Watering Hole: Monday, November 28, 2011 – Take A Deep Breath

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Stumbled upon this video.

All that deep breathing was very relaxing.  It’s healthy to let go of stress.

This is our Open Thread.  Speak Up!

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149 thoughts on “Watering Hole: Monday, November 28, 2011 – Take A Deep Breath”

  1. Very nice, thank you. I witness the daily ebb and flow of the tides, and much of my activity is affected by high or low, what time of day those happen, and the effects upon wildlife. My interests being photography (fun) and fishing (food gathering), I’m slowly starting to plug into these rhythms.
    There’s a seasonal pattern that my current lifestyle follows as well. 6 months of the year I’m plugged into a high energy rush of activity that pays little heed to nature’s patterns, the other 6 months can drop into aimlessness if I’m not cautious, yet with lots of time to decompress and plug into the flow of the world. This year the tide was high at the end of summer, and I made a mad paddle into a new environment, and am all the better for it. Now, two months into slack tide, and living below the poverty line, I remember to breath, listen and observe, conserve and recharge. Basically beached where I’m at, there’s some stress with that, not knowing whether the incoming tide of spring will float my boat, employment wise. The best I can do is focus on the positive and wait diligently. And relax.

    • My whole life is pretty much governed by the flow of the seasons and I love it. Don’t be stressed, none of us can ever be sure where spring will find us. This is also my rest season, at least until the end of January when it’s time to start the seeds. I’m also looking forward (sort of) to a knee replacement in January, having spent the last three months gardening while crawling from place to place.

  2. Very relaxing, careful not to hyperventilate!
    So, half our oxygen comes from the ocean, the other half comes from…SWAG..Trees??

    • I imagine the Fux Nuts will declare that the “right” has scared him away.

      I laugh in their general direction…while I mourn the loss of another great voice in Congress.

      • From Joe. My. God. via TP

        @Chris Barron [GOProud]: “Barney Frank was and is a total embarrassment to average gay people. He won’t be missed.”

        You may recall that GOProud supported Frank’s 2010 opponent Sean Bielat, who opposed the repeal of DADT, opposed ENDA, and opposed just about every other aspect of civil equality for “average gay people.” GOProud also paid for homophobic ads that characterized Barney Frank as “catty” and compared him to one of the Real Housewives.

        Again with the projection…

  4. An interesting article on MSNBC this AM
    Food ….’reconditioning’?
    Excerpt
    The FDA allows, for instance, an average of 225 insect fragments or 4.5 rodent hairs per 8 ounces of macaroni or noodle products. An average of 20 or more maggots of any size is permitted per 3.5 ounces of drained canned mushrooms, or per half-ounce of dried mushrooms. When it comes to mold, an average count of 15 percent is OK for canned cranberry sauce.

    Another reason we should buy local and fresh!!!

  5. Caught a pic over at WhiteNoiseIsanity of a Occupy protester holding up a great sign. The caption reads:

    “If they enforced bank regulation like they do park rules, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place!”

  6. Another juicy nucking fugget from TPM this AM.
    Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks Undisclosed $13B
    The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret.
    The Fed didn’t tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn’t mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue.

    • This year seems to be the ugliest shopping season on record. Do any of y’all have any idea why that would be the case?

      • Our society is disorganized and collapsing under the weight of consumerism, debt, anger, ill health, and the me me ME ASSWIPES!!!!

    • It says in the article that 6 nurses came to his aid — yay nurses! — but he was ignored by how many other people first? These people make me sick. No wonder so many people hate the holidays. I’m beginning to be one of them.

      Don’t get me wrong, I luvs me some family time around Thanksgiving. It’s the Christmas bullshit I can do without.

      • I’m feeling the same way. I love the making merry and am a big fan of shiny decorations, but have no use for this holiday without the peace on earth good will towards men part.

      • Yes, yeah nurses! :)

        This morning on Radio Times (WHYY), there was a reporter from the Wall Street Journal on who was excited about the app for Droid by Google known as Google wallet. All the consumer needs to do is point their phone at the scanner and the money is charged to a charge account. It’s mindless and painless spending UNTIL the bill shows up in the mail OR if using a debit card, there is no more money left for food. Just more consumer debt.

    • From Thom Hartmann’s blog:

      Our culture is screwed. Fueled by Black Friday – total spending over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend hit a record of $52.4 billion. But the real question is – at what cost to our society? This year’s Black Friday featured its usual flare of violence, desperation, and death. At a Wal Mart in Little Rock, Arkansas dozens of shoppers rioted over $2 waffle makers. At a Wal Mart in Arizona – trampling injuries were reported as hundreds rushed the door when it opened. At the same Wal Mart – a man was pepper sprayed by police for shoplifting – giving nearby customers a dose of the chemical weapon as well.

