Down the Memory Hole

Say Goodnight Dick.

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 16:33:00 +0000

Three terms. Twelve years of this elitist asshole. Hmmmm, reminds me of another megalomaniacal dictator who also ruled for about twelve years..... I can't recall his name, but he was Austrian, loved to paint, and like Bloomberg, though he would rule for "ein tausand Jahren".

So happy to see this prick go. As Bo Deitl said to Henry Hill in Goodfellas, "Bye-bye Dickhead".

The Party's Over

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:16:00 +0000

Mitt Romney gives his concession speech

Where does the Republican party go from here? They couldn't defeat a Kenyan Socialist Muslim who has been busy distributing food stamps to "the 47%" for the past four years. While they were busy calling President Obama names, the Democrats were registering voters (especially Latino voters). A simple, old-fashioned "get out the vote" operation. Something like a community organizer might do.....

So how does the Right explain this defeat? Well, Bill O'Reilly pointed out that there is a shrinking number of white voters voting in each election. At the same time, there is an increasing number of minority voters who vote for Democrats because they want "stuff" from the rest of the country. As a Liberal Democrat, statements like that warm my heart. It tells me that they don't even have the slightest idea of what's going on. The fact of the matter is that most Americans ain't buying what the Republicans are selling. So what's their reaction? How do they move forward? Sean Hannity said today that his as a result of this election, his views on immigration have "evolved". He said that he is in favor of strengthening existing immigration laws, securing the borders and creating a path to citizenship for those illegal immigrants already here. In other words, on the issue of immigration, he is now a Democrat. And what else could you expect him to say? The party can't move any further to the right - they would just keep losing. This election marks the final stake in the heart for the Reagan supply side small government anti immigration anti woman anti birth control pro intelligent design crowd. Or maybe not....Rush Limbaugh and some others said that the problem was that they didn't push hard enough on issues like abortion! Wow....talk about out of touch....

The coming civil war in the Republican party will be good for the party and the country. The adults in the party need to stand up to the petulant tea partiers, who have proven they will bring the whole show to a halt if they don't get their way. Hey Republicans...join us in the middle. Its nice here.

Which Century Is This?

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:45:00 +0000

So the Catholic Church doesn’t want to have to pay for women’s birth control? But wouldn’t birth control prevent lots of abortions? I just don’t get these kooks. In fact, I have an even more radical proposal. Not only should the church have to fund women’s birth control, but I think the priests should have to dispense it directly to women in the confessional box. Now that would be something for them to protest against. Can you imagine? “Forgive me father for I have sinned….and also I need you to refill my prescription for my birth control pills.”

Refinishing a Stratocaster guitar

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:14:00 +0000

See photos of my Stratocaster refinish....

https://picasaweb.google.com/111624522718817423366/StratRefinish?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMGYkKf59pbKmQE&feat=directlink

The Death of Public Education in America

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:25:00 +0000

We are watching the death of public education in our nation.

     Actually, it would be more accurate to call it a murder. And like any murder, this one has victims, perpetrators, accomplices and innocent bystanders who all play an important role in this heinous crime. So who are the perpetrators, the ones up to their elbows in blood? You'll have to look on both sides of the political aisle, because unlike the old days when it was only the Right who beat up on public sector workers, our story includes murderers of all political stripes. First, the conspirators. This is who cooked up the scheme, hatched the plot, planned the caper, see? They began with the end in mind. And what is "the end"? After all, every murder has a motive. The end, the real goal, the denouement of these killers is to pay as little salary as possible to educators. Educating children, especially children who live in poverty or who have learning disabilities, is complex and expensive. But the murderers want education on the cheap. Obviously, they can't come out and say this in public. So, like all murderers, they have concocted their alibi. These evil geniuses say that we must have radical education reform so that children will achieve more in school and receive a better education. This, of course, is pure fantasy. If they cared about educating children, they would have become teachers.  Most of the people perpetrating this crime have never stood in front of a classroom full of children (except maybe for a photo-op).  But somehow, magically, they have all the answers to the complicated web of problems that plague our public education system.

     So who are they, these misinformed misanthropes? The principal (no pun intended) destroyers are: George W. Bush, Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, James Liebman, Arne Duncan, Joel Klein, and Michael Bloomberg. There is a second tier, we'll call them accomplices, that includes: Randi Weingarten, Cathie Black, Barack Obama and Chris Christie. This second list is comprised of those who weren't in on the plot, but who were either hemmed in by political circumstances or who jumped on the bandwagon. They do, however, all hold the same central tenets regarding education. They believe that public education is too expensive and they are not getting a return on the investment. They believe that is the fault of educators. It is real easy to sell this lie to the American people, especially in times of economic hardship. The anti-teacher narrative goes something like this: "Every child can achieve at a high level, no matter what their economic circumstances. If students aren't achieving, then it is teachers who are failing our kids. Any teacher who brings up the fact that many of their students live in poverty, have learning disabilities, don't speak English, are using drugs, live in foster homes, live in homeless shelters, or are being raised by a struggling single parent...well, those teachers are whiners! They should stop complaining and do their job. They get summers off, health care, they go home early every day and they get a fat pension. They need to start working for that money."  As the political center has drifted to the right over the past thirty years, this rhetoric has been steadily ratcheted up. Even lefties like Obama have joined the chorus of teacher-blamers. In fact, sometimes those on the Left try to "out-reform" the true believers on the Right (see Andrew Cuomo -he has read the tea leaves and he is going to give the rabble what they want. Just watch).

