Reagan Girl – Tribute to the 80’s

This reminds me of how bad some of the music was in the 80’s.

REAGAN GIRL (Parody to Debbie Gibson’s SHAKE YOUR LOVE):

The real song:

Will Smith as Barack Obama?

Known for playing prominent biographical characters such as Muhamad Ali and Malcolm X, Will Smith says that he would be more than happy to add the role of Sen. Barack Obama to his list of credits.

In an article on MTV.com today, Smith says that he won’t be doing any political stumping for Obama, but would rather keep all political action up on the big screen. Additionally, Smith would wait to take on Obama’s persona (and ears) ‘as soon as he [Obama] writes the end of the story.’

Smith has another July 4th blockbuster getting ready to open. He’ll play a grumpy, alcoholic superhero in the film “Hancock.” His past summer slamdunks include “Men in Black” and “Independence Day.”

“Hancock” opens July 2nd:

 

McCain v. The Secret Service

Couldn’t help but picture McCain as Rambo in this parody from The Onion.

 

Get Smart is Here

This weekend’s movie pick: Get Smart – now in theaters

As the trailers are shown before the movie, you might see some familar political pundits in a Coca Cola commerical:

Houston Air Traffic Controllers Are Recently Hired with Little Training

I’m already nervous enough when I fly, but this morning’s story from the Associated Press has now confirmed my need to drink when I’m soaring above the skyline.

From the AP:

Feds: Many of Hobby’s air traffic controllers have little training

 10:09 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 18, 2008

 

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two big airports in Texas have among the least-experienced staffs of air traffic controllers in the country, according to congressional researchers.

Many of the controllers who guide flights in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport are recent hires with little training, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued last week.

Hobby ranked last in the percentage of fully certified controllers, at 56 percent, although officials for the Federal Aviation Administration say the airport has since added more certified controllers.

Hobby was followed by LaGuardia Airport in New York, with 61 percent of its controllers being fully certified, then DFW at 62 percent.

Five airports had at least 90 percent of their controllers fully certified.

Controllers are hired by the FAA, not the airports. The agency is facing a tidal wave of retirements in the next few years — 15,000 by 2017. That’s because many current workers were hired soon after President Reagan fired more than 11,500 striking controllers in 1981.

The article also points out that some of Houston’s air traffic controllers are too busy monitoring trainees; therefore, stress and fatigue levels are rising. One of the contributing factors to the FAA’s decrease in the number of air traffic controllers being hired is the smaller recruiting pool from the military. With larger re-enlistment bonuses being offered, trained and certified controllers are staying with military career and not merging into the civilian workforce.

The average salary for air traffic controllers ranges from $45,000 – $104,000, depending on experience. More information about employment can be obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.

This weekend’s DVD rental pick:  Pushing Tin (1999) starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. Comedy/Drama.

from IMDB:

Nick “The Zone” Falzone (Cusack) is an air traffic controller at New York TRACON, where it’s busy 24 hours a day. He’s acknowledged as the best, until a quiet guy Russell Bell (Thornton) arrives on the scene from the Southwest somewhere. Russell and his wife Mary don’t quite fit into the close-knit community of controllers and their wives, and a rivalry soon builds.

 

Grad Student Humor: What Do You Do?

From June 16th’s PhD Comics:

Al Gore to Endorse Barack Obama Tonight

Jeff Zeleny of the The NY Times’ The Caucus just posted this announcement:

Former Vice President Al Gore will appear in Detroit tonight for his debut campaign appearance with Senator Barack Obama, extending an endorsement and urging all Democrats to rally behind the party’s fall ticket.

“A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama,” Mr. Gore said in an e-mail sent to his supporters. “From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.”

“I’ve never asked members of AlGore.comto contribute to a political campaign before, but this moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action,” Mr. Gore said. He added, “Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.”

The decision to stage the appearance in Michigan underscores the importance of the state for Mr. Obama. It was also in Michigan where former Senator John Edwards unveiled his endorsement of Mr. Obama in a surprise setting.

“Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges — including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis,” Mr. Gore said. “Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.”

