Sunday Roast: Main Street Contract for the American People

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Is this complicated?  Srsly, really?  What am I missing here?

Who has a problem with all Americans having a job, a good wage, a home, their health, a safety net (if they need it), and an education?  Yes, yes, that’s a rhetorical question — lots of people have a problem with the whole concept, and in fact, object to it quite strenuously.

There are two Americas. One where Wall Street gets bailouts, and another where public schools and safety net programs get slashed.

Where the wealthy elite get tax cuts extended and estate taxes removed, while working people see their retirement plans, health coverage, pay, and bargaining rights gutted. Where people who rob banks go to prison, but bankers who rob people get bonuses and bail outs.

I totally understand that the wealthy who get those tax cuts, and the banksters who rob us blind and then get bailed out BY US, would be against the ‘small people’ having decent jobs, wages, education, etc.  After all, they greatly benefit from keeping us stupid and poor.  But what about the ‘every man?’

The Tea Party, who are praised as a populist movement, are against the minimum wage.  They claim it’s un-Constitutional.  Of course, the minimum wage is by no means a ‘decent wage,’ it’s not much above poverty wages, really, but apparently even that is too much.  We ought to depend on the so-called free market and the benevolence of our patron/employer to recognize our great worth as employees, and then most assuredly they will shower us with the money we so richly deserve as totally awesome workers.  Right…

The Tea Party, that amazing populist movement, would like to see the Department of Education abolished — again, it’s apparently un-Constitutional.  It’s the same with Social Security and Medicare.  Interestingly, the Republican party — which the Tea Party claims is absolutely not what they are all about — while not riding so hard on the un-Constitutionality of the above, are also against public education, Social Security, Medicare, as well as unemployment insurance, and jobs creation in general — as evidenced by the Republican-led House having not introduced a single jobs bill since it took power in January.  Wow, I am SO surprised…

Again, when we get down to basics (and reality), is this really all that complicated?  Thoughts…?

This is our daily open thread.  Please feel free to comment on this and any topic.

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146 thoughts on “Sunday Roast: Main Street Contract for the American People”

  1. When will the people finally say NO! No Mas! to the GOP and find the cojones to make it stick? Sixty-seven years ago, the cited concepts seemed to have a better shot at becoming reality than they do today. One would think that, following a high level suggestion that the obvious be made official policy, the passage of enough years to define the better part of one average lifetime would have easily constituted a large enough open window through which the fresh air of human rights could flow unimpeded. But nope, today the window is not only slammed shut but also bolted.

    It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

    This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

    As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

    We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.”[2] People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

    In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

    Among these are:

    The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

    The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

    The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

    The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

    The right of every family to a decent home;

    The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

    The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

    The right to a good education.

    All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

    Americas own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.

    For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.
    ~FDR; from his State of the Union address, January 11, 1944

    Not your typical grounds for Revolution. Until very recently.

  3. The passage of NAFTA and other “free trade” agreements spelled the doom of America. As Corporations transfered manufacturing off-shore, their CEOs transferred billions, if not trillions, in profits to off-shore accounts. Like vampires, they are draining the wealth of this nation and putting it into their own family holdings.

    America can, and will, become a wasteland. They don’t care. They can and will move to greener pastures.

  6. I hadn’t heard about Billo’s last ‘you just can’t explain this’ moment where his on-the-scene reporter showed footage of ugly confrontations in Madison.

  7. So one of my kids wanted to know if time wasn’t real since we can arbritrarily change it by an hour one way or another a couple of times a year. I think I made matters worse by explaining time zones and asking her to speculate as to what time it was at the poles….

  8. Hooda,

    I like that, as he’s talking about ‘they’re bussed in from California’ they’re showing a clip…from California!

    Fox ain’t about the truth, it’s about shaping public opinion to conform to the agenda of the ruling class.

    Now, if Soros, or any of the other wealthy progressives out there really wanted to change the status quo, they’d put together a Syndicate, raise money from folks like us, and BUY Fox!

