Monthly Archives: September 2009
News Flash: Health Care Debate Over!
In breaking news this Labor Day Weekend, President Obama announced he was pulling health care off the table. This stunning announcement was met with cheers from conservatives and stunned silence by Democrats.
“We have more important things to do.” the President said, “including reunifying this country which is on the verge of a civil war over the issue.”
Rush Limbaugh greeted the announcement by saying the President should be impeached for failing to produce health care reform that would insure all Americans. Bill O’Reilly issued a statement accusing Obama of dereliction of duty.
In Texas, Governor Perry said the President’s announcement only firms his resolve to secede from the Union. “Any Government that cannot take care of the sick and injured is not a Christian government. It is our moral imperative that we provide universal health care to all Texicans, and the only way to do that is to declare Texas’ Independence.”
Health Insurance companies across the country sent out letters rescinding coverage on every policyholder who has received medical care since January 20, 2009, signaling a rally in the stock market. One AIG executive, who wished to remain anonymous, said the company is now turning its lobbying efforts towards privatizing Medicare.
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
Blue Dogs to the Rescue
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Matt Davies, NY Journal News
Know when to stop digging
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Matt Davies, NY Journal News
All that Twitters is not Gold
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jeff Danziger, Syndicated Political Cartoonist
The Healthcare Master Debate
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke Comics
The Watering Hole: September 5 – New York
On this day in 1664 the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam surrendered to the British, who subsequently renamed it New York.
1664:
July 2001:
It’s music night!
Let’s start with something out of my league — Hoagie Carmichael sings “Hong Kong Blues.”
We want to know what music you like, so post your favorite YouTube music in the comments section. Enjoy!
Script boy!
: : : : : : : : : :
Another insightful rant by Guest Blogger, Hoodathunk (Story Time), this time taking on political and religious hypocrisy.
‘Time for a rewrite, this scene just isn’t working.’ There’s an old
saying that the pen is mightier than the sword. There is something even mightier — the eraser. Or, in this age, White Out. (It is called that because paper is white and ink comes in many colors but that’s another rant). We are seeing a movement today aimed at rewriting history on many levels. Modern history by portraying the actions of the previous administration as glorious and noble, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. And early American history so that the founding fathers who, almost to a man, were pretty much secular humanists according to the existing historical records which include reams of personal writings from all of them become staunch supporters of modern day Christianists.
This practice is not a new one, particularly when politics and Christianity mix. Back some 1,500 years ago Christianity got its big leg up into the political arena when Constantine decided it would be a great idea to have a popular religion backing his political power. He gathered up a bunch of bishops and scholars and tasked them with coming up with a codification of teachings that the general population could get behind and hence behind him. So they vetted the existing writings, picked the ones they thought would work and came up with the beginnings of the Bible as we know it today. They did this under God’s watchful eye, immersing themselves in holiness while they hung out as the Emperor’s guests. (Did I mention they then tried to destroy all the existing copies of the writings they deemed unworthy?) Continue reading
Woo hoo…less *cough*
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Teachable moment
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 Watering Hole: September 4 – Google Inc.
On this date in 1998, Google Inc. was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin , then students at Stanford University. The company was incorporated then as a privately held company.
Its search engine services provided the crux for the company’s emergence. A maturing product list is here.
‘Googled’ has become a past tense verb in NET blogs. Google provided the theme (TryGooglingThis) for a recent (6/6/2008) NYTimes crossword puzzle.
Google CHROME® is the up and coming Web browser that is entering Internet Express’ turf as a default browser for OEM manufacturers. It offers speed and simplicity. Learning (Actually unlearning.) curve is about two weeks.
Note: Google® is a registered trademark of Google Inc.
Ol’ Gus Porter, American Legend
Gus Porter, American Legend with Thomas Haden Church. (From Funny or Die)
Gus Porter gets mauled by a bear, but he won’t let the socialist Canadian health care fix him up, so he’ll hike back to America…
Hey, this can’t be any weirder than the stuff taking place in the town halls right now..
The Gonzales Cantata..
Whodda thunk..
I just wish I was in the vicinity of Philadelphia this weekend so I could be there to hear the entire thing live!
From the website:
In February 2005, President George W. Bush appointed White House Counsel and former Secretary of the State of Texas Alberto Gonzales the 80th Attorney General of the United States.
By the end of 2007, Gonzales had resigned in disgrace after disastrous testimonial hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee…
Here’s a couple of excerpts from “The Gonzales Cantata” by composer Melissa Dunphy:
And, of course, the aria “I Don’t Recall..”
