Red Planet

Al Franken's pitiful mea culpa for voting Yea mimicked GOP talking points to a T. Very disappointed in Franken,

Repeat after me. TAX CUTS ARE NOT STIMULATIVE. TAX CUTS ARE WHAT'S GOT US IN THIS GODDAMN MESS TO BEGIN WITH. THIS TAX CAVE IS THE FIRST STEP TO KILLING SOCIAL SECURITY.

Daily Kos: The End of Obama's Presidency, According to Him (Updated):

"If the last two years have taught us anything, it's this: never put your faith in a politician. The only way for citizens to find their power in our present corrupt governing system is to band together outside the corrupt party apparatus and demand change from without. When even Al Franken goes along to get along, there seems no other choice."

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I'm all about Uptown Almanac at the moment. Cool old vid from Hwy 1/Ocean Beach.

San Francisco Motorcycle Cops Trained as Daredevils | Uptown Almanac

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Awesome.

Jim Bell: 'Postcards From Mars': 15 Amazing Pictures Of The Red Planet From New Book (PHOTOS)

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Because it is broth season.

For the Love of Cooking: Homemade Chicken Broth

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Nothing to See Here, Folks

The ghost of GW Bush was on the TV last night acting presidential.

Obama's 'nothing to see here, folks' style of management is dragging this country further into the pit.

Fuck you, Obama. If we forget, If we do not hold accountable, then we have failed and we might as well start teaching Chinese in those lovely charter schools you desire in order to crush those nasty unions that are all mean to you and shit.

Daily Kos: Turn the page on Mister Bush? Never:

"I cannot and will not turn the page until George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the others in that cabal of scorpions are brought to justice and make amends for Iraq. Which means never. No apology, much less time in the slam. I'll go to my grave knowing Bush and the rest got away with it. In a couple of months, Bush hopes hundreds of thousands of Americans will be turning the pages of his memoir, a book certain to add to the plethora of lies and pathetic, murderous rationalizations with which we became so familiar during the last seven years of his presidency."

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Connect these dots:

Franken tells FCC: Without ‘Net Neutrality’, a ‘handful’ of corporations will control the Web | Raw Story

Fox News: DEAD LAST In Online Ratings

In U.S., Confidence in Newspapers, TV News Remains a Rarity

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Some of the first color film moving images. Pretty neat.

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Fighters Fighting

The guy on the right (like I need to point his out) should have a statue erected in his honor.

Twitpic - Share photos on Twitter

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This is what I want everyday from every elected Dem. Kick their asses:

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My Kind of Democrat | Talking Points Memo:

"Too many progressives seem to want to sit on the sidelines until someone, a Marquess of Queensberry, comes along and changes the rules of the game to make it more civilized. What they don't seem to grasp is that democratic politics are the Queensberry rules. They replaced mob rule. The fractiousness, unpredictability, and feralness of politics are vestiges that remind us of what the real alternatives to democracy are. The real alternative is not a debating club and smoking jackets.

What I like about Weiner, or at least what I see of him in public, is that he's in the game. He doesn't hold himself above it or outside of it. He's in there. He's fighting. A good lesson for Democrats: If you're actually in there fighting, you don't have to worry about 'projecting' to voters that you're a fighter."

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Probably the best Senator we have. Al Franken.

Daily Kos: The most important post you’ll read all day

Al Franken for Senate | Join Al Franken - add your name to save Net Neutrality from the corporate takeover of media

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The only news show worth watching.

Rachel Maddow: Fox News 'Slimeballs,' CNN 'Not Really Trying' (VIDEO)

Daily Kos: Why Rachel Maddow Scares Them: O'Reilly Bites Back on Race Baiting

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The herd will not be culled enough, I fear.

Waxman sees bright side to Nov: 'Difficult' Dems won't be back - TheHill.com

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Uh... this is a contest? Brutal pictures involved.

World Sauna Championships Finalist Vladimir Ladyzhensky DIES At Event (PHOTOS)

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Speak Our Minds

Daily Kos: Why Some Will Never Thank Us or Stop Hating Us

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Changing Obama's Mindset | The Progressive:

"What’s required is a total turn�around. We want a country that uses its resources, its wealth, and its power to help people, not to hurt them. That’s what we need.

This is a vision we have to keep alive. We shouldn’t be easily satisfied and say, “Oh well, give him a break. Obama deserves respect.”

But you don’t respect somebody when you give them a blank check. You respect somebody when you treat them as an equal to you, and as somebody you can talk to and somebody who will listen to you.

Not only is Obama a politician. Worse, he’s surrounded by politicians. And some of them he picked himself. He picked Hillary Clinton, he picked Lawrence Summers, he picked people who show no sign of breaking from the past.

We are citizens. We must not put ourselves in the position of looking at the world from their eyes and say, “Well, we have to compromise, we have to do this for political reasons.” No, we have to speak our minds."

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Al Franken Slams Supreme Court For Dismantling Legal Protections (VIDEO)

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Warren Buffett pledge as part of the $600 billion challenge - Jun. 16, 2010

Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.

My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.)

My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I've worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.

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DOJ: Nearly 500 arrests in mortgage fraud probe - Yahoo! News

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WATCH: Autistic Student Eric Duquette Amazes Audience With Graduation Speech

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Patriots Act This Way

You mean the law isn't being applied as intended? You mean we dirty fucking hippies were right all along.

Shocking.

WATCH: DoJ Official Blows Cover Off PATRIOT Act

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Awesome. So glad Al is in the federal mix.

We need more Al Democrats. A lot more.

The DOJ fucker has the gall to state 'this is surreal'. Yeah, surreal you can't square 'laws' with the constitution.

Al Franken Reads the 4th Amendment to Justice Department Official:

"Franken, who opened by acknowledging that unlike most of his colleagues in the Senate, he’s not a lawyer, but according to his research “most Americans aren’t lawyers” either, said he’d also done research on the Patriot Act and in particular, the “roving wiretap” provision that allows the FBI to get a warrant to wiretap a an unnamed target and his or her various and changing cell phones, computers and other communication devices.

Noting that he received a copy of the Constitution when he was sworn in as a senator, he proceeded to read it to Kris, emphasizing this part: “no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

“That’s pretty explicit language,” noted Franken, asking Kris how the “roving wiretap” provision of the Patriot Act can meet that requirement if it doesn’t require the government to name its target.

Kris looked flustered and mumbled that “this is surreal,” apparently referring to having to respond to Franken’s question. “I would defer to the other branch of government,” he said, referring to the courts, prompting Franken to interject: “I know what that is.”"

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I have to agree. I've commented previously on the Panda.

They only eat one thing and it has very little nutritional value. However, they get so fat they can't have sex.

Stupid pandas.

Let the panda die out 'with dignity', says BBC expert Chris Packham - Times Online

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Can you tell I'm phoning it in today.

7 Pranks That Ended Badly For The Perpetrator (VIDEO)

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Because I'm a foodie.

Michael Bauer: Between Meals : Zagat says: Service is improving and prices are down

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Once I was a huge Braves fan. Then the steroid era commenced and I was completely turned off of the sport. Haven't followed it in several years.

But a huge Braves fan I was (and still am to an extent). Grew up hard and strong on Braves baseball (Thanks, TBS!). Can still name the 1983 line-up.

I'll watch Bobby's swan song next year. I love Bobby and all of the great years he gave us in Atlanta. Damn, I hope they can make a run.

Bobby Cox Retiring After Next Season - News Story - WSB Atlanta

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