America. Land of free speech. Land of instant celebrity. Guess who's been making these comments:
"I've had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn't have them anywhere near my children."
"You know, I'm not the most civilized person," "Those kind of people, I usually took behind the woodshed and just beat the livin' tar out of 'em."
"The Constitution is a living, breathing document that is black and white" he said. "It does not need to be changed if we get back to the basics (of it) "George Washington said we 'would fall from within,'" he said.
"Right now, current spending bankrupts Social Security by 2040 ... I believe in individual responsibility. I will save my money and take care of my family. As far as government-run Social Security I believe people should be given an option."
And the answer is: Oh, sorry wrong "character." The resemblance is uncanny.
According to WhoRunsGov.com on Greg Sargent's blog the Plum Line, Joe has been enlisted since March to speak against the Employee Free Choice Act. The article quotes Mary Ellen Burke who is some sort of spokesperson, possibly for Joe, but the article doesn't say.“The public loves Joe the Plumber,” the spokesperson, Mary Ellen Burke, claimed to me. “They see him as a role model.”
This is the 2nd most scariest quote I came across.
This IS the scarriest quote:
When asked in the Christianity Today interview, whether he would ever run for office, Joe said," Not right now. God hasn't said, 'Joe, I want you to run.'"
And if God does I pray I can run like Usain Bol,t far far away:
Recently Amazon has become a fireman. No not one that puts out fires, but one like the firefighters in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Ironically the book is being sold by Amazon whose executives may want to give it a read through. The New York Times reported in mid-July that Amazon had remotely deleted 2 Orwell books from customers Kindle's. The Kindle is Amazon's electronic reader, which is used to view e-books and other media.
Amazon did refund the money to its customers and said that they would not do this again (Amazon said they deleted the books because of copyright issues). However, the big deal is that they have the power to delete the files. This is a scary thought. This article by Brad Stone of the New York Times is a good piece on the subject.
Life has been pretty hectic and crazy lately. There are a lot of changes on the horizon and I have been contemplating beginning anew in the blogosphere. Perhaps something more personal and day to day. Maybe find a spark in what is considered day to day mundane. Time will tell.
The FDA has just released a statement informing the public that face paints manufactured by Shanghai Color Art Stationery Company Limited, Shanghai, China, are being voluntarily recalled by Fun Express Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oriental Trading Co.
But who owns the Oriental Trading Company, who, by the way, is celebrating 75 years of fun (by taking the fun out of face paint and replacing it with a burning sting)?
Oriental Trading Company website states that the company is owned by "The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. Brentwood Associates, a private equity firm, owns a significant minority ownership stake."
(The word oriental is very offensive, if you don't believe me ask someone from Asia or go to your local china town(offensive, but has become colloquial) and scream the word, at that point if you had a fortune cookie on you, I don't think you'd have to crack it open to find out what the future has in store for you. Also oriental doesn't even refer to China. The term refers to what ws once the Persian empire and its surrounding areas).
The Carlyle group loves management-led buyouts in which they provide the equity for. "In a management buyout, or leveraged buyout, managers of public corporations get together with banks or other lenders to buy out the public stockholders and turn the company into a private entity — at least for a time," wrote Ben Stein in a September 2006 article in the New York Times.
In fairness the Carlyle group has other practices in its bag of tricks such as strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, and growth capital financings, all of which I don't understand. However they do what they do, it works because they seem to own part of everything possibly including your colon (you'd better get that checked out).
The recall is due to reports of adverse skin reactions in children. The FDA found elements of microbes in the paint when the agency performed tests and thought it would be a good idea if we didn't use their product for a bit.
Looks like these are going in the closet for a little while, sorry kids:
Even though this recall is about the microbes let's just look at the ingredients kids are putting on their faces, microbes or not.
Pariffin Wax is basically used in candles. It is a good conductor of heat. It is obtained from petroleum by dewaxing light lubricating oil stocks
Petrolatum is petroleum jelly or it's most popular manufacturer Vaseline. There are tons of uses for the product such as removing water rings from furniture and but I think this is the best:
Though the British don't find it too useful.
Petrolatum - Impurities in Petroleum Jelly or commonly known as Vaseline, under suspicion as a carcinogen in Breast Cancer - Petrolatum Banned in products in the EU - Long term damage to health becoming evident - side effects from impurities in the manufacturing process implicated in causing cancer!
