Bigot

Honestly, Romney is way too white for me to trust. And I am pretty damn white!

Conservative Translation

When they say...

"Liberal attack on traditional American values."

What they mean is...

"Got called out for being a closed minded bigot."

Science in Defeat

The results of the Wisconsin recall election provides evidence that evolution is real and our species still has a lot of it to do.

Green Fields of France

To man's blind indifference to his fellow man, and a whole generation that were butchered and damned.

Presidential Ponderances

Reagan regretted becoming a douche bag Republican.

When I worked as the president of the Screen Actors Guild I understood the need for people to stick together for the greater good to get their goals accomplished. I admired other great presidents of the past such as Franklin Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower who knew that in order for the nation to thrive, we must all thrive. I am also saddened that the Republican party of today thinks I wanted God in the White House and to rule the nation. That is not true at all, after I was nearly assassinated I wanted God more in my own personal life. I acknowledged that I was to be here for a reason and serve him and my nation together, but they always stayed separate in my mind just as in the Constitution. The Republican party today merely just uses God as a means to get votes, and I don't believe Jesus would want to be used as a marketing tool. I regret my decision to become Republican and if I had to do it all over again I would have remained in the Democratic party and ran on their ticket. They seem to instill the core values I believe in, such as a collective philosophy. I thought for a while the Democrats left me, because we used to agree on so much, it turns out that I did indeed leave them, and I would do anything to take it all back. Now as I sit here as an old man, I can only imagine, "what if…"

In other news, JFK is still regarded as the best US President of the 20th Century and he didn't even finish his first term!

How will Obama fair in recollections of the 21st Century?

Dragon by the Tail

SpaceX's Dragon capsule arrives at space station in historic first - San Jose Mercury News



The space race as it is currently being run is all too slow. I hope these private enterprise/healthy competition types can get this thing going again.

If we spent as much on science as we do on foreign wars we'd have a Moon base and orbital colony by now.

Congratulations to SpaceX.

Normal Consumers, Not the Super Rich, Drive the Economy

That TED Talk You Weren't Supposed To See...

Power to the People!

Naked Short Selling and a Raging Banking Boner

Accidentally Released - and Incredibly Embarrassing - Documents Show How Goldman et al Engaged in 'Naked Short Selling' | Common Dreams

Last week, in response to an Overstock.com motion to unseal certain documents, the banks’ lawyers, apparently accidentally, filed an unredacted version of Overstock’s motion as an exhibit in their declaration of opposition to that motion. In doing so, they inadvertently entered into the public record a sort of greatest-hits selection of the very material they’ve been fighting for years to keep sealed.

That is one hell of a boner. And nobody likes it when everyone points and laughs at your boner.

Yes, Nake Short Selling really is that dirty. So dirty I don't even have a pic to post for it.

Left To Die

Castaway sues Princess Cruises over rescue failure:

After 16 days adrift, he says, they saw a cruise ship sailing past, and had made attempts to flag it down with a red sweater.

"We felt happy, because we thought they were coming to rescue us," he said.

Mr Vasquez was eventually rescued 1,000km (620 miles) off the mainland, near the Galapagos Islands. His friends had already died of thirst.

I can only imagine the dread of the initial engine failure, feeling certain you will die, the jubilation of spotting a ship and realizing you won't die today, the horrid sinking feeling as the ship sails away. At least 24 hours of desperate hope that the ship contacted someone and help is on the way, raging anger and an even deeper despair that you were left to die by rich vacationers, and then having to watch your two mates die.

Personal opinion; the cruise line owes this man a lifetime supply of anything and everything he wants. That's letting them off easy.

Kill Capital Punishment

From Jimmy Carter...

Show death penalty the door.

Southern states carry out more than 80 percent of the executions but have a higher murder rate than any other region. Texas has by far the most executions, but its homicide rate is twice that of Wisconsin, the first state to abolish the death penalty. Look at similar adjacent states: There are more capital crimes in South Dakota, Connecticut and Virginia (with death sentences) than neighboring North Dakota, Massachusetts and West Virginia (without death penalties). Furthermore, there has never been any evidence that the death penalty reduces capital crimes or that crimes increased when executions stopped. Tragic mistakes are prevalent. DNA testing and other factors have caused 138 death sentences to be reversed since I left the governor’s office.

