No news analysis today my brain hurts from all the stupid. I'll pick it up again tomorrow.
Today after running errands was reserved for Frolf. Frolf what my crew calls frisbee golf. There is a course in golden gate park that starts near 25th and fulton. It is the same premise as golf but is far more fun. I've been playing with other people's discs until now
Oh yeah. Let me tell you they float like a dream. It was difficult to get a hold of these things in the city though. First Karkool (snapshot 3/31) and I checked out a sports equipment super store down town. We immediately turn around and left because they were trying to charge 22$ a piece! Instead we found a bike shop near the course where they were only 12$, and they were better quality to boot.
The course is gorgeous. You would never see a golf course as beautiful because a frolf course goes through forests, over gullys and around hills plus has ponds and flower gardens. Plus there are no douche bag golfers! (well one douche bag but I don't want to talk about that dirt bag). The picture sequence below is Alex driving beautifully into a tree.
All and all it was a really good game/day. The weather was great, you know, when it's really warm in the sun and chilly in the shade, with a little breeze. The on and off rain over the past couple of months has greened up the park and there were flowers everywhere.
I played a good round scoring only 12 over par. That is good because it is a pretty hard course. Steven and Karkool were the winners. Alex is improving scoring under 20 over par. High five Cuz!
Then I did laundry. hella laundry.
Weeeee!
-Tad
March 28th 2008
Clean Coal is an oxymoron. When I watch MSNBC or CNN I hear a lot about green issues yet no real information about green energy abroad. Instead I hear about clean coal and bio diesel. Could this because energy companies are a large Sponsor to these stations? I think so.
You can see the clean coal commercial here. This is run just about every commercial break. Is there any truth in this green washing campaign? How does "clean coal" work?
Apparently they just blast the exhaust into the aquifer, or use it to extract coal and oil. First off how is blasting pollution into an aquifer clean? I guess it is a saline aquifer but I don't like this idea either way. Second if they are using CO2 to extract oil and coal(wtf?) isn't still released into the environment? Is it not pollution as long it isn't DIRECTALLY spit out into the air? I'm sorry but this sounds like a loophole.
Even if I am totally wrong today most coal power stations just perform like this one. These commercials talk up clean coal but the truth is there really aren't that many clean coal plants. Saying "coal is clean now" but not actually making it clean is straight up bullshit.
A reason why the new "clean coal technology" isn't around is because it is not cheap.
"the true cost of new, Clean Air Act-compliant coal (including capital recovery, at today's prices) is over 10 cents/kWh at the customer meter, once you include transmission, distribution, and capital recovery. About the same as gas, coincidentally." Sean Casten
These proponents of "clean coal" also neglect to mention where this stuff comes from. Even if the "clean coal technology" did not pump greenhouse gasses and other poisons into the atmosphere, coal mining is filthy.
There is the good news though. There are earth healthy alternatives out there and they have proved to be both viable and economically profitable. Take a look at Iceland.
They have completely fazed out fossil fuels. Instead they get their power from green sources, predominately geothermal, but also from wind and hydroelectric power. They then use these sources to produce hydrogen, which powers their cars, busses, and even ships. These guys are leading the world. We should be riding this wave as well.
Is Obama too liberal? Why is this "story" on cable news every hour. This is garbage. They say his voting record is the most liberal in the Senate but doesn't give his votes any context. Is this journalism?
The Bush team is tampering with the justice system to help out other Repubs. Neo-cons are the dirtiest cheaters. They have made it blatantly obvious that they do not care about the law and will miss used their power to get what they want. Watch the "corruption unit closed" and "convicted ex-governor to be freed" videos from Verdict with Dan Abram's.
Sorry I couldn't embed or link directly. Karl Rove was a big player in this alabama governor scandal story.
This stuff is very important and is getting very little coverage. I think it is because there are just so many scandals, lies and corruption in this administration the media is apathetic. The Dems just want these guys to disappear after this year, but I would rather nail these criminals to a wall. They have probably permanently fucked up America and the world.
