Oops been a while. Here is the last few weeks of links that grabbed my interest. There is a gallery of a Lego Delorean, an end of the Encyclopedia, exercise myths, more proof of MPAA/RIAA lies used to stomp our freedom for corporate benefit, Keith Olbermann fired, and two amusing videos.
Lego Back to the Future 2 Delorean Mimicking the style of the high end Star Wars sets, Alex Jones has re-created the Back to the Future DeLorean out of the Legos. Hit the link above too few more of the gallery.
Encyclopedia Britannica Ending Print Version A true end of an era as the Encyclopedia Britannica is no longer printing encyclopedias after a 244 year run. The last volume will be the 2010 edition. The decision was made due to lack of sales. Sure most kids today probably barely have used a set but still a little sad to see such a thing goes away.
US Credit Ratings Downgraded for 1st Time Ever For the first time in the nation’s history, the US lost its AAA credit rating which was awarded back in 1941. Yet further sign of the problems the GOP manufactured crisis on the debt ceiling has caused. Their willingness to commit literal economic suicide for the entire country demonstrated just how little confidence even investors now have in our country. Ironic, considering most of what the GOP does is to benefit Wall Street. As if often the case, too much greed has resulted in far reaching consequences. Sadly, this will be yet another way for the GOP to spin things in their favor as most people don't have the brains or understanding to recognize how easy all of this could have been avoided. Instead they have proven beyond doubt just how far gone the GOP but with a significant amount of power to back the crazy up with due to complete lack of leadership from Obama who doesn't see a position he isn't willing to cave too. The GOP spin will be the high debt caused the downgrade and thus their approach is the only way is directly contradicted by S&P's own statements on the cause.
S&P also changed its assumption that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts would expire by the end of 2012 “because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues. More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating,” S&P said.
Note that "revenue increases" is another way of saying increase taxes by closing loops holes or ending existing tax cuts which the GOP refuses to do under any circumstances. In short, the GOP refusal to compromise and deal with the debt in an adult manner underlined our current leadership's dysfunction in a way that could no longer be ignored. No fake crisis, no awareness of just how bad things are.
New Spider-Man RevealedAbout a month ago Peter Parker died in a battle against the Green Goblin in Ultimate Spider-Man #160. The Ultimate SM universe is a modernized version of Marvel that takes more liberties with the characters. An example of that is this week's news that the replacement Spider-Man is a half black, half Hispanic named Miles Morales. Of course the right wing movement had a fit over this. Posts about the change were pretty much flat out racist and of course Glenn Beck diving in claiming it is some conspiracy orchestrated by Michelle Obama. In reality, the writer Brian Michael Bendis, had been considering it for a while and decided to commit to it after seeing Donald Glover in the costume for an episode of Community (great TV show). How this will play out in comic book form and how successful this change will be may take many months to determine.
Keith Olbermann Fired by MSNBC "MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract. The last broadcast of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will be this evening. MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors." With that one brief statement, Comcast has made clear who is now in control of the network. A question many had is exactly what would happen with MSNBC and its left leanings which are the political opposite of Comcast leadership who prefer to avoid controversy and fully support the GOP. This might be the beginning of an answer. Olbermann, who was integral in turning the network from a third place to second place news network, was considered the most "left" on the network by most even though his viewpoints are really right up the middle of the political spectrum. He is blunter then most in expressing them. Bluntness is something people claim to like but few really do. The other shows he helped create will remain on the network but expect a toning down and as contracts expire a replacement to something that more reflects the GOP and pro-corporate agenda that Comcast prefers. If you are the GOP and Fox News it is party time as another "enemy" of the party has been silenced. Where Keith goes from here is unknown as CNN will not have him as their hatred of controversy has reached such huge proportions that they have virtual become irrelevant in the news business. I wish him luck on his future endeavors and while I have a feeling his TV career is over, he can easily have a second life online.
