watts4u2 blog

Most Played Tunes, 2011

2011-12-31T21:02:00.001-05:00

WattsTheTopTen2011 - wattstestsite

Enjoy them yo'sef at the link above and have a Happy 2012!

Obama like Teddy, and not the one you thought

2011-12-08T09:04:00.001-05:00

President Obama uses his hammer to hit the nail on the head with this:

Close to the Bone-o

2011-12-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

Forward to 2:00 to hear Bono's sexual dysfunction story. Need I say more?

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Capitalism Moves in Mysterious Ways

2011-11-15T19:50:00.001-05:00

From UK Telegraph:

"In total, the committee said it had found more than a million fake parts had made their way into warplanes such as the Boeing C-17 transport jet and the Lockheed Martin C-130J "Super Hercules".

It also found fake components in Boeing's CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter and the Theatre High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system.

"A million parts is surely a huge number. But I want to repeat this: we have only looked at a portion of the defence supply chain. So those 1,800 cases are just the tip of the iceberg," said Senator Carl Levin."

What does this say about capitalism and global free markets? What does this say about our military? Fake, cheap, knockoff Chinese electronics in our Trillion Dollar Per Year defenses? We can do better than this.

New/Old U2 does William Bell

2011-11-08T10:20:00.002-05:00

Those familiar with my U2 fascination, and my Steve Cropper fascination, and my FRINGE fascination will be amazed. On FRINGE, William Bell, an overzealous scientist/businessman/space and time contortionist, is played by Leonard Nemoy.

In real life, William Bell was a singer for Stax Records, and Steve Cropper was the guitar player for Stax. The real Bell is in the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame.

Sometime during the "Achtung, Baby" recording sessions, U2 played William Bell's "Everybody Loves a Winner", and it was just released on a new 6 CD, 4 DVD box set, along with some other goodies from the vault.

One of the new CDs is a rawer, rougher version of each song from "Achtung, Baby", in order... like U2 pre-covering themselves. It's like it's from an alternate universe.

Here's one from the b-sides disc, a reworked "Even Better Than the Real Thing". Fascinating.

Stompin' Ground

2011-10-26T10:03:00.001-04:00

IMGP5881j, originally uploaded by Watts4.

Maggie Valley Cloggin'

1/2 U2 Entertains Clintons

2011-10-18T11:07:00.001-04:00

I loved this!

For Peter Bishop

2011-10-12T01:41:00.000-04:00

See ya Friday?

Experimenting with anaglyph gif files, this one reminded me of our favorite time and alternate universe traveller.

What Hath Mitt Wrought?

2011-10-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

I've spent part of the morning amusing myself on Wikipedia reading about the Golden Plates and Joseph Smith. I don't hold it against Romney, he was born into it, but it's a delight to see the Christian/Fountainhead followers try to bend themselves into accepting a Mormon as their leader. I suppose if you can merge the philosophies of Christ and Rand, anything is possible (with Rupert at the helm). My favorite quote from Wikipedia about Smith's wife Emma:

In 1843, Emma reluctantly allowed Smith to marry four women who had been living in the Smith household—two of whom Smith had already married without her knowledge. Emma also participated with Smith in the first "sealing" ceremony, intended to bind their marriage for eternity. However, Emma soon regretted her decision to accept plural marriage and forced the other wives from the household,nagging Smith to abandon the practice. Smith dictated a revelation pressuring Emma to accept, but the revelation only made her furious.

"Wait honey, I'm having a revelation from God. He's saying you need to accept it, you know, the 'me having sex with all the other women' thing. Yeah, so, um, that settles it!"

How'd it work out?

Joseph's death threw both the church and Emma's family into disorder. Emma was left a pregnant widow—it would be on November 17, 1844, that she gave birth to her and Joseph's last child together....
Nearly two years later, a close friend and non-Mormon, Major Lewis C. Bidamon, proposed marriage and became Emma's second husband on December 23, 1847.

