Just yesterday I wrote about getting a phone call from Autism Disorder Foundation. The call came from Ohio and the phone number was 855-743-3251. Just put stamps on envelopes and send to neighbors was all I had to do.
Well look what I found. Sounds like the same foundation to me.
Autism foundation's IRS filings raise eyebrows by Jane Friedman in StarTribune.
You really should read that if you ever send money to charities. And I would caution you about sending money just because someone calls you on the phone and asks. You don't actually know that what they are saying is completely accurate. And just because they might say it's for children or vets or dogs, maybe it isn't actually. Just saying to use caution when giving away your money.
But I also found something else interesting in that same newspaper. Here's the link. (This story is by Chao Xiong.)
Support your local firefighter (well maybe not Your firefighter, but Someone's firefighter). It's a calendar and it has photos. That's all I'm going to say. But you really really should look at the photos. (! ! ! ! ! ) And to think of all the times I bought calendars with photos of California. They are also nice photos, but maybe this is the calendar for next year. Oh yeah, one more thing. This calendar benefits Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The 2011 calendar raised $2,000 for the Autism Society of Minnesota, so perhaps that would be another option for people wishing to donate to Autism causes.
I am sure Stephen would approve of the calendar. (I also wish Stephen would have his own calendar. Think of the possibilities.)
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
855-743-3251
Just a brief posting to let you know another phone number that shows up on my Caller ID. This one, 855-743-3251, was from Ohio. The woman said she's not calling for a donation. However it was one of those, "We'll send out stamps and envelopes and you mail them to the people on your street, okay?"
Autism Disorder Foundation was who she was calling for and of course she was quite pushy. I did find one website that said they spend 36% of total expenses on program services during the year reported. I think that means if you send them a dollar, they will spend 36 cents on the kids.
I did go looking a little bit and found the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. It has a rating of 3 out of 4 stars at Charity Navigator. So that seems like a better cause if you want to donate to Autism. And so far, they haven't called me on the phone, so that's a plus for them.
Update: See newer posting about Autism Disorder Foundation.
Autism Disorder Foundation was who she was calling for and of course she was quite pushy. I did find one website that said they spend 36% of total expenses on program services during the year reported. I think that means if you send them a dollar, they will spend 36 cents on the kids.
I did go looking a little bit and found the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. It has a rating of 3 out of 4 stars at Charity Navigator. So that seems like a better cause if you want to donate to Autism. And so far, they haven't called me on the phone, so that's a plus for them.
Update: See newer posting about Autism Disorder Foundation.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Animals Get The Colbert Bump
I realized that a lot of my recent posts have included animals or been about animals. And that got me to thinking how many other times I have written about our furry and feathered friends. So, I went looking at my blog and made a list. I may have forgotten some, but it is interesting how much a part of our everyday life they are. Here's a list of the animals I found. See if you can remember what I wrote about.
Albino Earwig
Badger
Bears
Gingham Dog/Calico Cat
Canada Geese
Chameleon
Chicken Dance
Cobra on the Lam
Dinosaurs
Dogs
Duck Fashion Show
Easter Bunny
Googly Eyed Clams
Gophers
Grey Goose
Groundhog
Mahi Mahi
Manatee
Monkeys
Papa Bear
Snoopy
Spiders
Turtles
Woodchuck
*Update: I decided to add links to the animals so that you can easily go back and read the posts. Sometimes the links in the older posts will no longer work. Sorry about that. Here's one place you can find out about Spiders! Spiders everywhere! if there's nothing at the Charleston Bermuda Race website.
I also will continue to add animals occasionally.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Turtles Don't Like Peanut Butter
Colbert Super PAC has got more than 10,000 heroes. And tonight, Stephen added two more heroes, Charlie, 10 and Grace, 8, to the Hero Crawl at the bottom of the screen. They sent him $13 to help with freedom or liberty or freeberty. Stephen needs to decide what he's going to do with his Super PAC. And he is confused, so he had friend of the show, Karl "Ham" Rove on for advice. But, you know what, he's shy.
Therefore Matthew Dowd, ABC News Political Analyst and Chief Strategist for George W. Bush's Re-election Campaign showed up to offer Stephen some good advice. Stephen's Super PAC needs to stand for something. Well that's going to be kind of tricky. What should it stand for? Luckily, you can tell Stephen. If you have signed up for the Colbert SuperPAC, like I have, then you should be getting an email from Stephen tonight. If not, go to Colbert Super PAC and click on the link "I Stand For" and let Stephen know what you stand for.
What should he spend the money on? Issues, Candidates, Negativity? Well, that was a little worrisome. However, Stephen did say this, whether that means he supports negativity or positivity, he did repeat this from his mother: "If you don't have anything nice to say, you better back it up with a lot of money."
Guess where Stephen should start running ads. Here's some hints.
1. It's a state.
2. It's one of the smaller states.
3. You only need four letters to spell this state.
4. There are more vowels than consonants in the name.
5. It rhymes with Pie-ow-a.
And as far as those turtles who don't like peanut butter, well while Stephen is getting used to having the power of this Super PAC, he just kind of blurts things out as if they are words of wisdom. Most recently, he blurted "Turtles Don't Like Peanut Butter" and then put it on a T-shirt and then, well what's next? Not even Stephen knows for sure, but he thinks he will be selling all those T-shirts on the website.
For all the political whiz kids out there, showing up as Stephen's interview guest tonight was former Louisiana Governor and Herman Cain look-alike, Buddy Roemer. He's running for president but he's not walking into Iowa, at least not for the big shindig. It takes $15,000 to get a booth at the GOP carnival that will soon be in Iowa, plus probably a whole lot more money to buy trinkets for Iowans in hopes that they will remember how much they like the trinkets. I hope I have all that right. Buddy did not elaborate, so I'm just kind of piecing together what lots of different people have said.
So, to summarize:
Turtles, ham, stand, Dowd, Roemer. If you don't have time to read the whole post, you can skip down to this paragraph and get the condensed version of tonight's The Colbert Report.
* * * Update March 30, 2012. For more information about Stephen's Super PAC and information on how to get a Turtles Don't Like Peanut Butter t-shirt plus lots of other neat stuff, read about the Texans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Super PAC.
Therefore Matthew Dowd, ABC News Political Analyst and Chief Strategist for George W. Bush's Re-election Campaign showed up to offer Stephen some good advice. Stephen's Super PAC needs to stand for something. Well that's going to be kind of tricky. What should it stand for? Luckily, you can tell Stephen. If you have signed up for the Colbert SuperPAC, like I have, then you should be getting an email from Stephen tonight. If not, go to Colbert Super PAC and click on the link "I Stand For" and let Stephen know what you stand for.
What should he spend the money on? Issues, Candidates, Negativity? Well, that was a little worrisome. However, Stephen did say this, whether that means he supports negativity or positivity, he did repeat this from his mother: "If you don't have anything nice to say, you better back it up with a lot of money."
Guess where Stephen should start running ads. Here's some hints.
1. It's a state.
2. It's one of the smaller states.
3. You only need four letters to spell this state.
4. There are more vowels than consonants in the name.
5. It rhymes with Pie-ow-a.
And as far as those turtles who don't like peanut butter, well while Stephen is getting used to having the power of this Super PAC, he just kind of blurts things out as if they are words of wisdom. Most recently, he blurted "Turtles Don't Like Peanut Butter" and then put it on a T-shirt and then, well what's next? Not even Stephen knows for sure, but he thinks he will be selling all those T-shirts on the website.
For all the political whiz kids out there, showing up as Stephen's interview guest tonight was former Louisiana Governor and Herman Cain look-alike, Buddy Roemer. He's running for president but he's not walking into Iowa, at least not for the big shindig. It takes $15,000 to get a booth at the GOP carnival that will soon be in Iowa, plus probably a whole lot more money to buy trinkets for Iowans in hopes that they will remember how much they like the trinkets. I hope I have all that right. Buddy did not elaborate, so I'm just kind of piecing together what lots of different people have said.