Racism is still an issue. Repubs say racism ended after the civil right movement of the sixties. But even in San Francisco racism reers it's ugly head. Building contractors are trying to pit Hispanics and Black carpenters against each other to exploit them both. Here is the article.
Have a good weekend!
-Tad
March 27th 2008
Were Rev. Wright's latest comments anti-semitic? (pumped into the news cycle by conservative elements)
I have Jewish friends that love Israel but do not condone Israel's actions. Not all Jews are zionists. Hell many christian fundamentalists are zionists! Those jerks NEVER have nice things to say about Jews.
Once again these are misconceptions and are used by the right as race-baited attacks. Is Zionism and Judaism the same thing? No. If you do not support Israel or its actions why are you considered a anti-semite?
Israel's government has not been good for Palestinians in the past, or today (you could call them Israeli Arabs if you wanted but they are not considered citizens in their own country).
Back to the story.... Worst thing in the end is, it was Rev Wright not Barack Obama. WTF? just say no to this bullshit.
Whoops we sent nuclear missile components to Taiwan.
Sorry I could only find this story on youtube with Lou Dobbs as anchor.
This is really sketchy. It is hard for me to understand how these bone heads can screw up so bad with the amount of money we dump in the DoD. I get better service at best buy and best buy hires teenagers. "How much do we spend?" you ask?
We need to spend more on America. We don't need to be blowing other people up. Or paying the DoD to have their heads up their asses.
Now to the good stuff Final Four this weekend! Wo0t! Right now I have about half my dogs still in the fight. Definatly not going to win anything this year but the games have been great. I want it to be UCLA v Kansas in the end. Only time will tell.
Big ups!
-Tad
March 26th 2008
Iraq must be doing ok. I haven't really heard anything about it, right?
Sorry I didn't add anything yesterday. I had no internet connection, plus it was a slow news day anyway.
The Honey Bee decline may be due to GMOs. Turns out it probably isn't cell phones. Brit Amos of Global Resource writes about new evidence linking Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), specifically Terminator seeds, to the recent sharp decline in Honey Bee populations. Honey Bees are critical members or our ecosystem. Without them many of our produce items cannot be cultivated because honey bees are responsible for their pollination.
Was the Coalition of the Willing really the coalition of the coerced? A lot of news from Infowars today. But turns out our "allies" in the "war on terror" were bullied by the Bush Administration to join up. It's a wonder we have any friends abroad. Oh wait we don't.
"Kevin Hassett believes everything would have been fine if state and local governments hadn’t tried to limit urban sprawl." "(His) McCain's chief economic adviser is former Senator Phil Gramm, a fervent advocate of financial deregulation. In fact, I’d argue that aside from Alan Greenspan, nobody did as much as Mr. Gramm to make this crisis possible."
These are his people. That doesn't inspire much confidence. Dems are missing the mark as well. The war may be a huge waste of resources but it's the unregulated banks and hedge fund guys that are the problem.
New from the Front
I found this on YouTube and immediatly subscribed. Richard Jensen's News from the Front is a sometimes bi-monthly cable news re-cap with liberal (logical) insight. He really has his finger on the pulse and is funny to boot. check it out.
-tad
Happy Easter 2008!
I call this Jesus Zombie Day. Chocolate eggs, pastel colors time off work, what more could you want?
My bracket is the sucks. But there is still a chance. First if Tennessee beats North Carolina, then if UCLA wins the whole thing and verse Kansas I could have a chance. I've got my fingers crossed.
Everyone I know, myself included, will vote for which ever democrat gets the nomination. The cable news people say people will not vote or switch to McCain if their candidate loses. This is crazy. How dumb do these guys think we are? It is pretty insulting in my opinion.
Banks want us to bail them out. What ever happened to bootstraps? These republicans are such dicks. They want to get rid of entitlements (welfare, medicare, social security) but throw money at big business, plus they never talk about getting rid of corporate entitlements.