Rachel Maddow Lecture at Harvard Mrs. Maddow gave an interesting lecture and Q&A at Harvard that focuses on the relationship between politics and the 24 hour news cycle. She makes a few excellent points, the primary one being that the act of leading and governing has no longer become the job of elected officials. Their prime job now has been to always speak to the news sound bite and not take the risk of doing the strange thing of actually making laws (aka follow the John McCain school of "governance"). It really is worth listening too as even the far right agrees the press do not really do their jobs anymore.
Reporting - Publicity = News Seems like a simple question but if you really look at how the news works nowadays, it is truly amazing how much time and effort they spend talking about and regurgitating press releases and press conferences while making no effort to separate the truth from the misinformation nor how what was said doesn't match with what has actually been done. The example in this case is Republicans saying they will cut spending. They say that a lot, have for decades. Yet they have never actually cut spending but increased it, by a lot. By more than any Democrat administration ever has. They say "cut spending!" but their actions say "more spending" as they fight to add $700 billion to the deficit with more tax cuts for the rich. They say tax cuts will fix everything, but 10 years of tax cuts show that isn't true. Repeating their words is easy, analyzing and showing how their words don't match their actions nor history, that is news and that is reporters doing something strange - their jobs of reporting facts.
Economy Does Better Under Democrats For reasons that will probably never be explained, most corporations and people seem to think the economy thrives when Republicans are in charge. This isn't actually true as numbers repeatedly and always prove. There are really no exceptions in this. Consistently, Republicans are bad for the economy. The reason is fairly straight forward. The GOP believes in unrestrained greed. The problem with that is too much greed becomes destructive, which rarely leads to healthy companies. See Enron, HP, all of Wall Street, housing scandals, lead in toys and so much more. When you allow unrestrained greed, companies will often make decisions that make the short term look good but can lead to their death in the long term. On top of that, the GOP has a pretty straight forward belief that tax cuts to the rich fix everything. Except that isn't true either. The engine of the economy isn't the rich. It’s the middle and lower classes (who are 95% of the population). The rich are getting richer thanks to GOP tax cuts but everyone else is either getting poorer or holding steady. Even raises have been stagnant now for around 10 years. The result is less disposable income which leads to a sputtering engine. People do not make spending decisions on tax cuts. They make them based on available disposable income and job security. Eight years of tax cuts under Bush has proved it doesn't work, despite the GOP promising more of the same (while not trying to pay for it). Any case read the link for more charts on why your savings and investments are better off during Democrat administrations.
New StarCraft II Trailer Blizzard has released a new trailer that hints at some of the story that will drive the single player campaign in the game. I participated in beta and found the game to be a whole lot of fun; however my computer is old and barely could run the game. To get the full experience, you should consider playing the game with a computer that meets the recommended specs. In this case that means one that is two years old or newer (my computer is five years old).
Health Care Bill Signed into Law - Like it or not, a historic day occurred as President Obama signed into law (with 20 pins no less) the hard fought for Health Care bill, like most major legislation of the last two years includes a lot of Republican demands yet doesn't get a single vote of support. The GOP's continued ability to show a unified front of party first, corporate second and America's somewhere in the top 10 continues. The major portions of the bill do not even go into effect until 2014 so the current talking point of doom and gloom is amusing considering "the end" of the US is postponed by four years.
How I Ran an Ad on Fox News - With the help of Google TV ads, some money, a little creativity, and no concern on when it airs, you can have your own commercial for whatever you want air for as little as $100. As the video at the link shows, it is actually a simple process, probably the most difficult being creating the commercial. If the stats on the video are any indication, it doesn't seem the cost was worth the return but still amusing to know that now any bored person with money to burn can air their own message.
Nintendo 3DS Announced - Nintendo plans on releasing yet another version of the Nintendo DS, only this time with 3D effects that do not require glasses. It is expected the new system will be unveiled during E3 this June. The device is reported to have a thumb stick, built in rumble, greater battery life, and smaller screen size. If Nintendo holds to pattern, the system is likely to be released in Japan in mid December with a role out elsewhere in early 2011.
