor farmer will be lucky to farm, let alone become head of ConAgra and for 99% of us, "downward mobility" could be the latest trend. What was the

Americans Staying Put More Than At Any Time Since WWII: Census

2011-10-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

Americans Staying Put More Than At Any Time Since WWII: Census: 'via Blog this'"A Nation on the Move" has evolved into "The Stay at Home Nation" If you "Go West Young Man" You could end up in California which seems to in total meltdown. Our cities are in chaos, we are now witnessing the beginning of the end. The socio/economic model that served so well in the 20th century (especially the early

Exercised Will Power Lately?

2011-10-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Will power is perhaps just another of 10,000 synapses in our brain wiring. There may be some genetic predisposition towards making (and breaking) good/bad habits or behavior and if we make the synapse early in life and exercise it regularly like jogging or compassion, it will remain strong and available when needed. If we do not exercise will power, it will eventually atrophy and vanish from our

The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party | AlterNet

2011-10-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party | AlterNet: "Obama has been extraordinarily solicitous of Wall Street and big business – making Timothy Geithner Treasury Secretary and de facto ambassador from the Street; seeing to it that Bush’s Fed appointee, Ben Bernanke, got another term; and appointing GE Chair Jeffrey Immelt to head his jobs council."'via Blog this'"Obama has been

Confronting the Malefactors - NYTimes.com

2011-10-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Confronting the Malefactors - NYTimes.com: 'via Blog this'The Politicians together with the media kept hoping that if they just ignored the Wall Street Protestors they would go away but as usual the politicians and the media wereDEAD WRONG! They could not comprehend how these young, often ragtag people, camping in a park near the financial center of the world, without any apparent vertical

There Really Are Genetic Monsters in Our Midst

2011-09-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

An Icy Political Vision - NYTimes.com: 'via Blog this'Perhaps we are looking at the most dangerous evolutionary trend the human race has ever undergone. That is the "depersonalization" of significant portion of the population. Maybe there are non-persons among us who exhibit most of the superficial characteristics of human persons but the genetic predisposition towards empathy and compassion are

The Lost Decade? - NYTimes.com

2011-09-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Lost Decade? - NYTimes.com: 'via Blog this'Mr. Brooks recommends that we "End corporate taxes and create a consumption tax."That certainly clarifies which side "his bread is buttered on". It's a short hop to full-fledged Tea Party membership. Maybe he'll come out of the closet and start openly campaigning for Rick Perry. I've been an admirer Brooks' journalistic skills and occasionally his

NYPD, Unprovoked, Peppersprays Women Behind Barricade at Occupy Wall Street Protest | AlterNet

2011-09-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

NYPD, Unprovoked, Peppersprays Women Behind Barricade at Occupy Wall Street Protest | AlterNet: 'via Blog this'Is this just a preview of a conflagration that could envelope the entire country ? With police and eventually the National Guard and Homeland Security on one side of the barriers and the people on the other?

Small Donors Are Slow to Return to the Obama Fold - NYTimes.com

2011-09-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

Small Donors Are Slow to Return to the Obama Fold - NYTimes.com: gjlk">'via Blog this'Many people, like me, gave money, time and passion for Obama in his last run for the presidency but this year, I'm going to wait for "a sign" not from heaven but from Obama. A sign that he will deliver on at least some of the promises he made in the last campaign. A sign that he will not always act like a

Free to Die - NYTimes.com

2011-09-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Free to Die - NYTimes.com: 'via Blog this' During the last Presidential elections, when Barack Obama was challenging John McCain, some of the rallies hosted by VP candidate, Sarah Palin seemed to attract what I thought of as the "lunatic fringe" of the American electorate. They shouted things "Tell the government to keep their hands off my Medicare" and other inanities that made me wonder if

Why Are the Corporate Media In Denial About the Right-Wing Terrorist Threat? | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet

2011-09-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Why Are the Corporate Media In Denial About the Right-Wing Terrorist Threat? | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet: 'via Blog this'It is unlikely that the average American would connect Jihad Terrorists like Al Qaeda, the Taliban and similar MIddle Eastern political activist groups, with the Norwegian Islamophobic Christian fundamentalist Anders Behring Breivik, or Jared Lee Loughner who failed