China plans on carrying the Olympic Torch through Tibet. This should be a major concern for anyone interested in human rights. The Chinese were supposed to change their policies in order to host the Olympic Games in Beijing. The current brutal repression of the Tibetan Monk protests proves that they have not followed up on their promises. The China Olympic torch route through Tibet is an insult and will only lead to more violence. The torch is also going to be carried through San Francisco. And here protests are very heated. So heated in fact a group of people poured flammable liquid on a metal security gate outside the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco and set it ablaze. San Francisco senior senator Dianne Feinstein said "publicly dissing the Chinese for what's intended as a goodwill gesture toward San Francisco will only make it more difficult to bring them to the table to resolve the Tibet issue." Yeah that will happen. Her plan is to "allow" protesters only to demonstrate in "free speech zones" (yeah that bullshit again). This makes me angry.
We all knew the Republican's racism would bubble to the surface. Glenn Greenwald discusses this ugly turn in the Rev. Wright "scandal". All this talk about race was sure to bring it out of them. The biggest anti-reverse-racism guys are really racists deep down in my humble opinion (or just really dumb).
Glenn - "While the dominant political faction in the United States built itself and continues to feed and nourish itself with this sort of endless exploitation of racial resentments and grievances -- and while it openly embraces far more powerful religious fanatics who espouse ideas at least as radical and repugnant as anything Jeremiah Wright has ever said -- let's spend the next eight months talking about the controversial comments of a single, comparatively powerless black preacher and have our presidential election decided by that."
-Tad
March 21st 2008
My bracket is boned! This is grim... U of A and USC both lost, its over!
Cluster Bombs and land mines are wack. Vote for Obama from David Rees of GYWO.
March 20th 2008
Yo Gabba Gabba!
This morning while waiting for a package, I was watching the tv and flipped by this crazy looking show.
I kept watching, even though it is a kids show, I thought it was pretty dope. Its called Yo Gabba Gabba! The cheesy kids songs about sharing, ect, had tight beats and the show was so trippy. I wish this show was around when I was a kid. It was not age appropriate for me but still I thoroughly enjoyed it. Just look at the characters, you know it's going to be good! plus biz markie does a daily beat box lesson for the kids.
You need to read this. Critical insight into "Wright's purportedly inflammatory statements" thank you MercuryNews.com
Obama's pastor's words ring uncomfortably true
By James B. Bennett
Article Launched: 03/20/2008 01:45:30 AM PDT
The scrutiny of Sen. Barack Obama's relationship to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the recently retired pastor of Obama's Chicago church, highlights the complex intersections of religion and race in the United States.
Neither Wright's purportedly inflammatory statements nor the pressure on Obama to repudiate them are anything new. The tangled webs of religion and race are two of the most persistent themes in American history.
Wright's simultaneous embrace of Christianity and condemnation of the United States, mostly for its failure to live up to Christian ideals of social justice, has been a part of African-American rhetoric since the first slave conversions to Christianity. Looking back even further, preaching condemnation against the nation stretches back to the Old Testament. The jeremiad, a sermon calling for repentance to avoid judgment, is named after the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, an irony critics of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright fail to grasp.
Even Obama, who has recently distanced himself from Wright, would do well to remember the rhetorical tradition of Wright's criticisms have a long history in the speeches and writings of African-American leaders who are exalted by black and white Americans alike. Frederick Douglass, whose autobiography of his escape from slavery to freedom is a mainstay of American civic education, spoke in terms similar to those for which Wright is castigated:
"I will hold up America to the lightning scorn of moral
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indignation. In doing this I shall feel myself discharging the duty of a true patriot; for he is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins."
Even Martin Luther King Jr., whose legacy political candidates of all races and parties try to claim, shared Wright's condemnation of American aggression, criticizing "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own government."
Wright's call that "God damn America" creates a paradox for his critics, especially those on the Christian right, because he takes seriously the idea of the United States as a Christian nation.
