cwlodarczyk

Let's look at this... if he can't budget well enough to be able to run his ads AND pay his staff, do we really want him to be in charge of one of the largest economies in the world? I think that in this choice there is also something to be said about his priorities.

From the page: "- In a sign of the financial difficulties facing Republican Mike Huckabee, his presidential campaign said Tuesday that top advisers are working without pay and some aides have left.

"Most people are staying on," but a few have departed, adviser Ed Rollins said in an interview. "A number of people, including myself," have agreed to forgo their pay in order to spend as much as possible on television ads in vital states, Rollins said."

From the page: "But thereâ€s a powerful political faction in this country that understands very well that any real change will create losers as well as winners. In particular, any serious progressive reform of health care, let alone a broader attempt to reduce middle-class insecurity and inequality, will have to mean higher taxes on the affluent. And members of that faction will do whatever it takes to scare people into believing that change means disaster for the economy."

Turn based card game - a good distraction

Someone once said: "It's the economy, stupid!"

Having George tell us that the economy is in great shape doesn't help these people "put food on their families".

If you want to you can believe a set of massaged figures and determine that we're not in a recession - or you can just look at what's going on around you. This should be a pretty easy decision.

From the page: "For the Food Bank, the clearinghouse for some of the pantries†food, that translates into some difficult challenges, like providing Thanksgiving turkeys for 6,000 families this year, versus 3,000 in 2006. It means handling about 500 tons of food annually, 161,000 pounds of which were distributed in November alone, Ms. Lombardo said. "The need has doubled in the last year," she said. "And we donâ€t expect it to get better anytime soon.""

This is an excerpt of Ravel's Bolero from the Bruno Bozzetto animated movie Allegro Non Troppo.

I love this piece of music and I really enjoy the animation it's matched with. I know there is a full length version of this out there (should be 16-18 minutes); If anybody knows where I can find it I'd love to bookmark it here.

Apparently some people are having trouble with the link above.

Here is the series:
Part 1: youtube.com/watch [youtube.com/watch]
Part 2: youtube.com/watch [youtube.com/watch]
Part 3: youtube.com/watch [youtube.com/watch]

The coolest thing I've seen today:

Committee Caller is a free service that lets you easily call an entire congressional committee. Just select the House or Senate committee, or subcommittee, and entire your phone number. Click the "put me in touch with democracy" button to activate. The system then calls you after it's connected your call to that representatives front office. Press asterisk to end the call. Then rate the call by pressing 0-5, 5 being the best, and the system moves on to calling the next committee member. A neat way to make your voice heard, (like telling them to support the Arbitration Fairness Act), though our primer on writing to Congress is pretty great, too.

Direct link here: Committee Caller

The short story: a developmentally disabled 7 year old jumps in front of her mother in the face of a threat. (you can read the article for more details)

I have some issues with this story.

Here are some leading definitions of "Hero":

1. 1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.


2. 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

I question whether or not someone who doesn't understand the ramifications of their actions qualifies as a hero.  How can someone be "noble" in this situation if they don't appreciate the situation and the risk to themselves?

As a culture we've taken this word and used it so much and in so many places where it doesn't apply that it no longer has any real meaning.  Firefighers are heros, soldiers are heros, animals are heros, and finally a special needs child is a hero.

I'm not saying that I don't respect those who put themselves in harms way, but I think that calling everybody a hero cheapens the meaning of the word and does a disservice to those who actually deserve the title.

This bill has been approved by committee in the Senate. We now need to ask our senators to agree to it when it comes up for vote.

From the page: "Tell Congress to Stop Big Media

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is rushing through plans to remove decades-old media ownership protections. And he's trying to do it without public scrutiny.

Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have introduced groundbreaking bipartisan legislation that would hold the FCC accountable and put the people ahead of Big Media. Letters like this â€" millions of them â€" stopped media consolidation in 2003. Send a letter to your Senators and tell everyone you know."