Special Comment on Health Care Hate - Keith Olbermann returned to Countdown after the death of his father and air a comment on the hate that has taken over the right's dislike of any health care reform. The GOP, working for insurance companies, has made every effort possible to kill reform. Not modulate it, not add good effective ideas, but flat out kill it. As part of doing that, they tapped on that very deep well of hate and fear that is a hallmark of the far right. To do this they equated reform as a sign that evil is taking over America with Communism...oops Socialism but treated the same. Once it takes over, Democracy will collapse, the world will end and bad stuff will happen to all those good people that are filled with all that hate and cowardice. The problem with tapping into fear to create though is it leads to loss of control and it begins to feed on itself. Once that cycle begins, it rarely ends well. I miss the GOP of old, the one that helped create moderate, non extreme ideas. That party doesn't seem to exist anymore, having died under the rule of Rove and Cheney and further fueled by the defeated and angry GOP that remain.
Keith Olbermann gave a "Special Comment" today on healthcare and Sarah Palin's so called "death panels" that comes from the heart as it is based on the experiences of his father who has spent the last six months fighting for his life. A battle he may have now begun to lose.
The comment is about how Republicans, Tea Partiers and what he called "ghouls" are attempting to block at every turn any attempt to reform a system that simple doesn't work. Their goal is profit and the human aspect doesn't seem to matter. Ghoul is the right term for those that think that way for you can only be soulless and inhuman.
For me the whole healthcare thing has been an easy decision. I didn't need facts and figures, false claims of "socialism" or other nonsense. I just had to imagine what if it was me that couldn't afford care. Or my mom, my dad or other loved ones. What if, thanks to the behavior of insurance companies, I have to make a tough decision about their care and I have to factor in whether they can afford the treatment or not. Not will it improve their life, is it worth it for quality of life or myriad of other considerations but will it be covered by insurance and if not how to pay for it. That is the system we have now. That is the true death panels. That is the system the Republicans are fighting with everything they have to keep in place and nearly 50% of the country is fighting with them, may never having taken that step to imagine "what if it were me?". My god, how inhuman. How evil.
Tomorrow is a so-called Healthcare summit as the President, Democrats and Republicans try to come to a compromise on healthcare. It will fail because instead of a room full of people thinking "what is best for Americans", they instead will think "what is best for my corporate sponsors." It isn't an issue of how this summit will be sabotaged, just an issue of how the Republicans will claim to have been victimized during it resulting in their continued and determined desire to say no to anything that is corporate first.
It is time that Americans, both on the right and the left, stop accepting that from them. The Democrats need to grow a pair and act instead of cowering at every Republican stalling tactic and it’s time for Republicans to actually engage in true compromise instead of demanding but never giving. Change is scary but once again I beg of you...imagine if someone you loved needed life saving healthcare but couldn't afford it because their insurance company either dropped them or refused it. What would you expect to occur then? What would you demand? And why isn't that good enough for everyone?
A bit late for me but last week Keith Olbermann gave a solid Special Comment on the "Tea Party" movement and its undercurrent of racial hatred that seems to be driving it. I personally just can't take the tea party movement seriously. The ideas are sound and very much not new by any stretch of the imagination.
Who doesn't want to pay fewer taxes? What bothers me though is no one can explain why the anger now. Where does it come from? They claim it’s because of Obama, but really what exactly has he done recently? Health care? That hasn't passed. The bank bailouts? That was Bush's plan. Taking away their guns? There is no law in Congress nor any plans to do that. It seems they are angry at Obama for simply not being a Republican or more likely for being black.
After all the things they claim to hate - big government, wasteful spending are all complains a Republican President with the rubberstamping of a Republican Congress brought to new heights - to the tune of a $9 trillion deficit. That was Republican action causing that. However, since most Tea Partiers are die hard Republicans and members of the Republican "base" they can't exactly point the finger at themselves now can they? So that leaves Obama. This leaves the question of timing. Would this same "movement" have occurred if a Democratic white man had been elected? I don't think so.