So, to summarize:
Turtles, ham, stand, Dowd, Roemer. If you don't have time to read the whole post, you can skip down to this paragraph and get the condensed version of tonight's The Colbert Report.
* * * Update March 30, 2012. For more information about Stephen's Super PAC and information on how to get a Turtles Don't Like Peanut Butter t-shirt plus lots of other neat stuff, read about the Texans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Super PAC.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
What's With the Teeth?
There was a lot on the show tonight and I can't possibly comment on all of it. Well, yes I could, but that would take up too much space on the Internet, so I'll limit my comments.
Stephen talked about fellow media personality Don Lemon. In fact, he went over to CNN and interrupted Don Lemon while he was reporting on the air. Too often the media let a story slide. They don't investigate the background. They don't ask the hard questions. Oh, by the way, Don Lemon has a new book out, "Transparent." Stephen was confrontational with Lemon, but not overly so. Sometimes I guess an expert like Stephen just has to tell the newbies how to do the news the right way. Maybe that's not exactly accurate. Don Lemon does have quite a few accomplishments to his name. Let's just say Stephen gave some friendly advice to Don Lemon.
Dan Rather, on the other hand is not afraid to ask the tough questions. Tonight he asked, "What's with the teeth?"
A rising problem we have here in the good old USA and in the world in general is the shrinking helium supply. Oh, well, you think. We can do without helium balloons. Well think again. Read about this problem at Scientific American.
If you really want to have a good laugh, watch tonight's episode over at Colbert Nation. You can see Stephen wreck a $5,000 toy. But don't worry, it's okay. He practiced doing the very same thing during rehearsal. His guest, Dr. Missy Cummings, Director, Humans and Automation Lab over at MIT, was the guest. She told him that with three minutes of training, anyone could safely operate "the toy". Well, almost anyone.
Stephen talked about fellow media personality Don Lemon. In fact, he went over to CNN and interrupted Don Lemon while he was reporting on the air. Too often the media let a story slide. They don't investigate the background. They don't ask the hard questions. Oh, by the way, Don Lemon has a new book out, "Transparent." Stephen was confrontational with Lemon, but not overly so. Sometimes I guess an expert like Stephen just has to tell the newbies how to do the news the right way. Maybe that's not exactly accurate. Don Lemon does have quite a few accomplishments to his name. Let's just say Stephen gave some friendly advice to Don Lemon.
Dan Rather, on the other hand is not afraid to ask the tough questions. Tonight he asked, "What's with the teeth?"
A rising problem we have here in the good old USA and in the world in general is the shrinking helium supply. Oh, well, you think. We can do without helium balloons. Well think again. Read about this problem at Scientific American.
If you really want to have a good laugh, watch tonight's episode over at Colbert Nation. You can see Stephen wreck a $5,000 toy. But don't worry, it's okay. He practiced doing the very same thing during rehearsal. His guest, Dr. Missy Cummings, Director, Humans and Automation Lab over at MIT, was the guest. She told him that with three minutes of training, anyone could safely operate "the toy". Well, almost anyone.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Clap For Me, My Monkeys
Remember when Stephen told us that Herman Cain would be on Thursday's episode of The Colbert Report? That's right, this coming Thursday, July 28, pizza maker and presidential hopeful Herman Cain ..... actually won't be on because he has canceled.
Ouch. Not exactly a good plan if you are tyring to get The Colbert Bump. There's a "scheduling conflict." I hope that isn't a case of finding a better prom date or something like that. Take it from me, that always backfires.
Politico has the story here about Herman Cain backing out. But it wasn't very long ago at all that it was going to be a big deal. Read the hype over at Comedy Central's Indecision (unless of course they change it since it's no longer true).
And so, you heard it here first. Well not first, since Stephen said it tonight on The Colbert Report, so then, okay, you heard it here second. From Stephen Colbert's mouth to our ears, "Herman Cain might not be the next president of the United States."
===============================================
Moving on. I never quite know what to call the people who come on the show and sit at the desk with Stephen before the actual guest is interviewed over at the table. Would it be a mini-guest or a pre-guest? Whatever you call those people, another one was on tonight.
Peter Edelman helped Stephen sort through the struggles that people in poverty face. Did you know that lots of poor people have refrigerators? It was an interesting discussion, perhaps you should watch that episode when it is rerun or else catch it over at Colbert Nation.
Interesting reading at that Wikipedia entry about Peter Edelman. The link is right there at the beginning of the previous paragraph. I'll wait while you read that. Okay, you're back. Peter Edelman is married to Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.
I've always thought it was strange that CDF says "Leave No Child Behind" while George W. Bush used "No Child Left Behind" to give school children the opportunity to take lots more standardized tests. Apparently it is no a coincidence. From Wikipedia article on CDF:
"The principal public policy initiative is summarized by CDF's advocacy of the "Dodd-Miller Act to Leave no child Behind (S. 448 / H.R. 936) " bill, introduced in Congress in 2001. This differs only slightly from the No Child Left Behind Act. (George W. Bush used this phrase, trademarked by the CDF, in his Presidential campaign despite objections from CDF.)"
Anyway, interesting how a guest talking about poverty can lead to reading about other topics and people.
===============================================
Moving on yet again.
Stephen's real guest tonight was Brooke Gladstone from npr. They discussed Gladstone's book, "The Influencing Machine" which is sort of like a comic book or a graphic novel, except that I don't think it's a novel. You can see a little bit of it here.
While some might think that the media influences us, she says that it's a mirror. Wow. Wait a minute. Stephen claimed that he is of the media and that he has control. To prove it, he turned and said, "Clap for me, my Monkeys."
And the audience applauded wildly.
Ouch. Not exactly a good plan if you are tyring to get The Colbert Bump. There's a "scheduling conflict." I hope that isn't a case of finding a better prom date or something like that. Take it from me, that always backfires.
Politico has the story here about Herman Cain backing out. But it wasn't very long ago at all that it was going to be a big deal. Read the hype over at Comedy Central's Indecision (unless of course they change it since it's no longer true).
And so, you heard it here first. Well not first, since Stephen said it tonight on The Colbert Report, so then, okay, you heard it here second. From Stephen Colbert's mouth to our ears, "Herman Cain might not be the next president of the United States."
===============================================
Moving on. I never quite know what to call the people who come on the show and sit at the desk with Stephen before the actual guest is interviewed over at the table. Would it be a mini-guest or a pre-guest? Whatever you call those people, another one was on tonight.
Peter Edelman helped Stephen sort through the struggles that people in poverty face. Did you know that lots of poor people have refrigerators? It was an interesting discussion, perhaps you should watch that episode when it is rerun or else catch it over at Colbert Nation.
Interesting reading at that Wikipedia entry about Peter Edelman. The link is right there at the beginning of the previous paragraph. I'll wait while you read that. Okay, you're back. Peter Edelman is married to Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.
I've always thought it was strange that CDF says "Leave No Child Behind" while George W. Bush used "No Child Left Behind" to give school children the opportunity to take lots more standardized tests. Apparently it is no a coincidence. From Wikipedia article on CDF:
"The principal public policy initiative is summarized by CDF's advocacy of the "Dodd-Miller Act to Leave no child Behind (S. 448 / H.R. 936) " bill, introduced in Congress in 2001. This differs only slightly from the No Child Left Behind Act. (George W. Bush used this phrase, trademarked by the CDF, in his Presidential campaign despite objections from CDF.)"
Anyway, interesting how a guest talking about poverty can lead to reading about other topics and people.
===============================================
Moving on yet again.
