Weekend Update - Sunshine Edition

It's been a marvelous sunny day, even went out and exposed my aging body to the sun for about an hour. The boy, freshly turned 12 joined me. He's suddenly gotten into word puzzles, the kind you can buy at Bi-Mart with crosswords, sudoku, and word find. Jonathan is really good at the latter one, finding words. I know you're wondering where I'm going with this, but I'm not really going anywhere, it's just that my son is really cool, and the weather today was really fine. We saw a ring around the sun about two hours ago, and I announced "it's going to rain." Now it's all moving in, and yes, it's going to rain. They think I'm a god. and perhaps, I may be. I am four days away from my very first social security check. At this moment, all's right with the world. But I digress ...

• We're giving Terry Jones the Bad Hat Idiot of the Week Award because without people like him religion wouldn't look quite so stupid. Terry is, of course you remember, the pastor of some southern church who announced he was going to burn the Koran, in public, and didn't care what happened if he did it. He, and all those who may follow him, is a religious moron. This time, Terry just about shot himself in the foot. Literally. Gotta love it.


• I really enjoy Bill Maher. Bill Maher wants you to know that he's no flag-burner. "I love America!" he gushes, sitting down for a two-hour interview with Rolling Stone. "It gives me so much material." Check out the Rolling Stone interview HERE.


• Have you gotten the E-mail yet that screams "Facts About The De-industrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind?" A quick Google side trip revealed the message's origins: a frighteningly Christian lad named Michael Snyder, shameless slinger of endless "shocking" doomsday scenarios via a site called "The Economic Collapse Blog," packed like a Jesus-clad fallout bunker with screeching headlines like "20 signs a horrific global food crisis is coming," "65 ways everything you now own is systematically being taken away from you" and "Armageddon for homeowners." So, you know, fun times at Michael's house. Mark Morford helps us out.


• Is that you John Wayne? Is this me? William Rivers Pitt writes about the The Mad Genius of Donald Trump.


• Military bases R U.S. Or so it seems. After the invasion of 2003, the Pentagon promptly started constructing a series of monster bases in occupied Iraq, the size of small American towns and with most of the amenities of home. These were for a projected garrison of 30,000 to 40,000 U.S. troops that top officials of the Bush administration initially anticipated would be free to hang out in that country for an armed eternity. In the end, hundreds of bases were built. (And now, hundreds have been closed down or handed over to the Iraqis and in some cases looted). With present U.S. troop strength at about 47,000 (not counting mercenaries) and falling, American officials are now practically pleading with an Iraqi government moving ever closer to the Iranians to let some American forces remain at a few giant bases beyond the official end-of-2011 withdrawal date. Noam Chomsky reports.

Weekend Update - Big Fat Business Edition

Got a chance to go see comedian Lewis Black Thursday night at the Hult Center here in Eugene. This was thanks to good friends Annie and Jim who found themselves with an extra ticket, and redefined for me the term "good friends" by giving it to me. Thanks again, guys. Calling Lewis Black a comedian feels a little strange. Oh he is a comedian, but he's quite a bit more. For you not familiar with him, Lewis Black has been categorized as a "ranter," i.e. one who rants. He's been called one of the best stand-up comedians in the world and has been mentioned in the same breath with Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin. He directs his ranting anger not necessarily at any political party, but at stupidity. And his act consists not just of what he says, it's the way he says it. His best bits are ones like pointing out the stupidity of listing the nutritional contents on bottled water. Thursday night I watched as he suddenly paused, took off his glasses, slowly rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands, then rubbed his stretched out trembling fingers over his temples with the pained expression of someone experiencing the worst migraine of his life, then quietly he begins talking again, building his voice slowly, making his case, then suddenly pinching his 62-year-old face into raging anger screaming epithets into the mic, and incredibly saying things that you and I wish we could say everyday at one time or another. Lewis Black feels our pain. We feel better knowing that he understands us. We are healed. But we digress ...

• Hooray hooray, the United States government isn't going to shut down for lack of funds afterall. Goshalmighty I sure am glad. And what's even better, the Repubs and Democs worked together (sorta) to keep everything going. The Repubs agreed to not make a big stink over abortion (this is a budget item?) and the Demos agreed to stop making fun of John Boehner going through male menopause. We all couldn't be happier. Especially the REAL people who are running this country, the big corporate CEO's. In the fourth quarter, profits at American businesses were up an astounding 29.2 percent, the fastest growth in more than 60 years. Collectively, American corporations logged profits at an annual rate of $1.678 trillion. So far, this recovery has not trickled down. After two relatively lean years, C.E.O.’s in finance, technology, energy and beyond are pulling down multimillion-dollar paychecks. Bizzzzzzness as usual.


• "I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism ... Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents." The above is a quote from the most highly decorated Marine in American history, Uncle Bob's favorite Marine, Smedley Butler. Check out this timely and fascinating article by Kevin Zeese of Warisacrime.org, as he describes how war is so good for U.S. Big Business.


• Repubs are always going on recently about how their style of budget will help "the job creators" in our society. Who are these so-called "job creators?" Those really really really rich people who pay little or no taxes and never come down out the hills. So where are all those jobs these super rich people are supposed to be making? The Daily Kos says It's Time for Accountability for "Job Creators."


• Glenn Beck is packing up and moving on down the proverbial media road. Yes friends, we've won. Well, I say "we" metaphorically. Maybe it was just Mark Morford. After all Glenn and Mark apparently share something. To quote Mark: "I had no idea the renowned right-wing fudgeball was, like me, also a burgeoning neo-pagan tantrika with a mystical, metaorgasmic, well-caffeinated alchemist edge, studying and practicing and soaking in the universal Spanda, the eternal vibrational wisdom of the ancients."

Spring, Proclaimed

The lake in the backyard seems to be down a few inches, therefore we have proclaimed it to be Spring, officially, at the Rush compound. There is no rush, however, to break out the rotor tiller like our over-the-top-organic-hippy neighbor who has already planted a large portion of seeds into an expanse of mud flats he calls a garden. A sign posted in his front yard states "Grow food, not lawns," and the rest of us neighbors suspect he hasn't the brains nor the guts to struggle with growing a lush, green, moss-free lawn true Americans envy and long for. This is, after all, Suburbia, not Mayberry, RFD. Mine needs mowing at this very minute, but alas it's once again raining. Therefore I am here, with you, enjoying a cold lager. And I digress ...

• With great joy we learned recently that Donald "The Donald" Trump is considering running for President in 2012. The Donald joins with other wonderful candidates from the dark side of reality such as Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachman, and Charlie Sheen. No wait, Charlie's not running. Yet. And what's more, The Donald has been hired by everyone's favorite "news" organization, Fox. Yep, every Monday morning viewers of Fox "News" can hear just what it is that's on The Donald's mind. "Bold, brash and never bashful, the Donald now makes his voice loud and clear every Monday on Fox," an announcer says in the promo. The promo then cuts to a clip of Trump saying, "my message is a better message than anybody else's." Neener neener neener. Oh, and it should be mentioned that The Donald has become a "birther." I personally think Barak Obama would be just fine if he didn't campaign at all.


• Extremely radioactive water is leaking directly into the sea after the horrifying earthquake in Japan. Every news release from that region is worse and more frightening than the one before. If you're not depressed enough today, read about it by clicking here.


• Remember that moment last year when Vice Prez Joe Biden blurted out, right on the TV, that the passage of Obama's health care plan was a "big f**king deal?" Oh boy, all the conservative ladies in their silly hats went crazy. 'Course they don't remember or don't want to remember their own Vice Prez's remark to a Senator on the floor of the Senate several years ago. I believe it was something like "go f**k yourself." Yes, it's the so called "F-Bomb," and it gets some people all sweaty and breathing hard. On Wednesday, Penny Nance, the CEO of Concerned Women for America, blasted the Obama administration for not doing more to protect America's children from dirty words. Oh yes, it's all Obama's fault. Check out this delightful article from Mother Jones that actually includes a link to George Carlin's rant on "Dirty Words." Definitely worth a rainy afternoon's reading.


• Mike Huckabee: "All Americans Should Be Forced at Gunpoint to Listen to David Barton." Interesting statement from several angles. And Mike did actually say it. David Barton is that odd religious conservative "historian" who is rewriting history as he goes. If you're not familiar with him, try this: Click Here. Scary dude, this one. He, as well as many Conservative politicians, think the United States should be governed by Christian law. And he's not above re-writing history to prove his point. Force me to listen to David Barton at gunpoint? Just shoot me.