I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Why American Media Sucks

Where to begin? So many examples. Well let's look at the media on the Sotomayor nomination...I don't mind the talking heads but couldn't we put some kind of qualifier on them so at the very least they have credibility so we can keep score on the real facts? Shouldn't the talking heads on TV/radio representing opinions be at the very least trustworthy and have some expertise in the topic!



Seems like all you need to be on these 'news' shows is star power...even fading star power. The fact that Alberto Gonzales isn't trustworthy should eliminates him from speaking on any talk show but still he's on TV offering up his opinion of Sotomayor's appointment! And half the others have no expertise in the area of law...so really what we have is truly empty talking heads...welcome to America's Media! They create rather than report to the lowest denominator!

Sam has it right over at the Church of Bad News when he refers to Chris Wallace and the rest of the media as highly paid sycophants that cheer leaded for the liars and war criminals...why is it they get a free pass now that we know the truth? And how is it that we continue to allow them to conduct business as usually instead of demanding some minimal standards in the media?

Until we have an honest discussion about the need for change within the media community, don't look for any kind of truthfulness from them soon.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Honk for Peace

The City of Burnsville has dropped charges against a women for honking in support of peace. Barbara Gilland honked to support protesters who were holding signs saying 'Honk for Peace' along a public road in Burnsville, MN.


"The ACLU of Minnesota represented Barbara Gilland, saying that the issuing of the citation violated Ms Gilland's First Amendment rights. The City of Burnsville agreed to drop the charges and to no longer issue citations for improper use of horn when using it to express freedom of speech, except when necessary to preserve public safety. The City also agreed to issue a directive to officers and update its Policies and Procedures to prevent free speech violations in the future."

The interesting thing about this is the officer who wrote the ticket. He lived nearby and seemed to want to personally run the protesters out of Burnsville...almost like a personal vendetta. It's ironic to me that a 'Peace' Officer doesn't support 'Peace'! No other motorist(s) have ever been ticketed for honking in Burnsville before the peace vigil started.

We should all be thankful to Barbara Gilland for choosing to fight for her rights to honk rather than pay for the ticket... and especially thankful to attorney Howard Bass who as an ACLU volunteer attorney gave of his time and talent to defend this first Amendment rights.

Honk-Honk

Friday, May 15, 2009

Better Call More Police

I've been foaming at the mouth over the Senate not giving single payer health care a place at thier table...naturally they had plenty of room for the insurance companies, the HMOs, the drug companies...How can you have a fair hearing when you don't have all the options there? You can't be caring that deeply if you don't even give us a place at the table...


... I just can't keep it all in...look for an implosion later this week but until then...read this...and be prepared be get madder. THIS A DEAL BREAKER!!! You can't always rely on the police to restore order...and laughing?!...this is so terrible...this is so unacceptable...PUT SINGLE PAYER ON THE TABLE!!! And be prepared to call more and more police because we won't be quiet anymore.

The best result? The best result is not a stacked deck by your corporate checkbooks...at least not for the American people. This has got to stop! The same companies that had lead us to this healthcare crisis can not be dependent on to resolve the problem in our best interest.



Torture and Shiny Objects

Notice how the Rushpublicants want to shift the media from torture and their administration to...the Democrats! The culpability lies with the Executive Branch…It isn’t what Pelosi knew when…it’s who is responsible, who developed torture, who had the policy, and who employed it…The GOP might want divert the whole issue to a ‘Democratic’ problem…but it isn’t…so let shine the light on that…Oh look media…a shiny object!

Read more about this at DailyKos

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Seriously Left and Loving It!

---I've been a follower of OpenLeft for years…and find that our ideology seems to run the course (either that or we had a Vulcan mind melt!)

Over the past year, I have increasingly become of the opinion that the progressive movement is not a series of candidates, advocacy organizations, and new media outlets. Instead, it is a series of broad cultural trends toward an increasingly democratic society. Immigration, the self-publishing Internet, rising union density, increasing acceptance of LGBT culture--these trends are the progressive movement, not our elected officials, political staff, pundits, and advocacy organizations


---WTF could they be thinking…er…I guess they arent…

----Need more proof that absences isn’t working ...

-----It’s not enough to rebrand themselves now the rethugs want to brand us!...I don’t think so…

------Jesse Ventura has surprised me twice in the last two weeks….you go guy…



----The Pawlenty diet of ‘All cuts, All the time’ will result in massive losses in Minnesota especially in service industry like police, fire, hospital staff, and teachers. Instead of raising taxes on the wealthiest of us (and leveling them so they pay the same percentage as the poorest among us)..Pawlenty has decided to cut services…heck he evens wants to lower taxes on businesses (haven’t the last ten year taught us trickle down doesn’t work?!)…

------Makes me want to get into my car and rant away while filming…BTW: bizzaro world has decended….PS…I’m looking for a second ‘safe’ place…pst if you know of someplace ‘off the grid’-)


To Boldly Go...