Not that this is very surprising. His endorsement list keeps growing as McCain’s…ummm… how long is McCain’s list? Sponsor’s such as Depends, Geritol, Centrum Silver, and pharmaceutical companies for ED medications do not count.

Walk of No Shame – AMP Energy

How many of you woke up Sunday morning singing this??? 

 

Happy Father’s Day! Take Dad to a Movie

Maybe take Dad to lunch or dinner, but definately take him to a movie today! Here is a list of what’s playing:

The Incredible Hulk

The Happening

Kung Fu Panda

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Iron Man

Remembering Tim Russert

As the moderator’s chair was left empty this morning, colleagues and friends of Tim Russert gathered in front of his desk, remembering a great contributor to journalism and the media. Tim Brokaw hosted the remeberence on the set of Meet The Press, while James Carvell, Mary Matalin, Mike Barnicle, Betsy Fischer, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Gwen Ifill shared similar stories and tears about Russert’s career and life. Maria Shriver was there via satellite.   

Everyone agreed (even Matalin who wept every now and then and at a few points, held hands with her husband) that Russert was not only hard, but fair. Stories about his love for Buffalo, sports, family, music, work, and his Irish Catholic background were accompanied with video and photo images. Flags are even being flown at half-mast in Buffalo today.

As I look around the Web this am and see the various blogs and opinion pieces that are being posted, I have read many that are surprisingly crude and disrespectful. Some have said that there has been too much coverage about Russert’s death and that enough was enough. Others see him as being nothing but a “muppet to the media.” I think what these bloggers and web journalist are forgetting is the fact that with Russert’s discussions and coverage on Sunday mornings, he set the agenda for the remaining week for political banter, including banter from us. Best example? The ton of posts that have been written about him since Friday.  

Russert set the example of a good journalist. He had said that it was the responsibility of the journalist to study and know his guests, then take the opposite side to get to the heart of what the public needs to know. James Carville said that one of the things Russert hated most was when his guests showed up unprepared. To Russert, this was not only an insult but a reflection of how that guest’s lack of preparation inferred that they did not take his show seriously.

Russert has said that Sunday mornings were like a “town hall” where people could gather around their television sets and hear the answers to questions that politicians reluctantly answered. Maria Shriver said that she saw firsthand the fear that guests would exhibit, citing examples of her conservative husband and liberal uncle as they too prepared to appear on Russert’s show. They understood the importance of being on Meet The Press.

So as you go about your daily Sunday activities, hopefully getting ready to celebrate Father’s Day, remember that Russert was a father too – not only to his own son, Luke, but also to all of those he mentored in the studio, in the relationships he made, and to all of us in front of the television screen.

 

 

As to my point above about Russert leading the political discussion for the week, we can see that even in death, he has accomplished this. Thank you Tim Russert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1950-2008 

I Only Sleep With Democrats

From TruthThroughAction.org, this is their short film called, “Blue Balled.”

WARNING: Explicit language and sexual images…but pretty humorous!

 

Students + Energy Drinks = Risky Behavior

Go to any college campus and one can easily find a student carrying one of those trendy energy drinks: Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster Energy, etc. Hell, I went to a new media forum this past weekend and they had a case of Red Bull on ice. At a professional forum? I have to admit that for a moment I thought that they were trying to send a subliminal message about how interesting the forum would be; hence, the need for energy drinks. Needless to say, my coffee worked just fine and there was no need for sugar and caloric overload.

James Heggen of Inside Higher Ed has an article today about a study done recently from The Journal of American College Health in which their research shows a correlation between students who drink energy drinks and the risky behavior that they partake in.

From his article:

Of the 795 public university undergraduate students who were surveyed, 39 percent reported drinking at least one energy drink in the last month, and 26 percent had consumed energy drinks mixed with alcohol at least once (about half had done so more than once). But of students who scored highly on the risk-taking scale, 49 percent had consumed energy drinks, and 39 percent had mixed energy drinks and alcohol.

The findings emerged from a larger study of “toxic jock identity,” which is characterized by “sport-related identity, masculinity and risk taking,” according to the report. Kathleen Miller, the report’s author and a research scientist at the Research Institute on Addictions at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said she included a question on energy drinks because she had observed individuals with this type of behavior consuming energy drinks.

