Ahhh the epitome of American freedom
Google Street view has once again given us voyeur gold. In their quest to get a photograph of each street, enabling users to not only see a map of the area but what exactly it looks like, they have captured quite a few funny images. But this takes the cake.
Best stereotype EVAR
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the street view from Rapid City, South Dakota.
Lets see how many stereotypes we can spot:
- Gun Rifle with scope
- Liquor
- Harley Davidson sweatshirt
- Tight stonewashed jeans
- Are those cowboy boots I spot?
It is enough to make us wonder what the hell was going on here, but alas, its South Dakota so it could be a number of things.
Check out the Google Street View here
The new poster animal for PETA…or maybe Hooters
This is classic mascot antics. During a basketball game between Rice and Tulsa, Sammy The Owl, mascot for Rice University, gets warned to back off the baseline and in response – leans in and gives the ref a head butt.
He promptly gets ejected from the game – more like off the court. I know for a fact that where I went to school, half the time the mascot (or the human underneath) was sauced and having a blast groping cheerleaders and screwing with people.
There must be some false sense of anonymity when one dawns the furry costume and head- but this owl got a little too lippy (beaky) and physical. So, the San Diego chicken can rip a ref’s pants off and throw a bucket of confetti – and Sammy gets ejected for this?
The chicken’s act is all staged? (WTF?) It is?…but this is so much better.
On the video, at the 12 second mark you can start to see Sammy lean into the referee before the camera switches, but at 1:42 you can see the replay. Indeed, a good story to start the weekend.
Ted Haggard takes responsibility
Up until the Good Morning America interview this morning, whenever hearing the name Ted Haggard, I would have rolled my eyes and hrmmphhed and said something about hypocritical Christians and how I hated that people like that were influencing followers by passing judgments while comitting the very sins against which they preached.
As a refresher, you’ll remember that Ted Haggard was a minister of a 12,000 member super church in Colorado where he often preached that homosexuality was a sin, but in 2006 was exposed by a former lover who claimed Haggard frequently paid him for sex and crystal meth.
At the time, Haggard fought it for a little bit trying to save face, but the evidence far out weighed this discredited minister’s claims. He was removed from his church, apparently rushed off to gay-rehab and little more was made of the situation, save several punchlines to a few gay minister-hires-male-prosititute jokes.
So this morning when watching Good Morning America, I was skeptical and was about to change the channel, but before I had a chance, they showed a glimpse into his life, post rehab. The news of yet another young man surfaced earlier this week, alleging that Haggard exposed himself and preyed upon the man’s young vulnerabilities. It is alleged that the mega-church paid off the man, not to keep him quiet, but more to help him start a new life, go to college and get a good footing in life. Not sure who judges that claim.
But this morning on GMA Haggard and his wife were accountable, apologetic and owned up to his past. I was floored and intrigued. Tonight there is a documentary on HBO called “The Trials of Ted Haggard” which promises to show how Haggard and his wife are trying to move forward. They have bounced from borrowed house to cheap motel, worked several laborious jobs and seem to really be taking the steps to move forward.
In his interview, he flat out told Robin Roberts that he was sorry, that yes he was irresponsible and did take advantage of young worshipers and that it was his actions and he own up to it. HUH? Yep, I was shocked as well. There he was with his whitened veneers, sitting straight up and rather than blaming others, he looked Roberts right in the eye and was…..dare I say….accountable?
When she asked if he planned to return to the pulpit, he said absolutely not – he has too much baggage to haul up there to the pulpit. He said he’s happy just selling insurance for right now.
If you have HBO, I would suggest watching the documentary tonight or catch a repeat when you can. I think it looks to be a very interesting insight into how someone struggling with so many demons has found rock bottom, accepted it and is pulling himself up.
Follow up – I think I need to follow up and reiterate something here as well – I think what Ted Haggard did was inexcusable. His actions, most specifically with young members of his church, were awful and probably scarring to those young men. I am absolutely not condoning his actions or how he let his urges overtake right from wrong.
My point here is that I think it is refreshing for someone like Haggard to admit his actions, say ‘yes what I did was wrong and I am trying to be better’ and do his best to become more responsible.
Read more about his past indescretions and his go-forward plan on CNN also.
