Lawrence O'Donnell Responds to NRA - WOW

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell addresses the NRA press conference on several levels.

First, he points out that other organizations, with many times more members, would never get live coverage of a press conference, let alone from three networks.  While correct, the media was not just covering a newsworthy event.  They were also chronicling the beginning of the end for a very powerful group in America politics.  The NRA's response to the Sandy Hook shooting was its chance to redeem itself in the eyes of Americans who blame it for our recent mass shootings.  They failed. The media wanted to be there to watch it.

The link to Lawrence O'Donnell's comments is here.

Eloquent, thorough and powerful.

Prayer Vigil for the Children of the Connecticut Shooting

My husband and I will be in front of the White House tonight at 7:00 p.m. to light a 100 hour candle in memory of the innocents lost in Connecticut yesterday.

We will be reciting prayers from many faiths and non-faiths.

Join us in spirit and thought if you cannot join us in person.

Peace be with you.

More Spam from the President

 

Haven't we had enough pleas for money?  Enough already.  Stop flooding my inbox with your stupid mailing list spams.  

Isn't there a way that I can request to be taken off of this mailing list?  Somebody, please tell me, quickly!

This week, thousands of Americans picked up the phone to help the President prevent a tax hike on middle-class families. We can't stop now. Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is still refusing to allow a vote on a bill that would prevent 98 percent of American families from paying higher taxes next year. If your taxes go up by more than $2,000 in a couple weeks, there's only one reason: because a few dozen Republican representatives refuse to ask the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans to pay their fair share. Your representative has already signed the petition -- but there are dozens more who still need to step up. Log on to the call tool today and ask fellow supporters who live in Republican districts to call their representatives now: http://my.barackobama.com/Call-Tool Voters have already made their voices heard on this issue. As the President said at his first press conference after the election: "If there was one thing that everybody understood was a big difference between myself and Mr. Romney, it was, when it comes to how we reduce our deficit, I argued for a balanced, responsible approach, and part of that included making sure that the wealthiest Americans pay a little bit more. "I think every voter out there understood that that was an important debate, and the majority of voters agreed with me ... by the way, more voters agreed with me on this issue than voted for me." Yet a handful of Republicans in the House of Representatives are still fighting for the same top-down approach that's been tried -- and has failed. Whether you voted for the President or not, he's fighting to keep taxes low for 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses, because he believes we need to grow the economy from the middle out. He's fighting for you. He's got your back. We've got to get his, too. Make a few calls right now. One person reaching out to another is how we re-elected Barack Obama. It's how we'll win this fight, too. Just a few minutes of your time will make a difference. Thanks for doing your part. More soon. Messina Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America

Paid for by Obama Victory Fund 2012, a joint fundraising committee authorized by Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee, and the Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia State Democratic Parties.

Contributions or gifts to Obama Victory Fund 2012 are not tax deductible. The first $2,500 from a contributor to Obama Victory Fund 2012 will be allocated to Obama for America, designated for general election debt retirement. The next $30,800 from a contributor will be allocated to the Democratic National Committee. Any additional amount(s) from a contributor will be divided equally among the Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Virginia State Democratic Party Committees, up to $10,000 per committee and subject to the biennial aggregate limits. A contributor may designate a contribution for a particular participant. This allocation formula may change if following it would result in an excessive contribution or if Obama for America receives sufficient funds to pay its outstanding debts. Contributions will be used in connection with a Federal election, may be spent on any activities of the participants as each committee determines in its sole discretion, and will not be earmarked for any particular candidate.

MC Гомер - По Верхушкам

I'm not taking responsibility for the lyrics - I don't know what they say.  But I like the Russian rapper.

Is Karl Rove Going to Jail? Ask Anonymous

Anonymous says that he is.

You might try to find the videos on the subject, but the links to them are going down all over the place.

Here's one:

http://youtu.be/REn1BnJE3do

In short, the claims are the Karl Rove used computer back doors to rig elections in Ohio.  Anonymous claims that they intervened and shut those doors.  Karl Rove may have been expecting the last minute stealing of the election, and that's why he was on Fox News acting like he couldn't believe the election results.  Because he thought he rigged the election against Obama.