      Keeping up with the times – a woman in a Los Angeles Wal Mart resorted to pepper spraying fellow shoppers to clear the way toward X-Boxes that were on sale. There were gunshots outside a North Carolina Wal Mart – a bomb scare at a Phoenix Wal Mart – and a brawl at a Pittsburgh Victoria’s Secret over women’s underwear. But most disturbing was what happened in a West Virginia Target – where a man collapsed on the ground and was ignored by shoppers who simply walked over his body to grab bargains rather than helping him. By the time someone did help 61-year-old Walter Vance – it was too late – he died at the hospital.

      Economic stimulus aside – is this really the nation we want to be??

      • But the most important thing is whether or not the Target employees said “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas.”

        That’s the nation we have become.

      • Does anyone think it strange that nearly all of these incidents happened at Wal Mart stores. And does anyone think that, maybe, just maybe, this says something about people who shop at Wal Mart?

        Some of them seem to value sexy underwear, though. That part doesn’t fit.

        • I’d be surprised if the sexy underwear did fit.* ;-)

          *(based on the “People of Walmart” website.)

  9. FDA Declares Rick Perry a Vegetable
    Texas Governor Approved for School Lunches

    WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) � In a decision that raised soome eyebrows in the nutrition community, the Food and Drug Administration announced today that it had declared Texas Governor Rick Perry a vegetable.

    The decision, effective immediately, means that a serving of Mr. Perry would be approved for school lunches across the nation.

    In an official statement, Mr. Perry said he was “surprised and honored” by the FDA’s decision.

    “As a vegetable, I am honored to join the other three food groups,” said Gov. Perry. “Meat, dairy, and� nope,, can’t do it. Oops.”

    • Did you catch the ‘removal of the 15% payroll tax?’
      That would be the SS contribution, yes?
      Is he proposing to eliminate Social Security with his 666, er 999 plan?

  11. Top Marine says service embracing gay ban repeal

    MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Since the lifting two months ago of a longstanding U.S. ban on gays serving openly in the military, U.S. Marines across the globe have adapted smoothly and embraced the change, says their top officer, Gen. James F. Amos, who previously had argued against repealing the ban during wartime.

    So, in other words, he was wrong.

  13. Being something of a gloomy Gus who tends to believe that most people tend to be only as good as they have to be, I am beginning to wonder. It seems that the tide is slowly turning. The nutbags are still out there just a flailing and spouting but the general public doesn’t seem to be taking them quite as seriously. There is more than a hint of desperation from the Right in their claims and bluster that smells like panic is not far away. Could the pendulum be finally swinging back to rationality? And will it be enough and timely enough to give us another shot?

    For me, the sweetest thing I can think of is the oligarchs spending a whole big piece of their ill gotten gains to try and buy the next election and fail. I won’t hold my breath but there is a hint of that in the wind.

      • Not the first but definitely a clear defining point. The failures in Ohio and MS for the Right’s agenda have already set the start pace.

    • I remember when Clinton left office wanting to be a bridge to the 21st century. And then Bush was (s)elected.
      And 9/11 happened.
      People were fearful of “them” outside the country and weren’t paying attention when those inside the United States continued the systematic dismantling of the American middle class full tilt (that began under Reagan’s policies).

      I consider the 2000′s a lost decade.

      I hope you are right. When college grads are moving back home with $160K in debt and Middle age people are losing their jobs and their homes, something is very wrong in this country.

  16. NYC judge rejects $285M SEC-Citigroup agreement

    A federal judge on Monday struck down a $285 million settlement that Citigroup reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he couldn’t tell whether the deal was fair and criticizing regulators for shielding the public from the details of what the firm did wrong.
    U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said the public has a right to know what happens in cases that touch on “the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives.” In such cases, the SEC has a responsibility to ensure that the truth emerges, he wrote.

    Well done.

    • Gives me hope that there still are good people/judges in this world and they haven’t all been corrupted by money.

    • Just heard that a bit ago from Victoria Jones on Thom. I hope that judge’s ruling sticks.

    • Livin in a car? Can’t afford gas?
      Blame Yo’self!

      Up yours Herb.

      You can’t watch that 60 minutes clip without having so much admiration for those kids…
      I think I’ll have my 8 year old daughter watch that with me…

    • And the Right will come back and say those aren’t cars, they are mini-RV’s. Like pepper spray is a food product and pizza is a vegetable.

  21. Oooh, Herman! Your attorney does not sound like a good Republican conservative.

    Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults – a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public’s right to know and the media’s right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one’s bedroom door.

    And that link is to a Fox affiliate. Does Rupert know about this treason? I wonder if Bill Clinton knew about these boundaries.

    • Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults..

      Gloria, Gloria, Gloria are you still going to “Stand by your man”?

    • It wasn’t the bedroom in Clinton’s case :lol: so no boundaries. It wasn’t consensual in Cain’s case, so no boundaries either. One was an adulterer, no big deal ( I’m sure Hilary tore him a new one). The other is a demeaning vile bastard who imposes himself upon women who don’t want his “attentions”

    • Right… You’re in a car with me, and you want a job.
      I want a job, and slide my hand up yo skirt.
      Then I pull yo head down to my crotch.
      But you won’ gimme no job, so that’s consensual something or other.

