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Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts

Monday, June 02, 2014

Milk (2008)


"Milk", starring Sean Penn and Josh Brolin is about San Fransisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk, an openly gay businessman who had gotten sick of not only watching other gay people being harassed and bullied by a stiff city establishment but other minorities such as African Americans, the poor, elderly and people with disabilities being used as scapegoats and the first to suffer in any major city decision of that time. He not only stood up for the underdog, but he championed them. He put PEOPLE first - something a lot of politicians only pay lip service to. Milk actually did something about.

Milk transcends being a mere gay bio-film. While Milk's sexuality is never too far off, the real gist of the movie is how he gave the system a major wake up call and how he paid the ultimate price for standing up for what he believed in. From his beginnings as a flamboyant camera store owner in the Castro district of San Fransisco to the political battles he fought against the city and self-righteous anti-gay crusaders such as Anita Bryant to finally being elected city supervisor of San Fransisco and the turmoil that followed, especially from his biggest opponent, Dan White who assassinated Milk and San Fransisco Mayor George Moscone.

The story of Harvey Milk is a fascinating one for me, having read The Mayor Of Castro Street by Randy Shilts several years ago.

HIGHLY recommended reading!
I always loved his appeal to the social outcasts and how he worked to level the playing field for all people. We sure as hell could use a guy like him today.

One could only wonder what could have been had he not been assassinated. He most likely would have ended up mayor of San Fransisco and would probably have made it to Washington DC by now. I'd take Harvey Milk anyday over Diane Feinstein.

Harvey Milk never got the recognition he truly deserves for not only breaking down a LOT of doors and glass ceilings for gays and lesbians, but for inspiring all of us that the underdog can lose many battles, but still win the war in The Good Fight. The people know a true hero when they see one.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Separated At Birth?


Florida Governor Rick Scott
The Weekly World News Bat Boy

Friday, May 23, 2014

The I-5 Skagit River Bridge Collapse

On May 23, 2013, the Skagit River Bridge between Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA collapsed, illustrating the dire need for improved maintenance and upgrading of America's highway system.
A year ago tonight, no one could have guessed a near tragedy was about to occur.

It was a typical late spring night in the Skagit Valley of Washington State. An idyllic place this time of year, very laid back and the end of the evening rush hour was winding down and people were coming home to enjoy their evenings.  Yours Truly had just crossed this very bridge only a few hours earlier.

Suddenly at 7:00pm, a truck carrying an oversize load rammed a lower truss at the entry point of the southbound lanes of the Skagit River Bridge on Interstate 5, causing the north section of the bridge to buckle and destabilize off it's pilings. The truck which caused the accident successfully crossed the bridge. The vehicles behind the truck weren't so lucky.


Fortunately, aside from a few minor injuries and ruined vehicles, no one was killed.

But it magnified a long festering problem with America's highway bridges; Many are dangerously old, obsolete, and long in need of upgrading and replacement.

The news shocked America and made headlines worldwide. But none were shocked more than the people of Skagit County and it's two most populous cities, Mount Vernon and Burlington which were connected by the bridge. The bridge was also a vital trade and travel link between Vancouver, Canada and Seattle.  

The I-5 Skagit River Bridge was long overdue for a modern replacement and considered functionally obsolete. Built in 1955, it was constructed at a time when there were far fewer vehicles on America's highways. The truss height at the bridge's southbound entry was 14'7" The height of the truck trailer was several inches higher.
The southbound portion of the I-5 Skagit River Bridge just before the collapse. The truck was in the outer lane and struck the curved truss.
The trucker was employed by Mullen Trucking, was hauling an over-dimensional load containing a housing for drilling equipment. The company's vice-president, Ed Sherbinski, said permits were issued from Washington State that included clearance for all bridge crossings on the route.The truck had been led over the bridge by a pilot escort vehicle. A spokesman for the Washington State Department of Transportation said there are no warning signs leading up to the bridge regarding its clearance height. In Washington, only overcrossings of less than 14 feet are required to have advance postings of height restrictions.
The oversize truck also damaged a sway strut of the second span, but not enough to initiate a collapse. That span is being repaired, and all three remaining spans are returning to full use. (Wikipedia)

Inspectors inspecting the Canadian semi which caused the bridge collapse.
It was a miserable summer of taking slow detours, exiting on College Way in Mount Vernon and George Hopper Rd. in Burlington to take the Riverside bridge and getting back on I-5 from either side. Traffic was snarled from Everett to Bellingham, WA as a result.