Truly inspired… You can listen to the entire cantata from this website.
Here’s the interview with composer Melissa Dunphy by the WSJ.
Olbermann’s hilarious goof fest on Glenn Beck’s kooky Rockefeller Center-Communist conspiracy theory
Don’t get on that ship, Mr Beck! ”To Serve Man,” it’s a cookbook!!
Oh my god, my sides are splitting. Keith really outdoes himself this time. :D
Get off my lawn!!!!!!!!!
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jack Ohman, Portland Oregonian
Hippocrates weeps..
From Hippocrates’ Oath:
Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further from the seduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves.
The non-profit organization Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has issued a report on the extent that medical professionals were involved in the torture programs at Abu Ghraib, Bagram and Guantanamo.
The version of the 2004 CIA Inspector General’s report released on August 24, 2009 provides greater detail on the central role that health professionals played in the CIA’s torture program and reveals a level of ethical misconduct that had not previously come to light.
The report confirms that the CIA inflicted torture on detainees interrogated while in US custody as part of the agency’s counterterrorism activities and exposes additional interrogation techniques that had not yet been reported. It also demonstrates that health professionals were involved at every stage in the development, implementation and legitimization of this torture program.
The doctors and psychologists who laid the foundation upon which attorneys rationalized an illegal program of torture also actively participated in abusive and illegal interrogations, thus betraying the ethical standards of their professions by contributing to physical and mental suffering and anguish. The very premise of health professional involvement in abusive interrogations — that they have a role in safeguarding detainees — is an unconscionable affront to the profession of medicine. (read full report)
So how will this fit into the ethics every doctor swears to uphold? PHR likens the involvement of doctors onto the torture program to illegal medical experimentation on humans as forbidden by the Nuremberg Code.
Torture is vile and inexcusable in any instance. The licence to practice medicine must be taken away from everybody who takes part in it.
: : : : : : : : : :
Crumbling infrastructure…
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jack Ohman, Portland Oregonian
Hope Floats
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 Watering Hole: September 3 – Chemistry
On this date in 1803, British scientist John Dalton began using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements. He used his own symbol set instead of the alpha designations we use today. What made Dalton’s work significant was his concept of atomic mass ratios. When Dmitri Mendeleev developed his periodic table, the cyclic nature of atomic mass and elemental characteristics fell into place.
An English translation of Mendeleev’s table (1891 – 5th Edition and not the wall chart you’ll typically see in HS Science Classrooms!):
Something stinks..
Tribal Leaders Say Karzai’s Team Forged 23,900 Votes
Interesting read on Karzai at Wikipedia..
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jeff Danziger, Syndicated Political Cartoonist
Time Lapse Test: Station Fire
by Eric Spiegelman. H/T: Brad Blog
This 24 second time-elapsed video shows the awesome power of fire and forces of nature. It almost looks like a volcano. The news today is that this particular wildfire was human caused.
Officials are still trying to figure out what set off the blaze in the Angeles National Forest that had burned nearly 219 square miles, or 140,150 acres, by early Wednesday. Deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said Wednesday that the fire was human-caused, but it’s not known specifically how it was started or whether it was accidental or arson.
Culture of learning
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
John Cole, Scranton, PA Times-Tribune
That baby ain’t leavin’ the ground
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.
Rachel Maddow lets Tom Ridge destroy himself
Rachel Maddow interviewed Tom Ridge on her show yesterday, and frankly, I was shocked at his very weak attempt to distance himself from his own book.
I wasn’t impressed by Ridge resigning after the 2004 “election,” and then waiting until Bush was no longer in office to release his “tell all” book, and make loads of money. Lack of integrity much, Mr Ridge?
But then Ridge decided to go on Rachel’s show and tell lies. Lies so egregious that he destroyed any remaining integrity he posessed. Lies that are written all over his face as he speaks. Watch…
Part 1
Part 2
As you can see, Rachel is always polite and respectful, even while she calls BS on the things Ridge is saying.
Mr Ridge finally fell back on the tired old Republican talking point of the US having gone into Iraq to bring them the great gift of “democracy.” He literally seemed to shrink in his chair as Rachel delivered the coupe de grace:
If you can go back in time and sell the American people on the idea that 4000 Americans ought to lose their lives, and we ought to lose those trillions of dollars, for democracy in Iraq, then you have a wilder imagination than I do.
We were sold that war because of 9/11. We were sold that war because of a threat of weapons of mass destruction from a guy who didn’t have them, and our government should have known it. And finally, a lot of people think that our government did know it, and that it was a cynical decision.
Mr Ridge’s ears must still be ringing…