     What really set people off  was the economic crisis. As people who worked in private industry saw their bonuses dry up, pensions dwindle and jobs get cut, there seems to have been a backlash against public-sector workers, especially teachers, that was firmly rooted in resentment. They look at teachers' job security and pensions and think, "Why should they have that? They should suffer like the rest of us during this economic downturn." Couple that with the constant political drumbeat from both the left and right-wing think tanks and the Wall Street crowd that wants to kill all unions, and you have the perfect storm.

     The latest deception being put forth is that we need pension reform.  The states are broke and they won't be getting bailed out by Washington this time. The reason the states are broke, the argument goes, is because greedy public sector workers and their unions are bleeding the states dry with their undeserved pensions. The only solution is to "reform" those pensions. One way is a proposal to allow states to declare bankruptcy. If allowed, states could then essentially declare all negotiated contracts null and void. A judge would determine which financial obligations the state would have to meet and which it would not have to meet. A scenario like that would not only affect future retirees, but also current retirees. Imagine that you're living on a fixed pension that you've worked all your life to earn, and the state reneges on its agreement and reduces your pension! The other way that the states will try to "reform" pensions is to permit pension negotiations to be part of each collective bargaining agreement.  In New York state, pension changes are currently controlled by the state legislature. If Mayor Bloomberg gets his way, the city of New York will be able to negotiate pension modifications during contract talks. What that really means is that each time there is a new labor contract (every three to five years), workers will lose a bit more of their pensions in negotiations. They will chip away and chip away until there is nothing left.

     I haven't heard too many people argue that teachers and other public sector employees get paid too much money. The argument is usually that we need to pay teachers more so that we can attract the very best minds to the profession. Lately, however, the argument seems to be that public sector employees receive too much in the way of compensation. Working in the public sector usually provides a person with a steady job and with a certain level of job security. You'll be able to live a nice middle class life and have a modest retirement. It's a choice people make. You won't get rich, but you can serve the public and have a secure lifestyle. Well who the hell will serve the public when you ask people to accept even less money to do the job?

     This is all a part of the Right-wing philosophy of "personal responsibility". But personal responsibility is code that covers the real mantra, which is "everyman for himself", which in itself is really a phrase with two meanings. It means drop dead pal, you're on your own, but it also means that the working man, the common man, the middle class that pays for everything in this country, your neighbor, the "Everyman" is a thing of the past. Without the protections provided by the social safety net and the basic principles of fairness and equal opportunity, he will be pushed down a few rungs down the economic ladder into the working class. Subsequently, those in the working class will be pushed down below the poverty line. This is already happening, and it will continue to happen, thereby widening the chasm between rich and poor in this country.

     It may seem like an overreaction or an alarmist point of view, but it is reality. If you think the states aren't going to try to cheat workers out of what they have earned, then you haven't been paying attention. Mayor Bloomberg of New York City usurped the term limits law and stole a third term. Why? Because he is a billionaire and he wanted to be Mayor again. Maybe he is planning to run for President in 2012. And since he knows that in this political climate, you have to be tough on spending but never raise taxes, he will not hesitate to eviscerate public employees to show that he can make the "tough choices". He has spent the past nine years demonizing public education teachers so that he can dismantle public education piece by piece (look at his latest choice for Chancellor - he might as well be giving educators the finger). None of this is about education; its all about power and money. It is a type of income redistribution that flows upward to the top. Mayors across the country are following Bloomberg's lead. Voices of opposition are thin and powerless. Teachers don't stand a chance. If you thought I was writing this as a call to action, you are wrong. I'm just documenting a murder. Its almost over. All that's left for them to do is mop up the blood and wipe off the fingerprints.

It's high time for a walk on the real side
Let's admit the bastards beat us
I move to dissolve the corporation
In a pool of margaritas
So let's switch off all the lights
And light up all the Luckies
Crankin' up the afterglow
'Cause we're goin' out of business
Everything must go
composed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (Steely Dan)
© 2003 Freejunket Music/Zeon Music

Hey Jackass, The Constitution doesn't protect your feelings....