Glycerine is a somewhat viscous clear oily liquid, with a sweet taste that is 3/4 sweeter than sugar. It is added to food products to keep them from becoming too dry. It is manufactured from petroleum, or from glyceride in fats, often as a by product in the production of soap. Here is a useless by-product of the soap making process:
Calcium Carbonate is a common substance found in rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime, and is usually the principal cause of hard water. It is commonly used medicinally as a calcium supplement or as an antacid, but high consumption can be hazardous.(It's not what you think, please don't go sniffing it)
Stearyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. It takes the form of white solid granules or flakes which are insoluble in water. It is used in many cosmetics and probably your shampoo as an emulsifier and thickener.
Sodium Benzoate is a type of salt that may occur naturally in some foods but is more likely to be chemically produced and added as a preservative to foods. The reason it is used a lot is because it works very well at killing bacteria, yeast and fungi. Apparently not so good in face paint.
Aracia Senegal is made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree. It is used as a food stabilizer as well as a binder in paints.
Dextrin is a light carbohydrate obtained from heated starches (the crustiness of bread). It is used as a thickener and stabalizing agent in products. Perfume For Body: ? All I can think of is the annoying lady at the department store who sprays samples on unsuspecting shoppers.
So most of the main ingredients come from petroleum, which is pretty gross when you think about it. However the main source of the products problem was probably a bad batch of sodium benzoate. This may bring up memories of the lead paint toys and it should, however, the fix is not boycotting Chinese made toys because that will never happen. We want cheap goods and we believe we deserve cheap goods. What needs to happen for Chinese goods or goods made from other countries is the workers in those countries need to be protected, economically and physically. Only then will we have safer imported products.
This is an article I wrote a few semesters ago. Amherst, Mass. - News consumers should be aware of the differing views that report what criteria consumers may use to help understand the credibility of blogs and Web sites with and without trusted source names.
The number of blogs within two years has more than doubled. Technorati, an Internet search engine for searching blogs, currently states it is tracking over 112 million blogs. Technorati also says each day about 175,000 new blogs are created.
Even with the sheer volume of blogs, traditional media is still weary of the credibility of blogs that are not affiliated with major media outlets.
“Blogs? I love 'em, the best of them help keep us honest, but most of them don't do actual reporting,” said Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times answering a question from a reader in The New York Times online column “Talk of the Newsroom.”
Rich Meislin, associate managing editor for Internet publishing said on “Talk to the Newsroom” that blogs give The New York Times room to use different ways to inform and entertain readers as well as receive feedback. “Blogs give our readers an opportunity to talk back,” said Meislan.
Steven Streight, who maintains “Blog Core Values blogazine,” said that he uses guidelines to ensure the credibility of his blog.
“I base some of my web credibility principles on the study done by B.J. Fogg, PhD at Stanford Persuasive Tech Facility in association with Consumer Reports WebWatch,” said Streight. The study involves looking into readers’ habits of discerning validity in blogs and websites.
In B.J. Fogg’s study on web credibility he says, “consumers want to know what to believe on the web.” However, his research found that if a Web site looks good visually, people tend to believe it. “That’s not good news,” said Fogg in an interview with Richard Sedley on the blog “Loopstatic.”
The Consumer Reports WebWatch study lists guidelines, which Fogg made, for readers to use as criteria when judging a blog or Web sites credibility:
• Identity • Advertising and Sponsorships • Customer Service • Corrections • Privacy.
Though the criteria may seem helpful, not all bloggers and researchers agree with their necessity. Thomas J. Johnson professor of journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Barbara K. Kaye associate professor of journalism and electronics media at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville say blogs rely on peer review by other bloggers.
“Peers point out mistakes that can be easily and prominently corrected,” said Johnson and Kaye.
Darren Rowse, a full time blogger who has made a living from blogging since 2004, lists his own criteria for credibility on his site “ProBlogger”:
In the autumn 2004 Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Johnson and Kaye say there is disagreement between blog users and traditional journalists on the question of blog credibility. “ Critics will say there is no responsibility for content and information can be posted in an anonymous way,” said Johnson and Kaye in their article, “Wag the Blog: How Reliance on Traditional Media and the Internet Influence Credibility Perceptions of Web logs Among Blog Users.”
“Critics advance the same arguments made against the Internet in its earliest days: anyone can create a blog, and bloggers are not bound by ethical and professional standards of trained journalists,” said Johnson and Kaye.