Whether or not this is true, Anonymous has promised to hold Karl Rove and other Republicans to account for these actions.

Anonymous - we are waiting with baited breath...

A Message To My Rapist

Check out this video on YouTube. A YouTube makeup guru gives a gut-wrenching account of her sexual abuse at the hands of her father. it seems he just subscribed to her YouTube video channel.

Check it out by clicking on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1iUog2lL8k&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Sent from my iPad

Taurid Meteor Shower

Subject: Taurid Meteor Shower

Space Weather News for Nov. 11, 2012
http://spaceweather.com

TAURID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is passing through a stream of gravelly debris from Comet Encke, source of the annual Taurid meteor shower. Because the debris stream is not very congested, Taurid meteor rates are low, no more than 5 per hour. The special thing about Taurids is that they tend to be fireballs. Check http://spaceweather.com for the latest videos and images of the display, which is expected to peak around Nov. 12th.

Don't just watch meteors, wear them:  Authentic meteorite jewelry is available in the Space Weather Store:  http://www.shopspaceweather.com/ownameteorite.aspx

You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com.

New subscribers may sign up for free space weather alerts at  http://spaceweather.com/services/ .

To unsubscribe click here: http://www.spaceweather2.com/u?id=1661104M&n=T&l=spaceweather or send a blank email to leave-spaceweather-1661104M@www.spaceweather2.com   

US Voting Fraud Proven Mathematically

From The UK Progressive:

In states where the winner will be decided by less than 10%, of the vote he already knows he will win. This is no tinfoil hat conspiracy. It’s a maths problem. And mathematics showed changes in actual raw voting data that had no statistical correlation other than programmable computer fraud. This computer fraud resulted in votes being flipped from Democrat to Republican in every federal, senatorial, congressional and gubernatorial election since 2008 (thus far) and in the 2012 primary contests from other Republicans to Mitt Romney.

Geomagnetic Storm Sparks Bright Auroras

> GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A persistent G1-class geomagnetic storm on Oct 13th (still underway as this alert is being written) has sparked bright auroras around the Arctic Circle, spurring reports of Northern Lights from Scandinavia, Greenland, Canada, and several northern-tier US states. More auroras are in the offing. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of continued storms on Oct. 14-15 in response to a high-speed stream of solar wind. Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.
>
> AURORA ALERTS: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are underway? Aurora alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).
>
> You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com.
>
> New subscribers may sign up for free space weather alerts at http://spaceweather.com/services/ .
>
> To unsubscribe click here: http://www.spaceweather2.com/u?id=1661104M&n=T&l=spaceweather or send a blank email to leave-spaceweather-1661104M@www.spaceweather2.com
>
>

Incoming CME

Space Weather News for Oct. 7, 2012
http://spaceweather.com

DRACONID METEOR WATCH: Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, source of the annual Draconid meteor shower. Last year, Europeans witnessed a faint but furious outburst of 600 meteors per hour when the shower peaked. No such display is expected this year, but the Draconids are notoriously unpredictable. Northern-hemisphere sky watchers should be alert for slow-moving meteors emerging from the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon (not far from the North Star) on Sunday night, Oct 7th, through Monday morning Oct. 8th. Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

INCOMING CME: A coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading for Earth. The incoming cloud is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our planet's magnetosphere on October 8th, possibly sparking auroras at high latitudes. 

DC State Fair

I swear, I never would have thought of it.  A State Fair in DC!

But, of course!  DCers are into gardening, knitting, sewing and other home crafts and urban thriving.  Why wouldn't we have our own state fair?

The DC State Fair blog is HERE.

There will be pickling contests, weird vegetable contests and tons of other stuff someone would have done before now!

Details:

DC State Fair 2012 
Held at Barracks Row Fall Festival 
On 8th Street SE, south of Eastern Market Metro 
Saturday, September 22 
11 AM to 5 PM

ParaNorman - Rewritten

Just saw ParaNorman, and it was OK.  The theme of the movie seemed to be: don't kill yourself if you are being bullied, and don't take a gun to school to kill your tormentors, either.  My husband saw the moral of the movie also seemed to be aimed at the Tea Party, with strong admonitions against killing people who make you afraid.

