World Cup Day 31, Just Desserts Edition

(This is re-posted from my old blog. I did a daily write up during the World Cup, this was the review/recap.)

Hello to all and thanks for checking in,

We have finally made it to the finish line of this World Cup. I hope you’re ready for what promises to be a bumper post today. This is going to be a long one. We’re doing a proper review of all things World Cup; best hair, best names, separated at birth candidates, best villains, funniest side stories, players who made the most money with their performance and those who lost the most, best WAGs, best actors, and we will tell you the only unbeaten team (the answer is surprising), and a quick review of the final. On we go.





It was a rough and tumble match. There were 47 fouls in total, 28 by the Dutch. Even when they didn’t really foul the Spaniards, they still fouled them. There was always a boot left in, a clip of the heels, an extra elbow, etc. There were 14 yellow cards, including 2 and a send-off for John Heitinga. Players from each team could have gone off, namely (Human Yellow Card) Nigel De Jong, Carles Puyol, Mark Van Bommel. I don’t know what Howard Webb was waiting for. Maybe if De Jong’s boot went through Alonso and came out of his back, he would have been sent off (pictured right). Maybe if his boot was higher and he decapitated Alonso, he could have gotten a red. Mark Van Bommel could have gone off as well, for just persistent fouling.


That being said, I don’t buy the argument that Webb lost control of the game. He gave out 14 yellow cards and it could have been more. I watched the game again, 20 yellow cards were definitely possible in this match. And, if he throws De Jong out early, people would complain that he ruined the final, with an early send-off.

The game went on, and it was feisty throughout. But, the chances kept coming. For a game that was 0-0 for about 118 minutes, it had its share of action. Heitinga’s sending off was key, Heitinga would have been in the area where the goal developed. A failed clearance found its way to Fabregas, who fed Iniesta a great through ball that he smashed on goal. Stekelenberg had no chance. It was another of those shots, that looked like it could break your wrist. All in all, it was a thrilling game. What can I say? I love this stuff. It was sloppy, it had 47 fouls, tons of rolling around, grown men screaming, and bitching, but it can never be matched for drama. Onto some of the fun stuff of the World Cup. Let’s get to it:

World Cup Best XI: This I will outsource, check out this post detailing the best XI of the tourney.

Best Football Boots: Nike Total 90 Laser. If you watched the World Cup, you had to notice these. It felt like every 3rd player was wearing them. I love them. By the end of the group stage, I was ready to walk around the house with them on, like slippers. Problem is they go for $250, I’ll have to find some fake-me-outs from China. I must have them. When else will I be able to wear purple and orange shoes? I’m not a pimp.

 
Player who lost the most: This list starts and ends with El Nino, Fernando Torres. During the World Cup, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was in South Africa trying to sign him from Liverpool. The number reported in the press, was 50 million British pounds (about 75 million USD today). Torres did not score, looked bad not scoring, started on the bench in the semis and finals, and pulled a hamstring in the last minutes of the final and could be out for the first month of the English season. Whew, now that is a bad month. Caveat emptor, Roman.

Best WAGs: We’ll just say, it’s a 3 way tie. That way I can post all 3 pictures and pretend to be professional about these awards. They are Sylvie Van Der Vaart, Sara Carbonero, and Sarah Brandner. The partners of Rafael Van Der Vaart, Iker Casillas, and Bastian Schweinsteiger respectively.

Best hair: Goes to Walter Martinez (Honduras) and his tri-colored braids. I mentioned my love for these in 2 previous posts. Honorable mention goes to Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Best goofy story: North Korea paid Chinese actors, to play the role of “fans” at their matches. It really looks like all the jobs are going to China.

Best example of prehistoric medicine: Gerard Pique getting Kleenex stuffed down his throat to stop his mouth from bleeding. The frequently used “Magic Spray” was a close second.


Trivia answer: I mentioned earlier, that there was one team who left the World Cup without a loss. It would be the All Whites of New Zealand. They went home after 3 draws.

Best overreaction (by the world): You would think that Luis Suarez was responsible for the BP Oil disaster. People compared him to Thierry Henry, called him a cheat, called for changes to the rules for handball (my personal favorite was to make it like goaltending in basketball). He was booed every time he touched the ball in the 3rd place game. I hope we can look back be calm about this now. It was an instinctive move and he got done in under the current rules. Henry got to go to the World Cup for his transgression, not the same. Please just take a breath and move on. Gyan hits the penalty and the handball is a footnote nobody remembers.

Best surprise: Diego Forlan. I got to see him a bunch this year, since Atletico Madrid won the Europa League, he was on our TV machine many times. He was always an effective striker, but to have the tournament he did, was really nice to see. He gets to take home a 4th place finish and the Golden Ball. He somehow figured out the Jabulani ball, hitting a beautiful knuckling free-kick against Ghana. Played on one leg vs. Germany and scored an amazing volley. The Kiwis were a close second for this one.

Separated At Birth: Howard Webb/ Hitman’s Timothy Olyphant: 2nd place goes to the character ”Lou” (from the comedy Little Britain) and Carles Puyol.

Biggest flops: Fernando Torres, African teams (other than Ghana), Wayne Rooney, Italy, France, and Arjen Robben’s right foot, and Kaka (he played like….nah too easy).

Players who made the most $$$: It would be Enyeama (Nigerian GK) who single-handedly kept Lionel Messi scoreless with 3 great saves. Asamoah Gyan from Ghana (missed penalty notwithstanding), Robert Vittek (Slovakia) scored 4 goals. He is 28 and plays at a relatively small Turkish club. He might be able to parlay this performance into one last transfer to a bigger club. Mesut Oezil (Werder Bremen) is already being looked at by big clubs in Europe and Werder Bremen are trying to get him to extend his current contract. Honorable mention goes to David Villa, who made his money before the World Cup. He completed his transfer to Barcelona from Valencia for 40 million Euros.

Best Names: Anyone who was here at the start, knows these three men. And, you probably miss them as much as I do. The list starts and ends with Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa), Danny Shittu (Nigeria), Georgie Welcome (Honduras). We lost them all after the group stages and we were worse off for it.

Best Irony:The Netherlands and Brazil abandoning their footballing DNA and still coming up snake eyes in the World Cup. You guys are attacking football. It’s not in your psyche to play negative, stop-start, physical football you tried to play here. It seems as though pragmatism still did not work for you. You might as well stick your guns. Hopefully, there respective Football Associations will bring in attacking coaches, and we can all fall in love with their football again.


Best Actor: The award goes to Arjen “Stop, Drop, and Roll” Robben. The folks that handle the Dutch’s laundry are still trying to get the grass stains out of his shorts. He rolled around for 4 straight weeks, like his clothes were on fire.

Best New Nickname: Robin Van Persie (Arsenal/ Netherlands) AKA: “Hershey” Van Persie. Given to me by a friend, I hadn’t heard it elsewhere. For those who don’t know, Van Persie calls his weaker leg (his right), his chocolate leg. I don’t know if this is racist. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. All I know is that the name “Hershey” Van Persie makes me smile.