You tell them Ashlee Simpson! You’ve had enough with this fake and materialistic world
I'm so sure...
Ashlee, way to stand up for your fat sister! Good lord, she looks like a cow now…what is she a size 4? I can see why Nick and her got divorced..what a pig. She has really let herself go, let me tell ya’. I’m glad to see that you don’t subscribe to the unrealistic expectations of show business.
It took guts for you to lip sync on Saturday Night Live (see video). Many performers would have committed the ultimate sin and performed live, but you stood your ground and demanded equality! What’s even better, you laid the blame on your band which everyone appreciates. That was a warm moment indeed.
Kudos to you for getting plastic surgery and letting the world know that being fake is ok. Nobody should have to be tied down by the bonds of their natural features, heck no! If I don’t like my flabby abs, I can do something about it – thanks to your courage.
Thank you for letting the world know that we need to focus on what’s real and matters most – like all the above mentioned items.
(back and forth peace symbol in front of my face) – I’m with you…
High School football coaches take note…this could have been you
The recent headlines of the Kentucky football coach being charged for the death of a player is not shocking considering these type of practices have been taking place since the dawn of time. I’m going to take two stances here, the first stance is that this coach and his staff probably got caught up in the god complex that falls over an authority figure and it got grossly out of hand. The second stance is that sadly the young man, Max Gilpin, might of had a pre-existing medical condition which made him succeptible to sudden heat stroke. Alright, my third unofficial stance is that they flat out failed to help this player cool down and get back to normal.
Regardless, the kid’s body reached an internal temperture of 107 degrees and he was NOT cared for in a manner which would have saved his life on that football field. I played high school football until my sophmore year and I know the heat of these practices. Anyone who has suffered through ”two a day” August practices knows how bad it can be. Sprinting, bear crawls, Oklahoma drills, and with full pads on it sucks and it gets very hot.
Here is where I get angry and think this guy should be convicted of these charges. Firstly, high school football coaches, at times, do take on this drill sergeant mentality all in the name of shaping these flabby, loafy players into rock hard fighting machines. Physical training during football camp is important, it shapes the body, conditions the heart, and gets the team ready for the season. But, too often this age group of young men get caught in a very difficult position on the practice field – fueled by peer pressure. Yeah, that overused word defining how teenagers are forced to fit in with their friends and not go against the norm to avoid being seen as uncool or an outsider. Sadly, this takes place on the high school gridiron too. You’ve got 60 young men who have come out for the football team and practice defines them. Most practices end with a series of wind sprints and they wear on a young out of shape body- the problem is these young kids don’t speak up. It’s seen as weak by team mates and coaches and all you hear is “suck it up” or “one more, come on”. How dare you tell a coach or a team mate that you don’t feel good for the fear of being publicly berated in front of your peers. Yeah, in this instance I sure as hell blame the coach for not knowing the signs of someone who was not responding well to the heat. Putting the fear of god into the players was more important than making sure no real harm was being done. Granted, I’m all about coaches pushing today’s kids and teaching them self-discipline (god knows they need it more then we did)…but safety and personal accountability always comes first – no matter the sport.
My other view is that the kid sadly experienced a traumatic case of heat stroke and his body just didn’t respond well. Heat stroke is typically caused when the body can’t produce enough perspiration to cool off the core temperature. He probably had stomach cramps, got light headed, and displayed the signature pale skin which appears around the cheeks and eyes. The news says that he was profusely sweating which might have created the illusion that his body was okay and his temp would eventually come down – I’m not a doc and I wasn’t there. Obviously, the kid was in bad shape and the keystone cops coaching staff didn’t have the gumption to see it. I remember guys hurling in the middle of the field, so you either have a case of someone grossly out of shape, or the weather is taking it’s toll. In this instance, it could have been a sad case of both.
I’m torn because I know what the practices are like and most of the players subjected to them are just fine. I do think coaches everywhere need to take a step back and realize these are still young men. Young men who are immature and are physically developing faster than their ability to reason. That’s where the grown men on the field need to take the upper hand and look out for these players. The players are not put into a position to look out for themselves in fear of the perception it leaves on the team, the coaches, and their chances of playing.
Unfortunately, coach Stinson finds himself in the worse possible scenario in which his job as motivator and coach took precedent over his primary responsibility- which is being a parent.
