Tag: misc

It’s not an Onion headline; it’s real.

Is thisreally news? No. But then again… if somebody else’s daughter were arrested, I’m sure Giuliani might have something to say. Suffice it to say, she’s no alter boy.

I’d file this in the right-wing hypocrisy cabinet (which is similar to but takes up slightly more space than left-wing hypocrisy cabinet). If your big thing is family values, perhaps you’d be wise to pay extra special attention to your own, first.

I’ll file this one right between “Cheney, draft dodger (better things to do)” and “Homophobe politicians (gay).” And the latter is right before “Limbaugh, Rush (four-time defender of traditional marriage… and junkie).”

Why? Who wants to know? I gots my reasons.

From a man surveying the damage, as quoted in the Oakland Tribune, “Wow. And here I thought Oakland was crappy before.”

Happy 4th of July!

Might I recommend you conduct a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence tonight? It’s become our tradition. And a good tradition it is. And the more drunk you are, the more you’ll capture the true spirit of our Founding Father (man, those boys could drink!).

It’s good to remember what a monumental and daring concept it was to declare independence from The Mighty British Empire. And it’s always good to remember and continue to strive toward the more noble ideals our country was founded on.

If you’re short on time or attention span, the first two paragraphs and the last one are the meat of the declaration. But really, just read it all. It’s not too long. And people really did risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor so you could fire up the grill and watch baseball (And yes, it’s OK to smirk when you come to the part about “merciless Indian savages”!)

Why? Because they’ve got the money. And more and more of it. And the system is rigged in their favor. And it’s becoming more and more rigged. SocioBlog explains more.

So I’m in the grocery store, buying a few things, and decide to use the self-serve lane for a change. I realize I have just $15.25 in cash. So I start scanning things… careful not to go over. Then I go over.

An employee walks by and I tell the lady, a middle-aged black lady, that I need to take the last thing off (rubbing alcohol) because I don’t have enough money. Now this wasn’t the last of my items. There was a whole half hand-basket left behind: fresca, onions, pita bread. Meanwhile the “essentials” I could afford included pretzels, ketchup, vaseline, and beer. The lady says, “Be sure to take your receipt. I’ll tell you why.”

I finishing paying the machine. I realize I can’t even do basic math right because I still have $2 left. The machine spits out a receipt. The lady takes my receipt, and writes a lot on it. She tells me to go up to the front desk. I tell her I will, thanks her, and apologize for my groceries left behind. She assures me it’s no problem.

On the receipt, carefully written and circled, is the fact that I bought a four-pack of beer and the machine charged me bottle deposit on a six pack.

I was owned 10 cents.

So I went to the front desk, handed over my receipt, and was greeted with a puzzled glance. I explained I only bought a four-pack of beer and was charged deposit on a six-pack. I had a dime coming my way. But I got my dime. I would have been rude not to after all the lady had noted on my receipt.

If I only cared about a dime! But I thought of Barbara Ehrenreich and Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. And I was very thankful to have a good job, and a wallet filled with cash left behind at home.

Plenty to do in Amsterdam… thanks to GVB, Amsterdam public transportation. But I’m really posting this because it’s starring… my mom! It’s also produced by my brother (and he’s the questionably hetero one in the video). This may be the slickest ad ever for public transportation (with the old Detroit People Mover song as a close second).