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Here is a letter to the editor of the Staten Island Advance, published on September 2, 2010. I have not edited it:

"Some Muslims use our freedom of religion to take unfair advantage"

Freedom of religion is overrated!

It does not include the right to bomb the World Trade Center and then build a mosque on the site to commemorate the event. The mosque will be seen by Muslims as a memorial to their "martyrs", who died in their attack. After building the mosque, the Muslims will demand, claiming freedom of religion, that safe conduct be given to Osama bin Laden to come to New York to officiate at the opening of the mosque

New Dorp

Sigh.....where do I start? First of all, isn't this guy's "freedom of religion is overrated" proclamation a slap in the face to our American tradition and constitutional protection of freedom of religion? Americans have fought and died to protect that freedom. Now, we know there are governments around the world that would agree with this guy - mostly fundamentalist Muslim governments in the Middle East. Enemies of America aren't laughing because we're building a mosque near ground zero. They're laughing because there is a chance the mosque won't get built, thereby giving them victory. Every time we decide against our established principles (such as religious freedom), we become a little more like the enemy. This issue shouldn't even be controversial. But, we are a nation of crybabies who can't have our feeling hurt.

When did teachers become the enemy?

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:34:00 +0000

Bloated New Jersey Governor Chris Christie picks out a bear claw at the donut shop....

Chris Christie, the new darling of the right, has made a name for himself by being "fiscally responsible". He's "tough" and he "walks the walk". He says the government must exercise self control and make the tough choices (I always find this ironic; a big fat guy with absolutely no self control over his eating habits goes around telling everyone how to control themselves. Kind of like Bill Bennett, author of The Book Of Virtue. Remember him? Turns out that guy couldn't stop gambling for five minutes....ah, the Republicans....).
Anyway, the Governor recently appeared on 60 Minutes and claimed that if the public employees' unions didn't work with him on modifying their pension plans, they wouldn't have pension plans in ten years. Now, what did that mean? Did it mean that new employees wouldn't receive pensions as part of their compensation package, or did it mean that the state would default on their pension obligations? And if it did mean the state would default, what does he think will happen to the retired workers who are counting on those pensions? Those pensions are contractual obligations that the state agreed to. The workers spent their careers working in good faith, assuming the state would be fulfilling their obligations when the time came. By the way, the state of New Jersey has failed to fund the pension fund for eleven of the past thirteen years. Is that the fault of public employees? Is it the fault of public employees that the state has mismanaged its finances? Is it the fault of public employees that the state has agreed to these pension packages as part of the salary compensation workers receive for their service?
So, let me get this straight: even though we all know that being an employee in the public sector will not make you rich, right-wingers like Chris Christie want to reduce or eliminate pensions, thereby reducing the compensation package for public employees. Even though we know that teachers do not go into the teaching profession for the money (few people would ever argue that teachers are overpaid), guys like Christie want to effectively reduce teacher compensation by reducing or eliminating pensions! Just ask yourself, what will be the quality of the teachers when you lower teacher compensation? Well, the truth is, the people making the cuts and the education "reformers" who are currently destroying public education don't care at all about quality. This is about MONEY. Here is the ultimate goal of the reformers: eliminate pensions for teachers, create an impossible rating system so that teachers can be fired easily, and hire lawyers and CEO's to run the education system. What will then happen is that most people who go into the field of education will only last a few years and then move on to another career, or you will get retirees from other professions entering the field of education after they finish their first career. No one will teach for their entire career anymore. Essentially, it will become a part-time job. Of course, the level of quality of public education in America will then decline to that of a third world country. But at least the budget would be balanced.

Breaking News: NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg appoints another non-educator to lead Department of Education and changes slogan from "Children First" to "Go Fuck Yourself".

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:24:00 +0000

A Mosque on Every Corner

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:04:00 +0000

There's lots of hubub about the proposed "Mosque at Ground Zero" (which is a misnomer - its near ground zero, not at gound zero, and it is a 15 story building with many facilities including a mosque). Opponents say it is "offensive" to the victims of 9/11 to build a mosque at this location. Really though, these people are opposed to any and all mosques, they just cant say it out loud. Protesters were seen holding signs "We won in Staten Island, we'll win here" (the building of a mosque in the South Beach section of Staten Island was stopped by frightened community members). They forget that in this country, the government doesn't dictate where we can and cannot build houses of worship. If they want to live in a country where the government does dictate that sort of thing, they should consider moving to one of the Islamist states in the middle east. But they probably wouldn't be comfortable there with all those Muslims....