Blagojevich on “The View”…a true master of distortion and diversion
He is either a case study of the interview dodge artist or has received really bad advisement from his legal team. He never answers the question about whether or not he actually made remarks about selling the senate seat. I literally can’t follow him either and this is a ballsy and self centered appearance he made on The View yesterday.
This was one of the first major public appearances in which he addressed the charges against him and the looming impeachment precedings. We won’t go into his laundry list of misdoings. However, there is a great website which has transcripts from when he was bugged.
I don’t know about this View appearance but it’s really hard not to see right through this loser. He has a history of low approval ratings and shaky activities as Illinois governor – so how can you not laugh under your breath. Accused of a being potty mouth is one thing, but his adamant berating of the impeachment process is a joke.
Indeed a very charismatic (though be it funny looking) dude- the guy his well spoken and makes is sound like he is a legitmately innocent man. After a while , it simply becomes rambling, defensive babble that forces you to stop listening. If he is biting back at his accusers like this- no wonder he’s in deep shit. I have to admit- the average guy bumping into him in a bar would probably enjoy throwing some beers back. On the flipside – he has that very secretive “I know things about you” type of demeanor which is creepy.
Hey Roddy – you’re done and you opened your mouth one too many times considering you are a public official. Here the first series of tapings from the show on Monday.
Debunking a “theoretical” criticism of the Obama Stimulus
January 20, 2009 - President Barack Obama Oath of Office
OK, I am probably diving in over my head on this one. So here goes. The Wall Street Journal online ran an opinion piece (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123292987008414041.html?mod=googlenews_wsj) which cites a study that claims to de-bunk the theory behind a Keynesian-style stimulus plan as a cure (partial or otherwise) for an ailing economy.
The basis of the argument is that when a government spends a dollar, it takes a dollar from some other pocket which washes the impact of the spending.
The claim is that because the government would have to (in this case) sell a bond, the investor that buys the bond would otherwise have invested the money somewhere that would have had much the same effect as the stimulus package would have on the greater economy.
I accept that this may be true in an otherwise healthy economy. But in the current economy it must be kept in mind that the propensity of savers to invest in riskier assets – let alone in job creating businesses is sharply lower than what it would be in an otherwise healthy economy. Thus it is likely that those funds, if not used to purchase the government bond used to finance the stimulus, would have stayed in some ultra secure savings vehicle, a bank account (and we know how eager banks are to lend these days) or some other asset which is ultra secure and would not in fact be deployed somewhere that would get the economy moving.
It is exactly in situations like the one we are in where a Keynesian stimulus package will work. No, it will not cure all the economy’s problems. Will it make them less severe than they otherwise might be. I truly believe it will.
You can find a PhD or study to say just about anything you want. The key is to understand the assumptions underlying the theory or study. I have not reviewed the study referenced in the opinion piece. But you do not need a PhD to know that Keynesian stimulus proposals – whose impact may very well be muted by less private spending in a healthy economy – are made to order for an environment where the propensity of consumers and investors is to be risk averse to an extreme degree.
Further, the psychological shift in confidence that may result in increasing private economy risk appetites (and is probably impossible to quantify in an economic study) over time from the knowledge that the government is stepping up to the plate is a key component in the effectiveness of any stimulus plan.
The article makes some good points about the first version of the stimulus package and its apparent lack of timeliness (when the money will be spent). But this Congress and Administration have been in place less than a week (together). Let’s give them a few weeks.
In ordinary times I am very much opposed to Keynesian policy for reasons consistent with the position laid out in the article. But, like the great man himself once said, “when the facts change, I change my mind….what do you do sir?”
Coolest headline evaaarrr – Entire Government Resigns (for real ya’ll)
This is the “Breaking News” headline on CNN as of the time of this post. Iceland’s government resigns, three months after collapse of several major banks, spokesman for prime minister says.
How cool is that? The entire government says, my bad, and walks away. One can only hope that at least half of our government would do the same.
Best wishes, Iceland, and way to keep the Artic Classy.
