April 3, 2016

I watched meat depressed this am, with

UpChuck's prerecorded interview with Hillary. She looked horrible. I lasted until upchuck played the video of Hillary losing it and blaming Bernie for lying. Then she laughed. It was the same damned laugh she cackled after learning of khadafi's death.

Reminded me of C.S. Lewis' "That Hideous Sound." The length and strength of that laugh was really strange, strained and totally unnatural.

April 3, 2016

Let's petition congress to ban drug company advertising.

Anyone else sick and tired of Big Pharma brain washing viewers, convincing them that they need to get Zirelto, Xanax, or any fucking statin ever manufactured? Adult onset diabetes? Muscle and Neuro damage? Screw that. Plus, those who take those drugs do NOT extent their lives nor make the quality of their lives any better. Often, it gets worse.

March 28, 2016

Telling poll numbers from Wisconsin

Although they rate all of the candidates for their upcoming primary, Marquette Law School's poll is telling.

https://law.marquette.edu/poll/

Candidate Net favorable Net within party Net among independents Net within other party
Kasich 6 9 11 -4
Rubio -8 47 -12 -46
Sanders 11 51 21 -56
Cruz -18 46 -31 -56
Clinton -18 55 -29 -89
Trump -43 0 -43 -76

Among Indies, Clinton is -29 net negative, while Bernie is +21!
True, among dems, she has 55 and he has 51. What is telling is that Sanders (and Kusich) are the only ones with net positive numbers. Clinton is tied with cruz, and Trump has some real problems in that state.


One other point of interest. Since he dropped out of the presidential nomination race, Scott Walker had a -39 net negative rating. It is the same now. Or the end of February when they ran this poll. I suspect that there has not been much change. Although Bernie signs are popping up, according to my Wisconsin buddies.

March 17, 2016

Senator Duckworth? SA Foxx?

Actually, we were blessed with three talented, experienced, and worthy candidates.

Duckworth looked and sounded exhausted today on C-Spin. She was questioning Gov. Snyder MI-Reptile this morning. I imagine she has a reasonable excuse.

As for Foxx, Anita will be rewarded by someone in Cook County. But I am really glad Foxx won.

I wonder if Rahm feels the end of his mayorshit from all this.

March 17, 2016

Gov. Snyder (MI-Reptile) in front of congressional committee LIVE

Wow, just wowser.
Talk about being raked over the coals.

This morning, after playing with puppy and getting a nice dose of sunshine, I turned on CNN (MSNBCLinton is unwatchable these days) and there was the governator of Michigan being absolutely skewered by some congressman who demanded that he resign.

Luckily, I get C-Spin-3, showing the skewering in real time.

At this moment, Rep. COnnolly (D-VA) just showed 8,000 pages of edicts issued by Snyder's emergency managers (after they castrated the city council) issued. And not one deals with the lead issue that they had known of that entire year.

Resignation? Not good enough. CRIMINAL CHARGES? If possible, yes.

March 15, 2016

Turn out in Cook County - a personal look

Early voting in Cook County, Illinois (Chicago) exceeded 114,000 votes. To give you an idea what that means, the next highest early voting turnout ever was 2008, with 89,000 early votes.

I drove past three voting areas, including my own. There were lines waiting to get in at my location. (I voted early) The parking lot at the local courthouse was packed, far more than usual. And there clearly is something in the air. I believe that this election will set records.

Remember, the more people that vote, the better than Bernie does.

Oops, I checked the wrong site.
Already, in Chicago alone, 129,000 early votes, 37% more than any other year.

51,000 in western suburbs. That is HUGE!

While I did see Kirk signs dotting the lawns out here, only one hand made Cruz sign (it was pretty pathetic), NO signs for Trump, and none for Hillary.

March 14, 2016

Driving for an hour today, I heard 12 political ads, including a Hillary lie.

Three were by Cruz, one by Trump, and two by Hillary. In both ads, she again lied about Bernie and the auto bailout vote. Even the newsie commentator stated that the ad was flawed, given the real facts.

WHY IS HILLARY STILL LYING? WHAT MAKES HER THINK SHE CAN GET AWAY WITH IT?

March 13, 2016

I admire Donald Trump (ahem)

much like I admire the special effects in some Stalone war movie. Lots of explosions, fireworks, blood, death, and noise. And I don't much care for those movies, either.