If they were true to their conventions, rather than closet racists, they would stop acting like an arm of the GOP and act like a separate party. After all, in the last 60 years the Republican nor Democrat parties have never been fiscally responsible (government debt jumps when they are in control) nor created smaller government (it has always grown every term, never shrunk). That is historical fact. If they claim that these things matter, it’s time to finally act on it rather than just making a lot of noise about it. The GOP has been making those same promises for 60 years, instead of being the fool and going “this time will be different” how about doing something different. Oh wait, that involves the dreaded “change” word that conservatives hate so much. Never mind, no wonder the tea party is really just promising more of the same, with just an extra dose of hatred.
Singer Returning to X-Men - In an interview with MySpace at the premiere of Avatar, Bryan Singer revealed that he is returning to the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class. No indications if this is based on the comic book series by the same name which essentially covers the core X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Gray, Ice Man, Beast, etc) as they experienced the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning for the first time as they learned to control their mutant powers.
Clash of the Titans Trailer #2 - Click the link for different formats of the second trailer for the movie that is shaping up to look pretty good.
Special Comment: Not Health, Not Care, Not Reform - Keith Olbermann essentially summarizes my disgust at what the Healthcare Reform Bill has become at the hands of the Senate, that whore Lieberman, and that useless man who can't lead Reid. The idea was to provide healthcare to all, hold insurance companies to basic standards (rather than whatever they want to do, they can do), and try to reduce the cost of healthcare by encouraging preventative care (thus healthcare for all aspect). Instead, the Democrat leadership has caved on everything. The reform is gone, the healthcare for all is gone, and there is no attempt to really reduce the cost, so system of checks and balances. It’s become a massive paycheck to the insurance companies with an "I hope you will do the right thing with this money" rider. At this point, the bill is useless and we would be better off starting over again, this time with people actually willing to lead, to use up political capital, and ok with not necessarily being liked by everything. There has been no leader no this bill, just a bunch of people gawking for the camera, hoping to take credit for any good while dodging the blame for any bad.
Mega Man 10 Trailer - If interested, the next installment of the franchise, retaining its 8-bit graphics and design. The game will be released in the next few months on the Wii, PS3, and 360, likely for around $10.
Google Chrome OS Official - Google held its official press conference to announce their next big idea which is a web browser / operating system hybrid. The idea is to create an OS that will run on most computers, especially netbooks, which do internet tasks very fast. The problem though is that will be all the computer will do. So if you likes games, editing movies, have your own media, pretty much anything that can't be accessed or run via "the cloud" then you will need a separate computer. To me its limitations outweigh its benefits. However, if the idea can cause the price of a netbook to go to around $100 then suddenly it might very well be worth it.
Epic HDTV Buyer's Guide Flowchart - Click the link to view an amusing and helpful flowchart to determine what is the best type and size HDTV to buy. I found it useful as do to space limitations, I know now to save some money and buy a 32'' 760p HDTV instead of paying the extra $300 for 1080p, 120Htz system that I don't really need.
What Happens To Your Accounts When You Die? - A nice breakdown of what happens to some email and social networking sites after you die and also how your next of kin could access those account if needed. At the very least it helps you determine what info you need to prepare in advance just in case.
Daily Show's Lou Dobbs Interview - An interesting interview with the no ex-CNN host Lou Dobbs. The best part for me is Jon Stewart articulates rather well the frustration I have with the right's sudden anger while Dobbs fails to explain "why now?" Out of nowhere there are these groups, many that Dobbs agrees with, that have suddenly found their anger and hate the direction the country is moving in. Yet none can explain why now? Why were two wars, many lies, Patriot Act and so much more not the final straw? Why is healthcare the thing that sent them over the edge? Dobbs claims it’s because Obama is doing trying to turn the country left to sharply but when asked "how?" he can't answer that. Most people will agree that Obama hasn't really done that much in these last 11 months yet somehow he has magically taken the country left by doing nothing? And over an issue that has been around since the 1930s? Yes you read that right, the debate over universal healthcare in the US started with Roosevelt. It is not new; it is not a "sharp left turn". Those that think it is once again show their ignorance of history, like Lou Dobbs who I would think would know more than most but clearly doesn't.