As far as people being "offended", well that is the price of living in a free country. Our Constitution protects the things we don't like as well as the things we do like. Personally, I sometimes think they shouldn't allow any more Catholic churches to be built until the Church does something about all the kid-touchers in their midst. But I have a proposal that might make everyone happy. I propose that on every corner where there is a church, mosque or synagogue, the other two must be built on the opposite and adjacent corners. So at major intersections, you would have a church on one corner, a mosque on the second corner, and a synogogue on the third corner. But what about that vacant fourth corner of the intersection? That fourth corner would be reserved for the construction of a Library for those of us who would like to read, think and learn. At least one of the four corners wouldn't be completely full of shit...

Jimmy Carter: How dare you ! There are no racists here.

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Yesterday, former President Jimmy Carter suggested that - gasp!- those who disagree with President Obama are racists who cannot accept the fact that we have a black president. While I don't agree with such a broad statement, there is a great deal of truth to this statement.

The old white people at the town hall meetings concerning Obama's health care plan are very confused. A five minute search on Google turned up the following things people were protesting at these meetings: abortion, taxes, federal deficit, health care, end of life care, big government, immigration, national socialism, Obama's birth certificate and capitalism. This is merely a partial listing. Now why would a meeting concerning the future of health care attract so many protesters for so many different issues? Why are these people so angry? Where were the protesters against big, expensive government when George Bush gave a sweetheart deal to the drug companies? Where were the truth seekers when Bush lied us into two wars? It seems to me that these protesters really don't know what they are so angry about about. Could it be that....it drives them crazy that their President is black? Heavens no, that couldn't be it. After all, Jimmy Carter is way off the mark when he suggests that racism is driving much of the criticism of this president, right?

The attempt to paint Obama as the "other" or outsider is clearly an attempt to delegitimize his presidency by pointing out how different he is from the rest of us "real" Americans. There is an element of racism here as well. The accusations include: Obama is not an American citizen, he was born in Kenya, he is a socialist, he is a fascist, he is a communist. Also, it doesn't help Obama that he is educated and intelligent. A certain segment of our society has always been suspicious of intellectuals and REALLY suspicious of a guy who happens to be a black intellectual! And the protesters think, "Now this uppity know-it-all is gonna tax my hard earned paycheck and give the money to immigrants and coloreds!"

If you doubt the presence of racism in the criticism of President Obama, just take a look at some of the anti-Obama protest signs and artwork. My favorite is the guy holding the sign that says
"I want America back". Back from who? Who took your country?

R.I.P. Les Paul

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:17:00 +0000

August 13 2009 - Les Paul died today at age 94. He was one of my heros, having invented the solid body electric guitar and even more importantly, multitrack recording. Also, he invented tape echo, pitch shifting, and many other effects. To see how well this guy could play, check out this link from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGXP_UBog4

The song is called "World is Waiting for the Sunrise". The entire recording is Les on his guitar. No drums or bass, just guitar playing all the layered parts. The crazy guitar solo starts at 1:05 into the song. It is obvious that Jeff Beck was a fan of Les Paul, because many of those great Beck riffs come right from this song! No matter how many times I hear the playing on this song, I still get chills. Also, check out the documentary called " The Wizard of Waukesha" on You Tube. Les explains how he invented the multitrack recorder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdAP7Bs6UZ0&feature=related At 8:30 into this clip, Les launches into the most insane riffing you'll ever see on a song called "Song in Blue". Truly a genius.

Sarah the Quitter

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Sarah Barracuda? I don't think so.....

More like Sarah the Quitter, or better yet, Sarah the P***y. And how about that press conference where she announced she would quit? That was harder to follow than a 3 year old's account of her trip to Disney World ! Hopefully this royal ass will go away now. She and Joe the Farter have had their 15 minutes of fame.

Weak Tea: The Astroturf Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:35:00 +0000

April 15th is "Tea Party" Day. Protesters are protesting against taxes. They say "enough is enough". But what exactly are they protesting? First, they don't like the fact that Obama wants to raise the top rate from 36% to 39% (by the way, I think that rate would still be lower than the top rate during the reign of Saint Reagan). They are also protesting the massive government spending. All Obama is doing is using the lessons of the past to try to get out of this deep recession. During the Great Depression, it was the massive government spending required to build armaments to fight World War Two that got us out of the depression. And what do the Republicans offer as an alternative? Tax cuts. Well, we've just had eight years of tax cuts. Where did that get us?
These phonies are also protesting not just taxes, but anything that President Obama wants to get through Congress. In addition, they list these grievances on their website (http://www.teapartyday.com/), making sure to use veiled language and the hot button words that play on the latent hatred and fear lurking in the hearts of these know-nothings. Take a look:
Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:
vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?
are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?
consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?
want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?
punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?
admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?
run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?
want government controlled health care?
want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?
refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?
appoint a defender of child pornography to the Number 2 position in the Justice Department?
want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?
want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?
want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?
take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?
If so, participate in the TAX Day TEA party rally, the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party.