Stephen's real guest tonight was Brooke Gladstone from npr. They discussed Gladstone's book, "The Influencing Machine" which is sort of like a comic book or a graphic novel, except that I don't think it's a novel. You can see a little bit of it here.
While some might think that the media influences us, she says that it's a mirror. Wow. Wait a minute. Stephen claimed that he is of the media and that he has control. To prove it, he turned and said, "Clap for me, my Monkeys."
And the audience applauded wildly.
Leave the Doggone Dog at Home
You may think I'm some sort of meanie who doesn't like dogs. Nope. Just the opposite. It's summer and we have had horrible heat and humidity. People are leaving dogs in their cars "for just a few minutes" with the windows open.
BAD IDEA. This just doesn't work. The dog has fur, remember? And the dog can't open the door to get out if it gets too hot. And it gets too hot very quickly. It can get to 120 degrees. Having the window open isn't enough to keep a car cool. And what you think is only going to be a minute turns out to be longer as you:
- wait in line behind someone with 30 coupons
- run in to a high school friend and spend 20 minutes catching up
- witness a crime and are detained by police to give a statement
- faint because you overheated
- are in an elevator that gets stuck between floors
- etc.
And then the dog dies.
If you think it will work out just this one time or just for a few minutes, try this experiment. Park your car in the sun, roll the windows up most of the way and You sit in the car. Maybe even bring a thermometer with you. How long do you think you could last before you bail out? Now remember, the dog has fur and isn't capable of bailing out.
So, please, leave Fido or Fifi at home, with food and water, and in a cool place during the summer. I'm sure it's what Stephen would do. It's the right thing to do.
For more info, read this at The Weather Channel.
or
Read this at Dog Breed Info.
BAD IDEA. This just doesn't work. The dog has fur, remember? And the dog can't open the door to get out if it gets too hot. And it gets too hot very quickly. It can get to 120 degrees. Having the window open isn't enough to keep a car cool. And what you think is only going to be a minute turns out to be longer as you:
- wait in line behind someone with 30 coupons
- run in to a high school friend and spend 20 minutes catching up
- witness a crime and are detained by police to give a statement
- faint because you overheated
- are in an elevator that gets stuck between floors
- etc.
And then the dog dies.
If you think it will work out just this one time or just for a few minutes, try this experiment. Park your car in the sun, roll the windows up most of the way and You sit in the car. Maybe even bring a thermometer with you. How long do you think you could last before you bail out? Now remember, the dog has fur and isn't capable of bailing out.
So, please, leave Fido or Fifi at home, with food and water, and in a cool place during the summer. I'm sure it's what Stephen would do. It's the right thing to do.
For more info, read this at The Weather Channel.
or
Read this at Dog Breed Info.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Technical Difficulties
Yes, tonight's show was good. But I think there were way too many commercials and all for the same product. (I'm not paid to promote stuff, so I won't mention the brand or product here.) Typically, there is lots more news and lots more commentary, and occasionally some humor thrown in. I miss that and hope that everything is all ironed out for tomorrow's show.
But perhaps it was technical difficulties that forced the issue. I knew something was amiss because the TV screen would pixilate for no apparent reason. I guess Stephen had no choice but to run a lot of commercials. Oh, well.
Tonight's guest was Brian Cox promoting his new show, "Wonders of the Universe" and his new book, "Wonders of the Universe." The TV show and the book sound very interesting. Just by watching the show tonight, we should all get much smarter because Stephen calls Brian Cox a Smarty Pants and Stephen would not do that if it were not true.
But perhaps it was technical difficulties that forced the issue. I knew something was amiss because the TV screen would pixilate for no apparent reason. I guess Stephen had no choice but to run a lot of commercials. Oh, well.
Tonight's guest was Brian Cox promoting his new show, "Wonders of the Universe" and his new book, "Wonders of the Universe." The TV show and the book sound very interesting. Just by watching the show tonight, we should all get much smarter because Stephen calls Brian Cox a Smarty Pants and Stephen would not do that if it were not true.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Now You've Done It
Stephen has assigned his faithful Colbert Nation followers to go down to NBC's The Today Show and rally for his favorite part of our anatomy. I am so glad I did not spend all my vacation money on a trip to New York City this week. I most likely would have stood in front of The Today Show window in hopes of appearing on TV, if only for a second or two, and you just know they will have to keep the curtains closed for the entire show.
But they can't just ignore the crowds outside on Friday. Cee Lo Green will be performing for the fans. Stephen, what have you gone and done this time? How many signs are being made even as I write this?
Stephen's guest was David Eagleman and Stephen's guest book was "Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain." I wonder how many politicians and celebrities will be photoshopped reading that book. Considering all the talk about her migraines, I'm betting at least one of those images will be of Michele Bachmann.
But they can't just ignore the crowds outside on Friday. Cee Lo Green will be performing for the fans. Stephen, what have you gone and done this time? How many signs are being made even as I write this?
Stephen's guest was David Eagleman and Stephen's guest book was "Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain." I wonder how many politicians and celebrities will be photoshopped reading that book. Considering all the talk about her migraines, I'm betting at least one of those images will be of Michele Bachmann.
Chicken Dance
Many of you poultry lovers enjoyed my recent post, Duck Fashion Show.
The link I had to Chicken Dance was taken down. So, here's a different link.
You just have to imagine the music for the Chicken Dance.
The link I had to Chicken Dance was taken down. So, here's a different link.
You just have to imagine the music for the Chicken Dance.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Voter Fraud
Voter Fraud was one of the topics discussed tonight over at The Colbert Report. Just a few facts:
In Ohio in 2002 and 2004, out of 9,078,728 votes cast, there were 4 instances of ineligible persons voting. So, that would mean that there were 9,078,724 instances of eligible persons voting.
So, roughly speaking, 9 million eligible voters vs. 4 ineligible voters. Check out Brennan Center for Justice - Policy Brief on Voter Identification.
Quote from Rush Limbaugh:
"If people cannot even feed and clothe themselves, should they be allowed to vote?" (Well apparently Rush Limbaugh doesn't think nudists should vote. And it's also obvious that Rush would not ever be in a position of being denied the right to vote due to non-eating. You can bet I'm going to keep eating those potato chips and cookies!)
Quote from Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips:
"If you're not a property owner, you know, I'm sorry but property owners have a little bit more of a vested stake in the community than not property owners do." (Memo to Jesus: You can forget about voting if Judson Phillips has his way.)
In Texas, student IDs are not approved for the purpose of voting, but concealed hand-gun licenses are.
Tonight's show was thus the perfect opportunity for Stephen to show off one of his many fake IDs that he produced when he was in high school.
My conclusion: Fake IDs and Identity Theft are a much more serious problem than any perceived instance of Voter Fraud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Debbie Wasserman Schultz quote:
"The gentleman from Florida who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Unbelievable from a member from south Florida."
Congressman Allen B. West quote:
"Look Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. You want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face. Otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own Congressional District! You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore shall not be afforded due respect from me!
Stephen picked sides and apparently sided with Congressman Allen B. West. Stephen expressed his disagreement with Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He suggested that the next time she has something to say to Congressman West, she should say it to his face, just like West did to her --- in his email!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonight's guest was Harvard professor Michael Sandel. He and Stephen talked about Sandel's book, "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" Two interesting tidbits at Wikipedia about Michael Sandel. One is that tickets were scalped for some of his lectures. He then discusses the ethics of ticket scalping. The other interesting thing involves Montgomery Burns.
I think we can all agree that Stephen is the perfect person to decide the right thing to do, since he always does the right thing.
In Ohio in 2002 and 2004, out of 9,078,728 votes cast, there were 4 instances of ineligible persons voting. So, that would mean that there were 9,078,724 instances of eligible persons voting.