Experiences at a Free Clinic - Part of the healthcare story that no one, especially Faux News, is willing to cover. From the video is a summary of an essay by Rich Stockwell of his visit at a New Orleans free clinic. The heart of the problem is so many, including 83% of them employed, that simply cannot afford to see a doctor on a regular basis to get the preventative care needed that will stop a minor issue from becoming a life threatening and expensive condition. It’s an example of why universal healthcare and the public option are needed. For all the talk of expense, the net result of a system that makes it a truly affordable and viable option to see a doctor (rather than an ER) will drive costs down and actually save this country money.
In a first, Keith Olbermann devoted an entire episode of Countdown to a Special Comment on the healthcare debate. The reason seems to be the horrible experiences his father has experienced under our current healthcare system governed by corporate bureaucrats driven by bonuses rather than providing proper healthcare. The biggest problem I have with the debate is what is driving the whys (high costs, government bureaucrats deciding care, rationing, and more) are the very things already going on now only its being done by corporate executives who want their bonuses and drones that simply want to keep their jobs.
The choice being offered right now is real simple - do something or do nothing. The Democrats are at least trying to do something. The Republicans are offering the option of doing nothing. I think there are few, conservatives or liberals who feel doing nothing is the best way to go. They may advocate Corporate Socialism, but I advocate caring for my fellow Americans or to just be more selfish, myself.
Ultimately, the public option is really insurance for health insurance. It’s there for when your current insurance says no, because it’s not covered, you didn’t feel out the form properly, you reached your maximum or you simply can’t afford to continue the premiums because you lost your job. Much like health insurance is for the catastrophic moments we have no control over such as getting cancer, breaking bones, a car accident and so much more, the public option is for those moments such as losing your job, pre-existing condition or a company that simple doesn’t offer it.
What you should consider isn’t “I have insurance, why should I care?” but what if you no longer have a job. What then? The "public option" is your fallback position for you and your family if the worse happens. You should want it there, you should demand it be there just in case. What Republicans are promising is nothing. No fallback position, no coverage regardless of life’s curveballs. They promise simple nothing but a series of no.
At first I didn't think that South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson's "You lie" outburst during the Presidential Address on Healthcare reform deserved a Special Comment from Keith Olbermann. That is until I heard it and he pointed out the many many lies the Bush Administration told for eight years and yet none ever yelled "You lie" during his addresses even though they were deserved.
The idiocy around this debate continues to confound me. Eight years of lies, two wars, thousands dead, but reforming healthcare is the thing that gets the "base" and "god fearing" folks most wound up? How? Why? I would love to explain to me out of all the issues to get heated about why has this one become the issue to gather around? Where were you a year ago? Two years ago? Eight years ago? How do you function with a moral compass that moves according to whatever your "conservative" talking heads tell you to believe? Do you have no mind of your own? Do you have no sense of even your own personal history and compare your "beliefs" from the past with your "beliefs" of the present and not noticed the inconsistencies? I just don't get it, I really don't.
Sadly the health care coverage has devolved into a mess in this country. With a skill that only the GOP and their followers of stupid can manage, they have changed to conversation about health care into something other than how to fix it. The concern, magically, has become about fiscal policy at least for a few that are vaguely aware. For most though the argument is become just how unfair they think the world is because their team is not in charge of things. For the last 8 years it was "Bush knows what is best, don't argue with your President in a time of war!" to basically disagreeing with a great deal of hate and anger with anything and everything that is done, often by people who themselves need the help. If check the town hall meetings, often the most angry are older white men who are probably on Medicare complaining that the government will decide their healthcare and completely oblivious to the irony.
