A note left by Rep. Patrick Kennedy on his father’s grave (Ted Kennedy). Warning: if you have a bleeding liberal heart, this may make you weep. This picture comes from the White House’s Flickr stream.
“Dad, the unfinished business is done.”[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under blogging, celebrities, family, health, history, news, pictures, politics, pop culture, random, six word memoirs, the hill
Happy Friday, readership!
Oh, hello. Me again. Since the real job is getting in the way of my bloggy job, I’ve condensed a week’s worth of what I liked into one fabulous Friday post. Does that work for you? I sure hope so!
You all know how much I love stories about sci-fi weirdos (apparently the cool way to spell it now is SyFy. Anybody else notice that the Sci-Fi Channel changed its spelling?). Well, here’s a good one! Computational linguistics expert d’Armond Speers spoke only Klingon to his son for the first three years of the boy’s life. Ummm, WHAT? He claims it was an experiment to see if his son would learn it like any normal human language in the early developmental stages.
He just confirmed what every child already knows– you are an experiment, and your parents are trying to corrupt you and make you as uncool as possible.
Here is the best quote from the article:
As for Speers, who still gets nostalgic when he recalls singing the Klingon lullaby “May the Empire Endure” with his son at bedtime, the experiment was a dud. His son is now in high school and doesn’t speak a word of Klingon.
Stay strong, young Speers!
Like any good yuppie bleeding-heart liberal, I have an iPhone. We all know that there is an app for everything, but this new one is so hilarious and wonderful that I have to share it with you. It’s totally politically nerdy, but it’s a bobble head guide to every single member of Congress. Here is my favorite member of Congress:
Best 99 cents I’ve ever spent. Download Bobble Rep.
Speaking of politics, lots of good stuff going on, eh? Lieberman sucks more than ever and the women’s movement took two steps back no thanks to Rep. Stupak.
I also remain perplexed as to how people can manipulate the messages of Christianity in light of healthcare reform. To me, it seems that giving a little extra so our brothers and sisters will be able to be healthy and able to succeed in life is following that message. Yet even the Christian right wing (like my girrrrrrl, Michele Bachman) has condemned it as communism, fascism, Marxism and any other ism you can imagine that probably doesn’t make sense. Grrr.
Hey, speaking of Christianity– I know people are complaining about how early it’s coming, but sweet Jesus I love Christmastime. And I love the new Gap ads! Add being a Gap backup dancer to my bucketlist, right after being a Fanta Girl and a dancing iPod shadow.
Sigh.
In other news, Oprah is ending her show in 2011. I’m not too upset about this. She’s going to have her own TV station in 2011, and she’ll have 25 years of her show in syndication so I really don’t see the big deal. They’ll still be enough of O’s wisdom to go around.
Oh, and just in time for a junky fastfood lunch:
But you know where you should really go? Chipotle.
Okay, I think that’s it for now. Miss me, because I miss you.
[Posted by Kathleen]
To all of those whining about the 62 cent raise on the cigarette tax and a whopping 40 cents for the cigar tax, which becomes effective on Wednesday, I have three words for you: Get over it.
Why so harsh? Because the money generated from the tax increase will go towards expanding children’s health care, known as the SCHIP bill and signed into law by President Obama in February. Instead of just seven million uninsured children receiving health care from the government, SCHIP has now been expanded to cover 11 million children.
But, naturally, some people are pissed. By some people I mean the tobacco companies who don’t give a you-know-what about you or your health and some really addicted smokers.
This gem of a quote came from NPR:
Customer Pat Collier of Zephyrhills, Fla., calls it a punitive tax aimed at smokers. “This is really just like the tea tax in the Revolution.”
Well…no. Because when our early American heroes, the colonists, were taxed, the money went back to the evil King George. This time around, Pat, the money will be used to help children. CHILDREN. POOR AND INNOCENT CHILDREN. Think about it. Good. Now let’s move on.