  9. I saw that video a week or so ago, Hooda, and immediately dashed off a note to my nephew in Madison, asked him where the palm trees were located there. He wrote back and said they were in the city itself but rather in the Madison suburb of Sacramento a few miles to the west.

  11. dbadass, there’s but three times at the poles: daylight, dark, and twilight.

    If you really want to mess with her, point out that the name of everything is arbitrary: it’s just a set of sounds that we convey meaning, and meaning is usually derived from context.

    For example, ask her to meet you at the bank. Are you going fishing, or dealing in finances?

    And where can you go to withdraw all the Daylight you’ve been saving all your life? Shouldn’t we, by the time we retire, be entitled to an endless summer?

    I know, waaay too early for esoteric thoughts….

  14. Bit of an update on Madison. While I haven’t been able to make it down there I have a good friend who keeps me posted. He told me last night the crowds were easily double the size of two weeks ago. And not only did the tractors roll but the 14 came back with Jesse Jackson. Each spoke for 10-15 minutes and the crowd loved it.

    Also, Jesse asked for a moment of silent prayer for the people of Japan in their hour of need. And that rowdy bunch of union thugs did just that.

    Best sign of the day was carried by a little fellow on his dad’s shoulders that said “Union Thug In Training”.

  15. Marie, welcome to The Zoo!

    Now, could an Italian call it Fauxa Noise (sounds like “fux annoys”)?

  19. It is interesting watching the MSM twist in the wind. They can’t really report on Japan because of the high probability of serious problems with their damaged reactors. Libya is sort of ok because there is a chance we might get to go all Rambo on them and that sells. The other protests, including those in the US, need to be glossed over as not important.

    Thank doG they still have people like Peter King and Shelly and the other Tpublicans out there doing their best waving shiny stuff. Otherwise we would be stuck with the real important news like Charley.

  21. Hi, Marie, and welcome to The Zoo. If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend David Brock’s excellent book, “The Republican Noise Machine.” In it he explains how the Right Wing always felt that “their side” wasn’t being heard in the “liberal media.” It didn’t matter to them that “their side” wasn’t based on facts and the truth, they felt that if their side of the story was given equal weight with the Left’s “side”, then people would support them more. So they started to introduce the false idea that Journalism required “balance”, and that in order to be “fair”, you had to give both sides a chance to explain their side of the argument and not point out which side was lying. And that’s how we ended up with Fox News Channel. But read the book. He explains it and documents it so much better than I could.

  22. Finally, a new thread at TP. Let’s hope the trolls don’t crap all over that one, too. It’s a Kristol thread, but not one of them will intelligently defend him.

  23. Best sign of the day was carried by a little fellow on his dad’s shoulders that said “Union Thug In Training”.

    Brilliant.

  25. The crowds grow larger, in Madison, with each gathering – fux noise can’t wrap their ‘thugs’ label around this being a ‘few rabblerousers’.

    Fux was yammering about ‘busing in’. Obviously forgetting about the (gr)ass roots TeaBagger bus trips paid for by the Armey of Dick.
    ———————–

    Welcome! Marie.

    • Okay, two posts just disappeared from TP.

      One about WI, and one about McConnell saying 47 repiggies will force a govt shut down.

  26. The Zoo time is off by one hour. (guess WP doesn’t automatically adjust for the Spring Forward).

    At the moment it’s 9.17a – the zoo still shows ‘the old time’.

    Time is relative, I know… and dbadass,jr. is a philosopher in training, it would seem – smart young lady!

  27. Yes, Zooey -that was quite odd as I had just clicked on the WI, to open it up, and poof – gone.

  28. Time is relative, and I also heard the Japan Quake sped up the earth’s rotation. Since we’re now going faster, time has slowed. That means, because of the earthquake, we’ll all live longer!

  29. Zooey, I believe the time change had something to do with it. The posts may have been “scheduled” on DST but got initially posted on EST. I think that one hour after their initial posting, they’ll reappear, if TP does nothing. If TP changes the time stamps on the posts, then they might reappear sooner. Just guessin’.