Oh, Grow Up - NYTimes.com

2011-09-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

Oh, Grow Up - NYTimes.com: "The contemptuous reaction from the House speaker, John Boehner, to the president’s request to address a joint session next Wednesday — the day Congress returns from its summer recess — was appalling." 'via Blog this' One more nail in the coffin of a fatally flawed governmental system. Ours just doesn't work anymore and we must do something very soon to repair or

City of Austin Might Close Our Pool

2011-08-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

City of Austin: " Ned Smith Your e-mail address: mythster@me.com Subject: Winter Closing of Dick Nichols Pool Categories: parks Comments: I have recently heard from several of my fellow swimmers that closing of the swimming pool at Dick Nichols Park is under consideration. The apparent reason for the discontinuance of services is purported to be the costs of heating the pool during the winter.

Rants by Ronni: Cheese...and its Relationship to Rice Pudding

2011-08-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Rants by Ronni: Cheese...and its Relationship to Rice Pudding

Check out my magazine!

2011-08-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

Check out my magazine! Fame comes to those that deserve it? Not in the 21st century where we have proven as And Warhol suggested "everyone is famous for ________ minutes

Post Political "Activism"

2011-08-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Share From "Prospect", a British monthly covering politics, economics and culture: "The nihilistic grievance culture of the black inner city, fanned by parts of the hip-hop/rap scene and copied by many white people, has created a hardcore sub-culture of post-political disaffection. The disaffection is mainly unjustified. It’s as if the routine brutalities and racist humiliations of 30 to 40 years

The Games We Played

2011-08-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 6.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline ; color: #154fae} Back in the old days, when I was a

On the Road with My Shadow

2011-08-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} It was in the early forties, during WWII and somehow my dad got hold of a car with gas and we drove from “the City” (NYC) to Rockaway Beach, via the causeway that is now part of JFK. As we drove towards

Nature, Nurture?

2011-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; min-height: 13.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px} Thanks to recent breakthroughs in brain research and DNA technology, what has been until now a major controversy is no longer in serious dispute. As

Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling | Video on TED.com

2011-05-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling | Video on TED.com

25 Body Hacks to Supercharge Yourself

2011-05-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

25 Body Hacks to Supercharge YourselfSome very good ideas. Check it out!

Why Meditation Relieves Chronic Pain and Stress - Lifehacker

2011-05-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Why Meditation Relieves Chronic Pain and Stress - LifehackerRecent reports from several different sources clearly indicate that sitting whether on a chair at your desk or on a cushion in an ashram for more than 15-30 minute intervals can be dangerous for your health (Surgeon General take note). So I now try to do most of my meditating in an upright position, usually in motion. My favorite and

Mind, Brain & Meitation

2011-05-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

“The brain has a fixed location. The mind has no such definitive location, mainly because it can't be ascertained what it is. Though some might say the mind is around the head area, but then there is a question as to what is there. Absent content what is mind? The brain needs nourishment. Does the mind? The mind doesn't have blood flowing through it.” “We have no experience of what it's like to

MORE ON BIN LADEN'S ASSASSINATION - THE NONSENCE OF AL-QAEDA WEB SITES MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS - THE NONSENSE OF AL-QAEDA - BACKGROUND ON BIN LADEN - CHUCKMAN'S CHOICE OF WORDS

2011-05-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

MORE ON BIN LADEN'S ASSASSINATION - THE NONSENCE OF AL-QAEDA WEB SITES MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS - THE NONSENSE OF AL-QAEDA - BACKGROUND ON BIN LADEN - CHUCKMAN'S CHOICE OF WORDSThe pond is murky indeed and it looks like we may never get to the bottom of the Administration's "virtual reality show". The valiant force of 12 (or was it 37?) Seals or was it really the Pakistan Army who breached the Bin

2011-03-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Naomi Klein "tells it like it is". There is no question about the fact that the real agenda of the RNC is to bring down the U.S. Government and create a new system, an Oligarchy an instrument for the super rich to take complete control.