 Best Goal: Goes to Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, for his 35-40 yard rocket against Uruguay. Honorable mention to Carlos Tevez for his goal against Mexico and Forlan’s free-kick against Ghana. We can’t forget about Maicon’s goal against North Korea.

Signs that I watched too much of the World Cup (in any order):

-You think that you can wear football boots around the house (mentioned earlier)

-John Harkes/ Alexi Lalas are no longer annoying

-You miss the sound of the vuvuzela and you see where you can buy your own

-You have long talks with your wife about Octopus Paul picking against Germany

- You can pronounce all the names of players from the Eastern European nations

- You can tell which players are from Japan, South, and North Korea

- You use 7 vacation days to watch football, take long lunches, and any other herculean tasks to see as much football as you can

- You want to give a yellow card to your bed frame, because you think it clipped your heels as you walked by

- You have a football match going on in your dreams and you kick your wife in the middle of the night (true story).

 Best mutiny: This was a close one. But, the French take it over the English. When your president wants a sit down, after a World Cup demise, you’ve reached epic lows.

Best Villain: This was a two-way tie, but both trophies stay in Holland. Mark Van Bommel was the runaway leader until Nigel De Jong almost literally broke Alonso’s heart, with a kick to the chest (pictured way above).

Player who sounds most like he should be playing with another nation: It goes to Nikita Rukavytska (Australia). A bunch of honorable mentions here for: Mario Gomez and Cacau (Germany), Herculez (yes, with a Z) Gomez and Oguchi Onyewu (United States).
I think that will do it for the review. It was a long one and I could have gone on longer as always. The game gives you so much material. Last thing, here is your countdown to Brazil 2014.

See you soon,
James

Mental Gymnastics With a Fox News Viewer

Hello again and welcome back.

Change of plans. Today, (instead of Wednesday) we tackle my 4 hour discussion with a Fox News Viewer. I felt bad only posting the interview yesterday. And, then giving you a short post on robotics today. I figured it would be best to go from yesterday’s short post, to a heavy one, back to a short one tomorrow. Anyway, let’s look at my discussion. I can tell you this is an exercise that tests the limits of patience, self-discipline, self-control, and sanity. Since this discussion happened while I was at Occupy Syracuse, I did not want to flip out on the guy. A reaction like that is against the whole spirit of these occupations. That being said, my patience paid off. I tore up each one of his points and hopefully he left reconsidering everything that was pumped into his head. There’s a saying in liberal circles, that the facts have a liberal bias. Hopefully I helped just one person on this evening. Here are the details:

First off, in case this blog reaches you as someone unaware of just how bent Fox News is, it’s been studied by many outlets. If interested, you can take a look at Media Matters for America. MMFA is dedicated to fact checking media outlets. Film director, Robert Greenwald, had a documentary that went into what happens at Fox News. It’s called “Outfoxed” if you ever want to read up on the documentary. If interested, you can also watch “Outfoxed” yourself, here, free. It’s about 80 minutes, but save the link. It’s definitely worth it. It uses empirical data to show that Fox News viewers are less informed about large issues. There are interviews with past employees, that talk about how things worked behind the scenes. The most inflammatory point in the documentary, I found, was that George Bush’s 1st cousin worked for Fox during the 2000 election. And, you guessed correctly, if you said Fox was the first network to call the election for Bush. This caused the other major networks to call it for Bush as well, causing massive confusion, the perception he actually won once the recount got underway, etc. The rest is history and 8 years misery for the U.S. My point is, this isn’t something I made up. And, it isn’t just Fox. Other media companies are bad, but Fox is the worst offender. Onto the discussion.

I mentioned in an earlier post, that I think you can tell what network a person watches, by their answers to certain questions. This was no different. This gentleman told me his thoughts on gay marriage, unions, regulations and I immediately knew his point of view. The thing with talking to a Fox viewer, is that it’s like arguing in an alternate universe. You’re arguing against someone who has an inflated value of some minor information he/she knows. Or, you’re  forced to argue Fox lies against actual facts. I wish I was exaggerating.

Exhibit A: Solyndra

My debate opponent seemed to really have a problem with a loan to a solar panel company called Solyndra. Now, if you have a life, you will never have heard of Solyndra. So, don’t feel bad. Solyndra was a company that got a loan from an Obama administration program designed promote green energy ideas. I admit, the loan looked a bit shaky because it was pushed through very quickly. The head of Solyndra also was a big Obama donor. So, something didn’t smell right here. But, the amount of the loan was 500 million dollars. Of course, it’s a whopping, unfathomable amount of money for regular folks. What if I told you this green energy loan program had a 10 billion dollar budget? This 500 million is not even 1% of the program it exists within. The Afghan war costs 300 million dollars per day. And, the cost of the Bush (then extended by Obama) tax cuts in 2010 costs just under 350 billion dollars. When trying to find answers to the country’s big problems, should we be focusing on a 500 Million dollar loan or 2 policies that cost around 450 Billion per year? We spent about 40 minutes on Solyndra. I could not get him off this topic. I don’t know how many times I said to, “stop worrying about the pennies and nickels. (in the US budget)” Like I said earlier, it does your head in.

But, that is what happens when talking with a Fox viewer. The thing is, it’s not their fault. Let me introduce to you, one of the first ever charts to hit “Amorphous Thoughts.” This one shows the mainstream media focus on the Solyndra story. Fox spent over 8 hours on this story, MSNBC a little less than one hour, and CNN almost 2 hours. You see it that much, you figure it has to be a big deal.

Exhibit B: Unions

Most Fox viewers will hate unions as well. When you call them on it, they don’t seem to know why. My debate opponent and I are in the same tax bracket, so you would think we would feel the same on this stuff. I tried to explain to him all the things we have thanks to the union movement. Here are 36 of them. They include communist plots such as the weekend, 40 hr work week, sick leave, paid vacations and other things I’m sure you all hate. On top of the 36 items listed, they commanded/ created a true living wage. Even if you’re not in the same industry, businesses had to match those salaries to attract employees. It helps us all eventually. Hopefully, he left our discussion thinking differently on this. He had crazy, intricate ideas that I can’t explain without this post getting to the 3,000 word mark.

Exhibit C: Trust

In the midst of our discussion, I noticed another thing. There was one point he was dead wrong on. I immediately stop him in his tracks, pull out my phone, show him articles proving I was right. Instead of saying that he made a mistake, he looked at every website where the article appeared. He claimed some were “liberal” news outlets. We got to the (no exaggeration) 12th site that referenced it before he accepted my point. Fox has done an amazing thing. They’ve created this alternate universe where a 500 million dollar loan is the worse thing that could ever happen. The cost of war, tax cuts, and government corruption is an after thought. On top of that, in this constructed world, you can only trust Fox News. Everything else has a liberal slant. And, for the record, the point we were discussing was a point-blank, yes-no, “was it or wasn’t it?” fact. There was no opinion to have in this case, and he still needed 12 sites to believe me. Can you imagine what it takes to break through with someone like this on complicated, detailed laws/policies?