I am going to take the liberty of suggesting some ParaNorman rewrites:

The bullying setup is fine.  The disappointed, shallow father is fine.  Is it necessary for the father to be so dismissive of the mother?  Isn't there any respect there at all?  Just saying.

When the odd uncle dies and his spirit tries to get Norman to pick a book off of his dead body, it makes more sense if the boy refuses.  He is already strange in the eyes of his classmates.  He would be reluctant to do something to be seen as more strange.  Besides, that's what kids do.  They try to fit in.

Also, it would be more interesting if Norman didn't care if the town was destroyed.  After all, no one liked him there.  When kids get guns and kill other kids at school, this is what is going on.  They are attacking the ones who attacked them.  So why would Norman care so much?  Why would he be inclined to save the jerks who are hurting him?  It would be more interesting if he said no.  Then he would be going through the same journey as the ghost-girl.  From hate to forgiveness.  The complete lack of anger in the movie is unrealistic.

The Uncle-ghost would implore him, urge him, pester him to change his mind.  Still, Norman would not do it.  He would mouth off to his Uncle.  Then the disaster would begin.  Norman, at first, would enjoy the carnage.  Then he would see how the people he cared about would be affected.  He would see how they would be scared.  He would realize that he had to be the person who did something about it.  That he was the only one who could.  He finally listens to his uncle and sneaks out of the house to take action.

Then the whole adventure of the zombies begins.

After it's over, and the town is a wreck, the bully goes back to treating Norman badly - like would happen in real life.  But now Norman is different.  He pushes back by reminding the bully that he peed in his pants earlier and who cares what he thinks anyway.  Norman calls him a coward outright.

One part of reality that is missed in these bullying discussions is how the kids who are big bullies in middle school and high school generally turn out to be total losers.  That should be hinted at here.

The answer isn't "understanding your bully is afraid."  In middle school, people are afraid of not belonging or being OK.  Understanding that does nothing for the victim.  It is a phase of life and socialization.  That part of the human experience needs to be couched with firmly-established limits on acceptable conduct.  You know: manners.  And to give the victims of bullies things to say back to their tormentors.

The essential problem, of which bullying is but a symptom, is rigid conformity.  The standardized testing pill our children have been forced to take has reinforced the idea that to be OK you need to conform.  Social media makes social rejection wholesale.

Kids need to get a message that is something other than "forgive" and "understand."

See Westboro Baptist Church HUMILIATED

Brick Stone gives those Westboro Baptist Church nut cases a hard time...

Bernie - Go See This Movie!

It is so refreshing to see actors stretch their range in surprising ways. Jack Black is the lead in "Bernie," a movie about a man who befriends a cranky and quite nasty old widow. Bernie is a nice man who seems to help other non-stop. He generous, kind and thoughtful.

Matthew McConaughey is the District Attorney in the case at the center of the story. Again, he does a great job with the role. It took half the movie to realize it was him.

Shirley MacLaine portrays the elderly widow in a stunning performance, as usual. The widow's character makes a fantastic transformation through the film, due in large part to Ms. MacLaine's acting talent.

The movie is not what you expect at all. My main criticism of movies of this sort is that the ending is so easy to predict. Not so with "Bernie." I won't give away the ending.

When you think you have seen just about everything that crime stories have to give, you will be surprised by this movie. The dash of realism gives "Bernie" a poignancy other films lack.

Do yourself a favor. See this movie.

How Others See US Police

This video is hysterical.  It shows a stop along a highway by police.  And I could really see it happening.

Survival Advice That Will Get You Killed - YouTube Prepper

YouTube channel TheModernSurvivalist describes his experience living in a country that has experienced an economic meltdown.  This video describes the situations that you will face if the economy collapses and what he has seen.

His videos tend to be a bit wordy, but are full of great information.  He tells about some survival advice that is really not going to work. Again, this advice is based on his experience.