Wow! During the Revolution, the battle cry was "No taxation without representation". Pretty easy to understand. These dopes, however, are really confused. Take, for example, the accusation that the government "takes money from your family budget to pay for the federal budget". Well, isn't that the definition of taxation? The people pay taxes to the government from their earnings so that we can have a civilized society with running water, roads, a military, public education, etc. What about, "Appoint a defender of child pornography to the number 2 position in the Justice Department"? They are referring to David Ogden. The record shows that Ogden aggressively defended the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act and the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996. He did represent Playboy magazine, but none of those cases had anything to do with child pornography. There was one case, while serving as counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union, he argued on constitutional grounds to strike down the conviction of a defendant who received and possessed child pornography. That is a far cry from defending child pornography. Now why would the Tea Party people put this item on their list of reasons to protest taxes? You know why...to push the buttons of the uninformed and the angry. They want to portray Obama as a left-wing intellectual communist homosexual pornographer (to paraphrase Woody Allen). What about this one: "admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda"? Well, didn't George W. Bush use the 9/11 attacks to push his agenda? Everything that happened during his reign was an excuse to cut taxes and invade Iraq. Pushing your agenda when you have achieved a decisive victory in an election is what you are supposed to do. It is what the winner does. In fact, in my opinion, President Obama needs to be even more aggressive in pushing his agenda.

How about this one: "Want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others"? Well, who would be the "others"? Let's see, how will the tax protesters will fill in the blank. I'm guessing they will fill in "others" with some specific group of people. Maybe "blacks" or "immigrants"? See, they are pushing the buttons. They know the "bible and gun clingers" will fall for it every time.

Now, who is organizing this fiasco? Fox News promotes it day and night. Right-wing think tanks organize it. It is NOT a grass-roots movement like the real Tea Party over 200 years ago. It is an AstroTurf Movement - plastic, fake, manufactured. Not organic, not real. I'd call it bullshit, but at least bullshit is real.

Mark Fidrych - "The Bird"

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Former AL Rookie of the Year Mark Fidrych was found dead today under a pickup truck at his home.

The Bird took baseball by storm in 1976. He talked to the ball, groomed the mound, and rocked back and forth before he threw the ball. He also threw 24 complete games in 1976, going 19 and 6 ! He was a lot of fun to watch, especially compared to the Nancys of today who can't get out of the sixth inning.

Obama reverses Bush's DUMBASS policy

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:03:00 +0000

Today President Obama reversed George W. Bush's retarded ruling on stem cell research. Remember back in August 2001, Bush had to go back to the ranch and "think" about what to do about stem cell research? After a few days of deep thought and discussions with Jesus, he emerged with his mentally constipated ruling: No new lines of stem cells for research. Like a retarded Solomon, he "spilt the difference".

Well, those days are over...

After eight years in the scientific wilderness, America returns to science and research. To those who say that they are "morally outraged", I say, "Shut up". You are holding the rest of us back. You say we are "playing God". But what about Dr. Jonas Salk? Was he playing God when he discovered the vaccine for polio? Why would the evil Dr. Salk try to alter the will of God? I mean, if there WAS polio, God must have known about it, right? And what about the geniuses who invent working artificial limbs for soldiers injured in Iraq? Are they "playing God"? God must have wanted them to get a limb or two blown off, right? Who are these scientists to go against the will of Allah?

I do not agree with President Obama when he says he respects the view of those who disagree. Let's face it, most embryos stored at in-vitro fertilization clinics wind up in the trash. Less than 1% are brought to term and adopted. 99% of unused embryos are thrown away. So let's do away with the myth that embryos are being unnecessarily destroyed. There is a perfectly good reason for them to be destroyed - for scientific research! To save lives of actual people, not smudges on a microscopic slide!

Throughout history, there have been two types of nations, those that put religion first and those that put science first. If you want to see what happens when nations put religion first, see: Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, etc. Essentially, you get a decrease in human rights and/or an increase in death and destruction. So to my pro-life, anti-science friends, I say, let us return to the fold of forward-thinking, civilized, scientifically advanced nations. And if you disagree, just shut up. The next eight years will be a looooong stretch for you (yes, I said eight years). By the way, let's attach a provision to this legislation that ensures that people who are against this research will not be allowed to benefit from it when advancements in human health are achieved through it.

Republicans responded to President Obama'a Executive Order by saying that they would immediately give all embryos additional tax cuts.

A-Rod: Can he survive among the Humans?

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:19:00 +0000

Hey, forget about A-Rod's steroid scandal - get a load of this questionable rubdown he's getting. The last time I saw something like this was when I walked into the wrong stall in the men's room at Penn Station.