So, roughly speaking, 9 million eligible voters vs. 4 ineligible voters. Check out Brennan Center for Justice - Policy Brief on Voter Identification.
Quote from Rush Limbaugh:
"If people cannot even feed and clothe themselves, should they be allowed to vote?" (Well apparently Rush Limbaugh doesn't think nudists should vote. And it's also obvious that Rush would not ever be in a position of being denied the right to vote due to non-eating. You can bet I'm going to keep eating those potato chips and cookies!)
Quote from Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips:
"If you're not a property owner, you know, I'm sorry but property owners have a little bit more of a vested stake in the community than not property owners do." (Memo to Jesus: You can forget about voting if Judson Phillips has his way.)
In Texas, student IDs are not approved for the purpose of voting, but concealed hand-gun licenses are.
Tonight's show was thus the perfect opportunity for Stephen to show off one of his many fake IDs that he produced when he was in high school.
My conclusion: Fake IDs and Identity Theft are a much more serious problem than any perceived instance of Voter Fraud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Debbie Wasserman Schultz quote:
"The gentleman from Florida who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Unbelievable from a member from south Florida."
Congressman Allen B. West quote:
"Look Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. You want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face. Otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own Congressional District! You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore shall not be afforded due respect from me!
Stephen picked sides and apparently sided with Congressman Allen B. West. Stephen expressed his disagreement with Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He suggested that the next time she has something to say to Congressman West, she should say it to his face, just like West did to her --- in his email!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tonight's guest was Harvard professor Michael Sandel. He and Stephen talked about Sandel's book, "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" Two interesting tidbits at Wikipedia about Michael Sandel. One is that tickets were scalped for some of his lectures. He then discusses the ethics of ticket scalping. The other interesting thing involves Montgomery Burns.
I think we can all agree that Stephen is the perfect person to decide the right thing to do, since he always does the right thing.
513-241-5622
Ohio. That's what the Caller ID said and then this number was displayed: 513-241-5622. I always wonder whether or not I should even answer the phone when I don't recognize the caller. But you never know. It could be important.
But, it wasn't. Just a pitch to get a subscription to a newsletter. Was it for Franciscans, is that what she said?
"I'm not interested. "
Only $32 per year. Good articles. Inspirational. Blah blah blah. And they would then pray for me. Wow, I can buy influence with God! Shouldn't that be free? Shouldn't I just pray for myself since I would probably know exactly what I needed?
"I'm Not Interested. "
More blah blah blah and then she did hang up.
I wonder. If I had taken the subscription offer, would I get future mailings asking for more money? Would I get another call asking me to subscribe to their magazine next time? And then buy a book next time after that?
The best way to be assured of more telemarketer calls is to give in and buy what they offer just to make them go away. Hint: They never go away. They just keep coming back for more.
But, it wasn't. Just a pitch to get a subscription to a newsletter. Was it for Franciscans, is that what she said?
"I'm not interested. "
Only $32 per year. Good articles. Inspirational. Blah blah blah. And they would then pray for me. Wow, I can buy influence with God! Shouldn't that be free? Shouldn't I just pray for myself since I would probably know exactly what I needed?
"I'm Not Interested. "
More blah blah blah and then she did hang up.
I wonder. If I had taken the subscription offer, would I get future mailings asking for more money? Would I get another call asking me to subscribe to their magazine next time? And then buy a book next time after that?
The best way to be assured of more telemarketer calls is to give in and buy what they offer just to make them go away. Hint: They never go away. They just keep coming back for more.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Manatee of the Airwaves
Join Now!
Of course that could mean two different things from tonight's show. First of all and most important, if you join Stephen's Colbert Super PAC, and if you donate some money, cha-ching, your name will at some time crawl across the bottom of the screen while The Colbert Report is on the TV Machine in what Stephen calls a Cash Crawl.
The other thing it could mean is to Join Now at Newt Gingrich's website. But the really strange thing about that is that when Stephen was showing us what New Gingrich's website looked like, it was a bit different from what it looks like now, just a short time later.
For one thing, the photo is a bit different. Gingrich looks happier now. He's wearing a blue shirt and red tie, not quite as good as wearing the American Flag for a tie, but still, it is the right color combination. And it has a lot of donate buttons, but one of the buttons is different. Instead of saying Donate Now, it says Join Now! Did that get changed because Stephen talked about it tonight? Or is it just a case of website updates occurring at random times?
Also, the wording is different. Instead of saying "Support Newt today to help make sure our winning message reaches all voters" it says "Join the Campaign to get the latest news, announcements, event information and exclusive updates." And of course, the website I'm looking at now has a very nice American flag in the background instead of the word Conservative (okay okay, onservative but I assume it would be Conservative if I could see the whole word).
Now that makes me wonder. You can "join now" and get exclusive updates. But if anyone can join now, and it looks like everyone can, it doesn't seem very exclusive to me.
Great, now Stephen has gotten me so interested that I'm looking all over the Gingrich website. Now I'm looking at the Gear you can Get. And before you say, "whoopie I wanna get some gear" you need to know there are flaws, well some flaws. You can get a yard sign, but when I look at it, it's so small it would work out better as a Blue Hat sign. But ouch! Those two metal poles would need to be poked into your hat and thus into your head. And then there's t-shirts, but they are all wrinkly at the bottom. There are also Newt buttons, but they are actually more like body armor. I'm looking at the images on the website right now and the buttons are bigger than the t-shirts! It would get the message across to everyone who sees you, because the button stretches all the way across your chest. If it was up to me, I would have the buttons be smaller so that they just took up a small amount of space on the t-shirts. I would make the yarn signs much bigger, about 30 times bigger than the hat.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Okay, you want to look at the Gear, don't you. Fine, I'll put the link up. But, you have to promise to play the guessing game that I made up. It works on my computer so I hope it will work on yours. Go to the Newt Store (not the one at the Nature Center) and pick one item, any item. Memorize its location. Hit the refresh button on your browser a few times. Did the items change place? Okay then you can play the game. Try to guess where your selected item will be the next time you hit Refresh. Keep track of how many times you are correct. It's harder than you think to predict where the items will move to.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
But I digress way too much. Back to what Stephen talked about. He did say that Gingrich owes $800,000 for his website. What? Are you kidding me? I would have done it for a mere $100,000 and I would have given him way more Donate buttons. Stephen did sort of mention that the website is full on Donate buttons: Donate, Donate Today, Donate Now, Donate to support the campaign. (Oops, he forgot the plain old link at bottom of page that just says Donate. That's okay Stephen. Maybe it wasn't there earlier today.)
You know what, here's a free Donate button that Gingrich can use. That would help save money on his website cost. And if Gingrich had hired me to do his website, I would have done a much better job of getting good domain names and getting all the necessary domain names.
Stephen had a lot more stuff on the show about different guys with really interesting things to say. For example, Rick Perry said this on July 16, 2011:
"I'm getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I've been called to do."
And on July 18, 2011, he had this to say:
"There's a lot of different ways to be called. My mother may call me for dinner."
(I hate to break it to Rick Perry, but hasn't Michele Bachmann already been "called" to run for POTUS?)
And Rush Limbaugh, the famous "Manatee of the Airwaves", had this to say recently: "Obama's out there pushing this August 2 deadline to get this thing done. That's because," (wait for it....) "Ramadan is August 1."
However, Representative Louie Gohmert (R - TX) had this to say on July 17, 2011:
"I can't help and be a little cynical here. Because we find out the president has a big birthday bash scheduled for August the 3rd, celebrities flying in from all over, and lo and behold, August 2nd is the deadline for getting something done so that they can have this massive maybe the biggest fundraising dinner in history for a birthday celebration."
Uh oh. Someone is a little bit peeved. Take a look at this Wikipedia page on Louie Gohmert and pay special attention to the part, right after his name, that says born August 18. Yep, someone is afraid his birthday won't get any attention. And is it my imagination or does that photo of Louie Gohmert look like he could be Stephen's identical twin brother?
