Oh, this is fertile territory for a Mad Michele Caption Contest!
The post title is one example. Here's another:
"I learned this trick from my good friend, God . . ."
Add your suggested captions by clicking on the "comments" link beneath the post. You'll be able to see other captions as well. After awhile, I'll re-post the picture with what I hope will be a whole bunch of gut-busting captions.
Warren Buffett's op-ed in today's Times is getting a lot of attention -- and deservedly so. Basically, he argues that the "mega-rich" haven't been asked to sacrifice anything, particularly with respect to taxes, even in this time of supposed "shared sacrifice":
Our leaders have asked for "shared sacrifice." But when they did the
asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn
what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while
most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get
our extraordinary tax breaks.
Indeed, Buffett says that the income tax he paid last year amounted to only 17.4 percent of his taxable income. That's astonishingly low -- reflective of a tax system that isn't only not progressive but that is designed specifically to benefit the rich above all.
And he actually asks for his taxes to be raised:
I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very
decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this
country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to
give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn't mind being
told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their
fellow citizens are truly suffering.
I would like to think this is true. Surely the likes of Bill Gates and other of the more progressive mega-rich wouldn't mind paying more in taxes -- within reason, of course. Some, no doubt, would object, but, even then, would it really matter if they had to pay a bit more? They'd still be mega-rich. Taxation wouldn't take the "mega" away. They'd still have way more money than the rest of us.
But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such
households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income
in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital
gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in
2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.
My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly
Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared
sacrifice.
Buffett is an admirable man with some admirable ideas, and what he proposes here makes a ton of sense -- just like letting the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire. Raising these rates would go a long way towards fixing America's fiscal mess.
Certainly, asking the mega-rich to make a few sacrifices really isn't too much to ask -- and, again, it's not like this would be a huge sacrifice, even if Republicans will scream at any such attempt to raise taxes, claiming that the "job creators" are being vilified. At a time when even a Democratic president is putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block, when cuts to key entitlement programs for the poor are likely to be part of any bipartisan "deal," and when middle class families are facing increasing difficulty making ends meet, the mega-rich should indeed contribute their fair share.
Republicans can scream all they want. Warren Buffett has more credibility than the whole lot of 'em.
SB 5 was Gov. Kasich's signature union-busting legislation. Thumbing his nose at widespread opposition, he rammed it through and signed it into law. Whereupon record numbers of petition signatures and record levels of funds were raised to place its repeal on this November's ballot. And it will be on the ballot as "Issue 2". Please vote No on Issue 2.
Now come reports of secret meetings between the high muckety-mucks on both sides. Suddenly, Ohio Republican leaders are willing to water down SB 5 and act like reasonable human beings if the Democrats will first agree to pull the repeal referendum off the fall ballot. And, say the R's by way of threat, if SB 5 is killed at the ballot box, they'll just reintroduce it bit by legislative bit.
Hey D's, if the R's lips are movin', they're lying! Don't fall for this bullshit! The time for compromise is past. Where was this spirit of reconciliation in February? Now, only when it seems certain that SB 5 will die a well-deserved death, do they talk deal-making. Fuck 'em. And if they think they can get away with reinstituting it piece-meal, well, let'em try.
Vox Populi! The people of Iowa have spoken (sort of). Results of the Iowa Republican Straw Poll are in: Michele Bachmann came in first, with Ron Paul a close second. Tim Pawlenty was an also-ran.
The Iowa Straw Poll is not be confused with the Iowa Caucuses. The Caucuses come early next year, just before the New Hampshire Primary. The Straw Poll is a preliminary to the preliminaries, and a rather peculiar tradition in which a handful of random Iowans go to county fairs, church bazaars, and lemonade stands to "vote" for their favorite candidate by dropping corn kernels into Mason jars with the candidates photos attached. Mad Michele apparently got the most corn kernels. This exercise in civic duty is statistically valid within a margin or error of plus-or- minus 99%.
Poor Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, hitched his Presidential dreams to this wagon. He said he spent his entire campaign war chest in Iowa and needed to show he was "competitive." Yesterday, he said that his Mason jar contained "just half a dozen corn kernels, a couple cigarette butts, some gravel, and a wad of bubblegum." This, he conceded, was not competitive and so he withdrew from the Presidential race.