It is a video worth watching.  One of his gems: "Distances doe not equal safety.  If you got there, so can others."  He prefers to be within screaming distance of his neighbors, not in an isolated location.

Most Popular Prepper on YouTube

This YouTuber is DEMCAD.  He talks about practical prepping and gives information related to survival in an urban area.  This video is about his big errors in prepping and what he would have done differently.

From time to time, he has a live video chat online. You can phone him and talk about prepping or general interests.  He likes ballet, for instance. Check it out.



"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today."

Cute Kid Asking a Girl Out to Coffee

This is Repzion from YouTube. He is describing how he felt before, during and after asking a girl to go out to coffee with him. It really is cute.

Econo-Girl is of a previous generation, however.  One that would be concerned that the object of my attentions would actually go on to YouTube and see a twelve minute dialog on having a crush on someone.  Generational divide, anyone?

The Avengers Movie

Wow. Leisure Lad and I saw the 3D version of The Avengers last night. It was fantastic. On the whole, action adventure movies don't do much for me. It's boring when things explode for ten minutes straight. Of course, 3D is a category unto itself. Especially in this film. There's a giant skyscraper in New York City and we get to see superheroes jumping off of it all the time.

Aliens directed by Loki descend onto the streets of New York to invade Earth because Loki wants to be the king of something and hates his stronger, more handsome brother Thor. Great bod, by the way, on Thor and Captain America. The subplot of the German gods is very interesting. Although Loki is the villain, does he have to be skinny, pale with greasy hair? Is there some backstory about this? There seems to be a romance with the german gods in the American culture at play here. It's interesting that it didn't turn out to be the greek or roman gods.

Thor is the great protector of our planet, and the love of his life is human. Thor has problems controlling his rage, likes smashing things that get him angry and isn't a big thinker. Since Loki thinks humans are basically sheep who want and need to be ruled, by default, Thor is in favor of freedom and self-determination. Loki is more intelligent. Loki had a playful and trouble-making side which is absent in The Avengers, and looks down on humans. So the bad guy here is basically an Eastern establishment elite stereotype. Our protector, Thor, jumps in with a hammer and starts fighting. Always more satisfying to watch, especially with all those muscles.

Space aliens invading Earth is not a new subject. Of course, the story is told strictly from the perspective of the United States. There is some Council that tries to interfere with military decisions, but they are overruled by human heroes. The implication is that there is one global government, which of course cannot protest humanity from threats to its existence.

 Captain America, who had just woken up from fighting World War II and didn't understand what people meant all the time. He also wasn't burdened with the social attitudes of the 1940s. The Captain America cap looked a little silly, and he spent most of the movie fighting without it. The Black Widow jumped and flipped around all the time. Great feature in a 3D movie. The Incredible Hulk made quite the transition from a mentally-deranged monster to a monster who obeyed orders and engaged in critical thinking - all before our eyes without explanation! Iron Man was played by Robert Downey, Jr. with his girlfriend portrayed by Gwenyth Paltrow.

The movie was entertaining but not suspenseful. Never did the the audience wonder if the superheroes would win or if one of them would die. The movie would have been better with some realistic questions in the back of our minds.

Trayvon Martin: New Kindling for Bonfire of the Vanities

Now, Trayvon is a pawn in that tired old song,
Let’s keep America’s race war on
(apparently, Rod, we CAN’T all get along).

Red Staters bait on fatherless criminal packs,
Though the Martins were married, employed and fully intact.

So respectable in fact they sought bourgeois immunity
In the questionable safety of a gated community.

Working, praying, eating their vittles
Til lamentably, household had a shortage of Skittles.

America varies its customs, from bodegas to Seders
Sunshine Staters shoot first and ask questions later.

Faithful Sharpton’s been carpin’ for Zimmerman’s hind
(Spike Lee apparently has lost his frickin’ mind).

Handgun control might hassle Jeb B’s militia vassals.
Hey, learn to wrassle to defend your castle.

Otherwise I conclude only retroactive abortion
To stop trigger-happy brain-stem distortions.

POSTED BY THE SCURRILOUS PAMPHLETEER AT 3:35 AM

Wanderlust - Go See This Movie!