Exhibit D: Regulations

Fox viewers seem to have a real tough time with any regulations on businesses. They have a real desire to kill the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Somewhere along the line, they’ve connected rules for businesses with burdensome costs and eventually fewer jobs. But, a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute shows that the EPA is actually a modest job creator and a big money saver. Think about it, if businesses have to comply with stronger environmental rules, they will make more investments in cleaner technologies. The investment can spur new discoveries and efficiencies and yield healthier workers. Conversely, if you let the regulations go, you have dirtier air, dirtier water, and eventually sicker people. In fact, President Obama recently backed down on tougher smog standards that would have prevented 12,000 deaths, 58,000 asthma attacks, and 21,000 hospital visits.

What is the cost of 12,000 lives and countless others getting sick? I’m not certain. I just know it doesn’t matter in a Fox viewer’s world. But, its consistent meme from them. Rules = fewer jobs.
We’ll leave it there for today, I’m approaching 1,400 words here. It could have been so much longer. I didn’t expand on some of his other thoughts on unions, taxes, voting, social security going broke (it isn’t, that’s a separate post), health care or gay marriage. Trust me, his ideas on those were off the deep end as well. This could have a been a 3 part series. And, again, if you you’re curious yourself or think I’m embellishing, please check out Robert Greenwald’s documentary “Outfoxed”, or the Media Matters website. They systematically break down what goes on over there.
 
And to finish up, more proof that I'm not the only one who onto Fox. Here is Geraldo Rivera getting shouted down by the folks at Occupy Wall Street.

See you next time,

James

Interview With Doug Henwood

Good morning all,

Won’t be a standard post, my wife has been saying I’ve been posting too much. She can’t even keep up. But, I wanted you to have something for today. Here is a really great interview with a man named Doug Henwood. He is the author of a book called “Wall Street”, which is available for free download here. In the interview, he talks income inequality, class war, Occupy Wall Street, corporate personhood, debt forgiveness, and many other topics. It’s a long interview, about 50 minutes, but very important and informative. Listen to it in pieces if you have to: And, this interview is conducted by Taryn Hart of “Plutocracy Files.” She let me guest post there about Occupy Syracuse. Give her site a look, it’s great for all things occupation-related.

So, that it is for today, the rest of the week is really busy. Tomorrow we look at robotics. Wednesday is my Fox News debate opponent post. Wednesday is also general strike day in Oakland. I’ll post any happenings on that either late Wednesday or within the Thursday post. Thursday’s post  is on Amy Winehouse, Friday is on the space we need to live on the planet.
See you tomorrow,

Radball/ What's 75 Trillion Between Friends Edition

Update: 10:30AM, 10/28:

- There were 44 arrests last night in San Diego, pics and details here.

- There were about 25 arrests last night in Nashville, info here. Total arrests counting these, since the start of the occupations: 2750.

Hey, thanks for checking in. You’re probably wondering what the hell is “Radball”. I’ll have you know that it’s the best new thing in my simple little world. It’s actually a form of cycling/soccer. The name “Radball” is what it’s called in Germany. The name is “cycle ball” in English and that name kinda sucks. I think the sport is amazing. It’s strangely entertaining. And, a bad job by me not knowing about it, this sport has been around since 1893. The first World Championships were played in 1929. I can’t believe this has been going my whole life, and I’m just finding out about it.
This is a new addition to my bucket list. It is now a goal to make sure I see a Radball game in person. Check it out. After seeing this, you’ll either think I’m crazy or want me to get you a ticket. And, I have no idea how they just don’t fall over each other, crash the bikes, etc.

And, to get serious before checking out for the weekend. You may remember from my “Fake Debate” post, the mention of a financial transaction tax. It would create about 200 Billion dollars per year in extra revenue. Some lawmakers even wanted to put part of that revenue aside to have a fund ready, if some of these banks get in trouble. So, that’s the backdrop of this story. You may remember our Congresswoman not being in favor of this tax. She said a company like “Bank of America” would pass the costs onto consumers.

With that being said, US taxpayers are now on the hook for about 75 Trillion dollars (yup with a T) of Bank of America loans and derivatives. These investments and derivatives don’t usually fall to a zero value. But, what if they fall 50% in value? The US will have to make up for 37 Trillion dollars in Bank of America losses, because these investments are now FDIC insured. If they lose “only” 10%, that’s 7.5 Trillion that would be made up.

So, make that make sense in your head, when any politician tells you a financial transaction tax is not needed. And, just for reference, the size of the US economy as a whole, is in the 14-15 Trillion dollar/year range. We now have 5 times the value of our whole economy, in one banks bets. We shall see how it turns out. Every time I see an awful bank story, I think of this quote:

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” – Thomas Jefferson

Two more things, before we get out of here, a study was done by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO is a non-partisan group in Washington, that basically score the cost/economic impact of laws and policy changes. They are an arm of the US Government. The other day, they released their findings on income growth in the US. The study covered 1979-2007. Over that time, the lowest 20% of earners had their incomes go up by only 18% over 28 years. The top 1% had their incomes go up by….(wait for it) 275%! All of the lower income earner’s  gains are more than eaten up by inflation. According to the Labor Department’s figures, $10.00 of goods in 1979, cost $27.54 in 2011. All info can be found here.

Fitting in with the income inequality talk, the US ranks pretty poorly compared to the rest of the world. But, from the above graphs, you probably guessed that. According to a measure, called the Gini coefficient, which is too wonky to even get into. The US scored a 45 in 2010. I know that number means nothing to you. It basically measures a country’s income inequality. It uses loads of complex formulas and statistics to get the final numerical measurement. But, countries that scored near 45 are: Uruguay (45.2), Uganda (45.7), Rwanda (46.8), Mozambique (47.3) and Madagascar (47.5). Probably not the best list to be on.

If you’re curious about some of the best ranked countries (lower numbers are better with the Gini Coefficient): Czech Republic, Austria, Luxembourg (all w/ 26), Albania (26.7), and Germany (27). When at your next party, bring up the Gini coefficient and bore impress your friends! Every country’s score can be seen here, if you were curious about other nations.

An announcement to finish up today. One of my favorites, Amy Goodman, host of “Democracy Now” is speaking next Thursday (Nov. 3rd) in Syracuse. Tickets are free. I’m definitely going, get in touch if you’re interested. Ms. Goodman and “Democracy Now” got a nice writeup in yesterday’s New York Times as well. See it here.

We’ll leave it there for the week. And, I haven’t done any self-promotion in a while. If you enjoy the blog, use the “share” buttons underneath each post, tell friends, etc. You can post any particular write-up instantly to Facebook or Twitter through the share buttons. All of that helps to spread the word. Thanks so much.

