Monthly Archives: May 2009
Stewart to Cheney: ‘Your Dick is out’
Jon Stewart reviews former Vice President Dick Cheney’s continuing criticism of President Obama in a new segment titled “Excuse Me, Your Dick is Out.”
Obama’s Bad Stem Cell Research Compromise
This particular issue is very important to me for the same reason, Alzheimer’s disease, as it is to Marion Roach who authored the article. The only difference is that it was my grandfather I took care of and watched slowly change before my very eyes. Who on bad days would get very stubborn, cantankerous, and decide to flush his medicine – which would then cause him to have Grand Mal Seizures.
It was a few years before the sale of the silver that I first wrote about us, in a 1983 magazine article that, impossible as it may seem now, introduced Alzheimer’s disease to millions of people who didn’t know what it was, including the seasoned magazine editor to whom I first pitched the story.
When I first wrote about Alzheimer’s, I searched out some of the best minds of the time, including Lewis Thomas, the great science writer, former dean of Yale Medical School and then-chancellor of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He called Alzheimer’s disease “the disease of the century” because, he said, “of all the health problems in the 20th century, this one is the worst.”
That quote got people’s attention, as did the words “angry, incompetent, hostile and incontinent,” which is how I described my mother. She was then 51, two years younger than I am now. I exposed her for who she had become in exchange for the attention I hoped the article might bring for her disease.
It is very difficult for the families who have a loved one that get this dreaded disease. Your free time is no longer your own. Starting at the age of 18, all my personal days and part of my vacation were used taking my grandfather to the hospital or sitting with him trying patiently to calm him down — to reason with him — because he was reliving an event that happened over 35 years ago. Or, he wouldn’t take his medicine for his epilepsy because according to him, “he was fine and didn’t need it anymore.” My grandmother would call me at work and I would rush over and help her time his seizures, if they lasted too long we would have to call the paramedics to take him immediately into the hospital. If they stopped, that’s when the back-breaking task of moving him and changing him and the sheets would kick in. My grandmother was very small and petite — it would take both of us to get him cleaned up and comfortable again. When grandpa would wake up and realize what had happened — on a good day — he would apologize and get depressed about his actions. This horrible disease would not allow him to think clearly. It was truly heartbreaking, and I would reassure him it was no bother and grandma and I had a good visit.
Disabled Vet – Told He Would Never Walk Again, Finishes Marathon For Charity
Phil Packer, a British soldier, was injuried badly by a rocket attack in Iraq a year ago. Doctors told him he would never walk again, incredibly he finished the London Marathon – to raise money for charity.
He completed the race 13 days after it started, walking on crutches for two miles a day — the most his doctor would allow.
Flanked by cheering soldiers and supporters, an obviously emotional Packer had defied medical opinion after his lower spine was badly injured – during a attack sent a vehicle rolling down a sand bank, striking Packer “head on” and dragging him under it.
Packer was in hospital for more than four months and it was then he decided to complete three challenges to help raise $1.5 million for Help for Heroes, a British charity supporting wounded veterans.
Swift Boating Health Care
Rick Scott’s is the former CEO of Columbia/Hospital Corporation of America. He was forced to resign in 1997, and Columbia/HCA agreed to pay $1.7 billion in fines and penalties. The hospital corporation pleaded guilty criminal and civil fraud charges including lying to the government about how sick patients were so they could collect larger fees.
Now Rick Scott is using his personal wealth accumulated by violating patient interests to attack health care reform and has formed a group called Conservatives for Patients Rights. They airing attacks on President Obama’s proposals on national cable outlets like Fox and CNN.
Fortunately the group Health Care For America Now is fighting back with this ad campaign. And there is a letter to be sent to these media outlets asking them to cease airing these ads. You can sign here.
Working with them is the organization Healthcare-NOW! that is an education and advocacy organization that addresses the health insurance crisis in the U.S by advocating for the passage of national, single-payer healthcare legislation. They have a petition to sign as well.