Of course that could mean two different things from tonight's show. First of all and most important, if you join Stephen's Colbert Super PAC, and if you donate some money, cha-ching, your name will at some time crawl across the bottom of the screen while The Colbert Report is on the TV Machine in what Stephen calls a Cash Crawl.
The other thing it could mean is to Join Now at Newt Gingrich's website. But the really strange thing about that is that when Stephen was showing us what New Gingrich's website looked like, it was a bit different from what it looks like now, just a short time later.
For one thing, the photo is a bit different. Gingrich looks happier now. He's wearing a blue shirt and red tie, not quite as good as wearing the American Flag for a tie, but still, it is the right color combination. And it has a lot of donate buttons, but one of the buttons is different. Instead of saying Donate Now, it says Join Now! Did that get changed because Stephen talked about it tonight? Or is it just a case of website updates occurring at random times?
Also, the wording is different. Instead of saying "Support Newt today to help make sure our winning message reaches all voters" it says "Join the Campaign to get the latest news, announcements, event information and exclusive updates." And of course, the website I'm looking at now has a very nice American flag in the background instead of the word Conservative (okay okay, onservative but I assume it would be Conservative if I could see the whole word).
Now that makes me wonder. You can "join now" and get exclusive updates. But if anyone can join now, and it looks like everyone can, it doesn't seem very exclusive to me.
Great, now Stephen has gotten me so interested that I'm looking all over the Gingrich website. Now I'm looking at the Gear you can Get. And before you say, "whoopie I wanna get some gear" you need to know there are flaws, well some flaws. You can get a yard sign, but when I look at it, it's so small it would work out better as a Blue Hat sign. But ouch! Those two metal poles would need to be poked into your hat and thus into your head. And then there's t-shirts, but they are all wrinkly at the bottom. There are also Newt buttons, but they are actually more like body armor. I'm looking at the images on the website right now and the buttons are bigger than the t-shirts! It would get the message across to everyone who sees you, because the button stretches all the way across your chest. If it was up to me, I would have the buttons be smaller so that they just took up a small amount of space on the t-shirts. I would make the yarn signs much bigger, about 30 times bigger than the hat.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Okay, you want to look at the Gear, don't you. Fine, I'll put the link up. But, you have to promise to play the guessing game that I made up. It works on my computer so I hope it will work on yours. Go to the Newt Store (not the one at the Nature Center) and pick one item, any item. Memorize its location. Hit the refresh button on your browser a few times. Did the items change place? Okay then you can play the game. Try to guess where your selected item will be the next time you hit Refresh. Keep track of how many times you are correct. It's harder than you think to predict where the items will move to.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
But I digress way too much. Back to what Stephen talked about. He did say that Gingrich owes $800,000 for his website. What? Are you kidding me? I would have done it for a mere $100,000 and I would have given him way more Donate buttons. Stephen did sort of mention that the website is full on Donate buttons: Donate, Donate Today, Donate Now, Donate to support the campaign. (Oops, he forgot the plain old link at bottom of page that just says Donate. That's okay Stephen. Maybe it wasn't there earlier today.)
You know what, here's a free Donate button that Gingrich can use. That would help save money on his website cost. And if Gingrich had hired me to do his website, I would have done a much better job of getting good domain names and getting all the necessary domain names.
Stephen had a lot more stuff on the show about different guys with really interesting things to say. For example, Rick Perry said this on July 16, 2011:
"I'm getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I've been called to do."
And on July 18, 2011, he had this to say:
"There's a lot of different ways to be called. My mother may call me for dinner."
(I hate to break it to Rick Perry, but hasn't Michele Bachmann already been "called" to run for POTUS?)
And Rush Limbaugh, the famous "Manatee of the Airwaves", had this to say recently: "Obama's out there pushing this August 2 deadline to get this thing done. That's because," (wait for it....) "Ramadan is August 1."
However, Representative Louie Gohmert (R - TX) had this to say on July 17, 2011:
"I can't help and be a little cynical here. Because we find out the president has a big birthday bash scheduled for August the 3rd, celebrities flying in from all over, and lo and behold, August 2nd is the deadline for getting something done so that they can have this massive maybe the biggest fundraising dinner in history for a birthday celebration."
Uh oh. Someone is a little bit peeved. Take a look at this Wikipedia page on Louie Gohmert and pay special attention to the part, right after his name, that says born August 18. Yep, someone is afraid his birthday won't get any attention. And is it my imagination or does that photo of Louie Gohmert look like he could be Stephen's identical twin brother?
Monday, July 18, 2011
Congress Shall Make No Law
It's Monday and lots of people are talking about what they did this past weekend. Apparently lots of people went to the movies. We can't possibly see all the movies that are out there in the movie theaters, so it was helpful when Stephen compared two movies from this past weekend. One movie was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part Two" and the other was "The Undefeated" which is about Sarah Palin. He thought they were quite similar, and, in fact, they did have something in common with each other - numbers. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows" made about $169,189,427 (a number) and "The Undefeated" got a perfect score of 0% (another number) from Rotten Tomatoes.
When Stephen does finally go to see the movie "The Undefeated" he's going to dress up as a Gotcha Question!
Would you like to be on The Colbert Report? You can. It is very easy. Just donate money to his Colbert Superpac, and you will see your name crawling across the bottom of the screen in what Stephen calls a Cash Crawl.
You are probably wondering about the title. Congress makes laws all the time. That's why all those guys and gals are elected. Well there's other reasons why they are elected, but it's usually so that they can make laws.
But Stephen had Sean Parnell of the Center for ....
(my free speech kicks in here wherein I don't speak about the rest of the name of the Center)... kind of stumped with the whole First Amendment. Mr. Parnell could only remember the first five words. But I have no problem with that because Sean (may I call you Sean) is all about free speech and so that should by definition involve saying as much or as little about the First Amendment as he wants to. If some people are confused, so be it. That's free speech, isn't it?
Although I can see how some people could possible be confused. For example, the following sentence could cause problems for Momma if you only say the first five words.
Throw Momma from the train a kiss.
Also interveiwed was Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets.org). They talked about a lot of things, including puppies.
And finally, all fans of liberty and freedom, including free speech of course, were most likely glued to their TV sets when Stephen has as his guest tonight, John Prendergast, co-founder of Enough Project.
Some more numbers:
8,775 people like Enough Project.
32,124 people like Open Secrets.org
347 people like Center for Competitive Politics.
When Stephen does finally go to see the movie "The Undefeated" he's going to dress up as a Gotcha Question!
Would you like to be on The Colbert Report? You can. It is very easy. Just donate money to his Colbert Superpac, and you will see your name crawling across the bottom of the screen in what Stephen calls a Cash Crawl.
You are probably wondering about the title. Congress makes laws all the time. That's why all those guys and gals are elected. Well there's other reasons why they are elected, but it's usually so that they can make laws.
But Stephen had Sean Parnell of the Center for ....
(my free speech kicks in here wherein I don't speak about the rest of the name of the Center)... kind of stumped with the whole First Amendment. Mr. Parnell could only remember the first five words. But I have no problem with that because Sean (may I call you Sean) is all about free speech and so that should by definition involve saying as much or as little about the First Amendment as he wants to. If some people are confused, so be it. That's free speech, isn't it?
Although I can see how some people could possible be confused. For example, the following sentence could cause problems for Momma if you only say the first five words.
Throw Momma from the train a kiss.
Also interveiwed was Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets.org). They talked about a lot of things, including puppies.
And finally, all fans of liberty and freedom, including free speech of course, were most likely glued to their TV sets when Stephen has as his guest tonight, John Prendergast, co-founder of Enough Project.