My husband almost never laughs out loud, and he did that a lot while watching this movie.

The story is basically that a couple loses employment and has to leave their NYC condo - which is amazingly small. They go to stay with a very obnoxious brother and bolt when it gets to be too much to a commune they stumbled on.

It stars Jennifer Aniston, who does a great job as the wife who really takes to the commune life. You will recognize many other actors: PAUL RUDD, JUSTIN THEROUX, ALAN ALDA (plays one of the founding members of the commune terrifically), MALIN AKERMAN, KEN MARINO, KATHRYN HAHN, JOE LO TRUGLIO, KERRI KENNEY-SILVER, LAUREN AMBROSE, MICHAELA WATKINS, JORDAN PEELE.

Like many total escapes, it seems the commune and its lifestyle have an unique set of baggage all its own. Routine human boundaries are violated there and the results are hilarious. This is one hell of a movie, and I might even go to see it again. Not something I really do, BTW.

Реальные пацаны &Лампасы&Рома Крест - Я продолжаю петь

I getting to be a real fan of this Russian hip hop group. But what are they saying?

Dog Walking is a Great Business

Dog walking is a great business to get started because the capital requirements are ZERO, the credit requirements are ZERO and the bullshit office politics are ZERO. It’s just you and the dogs, every day.

If you are at a time in your life where you need to be distracted from life problems, depression, or are having trouble adjusting your way back into society, dog walking is a great way to connect with other beings, and then human beings.

The sunlight and exercise lifts your spirits and your outlook, and puts life’s essentials front and center: food, walks and napping.

CalBank Set to Foreclose on Synagogue

The LA Times reports that CalBank is preparing to foreclose on a synagogue, Congregation Beth Shalom, in Corona, California.

""No question, we took a hit on the amount of money coming in. We built at the worst possible time, like a lot of people around here," said congregation President Bruce Williams. "We need some help getting our loan modified. But rather than sitting down with us, the bank wants to foreclose. It's mind-boggling."

Members of interfaith coalitions in Corona and Riverside will join synagogue leaders Tuesday for protest outside a local branch of the bank seeking the foreclosure, San Diego-based California Bank and Trust, known as CalBank. Williams hopes the rally will pressure the bank to renegotiate."

Click on the title to this post to see the original article. For assistance with bankruptcy in California, DC or Maryland, contact Axsmith Law at 202-285-5415, or www.Axsmith.net. For foreclosure defense litigation, Axsmith Law specializes in that practice.

Get an Audit of Your Foreclosure Case Against the Bank

"Last year, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other big servicers agreed to give more than 4 million borrowers who were in some stage of foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2010, the option of an independent audit of their loan account."

For information related to this audit, foreclosures and bankruptcies please contact Axsmith Law at 202-285-5415.

Foreclosed Home Reentered by Former Owners

Homeowners who have been taken out of their homes have decided to reenter those homes to continue living there. There's a danger of being arrested for trespass, but that is a risk that some are willing to take.

Since many homes are left empty after foreclosure, often for years, and then the homes are left to go into disrepair, there is a certain logic to this action.

With a family living in the house, it will not be stripped for its wires and fixtures. The home will also not be occupied by criminals and vagrants.

The full article is at My Valley News.

Foreclosure help is available at Axsmith Law, a firm which also handles bankruptcies.

Does Your Dog Have a Broken Leg

When a Dog’s Leg is Broken
A dog’s leg is broken when they can’t put any weight on it. Or at least that is what you should assume if that is what your dog is doing. The next step is taking her to the vet.
The vet says that you can tell if there's a fracture to a dog's leg if the dog is trying not to put weight on the leg. At least you should take the dog into the vet at that point. And if the dog is walking normally, there is no fracture. Just a handy rule of thumb.

The dog walker we had, before being in the business ourselves, had lost our puppy at least four times in the last two months while walking it. So he takes the dogs to the same fenced area with the gap in the fence every day, and keeps going back even though the puppy, Molly, runs away about once a week lately.

So this time Molly runs into the street and gets sideswiped by a car that naturally doesn't even bother to stop. Her leg is broken.

