Linkfest

Lego Princess Ceinwyn
Hit the link for a gallery of images of the Princess Ceinwyn created by Luke Hutchinson out of Lego. Very pretty with cloth sails and a nice Lego ocean base to complete the look. (via Brothers Brick)

Warren Buffet - Stop Coddling the Rich
In an article in the NY Times, super rich Warren Buffett makes the rather obvious argument that it is time to tax the rich. The 10 year experiment of constantly cutting taxes on the "job creators" that the GOP has been advocating has simply not worked. Two recessions and negative economic growth for the poor and middle classes have proven this. The only people that have seen growth in these last years from the GOP policies? The super rich of course. Thanks to the multitude of tax loopholes that the GOP refuse to close, the rich actually pay less a percentage of taxes than any other group. Buffett points out he paid 17.4% while other people in his office averaged 36%. I am lower middle class and my burden came out to about 27%. I think the national average is something like 24%. Net result is all this crap about "being fair" that the GOP advocates fails to point out that the rich actually are paying less than everyone else. The article is worth reading and it sums succulently as tax cuts for the rich ("job creators") does not equal job creation as the rich do not allow tax policy to interfere with their efforts to invest and make more money.

Meet Comex, iOS Hacker Supreme
Forbes has posted a great article that covers hacking genius of 19 year old Nicholas Allegra who has 3 times now hacked the Apple's iOS used in iPhone and iPad to create incredibly easy jailbreaks for those devices. A jailbreak allows you to use your paid for device in whatever way you see fit on whatever carrier you choose without big brother (Apple) having to approve it first. Hats off to Comex for his outstanding efforts, may he continue to be successful in thwarting Apple's iron fist of control.

US Patent System is Killing Innovation
An interesting op-ed piece on Gizmodo that points out how the new era of "Civil War" between tech companies will likely stifle innovation. What is currently happening is in the billion dollar markets of smart phones and tablets various companies is trying to use patents to squash the competition and become the only real provider of a certain type of product. The main culprit is Apple who is attempting to use courts to block the sale of any tablet device that isn't an iPad. This leads to other companies going over their lists of patents and using Apple in return saying their iPad violates patents and shouldn't be sold either. This goes back and forth until an agreement is reach. The problem though is this kind of fierce legal fighting (besides being the opposite of capitalism), means that some bright guy in his garage will likely be sued into oblivion or just bought up before some new product that might be better than the iPad could ever reach the public much less the market. When that happens, innovation ceases to occur.

Top 100 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
NPR compiled a list of the top 100 books of all time based on the votes of their readers (apparently a paltry 60k). The list isn't definitive nor is the number order that important but as a list of fantastic books to read it works as a great resource.

San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2011 Panels Links

Below are links to as many of the San Diego Comic Con Panels I could find that were posted on YouTube by people that attended the con. The panels cover topics like television shows, movies, comics, specific actors and creators and a wide variety of other topics. A panel could have actors, creators, and so forth appear from 30 minutes to an hour on stage to promote their current project often ending with fan Q&As. Usually the best panels are the ones where the participants seem to genuinely enjoy being there and interfacing with fans. Some of the many links before may seem incomplete for various reasons. They may include a necessary cut to remove copyrighted footage like trailers, gag reels and other fun stuff that if left in might result in the entire panel video being removed. Also in some cases the editing is just odd but most of the panel was there or it was the best I could find. The panels I recommend most is Castle, Eureka, Amazing Spider-Man, Game of Thrones (cause Emilia Clark is stunning), Joss Whedon (always entertaining), Kevin Smith (equally NSFW entertaining), and Torchwood: Miracle Day. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments along with links to any panels (or better copies) that I may not have found.

Links of the Week - Lots of Videos Edition

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.

Linkfest - GOP At It Again

Lego Serenity
Hit the link to view the Lego creation of the ship Serenity from the movie and the Firefly series. Stuff like this makes you wish Lego would get more into the sci-fi business as this would be awesome to be able to build. (via BrothersBrick)

2004 Election May Have Been Hacked
Court investigations in Ohio's 2004 presidential election (a key swing state then) indicates that the Republican Party may have hacked the election. The story is a key reason why the GOP was so gung ho on moving to paperless voting as most of the companies granted the contracts to provide electronic voting are Republican supported companies. In this case the company is Tennessee based SmarTech that was owned by Michael Connell (who died in an unexplained plane crash) who was a major GOP supporter. The evidence indicates that a redundancy switch to SmarTech kicked in during election day and after the change suddenly Bush experienced a surge in voting support. I suspect like most voting stories, the press will mostly ignore this one and focus on the fake ones the GOP creates to support their laws to prevent people from voting legally.

Links of the Week - Mostly Lego and Movies

End of the Space Shuttle Era
Today marks the official end of the Space Shuttle program as the Shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Thursday morning. Atlantis received a little fan love as it was towed home to the theme of Star Trek: Voyager. The program was launched back in 1976 with the test shuttle named Enterprise in homage to the Star Trek series. I was fortunate enough to see a night time shuttle launch back in 1996 I think. I don't remember exactly when but what I do remember is that amazing moment when night turned to day and the full capabilities of what mankind can do when driven towards a purpose that isn't entirely motivated by greed but simply for the quest for knowledge. I doubt we will see the like ever again. The first video is the towing (sound doesn't kick in for about a minute).



30 Years of the Space Shuttle in One Launch
At the link is a look back at the Shuttle program as Gizmodo combined footage from 30 years of launches to kind of emulate a single launch. A true end of an era.

Links of the Week - Safe Travels Atlantis

Space Shuttle's Final Launch
Today was a true end of an era as Atlantis became the final space shuttle launch in history. The program is officially retired after 30 years in service. The first shuttle, Columbia, on April 1981 and today marks the 134th and final mission. This is the probable first phase of the eventually elimination of NASA as private corporations get paid more and more to take over their responsibilities. Considering knowledge for knowledge's sake has no value to corporations, this day will probably mark the beginning of many ends to come in regards to space travel and the quest of knowledge of the universe.


Lego Batcave
Another work of Lego art. This one is a horizontal, more or less three floor representation of the Batcave complete with Batmobile, aircraft, and more that was created by Alex Schranz. Hit link for the gallery. (via Brothers Brick)

Links of the Week

Lego Super Star Destroyer
Lego has announced that they are going to release a 3,152 piece set that re-creates Star Wars' Super Star Destroyer. The set will retail for $399.99 and come with Dengar, Admiral Piett and IG-88 minifigs.