Well, they won't have Pawlenty to kick around in the Iowa Caucus! The Caucus is another Hawkeye oddity where the Party faithful enter a gymnasium, stand in clusters representing "support" for each candidate, and try to convince those in other clusters to change their support by moving to a different candidate's group. They talk and mill around and change horses until time is called. It's Cluster-Fuck Musical Chairs! Oh, those Iowans!
One last thought on the way we play these games: There are well over 300 million people in the United States. Iowa is a rural state with 3 million residents, 90% of whom are Caucasian. New Hampshire is a rural state with a population of 1.3 million, 92% of whom are white. By contrast, California has 37 million people of every sort. Yet in our Presidential primary process, Iowa and New Hampshire have much more influence than California. Just sayin'.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced on Sunday he'll seek the Republican Presidential nomination.
Prayerful Perry is a born-again Tea Party conservative Evangelical in cowboy boots with a big streak of cocky arrogance. Those who know him well will say, privately, that Perry possesses "an uncluttered mind." Sound familiar? He plays with guns, and sucks up to John Hagee and to the NRA. Texas proudly leads the nation in executions, low-wage jobs, and lack of health care.
Big Rick has said that President Obama is a Socialist. He has suggested that Texas might secede from the Union (again). At his recent big-ass public prayer meeting (should we not automatically be suspicious of any politician, especially a would-be President, who leads a prayer meeting?), Pious Perry told the throng that "Hope for America lies in Heaven, and we'll find it on our knees," and that "As a nation, we must call on Jesus to guide us."
OK, that's where I get off! Holier-than-thou politicians make me puke. And this highlights the problem for Republicans: they can't attract any reasonable candidates. Bachmann, Ron Paul, Santorum, Palin, now Perry -- all they get is wacked out nut-jobs! Tea-Baggers, Libertarians, and God-Squaders!
The only moderate R is Romney, if you consider Mormonism to be moderation. And he's so moderate, there's nothing there -- just an empty suit with a haircut on top.
Come December 2011, Malaysians will witness the most respected and honest Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (Kedah) elected twice as Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He was the 5th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and soon will be the 14th.
Due to old age and health, Sultan Abdul Halim will not be able to complete his team as the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.
This will pave the way for Sultan Muhammad V (Kelantan) to sit in as Deputy King and later as Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.
This is what UMNO elite and Slingshot in particular dread. Sultan Abdul Halim is too honest to make any deal in return for projects and cash. Sultan Muhammad V has a peculiar mind and character that Slingshot in particular dislike and feel can be a threat to his oil and gas companies in Kelantan shore.
As precaution Slingshot is placing his next of kin to be buddy with Sultan Muhammad V and will tahan with Sultan Abdul Halim knowing his term is short.
So in the meantime the Sungei Besi and Cochrane land are proving that there is no buzz from the opposition and public. KTM land already exchanged off. The printing of more monopoly money in Bank Negara is also going well. PLUS toll is taken care of. EPF money all audited and use up for the next fifteen years. Bakun Dam settled. MRT already inked. Sabah and Sarawak already inside pocket, Anwar consider dead duck, Selangor with the help of the Royal Household will return to the hands of UMNO. Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim must die before 13th General Election then it will go back to UMNO. Tajuddin and MAS already selesai. Now the next target is to get rid of Kutty and Muyi then it is home run. Kutty’s son is a dope so Slingshot just has to fart and ooph he disappears at sight. Isn’t Rosmah a specialist on that?
But is everything as simple as that. Since the merger of AA and MAS was announced it has rain continuously. I take it as a sign of sadness. But what do Malaysians feel?
People would say, so what? Others say, too late while the rest says die-lah!
When one person is allowed to blackmail the sitting Premier and his wife and use our money to control the economy of this country, there is the danger of becoming A DICTATOR IN MODERN TIME. If you think Slingshot is bad, the son is equally crazy and mad. Since he is not a Malaysian by birth he treats this country as a fun resort. The wives are crazy for money and are fighting to be Lady Macbeth.
I don't do much Krugman on this blog anymore. I feel his ideas deserves about as much space here as would those of any other street-corner lunatic, which is about what he gets.
But sometimes the soapbox loon is just too damn funny to resist quoting. So here we have Krugman, trying to discredit the powerhouse economy of the Lone Star state by gamely exposing what he dubs as - with all due reverence to the English language - the "Texas Unmiracle".
