August 27, 2010 archive

The ‘Elephant of Debt’ in Alan Simpson’s Entitlement Room

Bipartisan Elephants, Endless Debt and Entitlements, Cats without Food … Oh My!

What IS all this fuss about?

Sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 rants.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE – CBO

The Long-Term Budget Outlook

JUNE 2010 – (Revised August 2010)



larger

Image: Federal Debt Held by the Public as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product

Under Two Budget Scenarios

CBO — The Long-Term Budget Outlook (pdf)

OK sometimes not … What does that Picture mean to me?

2035, Haah!  that’s like a quarter century from now …  you got to be kidding me …

The Entitlement ‘Elephant of Debt’ in the Congressional Room

Bipartisan Elephants, Endless Debt and Entitlements, Cats without Food … Oh My!

What IS all this fuss about?

Sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 rants.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE – CBO

The Long-Term Budget Outlook

JUNE 2010 – (Revised August 2010)



larger

Image: Federal Debt Held by the Public as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product

Under Two Budget Scenarios

CBO — The Long-Term Budget Outlook (pdf)

OK sometimes not … What does that Picture mean to me?

2035, Haah!  that’s like a quarter century from now …  you got to be kidding me …

Why are the Tea Party candidates so bat-shit crazy?

  When Sue Lowden suggested Chickens for Checkups we all laughed. It was good fun.

 However, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the Colorado governor’s race has taken this to a whole ‘nuther level.

Original v. Cover — #40 in a Series

Boy George Pictures, Images and Photos

Ever encountered someone who almost perfectly embodied androgyny in appearance, mannerisms and demeanor? What has been your reaction if someone matching such a description enters the men’s or women’s restroom, and you are also present? Depending upon your sensibilities, you may feel compelled to immediately confirm their gender (unless you belong to the cast from “Ally McBeal”).  

You may be one of those who merely asks the question up front or preferring a more subtle approach, attempt to discern if the stature, body build, five o’clock shadow, broad shoulders, or other disgtinguishing features might provide a clue, at the same time taking care to not appear too obvious.

Open Door

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“a bit odd”…? or

BAT. SHIT. FUCKING. CRAZY!!!!!!!!

!!!!!

Verizon has a new ad out apparently for their product Droid X …. Article at intomobile says:

We’ve seen some pretty wild phone advertisements in our time, but this latest from Verizon seems to be a bit odd. The Motorola Droid X ad itself doesn’t seem to make much sense, but what’s worse is that it bears some similarity to the Abu Ghraib torture images we saw a few years ago. Is this just some slip up on Verizon’s part, or did the carrier’s marketing and advertising team decide to stir up a little controversy? Or did they just go through with the ad and watch the final product and say, “This looks so familiar, but why?”

hat tip to CommonDreams.org

The Puppet



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Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai Presidential Address to the World:

Docudharma Times Friday August 27




Friday’s Headlines:

Carter gains release of U.S. activist imprisoned by North Korea

Parade of Super Cars Inspires Mixed Feelings

USA

Behind Scenes of Gulf Oil Spill, Acrimony and Stress

Uneven Katrina recovery efforts often offered the most help to the most affluent

Europe

U2 deliver subtle dig to Medvedev in Moscow

France deports more Roma in defiance of international criticism

Middle East

Chilcot inquiry accused of fixating on west and ignoring real victims

Iraq combat phase ends, but U.S. might stay past 2011

Asia

Pakistan floods prompt mass evacuations in south

Afghan leader criticises US pullout

Africa

How did rebels rape 200 women just miles from UN base in Congo?

Kenya to adopt new constitution

Latin America

Brazil government gives go-ahead for huge Amazon dam

Muse in the Morning

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind XII

We all operate in two contrasting modes, which might be called open and closed. The open mode is more relaxed, more receptive, more exploratory, more democratic, more playful and more humorous. The closed mode is the tighter, more rigid, more hierarchical, more tunnel-visioned. Most people, unfortunately spend most of their time in the closed mode.

— John Cleese


Chaos

The Bomb

I was born

with the airlift

food for life

human sustenance

We learned it early

They showed us

the films

parachuting food

Bring some pennies

I’ve forgotten what for

We have much to fear

The end is so near

The Bomb will fall

It will kill all

They taught us that

duck-and-cover

was a verb

how to bend over,

stick your head

between your knees

and kiss your

sweet ass

goodbye

Please give a nickel

The Bomb will fall

It will kill all

We all know how

It’s any day now

And if you are caught

in the open

when it gets bright

get in a ditch

cover up

with cardboard

Teacher, Miss Teacher

Cardboard will burn

and me with it

Fork over a dime

We all know how

It’s any day now

We’re all going to die

The end is quite nigh

Indoctrination:

The bad Russian

triangle would fall

It was indubitably

communistic

The good USsian

triangle stood firm

It was statically

democratic

Donate a quarter

We’re all going to die

The end is quite nigh

Up went The Wall

It stood so tall

And we went two ways

Some of us

became fatalistic

trying desperately

to get on with our lives

Some of us are still afraid

And want nothing else

but for everyone

to share their fear

To the point where

it is precisely them

whom we fear

Up went The Wall

It stood so tall

We have much to fear

The end is so near

Where do I go

to get my life back?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–November 14, 2005

Struggle by Indianapolis GM workers raises crucial issues

Original article, Struggle by Indianapolis GM workers raises crucial issues, by Jerry White via World Socialist Web Site:

A year after the United Auto Workers union collaborated with the Obama administration in the restructuring of the auto industry and the assault on auto workers’ wages and living standards, determined workers at the General Motors Indianapolis stamping plant have rebelled against the UAW and taken a stand to defend the right to a job and a decent wage.

Late Night Karaoke

The Mouse that Roared

The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.

— Galadriel

President Obama is not alone.  Many people do not seem to understand that oppression of an entire people is not chronic.  It is systemic.  The infection grows.

When I was 12 or so, as boys that age do, I had somehow gotten ahold of a very old gay porn magazine that was almost as old as I was.  It must have been from the very early 70’s.

Anyway, I liked it because this magazine featured guys just a little older than me — 18 and 19 year olds.

This was not like any porn magazine, gay or otherwise, from the present day.  On one page it had two fully clothed young guys lying on a bed listening to music together, and there was a verbal spread around this picture, talking, in wistful terms, about how one day, in a future we possibly could not imagine, men could get married with other men.

This is the battle now, and as I think back on this magazine, I can imagine being ferocious, of roaring, rather than wistfully wondering if ever, and when.  We’ve come a long way, but part of that way is in not being wistful anymore, and not asking, but demanding.

Of, finally, roaring.

I am past my marrying days.  My lover died, I have no wish for the pain of another.  I had a husband, I wasn’t allowed to call him that name, and it doesn’t matter now.  I have been made a relic by time.  But a lion roars inside.  No, not a lion. A mouse.  But a mouse that can change the world.

That there should be no wistful boys, wondering about that which might never be, thinking something is wrong inside.

A fatal miscalculation has been made.  A nuclear bomb has been left sitting on the table.  

And what our political leaders don’t understand is, it’s ticking.

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