Miller called energy drinks and risk taking behavior a “natural fit.” Energy drinks are marketed to people who engage in “extreme sports” and other types of risky behavior, and the physical rush associated with the drinks appeals to risk takers, she said. Miller clearly notes, though, that while energy drinks may signify risk taking behavior, there is no evidence that the drinks actually cause such behavior.

Experts on college health say the study raises intriguing issues, but they are divided on whether Miller’s findings resonate with what they see on campuses.

Ok, agreement here. For some reason I don’t see students hanging off of their dorm railings with a Red Bull in hand or streaking through the quad while pumped up on Monster Energy. Can you just see John Belushi chanting, “Toga, Toga, Toga!” with a Rockstar in his hand? I think the key here is that these drinks would have to be mixed with some sort of distilled spirits to make you act like an idiot.

The only risky behavior I see is from this Red Bull commercial about a male college student (who should be studying) and female student who is feeling quite amorous. Notice that he actually grabs a handful of something after he turns the light back on. That’s what Red Bull will do for ya!

Can anyone tell me what the fascination is anyway with these energy drinks? I’ve never had the slightest inkling to even try one.

The Banning of Laptops Going Corporate

 

The Political Science Department at UST wasn’t the first to implement such a policy of “No laptops or electronic devices” on univeristy campuses. Now boardrooms are accepting the same policy.

From Inside Higher Ed:

More and more professors — hell, entire departments — are banning laptops from their classrooms. Now the business world’s doing it too, since people in meetings are using their laptops for the same reason, and in the same way, most students are using theirs:

[Meetings] can be quite a pain for many people involved. They can get pretty boring, so the participants start to lose interest. As a result, many people have started bringing their laptops into these meetings, presumably to entertain themselves… [Companies] are starting to crack down on the practice [because] most people are watching YouTube videos and posting comments on Facebook walls…

Along these lines, it’s a good moment to remember Joseph Weizenbaum, an MIT professor who died recently. His New York Times obituary notes that, although an important innovator in computer programming, Weizenbaum grew to regret the effects of screen-dependency:

[Weizenbaum] came to believe that an obsessive reliance on technology was indicative of a moral failing in society. [In one of this books, he wrote a] passionate criticism of systems that substituted automated decision-making for the human mind. [He argued that] computing served as a conservative force in society, by propping up bureaucracies as well as by redefining the world in a reductionist sense, by restricting the potential of human relationships.

Weizenbaum anticipated the lights-out classroom, where kindly PowerPointers shed valium rays over children adrift among their own images. In the tradition of Huxley’s Brave New World, Weizenbaum saw the way in which much of the technology he’d had a hand in would play into our infantile preference to be left alone, to blot out the world, to have nothing asked of us. These impulses are shared among professors, students, and business people, and if the technology’s there to indulge them, many will use it.

The brave new classroom’s anthem.

So for all of you students at UST who roll their eyes when you get your poli sci class syllabi and read the policy on the (non)use of laptops during class, realize that more professional people are in the same boat as you. I’m happy with our department’s decision, mostly becuase I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to see students sending IMs to one another while they’re practically sitting on each other’s lap.  Whether it’s MySpace, Facebook, or personal email, enough is enough.

If you think that you are that important that you must be connected to technology every minute, than you must also have that stupid bluetooth attatched to your ear and answer by the name of Jack Bauer.

By the way, I don’t care to see your personal party pics of your binge drinking from the weekend before either.

Is it wrong to see half naked women on someone’s laptop screen during Theology class? Just wondering…

The McCain Campaign Stategy to Win

The McCain campaign, specifically campaign manager Rick Davis, has released a 14 minute powerpoint presentation outlining what McCain will do to win in November.

Some of Davis’ points are:

- McCain can build a better political environment than Bush (not that Obama can do this right? After all, he’s not linked to favoring Bush Administration policies)

- McCain has more favorable image than Obama (say what?)