Some more numbers:
8,775 people like Enough Project.
32,124 people like Open Secrets.org
347 people like Center for Competitive Politics.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Daniel Radcliffe
I wasn't aware of this when I posted about Harry Potter, but Daniel Radcliffe is going to be the guest on The Daily Show this coming Monday, July 18. I just happened to look at the website for Jon Stewart and his The Daily Show and there it was - Daniel Radcliffe. I know it's a little bit off topic to be talking about Jon Stewart, but I figure it's a good idea to branch out occasionally and talk about something other than The Colbert Report.
I imagine for Daniel Radcliffe's visit to The Daily Show, the green room will be stocked with the usual snacks, plus also some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Jelly Beans.
I imagine for Daniel Radcliffe's visit to The Daily Show, the green room will be stocked with the usual snacks, plus also some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Jelly Beans.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Harry Potter
I have often wondered why we can only see The Colbert Report four days a week and not five days like most shows that are on a "daily" schedule. That would basically make them a "Daily Show." I have finally determined why that is. Right from the very first time Stephen Colbert came into our homes and informed us of the national and international news, he had plans to stay up late on Thursday, July 14 so that he could go see the final Harry Potter movie at midnight on July 15. And thus he would be too tired on Friday to go to work. So rather than skip one show that week, the plan was just to always skip the Friday show. I can't really imagine any other reason to just have Monday through Thursday schedule.
So then we come to the movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2". First of all, I haven't seen it yet, so don't worry, no plot spoilers here. But, alas, this is the last of Harry Potter movies and last book. Fans are excited to finally see the movie, but sad that it's all ending.
But, don't despair. You can read the books over and over and watch the movies time after time. Some young folks have grown up always having Harry Potter to read. I do have some sympathy for them, but there will be something else that will come along that will intrigue them in much the same way that Harry Potter did.
Now, I'm hoping that on Monday's show, Stephen will show pictures of himself dressed as his favorite character, eating popcorn as he watches the movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."
So then we come to the movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2". First of all, I haven't seen it yet, so don't worry, no plot spoilers here. But, alas, this is the last of Harry Potter movies and last book. Fans are excited to finally see the movie, but sad that it's all ending.
But, don't despair. You can read the books over and over and watch the movies time after time. Some young folks have grown up always having Harry Potter to read. I do have some sympathy for them, but there will be something else that will come along that will intrigue them in much the same way that Harry Potter did.
Now, I'm hoping that on Monday's show, Stephen will show pictures of himself dressed as his favorite character, eating popcorn as he watches the movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."
Thursday, July 14, 2011
News of the World
There's more news tonight than usual. First of all, Karma Chameleon is coming to California! Californians are being warned to prepare for the worst, if you can believe that.The highways will be even more crowded than usual. People are being told to stock up on food so that they won't have to go out for groceries. And all of this is because Highway 405 is being shut down for a few hours, well 53 hours, for repair. Nearly all of the news outlets are reporting on this so called Karma Chameleon, so it must be huge.
But nothing can compare to, and nothing can overshadow the biggest story in today's News of the World. Stephen was nominated for more Emmys. How many awards can one man win for heaven's sake??? There is a lot of competition with many other great and popular shows also being nominated. Luckily, not Barry Manilow this year.You can find the entire Nominees List: Complete Official 2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations by going to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and clicking on the List there.
The categories that Stephen is nominated in are:
** Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
** Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
** Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
I wonder if Best Friend for Six Months, Jimmy Fallon, will be voting for Stephen. They are best friends, so I kind of think Jimmy should support Stephen's quest for more Emmys.
Last bit of news tonight for the News of the World was Stephen's guest. Jose Vargas is a Pulitzer award winning journalist and an undocumented immigrant. His mother sent him from the Philippines to the United States when he was 12 years old to live with relatives. It wasn't until he was 16 years old and applying for a driver's license that he found out there was a bit of a problem. The woman behind the counter leaned over and whispered that his Green Card was fake and he should not come back. Yikes. What's a kid to do?
Anyway, there is a website that you can go to and learn more about Jose Vargas and other people in similar predicaments. It's called Define American and you can watch a short video there about Jose's story.
What would you do?
But nothing can compare to, and nothing can overshadow the biggest story in today's News of the World. Stephen was nominated for more Emmys. How many awards can one man win for heaven's sake??? There is a lot of competition with many other great and popular shows also being nominated. Luckily, not Barry Manilow this year.You can find the entire Nominees List: Complete Official 2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations by going to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and clicking on the List there.
The categories that Stephen is nominated in are:
** Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
** Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
** Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
I wonder if Best Friend for Six Months, Jimmy Fallon, will be voting for Stephen. They are best friends, so I kind of think Jimmy should support Stephen's quest for more Emmys.
Last bit of news tonight for the News of the World was Stephen's guest. Jose Vargas is a Pulitzer award winning journalist and an undocumented immigrant. His mother sent him from the Philippines to the United States when he was 12 years old to live with relatives. It wasn't until he was 16 years old and applying for a driver's license that he found out there was a bit of a problem. The woman behind the counter leaned over and whispered that his Green Card was fake and he should not come back. Yikes. What's a kid to do?
Anyway, there is a website that you can go to and learn more about Jose Vargas and other people in similar predicaments. It's called Define American and you can watch a short video there about Jose's story.
What would you do?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Duck Fashion Show
I'll be brief today since yesterday's post was so long. (You're Welcome!)
First off, Duck Fashion Show. (I updated this and put a different link. 11/2/11)
Next up, the Interview.
David McCullough was on with his new book "The Greater Journey Americans in Paris." It does sound interesting. It's about Americans who went to, guess where - yes, you're right - Paris. It was a few years back and they went there to learn more than they could ever have hoped to learn here. Doctors, painters, architects and many more went to Paris. First they learned French, then on to greater things. We just did not have the schools here in the old US of A back then and all that stuff they learned there, well they brought it back here and greatly enriched our country.
David McCullough had to tell Stephen that, in fact, we have been friends with France for over 200 years. Furthermore, "We would not have succeeded with our Revolutionary War or our Independence had it not been for the financial help and the military help of the French, both on land and sea."
Isn't it interesting that Stephen had David McCullough on The Colbert Report the day before Bastille Day?
First off, Duck Fashion Show. (I updated this and put a different link. 11/2/11)
Next up, the Interview.
David McCullough was on with his new book "The Greater Journey Americans in Paris." It does sound interesting. It's about Americans who went to, guess where - yes, you're right - Paris. It was a few years back and they went there to learn more than they could ever have hoped to learn here. Doctors, painters, architects and many more went to Paris. First they learned French, then on to greater things. We just did not have the schools here in the old US of A back then and all that stuff they learned there, well they brought it back here and greatly enriched our country.
David McCullough had to tell Stephen that, in fact, we have been friends with France for over 200 years. Furthermore, "We would not have succeeded with our Revolutionary War or our Independence had it not been for the financial help and the military help of the French, both on land and sea."
Isn't it interesting that Stephen had David McCullough on The Colbert Report the day before Bastille Day?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Desperately Seeking Colbert Bump
Stephen started out tonight with comparisons between foods and the long list of GOP presidential candidates. Some of the foods and candidates associated with each food are:
Mitt Romney - white bread
Tim Pawlenty - white rice
Rick Santorum - Cream of Wheat
Jon Huntsman - potatoes
Newt Gingrich - mashed potatoes
Ron Paul - boiled potato
Michele Bachmann - potato flakes
Gary Johnson - mayonnaise
Thad McCotter - packing peanuts (this does not seem to actually be a food)
Ah, but then there was Herman Cain - dessert
And funny thing --- Herman Cain is scheduled to be on The Colbert Report on July 28. Obviously, Herman Cain is desperately seeking the Colbert Bump.
