Saturday Open Author: TriSecDate:04/14/2012 09:43:44
Well, sort of.
It's uber-early, but there's not a blood appointment in my future. Today, I'm headed for Boston Common and a full day out with Mr. Bean. I may even get a chance to meet the Honorable Mayor Thomas M. Menino!
You all know what today is, so as the blog's resident Titanic geek, I'll leave you with just a couple of things today. Any good disaster has a multitude of conspiracy theories, and of course Titanic is no exception. Out of all of them, and I must admit it's at least "Plausible", is the thought that Titanic didn't sink one hundred years ago tonight; it was Olympic.
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6 comments(Latest Comment: 04/15/2012 13:34:10 by velveeta jones)
The 2008 presidential race was quite exciting. After two Bush terms, there was no incumbent for the Republican party. Traditionally, the vice-presidential candidate runs, but Cheney knew he would never be elected, and bowed out. That left both parties to find their presidential candidate for the general election.
What was interesting is that on the Democratic side, there was a serious contender in Hillary Clinton. Sure Geraldine Ferraro had run decades previous, but there was a sense this time that Hillary could actually win (not just the primary, but the general too). As the primaries came down to the wire, it was apparent to the Republicans that they too needed to court a woman. The Republicans ended up with Sarah Palin.
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36 comments(Latest Comment: 04/13/2012 22:50:25 by Raine)
Yesterday began the journey of Justice when George Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder. He will be appearing on video from Jail before a judge while his lawyer requests bail to be set.
There are many things to be said here, and I hope that questions will be answered about this in the coming days and weeks, but finally -- finally -- we are moving forward. This is needed for the family of Trayvon, who have shown incredible grace under such horrible circumstances, but also for this nation. People want justice. People want that. People deserve that -- including George Zimmerman. I'll try to write more on this, but for now, I am happy that finally, something is happening. & Raine
It finally happened - Rick Santorum has dropped out. A year ago it was inconceivable that Santorum would have lasted this long. His own home state had pushed him out of Congress, and his candidacy was seen as a joke. With so many comers in the field early on, he really didn't distinguish himself. Other candidates kept rising to the top, then getting washed out by poor showings or lack of support.
Not Rick Santorum - he kept floating just beneath the surface, not really attracting attention, but also not punching himself in the eye. He seemed unpopular, but managed to stay in as others fell out. Huntsman, Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman, Perry... All were held to the light of scrutiny, only to be rejected.
By the time it seemed like Santorum might be the Next Big Thing, there were just 4 candidates left (including Gingrich, another improbable come-from-behind candidate). The "anybody but Romney" crowd solidified on Santorum, deeming him Their Guy. Gingrich was just too unlikeable, and Ron Paul is... well - he's Ron Paul.
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56 comments(Latest Comment: 04/11/2012 21:54:14 by Mondobubba)
In DC it should come as no surprise that there are more than usual number of advocacy ads, lobbying ads, political ads etc. These ads reach people who might otherwise not be reached, and are from any number of groups. I enjoy watching them to see who is paying for them, etc. One ad that has been running since at least last August is this:
I admit, I hadn't paid much mind to it. It looks benign enough. I simply thought it was just another ad asking the State department for help. the ad was sponsored by a group called Human Rights and Democracy International. According to the ad, MEK should be de-listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department. It makes sense to support democratic opposition in Iran. We will go a little further into this website another day. Let's get back to this group, who claim to be The democratic opposition in Iran. Continue reading...
35 comments(Latest Comment: 04/10/2012 01:40:28 by BobR)
Say, with all the big state winnings recently by Willard, I wonder where the other noms are? We know that Sandy is probably at the hospital since his daughter, Bella, is once again sick, and despite our many, many, many, many, many, many differences of opinion about.... everything, we do hope his daughter fairs well.
But where in the world has Newty gone? Let's check his twitter and see.
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5 comments(Latest Comment: 04/09/2012 03:32:57 by livingonli)
Well, by now you should have heard that I wrecked my car earlier this week. I was flying solo; none of the parties were injured.
Alas, I was the striking party. It's funny, when I had that realization that there was going to be impact, it was perhaps no more than a second. But I felt like I had time to stomp on the brakes and get my hands out of the way of the steering wheel because I felt the airbag might go. (It didn't.)
After sitting there a minute, I was able to get out of the car, and approach the other person (already on her cellphone; maybe she was the entire time.) She was already hot, but the first words out of my mouth were "Are you allright?", and I could see her visibly soften.
She needed a flatbed, but I was able to gently drive nearly 40 miles home. The next day, I made an abortive attempt to drive back to Worcester, but there was some hidden damage to some radiator hoses, and I only made it about 15 miles before the car overheated and that was the end of that idea.
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5 comments(Latest Comment: 04/07/2012 23:33:29 by BobR)
A month ago, I wrote a couple of blogs (Pain in the Gas and Pain in the Gas, Pt 2) about what is driving the price of gas so high, and why there is little that the president can do about it. I reminded that crude oil is a commodity, and the price is set by traders, just like on the stock exchange, where perception and "investment strategy" is more important than actual shortages or surplus. I pointed out that oil companies are creating gasoline shortages by closing "unprofitable" refineries, yet still maintaining obscene profits.
The president reiterated yesterday that there are "no silver bullets" for lowering gas prices, despite what Newt Gingrich says.
But what if it WAS possible to make more gasoline available, thus rebalancing the supply/demand equation? What if Newt's "$2.50/gal" pipe dream could actually be possible? There just might be a way:
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32 comments(Latest Comment: 04/07/2012 00:24:44 by Raine)
It doesn’t make us weaker when we guarantee basic security for the elderly or the sick or those who are actively looking for work. What makes us weaker is when fewer and fewer people can afford to buy the goods and services our businesses sell, or when entrepreneurs don’t have the financial security to take a chance and start a new business. What drags down our entire economy is when there’s an ever-widening chasm between the ultra-rich and everybody else.
& 