We call on our members of Congress to pass HR 676, non-profit Medicare for All, so our people and our nation can have the excellent healthcare system we deserve. Healthcare is a human right, and we call on our members of Congress to recognize that right.
If we do nothing the bad guys like Rick Scott win. It’s time to stop the people working against the public interest.
Happy Mother’s Day To All The Mom’s Everywhere!
A very Happy Mother’s Day to all!
A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
~Tenneva Jordan
This beautiful video was made by v1de0gamr.
Hacker Demands $10 Million For Stolen Records From Virginia
A hacker who claims to have stolen 8 million records from a database that tracks prescription drug abuse in Virginia is demanding a $10 million ransom for the information’s return. The FBI and Virginia State Police are investigating.
The breach involves the Virginia Department of Health Professions’ (DHP) prescription drug-monitoring database.
The breach apparently happened April 30. The hacker posted a note on WikiLeaks.org — a Web site devoted to leaking documents — demanding the ransom and threatening to sell the data on the open market if the state did not pay.
“I have your s@*t! In *my* possession, right now, are 8,257,378 patient records and a total of 35,548,087 prescriptions,” the WikiLeaks note reads. “Also, I made an encrypted backup and deleted the original. Unfortunately for Virginia, their backups seem to have gone missing, too. Uhoh
“
Hey wait… I thought it was all Clinton’s fault… Make up your mind!
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jeff Danziger, Syndicated Political Cartoonist
Torture Supporters Still Supporting Torture
On Friday, May 8, MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” was guest-hosted by MSNBC contributor Lawrence O’Donnell. His first segment was on Dick Cheney’s continuing “Torture Worked Tour,” and his guests were Torture Supporters Frank Gaffney and David Rivkin. I couldn’t help but notice that O’Donnell’s style could never be confused with Rachel Maddow’s. For neither guest did O’Donnell offer words of welcome and appreciation for coming on the show, nor did he give them any thanks for being there when he was done. In fact, he treated them both rather dismissively, and for good reason. Gaffney and Rivkin should be dismissed.
(The full segment can be found on MSNBC’s website. When I figure out how to embed it here, I will.)
The segment began with a recap of Dick Cheney’s recent interview Continue reading
The Hatch Act
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jack Ohman, Portland Oregonian
Fox Not News
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jeff Danziger, Syndicated Political Cartoonist
Happy patient…
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle Editorial Cartoonist and Animation Artist.
For Nick’s animations, visit Nick Anderson: Animation Archives.
For Nick’s cartoons, visit Nick Anderson.
The Sweatshops That Make Disney’s Toys, Books & Clothing
TimesOnLine reports that some factory workers making Disney’s most popular Christmas toys are docked pay if they take too much time going to the bathroom (only five minutes is alloted for bathroom breaks) and are working 18 hour days for a measly 16p an hour.
Workers at the factories in southern China also claim they have had to stay in cramped dormitories housing up to 16 people. At one factory they receive just one day off a month.
John Hilary, director of policy at War on Want, said: “These toys have been produced as a result of the exploitation of some of the poorest people in the world.”
Workers also said that their 16- man dormitories had no hot water in the evenings and filthy toilets, even though they paid the company about £8.20 a month for food and accommodation.
Meng, a 23-year-old production worker who combs soft toys to remove dirt and fluff before they are put into boxes, said: “The bosses are very harsh with the workers. If you say you are tired and you don’t want to work late into the night, the manager will immediately say, ‘You are fired. Please go.’
CorpWatch who investigates and exposes corporate violations of human rights, had an article titled: Disney sweats over sweatshop charges in China. This particular article is about 800 factory workers who were laid off and the factory they worked at shut down because the workers dared to protest, demanding back-wages and compensation.
The closure of Huang Xing came about after Disney, which accounted for over 80 per cent of the factory, pulled the plug on the relationship following damaging revelations by a Hong Kong-based labour activist group about working conditions at the factory.
