Quick Hits For January 26, 2011 (State of The Union And Snowbound Edition)

OK boys and girls....I've been slacking off (NOT) for the past few days, and it's time to get caught up with some of the stories people are talking about, the one's that are keeping me up at night, and total fluff that maybe one or two of you have even heard of....plus a couple of personal opinions.

(1). To all parents who want to get your lazy teenage kids to remove snow from your driveway, here's a sure fire method; just buy them a car.

(2). The President's State of the Union speech last night was without a doubt a move to the center- about 90% was a message that even the Republicans couldn't rail against. How do you sit there with arms folded when Barack Obama calls for improvements to education, or new forms of energy, or a presidential veto of earmarks? His mention of a need for high speed rail and a cutting of oil subsidies met with a chilly reception for the Republicans, and a mixed review for another look at the Dream Act, as well as blank looks at the mention of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

But for much of the speech, there was little that the Republicans could pounce on and yell "extremism", though that hasn't stopped the lunatic fringe in the media, the blogesphere, and even in Congress from doing so.

(3). As I type this on January 26, 205 Americans have been shot on this day alone. On a night when Gabrielle Giffords chair was left empty, and the family of little Christina Taylor Green were sitting in the gallery with Mrs. Obama, shouldn't the President have mentioned the need to restrict the sale of extension magazines for handguns? Even Dick Cheney has mentioned that maybe its time to re-examine the easy access to high capacity ammo clips. How much is enough?

(4). Representaitive Michele Bachmann.....oh brother! I confess, I didn't watch her personal rebuttal to the SOTU that followed Paul Ryan's official Republican rebuttal. But I can't take her seriously....not when she actually told a group that the Founding Fathers did away with slavery....and she can't say she was misquoted because, as they say in football, there is "indisputable video evidence" to the contrary.



Ms. Bachmann......go into your wallet. Take out a five dollar bill. Do you see the man with the beard? Excellent! Write down his name and GOOGLE it.

And write a 500 word essay due on Friday....then you can go back to Congress, or run for president.

Anyone for tea?

(5). I was supposed to be at the Rutgers-UCONN women's basketball game at The RAC in Piscataway at this very hour.....but the weather is not co-operating. We had four inches of snow so far today, then there's been a brief pause, and a second storm that will dump around ten additional inches is just starting. The game will not be postponed because UCONN is already in town, and so are the officials.

So anybody who's reading this can have my seat in section 104 tonight.....if you can get there. My guess- they'll be around 6,000 no shows tonight for a game that usually sells out at the 8,000 seat RAC.

(6). Jets go down in Pittsburgh. I guess the countdown to baseball season has officially begun.

(7). Speaking of COUNTDOWN......that Olbermann guy has turned into The Twitter King.

(8). You're not going to believe this.....but there's lightning and thunder outside in a winter storm in January! Nah, there's no climate change!

I just checked outside, and it's freezing rain....and it's driving.

(9). I swore I'd never watch Big Love after the disaster of a season last time around. But I'm back watching.....and I'm still wondering why.

(10). Finally....I'm getting concerned that we could lose power. So I'm outta here.

Quick Hits 4/21/10 Video Edition- Gun Guys Gone Wild, NJ Guv Hits The Big Time, and Stewart vs. Goldberg

There were several topics I made a mental note of yesterday that I wanted to touch on a bit later. So Im modifying the "Quick Hits" format for a video presentation, with some comments thrown in as well

(1)Yesterday I was about to do some political commentary regrading the news of the day, and I had the RACHEL MADDOW SHOW on in the background, just catching up on the people, places, and things that were relevant on the day. All was well until she presented her third segment, which consisted of the concurrent Pro Second Amendment rallies in Virginia and Washington DC. I have no problem with these pro gun advocates showing up in mass in a peaceful demonstration, though I am an advocate of gun control. They have a right to freedom of assembly, as guaranteed in the Constitution. I do have a problem with the timing of the rallies, held on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh. Though organizers contend that it was in remembrance of Patriot's Day (when the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in 1775), the failure of these gun rights advocates to recognize that holding rallies on the day a fanatic- and fellow Second Amendment zealot- decided to wage war on his own country and murder innocent men, women, and children was to say the least problematic to me, and probably to many other Americans.

Even more disturbing were some of the voices on the Right who refuse to see that actions and words do have dire consequences- among them Limbaugh, Hannity, Bachmann, and The NEW YORK POST- some of whom suggest that President Bill Clinton was responsible the Oklahoma City bombing because of the handling of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians at Waco in 1993 by the Feds. And to see Congressman Paul Broun addressing a Second Amendment rally attacking the federal government- of which he is part- I found more than disturbing and incredibly hypocritical. Mr. Broun might want to take a look at the city he lives and works in, Washington DC, where hundreds of thousands of Americans are denied equal representation in the House and in the Senate because of an oversight by our Founding Fathers- further proof that not even they were infallible. Perhaps Paul Broun, Michelle Bachmann, Steve King, and all others on the Right turning over stones to find misuse of the federal government should start looking under their noses.