You can't make this stuff up! Oh wait..... read for yourself, the story of the Golden Plates.

Here's an engraving of Joseph Smith receiving the Golden Plates and the "seer stone spectacles":

It reminds me of this picture, Bono handing the Pope his sunglasses:

Bono to Tutu: Happy 80th

2011-10-08T22:23:00.001-04:00

IMGP3777j

2011-10-08T10:54:00.001-04:00

IMGP3777j, originally uploaded by Watts4.

Testing the flickr Android app with this photo

Tea Party Hero Hypocrites: Hayek and Rand, plus Koch!

2011-10-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

"We don't need no gub'ment, um, until we do," is the familiar refrain from elderly hypocrite libertarian types.

Ayn Rand is a known hypocrite, taking Social Security and Medicare benefits. Plus, she was a devout atheist. I'm not sure how the "religious" right squares her views with their heartfelt Christianity, the pairing is inexplicable.

And now recently uncovered documents show that Charles Koch himself tried to lure Friedrich Hayek (the other Tea Party hero) to the US to take a position at one of his libertarian think tanks, by sending him a letter encouraging him to take advantage of our Social Security system.

Oh, the hypocrisy. You see, when libertarians are young and healthy, they don't think they will ever need government assistance. But when they grow old or sick, you know what? They'll take it!
Check it out yourself. Smarmy Bastards.

I'm Making a Prediction

2011-09-28T23:08:00.001-04:00

Obama will win reelection in 2012. Sure, you'll hear a lot of talk between now and Nov. 2012, but you can officially ignore it all. Barack. Bank on it.

Maureen misses Slick Willie

2011-09-22T13:09:00.001-04:00

The Re-election Tango - NYTimes.com

Maureen Dowd on Obama, after spending the entire article fawning over Bill Clinton:

"The Aloof One has to convince voters that he can connect emotionally. In a way, his relationship with Americans now is analogous to a marriage that’s not working. He’s the detached husband; we’re the neglected wife.

Is he paying attention? Does he understand our needs? Or is he just pretending to listen while he watches SportsCenter?"

If you're gonna make that analogy, Maureen, then at least admit that we voters are less like a neglected wife and more like a crazy, fat, demanding, bipolar wife. We want less taxes and more benefits, more energy at a lower cost & impact, but we're not willing to give Obama a bj or even a hand job. For cryin' out loud, Maureen, the man needs a fluffer, and if he can't even cop a feel from a liberal stalwart like yourself, why the heck would you expect him to stop watching SportsCenter?

I'd pay a Billion Dollars to see THAT

2011-09-14T09:20:00.000-04:00

This is true, funny, and slightly entertaining, too!

Got that from HuffPo, where they have an interesting article on how corporations are tailoring their products to rich and poor, leaving out the middle:

"The economy is in evident peril, with unemployment high, wages falling, the housing market treading water and growth so slow as to be nearly imperceptible. Yet the rich are doing just fine. Some statistics make clear the size of America's affluence disparity: As of 2010, the richest 20 percent of the U.S. population control 84 percent of the wealth. And the 400 richest Americans have a higher net worth than the full bottom 50 percent of households.
As the wealthy continue to accrue capital -- helped by policies like a low tax on profits from stock and real estate sales -- and the less well-off classes try to make do in a pitiless economic climate, corporations appear to be finally recognizing the reality of the prosperity gap, and tailoring their product lines accordingly. Manufacturers like Procter & Gamble, the household-goods giant responsible for everything from Charmin and Old Spice to Tide, are concentrating their efforts on luxury and bargain items, putting less emphasis on products aimed at the middle class, the Wall Street Journal reports."

Is it wrong to suggest that without a strong, large and vibrant middle class, that our economy will fail?