Researchers, Stephen A. Banning and Kaye D. Sweetser, say the peer-review process in blogging increases factual information. “Peers will read a blog post and contribute to the discussion to provide corrections if such are needed,” wrote Banning and Sweetser in the November 2007 Communication Quarterly.
Banning is an associate professor of media theory at Bradley University and Sweetser is a professor of public relations at the University of Georgia. Their research looks at the personalization of web communication such as blogs and how it affects readers.
In the article, “How Much Do They Think it Affects Them and Whom Do They Believe?” Banning and Sweetser say different media types with their different elements of style, may balance each other’s credibility.
“The highly personal nature of a blog might give a reader the feeling of being at the scene, but also make the reader feel the writer is likely to be biased,” said Banning and Sweetser. “ Conversely, the satisfactorily accepted fan article in a traditional media format might make the reader feel the article is less likely to be biased, but make them feel important areas have not been broached.”
Banning and Sweetser say even though not everything on the Internet can be trusted, the increase of major news organizations online has gained credibility for Internet news. “The branding of online content with a trusted source name (such as The New York Times or CNN) can increase credibility of content found online,” said Banning and Sweetser.
Consumer Reports WebWatch which is a project of Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports also provide a pledge for online blogs and companies to sign as a commitment to uphold the suggested guidelines.
The New York Times Online, FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) and WYCC-TV 20 are a few of many news related Web sites and blogs that Consumer Reports WebWatch list as companies who took the pledge to uphold their credibility guidelines. The site also lists non-news related Web sites that have taken the pledge.
BJ Fogg is a an interesting professor who is researching how different media technology affect other people. For instance this is a quick lesson in the psychology of the Facebook profile pic:
So many gunmen in the last month, it's unbelievable.
Minnesota still doesn't have a senator. (Coleman is the biggest sore loser ever. You lost, man. go start a hedge fund or something and F the country in another way.)
The governor of Massachusetts and the president of Umass must have each other listed as their emergency contacts. Why else would their plans to generate revenue be so similar. Governor Patrick wants to raise taxes and Umass President Jack Wilson wants to raise fees.
Governor Patrick wants to raise gas tax by 19 cents while getting rid of tolls on the Massachusetts turnpike. I can't fathom why you would get rid of 1 source of revenue and make another one so extravagant. Lately the turnpike has been making less money, which means less revenue.
Nancy Singer, an FHWA [Federal Highway Administration] spokeswoman, said federal officials don’t really know why driving has been dropping.
Initially, some were blaming the high price of gas for the decline in driving. But Singer said, “In recent months the price of gas has actually gone downward … This has not been reflected in miles driven.”
This is an excerpt from the February 19 article. Umm. Nancy? Do you guys think less people are driving because jobs are in decline and those people who have jobs are trying to conserve money? Quite possibly drivers are taking back roads instead.
Not to mention getting rid of tolls means more people losing their jobs. Why not put tolls on busy areas such as Route 128. Since it's a major if not the biggest road for commuting to Boston, why not collect some revenue from people using it. And let Boston alone keep the money they get. Maybe then Boston can pay for its own fiscal deliquentcey and the excess can eventually help the people inside the city that have needed help for decades.
Back to the gas tax, which was originally proposed at 27 cents in a possible "vision of grandiose" moment by the governor. Why are you taxing our gas in Western Massachusetts? We don't have adequate public transportation.
He [Governor Patrick]also said it would make the transportation system more environmentally responsible through steps such as increased investment in public transportation outside Boston and adopting various standard to build and buy in environmentally friendly ways.
-Doubtful. Who is going to be able to invest in public transportation, the already wealthy Boston firms? I can't wait to be just another piece of revenue. You will only cripple those who are barely scrapping by now. I say you because the governor needs to take responsibility for his actions.
Also this proposed idea of putting a chip in my car so that the state can tax me mile by mile is atrocious. Again Western Massachusetts has no viable public transportation. The serfdom of Western, MA is being brutalized again by the lords in Boston.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced last week the closing of three adoption centers. The Springfield, Massachusetts center is slated for closing on March 31. The MSPCA states on their website the closings are due to the current economic climate.
It is a sad day for the future of animals in the greater Springfield area as their will not be any shelters with the capacity the MSPCA has had. The Republican newspaper has a good article on the concerns of animal activists with the closing of the area center. The concerns surround what will happen to the animals in the shelter and what people may do with unwanted animals, which is a statistic that usually rises with a worsening economy.