Weiner Resigns, GOP Wins Again
Once again the GOP successfully proved that they do not have to be held to their own standards. Under mounting pressure from the typically spineless Democratic leadership, Anthony Weiner resigned his seat in Congress. This is despite the fact that while he flirted online, GOPer David Vitter was caught breaking the law by cheating on his wife with prostitutes and fellow GOPer John Ensign was caught breaking Congress rules by covering up that he cheated on his wife with a staffer. Sure Ensign resigned but not because of the cheating but because of breaking the rules was going to get him kicked out. Keep in mind that while the press was relentless for nearly three weeks to cover this, ignoring everything else in the process, they barely gave more than a few days coverage to the other two for much more egregious behavior. The double standard lives on and now the Democrats have proven that it’s ok for Republicans to declare open season on them. Why kill em with better policy if can do it with a tweet or two? I do agree with Crook and Liars, I honestly don't care what all three of them did. I dislike the hypocrisy of the two GOPers since they ran on family values but overall who they cheat on or with isn't my concern. Those actions don't affect me. What policy and laws they propose do. I wish that is what the press would spend their time covering but given a choice between the story of wieners that doesn't affect us and the story of things that do, they will also go for things that don't matter.

E3 Video Game News and Announcements

The big three of the video game industry has held its press conferences at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that is being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Microsoft announced a fleet of games for the XBox 360, Sony announced their new handheld called the PS Vita while Nintendo introduced their next console the Wii U with touchpad controller. Read on for more details; hit the title link if interested in watching entire video of their keynotes.

Nintendo
Nintendo was last in the press conferences but not least as it presented a strong lineup of games and a new console that may allow them to once again compete with the others. The keynote started with a symphony playing Legend of Zelda tunes to a montage of Zelda games as a homage to the franchise's 25th Anniversary. Sadly no special collection is being planned, instead they are simply releasing a few past games like Link's Awakening along with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) for Christmas. In other words just business as usual. Games in the pipeline for the 3DS include Super Mario Kart 3D, Star Fox 3D, Super Mario 3D, Kid Icarus 3D, and Tetris 3D. Most expected to be released by end of the year. Kirby Wii was also announced but the Wii was not the focus.

Links of the Week - With Stupid Edition

Weiner Admits to Picture
The underwear picture heard around the world finally has its guilty man. New York Representative Anthony Weiner finally admitted the picture was his and apparently one of several he has sent out to woman over the internet the years. He admitted to the behavior but says he never had sex or even met the woman he was flirting with online. The GOP, of course, is asking for his head on a platter. Ignoring the fact that they stridently defended previous leaders like John Ensign among others that actually did take the step of cheating of getting laid by someone other than their wives. In the case of Ensign he broke the law multiple times to try and cover it up. Andrew Breitbart, he actually "broke" the story by buying the photos from one of Weiner's online woman, felt this "proved" he was a real journalist. After all in Republican land, if a "liberal" makes a mistake his entire career should be flushed down the toilet (see Dan Rather) but is a conservative makes nothing but mistakes (fake Black Panther story, fake Acorn story, fake Sherrod story, etc) then getting one right undoes all those others.

Apple's WWDC Introduces iOS 5

Today Steve Jobs held the key note address for Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 that did not introduce the iPhone 5 as hoped but instead introduced iOS 5 with iCloud. The emphasis on the update is to try to put data "in the cloud" so easily accessible from any iOS device (iPad, iPhone, etc). iOS 5 is being released sometime this Fall.

The key new feature is the replacement of the now defunct MobileMe called iCloud. The idea is a hub to store all data might use on an iOS device such as music, videos, photos, etc. It sounds a whole lot like Dropbox with an auto sync feature. All users will get 5GB free, not sure how much it costs for more. However, if you have music, Apple is introducing something called iTunes Match that will have you "upload" your music collection to iCloud and does not count to the 5GB limit. The reason for the quotes is it’s not really uploading your music but matching your music library to iTunes. This works for music already purchased from iTunes or music ripped from CD collection. If like me and didn't rip your collection at a good bit rate, this is a solid way to "upgrade" your collection to 256 kbps AAC files without going through the trouble of re-ripping everything. Just note that ACC is not as universally accepted a format as mp3.

Links of the Week

DC Comics Rebooting 70 Year History
DC has announced that it is rebooting its universe almost from scratch after their current "Flashpoint" story arc end. The relaunch will have 52 #1 titles come out that month starting with Justice League #1 (to left is the cover). The origin story, back story, events, costumes (including more clothing for the woman) and more will be altered to "modernize" the characters. While DC is being silent on specifics, it seems that the goal is to simplify the universe and make it easier to adapt to movies, television and video games. An example is from the art here which shows Green Lantern Hal Jordan using the ring to create a Gatling gun. Until the movie, that would have never done that, created preferring hitting hit opponents over shooting them. The tendency for creating guns was left to former Marine, Green Lantern John Stewart. Another example is Superman being de-aged to late 20s and more than likely no longer married, again aligning with the upcoming movie. The examples will probably continue with characters losing more complicated or "messy" portions of their past like deaths, marriages, offspring, and more. I am betting the directive is if the story arc or character can't be explained in less than two minutes, then that aspect will be removed from DC's new continuity. If you are a long time reader of comics, this news is probably bad but if you are looking to try them out (or hop off the collecting merry go round), this is good news. As a long time collector familiar with DC Comics history, I find the idea full of story potential but DC's execution over the years has been sloppy at best as Warner Bros executives ultimately make the big decisions and that often doesn't lead to good storytelling.

Links of the Week - Rant Edition

This linkfest is a bit rant heavy, call it a two week build up. If the political stuff bores you, just skip towards the end where have videos of a Lego creation, Tesla Orchestra doing Zelda theme, and various trailers.