In a report released in December 2006, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM), a non-profit agency that works to advance workers’ rights and “monitor” corporate behaviour, revealed gross violations of Chinese labour laws and international codes of conduct relating to work safety and compensation at seven factories that manufactured Disney merchandise in southern China.
That report validated the findings of an earlier report in 2005 from SACOM that had alleged sweatshop-like working conditions in the factories. Occupational injuries were prevalent, the report alleged.
Real Unemployment at 15.8% – Highest Level Ever
The real unemployment rate released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 15.8%, nearly 7 points higher than the rate officially reported.
The real rate includes marginally attached workers which the BLS reports “are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not looking currently for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.”
Since April 2008, 6 million people have lost their job. ADA’s Real Rate of Unemployment represents a staggering 23 million people who are unemployed or underemployed.
Torture Apologist David Rivkin Gets Owned By Lawrence O’Donnell
Larry was fearless in this video. He went after David Rivkin with a vengeance over his claim that the procedures that were used were not considered torture. My hero! He made Rivkin look like a sadist when he read from the memo the experiences one of the detainees suffered and he challenged Rivkin, “Have you ever lived like that and how many days have you spent like that? Tell me.” Basically saying, how many days had Rivkin lived like an animal, been stripped, hosed down in the December air and couldn’t speak because he was suffering hypothermia. But, that isn’t torture under Rivkin’s definition.
Every time Rivkin tried to defend the methods used or say “that is not the point,” Larry thundered back at him stating, “Did you not hear that description of pain and suffering that was being described?”
Rivkin in this segment brought up the SERE program and that 40,000 Americans have gone through it. What he failed to mention is the fact that IT IS VOLUNTARY, no one is forced to go through the program. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can quit at any time. A detainee can not say “well guys I’ve had enough today, time to go home.” BIG DIFFERENCE….You cannot compare the two situations and use that analogy as an argument. In the SERE program we never waterboarded one of our own men 183 times!!
I personally like Ed, but I think Larry O’Donnell is so much better.
Is it Still Friday?
For Molly and Alex..
These are kinda schmaltzy, but they’re for my daughter and her new husband on their wedding day.
Five for Fighting “100 Years”
Rascal Flatts “My Wish”
Keith Urban – Making Memories of Us
John Mayer – “Daughters”
Friday night tunes
Chris Issak, Wicked Game
Hot Chocolate, You Sexy Thing
Laura Branigan, Self Control
Soloman Burke, Cry to Me
It’s Music Night, Zoosters!! There’s a new feature on WordPress, which (as some of you have notice) allows you to post your own videos in comments. The only limitation would be is embedding is not allowed.
Just surf around Youtube to find your favs, and then copy & paste the address into your comment. Easy!
Enjoy!
24,000 People On Terrorist Watch List By Mistake
Reuters reports it took the FBI an average of 45 days to place a suspect on the terrorism watch list. Other problems identified in the report included the FBI’s inability to efficiently delete people’s names that were found not to pose a terrorism risk. The list also audited more than 65,000 names and concluded that more than one-third were outdated. The whole list includes 1.1 million names, though aliases and variant spellings mean these represent fewer people. “That the FBI continues to fail to place subjects of terrorism investigations on the watch list is unacceptable,” said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the FBI. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, was critical of the FBI following release of the report Wednesday. “That the FBI continues to fail to place subjects of terrorism investigations on the watch list is unacceptable,” Leahy said. “With such a significant number of individuals in question, it is important that the FBI gets this right.”
A review of the federal government’s consolidated terrorism watch list has discovered nearly 24,000 people on the list that shouldn’t be, while individuals with real connections to terrorism were left off, according to a report from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) inspector general. As of 31 December 31 2008, 1.1 million records exist on the government”’s combined watch list, according to the Inspector General”’s report. That number, however, includes duplicate files and aliases and does not reflect the actual number of people on the terrorist watch list.