The MSPCA writes on its website:
We will work with local animal rescue organizations and shelters, as well as our remaining four adoption centers, to ensure the placement of the remaining homeless animals in our care at the three closing facilities. We will also do the best we can to find alternatives to our services as well as to provide guidance for people to help animals in those areas that must now be without us.
The closing of the Springfield location leaves a huge strain on other facilities in Western Massachusetts. There is no other facility that can singularly take in the 6000 animals that yearly pass through the Springfield MSPCA. I'm sure they will try, but it will be a daunting task.
Here is a list of area facilities for animals. (Some are no kill shelters, some are breed only, or cat or dog only facilities.):
The latest in what is becoming a long line of banned superbowl commercials (think GoDaddy.com) is by PETA. The commercial consists of women in lingerie licking and stroking various vegetables. see it for yourself:
First off, the commercial is over the top, which is a PETA trademark in its advertising, however it has nothing to do with treating animals ethically (most PETA commercials do not). Will it really get anyone who watches the superbowl to throw down their chicken wings covered in assorted flavors like tangy barbecue or triple hot kamikaze devil's goatee sauce or mild. (some people want to actually taste what their eating).
Are men going to really see this commercial and think, "yes, I am gonna eat that broccoli and arugula and have better sex?" Nope. They are going to think things like, "I wish I was that asparagus or I wonder what she's gonna do next with that pumpkin."
Peta is not alone in its vegetarian through sexism logic. Look at all the female contestants in GoVeg.com's sexiest vegetarian contest.
In short it's a bad commercial that perpetuates stereotypes and tries to use sex to sell abstaining from animal consumption in our diets. In spirit PETA is a good organization; in its dissemination of its information it fails miserably. Perhaps, this is a reason for the ill will towards PETA and its public image of a radical organization. Without fixing its persona, sexy vegetable adds will not help its tarnished image nor get its message across.
PETA could have discussed the environmental impact of reducing the consumption of meat. The environment being a well known topic of discussion, but I guess when you take the vegetables out of the bedroom they're not sexy enough to put in a superbowl ad.
It's the off week for football. The week before the superbowl where the teams spend forced time answering inane questions to the sports media from how does it feel to be in the superbowl to are you going to be in the new Cambell's Chunky Soup commercial?
However there are a few questions the players will not be asked, mainly; why are so many NFL players being arrested and what brand of jock strap do you wear? Let's concentrate on the 1st question.
The NFL Crimes Newsblog lists 2008 arrests week by week with a year total of 56 that doesn't include 2009. If all those arrested were a team 3 would have to be cut in order to make the 53 man roster limit.
Here's the latest:
Dave Meggett, who in the 1990's was the 3rd down back for the New York Giants, is facing rape charges for the 2nd or 3rd time.
The biggest news is Michael Vick will be released from prison in June and is planning on making a comeback.
Jemele Hill, blogging for ESPN believes Vick should be able to rejoin the NFl. She is mistaken. Hill tries to use the human life verse animal life distinction; a preposterous thought process that there is a difference when it comes to torture and killing. Out of her 5 points of why Vick should be back in the NFL, the top 2 are his accomplishments and his excitement potential. O.K. one of his accomplishments is housing and hosting dogfighting events. Idiot.
This is what he did:Are you kidding me Miss Hill? You should be ashamed of yourself!
Peta wants Vick to get a brain scan and a full psychiatric evaluation before they air a public service announcement from him and allegedly endorse his comeback attempt.
Listen I can't fathom why or how anyone could harm a domesticated animal such as a dog, cat, bird etc... I'll admit my undying love and appreciation for animals, wild and domesticated. I even swerve out of the way on icy roads to not kill one of these: So don't tailgate me.
Although NASA says the average temperature is -58°, the ice in Antarctica is melting. NASA climate scientist, Drew Shindell says on the NPR morning show, The Takeaway, that the western portion of the ice cover is melting and if it completely melts it will raise sea levels by 20ft.
So much for those beach front properties. Try getting insurance for that you rich devils out there!
The Larsen Ice shelf not to be confused with the one who drew this: this is it: (anyway) The Larsen Ice sheet already broke off in 2002. and other ice sheets are in danger. If this doesn't get naysayers to believe in global warming then let them go out in the sun for a few hours without SPF 3o and see what they think when they look like this: That kid isn't the only one trying to keep down his breakfast. (just run kid! run!)