As Keith Olbermann points out below, all this is only fueled by the Republican machine of lies led by Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Glenn Beck. They don't counter with truth (the costs, better alternative plans, etc); no they counter with "death camps" and pretty much anything else they can make up. Newt, when confronts with "its not in the bill" lamely responds "its 1,000 pages long" basically meaning "I can make up whatever I want to get the idiotic base fired up and mad!". God forbid a rational argument be held using actually. I honestly don't know what is worse, that the "leaders" of the GOP are essentially trying to incite their followers to violence with lies or that their base after 8 years of similar lies continue to eat it up with a grin on their face and unquestioned obedience, not much better than a dog that fetches simply because his master told him too.
Keith Olbermann knocked another one out of the part regarding the health care debate as the American public allows themselves to be lied to be Republicans and "Blue Dog" Democrats who have been clearly bought by the health care system who are worried that a public option would create the competition of good and services that up to know they have not really had to worry about.
They like to talk about how the government can't run anything, find let’s say that is true then what is the harm of the public option? Why fight it so desperately if it’s nothing to worry about. They say "hey do you want a bureaucrat deciding your care?" Well assuming you can even afford it, don't they anyway? Who makes the decision on what is covered and what isn't? Who decided how much the insurance will pay out and how much you have to? Oh yeah corporate bureaucrats who actually get raises and bonuses for making things better for the company at the expense of your health.
They say "what about the costs?" Yes what about them? What do you think happens when a simply flu that could have been taken care of with a quick doctor visit and anti-biotics turns into a medical emergency requiring hospital care simply because the person couldn't afford that initial visit? Which is cheaper? Getting people to see the doctor when they need to or making them delay until their own bodies takes the choice away? Now imagine that scenario times millions. That is why it will be cheaper, simply because people will get the cheaper care they need rather than waiting until a much more expensive consequence occurs.
The final argument is "what about your choices of coverage?" What choices? Unless you work the government you have one choice, whatever your employer decides if that. If you have a pre-existing condition and no coverage from an employer, the "choice" is made for you - you’re just out of luck. There is no choice in medical care anymore then there is choice is cable coverage, or gas or anything else. Sure they all have different names but the "choice" of cost and extent of coverage remains oddly uniform and lacking in any real competition.
There is no marketplace; there is no proof of capitalism when it comes to healthcare. The choice people need to make is do they want the Republican solution - do nothing or the Democrat solution - do something, anything that is better the current system. To me the choice is simply, something is better than nothing and that is the choice we really have right now.
The Voice of Mickey Mouse Dies - Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse since 1977, died last Sunday from diabetes at the age of 62. He was married to the voice of Minnie Mouse, Russi Taylor. Below is an interview with the two.
Obama Signs Credit Card Bill - The President has signed into the law the bill that curbs some of credit card companies more questionable choices in an attempt to pad their bottom line with little effort on their part.
1st Use of Assisted Suicide Law - For the first time, Washington's new suicide law has been used by a 66 year old woman with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The question wasn't would she die, just when and in how much pain and misery. I think more laws of this nature should be passed as people should have the right to choose how they die. It isn't just an issue of life...but of quality of life. The act of breathing should not be the only qualifier in these decisions.
Poison Ivy in Batman: Arkham Asylum - This game just gets better and better looking. Now the fear is it may not live up to its hype but until then, enjoy the introduction to Poison Ivy.
Right-winger Waterboards, Realizes the Obvious - What is it with these right wingers and inability to recognize reality without themselves first experiencing it? They are against any healthcare reform because their insurance is just fine. They think the poor are just whiners as they try to figure out which house to spend their weekend in. They are removed from reality while claiming they understand things. And technically that is possible. This practice continues with waterboarding. Intelligent people can come to the conclusion that the illusion of drowning as water is poured down your throat and nose is a form of torture but as right-winger radio host Mancow Muller illustrates, it is only direct experience that leads to the obvious conclusion. Before then he thought getting dumped in water was like laying in a bathtub. What?!? At least he is willing to put action were his mouth was and re-evaluate his conclusions, which is better than some (that coward Hannity).