This time, it is not the violence that follows his appearances like a dog on a leash, but his commentary which seems to attract Newsie attention but without any one with a brain thinking it through. Of course, today's media is either incapable of thinking something through, or taking their attention away from the next shiny object (which these days seems to be another outrageous statement from Herr Trump).

What a stroke of genius, offering to pay for the legal costs of anyone arrested while breaking the skulls of anti-Trump protesters.

There are a couple of points, minor quibbles, actually, but let us skip those and go to the heart of the matter. This is a simple point, but very important. To emphasize just how important, I will type slowly and use all caps.

TRUMP'S PROMISE IS WORTHLESS.

See? Inciting people to riot, to break bones, to attack someone - those are crimes in every state of the country. Pushing people to break the law is itself illegal, which some conspiracy legal experts can explain better than I. But the underlying point is when Herr Trump promises to pay their legal fees, he is promising nothing. A promise to assist and abet in an illegal activity is against public policy. Because it violates public policy, IT IS UNENFORCEABLE. Any skin head who beats up a protester has absolutely no recourse against trump for his broken promise to pay legal costs. None.

That is why Trump is such a genius on this issue.

He comes close to crossing the line on inciting riots, he makes an unenforceable promise, and he reaps the massive media coverage as a result. The media eats it up, the public is outraged, and his fans are energized. AND IT WILL NEVER COST HIM A PENNY. Especially in legal fees.

Of course Trump knows this. He has used and abused the legal system about as well as it can be used and abused. He knows his promise cannot be enforced. And he loves just how foolish the media looks chasing him on the issue.

March 12, 2016

Trump supporter (?) kills three in Milwaukee for not speaking English.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/milwaukee-man-accused-fatally-shooting-neighbors-37569401

According to a criminal complaint, Manso-Perez

and his son were walking by Popp's apartment on their way to do laundry when he offered them beer, which they declined. Popp asked them where they're from, and they replied Puerto Rico, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Manso-Perez and his son continued to the basement and started a washing machine, and as they went up the stairs back to their apartment, Popp stood over them and had a rifle. The son told police Popp pointed the gun at his father, said, "You guys got to go," and shot him, according to the complaint.

Phia and Mai Vue, their four children and an adult relative hid in a bedroom after hearing gunshots, the complaint says. They heard pounding on their apartment door and Mai Vue gave the relative a cellphone to call police, according to the complaint.

Popp kicked down the front door and made his way to the bedroom, pointing a rifle at Phia Vue and ordering him to leave, according to the complaint.

The complaint says the family heard gunshots, and officers later found Phia Vue dead in a bathroom.
- - -

THIS is what a fascist like Trump is doing to this country. He empowers the worst segment of the population, and incites them to kill.

To be honest, I do not know if Poop is a Trump supporter, but it sure makes sense.

March 11, 2016

Religiosity in America - the upcoming collapse

All I can say is about time.

Professor David Voas (UCL Institute of Education) said: “These declines aren’t happening fast, but the signs are now unmistakable. It has become clear that American religiosity has been declining for decades, and the decline is driven by the same dynamic of generational change that has driven religious decline across the developed world.”

The study examined US data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which is conducted every two years, and compared it with similarly broad data from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The results show that people have slowly become less religious over time.

According to the study, 68% Americans aged 65 and over said they had no doubt God existed compared to 45% of young adults, aged 18-30. 41% of people 70 and older said they attend church services at least once a month, compared to 18% of people 60 and below.

- See more at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0316/100316-American-devotion-to-religion-is-waning#sthash.knlCcsy8.dpuf

This was posted in the American Journal of Sociology. It matches my personal observations, and confirms that the empty church parking lots in my nape of the forest are no pigment of my imagination. Color me content.

Megachurch construction, loosely defined as having more than 2000 seats, has collapsed since 2010, when only the bible belt saw any major new construction. Since then? bupkus. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-suttle/the-failure-of-the-megachurch_b_954482.html

That's not all. Mega churches are going BK. Considering that they pay no tax, you really have to wonder where all that money went.

It also seems that society is taking an ever more dim view of the more radical aspects of religiousity, especially the ultra-conservative cults that seem so popular in the Deep South, and parts of the West. When religious parents are charged with neglect because they refused to seem medical care for a sick infant, instead, relying on prayer and herbs, I view that as a very healthy sign. Faith healing, exorcisms, speaking in tongues - sadly, some of these folks actually vote.