Wright's denomination, the United Church of Christ, descends directly from the Puritans who settled in New England. The Puritans wanted to create a Christian society that would be "a city upon a hill" that would be a model for all the world. But they also understood that God would hold them accountable for their failings, since Puritan jeremiads highlighting failures were far more common than sermons claiming success. (War was a leading sign of God's judgment.)
By the 19th century, black preachers had adapted the jeremiad-style sermon, calling upon American Christians to be faithful to the ideals of equality and justice rooted not only in the sacred texts of Christianity, but also in the sacred texts of the nation, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Alongside this historical amnesia, calls for Obama to distance himself from Wright reflect a racial bias as well. The racial double-standard in America requires a member of a minority group to dissociate him- or herself from fellow "troublemakers" in ways not expected of whites.
Racial similarity between Obama and Wright (and, earlier, with Louis Farrakhan) as much as religious relationships account for the pressure for Obama to publicly denounce the former leader of his church.
At the same time, Sen. John McCain's religious supporters have received little scrutiny. Conservative Christian supporters such as the Revs. Rod Parsley and John Hagee have a long record of hate-filled statements about Islam, Judaism, Catholicism and most anything besides their form of Christianity.
White Republican candidates have not faced similar pressures to repudiate views of other politically vocal conservative Christian leaders, such as Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell, who have long pointed to evidence of God already having "damned" America in catastrophes such as Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina. They just disagree with Wright on what sins ought to provoke divine wrath.
The rhetoric that has brought Wright into the spotlight is a distillation of the dual experiences of hope and alienation that have always characterized the African-American religious experience. Wright's call for God's judgment is not a rejection of either the Christian faith or the American nation. Rather, like his forebears, Wright's preaching is an affirmation of religious and democratic ideals and a call to uphold them. The uproar over Wright's preaching is not because he is wrong, but rather the uncomfortable realization he is right. JAMES B. BENNETT is an assistant professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University.
and this wolf blitzer is covering for McCain Fox style!
Thanks for reading
-tad
Five Years in Iraq Protest
No video but I do have a lot of pictures from the 5th Year Anniversary of the Iraq War Protest. I could do video if I had a memory card in my camera. Need to add that to the budget.
The Direct Action to Stop the War sponsored the event. I hear from the media that this even was tech-savy. I thought it was cool.
Although there were 9/11 truthers, smelly bums and hippies that appeared to be on acid, the majority of the people there seemed like regular folks and the speakers were good on the whole.
I don't know how many people were at the rally, more than I could guesstimate. During the march people joined in from all over the city. It was really fun. And I met Cindy Sheehan. Nice.
The march went from the Civic Center to 24th and Mission. It ended with a speech, a band jamming out in the street and people dancing. Then someone started a fire, firefighters put it out, I bounced.
I will write about the news later
-tad
March 19th 2008
Faux News wants to take Obama out. They have decided that Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. from the Trinity United Church of Christ is the way to go about it. But how "inflammatory" are Wright's comments? Lets take another look, but this time with a little perspective. "Inflammatory" comments provided by FauxNews.com.
September 2001: “The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied.”
– September 2001: “We bombed Hiroshima. We bombed Nagasaki. And we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye.”
– September 2001: “We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because of stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own backyard. America is chickens coming home to roost.”
– April 2003: “The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes three-strike laws and wants them to sing God Bless America. No! No No! God damn America … for killing innocent people. God damn America for threatening citizens as less than humans. God damn America as long as she tries to act like she is God and supreme.”
Black people get a raw deal in America. Why should they have to praise america after all this (if you need more proof, look at the links)?
– December 2007: “Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich, white people. Hillary would never know that.”
– December 2007: “Hillary ain’t never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person.”
Women were considered non-people at one time. But also at that time Blacks were considered worth less than women. There was a time, when black male got to vote and women could not, but at that time their vote was only 1/16 of the white vote due to Jim Crow laws. I would say this is 50% fair.
– Jan. 13, 2008: “Hillary is married to Bill, and Bill has been good to us. No he ain’t! Bill did us, just like he did Monica Lewinsky. He was riding dirty.”