I ask you: what kind of walker takes a dog to the same place it always runs away from? My husband thinks that the guy is cheap and an old friend and means well. He says we should just insist that the puppy always be leashed, and since we never told that dog walker to do that we don't have room to complain about him.

I don’t agree. Always leash the dog.

Dog Walker Hell Week

Dog Walker Hell Week

It's over. I had ten extra walks per day for the last week and a half. It has been a few decades since I have been that bone-tired. Dog walking is manual labor. It may seem like unfettered fun to you cubicle-dwellers, but there's a lot to worry about.

First, every single dog owner has a specific set of instructions that applies to their dog alone. You need to remember all of it. Then, the dog doesn't always WANT to go outside if it's raining or snowing. My dog Amber is like that. She just looks at me like I'm insane and pulls a sit-down strike.

Of course there's the old, lazy dog that suddenly gets a burst of youth and makes a run for it. Always keep a firm grip on the leash. No one was more surprised than my husband and me when this little one dashed off and we had to go chasing her.

Logistics is everything in dog walking. The clock rules your day. You need to be at certain places at certain times and have to map out your strategy for getting there.

Of course as your business grows, you hire people. Then it really gets tough. Like the guy who sat in someone's house and ate a bucket of chicken and left some of the bones and biscuits lying around. The client was a vegetarian, by the way.

There was another guy who thought of himself as a kind of roaming Dick Cavett and would get to houses as the people were getting home from work - big no no - and then have in-depth conversations about country music or the economy. And I'll bet they were great conversations. But you need not to lose your focus: caring for the dog. No matter how much they smile and laugh, they will get angry and fire you if you fail to do this.

That brings up another issue. As a dog walker, you are in the servant class. No matter how jovial clients are, they think of you as the maid. And neighbors delight in watching you and telling the client if you have not picked up poop.

Remember, your clients are the humans, not the dogs. It's hard to remember this fact. You may like the dog more than you like the owner. After a while, though, you will become close to many owners.

The up side is that you get into really good shape and the dogs are always so glad to see you. It really lifts the spirits. They are such sweet little beings and the weather in DC is very mild most of the time, making a nice walk with a dog such a pleasure. I would walk along Rock Creek and think of all the times when I was working inside how much I would love just a few minutes of walking around in that weather. And I do it every day. It is glorious.

Michigan Case Good for Foreclosure Victims

A Michigan Court of Appeals has just ruled that lower court’s decision to dismiss a case against JP Morgan Chase was in error.

JP Morgan Chase failed to record their interest in the mortgage note held by Eui H. and In Sook Kim. Eui H. and In Sook Kim then sued JP Morgan Chase for wrongful foreclosure. The case was initially dismissed, but that decision has been reversed by the appeals court because JP Morgan Chase’s interest in the mortgage was not recorded.

This decision has the possibility of affecting many other wrongful foreclosure suits in the United States.



Get more information at Axsmith.net. Christine Axsmith is a foreclosure defense attorney in DC and MD.

2010 Foreclosures Down, More Foreclosures Expected in 2011

The above article from AP discusses foreclosure trends in the U.S. and offers predictions, and reasons for them.

Basically, the reporter is drawing a straight line between the number of underwater mortgages and anticipated default rates. While that may be a valid analysis, it does assume that homeowners who are underwater in their mortgages will mostly opt for defaulting rather than waiting the housing price decline out.


See Axsmith.net and Axsmithlaw.wordpress.com for information on saving your home from foreclosure.

DC HPAP Participants in Foreclosure Trouble

"D.C. housing officials have routinely subsidized home purchases that low-income buyers could not afford, paving the way for foreclosures, liens and financial hardships.

Nearly one in five buyers participating in the city’s 35-year-old loan program for first-time homeowners is behind on mortgage payments, city officials said — a default rate that’s at least three times higher than the overall rate in the region. Nearly 50 buyers have received notices of foreclosure in recent years, while more than 50 others have struggled with homeowner association or utility liens, The Washington Post has found."

See full article here.














See also Axsmith Law blog and Axsmith.net.

DeStorm's 2011 Overview