Let's Make it Easier on the Rich

2011-03-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

How about a one-time "Emergency Surtax" for the uber-rich. 1% of income for the disaster victims in Japan and libya

Ode to My Mind

2011-03-09T03:47:00.000-08:00

In the wee small hours of the morning is the time I miss you most of all At 4:30 AM in the middle of my 76th year, it seems as if the world is imploding around me. Memory is slowly fading - yesterday was a low point. Forgetting stalked me at every step I took and later I woke about an hour ago - in that time when we are completely disconnected. Alone with our thoughts and memories, searching for

Ode to My Mind

2011-03-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

"In the wee small hours of the morning is the time I miss you most of all.At 4:00 AM, the world looks very bleak, it seems as if my world is imploding around me and there's no one I can turn to for help or solace. None of the "GAM's" (Great American Myths) are available. The U.S. Cavalry will not save the pioneers from the Apaches, Santa is not coming down the chimney with a new dress for the

TSA, DHS plan massive rollout of mobile surveillance vans with long-distance X-ray capability, eye movement tracking and more

2011-03-08T17:12:00.000-08:00

TSA, DHS plan massive rollout of mobile surveillance vans with long-distance X-ray capability, eye movement tracking and more: "mobile surveillance technologies at train stations, stadiums and streets."Maybe the DHS is worried that our unemployed young people might start

C L O S E R » Blog Archive » Egypt’s Revolution 2.0: The Facebook Factor

2011-02-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

C L O S E R » Blog Archive » Egypt’s Revolution 2.0: The Facebook Factor: "As a septuagenarian FB and Twitter user and someone who has participated in the growth and development of the internet about 30 years, I am thrilled and excited about the newest developments in cyberspace. The birth and meteoric development of the social media have taken many of us completely by surprise but the author's

WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?: Why Obama's Budget Sell-Out to Republicans Threatens Our Economy

2011-02-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?: Why Obama's Budget Sell-Out to Republicans Threatens Our Economy Dr. Reich's comments are salient but a bit "over the top" (as usual) It would be wonderful if the occupants of both houses of our national legislature would try to discuss the current fiscal crisis like mature, intelligent adults instead of posturing and lying like the overpaid and under-informed

JFK - Murdered 47 Years Ago Today

2010-11-22T08:21:00.000-08:00

The team from my advertising agency was making a major presentation to the regional managers of Alitalia airlines who were meeting in Cincinnati. I was point man for the team, responsible for MCing the presentation. I spent the night at the Hilton and delivered our presentation at 10:00 AM on the morning of November 22, 1963. The presentation was well received and we could count on the Alitalia

TIME GOES BY | Social Security and President Obama

2010-11-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

During Steve Kroft's interview with President Barack Obama on 60 Minutes, here's what the President said about the budget and Social Security:”You’re still confronted with a fact that the vast majority of the federal budget are things that people really think are important. Like Social Security and Medicare and defense. “And so, you then have to start making some tough decisions about how do we

TIME GOES BY | REFLECTIONS: On Conflicts of Interest

2010-11-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

TIME GOES BY | REFLECTIONS: On Conflicts of Interest: "During a broadcast of 'Open End' a TV panel show moderated by David Suskind in the late 1950's, Susskind tried to divert the panel's focus away from some very parochial gossip about the (mis) behavior of New York's 'litteratti' by broaching the subject of the Soviet Minister of Trade's unprecedented visit to the heartland of America. The

Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000 - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

2010-11-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000 - Political Hotsheet - CBS News: "An estimated 215,000 people attended a rally organized by Comedy Central talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News."My youngest daughter was at the rally and she voted my proxy.Are we winning? Not yet and unfortunately many of the

U.S. Deficit as % of GDP? "Fagetaboutit!"

2010-10-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

We hear so much B.S. from our politicians and other pundits about our scandalous deficit spending, - how we are putting future generations in hock for centuries to come, that I finally checked the CIAWorld Factbook and discovered that the U.S. ranks 47th among 129 nations of the world in terms of public debt (i.e. "deficit") as a percent of our GDP (Gross National Product). Among the really

Does Your Vote Really Count?

