"Hoosier" hospitality lives - at least if Metrodome fans are willing to take advantage of it! My fair city is offering parts of our now - blown up Hoosier/RCA Dome roof to help MN repair the "new sun roof" on their stadium. Who says the giving spirit of the holidays is dead?! :D AND, just to put some minds at ease, we did deflate the roof before THIS happened. ;)
I'm mentioning one "this day in history" item, but it's a doozy! On this date in 1791, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, took effect following ratification by Virginia. And, thanks to the much - beloved rarely - imitated author of Cheers & Jeers, Bill in Portland, ME, these rights have been "edited" for contemporary audiences!
I. You can say anything you want except "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, "I have a bomb in my suitcase" in an airport, or "Let's have a lengthy discussion about Sarah Palin's policy positions" anywhere; The press has total freedom, including the freedom to aid and abet the government as it invades a country for reasons that a smattering of investigative journalism would reveal as bullshit; The United States is technically godless, except during prayers in Congress and invocations at inaugurations and the end of any presidential speech, and also in the Pledge of Allegiance and on your money and also the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and...oh hell, let's just admit it: God is our pimp.
II. Guns---Fuck Yeah! (Adams calls dibs on the Uzi!)
III. You don’t have to let soldiers in your house. Unless they're really cute and lookin' for a good time.
IV. No searches and seizures without a warrant unless the information is gathered via a government-approved telecommunications company which is paid by your tax dollars to suck up all your communications like a vacuum cleaner and spit it out at the NSA, where an agent will sort through it all, especially your illegally-downloaded porn, for which he thanks you kindly.
V. The amendment to invoke when you're in really deep shit.
VI. You have a right to a trial by a jury of your peers. This is also called the "Be afraid, be very afraid" amendment.
VII. What? Two jury amendments in a row? Zzzzzzzzz....
VIII. No cruel or unusual punishment shall be authorized by anyone except whomever happens to become America's 20th Republican Vice President. Lucky duck!
IX. If the score is tied after nine amendments, we go into extra innings.
X. States don’t gotta do nuthin' if they don't wanna, and if you don’t agree then we're gonna secede. Also known as the "sore loser" amendment.
Now, let's SPARK. My university is in the midst of finals week, and it's stressful for EVERYBODY! Being able to do this would be super fun & sweet. Kitties should be allowed, too! To continue the animal theme, here are some hints to help prevent your critter from thinking your holiday decorations are just new chew toys. The former Mrs. Tiger Woods will NOT be spending her holidays alone, I imagine. If there was any justice in the world, Tiger would be all by his lonesome in front of his TV with just a bottle of lotion to keep him company! Finally, I want Santa to stop by this guy's house & do THIS!
Let's Countdown!
#5 "Tax Cuts for Everyone!" AKA "Antisocial Insecurity" AKA "The Cost of Cutting Taxes" - It’s time to frame the following image & send it to every Senator who just said "yes" today; read the roll call tally & retch.
Of course, the GOBP who voted "no" want the unemployed to end up in prisons or workhouses or something, so they don’t count. Barring a miracle beyond biblical or seasonal proportions in the House concerning tax cut extensions as passed by the Senate today, President Obama & all those who want him around for a 2nd term better hope & pray for an economy during the 2012 POTUS election run – up that’s good enough for people to forget all the angst this vote/these votes will cause because the GOBP is beginning to ready up their talking points about this deal, the GOBP will accuse this President of driving up the deficit either because of unemployment benefits or whatever, enough of the American electorate will buy into those talking points (witness mid – term election results), and President Obama WILL BE a one – term POTUS unless, to paraphrase Senator Harkin, $aint $arah from Wasilla ends up being the GOBP nominee. THEN, he’ll have a decent chance. Some Rep is claiming President Obama’s making phone calls claiming he WILL be a one – termer if this deal doesn’t get passed?! Oh, I hope said Rep’s wrong; if it’s true, it amounts to blackmail.
House Dems today are still standing their ground – until tomorrow; Keith said it – not me! Senator Jim "Waterloo" DeMint tried to scuttle DADT repeal & other legislation by making the entire bills be read before action was taken; Senator Harry Reid called his bluff (?!) and basically said, "OK, we can come back between Christmas & New Year’s if you’d like." Senator Kooky Kyl then became the newest warrior in the war on Christmas because he wants to be home when the same Santa makes a visit to the above – mentioned person’s house & delivers the same "gift" down said Senator’s chimney! ;D Most kids’ letters to Santa are not asking for toys; they are asking for clothing. Wow... There is still talk on the House side of the street to scuttle the estate tax shtick or replace the payroll tax holiday with some other form of credit. An idea I heard today was another round of checks sent to the American people. That might not be such a bad thing. Part of the stimulus package perception problem was that people didn’t "see" or were able to "touch" their tax cuts because it was in their pay checks; when GWB did it, he really crowed about it & sent us all those checks, remember? President Obama is on the same page as...get ready to retch here...TurdBlossom in telling House Dems to pass what the Senate did & not try to monkey around with it.
