ePluribus Media - discuss, debate, decide

Delusional & Deceptive: Artificially Created "Issues" Causing Real Problems

GreyHawk — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:35:04 +0000

Originally posted as a note on my Facebook page.

The long & short of the ongoing "fiscal crisis" is that it is, at this point, an artificially manufactured crisis that is causing serious real-world issues. The delusion & deceptive "national conversation" that the traditional media insists on promoting isn't helping.

Case in point: a piece from the Washington Post¹ makes the following statement:

Ideally, the budget environment for weather and climate research wouldn’t be an either/or situation. State of the art computing resources should be available to both areas.But during a time when our nation faces a fiscal crisis and the government is having to make tough choices about what the highest priorities are - leadership within NOAA and Congress should take a close look at the balance of resources...

There are a couple of things wrong with that. The first one that leaps out and grabs my face like one of the creatures from Alien is "during a time when our nation faces a fiscal crisis" - really? Simply letting the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich expire would substantially resolve that, but the fiscally feral Republican, Tea Party & Libertarian extremists keep pushing for more tax breaks for the wealthy...hoping, apparently, that the rest of the nation is either too pre-occupied or distracted to notice just how much damage that those tax cuts have done, or who has benefited.

The mainstream German Magazine Spiegel asks, has the US mixed Economy turned into an Oligarchy?

Democrats Ramshield — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:50:01 +0000

Written by an American expat living in the E.U. (who holds a M.B.A. degree). This diary is a review of the Spiegel article entitled "Has America Become an Oligarchy?" from the perspective of a business librarian.
My email is: democratsramshield@yahoo.com

Spiegel quote: 2002 and 2007, 65 percent of the income gains went to the top 1%

PTSD Stigma Follows Veterans Into Job Search

savannaNewman — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:31:05 +0000

According to Veterans advocacy groups, the proliferation of media coverage and military exposure regarding post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as traumatic brain injuries, has caused Veterans to become branded unfairly. Reportedly, businesses are hesitant to offer employment opportunities to former members of the military. Employers are allegedly concerned that by hiring a former military individual, they may be exposing the workplace environment to a potentially unstable personality or violence.

The GSA scandal -- a personal perspective [Reprinted with Permission]

GreyHawk — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:51:10 +0000

The article below was written by a friend of mine who has a background working in the government. He has given his permission for me to reprint this on Daily Kos and ePluribus Media. The original article was posted on Gather.com as The GSA scandal -- a personal perspective. If you are so inclined, please send some traffic to the original article to help give it the bump & notice it deserves. Thank you. -- GreyHawk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The GSA scandal -- a personal perspective

by John S.
First posted April 07, 2012 10:49 AM EDT

I used to work for the General Services Administration (GSA) before transferring to USDOJ.

The scandal which has been hitting the news is so different from the GSA I knew that it is like finding your sainted grandmother arrested by the police for having an orgy in front of the local courthouse on Sunday afternoon.

GSA had always been very strict on following government guidelines, and pinched every penny. No flying first class. No gifts. Everyone got training on how to avoid problems with the ethics rules. This was so much a part of the agency's culture it is hard to see how such a major change could take place.

I then found this article:

Idiots, Assholes & The Borg Hive Mind

GreyHawk — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:24:33 +0000

For those of you who are familiar with Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, you'll recognize the character Q as played by John de Lancie. The Borg served as a foil in the form of a nearly unstoppable enemy, one that had a shared hive-mind and assimilated every being & technology in their path, making themselves stronger as they went.

In a way, the Borg is like a social & intellectual living viral colony - a virulent disease, a cancerous tumor that exists solely to feed itself & grow...very much like the right-wing loonies that have infested our political process and begun to tear apart not only the Republican party but also the nation & the world.