Smokers, you know the deal. The cancer sticks are bad for you, your lungs turn black and all that jazz. Maybe you are too addicted to quit, but for Pete’s sake (and Pete, by the way, is a 4-year-old with no health insurance and a life threatening illness), don’t let your addiction get in the way of helping a kid out. You chose to smoke, these kids did not choose to be uninsured.
It is a sad fact of life that prices go up all the time. The price of milk, the price of a pack of gum, even the price of the wonderful treasures at the 99 cent store. At least this time, when you pay those extra pennies, you’re doing something good.
More inspiration for you to quit smoking...
Or maybe, just maybe, this might encourage you to quit smoking, which, you know, would be AWFUL. (But, of course, you quitting has nothing to do with why the tobacco companies are so upset.) So Joe the Smoker and others quit. Over time, the number of smoking-related illnesses and deaths decrease, which also decreases the amount of state and federal dollars used to care for these people when they are in the hospital. The taxpayer wins! Oh, and if you quit, you run less of a risk of gum disease (eww) and you won’t get that hideous smoker’s mouth with all the lines and wrinkles.
Here’s another scenario to convince you that this might just be a good thing: Raising the tax on cigarettes will give health insurance to 10 million children. Having insurance will enhance their quality of life. Healthy kids go to school. (And like School House Rock tells us, “knowledge is power!”) Healthy kids grow up to be healthy adults. Healthy adults work. The American workforce is the engine of our economy. Voila! The economy thrives!
…And I’d like to thank the Nobel committee for awarding me this most prestigious award in Economics… just kidding because really, it’s not that big of a stretch.
I’m so fortunate that my parents never had to choose between taking me to the doctor or feeding me. But there are so many children that are not as lucky as I was/am and until we have universal health care, we need to take care of the ones that need our help the most– the very old and the very young.
[Posted by Kathleen]
Alright, let’s just face it. Live blogging isn’t going to happen. It’s like end of the day round ups. Haha. And this isn’t really edited.
Hello from Denver! (I hate when people say stuff like that. Aloha from Hawaii! Hola from Mexico! My apologies for being annoying). Mal, I wish you were here. I’ve had quite the Democratic day and I think I’m glowing with Democratness. Seriously glowing. I also have blisters that look like moon craters on my feet. Note to self- wearing brand new shoes in attempts to look good is not a wise idea when you’re going to be walking around and standing on your feet all friggin’ day. HOW COME I DO NOT KNOW THESE THINGS?! Anyway, day two of the convention had a few differences from day one. Yesterday appeared to be a lovefest. Today was all about policy and stickin’ it to old Johnny McCain.
Anyway, busy busy day today! A little continental brekky and we were off. A good family friend lives in Denver and offered us the use of a car during our stay in Denver. Imagine my surprise when it was a big, red 1995 Dodge Durango. I wanted to put a sign that said “this is a actually a hybrid car” on the back–I felt so un-Democratic! Ummmm, where’s my Prius with a Barack sticker? All kidding aside, it was great to have the Durango, and cruising around in the Durango was an adventure for sure. Thank the sweet lord I wasn’t driving. It’s a legitimate tank. Oh, this is funny. We parked the Durango and then lost it. Yup. We weren’t entirely sure where big red was. But we found it. Eventually.
