Hillary Clinton edtoon

It's been literally months since I made an editorial cartoon, but the continued "bra-ha-ha" over Hillary Clinton showing cleavage is just too good to pass up. First, look what kind of "ink" (or rather, "pixils") this story is getting. Here is a Yahoo! search on Hillary cleavage.

If you notice, some of the headlines can't avoid making puns. For example:

Cleavage & the Clinton Campaign Chest

Chest beating 'Wash Post' Article: Focus on "Cleavage" Sparks Hillary fundraising pitch

Hillary's chest war

Hillary's Deep Plunge

In my previous blog entry on this topic, I mentioned that, because Hillary is the first female candidate for president, it really doesn't set a good example to be giving so much press coverage on this topic. The focus should be on her and her ideas, not her chest. Focusing on body image is only going to set the stage for any other female candidates to have to endure the same critiquing over her appearance and fashion choices. Is that what we really want to put women through?

And yet, despite Hillary's complaints over this issue, she still decided to use it as a fundraising ploy. Funny thing is, I thought that they were talking about the first picture that I posted, which is below, but there is actually a second picture, which to me suggests that maybe this cleavage controversy wasn't accidental. That is, this "exposure" might have indeed been her intent to draw this attention - but again, is this a good tactic to take? I was kidding when I said in my previous blog entry "Hillary's new election tactic?", but maybe it really is. She'll never admit it publicly, of course, but if that's what she's resorting to, then it's not a good sign.

Okay, on to the photos, followed by the edtoon.

Explaining cousins

In Hispanic culture and families, cousins are actually de facto quasi-siblings. Anyway, once in a while, questions come up about what terms like "second cousin" and "first cousin twice removed" means. Not an easy explanation, but let's have a stab at it.

My cousin Gino (fictional) and I both have a parent that are siblings. That makes us first cousins. However, if Gino and I each had a son, then from what I had understood it, then those sons would be second cousins to each other. However, Gino's son would be "first cousin" to me because he is descended from my first cousin, but "once removed", or "one generation removed" from my first cousin.

However, after reading this entry on cousins from Wikipedia, I ain't even sure that Gino is my first cousin anymore...

Have a look at this chart from that entry:
























So hey yo, Gino... what are you to me, man??

What engineers do around the house between real jobs

Funny video. Reminds me of one of those old Rube Goldberg cartoons. :-)

SWF: DUI

I don't know what to make of the recent news reports of various young, white female celebrities with reputations for partying into all hours of the night, and getting arrested for public intoxication and drunken driving. I won't mention the names of those young women, because they're all over the news - you just can't miss them, because nary a week can go by without SOME mention of one of them.

First, what is driving these young women to such behavior? They each have an enormous amount of wealth, and they are all very attractive. If any one of them were motivated enough, they could use their physical comeliness and wealth to be a great influence for good, and be highly visible role models for young girls. Right now, these wealthy young women ARE role models for young girls, but for all the wrong reasons. So again, why? Why are they wasting their lives with such behavior? The short answer seems to be "because they can".

Being young, beautiful, and wealthy seems to be the only excuse for them to indulge in wretched excesses. While this may seem "cool" to some people, for most of us, it just comes across as wasteful and pathetic. It certainly does so to me. I'll admit that I don't know what it's like to be so wealthy that how you appear in public is not a concern to you, so I can't relate to what sorts of pressures that they're going through, but many of their income bracket can also be that wealthy without indulging in excesses solely because they can.

However, there are no doubt wealthy young women of other races who likewise indulge in this way. Why don't we hear about them? There are also wealthy young men of all races who indulge in excesses. So, why does the news seem largely focused on wealthy young white women? Is there some sort of perverse fascination in seeing them in drunken stupors? Is there some sort of "princess in excess" turn-on in reporting on these women?

While only these women can be blamed for engaging in their behavior, the news does not help in CONSTANTLY telling us "what they're doing now". I think that reporting on their behavior only feeds their egos as well as making it look like what they're doing is "cool". I think that with less reporting on their behavior, we would at least keep them from setting a bad example for young girls.

This is not to say that the news shouldn't be reporting on these young women - just that they need to stop being so obsessive about reporting on them. The behavior of these young women is bad enough, but the obsessive news reporting only makes the problem worse. There's reporting to inform the public, and there's the form of reporting that's almost voyeuristic, and that's what a lot of these reportings have become.

They could at least keep these kinds of stories in the entertainment sections of newspapers and other forms of media oriented toward celebrity news. That's what they're there for. I, for one, am tired of seeing these young women splashed all over the front page and as the lead story in Internet news sites. If they want to throw their lives away in this manner, then that's their problem - just spare the rest of us having to see the results!

Inmates dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

Here's something that I never imagined seeing, and I bet you never thought of this, either.

Here is a video clip of prison inmates dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

I gotta say one thing: It's nice to see how our tax dollars are being spent! Dang! Isn't there some trash by the roadsides they can be picking up?

Okay, the choreography and coordination was rather impressive for prison inmates - but then, they have the time to practice.

Now you good folks can go out there and say that you have seen everything.

Hillary's new election tactic?

Okay, let's hope that Hillary Clinton is not resorting to desperate tactics to win the election...

Amazingly, this was enough to make news: Hillary showed cleavage. Don't go crazy now; it's not like she showed so much cleavage that she should be in a Victoria's Secret catalog. But that she - Hillary! - showed any at all, well - the only valid comparison is to say that, for Hillary to show cleavage, it's like Hillary Clinton showing cleavage! Anyway, because it was HER, this made news. Here's a screenshot:

Surprisingly, this is not the first time that she's been depicted showing cleavage. An artist named Daniel Edwards made a bust (it is necessary for me to say here: "no pun intended", although NPR couldn't avoid making a pun) of her last year. Wanted to capture her "feminine strength" or words to that effect. Here's an image of that sculpture:

You know, it's easy to make jokes like "I wonder if this is the first time Bill has seen her cleavage?" and such, but see, that's what comes with someone like her doing something like this. This means that she's got to watch how she presents herself more than the other candidates do. Is it fair that she has to put that extra work into her appearance that the other candidates don't? I think it kind of balances out, because she tries to use the fact that she's the only woman running for president to her advantage as well.

If this news story is brought up to her, she might make some passing joke about it, but she shouldn't dwell on it, either. As the first female candidate, what she does during her campaign will influence what other female candidates will do later. Let's hope, though, that her little stunt doesn't encourage the other candidates to do the same. Nope, no need to see Obama or Edward's cleavage. Nope, none whatsoever....

Oops! I forgot July's editorial statement!

I JUST noticed that I forgot to post the editorial statement for July! If you recall, I took the first week off this month, because I had posted every day the previous month. However, I was supposed to post the editorial statement when I got back. I left my brain somewhere when I went on vacation. Well, we're past the halfway point for July, so we'll just hold off on the monthly editorial statement until August. Sorry, folks. :-(

I bet this never happened to Woodward and Bernstein...

Keith Olbermann's comments on Bush

Recently, Keith Olbermann had some rather passionate commentary about Bush.

Here's two links to the video of it:
Windows Media Player
Quicktime

This was circulated at work, and at first, I thought that Olbermann was finally going after all politicians over their kowtowing to corporations and special interest groups that has become a way of life for politicians in recent decades. I thought this because of the way the sender had sounded so excited about his commentary. Well, I was wrong.

Having now seen the video in question, I can add my commentary on this: I think Keith Olbermann is entitled to his opinion. My main beef with his commentary is that he didn't say anything original that I haven't already heard from the left wing. Olbermann hit all the usual left-wing complaints, right down to "stealing the election". All that was missing from his commentary was the conspiracy theories about Bush intentionally blowing up the World Trade Center. If I wanted to listen to this sort of emotional venting about Bush, I would have listened to commentary by Rosie O'Donnell.

Before anyone starts labeling me a "Dubya lover" let me say that, yes, Bush has made his mistakes and questionable judgments. For instance, I was against going into Iraq. I don't deny that the man's made his share of "misunderestimations" (Bushism), nor do I deny his critics the right to lambaste him over his mistakes and questionable judgments. As a public servant, his feet *should* be held to the fire. However, I feel that Bill Clinton also made his mistakes and questionable judgments, because he also put party and self ahead of country.

Actually, it is because of both Bill Clinton AND George Bush that I have lost faith in political parties. I feel that today's politicians are whores for big business and special interest groups who vent so much hot air that they should install windmills around D.C. to harness all that wind. Then at least all that hot air can be put to some productive use.

I feel that politicians of both political parties and all political ideologies have long forgotten the little man. We have no money and we have no power, so we're nothing to them. The only ones who matter to them are those groups with either money or power, and usually both.

The main pitch from Olbermann is that Bush should resign from office as Nixon did over Watergate. But if anyone should resign, it's a great deal of the politicians who have served for far too long, so that fresh blood can invigorate D.C. The main thing that I do agreed with Olbermann on is that I believe that the institution will survive even the ineptitude, cronyism, and wholesale whoring to corporations and special interest groups that currently infects D.C. What the Founding Fathers created is a marvel, but it's a marvel that works best when we all do our part.

This makes it all the more important that we not only vote, but vote responsibly. I want this nation's citizens to remind those in office just who it is that runs this country. *That's* the sort of stuff that Olbermann should have been talking about instead.

$55 for a bottle of water!

Snobbery has reached a new high - or low, depending on your perspective.

Pope Benedict being his old self again

According to some people in recent days, Pope Benedict XVI is being controversial by just being himself. Thing is, nothing he said in his "controversial" statements aren't really controversial once you understand the context of what he said.

First, his statement to allow the pre-Vatican II Latin style Mass to be reinstated. The only ones REALLY upset by this are those of a more left-wing bent - the very group often promoting diversity and multiculturalism and open-mindedness and such. Well, isn't there room in their big ol' tent for those who prefer the Latin, aka the Tridentine, Mass?

Vatican II (V2 from here on) actually didn't demand that the Latin Mass be done away with and replaced with the current style (sometimes called 'Novus Ordo', or 'New Order') that is celebrated today. The reason we have the Novus Ordo Mass (NO from here on) is because some of the more enlightened and open-minded types took it upon themselves to "revamp and update" the Mass. Well, they kinda got carried away. Some of the more extreme examples of their efforts were "clown and puppet" Masses. Ugh. I'm glad that I never saw that.

The only thing that I have against the Latin Mass is that it's not participatory. You just show up and watch as the clergy does everything. I will admit here, though, that my preference could be because the NO Mass is what I grew up with. BUT, at the same time, the Latin Mass has a beauty all its own, and I can very easily see why many Catholics who remember it would want it back. The one thing not brought up about these news stories about Benedict allowing the Latin Mass to be celebrated again is that he didn't do away with the NO Mass in the process; he's just making it easier for the Latin Mass to be celebrated if enough of a given parish's congregation wants it. It used to be that the local bishop had to give permission for a Latin Mass to be celebrated, but now it can be done at the parish level. Again, if you're open-minded and tolerant and such, you should have no objections to this.

The second "controversial" statement that Pope Benedict made is one that also needs not ruffle any feathers if anyone thinks it through enough (I know... that's a lot to ask!). Benedict said, in essence, that the Catholic Church is the one true church. On the surface, yes, I can see why it would ruffle feathers, but - BUT - doesn't every faith system say as much? In other words, if you're Baptist, isn't it because you believe the Baptist way to be 'the one true way'? If you're Jewish, isn't it because you believe it to be 'the one true way'? Heck, even if you're atheist, isn't that because you believe it to be 'the one true way'?

Why do believers join the faith system that they're in? Isn't it because they believe that faith system to be the one with the answers? So why not the pope? Actually, because of the pope's prominent role as head of the Catholic Church, why should anyone be surprised that he feels that the Catholic Church is the one true church? Write the following on your forehead:

Pope Benedict wouldn't be doing his job if he felt that some other faith system was better than his!!