2010-10-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

With more than half of the Senate bought and paid for by Big Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, do you really think the guys that are supposed to be representing you in the Senate are listening to you at all?If you do, you probably also think Santa Claus is real and the Tooth Fairy as well.We live in a completely corrupt society where money and only money talks and you have to put up or shut up

True U.S. Unemployment is 17%

2010-10-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

FROM TODAY'S WASHINGTON POST: "The government’s broader measure of unemployment, sometimes referred to “true unemploytment,” now stands at 17.1 percent. As the Washington Post’s Frank Ahrens puts it, you are not included in the “official” unemployment rate if, a) you would like to have a full-time job but can find only part-time work, and b) if you’ve grown so discouraged at finding work,

The Road Goes on Forever

2010-06-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm "On the Road Again",just like my contemporary, Willy Nelson. Currently in Hudson, NY about 100 miles north of NYC. It's another one of those towns that time forgot for about 100 years but now it's being gentrified by artists, decorators, antique dealers and the like, including my youngest sibling, my sister Nicole who bought an old house here in 2003. It is also, by sublime coincidence,

BLAME IT ON THE BRITISH?

2010-06-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

The oil spill has nothing to do with the people of Great Britain and everything to do with the larcenous cupidity of the tycoons that run worldwide megabucks corporations like BP, Goldman Sachs & the other big banks and Nestle, Monsanto etc.It is no conspiracy - all of these corporations are systemically focussed on maximum profit - whatever the cost to customers, citizens and the taxpayers

20% Unemployed- Forever!

2010-05-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Norton, Jacksonville Florida, laid off two years ago from an insurance company.“Sometimes I think I’d be better off in jail” says the 53 year- old unemployed administrative assistant only half joking. “I’d have three meals a day and structure in my life*. I’d be able to go to school. I’d have more opportunities if I were an inmate than I do here trying to be a contributing member of

Watching Pigeons

2010-04-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Do Americans look and act more like pigeons or are pigeons imitating people? var skin = {}; skin['FONT_FAMILY'] = 'verdana,sans-serif'; skin['BORDER_COLOR'] = '#cccccc'; skin['ENDCAP_BG_COLOR'] = '#e0ecff'; skin['ENDCAP_TEXT_COLOR'] = '#333333'; skin['ENDCAP_LINK_COLOR'] = '#0000cc'; skin['ALTERNATE_BG_COLOR'] = '#ffffff'; skin['CONTENT_BG_COLOR'] = '#ffffff'; skin['CONTENT_LINK_COLOR'] =

You Want Limited Government?

2010-04-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

How about HONG KONG?: ". We may well ask whether there exist any contemporary examples of societies that rely primarily on voluntary exchange through the market and in which government is limited.Perhaps the best example is Hong Kong. It is less than 400 square miles in size with a population of roughly 4.5 million people. The density of population is almost unbelievable — 14 times as many

The Glory that Was...America?

2010-03-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

If only the politicians in Washington, London, Paris, Baghdad or wherever weren't politicians and if scorpions weren't always scorpions, then the leopard would change his spots and we could have universal health care that makes sense and other legislation that benefits the people. Alas it's not going to happen- ever. Politicians will always be- politicians, and the people will always follows the

Have I Got Egg on my Face?

2010-03-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Not quite but almost. True, Obama and his staff have managed to get the somewhat tattered Health Care Reform Bill through the house the House. It a quilt work of compromises and some rather shifty deals. The restrictions on abortion are unfair and unfortunate but it is some reform and maybe it will lead to more cost savings somewhere down the road. So hip, hip fore President Obama (he has now

The Lives of "The Stars"

2010-03-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Susan Sarandon is dating a 31 year old ping pong player? How sad. I respected and admired ms. Sarandon for her masterful performances in ," Thelma & Louise" (1991)," Lorenzo's Oil" (1992), and "The Client" (1994).She definitely earned the award for her performance in " Dead Man Walking". But it seems as if the corruption and decadence is spreading fast from Wall St., to Washington and Main St.