There's one notable scene that comes from an episode of Star Trek: Voyager which ties together Q & the Borg in a rather amusing way: Q admonishes his son not to provoke the Borg in the episode 7x19 ("Q2").* You can see the clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-X1zY5KvV0

I can't help feeling that the GOP & Koch brothers are a bit like Q in this way, and that the TeaBaggers are embodied by the character of Q Junior - out of control and in serious need of an intercession.

Niceties & chuckles aside, it's also very interesting to note that the "activists" on the Right appear unable to discern fiction from reality, public from private...and completely fail to recognize their own penchant for both intellectual dishonesty & hypocrisy.

RIP Commander Jeffry Lyle Huber, US Navy (retired)

luaptifer — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 04:00:03 +0000

We learned, late, of the passing of Commander Jeffry L. Huber (retired) at the age of 57, on January 24, 2012.

He was one of ePluribus Media's bright bulbs who shined a light from his flight deck experience in a bounty of words wizened by U.S. Navy command and time on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. It all sharpened the satire in his critcally acclaimed Bathtub Admirals.

He graced not only our shores but through the wider appeal of his blog, Pen and Sword, the DailyKos, and AntiWar.com, among other venues.

The spirit of his humor and insighted commentary are a loss and will be missed by many.

RIP Commander Huber.

For a long thread of worthy respect, see this eulogy at DailyKos or the bon voyages of well-wishers at Tributes.com.

A bump in the road...

GreyHawk — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:12:39 +0000

For those following this year's Presidential election festivities (as well as keeping tabs on the GOP's ongoing record-breaking race to obstruct, deconstruct, vilify & destroy all possible progress in the United States), there's a possible minor news item that may be seized upon by the Right to try and take the wind out of the sails of President Obama's re-election bid.

The President is running on job creation, saving the auto industry, rebuilding the economy & creating new energy initiatives (among other things), and up to now his record hasn't been bad. Recent news from GM, however, may give some of the opposition party something to grab onto:

GM Will Stop Building Volt Plug-In to Cut Inventory
General Motors Co. said it will halt production of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car for five weeks in an effort to control its inventory. The car maker had a stock of about 6,300 Volts on hand at the end of February.
[...more...]

Apparently, this will lead to the layoff of 1,300 workers.

The Tea Party & GOP Jihadists will have a field day with this...

GreyHawk — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:23:17 +0000

Oh holy crap - the nutbars of the GOP & Tea Party (& associated Santorum-coated Gingriches) will have a field day with this one: Muslims Declare Jihad on Dogs in Europe, by Soeren Kern of StonegateInstitute.org

Of course, they don't realize that the "Sharia Law" call-outs they make against Muslims - and the back-and-forth justifications of each side, per the article - sound JUST LIKE their own b.s. when promoting their "Christian values" agenda. But that won't stop 'em making laws against "Sharia law" in the US...they don't see the disconnect between such idiocy & their own Talibanesque encroachment upon the Constitution with their "Christian values" (values they loudly promote to garner religious support, but consistently & resolutely fail to uphold in their own lives & dealings).

'Tis the Season

roxy — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:43:23 +0000

YouTube:

Wishing a Happy Holiday season to my ePluribus Media family & friends. I hope each and every one of you have a stellar Christmas and that 2012 is the best year yet! Put Kenny G's Holiday album on (nothing better than good sax), pour a glass of wine and let's toast the end of 2011.

Monday Afternoon Open Thread - There's Something Wrong with the World Today Edition

Open Thread — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:06:40 +0000

YouTube:

"There's something wrong with the world today..." - Aerosmith, "Livin' on the Edge" Hat-tip to Jone Johnson Lewis for this disturbing reminder (and excellent example of the hypocrisy inherent in today's extremists - fondly known as the domestic terrorist collective oft referred to as "The American Taliban"...or, more simply, "today's conservatives").

This is a blast from the past - remember way back in 2006, when this video game was announced "in time for Christmas" of all things?

Yeah - that's a special kind of hypocritical hypocrisy, isn't it? Still exists today, too...