North Carolina GOP Attempting to Ban Municipal Broadband
An interesting thing has been occurring in North Carolina. When local telecom and cable companies such as Time Warner refused to provide affordable internet and cable service or even run the needed lines, the local government stepped up to fill the void. Now the GOP likes to sell the argument that only public companies can provide services cheaply and profitably but it turns out that in this area so can the government as multiple municipals created not only some of the fastest networks in the state, they did it for a profit and at half the cost to the customer. So what does Time Warner and other companies do about this? Do they try to compete? Do they try to make their networks better? Of course not. Instead they buy off the Republicans in the state government to pass a law that outlaws these types of companies. For now Governor Bev Perdue has refused to sign the bill but that is unlikely to last. Yet another example of the GOP policy of "Make the rich richer, to hell with the rest."

2011 Fall TV Schedule Announced
The big four networks announced the official cancellations, renewals, and new shows that will be hitting the airwaves starting next Fall 2011. A lot of shows I liked were cancelled but for whatever reason I am mostly indifferent. On the schedule isn't really anything "buzz" worthy to me but really just a collection of mildly interesting programs. Any case hit the link to see how the schedule breaks down for CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC and CW. Note that things usually get tweaked further the closer to airdate.

Links of the Week

Just realized I have not posted anything here in a while. To me nothing major has happened. Technically stuff has happened in politics with Donald Trump and Huckabee deciding not to run for President but that was a gimme anyway. That fool Newt Gingrich is running but that too is just a play for money as he has proven to be a flim-flam artist but not much else. He knows the publicity will drive book sales and his speaking tours prices up which is all that really matters to him (besides the ego stroking). Still here are a few things that grabbed my interest.

15 States Get Florida's $2 Billion
On one hand you have to give credit, Republican putting money where his mouth is. On the other hand the state is hurting for jobs, is hurting for income and just needs helps so the money isn't really his but the citizens of the state. Sadly logic never plays into GOP thinking as Governor Rick Scott cancelled a high speed rail project that would have given Florida $2.4 billion to build. The GOP's hatred of infrastructure projects (better to let things fall apart) knows no bounds. The empty gesture didn't "return" the money to the government but instead allowed 15 states to pick up the pieces and improve their own rail systems. For the GOP, if it doesn't benefit the rich, it shouldn't benefit anybody even though a rail system is a cheaper, safer, and all around better alternative to transportation for commuters compared to rush hour traffic. Just a reminder the primary goal of the GOP is "Make the rich richer, to hell with the rest."

Library of Congress' National Jukebox
"The Library of Congress presents the National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation and other contributing libraries and archives." The Jukebox is streaming only with a huge collection of music, speeches, readings and more going back nearly the entire century.

Links of the Day - Dead Osama Edition

Osama bin Laden Dead
After nearly 10 years, the architect of 9/11 is finally dead. The Al Qaeda leader was killed by US soldiers after his hiding place, a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was discovered. The body was confirmed to be his via DNA results. The body itself was dumped at sea as no country wanted to "host" the body since it would likely grab unwanted attention. President Obama gave a speech at 11:35PM EST confirming the kill. Approximately 5 seconds later the GOP began work on trying to spin the event as a success for Bush Jr. and how Obama was riding on his coattails. Spontaneous celebrations began in front of White House and ground zero and reportedly elsewhere as people celebrated his death. Europe's leadership was pleased with his death and quick to remind everyone that the terrorist threats will continue. Sadly that is all too true for as many terrorists that might have had their will broken by this death, probably just as many have a new martyr to rally around.

Links of the Week

R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen
On April 20th, the fans of Doctor Who experienced a huge blow when Elisabeth Sladen died at the age of 63 after a battle with cancer. She played Sarah Jane Smith, the "companion" in Doctor Who from 1973 to 1976, cameoed several times in the reboot and then starred in the spin-off show "The Sarah Jane Adventures" which still has a few shows left unaired. "Never meet your heroes,' wise people say. They weren't thinking of Lis Sladen," Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat said.

"9 Things The Rich Don't Want You To Know About Taxes"
While the GOP with Tea Party assist has done a wonderful job of confusing people about taxes, you really wish people would read things like the above article. It hammers home what I have been saying for a while which is the GOP true slogan is "Make the rich richer, to hell with the rest." The article attacks their main myths about taxes and backs them up with something the GOP doesn't bother - actual facts and not just a bunch of repeated opinions. For example, guess what, the poor do pay taxes. It may not be income taxes but they pay it in federal payroll taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, utility taxes and a whole bunch more. In fact, because the poor have less that are deductible and less tax loop holes to take advantage of, they pay a higher percentage (11%) then the average rich (4%). But since the GOP like to attack income taxes, then the rich must be paying a high cost. Turns out that isn't true. The reason again is lots and lots of tax loop holes for the rich, loopholes the GOP have refused to close. With a lot of fancy tax work, the average person can abuse the system and take their tax burden down to 2% or less. Another argument of the GOP is the richer the rich are, the more they will help everyone else. Except that has not happened. The top tax rate (pre-deductibles and loop holes) went from 70% in 1980 to 35%. At the same time the average income of 90% of Americans in the last 30 years has increased a whopping $303.00 (around 1%). Nope not a typo. The rich though have enjoyed a $1.1 million add to their bottom line. How about this, tax breaks create jobs. Turns out they don't always, especially when no conditions are tied to the breaks as the GOP prefers to do things. Again thanks to loop holes and the already low tax rate, it is currently more profitable for corporations to create temporary jobs to enjoy the tax rate and then quickly fire people after. All that matters is on paper is the jobs had been created, not how long they had existed. Temporary jobs are not exactly what people have in mind. There is more than that and worth the read. (via Chicago Tribune)

Goodbye Gizmo

I don't really get into personal stuff on my blogs. Main reason is because just like my privacy but in this case it seems needed as for me it is a true End of an Era with the death of my cat of nearly 19 years - Gizmo (11/1992 - 4/2011).

He was a cat of pure love that made it so easy to love him back. He gave it and received it absolute ease and no conditions. The simple act of existing and acknowledging his existence with all he needed to be happy. The simple act of saying his name would lead to a pleased look and this loud rumble that was surprising loud for such a little body. He was so slow to anger. He hated his belly to be touched and messed with and yet despite that you would have to spend a determined five minutes to build his aggravation to the point to even get the growls to come out of him. By then the hurt look on his face would compel you to stop and give him a hug. If you got to loud, he seemed to read that as a sign of distress and would make it his mission by insisting you come down, either by meowing loudly or hopping on you and biting at your head until you stopped.