Be Careful About What You Wish [Vote] For

2010-03-08T12:04:00.000-08:00

I laughed when I first heard somebody refer to Barrack Obama as "The Manchurian Candidate of the 21st century" but I don't think it's all that funny anymore. Certainly he's not a tool of the Russians or even the Chinese but, what if, he has been recruited and formed by the robber barons of Wall St. and other free market gangsters, to completely subvert the government of the United States in

CPR for Our Country

2010-03-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

The economic system is under a death watch and there's almost no hope for survival without radical surgery. Our political system needs multiple organ transplants, including brain and heart. Here's what responsible citizens can do to insure the survival of our country.1. Stop contributing to all political organizations and politicians immediately! 2. Create and circulate a petition to impeach the

The Best Hotels in the World

2010-02-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

Totally subjective based exclusively on my own personal experience The old Plaza Hotel ( New York) The George V (Paris, before it became a Four Seasons Hotel) The New Otani (Tokyo) The Villa D'este (Lake Como) Due Torri (Verona) Gritti Palace (Venice) Claridge's (London) The Hilton (Hong Kong) The Beverly Wilshire (Beverly Hills) The Four Seasons Costa Rica Three of the best are in Italy.

Mimicing

2010-01-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

Mimicking or "mirroring" is not exclusive to humans, our cousins the chimps do it and so do many other animals. It may be one of the most ancient forms of social intercourse. It's a way of establishing a connection with another and, although not absolutely necessary it may be a quick way of establishing a preliminary relationship. I don't usually mimic someone I don't like unless it's to

Just War?

2010-01-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

"My God, is this the end of the world? No. it's 'just war' ". I don't believe in "Just Wars" or more specifically. I can't think of any except perhaps WW II (and I'm not absolutely sure about even that). The President presented an almost valid argument for his position relative to our occupation of Afghanistan but it was not totally convincing. He demonstrated his pragmatic tendencies and

We Thought We Were Making a Difference

2009-10-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's almost a year since I climbed aboard a bus in Austin and rode for almost 24 hours up to Cleveland to spend a week going house-to-house, head-to-head, asking people to vote as early as possible and for the only candidate worthy of their vote, Barack Obama and then, on Nov. 7, 2008, to sit in the Cadillac Cafe, surrounded by hundreds of other "fired-up" volunteers and some local political

Obama & the Lama (or now we know who our real friends are)

2009-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

PHAYUL: Dalai Lama meeting with Obama was not planned, says White House | Daily Babel When I was a boy in New York, we knew that the real men, the kind you could trust, they were "Standup Guys" and all the others were "losers". Barack Obama is sliding down the slippery slope to loser land at an ever-quickening pace. He bailed out the GM fat cats, threw a big wad of dough at the Wall St. Gang

2009-09-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

From the "Nouvel Obs", June 6, 2009 "Suicide des personnes âgées : les professionnels dénoncent l'indifférence"(Translation "Mental Health Professionals Denounce Public Indifference to Suicide by Seniors" Le diagnostic de dépression est difficile à faire chez des sujets âgés (Reuters) Clinical diagnosis of depression is particularly difficult to do with the elderly. "Les

Health Care Reform Myths and Reality

2009-08-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

Since the dawn of civilization, men and women have created myths to explain things they couldn't understand. "The rise and setting oof the sun"," What causes the rain?" "How are babies made?", "What happens when we die? etc.Even now, we create myth when faced with inexplicable events like the assassination of JFK, the death of Elvis, droughts and hurricanes.Many of us find change, difficult to

The Evolutionary Trail to Oblivion

2009-08-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

WARNING:This article is absolutely Politically incorrect.Creationists and those with over-developed political sensitivity and the squeamish should go somewhere else.Over the last two centuries or so, Americans have behaved according to the established rules of natural selection.The captains of high school football teams have pursued and been pursued by Homecoming Queens and they have produced

If Obama Doesn't "Make it Happen"

2009-06-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

We're ScrewedBrooks of the NYT wrote today:"The great paradox of the age is that Barack Obama, the most riveting of recent presidents, is leading us into an era of Congressional dominance. And Congressional governance is a haven for special interest pleading and venal logrolling."Like a bridge designed by a committee You can trust the U.S. Congress to make a dog's breakfast out of anything it

Born in '34-Donald Duck, The Dalai Lama and I

2009-06-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

We were born in the same year. We're all, or soon will be, 75. Which one of us will be remembered 15 or 125 years from now? Totally rhetorical. It's gotta be "Uncle Donald". Among the hundreds of characters turned out by the Disney machine, Donald Duck was one of the very few that I could relate to. His irascibility, even in my childhood was easy to identify with. He understood how terribly

Republican Party's Moral Bankruptcy- Chapter/Section 8

2009-06-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

Long ago, when I was a young Marine, some guys were separated from the service because they were unfit for service due to mental disability. It was referred to as a "Section 8 Discharge" Now we have an entire political party showing symptoms of moral and ethical disability. Under the circumstances I think they should file for bankruptcy and total reorganization. Would that be Chapter 8?The severe

Religion- Opium or Salvation?