Have a good weekend,

James

The Upside To Becoming a 3rd World Country/ White Girl Problems Edition

Hello to all,

I don’t think I hide the fact that I think without major changes the U.S. will be a serious decline really soon. Some think it’s already happened. But, nobody talks about the bright side of this decline. Here goes:

- Once we truly become a 3rd World nation, companies like Nike and Apple will open there factories here and exploit us. So, a serious decline in our living standard is a job creator. If it all goes well, our factories will have suicide nets. (Please click that link, it’s a real thing)

- People from other nations can sponsor our children. Right now, we see ads   asking for donations to sponsor children from South America, Africa, etc for say $30/per month. Once it all goes to hell here, we can be sponsored by other nations too. As a double bonus, when any natural disasters hit here, other countries will send us money, medicine, doctors, etc. Once we’re officially 3rd World, then we can tap into that big foreign aid money. Pity is underrated folks.

- I’m guessing there would be a leap in tourism as the dollar declines and traveling/visiting here would be cheaper to the rest of the world. There would be a bump in jobs for chamber maids, taxi drivers, drink girls at pools, landscapers, etc. So, beat the rush and move to our coastal areas and lock up your menial job. Get to Florida, Hawaii, the Carolinas, etc. Becoming a 3rd World nation will act as a jobs plan.

I say in the meantime, let’s live it up. At the time of posting, the US National Debt is just under 15 Trillion dollars. That is very close to the value of our economy (GDP) as a whole. To put that percentage of debt into context, Greece was around 130% (debt relative to GDP). And, I’ve posted what’s been going on there (riots, austerity, pension, salary cuts, etc). Before countries stop lending to the US, we can find somewhere else to invade. What the hell, how about another tax cut for really rich folks? If we’re going to go down, let’s just jump in with both feet. That is my (somewhat sarcastic) vision of our dystopian future.

That was some heavy stuff. Let’s finish up on the other end of the spectrum, with another of my favorites from Twitter. This person tweets under the name “White Girl Problems” and it’s exactly what you think it is. You can follow her here. Here are a few good ones:

- ” His favorite show is Entourage and he has small hands, but he tells me he’s worried about my weight so I love him.”

- “Is there a surgery that will make my boyfriend taller?”

- “I’m just saying you were more fun when you were an alcoholic.”

- “Wait, I’m confused. Is this a surprise party or an intervention? Either way it’s super thoughtful. But I gotta go.”

- “Physically, I’m at my parents’ house. Mentally, I’m in Bora Bora and my entire family is dead. Merry Christmas!” (posted on Christmas)

That will do it for today.

See you soon,

James

Rethinking Education: RSA

Hello to all, thanks for checking in. Today, I wanted to introduce you to something I thought was really interesting. This comes from the Royal Society of the Arts. I mentioned them and their goals in a past post. This particular one is on rethinking education.

The speaker (Sir Ken Robinson) talks of how our method of educating people were born during the Industrial Revolution. He argues that the number of dropouts are so high, so many children put on medication (esp. in the USA), and the overall ineffectiveness of the system calls for a total rethink. He ideas are incredibly progressive. If you have children, you might find some of his ideas helpful in keeping your child more involved after the school day is over. And, if you don’t have children, this is still something worth knowing, should you ever have kids. Enjoy:

Playing With Your Food/ Convertible 18-Wheeler/ Intro to Billy Bragg Edition

Update, 10:00AM, 10/27:

Really big news, Occupy Oakland voted yes to a “General Strike and Mass Day of Action” on November 2nd, other occupations are voting to join in as well. This could be really huge. If you’ve never  heard of a general strike, this is on par with what I posted on Greece (transit workers, trash collection, possibly schools all  strike) Details here.

Hello to all, thanks for checking in. Today is an easy-going day, a bit of a video-dump/Hodge-podge. I have 2 of the most amazing videos for you. The first one is of something called the “Vegetable Orchestra”. And, that is exactly what you think it is. These people play vegetables. A carrot becomes a flute, a cucumber with a pepper on it somehow becomes a trumpet, you get the idea. They perform for a crowd in the video and afterward they have the vegetables as part of their dinner (I made that last part up). But, everything else I’ve said is true. Take a look, you see them prepare the vegetables, practice, and then play for a live crowd (about 6 minutes).

The video is only 30 seconds and is truly worth it (SFW). People who know me, know I talk a lot. But, this video rendered me speechless.

And, an introduction to Billy Bragg. I’m late to the party on this one. He’s been around for about 30 years. A little background: he’s a working-class Englishman, alternative rock is technically his style, he’s an activist, and a good portion of his songs are political in nature. Here is “Tomorrow’s Going to Be a Better Day.”

If you like it, check some of his other stuff on YouTube. I would suggest “Never Buy the Sun”. Unless you follow Liverpool FC (English soccer team) or the News Corp hacking scandal, the references won’t make sense. Still, a great song though.

And, some friends may know this already, I just found out yesterday. But, add Syracuse to the list of towns to ban hydraulic fracturing. Fracking (for short) is tough to explain quickly, I can go into detail in another post. But, trust me this is a good thing that it is banned. I can’t believe I just heard about it. Admittedly, local news is my blind spot. You want to know what’s going on in Greece, Washington DC, Oakland, I can help you. What’s going on down the street from my workplace, at City Hall, I have no idea.

Quick update before we go. If you saw the videos from Oakland, in yesterday’s post, you saw a man who was hit with either a rubber bullet or tear gas canister in the head. Turns out he is an Iraq Vet. Sadly, he is in critical, but stable condition. The cops are doing what they can to make sure this movement grows. Details on Iraq Vet, Scott Olsen, here.

That will do it for today. Thanks so much for checking in.


See you next time,

James

Subway 1, Amorphous Thoughts 0

Hello all,

Thanks for checking in again. Today’s post will be pretty quick. Since, I’m in book writing mode, I have to write just enough to leave you wanting more. It’s a delicate balance. And, I’ve been heavy on the politics, figured I’d go with something useless today.

I made a vow a short time ago to never enter a Subway restaurant again (until a major change happens, that’s coming). The reason: I can’t handle all the questions you have to answer to get a sandwich.

Between the type of sandwich question, the bread question, the cheese question, the “do you want the cheese melted” question, the mayo, mustard, dressing, sauce question, the vegetables question, the “is it here or to go” question, the “do you want a meal” question, and the “do you have a Subway card” question, I’m exhausted when it’s all over and I’ve lost my appetite. And, I know just set a record for “World’s Longest Run-On Sentence.” God forbid you say yes to the meal question. Then you open yourself up to the cookies, raisins/apple, potato chips or yogurt question. Standardized tests are shorter than ordering food at Subway.

Simple Fix: Have a touch pad where you pick your sandwich, bread, meat, vegetable, and meal options. This will save us from the hell that is the ordering process. No one loses their job. You just automate the ordering process, everything else stays the same. Hell, you’ll probably employ a bunch of people, outfitting your franchises with these machines. There you go Subway, that’s a free tip from “Amorphous Thoughts” and a jobs plan if any lawmakers are reading this. I don’t want any royalties. You don’t have to contact my lawyers. They won’t take your call because, I don’t have any lawyers.