A-Rods' steroid revelations have rocked the baseball world. Really, have they? As I have written here before, baseball is full of crap when it comes to steroids. As long as the teams are raking in the dough, they couldn't care less who is shooting 'roids. If they really cared, they would ban players who used steroids or HGH. And why can't we have the names of the 103 other players on that list of players who tested positive for illegal substances? Let's get ALL the names out, not just the high-priced Yankees. Then we'll see some fireworks. Or, allow everyone to use illegal substances by simply looking the other way and not testing anyone. And by the way, I don't buy the argument that A Rod is such a great player that he didn't need to use 'roids. He is indeed a great player, one of the greatest ever, but imagine you are him. You are facing mediocre pitchers who you know are juicing to get an edge. You just can't let that happen, no matter how much natural talent you have. Your ego won't permit it. You know other sluggers are also juicing, inflating their numbers, threatening your rightful place in baseball history. You can't allow that. So, you decide to use the same stuff everyone is using, to level the playing field. Before long, everyone is using the stuff, which is exactly what happened.

Also, lets' not kid ourselves - substance abuse and performance enhancing drugs have always been a part of American professional sports. From the 50's through the 70's, the players used amphetamines on a regular basis to stay alert. Today's football players could not grow to such immense sizes unless they were on all sorts of HGH cocktails, yet no one even questions that sport (I guess it's because baseball is such an individual sport and these larger-than -life figures really stand out and attract attention). And of course, who can forget Connie Mack's 1911 World Champion Philadelphia Athletics, who used so many of the performance enhancing drugs of that era that they were dubbed "The Laudanum Boys".... OK, I made that one up, but you get the idea.

Hey baseball, clean up your act. On second thought, don't clean up your act. Instead, give out clean needles and let the players do what they have to do to give the fans what they want. Homeruns, baby!

Bobby Jindal: Douchebag Extraodinaire !

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Did you hear Louisiana Governor Bobby (not his real name) Jindal's rebuttal to President Obama's address to Congress on Tuesday night? It sounded like a speech a fifth grader might have given.
"Gee, Americans can do anything!" "My parents had to pay off the hospital bill in installments when I was born - it's a good thing they didn't miss any payments!"

Get it?

Bobby, you fucking douche.

Holy crap, this guy is the hope of the Republican party for 2012? He tells us that Republicans "went along" with big spending for the past eight years. No asshole, you guys were in charge. You had the keys to the fucking castle for most of the past eight years - and you fucked it up! I love watching these hypocrites revise history...

As a Democrat, I don't know who I would prefer to run in 2012, this guy or Sarah Palin. It is insulting how this all-white party suddenly has brown faces and women at the front of the party. They seem to be saying, "You want blacks? We've got blacks. We'll make Michael Steele the head of the party. You want broads? We've got broads. That sassy Sarah Palin is a real soccer mom! And you want slightly off color immigranty-looking guys? We've got those too! Check out Bobby Jindal!" Jesus Christ...

What makes it even worse is that his rebuttal followed a top-notch speech by a real craftsman. Whatever you think of his policies, it is evident that Obama is a serious person who speaks directly and is not shy about sharing the stark truth with the American people. When will the Right catch on that we don't want to be spoken to as if we were nine years old? Even though I support Obama and policies that are rather Liberal, I would still like to see real debate and opposing ideas about how to deal with the economic crisis. What do the Republicans offer us? Tax cuts. Enough with the tax cuts already! We've had 8 years of more tax cuts than we've ever had, and look at where we are. Maybe they could come up with one other solution. Economy bad? Tax cuts. Housing market floundering? Tax cuts. Crime rising? Tax cuts. Terrorist threats? Tax cuts. Got Hemorrhoids? Tax cuts.

Thanks Bobby Jindal. Your dismal performance on Tuesday night exposed you for the amateur you are. Republicans, PLEASE run this guy against Obama in 2012. In fact, make it a Jindal/Palin ticket. I'll even pony up some dough to their campaign.

The Wicked Witch of Washington, D.C.

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:29:00 +0000

Get a load of this one with the broom....all that's missing are the flying monkeys and the pointy black hat. Look at that face. Totally absent of any joy. It makes me think, "Arbeit macht frei". OK, let's get started... In the December 8, 2008 issue of Time magazine, Washington, D.C. School's Chancellor Michelle Rhee was featured in the cover article. Where do I begin?

Let's start with the cover. Look at the stone cold face on this descendant of starving rock farmers. She means business. She's "one tough lady"! Lazy teachers, look out! And how about that broom she's holding? I guess she's going to "clean up" education, as if it were that simple. I prefer to think of that broom as her magical mode of transportation, whisking her from failing school to failing school, firing incompetent teachers and administrators. She has all the answers to the swamp of social ills drowning our schools. After all, she was an actual teacher for about 3 years. What's even more amazing is that she never ran a school herself, was never the principal of a school. But she has all the answers. Even the caption on the magazine's cover suggests that she can fix America's schools. Funny though, when you read the article, you never do find out how to fix America's schools. Let's go a bit deeper....