He loved bed time, often coming to get me if I was taking too long and leading to the room. He would hop into his "well" and I would drift to sleep with his quiet purring next to me and wake up the next day to his presence. The moment he knew I was awake the purr would start again. He loved nothing more than to be around me even if just across the room.

If I have one regret with him it was the last week of his life. It was not really a busy week or anything; I just had things I was doing. He continued to lull me to sleep and be there when I woke. Where normally I rub him, hub him and retrieve him to put in my lap, that week I didn't really do that. A wave would be enough (last thing I did before his death) instead of what should have been a hug or a rub. I didn't go get him as much as I normally do, leaving him to his own devices.

I don't doubt he knew I loved him, I just am sad that his last week was less than it should have been. I regret taking him for granted and just assuming he would always be there. To all of you, just make sure to give your pets that extra hug, another second of rub and don't let just calling their name or a wave be enough to show you care. That last week will probably become one of my great regrets.

Goodbye Gizmo. The greatest, sweetest, most loving cat I have ever experienced. You were pure love without a touch of malice, something that is truly rare in this world. You will always be cherished for the happiness you brought to my life.

Links of the Week

Legoland Star Wars Gallery
The Star Wars attraction at Legoland California which as more than 2000 Lego Star Wars sculptures on display. Hit the link for a gallery of some of the masterpieces.

25 Years of Pixar Animation
An excellent fan made video that celebrates 25 years of excellence from Pixar which brought us Toy Story, Cars, Up, Wall-E and so much more.


WonderCon Green Lantern Footage and Panel
Below is four minutes from Green Lantern along with all five parts of the WonderCon panel. Over all the footage makes the movie look much better than the teaser trailer had. Definitely going for an epic, universe spanning feel that DC movies have normally lacked.

Links of the Week

Obama's Speech on Libya
Today President Obama gave a speech on the US's involvement in the quest for freedom in Libya (transcript at link). I still have not wrapped my head around on what I think of our participation in trying to eliminate Gaddafi who is yet another of Ronald Reagan era puppets that have come to bite us on the rear along with Hussein, Osama, and pretty much every other conflict from the last 30 years. When was the last time Republicans made a major nationwide impacting decision that didn't turn out to be wrong in hindsight? Yeah I can't remember one either. The idea of the US truly fighting for freedom is a nice change of pace considering in most cases we have either been trying to force freedom on others or simply preserving the oil flow. On the other hand, we are still fighting two other Republican created wars that seem to have no real end in sight and even if Obama has an exit plan (another nice change of pace), a third front just seems to be two too many. We are committed, I hope it works but the line should stop at us providing soldiers on the ground or helping in the rebuilding effort. At this point if the "rebels" cannot take the country by convincing the military to join them, it becomes a moot point as the US simply cannot afford to take on a unified Libya. Sure we could beat them, very easily but as we already learned with Iraq and Afghanistan, defining when victory has actually occurred is a murky line that we can't seem to identify.

Most Corporations Don't Pay Taxes
Right now Republicans are continuing the argument that if we do everything we can to make rich people and corporations happy, they just might be kind enough to create jobs for the rest of us. This belief extends to profits where 2/3 of US corporations doesn’t pay taxes and in fact often get paid by tax papers for simply existing. An example, from the Daily Show, is GE which made $14.2 billion in profits and was paid $3.2 billion in tax benefits. Yet we should give up more. Sure we have been making them happy for more than 30 years with constant drops in taxes, eliminating regulations, and so much more. Rich Republicans are demanding we ignore that the average American's income has remained stagnant for 30 years while the rich has grown over 500%. Ignore that corporations are showing the largest jump in profits since 1950 and most are not only showing record profits but have a lot of cash banked. Instead they say everyone that isn't part of the top 2% should give up more. Education, labor rights, more taxes, anything and everything that can be given should be given to corporations. Heck we are even giving up our jobs so they can be done overseas but according to Republicans we are just not doing enough. Sure corporations are doing outstanding by cutting jobs and letting Republicans feed the meme but this year will be different! We just have to give up more! And come this time next year what will the Republicans be saying when the job market is about the same for the third year in a row? Yep, we have not given up enough. Just like they have been saying for the last 30 years. When will people get it, the Republican Party has only one agenda - make the rich richer, to hell with the rest.

9.0 Earthquake with Tsunami Hits Japan (Updated)

At 2:46PM Japan time (5:46AM UTC/GMC time or 12:46am EST) a 9.0 magnitude (upgraded from 8.9) earthquake struck 231 miles off the coast of north Japan. The resulting tsunami was reported to be as high as 33 feet high when they struck the coast of Japan causing extensive damage and unknown casualties. Aftershocks continue to be felt in the country as rescue efforts begin. The earthquake is the fifth largest recorded magnitude since 1900 and the largest recorded for Japan. (EDIS details on quake)

In additional at least 20 countries and Pacific islands have issued tsunami alerts. Effected countries include Russia, Indonesia, Guatemala and state of Hawaii. The time of land fall can be estimated but size of the tsunami when it hits will be unknown as no telling how much it may dissipate as it travels across the Pacific Ocean. There is even a giant whirlpool off the coast.

For Japan the crisis turns to rescue and recovery with shelter, food and water becoming an issue for people trapped by the water, mud and destruction. For the rest of the world, we hold are breath and wait to see what happens as countries in the tsunami's path are hit. Thoughts and prayers to the people of Japan.

Below are links to live coverage of this tragic disaster along with a video of the tsunami as it swept across farmland taking homes, cars and more with it a path of destruction.

Live Japan TV UStream | Live AlJazeera TV | Live BBC News

Update: The tsuanami wave has hit the various Pacific countries but the after effects continue. The wave reached as far as six miles inland near Sendai, destroying entire town in the Miyagi Prefecture. Japan's nuclear power plants are in a state of emergency as cooling systems have failed and its possible the venting of nuclear gas may be necessary to avoid a meltdown. If that wasn't enough, some of them are now reporting radiation leaks into the surrounding area. Now buildings are collapsing, on fire and people are stuck on roofs desperate for rescue. Land all along the Pacific Ocean were hit, with reports of 8 foot waves in Hawaii (causing minor damage) and retaining enough power to still be a few feet high wave rolled through San Francisco Bay. The long term problems Japan is facing are massive in proportion. We already know the Japanese people are resiliant and strong. The question isn't will they recover, just how long it will take.