And what he discovered was horrifying - that the Texas model seems to work. Well, he doesn't say that, exactly, but he has trouble working his way around the truth. Observe:
It’s true that Texas entered recession a bit later than the rest of America, mainly because the state’s still energy-heavy economy was buoyed by high oil prices through the first half of 2008. Also, Texas was spared the worst of the housing crisis, partly because it turns out to have surprisingly strict regulation of mortgage lending.
You mean energy production is good for the economy? And that mortgages shouldn't be based upon the color of a borrower's skin, or just what they feel they want, but instead on what they deserve? Revolutionary! Why, those are the exact ideas espoused by conservatives and those terrorist tea partiers! Is Krugman about to go all heretic here?
Wait, there are more revelations by "el beardo":
For this much is true about Texas: It has, for many decades, had much faster population growth than the rest of America — about twice as fast since 1990. Several factors underlie this rapid population growth: a high birth rate, immigration from Mexico, and inward migration of Americans from other states, who are attracted to Texas by its warm weather and low cost of living, low housing costs in particular.
And just to be clear, there’s nothing wrong with a low cost of living. In particular, there’s a good case to be made that zoning policies in many states unnecessarily restrict the supply of housing, and that this is one area where Texas does in fact do something right.
So I suppose the "Rick is racist" meme now needs to be taken off the table, now that "The Krugz" has labeled him a good multiculturalist? One would almost seem to believe that Krugman is endorsing the Christian dogma of Perry as well - after all, isn't high childbirth considered a glory onto God?
Must be the weather. And that low cost of living...Ah, here we go:
Many of the people moving to Texas — retirees in search of warm winters, middle-class Mexicans in search of a safer life — bring purchasing power that leads to greater local employment. At the same time, the rapid growth in the Texas work force keeps wages low — almost 10 percent of Texan workers earn the minimum wage or less, well above the national average — and these low wages give corporations an incentive to move production to the Lone Star State.
Wonder if Krugman here too, by touting Texas' safety, is endorsing the "one man, twenty guns" policy that has been the hallmark of the state for decades. But I suppose that, after visiting lavish praise on Rick Perry, he has to feel he found fault somewhere. But alas, our head-over-heels in love doctor Krugman seems to have forgotten to check how his facts stand up to comparison. They don't, as is to be expected:
According to a July study by the liberal National Employment Law Project, 73 percent of nation-wide job growth during the past year has been in low-wage occupations. The New York Times reports:
The report by the National Employment Law Project, a liberal research and advocacy group, found that while 60 percent of the jobs lost during the downturn were in midwage occupations, 73 percent of the jobs added since the recession ended had been in lower-wage occupations, like cashier, stocking clerk or food preparation worker.
Another fact that hasn’t been mentioned: the number of minimum wage jobs was actually decreasing steadily in Texas between 1998 and 2006. But when the federal minimum wage was raised from 2007 through 2009, many jobs previously considered above minimum wage in Texas automatically became classified as minimum wage.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes this in its recent report on lower-wage workers in Texas, and also points out that the number of workers making minimum wage increased in the state as well as the nation...
Whoops! Looks like Krugman is right: Texas is a perfect place, after all!
And not once in his piece did he even get around to mentioning that Texas has no state income tax, adding to its allure as a destination for the talented and entrepreneurial who want to keep just a wee bit more of what they earn.
Guess Dr. K will have to save that one for his next glowing piece on unfettered Texas capitalism...
I've been to Woodstock. Actually, it was about five or six years after "the" Woodstock happened and I was just killing time with a friend on a bit of a day trip. I grew up probably about an hour and a half from where the festival was staged and thought it might be nice to see where it all happened.
As you can imagine, by the mid-'70s there wasn't much to see. Nice area, though.
But, between August 15-18, 1969, in the town of Bethel, New York in Sullivan County, about 43 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock, an event billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music" took place at Max Yagur's dairy farm.
On these three days, 32 acts performed for around 500,000 people, when only between 150,000 and 200,000 were expected.
Acts included: Richie Havens, Ravi Shankar, Tim Hardin, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, Santana, Canned Heat, The Grateful Dead, Credence Clearwater Revival, Janice Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, Joe Cocker, Ten Years After, The Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Johnny Winter, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Jimi Hendrix.
Pretty good lineup.
The closest I got to Woodstock that weekend was when my father mentioned that he had been on the New York State Thruway and that a whole slew of beat up cars and vans were clogging up the road heading south (probably on August 18th) and they were completely full of mud.