2009-06-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Since 2004 I have made four trips from my home in Texas to Southeast Asia. Each had a "spritual" aspect and each one was interesting and rewarding but not the life-changing experience I had envisioned. I studied meditation techniques at a Monastery in northern Thailand and learned to focus my mind quicker and easier. I spent a month in Nepal and learned a great deal about Tibetan Buddhist

Twitter Your Life Away

2009-06-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Has anyone stopped to wonder why Twitter, Myface, Youtube and similar sites have grown exponentially over the past five years? Obviously, they were created to fill an existing need, the need of the current generation (particularly), and most of those born in the post WWII era,for 'real" connections with other humans via electronic devices for want of any other method.Mental health practitioners

Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: newyorker.com

2009-05-31T22:07:00.001-07:00

Sub-prime on Wall St. and "sub-ethical" in the valley. Texas leads the wrong way again.Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: newyorker.comShared via AddThis

Naomi Klein: Vote Out Larry Summers

2009-04-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Naomi Klein: Vote Out Larry Summers

The Beginning of the End and it too Will Pass

2009-04-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

The governor of "The Great State of Texas" told his audience of dedicated "Teabaggers" that if the federal government didn't get straightened out and stop trying to get the super-rich to pay their fair share of income taxes, Texas just might secede from the Union. Deja vue all over again. Last time it was about slavery and now it's proportional income tax. Better get out your Confederate money

A Comment on the Crisis

2009-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

Ali A. Rizvi: Religious Fundamentalism Spreads... Beyond Islam

2009-03-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ali A. Rizvi: Religious Fundamentalism Spreads... Beyond Islam: "I learned about the 'Anti-Christ' from priests who could have been the current Pope's uncles.They taught us to look carefully under the bed for the devil every night before going to bed and that just thinking about sex was a mortal sin. Now, the new Anti-Christ, aka 'Benedictus PP. XVI' has taken the Catholic Church and its

TODAY IN THE HUNTINGTON POSTAli A. Rizvi: Religious Fundamentalism Spreads... Beyond Islam

2009-03-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

In the same week that Hindu fundamentalists obliterated plans to build a Charlie Chaplin statue, on the grounds that Chaplin was a Christian who made no contribution to India, video clips of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Varun Gandhi surfaced online, showing him glorifyingly speaking of "cutting the throats" of Muslims, and mocking their "scary" names. Meanwhile, the Hindu nationalist

Investor's Business Daily: Indexes Sink Deeper In Late Trading

2009-01-20T13:27:00.000-08:00

Investor's Business Daily: Indexes Sink Deeper In Late TradingIt looks like Obama's statement about punishment for the people responsible for the current economic crisis will be punished for their greed and irresponsibility has been answered by a 5% drop at the NYSE.It looks like the Traders are going to go down fighting.

Op-Ed Columnist - Continuity We Can Believe In - NYTimes.com

2009-01-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

Op-Ed Columnist - Continuity We Can Believe In - NYTimes.comThe terribly sad realities of politics; Krugman on economics andWilliam Kristol on foreign policy to remind us that"La plus ca change, plus c'est la meme choses"especially in politics

New Products : What will Apple pull out of its hat next? - Nachrichten English-News - WELT ONLINE

2009-01-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

New Products : What will Apple pull out of its hat next? - \ WELT ONLINEIt's not about the iPhone, even though it is the hottest piece of technology in the world (at this moment on January 9, 2009) but it is about Steve Jobs, a facsinating archetype of his era his industry and his culture. Currently known as "Baby Boomers" people born in the post war era are still under the impression that

Alternative Arrangements for Ancients (AAA)

2008-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 1, 2008I’ve been living alone- with my wife of 35 years, for about a year. In many ways it is“The best of all possible worlds” as far as I’m concerned but if you asked my wife she might disagree. I first started sleeping in one of the spare rooms because of my wife’s snoring and her tendency to scream “mama” when woken from a sound sleep. Also we have very different ideas about

Master of Disguises: Poetry: The New Yorker

2008-11-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

Master of Disguises: Poetry: The New YorkerThe "invisibility" of old people is a phenomenon all of us have to face, sooner or later.The transition from vibrant, sometimes too visible youth tofaltering, opaque age come slowly but oh, so surely.There's no remedy or recovery and no chance to re-appear.We go gently but surely and no one seems to notice when we're gone.