By the way, if you do write the above on your forehead, please take a picture of yourself and send it to me, and I'll post it here. I'd like to see if anyone does it.

So in summary, now you should see why these "controversies" are actually not controversies at all. They are only news because many people in the media have an axe to grind with the Catholic Church, so they look for any excuse to invent controversies that aren't there. Fortunately, you good folks have me to sort it all out for you. :-)

Onion News Network

Most of you have heard of The Onion, which makes spoofs of news reports. Little did I know, however, that they also do spoof newscasts. Here's some that I thought were hilarious! I may post some here periodically now. :-)

U.S. Parents Outsourcing Babysitting
(I betcha that some parents would take advantage of this if it ever became available!)

70% of all praise is fake

Abortion bill to require fetal consent
(as a prolifer, I like both the fetal consent bill and the 9 month waiting period bill)

Test for Dementia

From an e-mail that I got:
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Test for Dementia

It's that time of year to take our annual senior citizen test. Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert. If you don't use it, you lose it! Below is a very private way to gauge your loss or non-loss of intelligence. Take the test presented here to determine if you're losing it or not. The spaces below are so you don't see the answers until you've made your answer. OK, relax, clear your mind and begin.

1. What do you put in a toaster?



Answer: "bread." If you said "toast," give up now and do something else. Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question 2.

2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk." What do cows drink?




Answer: Cows drink water If you said "milk," don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading a more appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said "water", proceed to question 3.

3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?



Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said "green bricks," why are you still reading these??? If you said "glass," go on to Question 4.

4. It's twenty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (If you will recall, Germany at the time was politically divided into West Germany and East Germany .) Anyway, during the flight, TWO engines fail. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes smack in the middle of "no man's land" between East Germany and West Germany . Where would you bury the survivors? East Germany, West Germany, or no man's land"?




Answer: You don't bury survivors. If you said ANYTHING else, you're a dunce and you must stop. If you said, "You don't bury survivors", proceed to the next question.

5. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to Milford Haven in Wales . In London , 17 people get on the bus; In Reading, six people get off the bus and nine people get on. In Swindon , two people get off and four get on. In Cardiff , 11 people get off and 16 people get on. In Swansea , three people get off and five people get on In Carmathen, six people get off and three get on. You then arrive at Milford Haven. What was the name of the bus driver?




Answer: Oh, for crying out loud! Don't you remember your own name? It was YOU!!

Now pass this along to all your friends and pray they do better than you. PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions

"Live Earth" and environmentalism today

Over the weekend was a fund raising event known as "Live Earth". While the idea may be good, the way it was carried out actually went against the very ideas that the planners were trying to promote. The planners want to help us be more environmentally aware, sooo - they hold an energy consuming event to tell us about it? Hmm. Call me cynical, but I find it hard to believe that it can be done, regardless of what they try to tell us. And don't get me started about the concept of "carbon credits"! No matter how it's explained, I still smell "con job!"

You know what would be even better than a rock concert? Al Gore having an environmentally friendly house made to replace the energy consumptive one that he owns now. Think of this: Al Gore announcing that yes, he was a hypocrite for telling us to save energy while he wastes energy with his house, so he's going to correct that by having another house built that IS energy efficient like he wants our houses to be. Then, when his new house is done, he can have the old one torn down and made into a park. The media would be all over that like bees to honey.

Think of the example that he would be setting as he invites the media to observe every step of the way as the house is being built. He can show how this item or that device helps save on energy and how it reduces its "carbon footprint" on the environment. And then, once it's done, he can invite the media on a tour! The way I see it, Al Gore totally gains and loses zero by such an act. He has the money to do it, so why not put his money where his mouth is?

But all that only makes sense, so it's no wonder that it will never be done.

I'm back, and I'm bad

Okay, I'm not really bad. But I'm back from my vacation. It was nice and too short, as vacations usually are. I didn't go anywhere; I just hung around the house and tried to do stuff that I don't normally have time to do. Sometimes it's nice to just get caught up with stuff, and then kick up your feet for awhile, and that's what I did.

No comment or statement today, other than to say that I'm back, and that I won't be posting every day this month like I did last month. I probably won't do that for the rest of the year. But I will do it again - just not so soon, because that took it out of me! But I will try to post at least twice a week. You good folks deserve that much. :-)

I hope that things went well for the rest of you.

Aaah, it's good to be back. :-D

Last post until next Sunday

Since I've posted every day for a month, and since I'm also on vacation from work this week, I shall be taking a weeklong break from blogging - but fear not, I shall be returning to you good folks a week from today, which will be Sunday, July 8th. So mark your calenders!

A brief rundown on some current news events.

* People I'm tired of hearing about: Rosie O'Donnell and Paris Hilton. No more, news media. PLEASE!

* I recently heard yet another conspiracy theory about how George W. Bush had engineered the 9/11 attacks. Okay, folks - before I continue, let me state here that I'm no fan of Bush, and I've actually been putting up with him longer than most of you have. See, he was the governor of Texas here before he was your president. Anyway, according to the various critics of Bush, he has been responsible for not only the 9/11 attacks, but also the Katrina disaster. He's also been responsible for global warming because he didn't support the Kyoto treaty. He's also responsible for the price of gas going up. He's ALSO responsible for the price of gas going DOWN. And to top it all off, he's also responsible for having manipulated not one, but TWO presidential elections so that he would win!

Now folks, this is the SAME man that these SAME critics are constantly lampooning as an idiot! For someone who is regarded as an idiot, he sure has pulled off some pretty complex schemes! I'd hate to see what he'd pull off if he were a genius! What this shows is that his critics have lost it. It's one thing to dislike him, but when you get to the extent that you actually hate him, then your reasoning and logic goes out the door, and you start believing in anything negative that's said about him. Like he engineered the 9/11 attacks. So to these Bush conspiracy kooks, please step back and catch your breath, and let it go. Your hatred is going to cause another Bush clone to win in '08. Maybe that'll scare ya straight.

* And speaking of ol' Dubya, as you all know, his poll ratings are pretty south of the equator. BUT, so are the poll ratings of Congress! In fact, according to some polls, Congress' ratings are worse! If we all hate Bush like his critics are constantly saying, then what does it say that we feel about the same with Congress? It shows that we hardly have any faith in our politicians. Maybe it's because they're all such sell-outs to special interest groups and corporations. And it doesn't matter if they're Democrat or Republican. Our nation is crying out for the right man or woman to lead us into a new direction. This person, though, is going to have to be strong in order to go against the current political environment in D.C. But oh, what they could accomplish if they succeed!

* In Texas, it's been raining nearly every durn day for June! While it has kept the temperature down relatively low for Texas in June, it's also kept us damp! And no doubt you non-Texans have heard about the flooding problems we have had in different parts of the state. When we weren't having much rain before June, it was Bush's fault because he caused global warming because he didn't sign the Kyoto treaty. Now that it won't stop raining, it's his fault for the same reason. Sigh. Okay, I'll 'fess up. It's been raining because I've washed my car nearly every day. Well, after it rains, the car gets muddy! You'd think that the rain gods would get tired of having to live up to that old wives' tale of it raining after you wash your car. Don't those rain gods have anything else better to do?

* And to end this entry on a humorous note, here's something from an e-mail that I got:

---------------------------------------------------

Universal Law...

*Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.
*Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
*Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
*Law of the Telephone: If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
*Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.
*Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now.
*Law of the Bath: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.
*Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.
*Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.
*Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.
*Law of the Theater: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.
*Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, you boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.
*Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.
*Law of Rugs and Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpeting.
*Law of Location: No matter where you go, there you are.
*Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
*Brown's Law: If the shoe fits, it's ugly.
*Oliver's Law: A closed mouth gathers no feet.
*Wilson's Law: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

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Last note: July's editorial statement of the month will be related to keeping the Internet free from those whom seek to control it or censor it. I need to find articles related to this, though.

That's it, folks. See you in a week! Wish me a great vacation!