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Marriage seemed to be a theme for much of the rest of the show. The first segment about marriage involved Michele Bachmann and the signing of the Marriage Vow. This is not something she signed when she married Marcus Bachmann. This is a pledge put forth to candidates by the Iowa conservative Christian group The Family Leader and head guy Bob Vander Plaats.
Some see this as being controversial, especially when one reads the preamble. It says in part, "Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President."
Hmph. It wasn't all that great for slaves. They were, after all, slaves. They weren't allowed to learn how to read. They had very poor living conditions. And even if two slaves were married and had children, there was no guarantee that that family would be allowed to stay together.
And then, the way the pledge is worded, the natural conclusion many people would come to is that somehow it's Barack Obama's fault. What about white kids? Are they in the same predicament? Is a white child born today less likely to live with both parents than white children in the 1860s?
But, Michele Bachmann signed the pledge. Also signing the pledge was Rick Santorum, although he did have qualms. Stephen did an actor's portrayal of Rich Santorum having qualms but then signing the pledge. Stephen is very good at showing qualms.
Then, of course, with something that controversial, there was bound to be repercussions. And there were. Michele Bachmann's campaign felt compelled to issue this in response to the uproar:
"In no uncertain terms, Congresswoman Bachmann believes that slavery was horrible and economic enslavement is also horrible."
Alice Stewart, Spokeswoman for Rep. Michele Bachmann
Michele has been against slavery in many areas of our country and its politics. For example, can you guess what she was talking about in each of these instances where she talked about slavery?
"This is slavery. It's nothing more than slavery."
"It is a slavery that is a bondage to _______ and a bondage to decline."
"If you're involved in the ____ ____ ____ ____, it's bondage. It's personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement."
What do you think? Well, I'll tell you. The first quote was about health care. The second quote was about national debt. And the third quote was about the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
The next segment in tonight's show had to do with Dr. Marcus Bachmann. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Dr. Marcus Bachmann is married to Michele Bachmann. He runs a Christian psychotherapy business which apparently includes "Pray Away the Gay." This actually is rather controversial because other professionals in the therapy business know that there is no credible research that shows this is beneficial to patients. A suggestion from one of the counselors at Bachmann and Associates to a gay guy was that if he was going to attend a gay wedding, he should bring along a heterosexual accountability buddy.
This was such a great idea that Stephen used it in the show tonight for his interview with Dan Savage. Dan Savage is "weapons grade gay" according to Stephen. And so, Stephen enlisted the services of the building manager Tad to be his heterosexual accountability buddy. (Funny, isn't it how you can be watching one show and then for no apparent reason think of another show - Strangers With Candy with Paul Dinello- like some sort of brain hiccup!)
Probably the most important point that I think Dan Savage made was that the definition of marriage is always evolving.
"It used to be," Dan said, "a property transaction where man took possession of another man's property (daughter) and it became wife and that's not what marriage is anymore." He also noted that when a man and woman get married, they both define what their marriage will be. It could be a religious ceremony, or not. It could be monogamous or not. There could be children or none at all.
And it was a good idea that Tad was there for Stephen to turn to for some man talk. It came in handy. I think chainsaw was the magic word. Not to be confused with tonight's safe word which was Bachmann.
Mitt Romney - white bread
Tim Pawlenty - white rice
Rick Santorum - Cream of Wheat
Jon Huntsman - potatoes
Newt Gingrich - mashed potatoes
Ron Paul - boiled potato
Michele Bachmann - potato flakes
Gary Johnson - mayonnaise
Thad McCotter - packing peanuts (this does not seem to actually be a food)
Ah, but then there was Herman Cain - dessert
And funny thing --- Herman Cain is scheduled to be on The Colbert Report on July 28. Obviously, Herman Cain is desperately seeking the Colbert Bump.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Marriage seemed to be a theme for much of the rest of the show. The first segment about marriage involved Michele Bachmann and the signing of the Marriage Vow. This is not something she signed when she married Marcus Bachmann. This is a pledge put forth to candidates by the Iowa conservative Christian group The Family Leader and head guy Bob Vander Plaats.
Some see this as being controversial, especially when one reads the preamble. It says in part, "Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President."
Hmph. It wasn't all that great for slaves. They were, after all, slaves. They weren't allowed to learn how to read. They had very poor living conditions. And even if two slaves were married and had children, there was no guarantee that that family would be allowed to stay together.
And then, the way the pledge is worded, the natural conclusion many people would come to is that somehow it's Barack Obama's fault. What about white kids? Are they in the same predicament? Is a white child born today less likely to live with both parents than white children in the 1860s?
But, Michele Bachmann signed the pledge. Also signing the pledge was Rick Santorum, although he did have qualms. Stephen did an actor's portrayal of Rich Santorum having qualms but then signing the pledge. Stephen is very good at showing qualms.
Then, of course, with something that controversial, there was bound to be repercussions. And there were. Michele Bachmann's campaign felt compelled to issue this in response to the uproar:
"In no uncertain terms, Congresswoman Bachmann believes that slavery was horrible and economic enslavement is also horrible."
Alice Stewart, Spokeswoman for Rep. Michele Bachmann
Michele has been against slavery in many areas of our country and its politics. For example, can you guess what she was talking about in each of these instances where she talked about slavery?
"This is slavery. It's nothing more than slavery."
"It is a slavery that is a bondage to _______ and a bondage to decline."
"If you're involved in the ____ ____ ____ ____, it's bondage. It's personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement."
What do you think? Well, I'll tell you. The first quote was about health care. The second quote was about national debt. And the third quote was about the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
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The next segment in tonight's show had to do with Dr. Marcus Bachmann. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Dr. Marcus Bachmann is married to Michele Bachmann. He runs a Christian psychotherapy business which apparently includes "Pray Away the Gay." This actually is rather controversial because other professionals in the therapy business know that there is no credible research that shows this is beneficial to patients. A suggestion from one of the counselors at Bachmann and Associates to a gay guy was that if he was going to attend a gay wedding, he should bring along a heterosexual accountability buddy.
This was such a great idea that Stephen used it in the show tonight for his interview with Dan Savage. Dan Savage is "weapons grade gay" according to Stephen. And so, Stephen enlisted the services of the building manager Tad to be his heterosexual accountability buddy. (Funny, isn't it how you can be watching one show and then for no apparent reason think of another show - Strangers With Candy with Paul Dinello- like some sort of brain hiccup!)
Probably the most important point that I think Dan Savage made was that the definition of marriage is always evolving.
"It used to be," Dan said, "a property transaction where man took possession of another man's property (daughter) and it became wife and that's not what marriage is anymore." He also noted that when a man and woman get married, they both define what their marriage will be. It could be a religious ceremony, or not. It could be monogamous or not. There could be children or none at all.
And it was a good idea that Tad was there for Stephen to turn to for some man talk. It came in handy. I think chainsaw was the magic word. Not to be confused with tonight's safe word which was Bachmann.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Raising Infinite Dollars
Do you want to be One in a Million? Better yet, do you want to be one in 94,000? That's about how many people have joined Stephen's Colbert SuperPAC already. Have you? If not, hurry up and do it. Stephen promises lots of spam emails and also hopes to go from the slightly more than $100 that he has raised so far to Infinity dollars. He even has a graph, so you know it's worth it.
At this point in the show, I got a phone call and wasn't paying close attention, but I think Stephen talked about John Lennon eating Grape Nuts which turned him into a Conservative at which point he became the Ambassador to the U.N. for Germany. But, I might have that part of the show wrong so don't quote me.
Tonight's guest, Dr. Michael Shermer, supposedly is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, but I don't believe it. Dr. Michael Shermer talked with Stephen about his latest book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths."