If you wish to donate, the Red Cross is taking donations here or used text messaging by sending the word REDCROSS to 90999. Each text will donate $10 to the fund and will show on your next phone bill.

Here are more links to coverage, videos and more of this tragic disaster that has taken a current unknown number of lives.

Tsunami hits Sendai - 18 minutes of video as the tsnuami strikes area
Google Crisis Reponse Site - resources to get more information, including "People Finder" for those effected by disaster.
Power of the Japan Tsunami - Color code image of tsunami amplitude (in cm) for 1st 24 hours of wave propagation.
Earthquake Ripple video - Computer generation of shockwave as spreads across Pacific Ocean
Audio of Quake - "harmonic and rhythmic sounds are the sonification of seismic activity off coast of Honshu" during the quake.
Skyscapers swaying video - Bizarre to see even if part of building design to help absorb earthquake shock waves.
Eyewitness Video Collection - A bunch of videos that show the disaster as it occurred
Aerial Photos of Destruction - Large gallery that shows extent of the damage to Japan


UStream Live

Links of the Week - Union Busting

Wisconsin Senate Passes Anti-Union Law
For the last three weeks, the Wisconsin state Congress has more or less been grid locked. The reason was because of a requirement to have quorum (min. number of representatives) to pass bills involving the state budget. After a multitude of threats while constantly claiming the union busting was for fiscal reasons (despite common sense and evidence to the contrary), the Senate GOP decided to make an on the fly re-interpretation of the rules and removed all financial provisions of the bill leaving only the union busting portions and then passing it in the space of about 10 minutes. This bill has become the template of what GOP is attempting to do in almost two dozen states.

This sudden ability to pass the law despite what the law says proves what everyone already knows - the GOP is nothing but a group of liars that only care about the rich. They claims it was all about balancing the state budget (after giving $140 million to the rich in tax cuts) but out of nowhere they pass the bill as a non-budget bill. It can't be both. It either is about the budget or it is all about just busting unions while using the GOP caused state budget crisis as the excuse. The GOP has one goal and everything they do is in support of that goal, "Make the rich richer, to hell with the rest." That should have been obvious for years but Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker being tricked into revealing his desire to change history to someone pretending to be billionaire and huge GOP support David Koch.

What the GOP is doing is despicable but then again I have never heard or met a GOP supporter that didn't have wandering morals and are huge hypocrites. Need evidence? How about the Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader appearing on Faux News to crow about his victory unintentionally let slipping a little truth, "If we win this battle, and the money is not there under the auspices of the unions, certainly what you’re going to find is President Obama is going to have a much difficult, much more difficult time getting elected and winning the state of Wisconsin." Basically the GOP is trying to bust the unions so that the Democrats have less money to run on elections with and possibly lead to defeat of Barack Obama. If you live in any of those states, is your state representative making decisions based on how it affects national politics really something you want them focused about? What happened to "jobs, jobs, jobs"? It’s been three months and so far it seems the GOP is focused on everything but that. Again, further proof of their real agenda. Jobs falls under "to hell with the rest" as do unions. Irony is I am not even a fan of unions as consider them currently no longer necessary but as corporations continue to have more and more say on our daily lives thanks to the GOP, it seems that belief needs to be re-evaluated.

iPad 2 Announced

Today Steve Jobs briefly returned from his medical leave to announce the next iteration of the iPad (video), simply dubbed iPad2 even though the official name remains the iPad. Overall the device once again moves the bar forward on design, continuing to make Apple's competitors look obsolete even before their attempt at a first wave of competing devices hit the market. This time last year I was not a fan of the iPad, expecting the Android and Windows based pads to not only be on the market in droves but be priced competitively and often a lot more options. That day has yet to arrive and the new thinner, fast iPad means that waiting on those devices is pointless. The iPad will hit stores starting March 11th.

The iPad 2 isn't really a technological leap forward but just a small movement much like the iPhone 4 was compared to the 3GS. But when your competition is asleep at the wheel a small move still looks gigantic by comparison. The overall internal stats are really nothing special from one version to the next. The screen is the same; the storage is the same, battery life, wi-fi and so forth. The major changes are a boost in processor speed with the A5 duel-core chip, a front and rear facing cameras, and a 33% thinner device. Considering size does matter, the thinner the better. Current rumors indicate that Apple only has 256MB RAM so that remains a bit of a bottleneck for speed. Hand-on tests (video below) show a beautiful device (that will be available in white) that is much faster in response, .2 ounces lighter, and more comfortable to hold.

Links of the Day

New Zealand Struck by 6.3 EarthquakeAround 1pm yesterday downtown Christchurch, New Zealand was struck by a 6.3 earthquake that has devastated the city. Reports indicate that 75 have died with many more injured. Rescue operations continue to find people trapped in buildings. The earthquake "toppled buildings onto buses, buckled streets, forced the collapse of a cathedral spire and cut power for most of the city." The city also experienced 33 aftershocks with range of magnitudes of 4 to 6. Condolences to all those that lost family and friends.

R.I.P. Dwayne McDuffie
The name may not be familiar but if you enjoy cartoons or comics you are probably familiar with his work even if don't know it. He started in comics working for both Marvel and DC. He eventually created Milestone Media in an attempt to create a more diversified super hero world which included the hero Static. Later he moved onto animation where he wrote stories for acclaimed cartoon series Justice League, was story editor and producer of Justice League Unlimited. He also worked on Ben 10 and Static Shock cartoon series. He later returned to write comics but never stepped far from his animation with his most recent work, All-Star Superman just hitting DVD and Blu-ray shelves today. Thanks to his DC animated efforts and Ben 10; I have a feeling that many generations of children (and adults like me) will enjoy his legacy for years to come. (image from aalbc.com)

Links of the Week - Mubarak Resigns

Dictator Mubarak Era Ends in ResignationAfter 18 days of protests, Egyptian "President" Hosni Mubarak resigned turning the government over to the military's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. In theory this could lead to democracy returning to the country with open elections instead of the essentially fake elections of the last few decades. It is also possible that the military simply decides to overthrow the country and install a dictator. Currently Egypt is in celebration mode so doesn't seem "What next?" has been considered just yet. The military has mostly taken a neutral position on the protests and attempted to maintain the peace and disrupt attempts at violence. What violence that occurred was mostly against pro and anti-Mubarak protestors. The net result is the military leadership clearly does not want to interfere with the wishes of the Egyptian people. A lesson the US could learn as Mubarak was a creation of the Reagan administration and supported by all that followed. Congratulations to the people of Egypt! The road ahead is long but may it be glorious.