    • Sometimes I wish that God was still actively involved in the matters of this world. I would really enjoy watching these vile, lying, hypocrites burst into flames and/or turn into pillars of salt. At the very least I would like to see a plague of frogs descend upon their houses. Sigh…

      Just as it’s always been; it’s up to people of good conscience to stand up to these freaks with no hope of reward in this world or any other alleged world.

    • Yay! Even though I wish that circumstances allowed me to go back to work i am glad that I’m retired. Applying for work can be so degrading. That’s why I usually sought out small companies where one goes straight to the boss rather than having to deal with the human resources department. HR always made me feel like i was trying to impress someone who has no idea what qualifications are actually needed to perform the job one is seeking. Actually, I have a funny story about that.

      The last factory job that I held was in a plastics factory. Whether running the extruders or assembling the parts; it was very demanding work that took a long time to learn. Well, I had been there a few years when they hired a new HR representative and she decided to spend a week on the floor so that she could give a more honest appraisal to new people. Since, by that point, new hires were generally assigned to me for their first day or two, they had her work with me. She lasted all of two hours on the floor and decided that she would just tell applicants “it’s hard work”.

      • They have no clue.
        All my applications have to go through “Human Resources Management”, which used to be called “Human Capital Management” until someone must have pointed out that it sounded like we were only so many shekels to be traded.

          • Based on a limited number of examples; I have found that once a company needs a “Human Resources” department they stop treating workers like humans.

        • I reached my breaking point, at that particular company, when I was writing out the schedule for a bitch of a day and the supervisor said, “just plug in one of the new kids”. The problem with that is that “the new kids”, no matter how hard they would try, actually created extra work for the old hands. It would turn a three person job into a five person job. And that doesn’t even include the other poor sap who would have to rip apart their screw ups and get the parts back on the line so that those who knew what they were doing could do the “new kids’” job over again.

        • Hi Ebb!
          I don’t think I’ve posted that link more than a dozen times here. (I keep pitchin’ ‘em, and y’all keep missin’ ‘em. :D )

          I’d just like to stop hearing the excuses about cable tv. Oustanding at least admits she doesn’t have the bandwidth to stream these shows.

          Hey, Keith is growing a beard!

          • Gosh, can’t a woman flirt anymore//

            I do have it bookmarked – just wanted to thank you, again, for the 12th time!

      • Yep. Especially with my shiny new computer; I have found that I have little use for TV. I watch the occasional show on PBS and I degrade myself by tuning in FOX for football games but that’s about the only TV I watch any more. Anything worth watching turns up on line and then I can watch at my convenience.

  26. If Rick Perry is a vegetable, I’m glad I’m not a Vegetarian!

    *sorry I’m so late to the thread.

    Of the current crop of Republican candidates, only Huntsman is worth a damned. But…a) he’s marginalized by his own party; and b) after having tried to read through the Book of Mormon – I’d have a hard time supporting anyone who subscribed to it as a fundamental belief system. Yes, they’re big on family — and on keeping a year’s supply of food on hand…but there’s too much there that strains credulity – and this from one who was raised to believe in Santa Claus…..

  28. Four rockets hit northern Israel, no injuries
    IDF says the incident is serious and responsibility for stopping the fire lay with the Lebanese government.

    By Jack Khoury, Eli Ashkenazi, Gili Cohen and Reuters
    Tags: IDF Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah

    At least four Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Monday night. The Israel Defense Forces responded soon after, firing a number of artillery shells at “the source of fire,” in southern Lebanon. There were no injuries, but some building sustained damage. At this time fire fighters are still combating the blaze caused by the rockets.

  31. (They’re still wetting themselves)

    Right-Wing Media Continue To Mislead On Nonexistent Light Bulb “Ban”

    Ironic RW never cared about mercury poisoning before and now that the energy efficient bulbs are taking hold…they are all ‘caring and worried”

    • Steve Douchbag needs to get a bigger bed, there’s not much room left under there….

      And thank you Fox News for your selfless service in the brutal and bloody War on Incandescent Light Bulbs…

    • All that whining about light bulbs with an infinitesimal amount of mercury that can be safely dealt with but, if one suggests stricter controls on the emission of vast amounts of mercury from coal plants, they collapse with the vapors.

  33. To see the photos of the camera – it’s a wonder the memory card was still readable…

    Camera lost at sea returned with the help of Google+

    Photos from the waterlogged memory card helped identify owner

    With a bounty of pictures and a desire to find the camera’s owner, Thompson took to social networking for help. He posted his find to Google+, including pictures of the camera itself as well as the photos he was able to recover from the SD card. “Approximately 50 pictures on the card from a family vacation. If you know a fire fighter from British Columbia whose team won the Pacific Regional Firefit competition, has a lovely wife and (now) 2 year old daughter — let me know. I would love to get them their vacation photos,” he posted.

    • It’s a harlequin duck, took me a couple of days to be in the right spot to get the photos… I’ll put up a post later today with a few of them.
      The coolest duck in the world!

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