We never did get the brand new permanent bridge we were promised (It was a battle with the Canadian insurance company to get what we were owed.) All we got was a replacement section.


Today, the bridge has been renamed the Trooper Sean O'Connell Memorial Bridge, after a state trooper who was killed while directing traffic around the bridge.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Support Net Neutrality



Tell Chairman Wheeler: Don't help Verizon kill Net Neutrality. 

Net Neutrality is a principle that says that Internet users, not Internet service providers (ISPs), should be in control. It ensures that Internet service providers can’t speed up, slow down, or block web content based on its source, ownership, or destination.

Net Neutrality is dead for the time being – but the FCC could stand up to Verizon and AT&T and pass strong rules.

Instead, Wheeler's proposed rules would divide the Internet into fast lanes for wealthy corporations and slow lanes for the rest of us. Internet service providers (ISPs) would be allowed to relegate content to the slow lane unless the content provider paid up.

That means that the speed you could stream a video, for example, would not just depend on the kind of Internet plan you purchase from your ISP. It would also heavily depend upon whether the entity hosting the video paid for the express lane so that it didn’t take forever to download. Not only is this anti-consumer, allowing corporations to decide what kind of content you can access on the Internet is fundamentally anti-democratic.

Sign The Petition

One Frightening Chart Shows What You Might Pay For Internet Once Net Neutrality Is Gone

Amid protests, U.S. FCC proposes new 'net neutrality' rules

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/us-usa-internet-neutrality-idUSBREA4C0SF20140515

Write directly to the FCC and let them know the importance of net neutrality

http://www.fcc.gov/page/fcc-establishes-new-inbox-open-internet-comments

My fellow bloggers and I depend on net neutrality to keep our content going. You need it if you use social networking like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, Instagram or others. Or enjoy streaming audio/video from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Pandora or other sources.

WE ALL make the content that makes the internet. Not the corporations or the wealthy few. If we lose net neutrality, only a handful of voices by comparison will be able to be heard and seen online. This is dangerous for both democracy and the medium by limiting the amount of information people can obtain by how much the content provider can pay to provide it. And inevitably even you to access it.

Save the internet!  

Thursday, February 27, 2014

You Might Be Watching Too Much Fox News If........


1. You are OUTRAGED at how Obama has shredded the Constitution but can’t name any rights you’ve lost since January 20, 2009.

2. You think record breaking cold weather in the middle of winter disproves “Global Warming.”

3. You think record breaking cold weather in the middle of winter disproves “Global Warming” but record breaking heat waves in the summer are just a fluke.

4. You hate Obama for the almost 1700 American lives lost in Afghanistan under his watch but have no idea how many died in Iraq before he took office (Hint: more than 4000).

5. You call Afghanistan “Obama’s War” but ignore the entire first eight years of it.

6. You think there’s no way Chris Christie knew about the scandal unfolding in his own office but Obama clearly knew what a small IRS office in Cincinnati was up to.

7. You think 4 Americans dying in Benghazi is “the worst tragedy since 9/11.“

8. You denounce Bill Clinton as an adulterer but give a pass to David Vitter and Mark Sanford because they apologized.

9. You are both convinced Obama is a secret Muslim and still go into a frenzy when someone mention Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

10. You really do think Obama is a secret Muslim terrorist that drinks beer, eats pork, attended church for years (ARRRGH! Rev. Jeremiah Wright!), had his daughters baptized, had bin Laden killed and has had more terrorist leaders assassinated than every president before him combined.

11. You think bin Laden was responsible for 9/11 because he ordered the attack but Obama gets no credit for bin Laden’s death because he only ordered the attack.

12. You swear that Obama is coming for your guns.

13. You’ve been swearing that Obama is coming for your guns since before he was elected.

14. You swear that Obama has actually reduced your right to own guns but you can’t explain how.

15. You have ever used the phrase: Obama’s Katrina to describe something that was not the bungled response to a major natural disaster.