FBI Investigating Scientology
Finally after decades of reports, the FBI has finally decided to do its job and investigate the Church of Scientology. The church has long been accused of essentially treating many of members, especially those in "Sea Org" as virtual slaves, abusing children and engaging in practices that you would expect to read about from a dictatorship instead of a so-called church. The cult, of course, denies the allegations and probably even now using its full legal and lobbying efforts to end the investigation as soon as possible. While I expect nothing will truly come of this, it is hopefully one of many small steps needed to end this dangerous and greedy cult. Hit the link for the details.

Egyptian Revolution

For the last eight days, the youth of Egypt (about 30% of the population) has been protesting against the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Dictator is actually more accurate as the elections are often fixed and opposition is often threatened, beaten, jailed, or killed. Mubarak took over after Anwar Sadat was murdered in 1981, using a then emergency decree to maintain his power. Technically there are elections, but the last person to run against him spent four years in jail. Also, there have been indications that he was really trying to establish a dynasty by having his son succeed him.

For the Egyptians people the goal of the protests is a move to a real democracy where they vote for those in power. The goal for Mubarak was to maintain his power. The goal for the United States? Hard to tell. On one hand Mubarak has been a friend of the US and a strong stabilizing force in the Middle East. He is a known and predictable quantity. On the other hand, generally when elections occur in Middle Eastern countries, it rarely is for a government that loves the United States. So Obama, as the voice of the United States, is in a rock and a hard place.

This country vocally supports democracy while happy propping up dictators and terrorists whenever it seemed to support the United States (usually for business) interests. See history of Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and how they came into power as two of many examples. This rock and hard place is why Obama and company have been very careful in how they handle this situation. They are desperately trying to avoid angering the current government if somehow Mubarak is able to maintain power but also trying to avoid accusations of interference or worse, trying to prop up the new government. For Obama, it’s a careful dance of supporting all sides while offending no sides. It is unlikely to work at it seems the situation has reached a point where declaration of support for the people of Egypt is a needed next step.

As citizens of the United States, of claiming to cherish freedom, the choice seems clear - support the removal of a dictator and freedom for the Egyptian people if even the government that comes into power may become our enemy. Generally speaking, Americans often give lip service to ideals but when confronted with taking action they take the path of least resistance and hate (see gay marriage, hatred of gays, Patriot Act and so many more examples). I hope that doesn't occur here.

Today there has been some pseudo-movement in the question for democracy in Egypt. Mubarak has pledged to step down and hand over power to a successor in September. The problem is, as a dictator he can change his mind at any time. Even more important, he can use the time to get the full faith and support of the military. So goes the military, so goes the government. As expected, the protesters did not like this "concession" as they chanted "Down with Mubarak." What comes next is unknown but this seems far from over.

Links of the Day

Fox News' Black Panthers Video Faked by GOP
An investigation into the "New Black Panther" video that Fox News, especially Megyn Kelly, spent months used as "proof" of some grand country wide "voter intimidation" conspiracy has turned out to be a complete fake. The video was actually the creation of GOP attorneys and the full video proves it (at the link). Something that Fox News probably is completely aware of but edited for their narrative of fear. After all the only party historically to engage in tactics to prevent people from voting is the Republican Party. They often support any initiatives that would restrict voting to white Republicans. However, "they do it too!" is a great way to warp the conversation is even there is only one example to hundreds and even if that one example turns out to be a fabrication.

Sony's PSP2, NGP Announcement Video
Hit the link to watch Sony's entire press conference where it announced its Next Generation Portable device as a successor to the PSP. The device is expected to have the near graphic power of the PS2 and probably cost twice as much when released around this Christmas.

John Barry Dead at 77
Oscar-winning composer John Barry died Monday of a heart attack in New York. He won five Oscars over his career for Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves. He also scored almost all of the James Bond films and is responsible for pretty much ever musical queue that makes you think "007". Condolences to his friends and family.

Links of the Week

PSP 2 Officially Announced (gallery)
Sony has officially announced its next generation hardware and software. The codename of the device is NPG (Next Generation PSP) but PSP2 seems to fit better until the official name is released. The device sports 4 core processor, near PS3 level graphics, two touch screens, two cameras, microphone, speakers, six-axis motion sensing system, GPS, Wi-Fi, and more. It appears to be a touch bigger than the current PSP system but has a lot more power and more potential with Sony envisioning people switching back and forth between saved games on the PSP2 and the PS3. The game will support downloading games from the Playstation Network like the PSP Go does and interestingly it will have a flash drive cartridge support like the Nintendo DS does so retail will be happy. There is no release date or price but I imagine you are looking at around $299 and higher. In additional, Sony announced the Playstation Suite which is an Android application that will allow playing certain Playstation Network titles on Android devices. This is probably what explains the leaked Playstation Phones over the last few months as devices have probably been tested to take full advantage of the PS Suite. Below are various videos from the keynote in Japan.
PSP2 Revealed | Gameplay | Little Deviants

2011 Oscar Nominations
Hit the link for the list of nominated films in the various categories. Few surprises involved with the pack leaders being The King's Speech (12 noms) and The Social Network (8 noms). About the only surprise is Christopher Nolan did not get a Best Director nod for Inception which doesn't really surprise me consider most of the Academy is made up of older (like 55+) members that probably didn't understand most of Inception. That skewed age range is important to keep in mind as it often explains the nomination and winners. The age gap should favor the superior The King's Speech to win Best Film over The Social Network which for reasons I can't fathom is a critical darling. My picks for likely winners for Best Actor are Colin Firth, Best Actress to Natalie Portman, and Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Film. Any other choices would just be random guessing on my part.

Links of the Week

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.

Links of the Week

Verizon Score the iPhone
If you are tired of AT&T but love your iPhone, then February 10th will be a good day for you as Verizon will be caring the device. Sadly no price plans were revealed so not exactly confidence inducing, but still a good sign. Even better, Verizon will support using the phone as a local hotspot, something AT&T currently doesn't. Again no idea if that cost is built in or not. Prices for the iPhone do not change and of course your ability to switch providers may depend on whether you are on plan or not or willing to take the hit for early termination.