Special Comment on Cheney - Keith Olbermann aired another commentary on Dick Cheney and his continued fear mongering as he tries to secure his legacy. His speech yesterday on national security, less than an hour after the Presidents was more of the same. He basically spent the entire time claiming that no responsibility for his actions and blaming others for the bad press that has come out over the last few months about the Bush Administration. When not doing that he kept invoking 9/11 as a protective cloak and trying to continue to strike fear. Essentially he was speaking to the Boss Rush audience. The GOP continues to die and it couldn't happen to a worse party. Hopefully whatever emerges from the carcass will do better.
Tribune On the Ropes - An interesting article where the Chicago Tribune fired its "Recession Reporter" as it cut 53 jobs. At the same time its parent company Tribune Co. is asking for the bankruptcy court to approve $13.3 million in bonuses for 703 employees. Those employees are probably top tier management that helped drive the company into the hole. The claim is they needed to retain them but let's face it, where are they going to go? My job's "incentive" right now is I have a job. Funny how that isn't enough for top management. Hopefully the court will deny the request but I doubt it.
More Bad News for GM - The hits keep coming for GM. The once great car company, destroyed by poor management decisions of looking to the next quarter bonuses rather than the long term survival has accepted another $2 billion in bailout money, preparing to shutter Pontiac and idle 13 of its 20 plants for part of the summer to reduce its standing inventory. At this point it might just be time to sell the company off so the taxpayers can recoup at least some of the lost money.
Murphy Wins NY 20th - While the GOP is spinning it as a sign of gaining ground, the cold hard reality is their attack, offer no solutions except tax cuts policy isn't working. The 20th was a GOP stronghold that should have been an easy win for the cash flush Republican candidate James Tedisco. Instead it was a close fight that they ultimately lost and should not have. What this means as far as Congress is concerned is not much. It is simply a sign that the GOP has a long ways to go to rebuild its party and continuing to kow-tow to the base isn't getting the job done.
Microsoft's Profits Drop First Time in 23 Years - It doesn't get any clearer that the GOP recession is the worst in a few generations when Microsoft experiences a 32% drop in profits. Of course the crapitude of Vista probably didn't help as many stuck with the older XP OS for years longer than might have if not for the bad reviews.
Hannity To Be Waterboarded for Charity? - Yeah right. Hannity on his show said that he would be open to being waterboarded for charity as he doesn't consider the practice to be torture. Olbermann decided to take him up by offering him $1000 for every second he lasts. A few years ago various local news stations "talent" volunteered to do it and none indicated any enjoyment of the experience. If local folks can do it, so can Hannity. Like most GOP diehards though, Hannity is ultimately a coward and I don't see him backing up his words with action.
Special Comment: Torture Accountability - A special comment I can agree with. Keith Olbermann makes the argument that for the sake of the country, Bush and his cronies must be held accountable for ignoring and violating the law. Obama wants to "move forward", essentially ignoring what Bush did. As Olbermann pointed out, every time we "move forward" be it slavery (Civil War), no war crimes after WWI (WWII), ignoring of trusts in 1900s (see bailout of today), McCarthyism (Watergate), and so on. Basically ignoring what happened means it simply gets repeated later. In this case, some future President will look at the Bush years as an example of how to push policy rather than a cautionary tale (like Nixon) on how to not conduct business. A lesson needs to be made of Bush and his friends, not just to heal today's wounds but to prevent future ones.
Starcraft II Battle Report - Terran vs. Zerg in a battle report from Blizzard that shows off game play. It is 20 minutes long but if you’re as interested in this game as I am, I find it a fun watch.
New Harry Potter 6 Trailer - Click the link for the latest trailer that shows awesome visuals and a much darker style then before.
Pirate Bay Four Found Guilty - It is official, the four founders of the Pirate Bay were found guilty of charges of being accessories to copyright infringement and ordered to spend a year in prison and pay about $3.5 million in damages. The site itself seems unaffected and the four said they would appeal.