    • I’d forgotten about the time change, Wayne & BnF. TP usually does have problems on these days. But I don’t understand why the WI post would be up long enough to have several comments on it, and then disappear.

      • Here’s the first part of the latest Thom Hartmann book being offered by Truthout, a chapter per week, Unequal Protection:

        Unequal Protection: The Battle to Save Democracy

        Rather than doing a post on it each week, I’ll post the link every Sunday. :)

        Now, I guess I better get moving. I’m supposed to be on the road in 20 minutes (rather than an hour and 20 minutes). Heh.

    • “Eff” Scott Fitzgerald is such a whiny pussy:

      “Their appearance at the Capitol today is in direct violation of the contempt order issued by the state Senate earlier this month, and it proves their absolute disregard for the institution of the Senate and the constitution they took an oath of office to serve,” Fitzgerald said.
      …
      “To the Senate Democrats: when you smile for the cameras today and pretend you’re heroes, I hope you look at that beautiful Capitol building you insulted. And I hope you’re embarrassed to call yourselves senators,” Fitzgerald said.

      Yeah, you’re breaking my heart, Scottie. You better be looking in a mirror when you spew that bullshit, you pompous ass.

  32. (clutching heart) Zooey F. Scott Fitzgerald is a favorite author – or was until you equated the name with F’g Scott Fitzgerald ;>

    ——–

    Why didn’t F’g Fitzgerald wade through the throngs to address the ‘contemptible Dem. Sens’?
    oh, that is correct as Z pointed out he’s a pompous ass (and apparently a ‘fraidy-cat).

  37. It looks to me as if DISQUS is time-stamping comments with my time, although the post itself is timestamped East Coast time as per usual. Anyone else seeing that?

    Thanks for changing the Zoo time, Wayne. I went to the dashboard to do that and must have been just a few minutes after you. It seems a little odd that this always has to be set manually, but OTOH a global setting would be truly global and far more complicated.

  38. Gummitch, I don’t know if this is what you are talking about, but Disqus allows you to set the time in how you see the comments by time zone, and up to an hour after posting they read: xx minutes ago. Once they are an hour old, they display in Central time for me as I have selected that in my profile. The posts still show EDT in the header.

  40. house, that’s what I mean but I’ve never changed that setting an have been seeing EST since, well, forever. Judging from Jane’s comment, things got a big screwy.

  41. Everybody makes such a big deal about setting the clocks when moving on and off Daylight Saving Time, and I only have one battery operated clock that needs setting, in the bathroom. The computer, the cable box and the cell phone all set themselves.

  42. I have an alarm clock to set, a microwave, a stove and a coffee maker. Oh, and the clock in the car. Damn, forgot my watch. I don’t make a big deal out of resetting them, I just begrudge the lost sleep and the days it takes for my system to reset.

  45. badmoodman, if you check in – I’m curious: did you just quote Benen from todays piece or link to the Monthly – that sent you to TP Moderation?

  46. On the night we lose an hour sleep I was up until Taylor finished striking the set for Bye, Bye Birdie, attended the cast party until 2:30 and was finally at the girls sleepover by 3. And then my husband thought he should wake me up to tell me it wasn’t 9:30 but 10:30.

  47. …husband thought he should wake me up to tell me it wasn’t 9:30 but 10:30.

    and he lives to see another day?

  49. I love DST. Used to hate it, figured I’d lose an hour of sleep in the spring and never get it back till fall. But now? Different. I’d like to see a new DST every single day of the year. Make each day 23 hours long. Over the course of 365 days, that would free up 365 hours which is just short of another sixteen 23 hour days per year! A year would then be 388 days. In 70 years, i.o.w., there would be 27160 days as opposed to what we have now where 70 years at 365 days is only 25550 days. Doing it my way, at age 70 years we’d be 1610 days younger than we are under the current system!

    Might have a better chance of still being able to sleep through the night at age 70 under my new system — a miracle by any measure!