Excuse me while I whip this out

2011-09-08T17:50:00.001-04:00

Watch "the new sheriff scene from blazing saddles" on YouTube

In anticipation of Obama unveiling his Big Package tonight, a classic clip from Blazing Saddles. I'd give anything to hear Obama kick off the speech with the subject line, anything!
Other thoughts... I really hope that other Joe Walsh, the congressman who owes over $100k in child support, gets on TV and talks about Obama ramming his big package down our throats. It's just too good not to note online, and this blog is where I note this kind of stuff. I'd like to put it on facebook, but I have a wide range of friends, and I am sure some would be offended. But c'mon, it's just too perfect.

Unfettered Capitalism at work

2011-08-19T18:26:00.001-04:00

Show of Force: Images From the Abu Dhabi Arms Fair | Magazine
We can all get along, well, to buy things to kill each other.

Defending the President

2011-08-17T10:03:00.000-04:00

Nominally conservative/libertarian Reason writer Steve Chapman gives a rundown of Obama's accomplishments as President:

"... by any objective standard, Obama has plenty of achievements. He approved a daring raid that killed Osama bin Laden. He's on his way to ending the Iraq war. He brought about a health insurance overhaul aimed at fulfilling the Democratic dream of universal coverage.
He saved General Motors and Chrysler and the jobs they provide. He scrapped the military's policy against gays. He put new regulations on financial institutions and the credit card industry.
He signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia. He launched a major initiative to promote innovation in schools, winning praise even from conservatives. He stopped the use of torture against suspected terrorists.
Love it or hate it, this is not the record of a dithering dunce or a confused wimp. It's all in keeping with the vision Obama offered during the 2008 campaign. It's all historically significant. None of it was preordained."

All this in an article with the headline "Why Obama Looks So Bad".

Time to drop the mortgage interest deduction

2011-08-15T11:42:00.000-04:00

REALTORs and mortgage folks will hate me for this, but this article (Reason writer Anthony Randazzo) gets some facts straight, about the Mortgage Interest Deduction. Dare I say, it is time to get rid of it? As a realist and a supporter of the Simpson/Bowles framework, this is a break I'd be willing to give up to help balance the budget:

"When considering the actual tax savings of the mortgage interest deduction, the benefits to the middle class become even more meager. The average tax savings for households with income between $40,000 and $75,000 is just $152 a year. That's $12.66 a month. Compare that to the highest earners, those making $200,000 or more, who see an average of $1,862 a year off their tax bills because of the MID benefit."

Solar System

2011-06-28T00:33:00.003-04:00

Please install latest Flash Player to run Solar System Scope

Andy Griffith on the Patriot Act

2011-06-13T20:21:00.001-04:00

Even Atlas Al is "Getting It"

2011-06-04T07:38:00.001-04:00

Ex-Fed Chief Greenspan Favors Clinton-Era Tax Rates

You know, he's married to Andrea Mitchell :-)

Bono Hitches a Ride

2011-06-03T20:28:00.001-04:00

Oiler Brule gave lift to hitchhiking Bono

This was better than Spidey on AI. So, Paul McGuinness is Bono's assistant? Heh.

Don't hack on me

2011-06-02T07:48:00.001-04:00

News Republic: http://bit.ly/kK53bB

This is why we threatened to bomb hackers. It's a new world.

Reason Gets Torture Right

2011-05-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

Steve Chapman at Reason had a great piece on torture, back on May 9th, and what really led to bin Laden:

"But it turns out that Mohammed also lied about the courier, saying he was a retired nobody. From this, CIA officials now claim, they knew the guy had to be a big deal. It was a crucial clue.
That's right: When tortured detainees provide truthful information, they prove torture works, and when they lie, they prove it works. If Mohammed had broken into a chorus of "Y.M.C.A.," that would have proved the same.
This bizarre reasoning is one of the many oddities about the defense of torture. Another is that the advocates never, ever refer to it as torture."

And this is a good place for one of my favorite torture videos, enjoy: