Racing Extinction: December 2nd on Discovery Channel

Everyone please watch or record this incredible work.  Racing Extinction will be shown this Wednesday, December 2nd, 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel.

The Oceanic Preservation Society is the group who created this film.  From their website:

“We launched the Racing Extinction Fund to provide direct and immediate support to the brave people working every day to save vulnerable species. They are protecting habitats, changing behaviors, and holding bad actors accountable. The time to act is now. Join us and together we can win the race.”

You can find more information Here, Here and Here.

 

GOP Statement: Robert Lewis Dear is a True American Hero

Now of course it’s an unofficial statement, since none of us Talibangelical Biblehumpers have the balls to say this publicly.  And that’s OK — we’ll just come up with a few kind-and-gentle scripted soundbites for our puppets/politicians to say to the media.

And in the meantime, the blunt truth is being shouted from the rooftops by our useful idiots — the inbred mouthbreathers who make up our “base,” and without whom none of us fucksticks would ever have a prayer of getting elected.

Anyway, here are just a few heartwarming examples:

“Planned Parenthood shooter has done more in one day to save black babies, then #Black Lives Matter has done in the last several months.”

“No sympathy for any pregnant female who was injured in the Planned Parenthood shooting that was there to get an abortion. She deserved it.”

“Active Shooter Colorado Planned Parenthood. I would think this brave HERO is saving innocent Baby lives!”

“Planned parenthood kills a million babies and no one bats an eye. but 1 brave hero tries to put a stop to that, everyone loses their minds.”

“Planned Parenthood ppl wants police to save their lives. Strange they don't give a fuck about babies lives.”

“ISIS would be a Justifiable End for These Baby Killers Please go To Syria and Leave these babies to Live a Free Life in America.”

Ahh, just warms the old cockles, don’t it?  Tell it all, Brother.  If Ted Cruz was dead (if only!!!), he’d be smiling and cackling from his grave.

Walmart Anti-Union Propaganda Message Leaked to Public

OOPS!!!
 
I'm not sure who Walmart's intended audience was, but becoming a viral laughingstock probably wasn't their intention.

Every GOP candidate needs to be asked THIS Question:

And make sure the question is asked in front of millions of viewers.  No hemming and hawing, no “clarifying previous statements,” no squirming.  Just answer the question!

ALEC: a brief rundown

Should Advertising for Prescription Drugs be Banned?

The American Medical Association is pushing for a ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and medical devices.  The AMA's reasoning is that the gazillions of dollars spent on drug ads are driving up health care costs.  An AMA news release stated:

“Today's vote in support of an advertising ban reflects concerns among physicians about the negative impact of commercially driven promotions, and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices.  Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate.  Physicians strive to provide the best possible care to their patients, but increases in drug prices can impact the ability of physicians to offer their patients the best drug treatments.”

Can't argue with that.  But is this statement by the AMA actually based on their heartfelt concern for their patients' health?  Or is it just a turf war between two 800-pound gorillas?

I remember when lawyers, as well as pharmaceutical companies, weren't allowed to advertise.  (And tobacco companies WERE.)  For that matter, there was a time when TV commercials could not slam a competitor's product by name.  They could beat around the bush with “compared to other products...,” etc.  But until sometime in the late 1970s (if I'm not mistaken), you'd never hear “Excedrin is better than Anacin” or “McDonald's sucks!  Go to Burger King instead!”

What say you?  Should drug companies be prohibited from advertising prescription drugs and medical devices?  And if so, what other industries (if any) should be banned from advertising their products?

P.F. Sloane: 1945 - 2015

P.F. Sloane was famous mostly for being the composer of Eve Of Destruction.  The only other thing I knew about him (until today) was that he had written the Turtles' best song (IMHO), Let Me Be.  Let Me Be was their next single after It Ain't Me Babe, and it went nowhere.  I had to buy the record just so I could hear it.  Maybe that's why it was my favorite of all Turtles' songs; it was about the only song by the Turtles that didn't get played to death on the radio.

Until learning of his death today, I had no idea P.F. Sloane was such a prominent player back in the day.  He also composed You Baby by the Turtles, as well as She's a Must To Avoid (recorded by Herman's Hermits) and Secret Agent Man (recorded by Johnny Rivers).

P.F. Sloane was also an accomplished session guitarist in L.A. during this period; he was part of a group of session players called the Wrecking Crew.  He was one of the original members of the Grass Roots, and he performed the falsetto vocals in Jan and Dean's Little Old Lady From Pasadena.

R.I.P.

Meet the New Bigoted Redneck, Same as the Old Bigoted Redneck

Time marches on, but people's paranoia and prejudices remain the same.

In 1939, during some of the worst Nazi atrocities, Americans were asked:
Should the US government permit 10,000 mostly Jewish refugee children to come in from Germany?

More than 60% responded No.

Haven't made much progress, have we?

Or we could take the glass-is-half-full approach:  the human race isn't devolving or deteriorating.  We've always been this fucked up.

Cut off one Hydra head, and...

Jeb Bush Relegated to the Kids' Table on Thanksgiving

Rick Berman, Humanewatch, Chipotle and E. coli: Let's Connect the Dots

If you’ve watched a TV newscast or looked at a newspaper in the past few weeks, you know all about the restaurant chain Chipotle and the panic over E. coli at some of their restaurants.  (The most recent news is that the Health Departments of Washington and Oregon have not found any E. coli, after testing hundreds of samples.)

However, there’s a lot more background to this, which you probably don’t know about unless you’re on the mailing list of the Humane Society or other animals’ rights organizations.

Rick Berman — he’s sort of a one-man Koch Brothers — is the founder of an Astroturf front group called Humanewatch.  Humanewatch receives gazillions of dollars in funding from Agribusiness lobbyists, trophy hunters, mining/development interests; pretty much every robber baron profits might be threatened by animals’ rights groups.

The stated purpose of Humanewatch is to “alert” the public that the Humane Society doesn’t really accomplish anything except to take people’s donations and make false accusations against those kindly factory farms.  How nice that a few Big Ag billionaires is so concerned about the public being “deceived” by a “phony” animal rights group.

Another one of Rick Berman’s front groups is called Center for Consumer Freedom.  You know, because these cumbersome environmental and anti-cruelty regulations are driving up food prices for consumers.

For the past few years now, Rick Berman has been ranting about — and threatening — Chipotle, since Chipotle has been at the forefront in not serving any meat from animals that were fed antibiotics, and not using any GMO products at any of their restaurants.

OK, so is there a connection here?  Rick Berman’s various front groups have had Chipotle in their crosshairs for a long time.  And suddenly, “more E. coli poisoning at Chipotle!” (which has not been found by health inspectors) is all over the news.

Coincidence?

Here are some links

The War on Quentin Tarantino

The Fraternal Order Of Police (FOOP) has promised a “Surprise” for Quentin Tarantino, in retaliation for Quentin Tarantino’s “War on Police Officers” — i.e. having the shameless gall to speak out against police brutality.

The only “surprise” those assholes could ever pull off would be to start answering constructive criticism with logic and reasoning instead of their usual reptilian lash-out reflex of “Ugh!  Bad!  Hate!  War!”

Don’t hold your breath.  A logical rational discussion is only possible with  an IQ above freezing.  If only the above-mentioned Gestapo Wannabes were smart enough not to get lost in a one-room apartment, they would have noticed that most of the public fury is directed toward specific lawless unaccountable police officers; NOT every police department.

Using the “War On Police!” logic — cracking down on drunk driving is a “War on Cars!”  Prosecuting a corrupt judge is a “War on America’s Judicial System!”  Etc.

The Fraternal Order Of Police doesn’t give a fuck about police brutality or the ongoing shakedown and extortion of anyone who might be Driving/Walking/Existing While Black/Brown/Different.  No problem — as long as the liberal media doesn’t go sticking its nose in where it doesn’t belong, and celebrities learn to keep their mouths shut.

About fifteen years ago in the Bronx, an immigrant was approached by police officers and told to empty his pockets.  When he reached into his pocket to get his wallet, they shot him 41 times.  Pointblank.  Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about it — “American Skin (41 Shots).”

A high-ranking NYPD spokes-bot lashed out at Bruce Springsteen by calling him a “dirt bag” and a “floating fag.”

The more things change…

November 2015 Election Results: Meh

Win some, lose some.

The good news:

Voters in Clallam County, WA gave the Heave Ho to a corrupt Good Ol' Boy county commissioner who represented everything that both parties claim to hate:  an arrogant vindictive corporate welfare leech disguised as a Free Market bootstraps sink-or-swim-on-your-own conservative.  The Hubris before the Fall.  And Fall he did.  Buh Bye!

In Washington State, Initiative I-1401 passed by a landslide.  It's now a crime to “sell, offer to sell, purchase, trade, barter for, or distribute any endangered covered animal species part or product...”  With Seattle being a major port city, this is more significant than it sounds.  I still don't understand how 30% of the voters were actually against this initiative.  Trophy hunters must have more useful idiots on hand than I suspected.  In any case:  Wildlife 1, Inbreds 0.

In Maine, voters answered Yes to Question 1, the Clean Election initiative.  Maine will crack down on Dark Money with stricter transparency requirements; and Question 1 also provides public financing of elections.  The promoters of Question 1 are hoping this will be the start of a nationwide trend:

“Tonight we truly started a movement.  What we didn’t talk about was the impact it would have for the rest of the country.”

And:

“This may be the end of a campaign but it’s a continuation of a movement that started with the very founding of this country.”

And the bad news:

In Houston, the largest and least-Texan of all cities in Texas (as in Los Angeles, most Houston residents are from somewhere else originally), voters struck down the Equal Rights Ordinance that had been protecting gay, lesbian, and transgender people from discrimination.

And Kentucky voters have chosen Far Right Teabirther Matt Bevin as their next governor.  Matt Bevin's biggest campaign issue was a promise to yank the rug out from under those 400,000 parasites who are currently insured under Obamacare.  WTF???  OK, Kentucky's useful idiots gullible inbreds voters have spoken.

Off With Their Hoods!

As they had promised to do, the Hacktivist group Anonymous has outed thousands of Ku Klux Klan members who hold prominent powerful positions.

The KKK outees include the following U.S. Senators:

Thom Tillis (North Carolina), who also happens to be one of the ringleaders of North Carolina's voter suppression drive;

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (Texas);

Johnny Isakson (Georgia);

Dan Coats (Indiana).

And the following mayors are running around like a bunch of hoodless chickens:

Madeline Rogero (Knoxville, TN); Paul D. Fraim (Norfolk, VA); Kent Guinn (Ocala, FL); and Tom Henry (Fort Wayne, IN).

That's all for now.  I'll probably add more names as they come out.  As everyone's favorite Blusterfuck would say:  “This is uuuuuge!!!”


UPDATE:  Apparently, yesterday's mass KKK outing was not done by the “real” Anonymous.  It was a “fake” Anonymous trying to discredit the genuine Hacktivist group Anonymous.  Or something.  November 5th is supposed to be the real deal.  And that makes sense, with November 5th being Guy Fawkes Day and all that.

Stay tuned...

When the Turnip Finally Ran out of Blood...