According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, 36% of respondents think the tax cut deal will help the economy, 43% think it will make no difference, and 17% think it will hurt the economy. The Council on Foreign Relations had this to say about our deficit picture after this deal. Said deal
...could spur higher U.S. borrowing costs and greater dependence on surplus countries like China.
OK, here’s that image again. Pictures are supposed to be worth a thousand words; let’s see if this helps!
Rep. Rush Holt isn’t feeling real enthusiastic about tomorrow’s vote in the House. He’s extremely worried about the impact of this deal upon Social Security. OK, here’s that "President Obama Phone Call" stuff again; I’m gonna back up the DVR this time. Rep. DeFazio claims
The President is making phone calls saying this is the end of his Presidency if he doesn’t get this bad deal.
Rep. Holt can’t confirm what was allegedly said. Chris Hayes is dressed up in fancy duds tonight & looking damn weary. Slashing in "social insurance" might be down the pike sooner rather than later if some in DC don’t feel like the deficit’s been slashed enough. Chris claims that most of our debt is held by Wall Street? Huh?!
#4 "The Whistleblower" AKA "Leaks & Lies" - We finally get some dialogue about Private Bradley Manning – ‘bout damn time! Keith called Private Manning a "whistleblower"? Uh, I’m not quite sure I buy that. Private Manning’s been in solitary confinement for 7 months; a whole lot of people view this treatment as torture. Yes, 7 months is a bit long, but if he did what he’s charged with, some solitary confinement time is warranted. Private Manning was/is not your "run of the mill" American citizen; he is a member of the United States military. He joined of his own free will to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the people of this nation. If he came across knowledge of the activities mentioned in the Wikileaks documents, as a member of the military, he should’ve gone up through his chain of command & kept going up until someone would listen to him. Private Manning’s first "document dump" shouldn’t have been to a citizen of another country who ran a website. Private Manning’s considered a "model prisoner" & is not on suicide watch. According to Salon.com, Private Manning’s confinement entails 23 out of 24 hours alone in his cell, no exercise in his cell, no sheets or a pillow, and the necessitation of anti – depressants. OK, all this is a bit much for someone not even convicted of a crime yet! Hell, this treatment is what inmates at the "super prison" out in Colorado get, and they are convicted criminals! Having said that, I think there is something to say for keeping him isolated from the overall population because of his alleged crimes and for his own safety. Private Manning may have helped release video of the killing of a Reuter’s reporter. Coleen Rowley has never heard of anyone being treated like this before he/she’s even been convicted of anything. Ms. Rowley compared Private Manning to Daniel Ellsberg; I absolutely positively disagree, with all respects to Ms. Rowley. Here is a link to Mr. Ellsberg’s bio on Wikipedia. At the time of the release of the Pentagon Papers, Mr. Ellsberg WAS NOT a member of the military; Private Manning was. So, again, in my opinion only, any equating Daniel Ellsberg with Private Manning is extremely disingenuous.
** $aint $arah from Wasilla’s book sales continue to tank; yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! ;D Some really old leftovers were found in China; some soup was found in some pottery. Maybe, that was just remnants of an old – timey Tupperware party to demonstrate said Tupperware’s effectiveness! There’s a Whiskey Island in Ohio? It’s GOTTA BE in Small Price to Pay Goldilocks’ district. ;D Look at all that ice on the light house – DAMN! Half naked acrobats performed in front of the Pope. **
#3 "GOP Death Panel" AKA "Raising Hope" - A young man in the "Show Me Your Papers" state is trying to raise money for a liver transplant for someone he’s never even met. Francisco Felix was featured on the show; he is the recipient of this boy’s generosity. Carlos Olivas, Jr. collects money at a busy intersection every day after school; his school’s even helping! Man, ain’t it nice to get some GOOD NEWS outta that place for a change?! Again, go to the National Transplant Assistance Fund website to prop up Carlos’ wonderful efforts and/or donate to those people featured on the show. Carlos has raised $800 all by his lonesome! His Dad has a bad liver. Carlos is lucky he hasn’t gotten hauled in; I wouldn’t put it past Governor Brewer to do just that. Carlos’ Mom works for the program that’s gotten all the cuts. Give that kid the Medal of Freedom!
WPITW* The No Labels peeps are using some interesting animals as mascots; they lifted them from another organization. Neil Cavuto is taking issue with fat jokes about Governor Christie & called them "racism with a scale." Mr. Cavuto called President Obama’s Surgeon General pick fat. Ah, the wonders of videotape! Rep. – elect {insert retching here} Alan West is now claiming that he DID NOT advocate censoring American media.
#1 "Texas Tea" - The Texas state legislature is super – majority bat$hit now because a few Dems have "crossed the aisle" recently. Again, I’ve got a love seat & a futon for any displaced Texans as long as you don’t mind kitties, help clean a little, and buy pizza a couple times a week or so! :D They get to tackle a multi – billion dollar budget deficit among other "lovelies." Baratunde Thurston’s spent a lot of time in Texas but doesn’t sound like he’ll be going back there any time soon!