You guys have the money too. Did you know? As of the end of 2010, there are 1,000 more Subway restaurants, worldwide, than McDonald’s. And, they had revenues around $16 Billion dollars last year. So, do this to make it easier for your customers. Have a focus group to test it on, run it by Jared, charge $5.25 for a foot-long instead of $5 to make up the costs. Whatever, just sort it out.

Just had to get that off my chest, thanks to Rachel and Gio for the push to vent about this.

Update: 8:40 AM, 10/26: My promise to keep it light lasted for 1/2 a day. Video of the Oakland Police Department using tear gas and flash grenades on the protesters  have hit the web. Pretty intense video, check it out, about 3:30 minutes:

Update: 9:35AM, 10/26: Another Oakland vid, from someone closer to a few of the flashbang explosions, and someone who looks to have been hit in the head with a rubber bullet (yup, they used that as well). About 2 minutes for this one.

See you next time,
James

Announcement, Intro to Chomsky, 3rd World America Edition

Thanks for checking back today. This is a first for this blog. I am backing a not-yet-known candidate.

I’ve decided to do whatever I can to make sure Ann Marie Buerkle does not get re-elected. I’m no longer angry about her lies, I’m just focused now.

She does not yet have an opponent. I don’t know what “unknown opponent” stands for on the issues. I just know that the person has not lied to me (yet). And, at this time, that is good enough. Buerkle won her election over Dan Maffei by roughly 700 votes. I thought it was lower than this. I thought it was in the 250 vote range. But, that is fine, I’m not discouraged. My mission is clear. I need to turn around 350 misguided, gullible, naive, trusting, Central New Yorkers (apologies if you voted for her and are reading this, but it’s true). I will volunteer for the other candidate, make calls, hand out fliers, personally lobby folks through this blog and in person, post her dodgy voting record, show who she collects money from, etc. Do not make an enemy out of “Amorphous Thoughts”, it will cost you an election.
And, if you didn’t understand how important it is for her to lose the next election, just know this: She is one of 5 children and she is the mother of 6 children herself. Recall my theory from Part IV of the GOP preview, there is a wave of Republican offspring coming for us (35 kids just among the 8 Presidential candidates). If we don’t do something now, it might be too late. They’re like Gremlins.
So, join me at www.BeatBuerkle.gov, and find out what you can do to help. We have this much time, to get our act together.

2 more things before we get out of here today, this is a 14 minute clip of one my favorites, Noam Chomsky. I know it’s long, but it’s worth a listen. He speaks of his thoughts on what he calls “unpeople.” He talks about how people are basically devalued because they are seen as less than equal in their current situation. This may be due to their country of birth, religious beliefs, or race. His examples include people illegally imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Palestinians in the Israel-Palestine conflict, ex-slaves who were considered 3/5ths of person, civilians harmed during war, the list goes on. A real good listen and makes you think differently when you get your news.

Last thing for today, I caught this when watching the news last night. 5,000 people lined up on the streets for the chance to see a doctor. Was this in Uganda? Ethiopia? No and No. This was in Los Angeles. I don’t know if this should be filed under the new blog section, “Wouldn’t It Be Easier to Raise Taxes?” or a newer section “Third World America.” And, some are still wondering why folks are camping on the streets and in parks to protest for change.

And, let’s finish up with the best quote I’ve seen in a while. I posted this in yesterday’s midday post too. Don’t know if everyone caught it. But, it sums up why I think I’m progressive by nature:

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.”
- John Cage

See you next time,

James

Special Midday Post: Top 50 Super Connected Companies + Cops Gone Wild: Down Under Edition

Hello to all,

Here is a special midday posting. I might continue to do this, if I stumble upon a worthwhile news item. Full disclosure, this one is pretty wonky, but interesting nonetheless. This comes from a site is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It’s http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk. Definitely worth a look, if you find the time.

Today, they posted an article that talked about a scientific study of the connectedness (to the economy) of the world’s largest companies. The group that performed the study, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, found that out of over 43,000 multinational companies, just 147 exert inordinate control over the world economy. This is done in a number of ways, one of which is through share ownership across the large companies.

They do not come out against this phenomenon of concentration. They state that concentration can be good or bad. Other analysts say that understanding this, allows us to see how unstable a network like this, and in turn, the dangers to the economy. If one company suffers any distress, it is very likely to spread and spread quickly. Two analysts are quoted within the article and posed interesting ideas.

One stated we should have global anti-trust laws, in the hopes limiting connectedness. Another stated that firms should be taxed for excess connectivity to discourage it. I have no idea where you would start, in putting a laws like this into effect. But, it is something to consider.

Like I said earlier, this article is deep in the weeds. I urge you to take a look yourself. It took me a couple of reads to totally get it. But, at the very least, scroll to the bottom of the page, and see the top 50 companies. Some of the names will surprise you. # 4 on the list will definitely raise the eyebrows of a few people reading this blog. Here is the direct link to the article itself.

And, here’s a quick vid of some brutality from the “Occupy Melbourne” site. It’s good to know we’re not the only ones living in a police state:

And, let’s finish up with the best quote I’ve seen in a while. It sums up why I think I’m progressive by nature:

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” John Cage

See you next time,

James

The Scene From Greece/ Repossessed Street Light Edition

Good morning all,

I felt bad leaving you guys with nothing today, thanks to my Buerkle rant yesterday. So, I just wanted to post two amazing videos from Greece. I mentioned in the first post yesterday, that the trash hadn’t been picked up in 17 days and there has also been violent clashes with the police. Here are videos of each. It got really nasty Thursday, thanks to their Parliament voting for more austerity measures (salary/pension cuts, social programs, etc). It’s something to think about, when you see the stories pertaining to Paul Ryan and written by Paul Krugman. It’s not so far-fetched to see a Greece-type situation here (in a number of  years), if massive cuts are allowed to continue.

First off, some amazing pics from Greece, about 20 of them in total, 2 of them show someone who caught fire (from trying to put out a fire due to a thrown firebomb):

If you saw Congresswoman Buerkle yesterday, you remember her talking about cutting programs and how taxes are evil. So, I may have to file this under the blog’s new section: “Wouldn’t It Be Easier to Just Raise Taxes?” Congressman Paul Ryan talks to a young student about the evils of Pell Grants and that he should work 3 jobs and take out school loans to pay for school. Article and video appear here. And, here’s one more. It’s an older story, but our situation (unemployment, smaller tax base, etc) has gotten worse since I saw this. Cities around the country are turning off street lights and some cities in the Midwest are even un-paving roads to save money. Here’s a good read, from Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman talking about each issue. Krugman would take issue with some things Congresswoman Buerkle said yesterday as well. He always states (and this is proven) that if corporations are not hiring people, governments have to step in and do it. Those are the only two options and corporations aren’t hiring. So, her argument about taxes, regulations, getting government out-of-the-way, private sector jobs being somehow better than public sector jobs, etc, doesn’t make much sense.

