I found "my guy!" I found "my guy!" I found "my guy!" He's been on vacation in Italy & got all literary on Diane Rehm's show this morning; be still my heart. ;D
I'll begin tonight's edition of "this day in history" by noting a couple of passings. On this date in 1984, Author Truman Capote was found dead at age 59. I lived & breathed Truman & In Cold Blood for nearly a semester in grad school. I even saw crime scene photos at the Clutter house. If you haven't read it, SHAME ON YOU; READ IT! And, I saw both "Truman/ICB" movies that came out fairly close together; I much MUCH prefer the version with Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Exactly 1 year ago today, we lost Senator Ted Kennedy {sigh}. Again, I cannot more highly recommend True Compass!
Finally, Sean Connery is 80 years old! Since I despise all manner of James Bond, I'm going to note his Academy Award winning performance here
and in this movie - not an award winner but eggs on that perpetual San Francisco sickness I have all the time anyway. ;D
Let's Countdown - neither shaken nor stirred...
#5 "Center of Controversy" AKA "Islamophobia" AKA "Political Opportunism" - A young man – possibly drunk – got into a New York City cab, asked the driver if he was Muslim, and began slashing the cab driver with a knife when the driver answered in the affirmative. However, this young man is some sort of volunteer video guy for a religious group that actually SUPPORTS the Park51 community center. Michael Enright was arraigned today on 2nd degree attempted murder & a hate crime. Mr. Enright WAS drunk, but that’s no excuse.
He’d also recently been to Afghanistan & made a movie about a high school friend’s experience there. And, Mayor Michael Bloomberg keeps hittin’ ‘em outta the park in his support for the community center. O...M...G...Katy Tur is a correspondent for this Enright story. OK, is anyone else as uncomfortable with this as I am? She talked to Mr. Enright before the attack & claimed he was very polite. She didn’t get the feeling that he’s anti – Muslim or that he opposed the community center. OK, this is really AWKWARD!! Zead Ramadan is with the Council on American – Islamic Relations & is very concerned with even a tangential effect of all this anti – Muslim sentiment that’s oozing all over the country. Teens attacked a construction worker in Brooklyn a few weeks ago. Keith made a great point asking – nearly BEGGING – for other religious and/or political leaders from all stripes voice their support for this community center.
Donna Marsh O’Connor’s daughter & unborn grandchild died on September 11, 2001; she supports the Park 51 community center. Politicians have egged on & benefitted from all this anti – Muslim sentiment, according to Ms. O’Connor; she’s absolutely damn correct. Wow, she’s a heck of a woman.
#4 "Alan Parsimony Project" AKA "Got Milk Cow?" - Former Senator Alan Simpson kind of sort of stuck his foot down his pie hole concerning Social Security – in case y’all hadn’t heard about this little gaffe before now. ;D President Obama picked him to be one of the chairs of his committee to figure out how to reduce the deficit. The average SS benefit is around $13K/year, and Social Security IS going to be solvent for a number of years contrary to GOBP rhetoric. Female beneficiaries get around $11K/year. Raising the retirement age to 70 like some are proposing will literally make some minority beneficiaries work until they drop. Here’s what the "honorable" former Senator had to say:
If you have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the vapors, let me know. And yes, I’ve made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. You know ‘em too. It’s the same with any system in America. We’ve reached a point now where it’s like a milk cow with 310 million tits. Call us when you get honest work!
O...K...I guess Senator Simpson gives his monthly benefits back?
Senator Simpson did apologize, but he’s not going anywhere from the committee after MANY pleadings to President Obama to sack his sorry a$$. Hell, people should know by know that President Obama doesn’t fire anyone unless they’ve been directly insubordinate to him or anyone in his administration; people can make fun of & be nasty to other people outside of DC all they want. Eric Kingson wanted Senator Simpson gone, too. Apparently, Senator Simpson isn’t alone in wanting to gut Social Security on this committee! Mr. Kingson wants Social Security to be totally eliminated from any dialogue about reducing the deficit because Social Security DOES NOT CONTRIBUTE to the federal deficit.
** At a Rangers game, some poor Army parachute dude got his chute caught on the scoreboard. OOPS! That had to be embarrassing! Some German sportscaster got beamed in the head with a soccer ball. Hell, that was probably the most exciting thing about the game! **
#3 "Decision 2010" - Senator Lisa Murkowski just may have gotten Scozzafavaed up in Alaska yesterday! The guy that St. Sarah from Wasilla endorsed is currently leading the AK Senate primary, but there are still some absentee ballots to be counted. If Senator Murkowski DOES come up on the short end of the tally, she’s considering the Joementum route & launching a 3rd – party candidacy. The guy "that women" endorsed is Ivy League educated??!! ARE YOU $HITTING ME?! An Ivy League education isn’t nearly folksy enough for Grandma ExGov TurkeyLover! She probably wonders what the ivy looks like in said Ivy League & wants to know if she can shoot it from a helicopter. Senator Murkowski and St. Sarah from Wasilla aren’t exactly BFFs; the Senator’s father was beaten by "that woman" in the AK primary for Governor. Well, he probably would’ve served longer than she did! ;D
Senator Murkowski brought a hell of a lot of coin to her fair state, and she was attacked for that by...well...you know who. Rick Scott is the FL GOBP candidate for Governor & claims he will run FL like a business even though he got into a bit of a sticky wicket running his own business. Rick Scott spent $50 million in a PRIMARY?! $HIT! Christina Bellantoni is talking primaries & midterms tonight.
WPITW – A guy in Allentown, PA played a radio too loudly in a car he’d just stolen. America’s Mayor managed to invoke 9/11 in an answer about baseball. A doctor in WI sent a big ‘ol bill for treating a teenager who had saved someone from drowning.
#1 "The Beckoning" - Lonesome Rhodes’ little love fest on Saturday isn’t supposed to be oriented toward any religious or political leanings. If there’s anyone here who believes that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell to you! ;D Even other right wingers are getting a little oogy at Mr. Rhodes shtick! FAUX News has made great pains to claim they are in no way sponsoring Saturday’s activities even though he’s plugging the stuff on their airwaves any chance he’s given. God’s gonna speak through Lonesome Rhodes, too, huh? Man, I’m glad I’m a heathen Buddhist! He also made fun of Keith’s dead Mom – CLASSY! Faiz Shakir gets Lonesome Rhodes duty tonight – lucky him! The Koch brothers are bussing people to the festivities; well, aren’t they special!