When you read a bit about Michelle Rhee's personal life, you begin to get a clearer picture of who this robot really is. According to the article, Michelle Rhee was the head of the New Teacher Project when she was tapped for the D.C. job. She never ran a school herself. She was recommended for the job by a fellow traveller, NYC schools chancellor Joel Klein, who has succeeded in creating a generation of children who hate school and thousands of teachers and administrators who have had the spirit beaten out of them. Rhee was a teacher for around 3 years. During her first year, she had hives all over her face from the stress. The second year, she and another second grade teacher took a class of low performers and turned them into high performers. Of course, there is no data available to support this claim. Additionally, the Time article says she did this with another teacher. So, let me get this straight: there were two teachers for this classroom? Wow. That is a luxury most of the teachers at my school don't have. Ms. Rhee was very lucky to have a second teacher in her classroom full-time to effectively cut the student-teacher ratio in half. Rhee claims that is was this experience that gave her faith in "the power of good teaching". Ah, so it was not a great teacher she had as a child or a veteran teacher she worked with that inspired her, but instead it was her own superior performance that inspired her. Wow. She is amazing!

I also learned that Michelle Rhee got married while she was a teacher, had two children, and promptly got divorced. It's a shame she couldn't stick with it and see it through and make that work. So, just like the teachers she oversees, she fired her husband. Oh, here's a tidbit...just after she finished 6th grade, her parents sent her to South Korea to live with an aunt and attend a Korean school (by the way, she didn't speak Korean at the time). When she returned to America, her parents enrolled her in a private school.

Is a picture of this robot beginning to form in your mind? Can you feel the chill blowing in from the (far) east?

Lets' read some more...how does Michelle Rhee treat others? Well, if she disagrees with your view of education, she will most likely mock you in a whining voice while making a face. She says education is too "touchy-feely". Her response to critics of standardized educational testing is, "I don't give a crap". When she calls her staff on the phone, she does not say hello, she just begins talking when they pick up (so now we know that not only is she wrong on education, but she also seems to be rude as well). While a parent was talking to her, she was cracking her knuckles (again, rude).

What does this cyborg want? What all cyborgs want: the destruction of humans and then the replacement of those humans by more cyborgs. She want to fire educators who aren't up to her "standards" and replace them with "Rheebots". I say to Rhee what I say to all who think this way - let's see you teach! You get up there in front of a class that includes kids who can't speak English, who come to school hungry, who are the children of drug abusers, whose parents work 12 hours plus just to pay the rent, who live in squalor, who are in gangs, who are victims of child abuse, who are pregnant. Let's see YOU do it! After all, you taught second grade for a whole three years with another teacher.

Let's get one thing straight. There are two types of people - creators and destroyers. Teachers are, by nature, creators. Those of us who have devoted our careers to educating children will still be here doing the hard work long after destroyers like Michelle Rhee have moved on to the next rung of their career ladder. Also, the pendulum is beginning to swing back the other way. The Republicans lost the election. No Child Left Behind will soon be a foggy memory. There are whispers that Rhee is being considered for the position of Education Secretary, but I don't think that will happen. The teachers unions helped to put Obama in office and I don't think he will forget that so quickly.

Do yourself a favor and read the article about Rhee in the December 8th issue of Time magazine. It is a real insider's view, kind of like getting an interview with Hitler right after the Beer Hall Putsch in the fall of '23. Imagine how history would have been different if Hitler had found success as an artist, or had found love? Isn't there a successful gentleman nail salon owner somewhere who can step up to the plate and show this glacier some love? Teachers everywhere would be thankful.

Coming Soon: The Inscrutable Michelle Rhee

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:50:00 +0000

The Dear Leader of the Washington, D.C. "School System".

More as this story develops....