Seriously we need to do something or hope Darwinism gives our future ancestors gills or good buoyancy.
So, like most every other blogger, this post is about President Obama. However, I am not one to cover myself with the blanket of hysteria whether that hysteria be positive or negative. The inauguration speech was amazing. It was moving and full of hope. I'm just trying to be realistic and not think of the president as a savior.
Sporadically, the next posts will be about his cabinet selections, which are extremely important positions for this period "amidst gathering clouds and raging storms." I am somewhat skeptical abut these positions due to the lightning rise of the president who spent less than 4 years as an Illinois state senator and less than 4 years as a united states senator. Can someone really rise to become leader of this country especially at that speed without owing favors along the way?
Apparently for your safety airports kill thousands of birds. The Sacramento airport calls birds a safety threat and wants permission to kill (I'm sure Congress will get right on it). why? here are 2 quotes from the Sacramento Bee article by Tony Bizjak:
Birds and jets collide frequently, with 7,666 reported instances nationally in 2007, or about one known strike for every 10,000 flights. But it is rare for strikes to cause crashes, injuries or fatalities to passengers, federal officials said.
Sacramento, which lies in the Pacific Flyway bird migration path, has the most bird strikes of any airport in the West, and sixth most in the country, the Federal Aviation Administration reports.
It's not the birds faults that some idiot decided to build an airport directly IN THE WAY OFTHEIR ancient migratory paths.
Maybe The Killings will eventually go something like this:
Charlie Alpha 2 this is Charlie Alpha 11 -break-
we have what a visual on a calliope hummingbird entering our airspace -break-
permission to shoot -over- permission granted -over-
Let the freakouts begin!
NPR quotes the aptly named Carla Dove a feather identification lab expert as saying:
We like to think we're trying to help improve aviation safety, but we're also helping save birds by trying to identify what's causing the problem.
I don't think we need a lab to figure out half of the problem; there are too many planes in the air.
The major papers are in trouble, the bankruptcy at the Chicago Tribune hit hard as well to a lesser degree the Christian Science Monitor going to an online only edition.
I received these cry outs of desperation for subscriptions today in the mail by 2 of the top newspapers in the country. It made me sad to think a time is nearing where print journalism will be nothing more than a relic to Technologic America.
Both The New York Times and The Boston Globe are offering 50% off home delivery for 6 months. It's a great deal for the news consumer. The subscription savings by consumers will not hurt ether paper as the Times and Globe don't make their money off of subscription, they make it through advertising. The 50% off is a way to raise the subscription level, which will hopefully lead to greater advertising revenue.
There will always be a need for reporters. Even the online world will need people to get the story, otherwise the stories would be written without credibility and like PR pieces for corporations (not that they don't already own the media).
Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. --Joseph Pulitzer
The US under President Bush seems to have made a correct decision of sorts by not giving Israel Bunker Bombs capable of taking out Iranian suspected nuclear facilities, Although, David Sanger of the New York Times reports Bush did allow for disruption by covert-ops.
Really the fear of an Iranian nuclear attack, ever is unsubstantiated. An attack by Iran is a act of suicide by the Iranian nation. I believe the US would strike fervently probably Russia would retaliate, however, Russia would not want this to happen either. A nuclear weapon by Iran and any other country is a deterrent to invasion mostly by the US.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Motorists are driving less and buying less gasoline, which means fuel taxes aren't raising enough money to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs.
The government wants to raise gas taxes because obviously it needs money to fix federal run roads, etc. The proposal is a $0.10 raise on the federal tax, which is in addition to whatever state taxes exist. If the government needs additional tax money to generate the funds to fix their roads etc. and the government doesn’t have the money to give to the states, then isn’t it logical that the states will have to do the same with their gas tax?
Raising the gas tax by both the state and the federal government will only keep driving habits low if not lower them unless the consumer gets to a level of driving necessity that cannot be altered. Perhaps many of us will give the real American salute (you know, the one you gave to the hockey mom driving the Ford Explorer with Alaska plates that just cut you off). And we’ll all get vespa’s with 60 miles per gallon. Sure it will take a little longer to get to work, but think of the money we’ll save and don't worry we’ll make it look cool.
In response, the government would more than likely raise the tax, end the subsidies on fuel efficient vehicles, and propaganda motor scooter users as crazed gangs of non-tax paying outlaws.
Oh, sorry wrong "character." The resemblance is uncanny.
