Wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to have more money without risking your own?
You can, just try a “Private Equity Partnership”. Never heard of that? Well perhaps you’ve heard of Bain Capital, where Mitt Romney got (I won’t say earned) a lot of his money.
Here’s a little video where Robert Reich explains how a private equity partnership works, it’s just a few minutes long and nicely illustrates how the 1% can grow richer while passing much of the risk off to the 99%.
Eight years ago, the US Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence vs Texas that anti-sodomy laws, as they pertain to consenting adults, are unconstitutional. However some states, particularly Texas, have not only kept the laws on the books, they refuse to remove them. Maybe they hope to re-instate them someday, or are they simply trying to show their disapproval of the Supreme Court decision?
Check out this map
Two thoughts come to mind
- Gotta love the lawmakers in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Montana. Anal sex between 2 men? Of course that’s outlawed, but don’t dare take away their ability to fuck a chick in the ass! (Yes, I’m assuming that the legislatures have male majorities, which I think is a pretty safe assumption)
- I’ve broken the law in 2 of the “yes” states 
I also wonder, what do my readers from other countries think? Comments are welcome!
An altered situation, that is! Specifically this photograph of the White House Situation Room, taken during the time when Navy Seals were sending Osama bin Ladin on his way to a well-deserved meeting with Allah.
Notice anything about the version in the bottom half, taken from Orthodox Hasidic newspaper Der Tzitung? They have a policy of never publishing photographs of women, and decided to publish Obama’s situation room photograph with Hillary Clinton and counterterrorism director Audrey Tomason Photoshopped out of the frame. Here’s what the fuck-tards at the newspaper had to say:
In accord with our religious beliefs, we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status… Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.
So the US Secretary of State, number 4 in the presidential line of succession, shouldn’t be offended by this nonsense? Never mind women in general! I can’t imagine how draconian this group must be if simply seeing a woman in a photograph violates some modesty laws.
I think this image is what the newspaper should publish by way of apology
Okay I know that’s stating the obvious to many of us, but this post just reaffirms it for me.
Anybody wanna watch Mike Huckabee blow a three-day load all over his wife’s face?
No? Okay, wanna see Mike and the wife 69ing each other? No? Maybe you wanna see Mike and the wife doing it doggy style? Pegging? Pissing on each other? Fist fucking? Whipping up a little santorum before church on Sunday?
Or how about Mike gently fingers the wife and then dabs her vaginal secretions on his own nipples before he leans down and places his nipples one at time in his wife’s mouth so she can taste herself?
Wanna see that?
Look, Mike, I get it. You think gay people are icky and gay sex makes your eyes bug out. That’s fine. I totally understand where you’re coming from: cunnilingus gives me the willies and I’d rather see my own intestines wound onto a spool than see you fuck your wife. I don’t wanna see what’s going on in your bedroom—even if it’s just sleep—anymore than you wanna see what’s going on in mine.
But it’s like this, Mike: people shouldn’t be discriminated against because other people don’t wanna see ‘em fuck.
And answer the man’s question: How does denying marriage rights to the same-sex couple down the street make the single mother up the street any more likely to marry the father of her children? How does discriminating against gay people make straight people more responsible? How does that work?
Here is the video of the response by Mike Huckabee that inspired that. Some of the comments are really funny too.
I don’t know about you, but the US budget is so big as to be damn-near beyond my comprehension. Until I came across this piece from Slate excerpted on The Daily Dish. Here is the premise- President Obama’s budget he sent to Congress for FY12 is $3.73 trillion, while taking in $2.63 trillion in revenue. That’s proportional to a household that earns $60,000 spending $85,000!
How is Uncle Sam spending that $85,000?