    How’s it sound? Exciting, no?!!

    Whew. :shock:

  50. whoa! whoa! whoa! Frugal. Hell I don’t even wear a watch – trying to follow that ‘time frame’ you’ve laid out – wellll – I dunno, let me think on it a bit!

  51. I don’t even own a watch, could care less what time it is, or what day, month, or year it is. I’m just trying to make myself younger is all. :)

  53. Frugal,

    When I was stationed at Ramstein AB in West Germany, they did the DST change at a different day than they did in the US. I was home in the US on leave for the beginning of October. In Europe, DST change in the fall (where you get the extra hour of sleep) happened the first weekend in October, so I missed it there. I had to return to duty before the end of the month when they did the change in the US, so I never got that “extra hour” of sleep. I’ve been tired ever since. :)

  55. We do have a lot of clocks to reset, but for some reason I kill watches. I think I must have some weird magnetic field of my own that makes watches stop when I wear them. :(

  56. I like clocks too, zx. I’m not sure what use they are, but I do like ‘em. Atop my bookcase yonder is, in fact what could be called a combo clock. I made the cabinet for it out of genuine Minnesota black walnut more than 40 yrs. ago, bought the face and hands at a clock shop in Phoenix. It’s “powered” by an electric clock motor that originally came as a wedding gift in 1968 as part of a chalk teapot for hanging on the kitchen wall (the chalk teapot yielded to a hammer early in 1970). I reset it at 8 PM last night — moved the little hand to 9. Easy.

    I let Debbie reset the digital bugger in the bedroom — her eyes are still good enough to read the tiny labels on the tiny buttons. We also have an atomic clock, a gift from a friend. It resets itself automatically based I think on a signal from an alien civilization on the other side of the galaxy. I used to have a wrist watch, but every five years the battery would go dead, so what good is that?

  58. It resets itself automatically based I think on a signal from an alien civilization on the other side of the galaxy

    Frugal,

    A few years ago, Congress passed a law changing when we do the time changes each season. How could your atomic clock, gifted to you years before (I’m assuming), know when to do it now? Wouldn’t it still be doing it based on the laws in effect at the time it was purchased? Or was the gift a fairly recent one (within the last two or three years, I think)?

    Or is the clock several years old and really receiving signals from another galaxy (i.e., Washington, DC)?

  59. Wayne, there are clocks that connect via radio, presumably to satellites and hence to the atomic clocks used to synchronize networks. It doesn’t need to know what stupid idea Congress came up with, just that something has changed and the new time is XX:XX:XX

  60. What are atomic clocks? They are radio controlled clocks that tune into a short-wave radio signal emitted by the U.S. atomic clock located in Boulder, Colorado (which is considered the official US time). They reset themselves multiple times every day to the exact hour, minute, second and date and automatically change themselves for Daylight Savings Time. They are always accurate to the second and are easy to use. Simply put in the batteries, set your local time zone and let the clock do the rest. Your atomic clock or watch will automically set its time and date for you, no need to ever manually set a clock again.

  62. Actually, Wayne, our atomic clock is coming up on three years old. But that in no way belays the probability that it’s operated by aliens on the other side of the galaxy! See, I figure that ever since 2006 when Mitch McConnell was beamed down to become minority leader, nothing’s been the same even though it’s all predictable. Clocks included.

    Who else but space aliens has the power to get all that done? And check out Walker’s bald spot … the final and confirming evidence of alien activity!

    Heh. I’m beginning to like these 23 hour days. Must be the clarity of view! :shock:

  64. Thanks you for the explanation. I envisioned something entirely different from the misnomer “atomic clock”. It’s not a real atomic clock on its own, it’s just connected by radio signal to one.