Even in the article I linked to, Krugman mentions the Interstate Highway System and the Erie Canal project. These were public works projects. You can throw in another large one, the Hoover Dam. These projects employed thousands and thousands of people. And, if we’re being honest, and we care about getting the country turned around, who cares who does the hiring? Projects like this are not profitable to some corporation. They will likely become a public good down the road. But, there are times when you need the government to step in and directly hire when things are bad and corporations won’t (like now).

UPDATE:

This was forwarded to me, by my buddy Paul. A more recent update of the sorry state of some US inner cities. Places where the street lights are not put on, street lights were even repossessed in some cities (couldn’t pay the electric bills), packs of wild dogs traveling together, the list goes on. Just a horrible situation, but it’s a must read.

See you next time,

James

The Conservative vs. Liberal Brain

Hello and thanks for checking in.

Today, we have another good one. It’s interesting and a little depressing at the same time. Have you ever argued politics with someone and no matter what you said, you could not sway the person you were speaking with? If you watch this space regularly, you’ll know I nearly suffered a brain aneurysm, because I argued with a Fox News viewer for 4 hours. It can be a frustrating exercise. The good news is that it’s not your fault, if your debate opponents don’t see things your way.

The good folks at the University College of London did a study on 92 people in the U.K.  Here is a wonderful synopsis of the study, thanks to the folks at Salon.com, “Specifically, the research shows that people with conservative tendencies have a larger amygdala and a smaller anterior cingulate than other people. The amygdala — typically thought of as the “primitive brain” — is responsible for reflexive impulses, like fear. The anterior cingulate is thought to be responsible for courage and optimism. This one-two punch could be responsible for many of the anecdotal claims that conservatives “think differently” from others.” Full article here.

Within all that egghead brain talk is an amazingly simple idea: conservatives are simply more primitive and fear more things. It’s incredible and it explains so much. I argue with conservatives a lot. I always wondered why they were afraid of change and unwilling to try anything new. A good chunk of them aren’t even swayed by facts.
Admittedly, more work has to be done on this. (Not to get too wonky) But, there are other studies out there that are looking at the wiring of the amygdala and whether that is in the reason for increased fear (not just the size of it). And, there was a study at the University of California (San Diego) that attempted to isolate a “liberal gene.” (Stay with me here) They attempted to isolate neurotransmitter DRD4, which is responsible for an increased receptiveness to novel ideas (i.e, liberal/progressive positions).

Here is an excerpt of the article, full article is embedded here. “Fowler concludes that the social and institutional environment cannot entirely explain a person’s political attitudes and beliefs and that the role of genes must be taken into account. “These findings suggest that political affiliation is not based solely on the kind of social environment people experience,” said Fowler, professor of political science and medical genetics at UC San Diego.

“It is our hope that more scholars will begin to explore the potential interaction of biology and environment,” he said. “The way forward is to look for replication in different populations and age groups.”

So, now that the data is out there, the question is, “what else can we do?” Well, I have come up with 3 ideas.

I've Never Seen One Bathtub Outside, Much Less 2

Idea 1: Medication:

This comes from my sometimes editor/all-the-time wife. Get Big Pharma on to the case and have them create an amygdala-shrinking pill. We have pills that enhance things (see, Cialis/Viagra) and some that shrink things (see, Flomax for the prostate). Why not one for the amygdala? It’s a dream of mine to see someone being really hateful towards some minority group, bitching about regulations on corporations, telling me to lay off the banks, or really wanting to own automatic weapons and I just think, “they must be off their meds.” So, get on it free market! The market of petrified, stubborn, inflexible conservatives is a large one. Do it for profit, do it for the country, do it for the world.

Artist Approximation Of St. Ronnie In Heaven

Idea 2: Electroshock therapy (or ECT):

It might sound a bit harsh, even dangerous, to electroshock conservatives. But, it’s a risk I’m willing for someone else to take.  And, it’s not unprecedented, ECT is already used in some cases to counter the effects of Tourette’s syndrome. So, let’s just electroshock the backwards-thinking out of them. 30 years of failed policies haven’t done it, maybe this will work. Bam! Yup, that was  a Reagan slam! I went there. I’m taking the argument right to GOP Jesus, St. Ronnie (see artist approximation of Reagan in heaven, left).

Idea 3: Treatment Centers

Another dream of mine would be to treat conservatism like we treat drug addiction. If a recovered conservative found themselves backsliding, they could check themselves into a rehab-like facility to get back on track. We can have interventions (like on A & E's Intervention) if they really go off the deep end. Loved ones can write letters on the evils of free trade, low taxes, and our high murder rate (and any other issues that fall under the conservative umbrella).

So, I hope this was informative. I was being sarcastic, but I do find it fascinating that there may be physiological differences between progressives and conservatives. And, honestly, that would explain a lot. So, when someone doesn’t see the progressive/liberal view of an issue, just understand that it’s not their fault. They were born with a defect (still being sarcastic, please no hate mail).

See you next time,

James

Remember, Remember the 5th (and 6th) of November/ Mr. T. Doppelganger Edition

Happy Monday to all and thanks for checking in,

It was a pretty big weekend in this country. Before we dig in, a quick explanation on today’s title. “Remember, Remember the 5th of  November” is a line taken from an old poem on the Gunpowder Plot. I know, you’re wondering what the hell is the Gunpowder Plot. It is the name given to the attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament, in London, back in 1605. I know, you’re wondering who the hell is Guy Fawkes. Well, he’s the guy on the right and he inspired the famous mask you see on the left. Because, he tried to blow up the English equivalent of our Capitol building, his name became synonymous with anarchy, terrorism, social unrest, etc. He is still celebrated in England, till this day. They call it “Bonfire Night” now and firework shows are put on, throughout England. In honor of Guy Fawkes Day/ Bonfire Night, “Bank Transfer Day” was November 5th here in the States. From early reports, the idea is a great success. Numbers from the 5th itself are still rolling in but 650,000 thousand moved their money to smaller Credit Union/ Community banks in October alone (myself included). The total of funds moved were in the neighborhood of 4.5 Billion dollars. And, 80,000 people committed to moving their money specifically on Nov. 5th, on the “Bank Transfer Day” Facebook page. Here’s hoping the action wakes up politicians and banks alike. Just before Nov. 5th, Bank of America backed off their idea to charge $5 per month for having a debit card. We shall see what else happens from here, but an amazing start nonetheless. If you were curious of the full “Remember, Remember” poem, here it is:

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

I know what else you’re wondering, what the hell happened on the 6th? I knew you’d say that. The 6th was pretty awesome here in the States. There was a massive protest outside the White House on the 6th. The reason was something called “Keystone XL.” I don’t think I ever mentioned Keystone XL (KXL)  in the blog, but please get acquainted with it. KXL would transport what’s called “tar sand” oil from Canada all the way through the US, down to Texas, for shipment to the world market. Why is this bad? The Tar Sands in Alberta produce more than 8 times the carbon pollution as oil from Saudi Arabia. And, annual CO2 emissions are more than that of 145 nations. No sh*t. It’s insane, right?