I thought nothing good could come out of Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura…but this makes two things in one week!

"Coleman's always been a hypocrite,..He never does what he says. He said on Election Night [in 2008], when he won, that Franken should drop out and he should be the senator. Well, the same should hold true after the recount."

"I’ll put it to you this way: You give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I’ll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders. "

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

America's Healthcare In Need of Reform

Healthcare is destroying America…or more specifically the costs of healthcare. Medical bills account for more than half of all bankruptcies (back when you could file for protection against medical bills!). 2.4 million Elderly Americans have been driven into poverty by their medical bills despite having coverage. Even those with medical insurance, many can’t afford to seek medical attention and go without necessary health care.

Got a few minutes? Read more here…Right now our leaders are developing plans to hopefully fix these problems. Want to be part of the solution? Need to know more? Attend:
'Courageous Conversations about Health Care', hosted by Senator John Doll on May 19, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Burnsville Civic Center/Town Hall, 100 Civic Center Parkway

Guest Speakers include: Senator John Marty - What the bill will mean to us, Dr. Jim Letts (Physicians for National Health Plan)-Learn why doctors prefer the MHP, Nancy Breymeier (Metropolitan Independent Business Alliance) Why Business are struggling to provide health care benefits and how the MHP will help, Senator Erickson Ropes -Why Canadians prefer their health care, Kip Sullivan, author of "The Health Care Mess" with Q & A Panel

Thursday, May 07, 2009

All Minnesota

It's Like Winning Twice!
Soon-to-be Minnesota Senator Al Franken continues to party build and network in lieu of assuming his new responsibilities. Franken this week met with Vice President Biden who issued the following statement:

“Once the Minnesota Supreme Court has issued its final ruling in this case, the President and I look forward to working with Mr. Franken on building an economy for the 21st century.”


While Franken has cleared each of the legal hurdles on his way to being the next Minnesota U.S. Senate, it may be awhile more before he officially becomes the 60th Democrat seated in the Senate. We're waiting for the Minnesota Supreme Court decision. Still, that day is coming...

The day that Franken is sworn into the U.S. Senate, I plan to party like its 1999…er…2008. The historic importance of Al Franken being the 60th Democrat seated is not lost on me. It’s like winning twice!

At What Cost?

Maybe I’m naive and misunderstood but -shouldn’t we be ending the war(s)? Wasn’t that why Obama was elected?
NPP is tracking the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with an individual cost of war counter, calculating the state-level numbers and trade-offs of supplemental war spending. So for Minnesota’s cost of funding the war…we could fund:

  • Health care for 532.341 people
  • Renewable Electricity for one year in 2,124,157 homes
  • Maximize Pell Grants for 345,897 college students
The list goes on and on…just like the wars.

Check the Minnesota List Twice!
The 10 Most Endangered program in Minnesota is designed to spotlight historic properties that face imminent danger through demolition, neglect, severe alteration, or inappropriate public policy. One of the endangered locations is in my neighborhood.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Slapping On Swine Flu Lipstick

Funny man Jon Stewart insists that the swine flu ranks last on the ‘list of things that can kill you in Mexico’. He’s accurate to a point...It seems as if misinformation is spreading faster than the flu…So for reality based information on the H1N1 flu, surf over to boingboing. They have "fun swine flu facts" from a "giant infectious disease dork,"…really I kid u not!

And yes, scientist and crackpots do have things in common? They both are offering theories on where swine flu came from…Naturally those that see black helicopters circling give the most interesting and entertaining theories…among them is the New Zealanders connection .

Well regardless of what you believe…dead pigs in china, evil factory pig farms, Al Qaeda plots, or government research going amuck…we know now that the virus has picked up a mixture of elements including bird and human. While finding the source can help prevent future outbreaks, determining and making a vaccine has a high priority. Now that a staffer in the Obama administration has it (apparently from the recent visit to Mexico) look for even more emphasis to be placed on finding a vaccination.

Naturally, nothing says fashion disaster like a swine flu mask (better known as the new influenza A (H1N1) virus mask)! I lived in Japan where mask wearing was common if you had a cold… But seriously do you even know which type of mask and what kind of protection it will give you beyond the Michael Jackson accessory collection.

So there ya go…more about the flu than you needed or wanted to know…seriously if you have symptoms chances are you don’t have swine flu still…stay away from others and see your doctor.

To close (in case I’ve worried anyone needlessly) there are 5 reasons not to panic:

  1. For now the numbers are low

  2. A(H1N1) is not the deadiliest of flues

  3. There is hope for a vaccine soon and does respond to Tamiflu

  4. Governments and Doctors (networks) are better prepared for outbreaks

  5. We’re into Spring, were flu cases decline dramatically

Be safe, enjoy the weekend-)