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American film and television actress and pop recording artist. Cosgrove played the roles of Megan Parker in Drake & Josh and title character in iCarly. Her career started at the age of three, participating in television commercials. Cosgrove's film debut was in 2003, as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock. After years of small television appearances, Cosgrove was cast into the hit show Drake & Josh and later in iCarly. As of May 2010, Cosgrove earned US$180,000 per episode of iCarly, making her the second highest paid child star on television. Following the success of iCarly, a soundtrack album was released in June 2008, in which she performed four songs. Cosgrove's debut album Sparks Fly was released on April 27, 2010.
Cosgrove on her tour. Since July 2008, plans for a debut album have been active.[31] In an interview with MTV News, Cosgrove discussed the forthcoming album.[31] Cosgrove reported to be "co-writing and getting really into" the album, as oppose to the iCarly soundtrack in which she "just picked songs that meant a lot to [her], that [she] really liked."[31] She also described the album as "still pop rock fun" in comparison to her previous work on the iCarly soundtrack, though "a little more mature".[31] Themes for the album are "love songs and just fun songs about hanging out with your girlfriends".[31] When releasing About You Now, Cosgrove further elaborated on the album's concepts.[32] She described working with producers and songwriters The Matrix and Dr. Luke as "definitely different".[32] Cosgrove also worked with songwriters Leah Haywood and Daniel James,[33] and said that "most of the songs are fun, pop, rock-girl empowerment".[32] She noted that "there's one ballad that's kind of sad" and that "it's called 'What Are You Waiting For?' It's about a girl who likes a guy [but he doesn't feel the same way]".[32] She added it's something she's experienced in her own life: "I definitely have guys that I'm friends with that I have a crush on, and you don't want to ruin the friendship".[32] The album was released in April 2010,[34][dated info] and the first single from her album, "Kissin' U", was premiered on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on March 12, 2010, and released to iTunes on March 23, 2010.[35] The album, titled Sparks Fly, debuted and peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart. She signed with skin care and cosmetics company Neutrogena on February 12, 2010, as an ambassador.[36] On March 17, 2010, it was reported that Cosgrove had signed a deal, reportedly in the "low- to mid-seven-figure range" to do 26 additional episodes of iCarly.[37] Cosgrove voiced a character in Universal Studios' 3-D computer animated feature Despicable Me, released in July 2010. In January 2011, Cosgrove revealed that her new EP would be titled High Maintenance,[38] and also released the first single from the same. The song, titled "Dancing Crazy", was written by Max Martin, Shellback, and Avril Lavigne, and produced by Martin and Shellback.[39] With three weeks of airplay, the song debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard Adult Pop Songs.[38] During her summer tour, on August 11, 2011, Cosgrove broke her ankle in a bus accident in Illinois. Cosgrove's injury forced the postponement of her U.S. tour dates "until further notice."[40] Filmography
List of film performances Year Title Role Notes 2003 School of Rock Summer Hathaway 2005 Yours, Mine and Ours Joni North 2006 Keeping Up with the Steins Karen Sussman 2010 Despicable Me Margo Voice-only List of films made for television or video performances Year Title Role Distributor 2005 Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie Munch Classic Media 2006 The Wild Stallion Hannah Mills Myriad Pictures 2008 Merry Christmas Drake & Josh Megan Parker Nickelodeon/Schneider's Bakery List of television performances Year Title Role Notes 2001 Smallville Young Lana Lang "Pilot" (Season 1, Episode 1) 2004 Grounded for Life Jessica "You Better You Bet" (Season 5, Episode 5) 2004 What's New, Scooby-Doo? Mirand Wright Voice[41] 2004–07 Drake & Josh Megan Parker Main Role 2005 Lilo & Stitch: The Series Girl / Sarah 2 Episodes – Shush: Experiment (S2E34) & Morpholomew: Experiment (S3E16)[41] 2007 Zoey 101 Paige Howard "Paige at PCA" (Season 3, Episode 13) 2007 Just Jordan Lindsey Chandler "Piano Stressin" (Season 1, Episode 13) 2007 Unfabulous Cosmina "The Talent Show" (Season 3, Episode 1) 2007–present iCarly Carly Shay Lead Role 2008 The Naked Brothers Band Herself "Mystery Girl" (Season 3, Episode 1) 2010 7 Secrets with Miranda Cosgrove Herself Nickelodeon Special (Apr. 24, 2010) 2010 The Good Wife Sloan Burchfield Bad Girls (Season 2, Episode 7)[42] 2010 Big Time Rush Herself Big Time Christmas Discography
Main article: Miranda Cosgrove discography Albums Sparks Fly (2010) Extended plays About You Now (2009) High Maintenance (2011) Tours
Frances Bean Cobain (born 18 August 1992) is the daughter of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Hole singer Courtney Love.