DSI Stop Motion Disassembly - A cool video from TechRestore were they use stop motion to have a Nintendo DSi appear to take itself apart. I wouldn't mind seeing a "how they do that" video of the process.
Lego Battleship Yamato - Watch the below video that showcases the Lego Battleship Yamato. It is 22 feet long, took 6 years and 4 months to complete, 200k bricks and weighs 330 pounds. This sucker is constructed 1/40 scale. The video even shows how it was assembled and included a motorized gun. Simply amazing. Lego should consider buying it for one of their parks.
What Is In the Foreclosure Plan? - A breakdown of some of the ideas in Obama's plan to get the country out of the housing foreclosure crisis that has brought banks to their knees and stopped the credit train that keeps many businesses going. To me any plan that doesn't include interest rate caps on credit cards and bank loans, while strongly encouraging re-negotiating loans at lower interest rates is plan doomed to fail.
Nintendo DSi for North America Dated - Nintendo DS version 3.0 is coming stateside on April 5th. The device will no longer play GB Advance games but will play all DS games and includes features such as cameras, voice recorder, music player, SD card slot and other features. It will retail for $170.
Track the Stimulus Bill Spending - A new website from the Obama administration attempts to keep his promise of increased transparency in the White House by launching the website Recovery.gov so people can see where those billions are going. A good start and hopefully a sign of more use of technology by the government.
The Legend of Chun-Li Clips - Five clips, none of them exactly confidence inducing footage. Moon Bloodgood is looking hot though.
Watchman Run Time, Clips, DVD Release Info - The Watchman marketing machine continues. With that is news the theatrical run of the movie is 2 hours 36 minutes, and a DVD director's cut is in the works that will be 3 hours 10 minutes. There will also be a 3 hour 25 minute cut with "Tales of the Black Freighter" footage to create a movie experience that as close to the book as possible. Also, clicking below is a bunch of clips from the movie coming out March 6th.
Hypocrisy of a Republican - Keith Olbermann points out the hypocrisy of Eric Cantor and other GOPers. On one hand, they happily give up 800 billion to banks, a trillion to Iraq, etc but they have fits over the stimulus bill. They crow against the bill while in their home state issues press releases about what they did to bring that money to their states while not voting for the bill at all. In the case of Eric Cantor, he does all that and makes sure his wife got hold of some of that bailout money. Is there a time when a Republican isn't a hypocrite anymore?
It is finally over. President Bush's administration is no more, off to right his memoirs and explain why his ability to avoid introspection and have doubt is why he is a great leader.
As a final goodbye, here is Keith Olbermann summarizing the disastrous Bush legacy in eight minutes. A series of disasters not even the big business he spent eight years catering too.
Those are the problems that Bush helped create. Now the world seems to converge in Washington, DC to not watch the end of those horrible eight years but instead to celebrate another step made in the American Dream and to look to the future. President Barack Obama. He may not be able to fix our problems for a while, if ever, but he brings something to the table that we have not had for eight long years - hope. Fear was Bush and the Republicans’ favorite tool and hope is Obama's as his acceptance speech and the cheers illustrate.
Keith Olbermann aired a new commentary on the eve of Obama's inauguration to take Bush and company to task for breaking the law and to Obama for refusing to look into it. Obama has made it clear that as far as he is concerned, the sins of the past are to be forgotten and forgiven as if nothing was done wrong. The problem with this belief is it sounds nice on paper but people have a tendency to believe that if they can get away with something, they can always get away with it. In other words, even if his administration remains corrupt free (doubtful), the next (likely Republican) will know they have carte blanche to do whatever they want. An accounting is needed. Not only for justice, not because it is right, but to make sure that those that want to repeat history will think twice about it.
Oops been a while. Here is the last few weeks of links that grabbed my interest. There is a gallery of a Lego Delorean, an end of the Encyclopedia, exercise myths, more proof of MPAA/RIAA lies used to stomp our freedom for corporate benefit, Keith Olbermann fired, and two amusing videos.
