Framing the Dialogue

Archive for January, 2010

Flow – Go With It Lame Stream Media

It started as a relatively modest groundswell as average citizen awoke to the path politicians were forcing us down.  The groundswell was followed by a trickle as more folks got engaged and even the main stream media started to actually report rather than cheer on the Obama White House.

The groundswell and trickle has lead to a flow!

The first example is the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart.  Jon is a liberal stalwart who generally leans severely left while occasionally getting it “right.”  While the rest of the lame stream media ignored the Climategate scandal, Stewart made this broadcast.  This must have been a shock to Stewarts audience.  Ordinarily I would embed the video here, but it is no longer available on YouTube.  This link will take you to the clip. 

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Separated At Birth – Zoidberg/Axelrod

Dr. John A. Zoidberg:  If you have ever watched the animated television series, Futurama, you are familiar with Dr. John A. Zoidberg.  Dr. Zoidberg seems to be a hapless character who is not well liked and is not particularly competent at his job as the medical officer for his company, Planet Express.  His beliefs are backwards as he thinks food is digested in the heart and cannot tell the difference between robots and humans.  He seems to be unaware of common human customs and socially inept to the point that most cannot stand to be in his presence and detest him.

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Update – Life Meanders

When I posted Life Meanders, I had just found out that I was being furloughed (layoff without the possibility of parole or being called back).  It was a crappy time in my life.  I actually had a lead on a job within a few days and interviewed four days after my last day.  It took another two months to actually start the job.  Being out of work once you know that you eventually have a job takes the pressure off…somewhat.

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Wormwood

The latest novel in Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles mystery novel leaves behind her usual cast when China travels to Kentucky to visit a Shaker Village.  In Wormwood, Albert alternates between two stories, both involving intrigue, love, theft, and murder.  In the main story, China Bayles travels with a friend to investigate shady dealings at a historic Shaker Village. 

It isn’t too long before China finds a body.  This is a good, light mystery as you would expect from an Albert book.  What I thought was a nice component of the novel was the parallel story that takes place in the same Shaker Village, but a hundred years earlier.  I had heard of Shaker furniture, but did not know anything about the people.  A deeply religious and chaste people, their story also involved intrigue, love, theft and murder. 

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Americans With Deep Pockets Act

“A Florida nonprofit that has sued more than 700 businesses claiming they violate disability access laws targeted at least two Pittsburgh hotels in its latest round of court action.”

That is the first paragraph in a story carried in our local paper about a group that targeted two Holiday Inn Hotels for violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.  When you look at the surface of the story it sounds like a worthy organization (it is a nonprofit) is suing a big corporation (it is for profit) on behalf of disabled people.  A few things jump out from the article:

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News Briefs – Volume III

Brief 1:  The Associated Press reported that a man stripped off his clothes and began to jog near the White House.  He was quickly apprehended and taken to a hospital for mental health observation.  The nude jogger posed no threat to the President, who was home at the time.  It was unclear, however, whether CNBC’s Chris Matthews would be available for his Hardball telecast or would be committed to a mental health facility for further observation.  An angry Keith Olberman was overheard saying, “That damn Matthews.  I wish that I had thought of that.  That would make Obama love me more.”

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Create-A-Right

There is a local story about the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (“UPMC”) who own most of the hospitals in the surrounding area.  They do not own all of the facilities, but they are getting there.  Even though they are a non profit organization,

You can always tell a true "grassroots" protest by the large crowds holding hand lettered signs.

they are still a business and have to make some unpopular decisions.  A few months ago UPMC announced that it was closing one of its hospitals that did not have enough patients to make it viable.

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Ever Wonder Why?

Starting a book like this is a daunting task.  Thomas Sowell is one of my favorite writers and I marvel at the ease in which he dissects complex subjects in a very practical and entertaining way.  Ever Wonder Why is a collection of past articles and “other controversial essays” covering race relations, taxes, black history month, public education, the media, and much more.  Because of the format, none of the articles is more than three pages and sometimes the subject left me wanting more from Sowell.

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New Symbol For Party

As I was watching and listening to the debate over Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s comments about President Obama it reminded me of a nature show that I recently saw.  Democrats are falling all over themselves to come to the aid of a beleaguered Reid.  Both white and black Democrats are hitting the talk shows and circling to defend Reid.  This behavior mimics the tactics used by the musk oxen to defend their young.

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Fee-tation Without Representation

Politicians like to create villains before raising taxes or using today’s nomenclature raising fees.  Politicians do not raise taxes, they charge fees.  Groups like the evil health insurance companies, big pharma, Wall Street, big oil, and big defense have all been in the sights of liberals/politicians/progressives. 

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