$17,400 for Social Security
$10,700 for Medicare
$6,100 for Medicaid
$13,600 for other mandatory programs such as food stamps
So far we’ve spent $47,800 or over 3/4 of our $60,000 income on “mandatory” expenditures. Yikes…
Now we still have to consider what falls under discretionary funding
$20,000 for the Department of Defense
$5,500 for interest on existing debt
$10,400 on everything else, that is, non-mandatory/non-defense, items
Here are a few bits and pieces of that $10,400
$400 on energy
$500 on agriculture
$1,000 on housing and urban development
$1,800 on education
Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, summed up my thoughts pretty well
“Let me suggest to you that what game is being played down here is irresponsible and it’s dangerous. We need to say these things and we need to say them out loud. When we say we’re cutting spending, when we say everything is on the table, when we say we mean entitlement programs, we should be specific. And let me tell you what is the truth. What’s the truth that no one is talking about? Here is the truth that no one is talking about: you’re going to have to raise the retirement age for social security. Oh I just said it and I’m still standing here! I did not vaporize into the carpeting and I said it.
We have to reform Medicare because it costs too much and it is going to bankrupt us. Once again lightning did not come through the windows and strike me dead. And we have to fix Medicaid because it’s not only bankrupting the federal government, it’s bankrupting every state government. There you go. If we’re not honest about these things, on the state level about pensions and benefits and on the federal level about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, we are on the path to ruin,” – governor Chris Christie.
While I understand people’s passion about the Republican’s attempts to de-fund Planned Parenthood, for example, the dollar amounts involved are a fucking joke, it’s all about symbolism and pandering to their base. If only we as a country could work up the same passion for seriously seeking solutions to those big-ticket items that are driving us to financial ruin, perhaps our fiscal future would look a little brighter.
Massachusetts is one of numerous states with a bottle deposit law. Since 1982 consumers have had to pay a nickel deposit on every bottle or can of beer or carbonated beverages, which they would get back when they returned the empty container.
Guess what happens with the deposit money that isn’t reclaimed by the consumer?
You guessed it, Massachusetts keeps every penny, $37 million in 2009. That’s 740 million cans and bottles!
I have no objection to recycling whatsoever, it’s the asinine way that this state goes about it and how they structure the system to NOT make it easy for the consumer, increasing the states revenue in the process. For starters, most communities already have curbside recycling for everything else- paper, cardboard, and other plastic and glass containers. We could do away with the deposit, the redemption machines, the time (and gas) to return bottles and cans, and still achieve the same goal.
What really makes it harder for the consumer to redeem bottles and cans for the deposit is how retailers are allowed to refuse to accept certain containers. Liquor stores don’t have to accept Coke or Pepsi cans or bottles if they don’t sell those items. Okay, I can understand that, if all you sell are items in glass or cans, you don’t want to deal with having a redemption machine for plastic as well. But it’s more than that.
We have 3 supermarkets in town, Hannafords, Stop&Shop and Shaws. Let’s say I buy a 12 pack of Pepsi Vanilla at Hannafords, then one day Veronica is going food shopping at Shaws and takes some empties with her to redeem while she’s there. Mixed in are some of the Pepsi Vanilla cans bought at Hannafords. If Shaws isn’t currently selling Pepsi Vanilla, they can refuse to accept those, even if they sell every other variation of Pepsi products on the market. Veronica now either has to bring those empties to another store, or just dump them in the trash can conveniently located nearby, rather than bring them back to the car before continuing with her shopping. I suspect that a great many people choose the latter and give the state a nickel for every bottle and can.
But wait, Massachusetts want to make it even better! Legislation was introduced earlier this year to EXPAND the bottle bill to include water, juice, energy drink and sport drink containers! Why continue to place these in the curbside recycle bins when they can collect a deposit, which they can keep, on all of those containers?
Think I’m being overly cynical? Check out this direct quote from the Massachusetts Recycling Coalition website about the proposed expansion of the bottle bill:
Would this help the state’s budget problems?
Yes. The state currently receives over $37 million per year in unclaimed deposits. It is expected that updating the Bottle Bill will generate an additional $15-20 million in revenue.
The state doesn’t give a shit about recycling, they want more of our money…
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You see what happens when Veronica isn’t here for a night? I start ranting about environmental policy!