frances bean cobain
Frances Bean Cobain Through The Years
Frances Bean and Kurt Cobain - Seeing Double UPDATED NEW PICS
Recent Pictures Of Frances Bean Cobain
Life and career
[edit]Childhood and youth Frances Bean Cobain was born in Los Angeles, California on August 18, 1992 to rock musician Kurt Cobain and musician/actress Courtney Love.[1] She was named after Frances McKee, the guitarist for the Scottish indie pop duo The Vaselines. The middle name 'Bean' was chosen because Kurt thought she looked like a kidney bean on the ultrasound.[2] Her godfather is R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, and Drew Barrymore is her godmother.[3] She was raised by her mother, her aunts, and her paternal grandmother after her father's death when she was 1 year and 8 months old.[4] Cobain attended Happy Medium School in Seattle in 1994, now called Giddens School. During her kindergarten year, she attended Highland Hall in Northridge, California. While her mother was filming The People Vs. Larry Flynt in Memphis, TN, Frances attended The Maria Montessori School for a short time. She also attended The Willows Community School, located in Culver City, for elementary school and middle school. [edit]Parents On 1 April 1994, Cobain visited her father at the Exodus Recovery Center, a rehab center in Marina Del Rey, California, where they played together. This would be the last time Cobain saw her father alive.[5] In the early morning hours of 8 April 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle.[6] A final ceremony was arranged for Kurt Cobain by his mother on 31 May 1999, attended by both Courtney Love and Tracy Marander. As a Buddhist monk chanted, Frances scattered her father's ashes into McLane Creek in Olympia, Washington, the city where he "had found his true artistic muse". According to Rolling Stone magazine, the title and cover photograph for Sliver: The Best of the Box, were chosen by Frances.[7] Her mother has stated that Cobain is set to inherit "a sweater, a guitar and the lyrics to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'" from her father's possessions. On 18 August 2010, Cobain inherited 37% of her late father's estate.[8] [edit]Legal issues Before Love gave birth to her daughter, there were rumors suggesting that she used heroin during her pregnancy. This scandal intensified when Vanity Fair published Lynn Hirschberg's article "Strange Love" that alleged Love admitted to using heroin even after learning of her pregnancy. Along with Cobain, Love maintained that Vanity Fair took her words out of context. After the birth of Frances Bean Cobain, tabloid reporters questioned[citation needed] if she had been born addicted to drugs. Eventually, child welfare services launched an investigation questioning their parenting abilities. The investigation was eventually dismissed, but not without a significant amount of legal wrangling and being removed from her parents' custody for a short time, beginning when she was two weeks old. During Love's hospital stint in 2003, Cobain was put into the care of her grandmother. Cobain was returned to the custody of Love several months later. In late 2005, Hank Harrison, Love's father, prepared a brief petitioning a Los Angeles court for visitation rights to the minor child, but the petition was denied. On 11 December 2009, a California Superior Court in Los Angeles appointed Wendy O'Connor, her paternal grandmother, and Kimberly Cobain, her father's sister, as temporary co-guardians of Frances.[9] On 16 December 2009, it was reported that a judge had issued a related temporary restraining order, prohibiting Love from having any direct or indirect contact with her daughter.[10] The papers were filed under the heading "motion to seal all documents … relating to a minor and allegations of domestic violence." Among those documents are Frances's medical records, according to the filing.[11] [edit]Media
To date, Cobain has given five official interviews. In September 2005, a thirteen-year-old Cobain gave her first interview to Teen Vogue where she discussed her personal style and mentions her parents.[12] Another appeared in the January 2006 issue of i-D, where she expressed negativity over tabloid portrayals of her mother and was quoted as saying, "When you see a lot of lies about her in the tabloids, it can be hurtful."[3] In August 2006, she was photographed for Elle magazine in her father's famous brown cardigan and pajama pants as part of an article featuring children of rock stars in their parent's clothing. She explained, "I wore his pajamas because he got married in them to my mom in 1992 in Hawaii so I thought they would be cute if I wore them today. He was too lazy to put on a tux so he got married in pajamas!" In February 2008, she appeared in a photo spread for Harper's Bazaar.[13] In July 2010, she spoke with Interview magazine about her art, following her debut exhibition in Los Angeles.[14] [edit]RIP Childhood Birthday Party In September 2008, Cobain hosted a suicide-themed party at the House of Blues in Los Angeles to celebrate a "RIP Childhood" 16th birthday.[15] The event was funded by Love, and included a performance from Mindless Self Indulgence. The party was intended to represent the move from childhood to adulthood but created controversy as to Love's influence. [edit]Journalism Cobain worked as an intern for Rolling Stone magazine from June to August 2008.[16] [edit]Music Cobain appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "My Space" from the album Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn, which was released 30 March 2010.[17] Amanda Palmer from Evelyn Evelyn clarified that Cobain was one of some 20 artists who sang the same line and whose voices were mixed together in the recording.[18] [edit]Art In July 2010, Cobain debuted a collection of artwork titled "Scumfuck" under the pseudonym "Fiddle Tim" at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles.[19][20] [edit]Fashion Cobain modeled for Hedi Slimane for the hedislimane.com website for a photo series released August 2nd, 2011.