GOP Health Care Repeal Would Add $230 Billion to Deficit
When will people learn that the Republican Party has never been fiscally responsible? It is a myth they run on every election cycle but look at their record; they have never actually come close to fulfilling those now decades’ old promises. They have already added another trillion to the deficit by pushing through a deal to give $700 billion of that in tax cuts to the rich and now they have a plan that is an attempt to repeal health care and added another quarter trillion. Not even one month into office and already they have added nothing but debt. The reason for the increase is simple in its logic. Which is cheaper? Going to the doctor while you have the sniffles or going to the hospital because you have developed Pneumonia? Now multiple that by the current 32 million of uninsured. If people have insurance, they simply like to use the insurance to take care of medical problems before they become full emergencies. As it stands, when that care occurs as an emergency, the tax payers foot 100% of the bill. If the person is insured, then that is at least partially or mostly going to be covered by insurance companies. It really is that simple despite Fox News very effective attempts at making the idiots out there believe otherwise.

Supermarket Shooting Tragedy

Saturday six people were and 14 people injured in a shooting spree when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a Safeway supermarket in Tucson, Arizona where U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding a public event. Those killed included Federal Judge John Roll and 9 year old Christina Green who was born on September 11, 2001. Rep. Giffords is currently in critical condition after surgery from a bullet that did hit her in the head. Loughner was araigned on two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder with a preliminary hearing for January 24th.

The question now has once again become "Why?" or more specifically who was at fault. It probably isn't a question that can be definitively answered. Based on people that knew Loughner ("friends" seems to be too strong a word), the 22 year old seems to be unstable and not terribly bright. As his five YouTube videos demonstrate, he began at some point to believe in various conspiracy theories involving the US currency (aka return to gold standard), mind control, overreach of government and other beliefs that fall right into the far right wheel house that current Conservative favorites like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Sharron Angle advocate.

However, you have to wonder just how much influence the current right wing extremism may have had on just an unstable mind. When you are told day after day that liberals are purposely trying to destroy America, take away your freedom, and everything you hold dear, it isn't a reach to think an unstable mind might decide that the only proper action is to destroy those that are seemingly trying to destroy him and his fellow Americans. Examples of this include the daily dose of conspiracy of Glenn Beck be it from his radio show, books or TV program were he twists every little thing into some grand plan to conquer America, like the liberals of America wake up each morning and go "what evil acts can I do today?".

Sarah Palin repurposed a tweet of hers into a call of action, complete with sun site graphic (removed from Sarah's website after the shooting), for the recent elections by saying "don't retreat, instead RELOAD!” The use of hunting and weapon phrasing is so common among conservatives that it reached a new extreme with Sharron Angle's "second amendment remedies" being a possible solution if Conservatives didn't get their way in the recent elections.

Links of the Week

Welcome to a New Year! Still have not figured out what this blog is about. Probably need to define something specific. If have any ideas, feel free to let me know in the comments. Until then, more links to things that grabbed my interest over the last week or so.

R.I.P. Pete Postlewaite
Grand character thespian Pete Postlethwaite sadly died to cancer on January 2nd at the age of 64. The actor, maybe not a household name, is probably a familiar face to many movie fans from his long career. His most recent roles included The Town, Inception, and Clash of the Titans. He also was in The Usual Suspects, The Lost World, Aliens 3, The Last of the Mohicans, Dragonheart and many more movies. The industry lost a giant they were not even aware of.

9/11 First Responder Bill Passes

After multiple filibusters and blocks from Republicans, the 9/11 First Responders bill (officially called The James Zadroga 9/11 Health Bill) has passed. The bill was intended to provide around $7 billion in care for responders by closing multiple corporate tax loopholes. This would have actually resulted in a bill that would have been deficit neutral. However, Senate Republicans balked at this because it went against their core belief that everything should be done to make the rich richer. Closing the tax loophole was removed but that wasn't enough. Despite adding nearly a $900 billion to the deficit by extending the bush tax cuts along with some extras for the rich, Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Mike Enzi of Wyoming balked at the $7 billion price tag. The final cost of the bill is $4.2 billion that might be paid for by foreign tourists and business visitors.

Once again, while this was debated for months, the Tea Party remained silent on this issue even though they happily invoke 9/11 frequently, are against anything that adds to the deficit and I would think would support the closing of tax loopholes. Yet again a reminder that the Tea Party is another name for Republican and neither group is nearly as patriotic or fiscally responsible as they claim to be. How people that are not rich (aka make under $250,000) continue to support such hypocrites is something I will never understand. The real shame is this was an easy bill to pass that should have been taken care of this summer without all the nonsense.

Net Neutrality Guidelines Created

Yesterday, the FCC issued new guidelines that are an attempt to at least move somewhat forward in a codified version of net neutrality. For those that may only get their info from Fox News, the idea behind net neutrality is real simple - all bits are created and should be treated equally. By this it means those that help get the data from point A to point B shouldn't have the ability to charge more for one type of bit over another, charge to get bits faster than others or anything else that results in some types of data being treated differently than others. By the way, not discussed is if want to treat data differently, that means the telecoms have to monitor and track what the data is for, in effect they will have to know everything you do online. Everyone, especially Americans should be for net neutrality then right? Ironically, the rules passed have basically angered everyone.

Links of the Week

Daily Show Smacks GOP for Blocking 9/11 Bill
When Jon Stewart gets angry, that is usually when the Daily Show is at its finest. Thursday's episode is an example of that as the laid a smack down on the GOP who, in a quest to add $900 billion in debt so the rich can get richer, continues to filibuster the 9/11 First Responders bill. The bill would help provide healthcare coverage to the brave men and woman who searched day and night searching for lost loved ones after that tragic day. As Stewart points out, you would think the party that gets outraged, with a huge assist from Fox News, on any little 9/11 related slight would be all over this bill but nope. This is a no brainer. This bill, more than any other, shows beyond doubt that the GOP has only one priority - get the rich richer. If not rich, then you can frankly just go to hell as far as they care. Not much better is the press which continues to show indifference, I guess because it isn't "sexy" enough but more than likely because they can't handle more than one major story in a 24 hour period. Anything then that and their on air talent gets lost. The entire episode should be watched as it begins with Stewart’s outrage, goes into an interview with a few 1st responders and then has Stewart correct so-called religious Mike Huckabee who manufactured excuses for the GOP's behavior but corrected every step of the way by Stewart. Why anyone supports a party that makes it clear that if you don't belong in the top 2% they could give two craps about you is something I will never understand.

