I was going to tell you about this update last night, but then, we left Iraq - sort of! So, I didn't feel it appropriate. Any way, I've got an update on my Mom. She finished radiation treatments a couple weeks ago & begins her final round of chemo on Sept. 23. After that treatment, she will have 3 weeks off then another treatment then 3 weeks off then her (hopefully) FINAL chemo treatment. She is not looking forward to chemo at all, but I try to be as supportive as much as I can.
By the time this is all said & done, our family will have dealt with this in our lives for nearly a full year. 2010 won't exactly go down as a banner year, but I realize my Mom & our family have been very fortunate that she's not had a more difficult time then she's had. She sounded very strong on the phone yesterday & was getting ready to eat lunch.
I think we need to party heartily after that last chemo treatment! Thank you all for your sustaining support.
Let's move on to "this day in history." On this date in 1977, comedian Groucho Marx died at age 86. Ah...the Marx Brothers...TOO STINKIN' FUNNY!
But, for spark's sake, don't tell St. Sarah from Wasilla about this day! She'll think I'm celebrating the life of the "father of Communism" or something! ;D
I'm noting just one other birthday because I know we'll have lots of fun with it. :D Gene Roddenberry was born on this date in 1921! BEAM, BABY...BEAM!!
Y'all feel free to add your favorite scenes & lines in the comments! ;D
Let's Countdown...Where CityLightsLover has gone many times before!
#5 "Center of Controversy" AKA "Dean VS. the Mosque" AKA "Dean Explains Mosque Stance" - Dr. Howard Dean, in a recent interview, lent his voice to the masses calling for the Park 51 Muslim community center to be moved someplace else because its presence there would be an "affront" to all who died on 9/11. *&^%$#@! I know Keith & Dr. Dean will have a very civil but spirited debate; at least, I hope they do! Dr. Dean wants the parties involved to compromise but didn’t offer any ideas. An earlier front page story here at Daily Kos today mentioned that not even all the paperwork’s been done nor nearly enough money raised for even a deposit on the building. So, it sounds like this group who wants to put the community center there are really up against it in many ways. And, our own Jed Lewinson gets a shout – out from Keith! YIPPEE!
Dr. Dean began the segment by claiming he’s "in the middle" on this issue. No, Dr. Dean, you’re not "in the middle." And, just because you claim not to be using race in your equation doesn’t help. You want a group to scuttle their First Amendment rights because people are uncomfortable; the First Amendment was DESIGNED TO PROTECT "UNCOMFORTABLE" SPEECH from government interference. He claims that the group, intending for this community center to be welcoming to all faiths, is defeating their own purpose. Have a large number of 9/11 victim family members come out to opposed the building of this community center – even though you won’t even be able to see Ground Zero from the place? Keith brought up a faboo point. Where will this kind of discrimination end? Hell, anything non – "Christian" is going to be subject to this sort of ilk all over the country; it already has been!
And, how ‘bout that poll where a horribly – decent percentage of Americans think President Obama is "a secret Muslim?" I DON’T GIVE A TINKER’S DAMN if he IS Muslim; a person’s religious faith (or lack thereof) should not bar him/her from holding office! Point to me in the Constitution where it says the POTUS has to be a Christian, and I’ll shut the spark up. OK, I gotta take issue with Dr. Dean saying it shouldn’t matter if the xenophobic GOBP takes this as a win; I think it will matter a great deal. It’s usually the most ardent supporters of either party who come out to vote in midterm elections. If the xenophobes among us win this issue, it’ll spur on even more momentum for these groups come November. And, I go back again to the poll where a whole mess of Americans already think President Obama’s Muslim. If this community center group is forced to compromise over and over again to the point where they get the heck out of there, it will be seen as a victory over President Obama.
And, Keith invoked Ted Olson’s support of this community center! If Governor Dean wants the parties to "get together," is he going to act as mediator? And, we did have a great spirited civilized debate!
#4 "Confusing His Religion" - Hey! YEA! Remember all that Rev. Jeremiah Wright stuff that threatened to derail then – candidate Obama’s nomination & campaign? He sure as $hit ain’t Muslim! A poll before all this community center shtick broke out indicated that 1 in 4 Americans believed President Obama to be Muslim; since then, the number has gone up. The percentage of independents who think President Obama is Muslim has also gone up. Uh – oh... *&^%$#@! Bobby Ghosh wrote an article in Time about Muslim attitudes in this country.
** Troop Withdrawal – Here’s Richard Engel again! All those behemoth vehicles that we saw crossing the border last night are being stripped down. The group that Richard’s with thinks they did the job they were ordered to do; they got rid of a not – very – nice guy. Most of them aren’t concerning themselves with the politics of what’s being left behind. **
How 'bout a little musical interlude to introduce the next segment?
#3 "Payback" - GM is readying itself to get back on the stock market again on a trading basis. This step will be HUGE in paying the government back for bailing them out. Sales & profits are up, and jobs have been added; that’s great news in light of the news from today that unemployment claims reached the 500K mark last month. Ugh...
President Obama used his bully pulpit to tell the damn GOBP to stop blocking legislation that will help small businesses; well, he didn’t specifically say THAT. ;D But, you get my drift. The GOBP is framing the debate into letting the GWB tax cuts for the super – rich expire to a "ticking tax bomb" from President Obama set to go off at the end of the year. Hopefully, Dems in charge of messaging will be on the damn messaging bandwagon to be ready for this because GWB lit the damn fuse!
Here’s Robert Reich to talk economy. Unfortunately, just because companies are more profitable doesn’t guarantee more jobs because these companies are afraid there aren’t going to be a sufficient number of consumers to buy their product or services. Wow! A non – partisan tax group said that if the GWB tax cuts for the super rich were allowed to continue, it would cost the treasury $31 billion – with a B! – IN ONE YEAR! $HIT!
WPITW – Lonesome Rhodes invoked 9/11 to hock gold. Sharron Angle was on a school board & opposed on religious grounds the football team wearing black uniforms to stop a losing streak! Randy Brown, GOBP of MN, made a lovely video about political women.
#1 "The Dr. is OUT" AKA " ‘Don’t Retreat, Reload’" - OK! I need one of my "usual suspects" to get a capture of St. Sarah from Wasilla & "Dr." Laura! ;D "Dr." Laura got on Larry King’s show the other night to announce she’s quitting her little radio hate – fest because her First Amendment rights have been taken away. Grandma ExGov Turkey & N – Word Lover twitted resounding support for "Dr." Laura. Again, these 2 "ladies" wouldn’t know the First Amendment came up & stabbed them in their tiny little brains.
And, I heard again today the recording of that phone call into her show; it was just as nauseating today as the first time I heard it. Ugh...I really don’t want to hear this "Dr." Hey! Larry King actually done pretty good! OK, reading St. Sarah from Wasilla’s twits again has killed brain cells, I think. Uh – Oh! "Dr." Laura didn’t approve of Senator McCentury’s VP choice at the time! AND, St. Sarah from Wasilla, in her little "r word" rant against Rahm said that anyone & everyone in a public stature who used "the n – word" should be absolutely ashamed! OK, whoever did the research on this score should get a raise for the week – NICE JOB! Xenophobia & racism does make the strangest bed ladies, yes? Ronda Racha Penrice wrote a piece about the strange "alliance" between "Dr." Laura & Grandma ExGov Turkey & N – Word Lover. Ms. Penrice also talked about the use of "shackles" in "that woman’s" twits. The woman who was the subject of "Dr." Laura’s little diatribe was on CNN & did not accept "Dr." Laura’s "apology."