Poor Thad may have gotten only a few dozen votes in the Ames straw poll, but he still brings some of the very best ideas to the Republican table...
Well, maybe I shouldn't say "ideas". Perhaps one can say McCotter puts forth a governing philosophy, which is a bit more helpful than a chum-bucket full of programs, as there are always situations that arise that you never campaigned on, or discussed in a debate, or envisioned about in your worst nightmare (just ask George W. Bush). But if one has a solid philosophy, well...all one needs to do is to apply it to the situation at hand, and while it won't provide instant solutions, it will at least give you a roadmap to your destination, and will assure that the paths that lead too ill ends are avoided.
I've mentioned McCotter's Five Principles before; personally I think every candidate should be asked to provide theirs, as oppose to peppering them about, say, their thoughts on men marrying men. But McCotter made an important statement in Iowathe other day, one that should act as a campaign mantra and a governing philosophy for the Republicans in 2012:
“The answer,” he said, “is not to put your dreams in centralized bureaucratic Washington. The future is self-government, empowerment of the individual, a citizen-driven and more horizontal government."
Michael Barone adds:
We need policies that enable us to choose our own future, just as we choose our own iPod playlists and design our own Facebook pages.
Barone is glib and too free with hip-speak, but he does point out the basic problem with the over-reaching government that Obama and the Democrats dream of. Not to mention giving us a good talking point at college rallies.
McCotter's statement is the fundamental, over-riding difference between Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, and it cannot be stressed often enough that our choice will be one or the other, not any illusory "middle ground", in the 2012 elections (for the 'bipartisan agreement: so lusted after by the media is usually an understanding between both parties that they will screw the citizenry), and the decision we make will have implications lasting a generation.
Not over-dramatizing here. Note the remarks made by one of the presiding judges of the 11th Circuit Court on Friday that ruled ObamaCare's "insurance mandate" to be unconstitutional:
“The government’s position,” said the judges, “amounts to an argument that the mere fact of an individual’s existence substantially affects interstate commerce, and therefore Congress may regulate them at every point of their life.”
That threat is why we need philosophy as much as we need "ideas" come 2012...
She graduated from Anoka High School in 1974 and, after graduation, spent time working on a kibbutz in Israel In 1978 she graduated from Winona State University with a B.A.
Dumbledore's Army (the D.A. for short) is a student organisation in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series that is founded by the main characters, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, in order to stand up against the regime of Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, as well as to learn practical Defence Against the Dark Arts.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge chooses to only teach the basic theoretical principles of the subject in her classes instead of practical applications, due to Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge's erroneous fear that Albus Dumbledore is preparing to assemble a student army in order to overthrow him. This theory-only approach is widely unpopular among the students, especially those characters like Harry, who are in their fifth year and have to take their O.W.L. exams on the subject later in the year. Harry also believes that lack of practical experience makes them more vulnerable to Lord Voldemort's forces, though the Ministry staunchly refuses to accept that Lord Voldemort has returned. This prompts Hermione to suggest founding a student group where Harry would teach practical Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Actually, it was about five or six years after "the" Woodstock happened and I was just killing time with a friend on a bit of a day trip. I grew up probably about an hour and a half from where the festival was staged and thought it might be nice to see where it all happened. 
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