Thankfully she’ll be back Sunday afternoon…
You know, it just isn’t for me.
I’ve thought about it, even written a few posts and shared some political cartoons. But at the end of the day, I just have trouble working up the energy to write about politics. I think there are two reasons why.
There was once a time when running for public office was seen as something honorable, a chance to serve one’s city/county/state/country. But now, ideological differences notwithstanding, except maybe on the local level I don’t think there is a politician out there who truly has their constituents best interests in mind. They all work for special interests and only care about donations and re-election, often using fear and/or negative campaign tactics. I have trouble defending both sides of the political/ideological spectrum.
Also, I’ve wavered in my political leanings over the years, but generally identify as a moderate. On some issues, I’m strongly liberal especially on some social issues, but on fiscal and other matters I’m fairly conservative. While I certainly have my convictions, on many issues I can understand and appreciate both sides of an argument. For many issues, it’s all about perspective, and I try to remember that not everyone shares the same perspective as me, and that doesn’t make either of us a bad person.
So if you’re interested in (hopefully) interesting pictures for my Project365, random posts about our fun and games as swingers, half-nekkid pictures of us and the occasional serious post, please hang around, I’d appreciate it.
But if you’re looking for politics, this is as close as I’ll get….
*Click-click for a treat*
For those of us who live in Massachusetts, it’s a political silly season. This coming Tuesday is the special election to elect a replacement for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, so it’s difficult to avoid ads from either Martha Coaklay or Scott Brown and learn how they are better than each other.
[Veronica likes to chime in at the end of any of the ads attacking Scott Brown "And he eats puppies!"]
There is also an independent named Patrick Kennedy running who is not related to the late Senator in any way, but apparently he’s been running as the Invisible Man, as he’s been nowhere to be found.
My distaste for politicians in general and political ads in particular aside, I feel strongly that it’s everyone’s responsibility to participate in the electoral process and get out and vote. Unfortunately, not everyone shares my opinion. Consider these numbers:
In the 2008 Presidential election, 56.8% of eligible voters actually voted, and Obama got 52.9% of the vote, which means that ~30% of eligible voters actual cast a vote for him.
Off-year elections are even worse- in 2006 only 37.1% of eligible voters went to the polls on election day.
Even though a US Senate seat is a pretty powerful position, it appears that not many Massachusetts voters care much about who we send to Washington to represent us- only about 15% of eligible voters turned out for the Democratic primary. [There was no Republican primary as Scott Brown was the only one to enter the race.]
If by our lack of participation in the political process we tell our elected representatives we don’t care who they are, why should we be surprised when they don’t act in our best interests?
So if you’re a Massachusetts resident, please get out and vote on Tuesday.
If you don’t vote and you think about complaining about our elected leadership, think again and STFU.
Personally, I’m thinking about voting for Scott Brown, not because I necessarily agree with his ideology [I actually disagree with him on some things], but because I’m sick of the Democratic party’s stranglehold on MA politics. We currently have 100% Democratic representation in Washington DC, along with a Democratic Governor, a 90% Democratic State House of Representatives, and a 87.5% Democratic State Senate.
No wonder we’re known as Taxachusetts :-/
I have a bunch of random thoughts rattling around in my melon [lots of empty space for that to happen...], so in no particular order:
- I’ve been thinking about a post about de-criminalizing drugs and how wasteful the war on drugs is. I think the articles here and here on Alternet present really good arguments. Maybe one of these days I’ll tackle that subject.
- Veronica has details of her first giveaway promotion especially for her readers posted today. The Dove company has their Campaign for Real Beauty and contacted her about doing a giveaway to promote it. In addition to the giveaway package they’re offering, Veronica is offering to include a dozen of her homemade cookies for the winner. And if that’s not enough to get you to visit her blog, I don’t know what is!