Thing Will Get Better?

2008-10-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Posted on the 70 Something Blog:"We have no choice, but to adapt. We will learn some lessons, and things will get better eventually.We have to believe that."I think that's one of the main reasons that we are in this horrible predicament. We accepted what the Paulson and the politicians told us. Then Paulson starts handing our money out to the banks and they stuff it into their mattresses to make

Sarah's Sexy Hair: A Desperate Bid For Votes? (SLIDESHOW)

2008-10-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Maybe Palin's looking for an invitation from SNL. Tina, she could do you very easilySarah's Sexy Hair: A Desperate Bid For Votes? (SLIDESHOW)I think Sarah Palin's run for VP is really her press agent's idea. She's had so much media exposure and time to practice her "shtick" that as soon as the McCain/Palin ticket is history - less than a month from now, her TV/Movie career will go into high gear.

.DJI - DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX - Google Finance

2008-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

40% down from a year ago at noon today and hovering around January '97 levels. The real crash could happen on Monday, Oct 14, only 10 days before the 80th anniversary of "Black Thursday".DJI - DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX - Google FinanceI guess I was a little off in my timing but it is not over. What goes up can come down-with a BANG!

What's Happening to Letterman?

2008-10-07T17:11:00.001-07:00

Somebody passed me a piece, purportedly penned by late-night host David Letterman that sent me to the web to try to unravel the mystery.Letterman wrote this?As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been,but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark.The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll dataI

Bill Clinton : Big News Page

2008-09-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

Bill Clinton : Big News PageI can't believe the latest nasty trick from Slick (Willy)He's saying: he likes Barack Obama and he likes McCain tooNow America, who to vote for? he leaves that up to you.Clinton's a traitor and a renegade. He and Joe Lieberman make a great pair

2008-09-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last night, Nouriel Roubini,consultant and NYU professor of economics told viewers of the Macniel Lehrer News Hour in describing the current economic situation and probable after-shocks that "the light at the end of the tunnel" just might be a "train wreck"Can it get any worse? Have we hit bottom yet? I'm not just referring to the sub-prime debacle and it's increasingly dire results nor the

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. ... - Yahoo! News Photos

2008-09-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. ... - Yahoo! News PhotosLil miss Congeniality aka governess Palin is gonna be a perfect third (soon as she looses the specs)How come she wears them. Kinda makes her look intelligent?

Judith Warner Hits the Spot

2008-09-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Judith Warner told it like it is in the NYT "Opinion" todayand here's the last comment to column that was posted.Maybe 302 mostly thoughtful, intelligent comments is some kind of a record for the NYT?302. September 5th, 2008 READER'S COMMENTS #30210:41 am 09/05/08 In reading the editorial and the comments posted I no longer feel that I “missed something”. I am from a really

It's Not About Palin or Even McCain Vs. Obama

2008-09-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

It is about the new " Axial Age" that is upon us. A time when the two opposing sides in the American ideological conflict jockey for position, gird their loins and prepare for WAR!Maybe you thought that all the radical fundamentalists were in Europe Asia and the Middle East with a few fifth columnists staked out in North and South America? Well, actually almost 20% of the American electorate

United States Senator - John Thune

2008-08-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

United States Senator - John ThuneIs he any relation to the famous "Looney Thunes"?McCain is senile but is he that demented?Bring him on, Joe Biden will take him in the first round.

Veterans for Obama

2008-07-31T17:08:00.001-07:00

This is one contribution that I can make on my own. If there are any other vets who would like to carry the colors of the "1st Obama Brigade" send me an e-mail and I'll send a FREE BUMPER STICKER to the first 100 vets.