Our first big event of the day was Emily’s List. I’ve never been so fired up about having two X chromosomes. Speakers wise, it was the grand trifecta of girl power. Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Michelle Obama. I know, I was giddy. People went berserk when HRC stepped out. I mean seriously cra-crazy. She was good, giving shoutouts to Barack and Michelle, and acknowledging the tragic loss of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. (STJ was a huuuuuuuuuge Hillary supporter, but was good about getting behind Obama.) It was a solid Hillary speech. Nancy came out, and I must say, she looked lovely in lavendar. During her speech, one Code Pink wacko screeched “Why aren’t you woman enough to impeach?!” She was booed. For those that don’t know who Code Pink is, they’re a group of extremist women (and every now and then a dude) who wear all pink and yell about impeachment. When the group started, they were anti-war. That’s cool. But now they are so radical and obnoxious that they are counteractive. They get kicked out of every event because they’re disruptive and rude. And to address the impeachment thing, here’s an easy way to explain it. If a house is on fire, the first thing you do is get the people out–not try and prosecute who set it on fire. Bush and Cheney are criminals, and hopefully the big book of the law will be thrown at their bums. But for now, let’s help the people of the nation. If you think Congress doesn’t get anything done now (which is false. The House passes everything. It’s the Senate’s fault. Cough LIEBERMAN cough) then imagine what it would be like with impeachment hearings. Okay. FOCUS.
So Michelle spoke next, clearly she looked impeccable. And here’s the interesting thing about her speech. On Monday night, she didn’t discuss policy at all. It seemed as if they were taking her away from that aspect of the campaign so as to soften her image. But at the Emily’s List event, she was all about policy. Education, health care, choice. You go girl. She seemed a little nervous though. Hmm.
Spotted: Gloria Allred, Chelsea Clinton, Betsy Myers (COO of Obama’s campaign/my hero)
One veterans event, and then the madness of the Pepsi Center. It felt like walking into a rock concert–a Barack concert, if you will. OHHHHHH. Sowwy. That was bad. Anyway, Mark Warner was boring. Yeah, I said it. BO-RING. It’s so obvious that man wants to be el presidente. He will run in eight years. And when I’m right, somebody please buy me a chocolate chip cookie. But there’s this new kid in town that shook things up. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was a hoot. He got up there in his sexy, sexy bolo tie (rawr) and smacked McCain around a bit. You know how people usually get fired up at the end of their speeches? I legit thought this man was ending his speech eight separate times. He was so fired up that I couldn’t help but be excited too. New political crush, for sure. Blahdiddy blah blah Deval Patrick blah blah. He’s cool. Oh, and then this lady from New York spoke. Um yes, Hillllllz! Now you all know from my previous posting that B is my boy. But Hill deserves some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Her speech was well-written, well-delivered, and exactly what was needed to finalize unity and end the fissure between Barack and Hillary supporters. And oh girl, she had some zingers. That line about the Twin Cities? Priceless. My favorite part was when she asked the Hillary people if they were doing it just for her or the country. That’s what it’s all about. I think that’s why Barack eventually won. His campaign has been about the volunteers, the power of the people and starting a movement. Of course people love B. He’s just so lovable. But Hillary’s supporters, while caring about the country, seemed to be obsessed with Hillary and so focused on Hillary that they forgot about themselves. Don’t freak out on me, that’s just what I noticed. Oh, and Chelsea is looking awesome. Good for her for taking a large role in last night.
Walking out of the convention area was like a carnival. If carnivals included the crazies screaming in your face with aborted baby fetus pictures. Sick. If you want to talk about baby killers, talk about the Bush administration sending young men and women to fight in Iraq. They are practically just babies, and they pay the ultimate price. But I digress. My favorites were the signs and screamers condemning “homo-sex” and screaming about Jeeeeesus. Newsflash, dumb-dumbs. JC stood for love, not hating on our fellow man and woman. The vendors were pretty funny though. The best sales pitch I heard was from a guy standing next to a crazy Christian. “We’re all going to hell!,” the vendor shouted. “Might as well buy buttons!” Well put, buddy. But despite a hearty chuckle, I did not buy the buttons.
Spotted: Bill Richardson, Jack Murtha, John Kerry and some other randos.
One party later and then we went back to the hotel. No Ben Affleck or George Clooney. But I’m looking. My feet are killing me. Time for bed. Day 3: Biden speaks.
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under celebrities, crushes, news, politics, pop culture, random
six words to change the world. 