Public Thread – Friday, Star Trek Invents – Engineers Develop
Click on graphic to view…
Seems that some of the inventions from the original TV series have entered our lives already. Please feel free to add your own ideas and also comment in the threads below.
H/T: http://www.space.com
Been there, done that…
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jack Ohman, Portland Oregonian
Gathering threat…
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle Editorial Cartoonist and Animation Artist.
For Nick’s animations, visit Nick Anderson: Animation Archives.
For Nick’s cartoons, visit Nick Anderson.
The Most Powerful Financial Institution You’ve Never Heard Of – The New York Fed
This is an insightful article done by Eliot Spitzer – about who actually runs the New York Fed, what do they do, and whom does this person report to? His article titled Fed Dread is in Slate and here are a few interesting excerpts:
Just as the millions in AIG bonuses obscured the much more significant issue of the $70 billion-plus in conduit payments authorized by the N.Y. Fed to AIG’s counterparties, the small issue of Friedman’s stock purchase raises very serious issues about the competence and composition of the Federal Reserve of New York, which is the most powerful financial institution most Americans know nothing about.
*snip*
Given the power of the N.Y. Fed, it is time to ask some very hard questions about its recent performance. The first question to ask is: Who is the New York Fed? Who exactly has been running the show? Yes, we all know that Tim Geithner was the president and CEO of the N.Y. Fed from 2003 until his ascension as treasury secretary. But who chose him for that position, and to whom did he report? The N.Y. Fed president reports to, and is chosen by, the Fed board of directors.
So who selected Geithner back in 2003? Well, the Fed board created a select committee to pick the CEO. This committee included none other than Hank Greenberg, then the chairman of AIG; John Whitehead, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs; Walter Shipley, a former chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, now JPMorgan Chase; and Pete Peterson, a former chairman of Lehman Bros. It was not a group of typical depositors worried about the security of their savings accounts but rather one whose interest was in preserving a capital structure and way of doing business that cried out for—but did not receive—harsh examination from the N.Y. Fed.
FBI Denied 16 Year Old American Due Process Under Patriot Act
Wral.com is a local TV station in North Carolina, they have the details:
Sixteen-year-old Ashton Lundeby’s bedroom in his mother’s Granville County home is nothing, if not patriotic. Images of American flags are everywhere – on the bed, on the floor, on the wall.
But according to the United States government, the tenth-grade home-schooler is being held on a criminal complaint that he made a bomb threat from his home on the night of Feb. 15.
The family was at a church function that night, his mother, Annette Lundeby, said.
“Undoubtedly, they were given false information, or they would not have had 12 agents in my house with a widow and two children and three cats,” Lundeby said.
Around 10 p.m. on March 5, Lundeby said, armed FBI agents along with three local law enforcement officers stormed her home looking for her son. They handcuffed him and presented her with a search warrant.
WorldNetDaily has the update:
Ashton was then taken to a juvenile facility in South Bend, Ind., charged with making a bomb threat in Indiana from his home computer.
Allowed little access to see her son over the last two months, facing a court date that keeps being pushed back and given no information by FBI agents sitting behind a gag order on the case, Lundeby now says the USA Patriot Act has unjustly imprisoned an innocent boy and stripped her son of due process.
Connie Culp – First Full Face Transplant Recipient Talks About Experience
On Tuesday, Connie Culp let the nation witness the results of her full face transplant. Five years ago after a shotgun blast, inflicted by her husband, damaged the majority of her original face.
The bony structure that once supported her face was gone, as was most of her face. She could not breathe other than through a tracheotomy, could not smell, could not even drink or eat normally.
Several dozen reconstructive surgeries left her not much better off. Connie became afraid to go out in public where doctors say children would run away from her because of her appearance.
Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic set out to try something that had never been done before, not to the extent they had planned for Connie, a total face transplant.
Specialists say their purpose for even considering the surgery is not cosmetic. Their goal was to restore her facial functions and to give Connie the ability to eat and breath, to smell and to interact socially as normally as possible once again.