McCain's a Joke

2008-07-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

Are you old enough to remember the "bad ol days", before P.C., the days of radio shows like "Abie's Irish Rose","Jack Benny & Rochester" and the 1000 year old man etc. I think we laughed a lot more when we weren't worrying (too much} about saying the wrong thing. OK so it was wrong and I guess we should have known better but my point is that if we can't laugh at ourselves - we're in trouble.

The Barbeque Media Wants Senator Obama To Win? That's Rich.

2008-07-24T16:20:00.001-07:00

About Barack ObamaRead the Article at HuffingtonPost

2008-06-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

(Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)If ever there was someone who can be the icon of the new age in American politics it is Michelle Obama.

My Real Age

2008-06-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

When I was a student at U.C., there was a story going around about two graduate students from the Psychology department who found themselves unable to make ends meet and were forced to find part-time jobs. One, went to work as a teller in a bank and the other decided to be a bank robber. After a few weeks, Robber Student found himself at the counter of Teller Stuudent. He handed the teller a

What is BlogThis! ?

2008-05-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

What is BlogThis! ?

Vietnam Now

2008-05-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

In the three weeks since I returned from Vietnam, practically every publication I read has published lead stories on the upcoming economic "explosion" in Vietnam, (including the New York Times, The Economist, Newsweek, Prospect, The New Republic and more)It was one of the reasons I felt some urgency about making my trip: it's all going to be very different in a couple of years. When I was in

I Found it When I stopped Looking

2008-03-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

As I get older, I am more and more prone to misplacing things like keys, eyeglasses, books, files etc.and when I search for them, I usually don't find them- until I stop looking. Last week my grand daughter was here- she decided to spend Spring Break with us. It's the first time she's been with us since she was about 11 and she'll be celebrating her 20th birthday in a couple of weeks. About two

The Real Hillary Clinton

2008-03-13T09:01:00.001-07:00

Previously Posted on the Huffington Post:When it became absolutely clear at RNC headquarters and in the inner sanctae of the ultra-conservative churches of America that the Republican Party couldn't possibly win the 2008 presidential elections, a cry of anguish and terror was heard from the right side of the land.The elders joined together with the young neo-con zealots and agreed that the only

T-Mobile is Undercover

2008-03-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's the "stealth" wireless service provider. A company that will not allow anyone to know where the corporate headquarters are or how to contact them except through the "Customer Service? Department". Got a problem with your phone or didn't get the rebate you were entitled to and on which you based your decision to buy a particular phone?Tell it to the Chaplain because there ain't nobody home at

toonlet: The Other Side

2008-02-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

toonlet: The Other Side

Iraq-The Deadliest Year Yet

2007-11-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

From Today's NYT:2007 Deadliest Year for U.S. Troops in Iraq function getSharePasskey() { return 'ex=1352091600&en=08c936457b30ac98&ei=5124';} function getShareURL() { return encodeURIComponent('http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/world/middleeast/07iraq.html'); } function getShareHeadline() { return encodeURIComponent('2007 Deadliest Year for U.S. Troops in Iraq'); } function

Walking the Italian "Wild Side"

2007-10-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Cinque Terre is an Italian National Park area on the Mediterrenean coast midway between Genoa and Pisa. The name "Cinque Terre" refers to the five villages in the Park area: Vernazza, Monte Rosso, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Travel within the five village area is either by foot, along the paths cut into the seashore cliffs or by boat.The footpaths are often steep and narrow - it took

SOS in Iraq

2007-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

G. W. Bush invaded Iraq with the goal of bringing democracy to its unfortunate citizens. The effort has been an abysmal failure as the breakdown in the oil field now demonstrates. It appears as if there are some countries where, for a variety of reasons , some chronic and others temporary, the only suitable form of government is either a very loose form of Federalism with "separate but equal"

"Divisadero" Best to Date from Michael Ondaatje

2007-09-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Jhumpa LahiriJhumpa Lahiri was awarded the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, as well as the PEN/Hemingway Award for her mesmerizing debut collection of stories, Interpreter of Maladies. Her poignant and powerful debut novel, The Namesake was adapted by screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, and released in theaters in 2007. My life always stops for a new book by Michael Ondaatje. I began Divisadero as