– “Fact number one: We’ve got more black men in prison than there are in college. … Fact number two: Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run.”
Slavery.
– “We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns and the training of professional killers. … We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. … We conducted radiation experiments on our own people. … We care nothing about human life if the ends justify the means.
And … And … And! God! Has got! To be sick! Of this shit!”
Faux strikes again. I am sure Obama distanced himself from this because 90% of americans will not take the time to understand the facts and history behind these remarks. I agree with Jon Stewart, Obama talked to us about race like adults. I suggest you watch The Daily Show's coverage.
In this video Jon Stewart discusses race with Larry Willmore, Stewart alludes to an argument I heard over and over on Fox News. To these people- your white immigrant grandparents may have endured hardship but you do not get to discount the hardships black americans faced in the past or currently face. These are not even similar conditions, you are white! Not yours!
The Fed is bailing out their buddies and f-ing the rest of us over.
I need to check out the War Protests today. It is the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War and people are pissed (as they should be). I will have video later.
Bush stalls on Polar Bear endangered status for a little folding money. Despicable. The interviews on CNN are a little garbage because they treat Bush's Fish and Wildlife and EPA as if they were not packed with Bush cronies (that used to be energy lobbyists). Anderson Cooper's take. I hope Bush lives forever. I hope one day his grand kids ask him "why are there no polar bears anymore?".
The Democrat that is going to the white house next has got a lot of work ahead of them. All the federal offices need to be disinfected of all the ex-lobbiest scum before anything is ever going to be done. I was checking out slowpoke achieves did you know about this?
The Fed cut rates again. Too bad it's just for the banks. Their rates may be lower but that has no effect on your rate. The cable news guys are slapping five but as I said yesterday, how does this help anyone but the rich guys?
Obama made a speech today about race due to the media's reaction to Obama's Pastor: Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The speech is excellent but of course the cons are not impressed. Tom Tomorrow's take.
It is pathetic that is an issue or even discussed. We all know that FOX news is the one making this one such an issue (even the Atlantic isn't down with this story). This is a double standard. McCain has the support of Pat Robinson and John Hagee. He champagnes with Robinson and despite the one second controversy is proud of the anti-gay, anti-arab all around hater support of Rev. Hagee. Plus black people actually have a reason to be pissed off. White people really don't
Why is it not ok to hate on America, after all the fucked up things we do, but ok to hate on Palestinians and gays? Attack the weak, pat on the back. Fight against the strong, RACIST!
keeps it reals
-Tad
St. Patrick's Day 2008
Welcome to my blog! Let us skip the introduction and get right to it.
The dems need to chill out. This is ridicules. Hillary looks like a giant bitch, that is something she needs to avoid. These attacks are petty and just help McCain. Obama's reaction also seems a little bitchy. Calling her out her garbage works, but only in small doses. The net affect is everyone is turned off to politics when they should be psyched. In my humble opinion, Hillary and Barack should just double-team McCain. While they have all the cameras in their faces, why not make it work for us for once? Everyone has made up their minds by now. So let's judge the candidates, from now on, on who can dog on McCain harder. The superdelagates (and florida) go to whoever has the most "Aw Snaps" by November.
A lot is going on in the news;
The Fed is bailing out the billionaire scam artists (read about it here). So here is the story, last week the media jumped on the news that the DOW was going up. The Fed was given mad props for their enlightened decisions by the 24hr news networks. On CNBC one analyst, cant recall who, claimed that these loans and rate cuts would have lasting effects and that get this, that Bear Stearns was the perfect reflection of the U.S. economy. Now Bear Stearns is ruined and being sold for basement bottom prices. Why do the media cheerleader for this administration's policies still? After all we have been through the last 8 years.
Afghanistan is a bust as well. I was watching American Gangster the other day. All the bomb smack used to come from South East Asia during the pointless war in Vietnam. Now where does all the "true blue" come from? Afghanistan! and I heard it's bum-licous.