Watching Fox News Makes You Stupid
As the graph shows, the more you watch Fox News, the less you know. Since Fox makes its bread and butter by essentially selling the same lie over and over until people believe it is true, can't really say the results are surprising. Still, having a scientific study back it up does not hurt. The study was based on polling 616 voters, finding how much they watched each network and what they knew about certain facts. Emphasis on facts. Not opinion, not policy but actually proven facts. The result is all there on the graph. You watch Fox News, you risk becoming stupid. Need more proof, go chat up a random Tea Partier.

Links of the Week

Gawker Media Passwords Released to Public
If you have ever commented on Gawker, IO9, Gizmodo, Lifehacker or other sites of the company, then you need to change your password ASAP. You might also consider changing your password to any sites that make use of that same username and password combination especially if used for personal information.

Fox News Boss Orders Slanted News
For a while now Fox News has claimed it is a real news organization by saying there is a difference between its real news times and its opinion news times. Realistically there is no difference as the network is truly 24/7 GOP opinion machine but many remained convinced. New proof further supports this notion as a memo from Bill Sammon, a Fox Managing Editor, pretty much forced all Fox News reporters, on air talent, etc to make sure they use GOP approved phrasing for things like "government option" instead of "public option" because in polls it shows people would support that wording less. After the memo went out, the change went into effect across the board in all the "real" news hours.

Obama Caves on Bush Taxes

To really no surprise of anyone, President Obama did as predicted and once again caved to Republicans on the Bush Tax cuts. The agreement is rather remarkable in the sense it is probably the first time these last years where Republicans may actually vote on a bill they compromised on (this use to be SOP before the Bush era). When Obama caved to Republicans before they all voted no as a block. This happened with health care which was compromised to the point it wasn't much different than the GOP's 1994 health care plan. The bailout which was supposed to have more stimulus spending was compromised to a 40% tax cuts for 98% of the country (which failed to recognize those cuts to no surprise) that every economic expert across the war said would result in a stimulus bill that would have a minimal impact on the economy. Something, two years later we now know was true.

The resulting compromise extends the Bush tax cuts while extending unemployment insurance. The Bush tax cuts will be extended two more years. The estate tax will be altered to protect the first $5 million of an inheritance with 35% tax rate. It used to be the first $2 million before the "Death Tax" moniker made it sound like it affected every American instead of only 1% because most Americans are stupid and can't be bothered to get more information than a made up label. The price tag for this is $10 billion or 2x what Obama's stupid federal employee freeze will "save".

The Earned Income Tax Credit and few others will be extended adding another $40 billion cost. Unemployment insurance, which the GOP voted down, will get a 13 month extension for a cost of $56 billion. Payroll taxes will get a 2% tax cut (so lunch once a pay period on the government, whoopee) which will cost $120 billion. It also has the odd investment spending bill that lets businesses deduct 100% of their investment spending for next two years. Conditional tax cuts work (something the GOP should embrace more but since the rich is their only priority that will never happen), but usually it’s something like 30% if bring a business in, or hire X number of workers. Not sure what a 100% write-off would accomplish. The suggested cost is $200 billion in tax revenue. Overall, this may have an impact of adding $426 billion to the deficit, ironic considering what the GOP campaigned on. Then again, if Americans paid more attention to history and not buzz words, they would know the GOP has never been fiscally responsible. Very hard to be when the goal is to give condition free money to corporations and the rich.

The GOP continue to claim that tax cuts for the rich will fix everything, ignoring the fact that hasn't worked for 10 years now and really 30 years if look at the failure of trickledown economics from 80's on (again unless rich as had 500% growth while everyone else remained stagnant). Unconditional tax cuts do nothing for the economy. The rich don't use it to create jobs or give raises and it has no impact on people's spending. A business either has the sales to support their hiring or they don't. When given to the rich and corporations, it is simply added it to the bottom line and nothing more. Now we are extending that failed economic policy for two more years. So Obama caved and the GOP got their wish for the next two years but at least some very minor stimulus was seeded in.

If Fox News continues its pretty remarkable run and Americans continue to stop using their brains, it is pretty clear the GOP figures they will get control of Congress so can go ahead and make the cuts permanent without regard for the impact it will have on the deficit. Good job Tea Party. Not even one month has passed and already the GOP has tossed you to the side. Next time look at history and recognize the GOP doesn't give two craps about you unless part of the upper 2%. Next time don't vote on the fantasy that you might win the lottery and become rich but on your current practical needs.

Links of the Week

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen
The now late, great comedian and movie star Leslie Nielsen died Monday from complications with pneumonia. The actor starred in the Airplane, Naked Gun and many other hilarious movies. Thanks for the laughs

Republicans Vote Against Tax Cuts for 98% of the Country
You know that issue that Republicans ran on, claiming fiscal responsibility with tax cuts? The issue that helped give birth to the Tea Party (because frankly they are stupid)? Yeah that one. It turns out; to no surprise (if now historically the GOP has never been fiscally responsible and only care about the rich) none of the GOP and Tea Party elected officials really believes in it. The House passed bill to make the Bush tax cuts for 98% of the country. All but 3 Republicans in the House voted against it. Why? Because the bill didn't include a $700 billion bonus tax cut for the other 2% of the country. A bonus that would go straight to the deficit, therefore not be fiscally responsible. The GOP claims giving tax cuts to the rich helps everyone. I point to the last 10 years when the rich got way richer while everyone else's wages and job security remained static or got worse. For 10 years we already had those Bush tax cuts and all we got was two recessions, stagnant job growth, stagnant wages and $3.5 trillion added to the deficit. How dumb does someone have to be to believe that continuing them will suddenly bring different results? Ten years, $3.5 trillion added to the deficit and what do we have to show for it? Not much? Exactly. So why support giving the rich another $700 billion bonus? So the GOP is on the record for being against tax cuts for 98% of the country. Why in the world did Democrats not try this before the election when those votes might have been used against the GOP?