It was a great conversation that Stephen and Dr. Shermer had about the book and beliefs in general. The two of them did disagree on some points. Dr. Shermer wants to debunk beliefs that aren't backed up by science while Stephen wonders what's wrong with bunking. Apparently there is a lot of bunk out there, and nonsense and bad science and voodoo science and pathological science and non-science. Basically, we choose our beliefs and then look for facts that fits what we believe. Just think about it. If nothing else, think about someone who disagrees with you and you would probably admit that they fit their facts to support their beliefs. Am I right or am I right?
Stephen did comment on the lengthy title of the book and not in a good way. However, I would have loved a book like this in junior high, especially when my English teacher said we had to have at least 200 words in our book report. Groan. How could anybody possibly come up with 200 words about a book they read? With this book, it would be easy. Here's how I would have started my junior high school book report:
~~~I really enjoyed reading the book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." It made me think a lot. There were many controversial things that the author, Dr. Michael Shermer, wrote about in his book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." ~~~
Wow, the book report is almost up to 100 words already. Of course, I don't think I would have read something as intellectual as that in junior high, but what a gift it would have been to have such a long title. It would not be necessary to do the usual, "I really, really, really enjoyed this very, very, very interesting book."
So, read the book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." Then, see if you can change your beliefs, at least to the extent that you examine them based on science and actual facts. Now there's a homework assignment for you to bite into.
At this point in the show, I got a phone call and wasn't paying close attention, but I think Stephen talked about John Lennon eating Grape Nuts which turned him into a Conservative at which point he became the Ambassador to the U.N. for Germany. But, I might have that part of the show wrong so don't quote me.
Tonight's guest, Dr. Michael Shermer, supposedly is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, but I don't believe it. Dr. Michael Shermer talked with Stephen about his latest book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths."
It was a great conversation that Stephen and Dr. Shermer had about the book and beliefs in general. The two of them did disagree on some points. Dr. Shermer wants to debunk beliefs that aren't backed up by science while Stephen wonders what's wrong with bunking. Apparently there is a lot of bunk out there, and nonsense and bad science and voodoo science and pathological science and non-science. Basically, we choose our beliefs and then look for facts that fits what we believe. Just think about it. If nothing else, think about someone who disagrees with you and you would probably admit that they fit their facts to support their beliefs. Am I right or am I right?
Stephen did comment on the lengthy title of the book and not in a good way. However, I would have loved a book like this in junior high, especially when my English teacher said we had to have at least 200 words in our book report. Groan. How could anybody possibly come up with 200 words about a book they read? With this book, it would be easy. Here's how I would have started my junior high school book report:
~~~I really enjoyed reading the book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." It made me think a lot. There were many controversial things that the author, Dr. Michael Shermer, wrote about in his book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." ~~~
Wow, the book report is almost up to 100 words already. Of course, I don't think I would have read something as intellectual as that in junior high, but what a gift it would have been to have such a long title. It would not be necessary to do the usual, "I really, really, really enjoyed this very, very, very interesting book."
So, read the book, "The Believing Brain, From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths." Then, see if you can change your beliefs, at least to the extent that you examine them based on science and actual facts. Now there's a homework assignment for you to bite into.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Call Off the Dogs
Just a reminder, it's reruns on The Colbert Report this week. But that's okay. Lots of times people miss part of the action the first time they watch a TV show, read a book or listen to a song.
Stephen's guest for this show was Alexandra Pelosi who has a new documentary, "Citizen U.S.A." She went on a road trip across the nation, to all 50 states, and talked to people who had just become citizens of the United States.
Here's something that I did not know. I guess I was getting a cookie while this part of the show was on the first time around. Stephen had planned to have 15 people become citizens on his show that night. It was even approved by Homeland Security. But, someone, (no names) in the White House put a stop to Stephen's big plans. Even though there was a swearing-in ceremony in Washington D.C. at a circus, apparently Stephen lacks that certain air of dignity to do so on his show.
"What does that say about you?" Alexandra Pelosi asked of a sad and dejected Stephen Colbert.
And now for the fun part. Could you get in? Could you pass the Citizenship Test? Go to
About.com - INS Citizenship Test Questions and see a list of 100 typical questions. See how well you would do.
*The title for this posting - - - That's what Stephen said to Alexandra Pelosi. Stephen wants Alexandra to get Nancy Pelosi to stop telling Democratic members of Congress that they shouldn't be interviewed by Stephen.
Stephen's guest for this show was Alexandra Pelosi who has a new documentary, "Citizen U.S.A." She went on a road trip across the nation, to all 50 states, and talked to people who had just become citizens of the United States.
Here's something that I did not know. I guess I was getting a cookie while this part of the show was on the first time around. Stephen had planned to have 15 people become citizens on his show that night. It was even approved by Homeland Security. But, someone, (no names) in the White House put a stop to Stephen's big plans. Even though there was a swearing-in ceremony in Washington D.C. at a circus, apparently Stephen lacks that certain air of dignity to do so on his show.
"What does that say about you?" Alexandra Pelosi asked of a sad and dejected Stephen Colbert.
And now for the fun part. Could you get in? Could you pass the Citizenship Test? Go to
About.com - INS Citizenship Test Questions and see a list of 100 typical questions. See how well you would do.
*The title for this posting - - - That's what Stephen said to Alexandra Pelosi. Stephen wants Alexandra to get Nancy Pelosi to stop telling Democratic members of Congress that they shouldn't be interviewed by Stephen.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
See You in a Week
It should come as no surprise to anyone that this week is reruns on The Colbert Report. After all, it is a major holiday. That also means that the garbage pick-up comes a day later this week. I mean that garbage pick-up is delayed because it's a holiday and people get a day off. I don't mean that reruns cause garbage delays.
Yikes, I should just start all over.
Stephen, and I would hope his hard-working interns, have the week off due to the Fourth of July holiday. And so for those of us who tune in to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report this week, there's a certain sense of Deja Vu all over again. Stephen's guest tonight (and by tonight I mean last week) was Timothy Garton Ash to talk about his book "Facts Are Subversive". I haven't read the book, but I'm pretty sure it is does not have much in common with a book like, oh maybe, "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People!" by Amy Sedaris. I think it is about history, but very recent history.
But the thing I liked about this interview was that Stephen, who is usually the one to get his guest off guard, was constantly being caught off guard. And I don't think it was intentional. But when Stephen would ask, "What do you mean by North-South outlook?" and Timothy Garton Ash would reply, "Well I mean what I just said," it would prompt Stephen to clarify for his guest the meaning of his question. "Again, when I ask questions it generally means I don't understand the subject."
Perhaps we could say that facts are subversive and confusing.
Yikes, I should just start all over.
Stephen, and I would hope his hard-working interns, have the week off due to the Fourth of July holiday. And so for those of us who tune in to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report this week, there's a certain sense of Deja Vu all over again. Stephen's guest tonight (and by tonight I mean last week) was Timothy Garton Ash to talk about his book "Facts Are Subversive". I haven't read the book, but I'm pretty sure it is does not have much in common with a book like, oh maybe, "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People!" by Amy Sedaris. I think it is about history, but very recent history.
But the thing I liked about this interview was that Stephen, who is usually the one to get his guest off guard, was constantly being caught off guard. And I don't think it was intentional. But when Stephen would ask, "What do you mean by North-South outlook?" and Timothy Garton Ash would reply, "Well I mean what I just said," it would prompt Stephen to clarify for his guest the meaning of his question. "Again, when I ask questions it generally means I don't understand the subject."
Perhaps we could say that facts are subversive and confusing.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Happy Fourth of July
Happy Fourth of July.
If you aren't eating at a picnic or watching fireworks in your local town, you could check out these links related to today's celebration:
First, Google's page for today.
Fourth of July: Nine Myths Debunked
Watch the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular tonight. Check your local PBS listings.
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