Meet Mayor Mike

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Meet NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who was given control of the NYC Department of Education. This was like burning the village in Vietnam to save it. He put Joel Klein in charge of the schools and together, they have been squeezing the soul and passion out of the profession. Teachers and administrators have been beaten into a pulp like a washed-up boxer. Teaching is both an art and a science; they have extracted the art and left only the science. This has turned teachers and students into robots who go to school each day defeated and spiritless. They are now "accountable". What does that mean? Well, if you are the Principal of a school that has a population of children who live in poverty and can't speak English and whose parents work all day and night just to rise up to the poverty level, your students are expected to perform as well as students who come from affluent homes where both parents are college graduates. That is a noble idea, and of course all students should show progress as they move through each grade, but it is folly to suggest they are all the same. They are not. They come to school with lots of baggage. The people at the top during the past eight years of radical right rule have set the tone - teachers need to work harder; it is their fault students are not succeeding. Leaders like Joel Klein of New York and Michelle Rhee of Washington D. C. contend that pointing out that many students come from disadvantaged backgrounds (poverty, drug abuse, violence, non-English speaking, etc) is merely an excuse uttered by by those who are lazy and do not want to work hard. But they are wrong. All of the research shows that poverty, violence and unstable home lives all do indeed conspire to impede student achievement in school. But what did you expect? None of these people know anything about educating children. Most of them never taught at all, or they taught for 2 or 3 years. Then they went to law school or business school, and then they were put in charge of a school system. Those of us who have devoted our lives to educating children will be here doing the hard work long after these charlatans move on to the next rung in their career ladder.
Back to Mayor Mike. This guy is a riot. The City Council circumvented the will of the people, who had already twice voted for term limits, and voted to give Mayor Mike the right to run for a third term. Many stated that due to the harsh economic climate, we need a business genius like Mayor Mike to guide us through these rough times. So, what will the genius do? He will raise taxes and cut spending. Wow. Hell, I could've done that! Mainly though, he will use a third term to raise his public profile and run for higher office. Then he will go back to being a billionaire. Oh, he will also raise all the tolls and charge congestion pricing to get into the city and tax consumers for things like plastic bags. Now, I am actually in favor of some of those things, but did we need this guy to do these things? I mean, all he's doing is charging citizens more for everything. There isn't one other person in this city who could do this? Enough already with this guy.....

First Up: NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:43:00 +0000

NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, pictured here both in his 1922 starring role in "Nosferatu" and in his role as NYC Schools Chancellor. In both roles, he sucked the life out of those around him. In the 1922 film, he nourished himself on the lifeblood of others. In his role as NYC Schools Chancellor, Herr Klein sustains himself by crushing the creative spirits of children and teachers alike. He lives through the crushing of spirits and souls. And if you are a parent attempting to question him at a "Town Hall" meeting, he tries to hypnotize you by going silent, staring at you, and then slinking out the back door without answering the charges of the angry mob. In coming blogs, we will give you his resume and career accomplishments, talk about the destruction he hath wrought, and introduce you to some of his underworld colleagues, such as Mayor Mike Bloomberg ("Little Fidel") and NYC Schools Chief Accountability Czar/Destroyer of Public Education/Hater of Teachers, James Liebman. The ironic thing is, although none of these guys were ever near a public school classroom in their professional lives, they feel qualified to tell parents, teachers and students how to run their collective business. Coming soon...an introduction to NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg ("Little Fidel"). In future blogs, the only pictures of these two you will see will be Bloomberg in his Cuban General's uniform and Klein as Nosferatu. This is a kindly as I can reasonably represent them.

A Shift in Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Now that the election is over and the radical right has gone down in flames, I turn my attention to some new assholes. Get a load of these two. Guess what we're gonna talk about?

President Barack Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:41:00 +0000

Obama wins in a landslide! 365 to 173 Electoral Votes! 52.7% to 46 % (of the popular vote) ! 66,760,924 popular votes to 58,279,894 ! Largest margin of victory in 20 years !

The nation rejects Neocon/Republican/Bush/McCain/Palin/Religious zealots and returns to the issues. Obama ran a methodical campaign and one would hope that he runs his administration in the same way over the next four years. Now, he's got to do the job. If he doesn't, he'll be out on his butt 4 years from now. He could get off to a good start by including some Republicans in his administration.

Like many Americans, I've never been prouder to cast a vote in an election. This election demonstrates how great this country is. It is living up to it's promises. It has restored my faith in the electorate and the nation. Older people I know, even if they didn't vote for Obama, tell me they are very happy he won and are proud of their country. They also tell me they haven't felt this positive about their country since Kennedy was President.
For my Conservative friends, especially the ones who seem to be very angry right now, judge President Obama on his actions, not your feelings. (President Obama!!! I can't believe I just wrote that!)

Election Prediction

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:48:00 +0000

Who will win the election, McCain or Obama ?

Here's what my brain tells me:

(Here are my totally unscientific predicions) -

Obama over McCain by 53% to 45%

Between 1% and 2% to the various 3rd party candidates

Electoral Vote: A (kind of) landslide for Obama - 333 to 205

Obama wins Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, McCain wins Florida and Indiana.

Democrats fall short of 60 seats in the Senate, wind up with 59.

Over 125 million people will vote.

The win is decisive - no lawsuits or dragged out results.

But my emotions are quite diferent. I'm not counting my chickens just yet...I'm nervous as hell that McCain and Bible Spice could win.

I don't give a SHIT......

noreply@blogger.com (Winston Smith) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:07:00 +0000

I can't resist..doesn't this picture just say, "Yeah, I know it's wrong to change term limits after the voters voted for it twice, but hey, I'm rich! So what if you have no voice in your own government. Fuck you....if you were rich like me, you too could do whatever you wanted..... idiots...."