  65. Atomic clock, my ass. I had one. It didn’t glow in the dark, shoot death rays at the occasional errant moth and ate batteries. I didn’t not know atomics fed on batteries. ;)

  68. Hooda,

    I used to believe that TP still used filters that blocked comments that contained certain words (like “penis” or “anal”, which meant you couldn’t use the word “analysis” which was frustrating.) But when we tried to suggest that they put certain words in the filter, like the ones used by the Turkish porn spammer or the clothing spammer, we’d still see those comments appearing, which indicated either they were unable to do it or they were unwilling to do it.

  69. Hooda and Wayne.

    I think they are playing with the filters. A couple of people have had comments “held for moderation” but were able to post additional comments. If there were anything nefarious going on one would think that I, a humble insurrectionist, would be on their ban list. I actually feel a little slighted.

  70. Don’t feel that way, pete. I deliberately taunted TP on a couple of occasions with no results, good or bad. But I do think there is some sort of hacking going on that makes their efforts even less effective.

  72. bad, that interactive before/after link was incredible. Really hard to grasp the magnitude of the damage the tsunami caused.

  73. I have a watch that works on the same basis. I only have to set the time zone and can disable DST for those states where it is not observed. It is solar powered and does not need a replaceable battery. The internal battery is good for 2 months, so I will not know the time 60 days after I am buried, unless I use the dial light in which case the run time will be shorter.

  74. One thing we have to avoid with the trolls is any response to them whatsoever. The non-paid ones crave attention. Any response, good or bad, gives them what they need.

  76. Things have gotten so bad over at TP that I hardly post there anymore. This clown Mr whatever has done a really good job of shutting down threads. If TP doesn’t do something to fix this, the closer we get to the election we will see a lot more of this from a lot more trolls.

  78. The trolls at TP are probably on Koch brothers payroll.

    I quit TP and I don’t even go there anymore to read Eugene Debs rant against the trolls.
    Something is seriously upside down on that site and no repair is on the horizon.

  80. Eugene Debs, too, is MIA at TP. He was namejacked, then showed up with a new moniker for a short time before he went poof. It’s been weeks, far as I know. Mr. 2 is, most likely, the one known as Pee. He seems to me to be a true psychotic. Persistent, but mainly to show the monitors he can get around him. I’d think if they were really serious, he’d be gone; I don’t think they’re really serious, i.o.w.

    I’m about out of there too. I’ve averaged maybe 3 or 4 a day of late, and none on I guess Friday. It’s really not worth the trouble anymore. Too aggravating.

  81. frugalchariot,

    I certainly can’t blame you but I’m willing to take one last shot at forcing TP to moderate their damn blog. Frankly, I’ve been rather amused at Pee, lately. His desperation to stay ahead of the moderators is classic. I think he started Friday night as “T” and he’s blown through the rest of the alphabet and is into numbers. Generally, his “new” personae aren’t lasting more than a few posts. Now? If they start doing better about the serial name jacker I would call that a definite improvement.

  82. BTW. I recently went through a modem upgrade from Hell and discovered just how easy it is to change one’s IP address. As pee himself has pointed out, his “Cricket Modem” allows him to change IP by simply rebooting the modem.

  83. I tend to check in on Thinkfast and early weekday threads but I get busier after Thom Hartmann comes on at noon eastern. As the weather improves, I do more outside work until the heat arrives, then I’ll be stuck working indoors until fall.

    Ebb, I’m watching a show on Speed Channel called Car Warriors, which has two competing teams of restoration specialists working on two ’86 El Caminos. They pimped them up too much for my tastes, though.

  85. I pulled in a little while ago and have been going through the basics, and just now turning to announce my arrival home at the zoo.

    The grammar in that last troubles me, but not enough to try to fix it.

    It was a very good conference, especially given ALL the people I got to meet. As previously mentioned, I was very happy with how my paper went. The attendance at that session (which I shared with another speaker) was better than average, hence vastly better than expected given the topics. Questions and conversations continued well after the session ended out in the hallways.

    I was able to catch up with many friends and colleagues. Some of that catching up included bringing some collaborative projects back to the front-burner (especially as I’ll be returning to So. IL, so that physical proximity will make such collaboration easier to realize), and some mention of part-time gigs at SIU were mooted as serious possibilities.