By the time the Limbaugh segment of this video came around, I was so angry I turned the TV off....but I took a look at it this morning. Here it is, ladies and gents...a segment of the RACHEL MADDOW SHOW that made me want to blow my brains out.

And by the way....I am a gun owner, but never a gun nut.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(2) It only took New Jersey Governor Chris Christie a couple of months in office to make Keith Olbermann's WORST PERSONS list. And from the adversarial posturing this formal federal prosecutor has done in his first few months in office, somebody should remind him- he's a governor now, not arguing a case before a jury trying to show that the Other Guy deserves to be punished with a lengthy prison term.

While Christie continues to attack the spending practices of cities, towns, and boards of education.....not to mention the Federal Government and the previous Corzine administration...it seems that the staff payroll under this "cost cutting" Republican fiscal conservative has actually increased under his watch.

For all of his bluster of "shared sacrifice" his payroll has increased from the Corzine administration by $600,000.

From The Home News Tribune- a publication that endorsed Christie's election in 2009- is part of the response of his administration.

They accused Corzine of planting staff in other departments so his own staff's payroll would look smaller. They noted the need to staff the new lieutenant governor's office. And since Christie is married, his wife receives two aides as well.

Fair enough, perhaps. But in the end, even using the administration's own numbers, Christie has still increased the payroll of the governor's staff by about $600,000, with a higher average salary and more six-figure salaries among the employees.

That doesn't sound like shared sacrifice to us.

Also, when Christie was confronted by reporters after voting in yesterday's school budget vote, one of his counter attacks was "shoddy reporting" by the ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Below....Chris Christie makes his entry as #3 on the WORST PERSONS list.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(3) And finally....after all of this heavy lifting, its time for a laugh. Last week Jon Stewart told Fox News to "go f%#k themselves". And on THE O'REILLY FACTOR Fox mouthpiece Bernard Goldberg got mad, and then decided to get even. Bernie called out Jon, more or less calling him a no talent Jay Leno clone who gets away with using the "F Bomb".

But of course....Goldberg only provided more material for Jon, who gave us this classic counter attack; be patient the last couple of minutes are set to music.



A quick edit.... I removed the video because of a problem with the html; BLOGGER wouldn't save it. But if you want to see Jon Stewart at his best, check out Bernie Goldberg Strikes Back on COMEDY CENTRAL"s Daily Show page


That's all folks! I'll be back later.


Just one more edit.... While on COMEDY CENTRAL I checked out Stewart's interview with John O'Hara, one of the founders of the Tea Party movement....and it was an eye opener. O'Hara came across as an articulate and fiscally responsible concerned citizen- and a conservative libertarian- who seems to be as disaffected by most Republicans as well Democrats, and was able to state his case minus the angry rhetoric and finger pointing.

THE DAILY SHOW is far from being a news program, but there are many times when it can be of more benefit than the 24 hour news machines. Both Stewart and O'Hara were able to sit, talk, and laugh while O'Hara stateed his case about his movement being more than just about angry middle aged Obama hating white guys and assorted wingnuts.

Maybe their movement should showcase him more often and ask Bachmann, Palin, Broun, and all of the assorted other loudmouths to stay home and watch the proceedings from the friendly confines of their rec room couch.

One last edit....no, I really mean it this time.....The usual suspects at Fox are going bonkers about Jon Stewart mocking them. To get a feel for what is being said (and comments by Fox news supporters), take a look at the latest YouTube videos tagged "Jon Stewart". He certainly struck a nerve.

A job well done Jon!

The Dumbing Down of America; How Did It Happen?

Jesse Ventura mentioned it the other day, and many others are asking the same question...how did America get so dumbed down?

We've gotten to a point that a certain segment of our population consider Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Glenn Beck as leaders of societal change. There was a Cassandra crying out several years ago about what was happening to our country, a whistle blower that we refused to listen to.

The year was 2006.

The man was Mike Judge.

The film was Idiocracy.

The man who gave us King of the Hill and Beavis and Butthead knows of what he speaks.

Here's the first few minutes of the movie, starring Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph.

First 10 minutes of Idiocracy (Clip 1) | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

First 10 minutes of Idiocracy (Clip 2) | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

First 10 minutes of Idiocracy (Clip 3) | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

Do you need further proof?

The video (from SPIKE TV) has a T&A ad from CAPTAIN MORGAN, so that art imitates life....just don't pour the stuff on your new spring garden.

Jesse Ventura On Palin and Bachmann- "They're Puppets"

Former Governor of Minnesota (and former WWF wrestler, commentator, and actor) Jesse Ventura was his usual outspoken tell-it-like-it is self on an appearance on Joy Behar's talkfest on HLN. Along with journalist Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone, Ventura talked about the two sweethearts of the Republican Right, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann......and decrying the "dumbing down" of America he quipped what many critics have been saying for some time now; namely, that Bachmann and Palin are "puppets".

Ventura's and Taibbi's comments followed Palin and Bachmann appearance before a rally of 11,000 supporters, after which they were interviewed by friend and ally Sean Hannity.