- Voters see McCain as an ideological match (Um yeah, if you’re a white male, over 48, and stingy with your money. Hey, I didn’t say anything this time about Centrum Silver or Geritol).

- McCain and Obama are in a tied race according to Gallup weekly averages thru June 3rd (as of today, Obama leads McCain, 48% to 42%)

He also goes on to discuss the electoral map and McCain’s fundraising. Davis says, “McCain was outspent in the primary and won.” He will no doubt have his work cut out for him in this area as Obama breaks even more campaign finances and donation records.

I can go on in detail about the excessive presentation, but I think that I’ll leave that up to you, the intellectual and informative blog reader that you are. 

College Students: When To Meet With Your Advisor

Humor from PHD Comics:

Cheers to Drinking Liberally

 

Photo from Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Cheers to J. Courtney Sullivan of the New York Times for today’s article about Drinking Liberally, a progressive social networking group that meets weekly (some cities less often) to discuss politics over a few drinks!

Liberal bloggers are very familiar with the networking group who’s tagline is: “Promoting democracy one pint at a time.”

From the article (free subscription required):

On Thursday night in Hell’s Kitchen, an impassioned discussion of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s remarks about the Bobby Kennedy assassination as a reason for her staying in the presidential race took place in the backyard of Rudy’s Bar and Grill. Across the yard, Rachel Maddow, a host on Air America Radio, poured glasses of beer for a table of friends and debated Senator John McCain’s war record.

Among the regular patrons at the bar on Ninth Avenue were a few unsuspecting tourists. Dozens of people were squeezed together talking politics, drinking beer and eating free hot dogs. The conversation was cut short for an anniversary toast.

“To many more years, and many more chapters,” said Justin Krebs, 30. Mr. Krebs was one of the founders of the progressive social networking group called Drinking Liberally that has been meeting at Rudy’s every Thursday night for the past five years.

“We knew our friends wanted to talk about politics and the state of the country, but it felt like that was a taboo thing to do in a social setting,” Mr. Krebs said. “We wanted to create an environment where people would be told that politics is not off the table — that in fact, it’s what we’re here for,” said Mr. Krebs, a founder of The Tank, a nonprofit space for performance and public-affairs events in Midtown.

In the beginning, Mr. Krebs and his partner in starting the club, Matthew O’Neill, 30, would show up on Thursday, with just the two of them sharing a pitcher of beer. Since then, online social networking has helped the group grow into a national organization with 250 chapters across the country, at least one in each state.

“Eight years ago, someone told me that the Nader folks were trying to create a sort of potluck dinner group in every state across the country — the idea being that you organize people socially and out of that can grow a network that will move progressive politics forward,” said Sam Seder, a radio host on Air America. “The brilliance of this group is that they’ve actually done that.”

Four years ago, a person who attended meetings in New York moved to San Francisco and started a second Drinking Liberally chapter.

After the 2004 Republican convention, the Daily Kos and Atrios, two political blogs, began posting Drinking Liberally meeting times on their sites. By the time Election Day rolled around, 16 new chapters had sprung up.

“For a lot of us, it’s the only time that we really get to talk politics across generations, other than at Thanksgiving dinner,” said Katrina Baker, 27, the group’s national organizer.

Fred Gooltz, 30, was one of the early regulars in New York. At the time, he was an actor, but through Drinking Liberally he was introduced to political organizations that were experimenting with using online social networking to reach potential voters. Mr. Gooltz started volunteering with several of them.

“The Howard Dean movement went viral on the Internet, and all kinds of new technology emerged,” he said. “I walked out of the 2004 election with a newfound understanding of how to organize politically through the Web.”

Since then, he has worked for several campaigns, including John Edwards’s last presidential run, using online social networking tools to promote voter registration.

“While working on campaigns, I would go to other states and bring a bunch of Drinking Liberally buttons with me to recruit people,” he said. “But everybody had already heard of us because of blogs.”

So it is my duty to inform you! The Houston chapter meets the second Wednesday of every month (the next meeting is June 11th) at 7:00 p.m. at the Pearl Bar.

Check out their blog at http://houston.drinkingliberally.org/.

Look for a chapter near you.