Scientists from NASA are saying that it is basically game over for the climate as we know it, if this CO2 is released into the atmosphere. The tar sands oil is much dirtier than that of the Middle East. If I go into depth on that, you’ll be reading this post till Nov. 5th, 2012.  But, trust me this isn’t the stuff we get from our traditional oil suppliers. In addition, the pipeline would pass through water aquifers in the country’s heartland. Any spills could contaminate the water sources for millions of people. Basically, there is no way this is worth the risk.

Why this is a part of great weekend around this country, is because people have stood up to this in an amazing way. Prior to 11/6 (over one week in September), about 1,200 people were arrested outside of the White House protesting KXL. Why outside the White House? I just realized, I’m asking myself a bunch of questions in this post. Anyway, since this pipeline would cross an international border, it has to be approved by the President (Congress is not needed for this). So, it’s a major test for Obama and one he can’t farm this out to an ineffective Congress, crazy Republicans, etc. On Nov. 6th, over 12,000 people returned to the White House (see above, right) and locked hands and lined up around it, to show their feelings about this project. At the time of posting this, over 28,000 have signed a petition registering their displeasure. Our friends in England are protesting in their own way as well. They’ve created a small replica of the White House and are encircling that. Our neighbors to the north got involved in a spectacular way, dropping a 70ft banner from Niagara Falls (complete with 2 people repelling down into the Falls). It was done in the pre-dawn hours to avoid authorities.
Best quote I saw from a DC protestor:

“We’re still willing to consider the notion that Barack Obama is who he said he was.”

Damn, they are not fooling around with Obama anymore. The love affair is over, no great speech will get him out of this.

So, as you can see, it was an amazing Nov 5th and 6th around the country and the world for that matter. It seems that the world has awakened and are not sitting idly by as these things happen. If you read this blog regularly, you know I love this stuff. I think it’s needed and overdue.

Ok, so those were two heavy stories. I say we have a laugh before we get out of here. I mentioned in my intro post to the blog, that I’m a bit of a soccer nut. I noticed this over the weekend, while watching a match. His name is Kemy Augustien. I had to pause the match and take a pic of him. It was just that awesome. He’s a Dutch footballer from a team called in Swansea City in the English Premier League. If you were paying attention to this title, you already know that I think he’s looks a lot like Mr. T (minus the gold).

Here’s an amorphous thought on Mr.T. Did he hold onto all of his A-Team gold? Gold is over $1,700 per ounce now. Look at this pic, he must have a few million bucks around his neck (at today’s prices), god knows how much around his wrists and on his fingers. If he held on to all of this gold, he would make Glenn Beck proud.
(Thought within a thought, take a look at Mr. T’s chain where the picture cuts off. He even has the “Star of David” in gold form. No one can accuse him of being an Anti-Semite.)

Sorry about that, back to your regularly scheduled post.

You be the judge on their similarities (between Mr. T and Kemy Augustien). My best guess is that Kemy lost a bet on the hair.

We’ll leave it there for today.

See you soon,

James

A Sad Day For Amorphous Thoughts

Hello to all,

Just the quick post with some news. Michele Bachmann’s New Hampshire staff quit en masse today. When this happens, it’s usually the end for a candidate. Which means the death of some major comedy here at “Amorphous Thoughts.” Let’s hope she makes the Nov. 9th debate at least. If not, here’s her repressed (alleged) homosexual (alleged) husband, Marcus, for one last time. See Part I of the debate preview, if you missed my thoughts on Marcus.

See you soon,

James

My (fake) Debate vs. Buerkle

Hello to all, this will be a post where I pretend debate with my Congresswoman, Ann Marie Buerkle. I had the pleasure misfortune of hearing her speak today. I’m writing this while in a rage, during my lunch. I’m not proofreading it immediately (because of lack of time).  Entire words might be skipped, just bear with me. You’ll get the general idea. Part IV of the GOP Preview will now appear Monday. Sorry, for the change-up, but she really pissed me off and I needed to vent. I got to ask a couple of questions, but I’ll basically deconstruct the talking points she threw at us.

Talking point 1: We have to lower taxes on businesses and get government out-of-the-way.

My rebuttal: See the “Live Blog” posting where I link to an article saying that 68% of corporations don’t pay taxes anyway. I think Buerkle would like to lower the rate to a negative number.

Talking point 2: We have to allow drilling in the Gulf to create jobs and help us become energy independent.

My rebuttal: When oil is found off US shores, it is not then taken to your local Exxon. It is then sent to the world markets for general sale. And, we don’t have enough on our shores to affect global prices anyway. Try again.
Follow up thought: I didn’t even mention the safety aspect of Gulf drilling, see my comments in Part III about BP blowing up the Gulf 18 months ago.

Talking point 3: We can’t have a financial transaction tax on companies like Bank of America because they will pass the costs to us.

My rebuttal: It’s not a law that we have to be Bank of America customers, we could avoid their costs by going to a credit union. And, the financial transaction tax would create 177 billion dollars per year.

Talking point 4: Businesses need tax certainty to hire people.
My rebuttal: The Bush/Obama tax rates have been in place for about 12 years and our job creation has barely kept up with population growth. Try again.

Talking point 5: We need a long-term infrastructure plan (at least 5 years), to create jobs.

My rebuttal: Then do it, you guys have massive majority in the House of Representatives. The American Society of Civil Engineers say we need 2.2 trillion dollars in investments over 5 years. This is not for improvements, this is just to make sure bridges don’t collapse and stuff. The full report is here. That sounds long-term to me.

Talking point 6: We have to focus on waste, like OSHA, United Nation dues, and programs for the poor.
My rebuttal: Why not focus on the 2 biggest cost/deficit drivers: our wars and the Bush/Obama tax cuts. The economic downturn (people being out of work, not paying taxes, etc) is 3rd. Please see my comments on the 5 yr infrastructure program, if you wondered what to do about putting people back to work. Not to mention green energy production would be a massive boost.

Talking Point 7 (just remembered this):  Washington DC has been bickering since Congress began over 200 years ago. (audience asked about DC gridlock)

My rebuttal: You’re right they bickered, but the GOP set a record for filibusters in the last Congress. Simply speaking,  filibusters force a 60 vote majority to allow any votes to come forward on bills. Dems had 59 Senate votes in Congress’s last session, so the GOP used this tactic over 140 times to hold up bills that passed the House of Representatives. Being fair, Buerkle was not in Congress for this session. But, you can’t make it sound this is everyday bickering, it was record-setting bickering.

Talking point 8: Let’s support the troops! Buerkle’s inner thoughts: “Holy shit, I didn’t think I’d field anything but softball questions today. Let me try to get them on my side again. “
I think that will do it, please send it to anyone that was buying her nonsense.