    • I’m glad you were able to attend the conference, Gary. Not just because I got to meet you (yay!), but because it looks like it was quite productive, in terms of getting in touch with old and new friends, and casting a wider net in your area of expertise. You have a lot to contribute to this world!

  86. The adjunct stuff at SIU might prove quite do-able. One of the professors in the dept. is moving up into administration and there are “service” courses for the graduate students that he alone taught, no one else there want, but which I’m quite well suited to present (logic/advanced logic, history of analytical philosophy.)

  87. Zooey, you, obviously, made to your destination!

    ——

    Gary that is excellent news.

    Were the cats mad at you for being gone?

  88. Hi Ebb — I was just about to share a note about the cats.

    All three are rescues off the street, but two of those were pets who were either lost or thrown away while the third is a true feral. I had a cat-sitter come in a couple of times to check on them (and also do some cleaning — bachelor, don’t you know?) So physical conditions were quite good.

    The first two — Santayana and Champagne — are pretty content that the world is back to normal. The third cat — Groucho, named for what turned out to be her black mustache (and “Groucho” seems so much friendlier than “Adolf”) — is here on my lap, but still getting herself back into “normal” mode. The “Wild Thing” quickly comes to the surface with her, in ways that the other two have never known, and my absence opens the door to that wide. I am the only human she considers “safe;” my best guess is that she decided I was really a funny looking cat. (There’s an argument that she’s correct, but I’ll not go into that now.)

    She’s still adjusting to my return, and remains jumpier even than normal. But she is calming down, and is more ready to calm down around me with each successive trip of mine.

  89. If you haven’t seen this video of the tsunami approaching from the street-level, you haven’t quite yet absorbed the terrifying power of this death machine. When the buildings start moving off their foundations and sail through the city streets…yeeeeh. Sometimes words fail:

    http://video.l3.fbcdn.net/cfs-l3-snc6/81489/34/1605260179420_2624.mp4?oh=ac31b4d8738221641ba490396dc19636&oe=4D7F9F00&l3s=20110313100648&l3e=20110315101648&lh=0a6cfa5eeaecd6dc12abf

    • I saw that earlier on facebook, badmoodman, but didn’t know how to post it here.

      It’s just unbelievable! The water just keeps coming and coming, and tears the fucking world apart.

  90. It is not terribly surprising that the forces which triggered an earthquake of this magnitude would continue to manifes themselves in the region so aggressively. But even aside from the incomprehensible human tragedy, all I can say is: Mother. Pus. Bucket.

  93. Incomprehensible.

    Water – the giver and taker of life. Watching those building floating down like boats…

  94. March 14, 2011 Times are AEDT (Sydney time)

    1:53 PM
    The fresh explosion at the quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex has not damaged the plant’s No.3 reactor vessel, news agency Jiji said, quoting the plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

    1:46 PM
    Update: Some 2,000 bodies have been found on two shores in Miyagi prefecture.

    About 1,000 bodies were found coming ashore on hardest-hit Miyagi’s Ojika Peninsula and another 1,000 were spotted in the town of Minamisanriku, where the prefectural government has been
    unable to contact about 10,000 people, or over half the local population.

    The findings will significantly increase the death toll from the quake and ensuing tsunami, with police having so far confirmed 1,597 deaths and 1,481 people missing across the affected areas in north-eastern and eastern Japan.

    (Kyodo)

  96. Japan was prepared for the Earthquake – uncertain if any country can prepare for that devastating a Tsunami. Water has it’s own life and will not be tamed, easily.

  97. I see you are the back to the lovely rose gravatar. Would there be a real rose sitting in a vase on your desk? ;>

  98. Alas, we don’t change to DST here in Phoenix. We have enough sun this time of year. Although, I miss the late night evenings that we used to get in the evening in Seattle.

  99. Actually, Japan has consistently under-built for earthquakes. Their codes are below those of California, and typically under-enforced through disdain and bribery. Granted, nothing is going to stand up to an 8.9, still they are worse off than they would have been had they done nothing more extravagant than enforce their own laws.

