Nobody 805
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Nobody # 805
Nobody Asked Me But:
GUNS MAKE SLAUGHTER POSSIBLE
I just finished reading T. Jefferson Parker's “Iron River.” Although a novel, it is not without some profound truths. The iron river is the flow of American guns into Mexico. Despite the trite excuse that "guns don't kill people, people kill people,” these guns especially in the hands of the cartels, make slaughter possible. Most often it is Mexicans killing Mexicans, but does nationality really matter? Are we not all brothers and sisters of the human race?
It would be one thing if only the guilty were being killed, but make no mistake. More good people are dying than bad.
Is profit so sweet as to be paid for with the death of innocents? For too many Americans, the answer is an emphatic yes – or an indifferent “not my problem.”<<<
Pope to the UK – “Churches must continue to be allowed to ban gays from the clergy.”
Reaction: This from a man who wears skirts.<<<
Here is one more thing to add to the very large list of what is for sale in America. The NCAA wants to expand their basketball tournament to 96 teams. The scientific formula behind the move is: More teams = more games = more revenue from television = higher salaries and more luxury trips for their fat cat executives.<<<
Speaking of money – how about this for mark-ups (from CNN Business):
1. Text messaging - 6,500%
3. Popcorn - 900%
5 Restaurant wine by the bottle - 500%
Reaction: I don’t text, and I buy restaurant wine by the glass, but I no longer by-pass the pleasure of popcorn at a movie. I figure that if I can pay $3+ for a mocha every week, I can pay $5+ for a box of popcorn every couple of months. And yes, in my crusade for the unhealthy, I get the butter-flavored kind.<<<
Emily: Grandfather, please tell me again how much a trillion is?
Grandfather Jim: If a 10,000-pound elephant sat on a person it would be terrible. But if 135 million 10,000-pound elephants sat on a person it would be a trillion.<<<
CNN Poll
Q: Do you really believe there really is such a medical/mental condition as sex addiction?
22% said yes, there have been enough well-known, documented cases to believe that it does exist.
68% said no, it is just an excuse for screwing around.
I am with the 68%. I think Woody Allen was speaking for most men when he famously said, “My Brain is my second favorite organ.”<<<
This week’s must read is, no surprise, David Brooks. His piece on the necessity for our older, me-centered, gobble-up-the-budget generation to stop being so selfish hits close to (who me?) home.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02brooks.html
And while on the subject of my favorite conservative columnist, Brooks has started taking some heat from the “right” for actually being fair, balance and thoughtful.
The latest put down comes latest from Jonah Goldberg writing in the LA Times. Goldberg called Brooks an “Obama confidant,” and you could hear sneer in the words.<<<
“I know I'm the people's senator, but do I have to hang out with them?” John Edwards.<<<
I kid you not. The name of the men’s PGA event in Phoenix is The Waste Management Open.<<<
In his book about the young Spenser, the late Robert B. Parker describes administrators and teachers at a school dance “standing around the edge making sure fun didn’t break out.”<<<
My Starbucks is gone. We were driving on Ventura Blvd. Tuesday, just west of Reseda, when I noticed they were rebuilding the entire block. One of the block’s former residents was the first Starbucks I ever visited. I drank many a grande mocha there, sitting at the window counter. We didn’t stop the car to check, but do you think there is a jt plaque marking the spot?<<<
WHY DO
Why do Republicans keep talking about the deficit as though it was an Obama invention when he inherited it, to the tune of $1.3 trillion (9.2% of the economy) from Bush - who, it just so happens, inherited a balanced budget from Clinton?<<<
Action: “Republicans continue to be on the side of the American people whether it be in our opposition to the so-called public option or government-run insurance.” Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana – third in command in the House Republican leadership.
Reaction: "On the side of the American people” - right! As long as the people do not want anything that cuts into the profits of the insurance companies. Unreasonable desires such as not having their coverage canceled if they happen to develop an expensive illness can not and will not be tolerated.
Reaction # 2: And as for the people not wanting a public option, I don't see any demand on the people's part to trash Medicare.
Action: Toyota president apologizes.
Reaction: In the old days he would have made the honorable decision and fallen on his sword.
Reaction # 2: Toyota president says “Let’s hear it for the new days.”
AS IF
Republicans continue to push privatization as the end all - as if private is anything but a money grab.<<<
IN THE INTEREST OF TRUTH
“Avatar” is not really the highest grossing movie of all time. After adjusting for inflation, it is not even in the top 10. Number 1, and by a substantial amount, is “Gone With The Wind.” Star Wars" is in the No. 2 slot, followed by the "Sound of Music," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and the "The Ten Commandments." (“Titanic” slips in at # 6.)
And I like the suggestion by an LA Times writer Patrick Goldstein that attendance and not box office numbers should be the criteria for film popularity.<<<
Poll result: “She (Sarah Palin) continues to rate better among men than women."
See – I keep telling you that women are smarter than men.<<<
The Los Angeles High School Hall of Fame announced its inaugural class last week and four are of special interest to me.
Esther Williams – Washington High: Because of her movie fame and the many films that boy Jim saw her in.
Emmitt Ashford – Jefferson High: Because he became the first black major league umpire.
John Elway – Granada Hills High: Because one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history played just down the street from where I now live.
Hugh McElhenny – Washington High: Because, I was a young man and a huge fan when he gained fame at the University of Washington as the highest paid football player in college history. Since no records are kept, (obviously) after being adjusted for inflation, he may be the highest of all time.