16. You’re positive Obama isn’t a true Christian but then got mad he had too many Christmas trees (no, seriously, that was a thing).

17. You think Muslims are terrorists and religious fanatics but think protecting gay kids from bullies is an attack on your religious beliefs.

18. You constantly complain the liberal media takes things out of context but you’re deeply offended that Obama said “You didn’t build that.”

19. You think that ACORN stole the 2008 election. Maybe the 2012 one as well.

20. You think “voter fraud” is an actual problem but can’t explain how cutting early voting stops it.

21. In 2009, cutting the $1.4 trillion deficit in half was the most important thing in the world but in 2014, you could care less about how much the deficit was cut (Hint: in half).

22. You hate Obama for not having served a day in the military but voted for Mitt Romney.

23. You think Obama is the laziest president ever for taking so many vacation days but “forget” that it’s less than a third of his predecessor.
23a. Never mind how many days he took, the president shouldn’t take vacations during a time of  crisis!
23b. Never mind that Bush took vacations during two wars and a recession! Obama is   spending tax payer money to loaf about!
23c. I said WHO CARES that Bush took more than three times as much vacation time? It only counts when the black guy takes a vacation!

24. You think Obama embarrassed America by bowing to other heads of state but forgot about the time Bush held hands and kissed Prince Abdullah.

25. You think Obama is terrible for the economy while the stock market continues to hit all time highs.

26. You think the stock market hitting all times highs doesn’t mean the economy is improving but you still believe in Trickle Down Economics.

27. You claim you don’t believe in Trickle Down Economics but insist that increasing taxes on the rich will hurt the economy.

28. You’re outraged OUTRAGED at Obama for not unilaterally launching a full scale war on Iran but call him a warmonger for joining an international coalition to stop a massacre in Libya.

29. You think Obama is “dumb.”

30. You really think a Harvard graduate is “dumb.”

31. You really seriously think a Harvard graduate and a former president of the Harvard Law Review is “dumb.”

32. You think Obama hates white people which would include his white mother and the white grandparents that raised him to be President of the United States.

33. You think Obama is a criminal mastermind that has broken dozens of laws involving thousands of government workers but no one can actually prove anything.

34. You think Obama is an absolute idiot who has broken dozens of laws involving thousands of government workers but no one can actually prove anything.

35. You think Climate Change is a vast liberal conspiracy to destroy Capitalism.

36. You claim evolution is a liberal hoax but still take your kids to their yearly flu shot.

37. You claim science is just a religion but do not think twice about boarding an airplane.

38. You think the private sector can completely replace government investments but you’re OUTRAGED Obama ended the Space Shuttle program.

39. You think using a teleprompter means you are stupid. But only if you happen to be the president. It’s OK for everyone else.

40. You think being asked to drink an extra glass of water a day is tyranny.

41. You think being asked to do more community service is tyranny.

42. You think being asked to help the poor get health insurance is tyranny.

43. You think being asked to let women choose to use birth control is tyranny.

44. You think being asked to respect other religions is tyranny.

45. You think being asked to leave homosexuals alone is tyranny.

46. You think being publicly shamed for your racism is tyranny.

47. You think not allowing criminals and the mentally ill to buy guns is tyranny.

48. You think allowing everyone to vote is tyranny.

49. You think Obama exercising his constitutional authorities is tyranny.

50. You grew up in America and think you actually understand what real tyranny is.

Addicting Info

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Election Day Hits: "Won't Get Fooled Again" The Who (1971)




If there is one song that TRULY defines Classic Rock radio, it is THIS one.........

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Election Day Hits: "The Politics Of Dancing" Re-Flex (1983)


Well, with Halloween over and Election Day coming up, it's time to dig through the archives for songs about politics And there's NO shortage of those either.....

I'll start with the ULTIMATE song about politics, a 1983 dance pop classic from a UK band called Re-Flex. This was their only US hit.......

Monday, October 22, 2012

The Ray Conniff Singers vs. Richard Nixon

Well, not really. But one of the female singers had a surprise for Tricky Dick


(UPDATE 8/5/13 Here's the full performance of the song with ending.)