See you next time,
James

Live Blog of the (10/18) GOP Debate!

Hello all, this is my first time doing this. I hope you all enjoy it. There’s been a minor change of plans. I’ve mangled my whole preview idea. Now, the previews of Ron Paul/Rick Perry and Mitt Romney/Rick Santorum will appear here on Thursday and Friday, respectively. So, if you’re keeping track at home, you’ve gotten (or will get) a 1/2 a preview, a review/live blog of the event, and then the other half of the preview for said event. Ugh, I’m trying. I’m just so bad with dates. I think I’m a couple of years from forgetting my own birthday. On to the debate, coming to you from Las Vegas.

8:00 PM: Occupy Las Vegas is outside the pre-show, chanting, drowning out the talking heads, the night is looking up.

8:02: Wondering how long till the first Occupy Wall Street question.

8:03: Just 7 candidates tonight, Huntsman is out (no reason given). Maybe he thought it was Thursday like I did.

8:05: Crowd gives the Magnificent Seven a standing ovation. And, they move into the National Anthem. What the hell?!?! This isn’t a football game.

8:06: No military flyover inside the auditorium

8:08: Santorum slips in a mention of his 7 children during intros. I think the kids are props (more on this in Friday’s post).

8:09: They span the crowd and Wayne Newton is in the building! He looks like a Madame Tussauds wax statue at this point, loads of makeup. Wait, there’s a Madame Tussauds in Vegas, that might be the statue.

8:12: Cain’s 9-9-9 plan gets attacked out the gate. Santorum states that it will raise taxes on 84% of the population (that’s actually true). See you Herman, it’s been fun.

8:15: Bachmann sounding like a normal human being on the 9-9-9 plan. She used to be an IRS tax attorney.

8:16: Perry drops his first letter “g” off of a word. The winning word was “fixin”. (re: the economy)

8:18 Ron Paul comes out for a 0% federal income tax rate, no word on how roads and stuff will be paid for. Maybe we can drive our cars on our freedom from taxation? Who knows, he’s old.

8:20: Romney comes out for a lower corporate income tax. He’s banking on people not knowing that 68% of corporations don’t pay them anyway.

8:22: Newt’s up and he’s for lower corporate taxes too (see above).

8:23: Bachmann is for raising taxes on the working poor, saying they should pay something. Ignoring the fact they pay state/local taxes, payroll, and sales taxes. And, it’s of course, a higher percentage of their income.

8:24: Bachmann gets the first “Obamacare” (OC) reference in tonight. It’s usually her.
 
8:26-8:29: Romney gets the 2nd OC reference in, Santorum hits back, saying that OC was based on Romney’s health care bill in Massachusetts (this is actually true). Now they’re arguing, nice. The health care bills will be addressed in Friday’s post.

8:30: Whoa, Santorum hits back with a “RomneyCare” (RC) reference and slipped an OC reference in the same sentence. Double talking point win! And, I think you have to take a shot, if you’re playing the GOP/health care drinking game at home.

8:31: Oh no! They pulled Anderson Cooper (AC) in. He just said “OC."

8:32: These things take forever to go to a commercial. Shut up guys, need a bathroom break here.

8:33: Newt and Mitt fighting. Wow, Newt slips in a “HillaryCare” (Clinton’s 90′s health care plan) reference. These f’ers have nicknames for everything.

8:34: Bachmann comes out for repeal of ObamaCare (dammit now they’ve got me saying it), crowd cheers. The Republicans want the freedom to die without health insurance.

8:35: Thank god or Ronald Reagan. Commercial!!  BRB

8:38: AC with 2 more OC references (I should have put an abbreviation guide in this). CNN really sucks. Ron Paul also joins the OC bandwagon.

8:39: Cain joins the OC bandwagon. Everyone in the pool, the water’s fine!

8:41: Perry attacks Romney on him hiring illegal immigrants for house work, more arguing, Romney dickish-ly says, “it’s been a couple of tough debates for Rick.” The best show on TV.

8:43: Romney hits back on Texas giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates for colleges (that’s actually true). Romney is in full rich guy, douchebag mode here.

8:45: Cain wants a 2,000 mile, electrified fence on the Texas-Mexico border, to either keep us in or the Mexicans out. But, if one these squids win, that fence will be keeping us in. It will be a reverse run for the border.

8:47: Perry wants drones to keep out the Mexicans, who will do the jobs we won’t do? He probably didn’t think it that far through.

8:49: Bachmann comes out for English as the country’s official language. That’s strange, I kinda thought it was already. Idiots applaud.

8:51: Perry tries to bring up Mitt’s illegal immigrant worker issue, crowd has moved on, boos Perry. Goodbye Rick.. I’ll be able to sleep knowing there won’t be another Texas governor in the White House for a while.

8:55: 55 minutes in, no mention of war, Wall Street, or taxes. There has been about 50 ObamaCare references and 30 references to a big fence. Priorities.

8:58: There’s been a lot of talk about Mexicans coming in, no mention of our sneaky neighbors to the North.

9:00: Ron Paul makes the first anti-war comment, took an hour, but we’re at the big stuff.

9:02: If Droopy Dog were a human, I think he would look like Ron Paul.

9:03: Rick Perry drops a George Bush-esque “nucular” (re: energy. not blowing up another country)

9:09: First Occupy Wall Street (OWS) question. Cain stands by his “lay off Wall Street” comments from a few days ago. Crowd cheers. It’s the Twilight Zone.

9:10: OWS question comes to Ron Paul, he looks like he was dozing a bit just before (he’s 76). Might be pass his bedtime. Get him some warm milk during the next commercial.

9:11 36 minutes since the last commercial. This is grueling.

9:13: Mitt dodges his flip-flop on the OWS protests, true to form (will be addressed in Friday’s post)
9:14: Lord Ronald Reagan (I’m figuring this is who Repubs pray to) has blessed me with another commercial break.

9:21: Newt’s going on about morality and faith. I think he should wear multiple wedding rings, like the “Big Love” guy.

9:28: Another question to Ron Paul, looks as though it wakes him up. But, he does speak about military cuts, ending wars, etc (will be addressed Thursday, I’m with him on this)

9:32: Santorum doesn’t want to cut “one penny” from defense. Time for facts: The US spends more than the other top 20 countries, in military spending, combined. So, you could probably find a few pennies.

9:34: Question from the audience: person wants a stop to all foreign aid. More facts, foreign aid is about 1.5% of the budget, defense is about 15%. So, we can cut foreign aid, but not one penny from defense, seems reasonable.

9:35-9:45: More bickering, another commercial, blah, blah, blah, Obamacare, low taxes, blah, blah, Romneycare…I’m getting tired. It’s all starting to sound the same.

9:52: Another standing ovation. Who knows why? Maybe they’re just happy its over.
No clear winner tonight. Clear loser: the American people

See you soon,
James