  100. So sad about the Japan destruction. My thoughts are with those going through the darn mess.

  101. Japan Earthquake Updates live

    March 14, 2011

    2:23 PM
    This new infographic explores how Japan’s earthquake and tsunami have affected four of the country’s nuclear plants.

  102. Due to copyright matters – it won’t let the LiveStream of ABC news outside of Australia.
    The written updates are timely.

  103. Z: this is hardly the first major shaker in my lifetime for them, and it didn’t change any of those times. It is some kind of viscious bushido/yakuza intersection of ideologies. My guess is that by the time they’ve rebuilt to an industrial nation again they’ll be right back to the traditional way of doing things.

  104. Arizona does not do DST as that would increase their A/C loads. One less hour of insufferable heat at the end of the work day. :roll:

  105. 3 injured, 7 missing in blast at Japan nuke plant (AP)
    AP – Tokyo Electric Power Co. says three workers have been injured and seven are missing after an explosion at the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plan

  106. We’d have no current updates on the Japanese disaster hadn’t the interwebs been invented.

    We are a sad, sad country when it comes to current events (unless in involves T&A and which f’g celeb is in rehab, jail, mental health evaluation).

  107. Most areas of the United States currently observe daylight saving time. The exceptions are Arizona, Hawaii, and the territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. In Arizona, the Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time.[3]

  109. Outside of our main library is a bit of a ‘free speech zone’. One can proselytize.
    Today this fellow was handing out ‘business-type’ cards. Turns out to be Scientology garbage.
    (I was offered one and declined).
    On my way out of the library I notice there are about 10 of these cards, on the ground just in front of the door (guess people were too lazy to walk the five feet to the recycle can).
    I picked them up walked over to the fellow and handed them to him and said this isn’t getting the message out – if people are going to litter.

    Generally it’s bible-thumpers shouting at the top of their lungs about Jesus Saves and be prepared – so only noise pollution which doesn’t really ‘hurt’ anything.

    We hold peaceful demonstrations but generally refrain from wasting paper by handing out leaflets that end up on the ground.

    [the Scientologists give me the creeps]

  110. Zooey, hope it was long after the building was evacuated.

    This is really frightening for Japan – unimaginable to be in the midst of that.

    • Ebb, having grown up around the military, it gave me a weird feeling to know that even the mighty military machine of a major world power is vulnerable to the whims of the Earth.

  111. Water does make moving look effortless – destructive as all get out but effortless.

    The buildings, cars, boats just being swept away.

    When it comes to clean-up, where do they shovel all that debris? Into the ocean? – one would certainly hope not.

    • No idea, but I doubt anything will be salvageable, so they’ll have to put somewhere. What on earth do you do when your trash is EVERYTHING?

      Wow.

  112. Earthquake
    Tsunami
    Volcanic eruption
    Nuclear meltdown (?)

    None of this can be blamed on the xian god, apparently – because the fundies have not weighed in on the matter. Is it because they (fundies) haven’t a clue how to handle a non-god thing?

    • Everything is a god-thing to them.

      My sister’s family will pray for safety before a car trip to the mall. So far, it’s working.

      It’s been great for preventing tiger attacks as well… :roll:

  115. So they can hide in cherry trees, have ever seen an elephant hide in a cherry tree?
    No?… Then it must work!

  116. I wasn’t aware that cats had to be licensed in my fair city.
    The official looking letter came on Friday.
    In order for “Mel” to reside in this apartment – his vaccinations had to be up-to-date and prove he was neutered.
    Went to a low-cost clinic for all of that – back in October. They obviously turn in the paper work to Animal Services who in turn, nearly five months later, inform the human that within four months of obtaining the cat it must be licensed or a $100.00 late fee will attach.

    This is the first I’ve heard of cat licensing. Oh, well – I sent in the forms and $10.00 so I’ll now be able to drive the cat!

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