Nobody # 805
Nobody Asked Me But:
GUNS MAKE SLAUGHTER POSSIBLE
I just finished reading T. Jefferson Parker's “Iron River.” Although a novel, it is not without some profound truths. The iron river is the flow of American guns into Mexico. Despite the trite excuse that "guns don't kill people, people kill people,” these guns especially in the hands of the cartels, make slaughter possible. Most often it is Mexicans killing Mexicans, but does nationality really matter? Are we not all brothers and sisters of the human race?
It would be one thing if only the guilty were being killed, but make no mistake. More good people are dying than bad.
Is profit so sweet as to be paid for with the death of innocents? For too many Americans, the answer is an emphatic yes – or an indifferent “not my problem.”<<<
Pope to the UK – “Churches must continue to be allowed to ban gays from the clergy.”
Reaction: This from a man who wears skirts.<<<
Here is one more thing to add to the very large list of what is for sale in America. The NCAA wants to expand their basketball tournament to 96 teams. The scientific formula behind the move is: More teams = more games = more revenue from television = higher salaries and more luxury trips for their fat cat executives.<<<
Speaking of money – how about this for mark-ups (from CNN Business):
1. Text messaging - 6,500%
3. Popcorn - 900%
5 Restaurant wine by the bottle - 500%
Reaction: I don’t text, and I buy restaurant wine by the glass, but I no longer by-pass the pleasure of popcorn at a movie. I figure that if I can pay $3+ for a mocha every week, I can pay $5+ for a box of popcorn every couple of months. And yes, in my crusade for the unhealthy, I get the butter-flavored kind.<<<
Emily: Grandfather, please tell me again how much a trillion is?
Grandfather Jim: If a 10,000-pound elephant sat on a person it would be terrible. But if 135 million 10,000-pound elephants sat on a person it would be a trillion.<<<
CNN Poll
Q: Do you really believe there really is such a medical/mental condition as sex addiction?
22% said yes, there have been enough well-known, documented cases to believe that it does exist.
68% said no, it is just an excuse for screwing around.
I am with the 68%. I think Woody Allen was speaking for most men when he famously said, “My Brain is my second favorite organ.”<<<
This week’s must read is, no surprise, David Brooks. His piece on the necessity for our older, me-centered, gobble-up-the-budget generation to stop being so selfish hits close to (who me?) home.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02brooks.html
And while on the subject of my favorite conservative columnist, Brooks has started taking some heat from the “right” for actually being fair, balance and thoughtful.
The latest put down comes latest from Jonah Goldberg writing in the LA Times. Goldberg called Brooks an “Obama confidant,” and you could hear sneer in the words.<<<
“I know I'm the people's senator, but do I have to hang out with them?” John Edwards.<<<
I kid you not. The name of the men’s PGA event in Phoenix is The Waste Management Open.<<<
In his book about the young Spenser, the late Robert B. Parker describes administrators and teachers at a school dance “standing around the edge making sure fun didn’t break out.”<<<
My Starbucks is gone. We were driving on Ventura Blvd. Tuesday, just west of Reseda, when I noticed they were rebuilding the entire block. One of the block’s former residents was the first Starbucks I ever visited. I drank many a grande mocha there, sitting at the window counter. We didn’t stop the car to check, but do you think there is a jt plaque marking the spot?<<<
WHY DO
Why do Republicans keep talking about the deficit as though it was an Obama invention when he inherited it, to the tune of $1.3 trillion (9.2% of the economy) from Bush - who, it just so happens, inherited a balanced budget from Clinton?<<<
Action: “Republicans continue to be on the side of the American people whether it be in our opposition to the so-called public option or government-run insurance.” Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana – third in command in the House Republican leadership.
Reaction: "On the side of the American people” - right! As long as the people do not want anything that cuts into the profits of the insurance companies. Unreasonable desires such as not having their coverage canceled if they happen to develop an expensive illness can not and will not be tolerated.
Reaction # 2: And as for the people not wanting a public option, I don't see any demand on the people's part to trash Medicare.
Action: Toyota president apologizes.
Reaction: In the old days he would have made the honorable decision and fallen on his sword.
Reaction # 2: Toyota president says “Let’s hear it for the new days.”
AS IF
Republicans continue to push privatization as the end all - as if private is anything but a money grab.<<<
IN THE INTEREST OF TRUTH
“Avatar” is not really the highest grossing movie of all time. After adjusting for inflation, it is not even in the top 10. Number 1, and by a substantial amount, is “Gone With The Wind.” Star Wars" is in the No. 2 slot, followed by the "Sound of Music," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and the "The Ten Commandments." (“Titanic” slips in at # 6.)
And I like the suggestion by an LA Times writer Patrick Goldstein that attendance and not box office numbers should be the criteria for film popularity.<<<
Poll result: “She (Sarah Palin) continues to rate better among men than women."
See – I keep telling you that women are smarter than men.<<<
The Los Angeles High School Hall of Fame announced its inaugural class last week and four are of special interest to me.
Esther Williams – Washington High: Because of her movie fame and the many films that boy Jim saw her in.
Emmitt Ashford – Jefferson High: Because he became the first black major league umpire.
John Elway – Granada Hills High: Because one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history played just down the street from where I now live.
Hugh McElhenny – Washington High: Because, I was a young man and a huge fan when he gained fame at the University of Washington as the highest paid football player in college history. Since no records are kept, (obviously) after being adjusted for inflation, he may be the highest of all time.
posted by jmt | 8:54 AM
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