I agree with the former President for many of the same reasons. Kill the death penalty.

Join the Revolution!

A story missing from our media: Iceland's on-going revolution.

Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution.

What are we waiting for? Let's do this thing! Throw the bastards out and try some REAL democracy for a change.

401k Exorcism

I am not an investment specialist nor do I play one on TV, in film, or even a second rate web series. Do not follow my example! When it comes to matters of finance I am certifiably insane. Consider this your warning.

This is not about how we got duped into the 401k sham. That's a different rant. This is about investing and it is really bad advice. That was another warning.

Like most working people I have a 401k. In the past I have taken a very hands off approach to my investments. I know for a fact that there are people far better at making investment decisions than myself and chose to let them do it.

While reading through the prospectus for a venture fund that was part of my portfolio, I cringed. There were several holdings as part of the fund that I had moral objections to.

After a total review of my portfolio and the options available to me through my current 401k plan, I managed to purge most of the evil. Most.

While being mature enough to take an interest in my retirement savings, I still harbor plenty of that youthful rebellion that doesn't want anything to do with large, exploitative companies.

I'd love to hear stories from others who have faced this investment dilemma.

APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS!

FOX Patriarch Thrashed

Rupert Murdoch deemed 'not a fit person' to run international company.

I concur with the Parliamentary committee's findings.

The 99% Prop Up the American Economy

US economic growth slowed to an annualised pace of 2.2%

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the US economy, grew by a 2.9% annual rate, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010.

The rich horded so much they managed to SLOW what should have been a growth economy.

Fuck the rich. Then tax the hell out of them.

Space Race Heating Up

BBC News - Plans for asteroid mining emerge:

The founders include film director and explorer James Cameron as well as Google's chief executive Larry Page and its executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

They even aim to create a fuel depot in space by 2020.

About freakin' time!

California Could Abolish State Subsidized Murder

BBC News - California to vote on abolishing death penalty:

The measure would see death row inmates have their sentences commuted to life. Just 13 people have been executed since the law was re-introduced in 1978.

As someone who has been wrongly accused and presumed guilty of something potentially life threatening, I really hope California can end this.

Chavez Not Dead Yet!

BBC News - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismisses death rumours:

Mr Chavez, 57, dismissed rumours that he had died undergoing radiotherapy for a second tumour in his pelvic region.

He's not dead, just a little crazy.

He's been in the top spot so long he has started to fear that everyone is out to get him. Too bad. He had a lot of potential.

Socialism Leads to "The American Dream" (all rights reserved)

“If Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark.” | I Acknowledge Class Warfare Exists

If social mobility is the name of the game ("If I try hard enough I can be rich and successful.") then the place to is Denmark.

Or perhaps you want to stick with The American Nightmare. The one where no matter how hard you try you just can't seem to get ahead. And you show up to class naked.

Stein Gets Labor

Stein calls Obama "win-win" Colombia trade agreement a "lose-lose" for workers

"President Obama called it a win-win. No, it's a lose-lose for workers," Stein said. "It's a deadly assault on the freedom of Colombian workers to organize, as well as on the freedom of American workers from unfair competition from workers who make poverty wages because they are violently repressed."

What she said.

NRA is Right Wing Puppet

Let's make this nice and sparkling clear. Romney and Obama have the exact same position on gun control. Both of them agree on background checks. Both of them cite the need to keep guns out of the hands of potential criminals. They walk the middle ground together.

When the NRA supports Romney over Obama, and they will, ask yourself if they truly support the Second Amendment. It seems to me they use the Second Amendment to gain support for Republicans.

Personally, I would like to see guns become fashion statements. Let everyone have them. Cars are far more deadly and absolutely anybody can buy one*. Besides, wouldn't it be great to see a woman with a well maintained black powder revolver on her hip (or even this gal) making fun of the obvious overcompensation for personal inadequacies of the M-4 toting tea bagger?

Guns for everybody except those who don't want them!

* You do not need a license to purchase a car from a private party. You only need one to drive it on a public road.