- How fucking stupid is Tiger Woods? And how gullible is the mainstream press? I really don’t care about his personal life, but I can’t help be fascinated by his arrogance in this case. The man is quite possibly one of the most recognizable people in America and he expects the press to just walk away when he issues a statement that basically says “it’s a private matter, please leave us alone”? Did he learn nothing from David Letterman, who confronted an uncomfortable situation head-on and very effectively diffused it? And I really did laugh out loud when the press reported that Mrs Woods courageously rescued him from his vehicle by smashing in a window with one of his gold clubs. She was fuckin’ chasing him with it! I wouldn’t surprised if his facial injuries are because she hit him upside the head.
- I think I’ll watch President Obama’s address Tuesday night about the war in Afghanistan. I don’t think I’ve watched a presidential address since right after 9/11, but I’ll make an exception this time. I have 4 co-workers presently in Afghanistan and if this thing keeps dragging out, I might end up going as well. It’ll be interesting to hear what his plan is and how the Democrats and Republicans each react.
- A new Tits for Troops is up. Wanna see my moobs? No? Okay, how about Veronica’s boobs? We’re both there, as usual.
- I’ve twice tried to use my new prostate toy. Sunday night Veronica suggested I put it in before she and I got started, but I rushed a bit and it was uncomfortable, so I put it aside. And just fucked her instead 
Then on Monday evening I had some alone time at home and gave it another try. Once again, for some reason I couldn’t relax enough. It’s not really that big at all and I’m not nervous about it, so I don’t know what the deal is. Maybe I need to buy myself a drink first
- I spent a good part of Friday with me dad, and he drove me to Kennedy Airport to pick up Darling Boy after his trip to my mothers for the week. Dad has been retired for a little over a year now after working at Kennedy for 42 yrs, first at Pan Am and then with Delta. It was kinda sad listening to him reminisce about working there- I think that while he’s happy to be retired, he really does miss the good old days. I think there is a Hot Dads post about aging parents brewing in my head…
- Can anyone who uses the lists feature on Twitter and has an iPhone tell me if there are apps that allow you to view your separate lists? Or is that a web-only feature? I’m being lazy about figuring it out myself.
Thanks for reading. Here’s a bonus picture of Veronica by candlelight, sorry about the quality, as I took the pic with my camera phone. Yes, she was riding me
First, the musings…
I was reading a piece on The Daily Beast about Glenn Beck losing a lawsuit he brought against a parody website called DidGlennBeckRapeandMurderAYoungGirlin1990. Rather than repeat the story, click here for the Daily Beast article and here for the parody site. I’ll leave the irony of a “one-world government” conspiracy theorist using the World Intellectual Property Organization court [part of the United Nations] to file his claim for another day…
Anywho, the point of all this comes back to this quote from the article: “The site, which launched at the beginning of September, took off quickly, with 120,000 hits in its first 24 hours”
Excuse me? 120,000 hits in 24 hours? How the fuck does that happen?
It’s taken me 10+ months to get to just shy of 150,000 hits. While I’ve come close, I’ve never had 1000 hits in a day.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that there is a world of difference between a blog mocking a very well known political commentator and my humble little corner of the blogosphere, so I realize we’re comparing apples and beer. But I do seriously wonder how that sort of growth happens. That must be some amazing word-of-mouth.
Whatever I’m doing to try to grow my blog audience [no, that's not why I blog but yes, it would be nice], clearly I’m doing something wrong…
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And…here we go!
1. The last band I saw live was Godsmack in December 2006.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is when it’s over and I can escape from hell Long Island. Seriously, I love the craziness of Turkey Day at my in-laws. (if you don’t celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is not even started yet.
4. Thoughts of Veronica, a new digital SLR, and an upcoming rendezvous (not necessarily in that order) fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear what I want to work some days, instead of a uniform.
6. Bagpipes sometimes sound God-awful, but are perfect for the occasion other times.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to picture taking with Veronica once the kids are asleep, tomorrow my plans include going to the gym, working on some blog posts, reading blogs for the first edition of e[lust], and a swingers meet-and-greet party and Sunday, I want to recover and watch football!