Here is the original story from CNN -
Icelandic government falls amid financial crisis, protests
- Story Highlights
- Iceland’s ruling coalition resigns three months after collapse of currency market
- Business minister quit Sunday, said government had not restored confidence
- Protests staged regularly since the collapse, including at the weekend
- Iceland has received more than $800M in bailout cash, due another $1.3B
(CNN) — Iceland’s ruling coalition resigned Monday, three months after the collapse of the country’s currency, stock market and several major banks, and following months of public protests, Kristjan Kristjansson, a spokesman for the prime minister told CNN.
The government also fell after the resignation of the government’s commerce minister in response to the country’s financial mess.
The minister, Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, resigned Sunday, saying the government had failed to restore confidence in the three months after the collapse of the financial system.
Senior government officials from the two parties that make up Iceland’s coalition government — the prime minister’s Independence Party and the Social Democrats party — had met Sunday to discuss the government’s future but nothing was resolved, a spokesman for the prime minister said.
Sigurdsson’s resignation followed Saturday’s demonstration in which about 6,000 to 7,000 people in front of the parliament building called for the government of Prime Minister Geir Haarde to step down.
Protests have been staged regularly since the collapse, but Saturday’s was one of the biggest to date, a spokesman for the prime minister said.
Saturday’s demonstration was peaceful, the spokesman, Kristjansson, said. Watch iReport of Saturday demonstration
Riot police intervened during protests earlier in the week, using pepper spray and arresting some demonstrators.
In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Sigurdsson said he was taking his part of the responsibility for the economic situation in the country. But he also said that there were many more who shared responsibility, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN. No other officials were named.
The night before he resigned, Sigurdsson dismissed the head of the country’s financial supervisory authority and requested the authority’s board resign.
Haarde announced Friday he has a malignant tumor on his esophagus and would not run for re-election as chair of the Independence Party.
He also proposed that early elections be held on May 9, two years ahead of schedule. The country’s five-party parliament has not yet taken up the proposal, Kristjansson told CNN.
Iceland’s financial system and currency collapsed in October following a series of bank failures, forcing the International Monetary Fund to intervene.
Iceland sought IMF help after its government was forced to nationalize three banks to head off a complete collapse of its financial system. Trading on the country’s stock market was suspended for nearly a week, and inflation jumped to more than 12 percent.
The IMF announced in November it would pump about $827 million into the Icelandic economy immediately, with another $1.3 billion coming in eight installments. Iceland’s Nordic neighbors — the governments of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden — announced they would lend Iceland another $2.5 billion.
In his resignation letter, Sigurdsson said after the country’s financial crash, he hoped the government would re-create trust and restore the country’s finances. But he said the effort failed, and he was resigning to help facilitate a restoration of public trust.
Sigurdsson is legally entitled to keep receiving his salary for several months after his resignation, but said in his letter he would not accept it.
Is it live…or is it 22 degrees outside?
Hey Itzhak, crank it to 11 and make it cry! Yeah!
These guys are playing (sorta) million dollar instruments in freezing weather- give em a break! I think it sounded awesome (on tape) and who gives a crap that it was recorded.
There are two of the master stringsmen of our time and I’m sure they’ve played a few live shows here and there. Everyone put a lid on it already.
CEO greed at its worse…a disgusting examination of who we really work for
The news is ghastly and literally makes you sick to your stomach. Once again, a large corporate CEO has been exposed and details are coming forward concerning John Thain. Thain is the recently ousted chief exec at Merrill Lynch after news of his extravagant spending has come to light. We need people to lead and companies need quality CEOs to guide the culture and direction of its employees, but this is grounds for a free range turkey shoot.
I don’t know how to react to this but I’m almost forced to pull at heart strings because I don’t know how our system will change. If you analyze what this man did and what potential repercussions it has on other people, it is completely and utterly criminal. I mean in the same category as a masked gunman robbing a bank, robbing an elderly couple on the street, or simply robbing hard working human beings of their dignity.
He’s not the only one who has plundered corporate finances on meaningless and material objects. Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco, was jailed for his elaborate spending. He once arranged a birthday party for his wife in a tropical location, hired Jimmy Buffet to perform, had a fountain with flowing vodka, waiters dressed in togas, and had a life size cake of his wife made with exploding candy breasts, no kidding. He used company money. At times, the stories are humorous but only so if the economy is good and people have jobs.
Considering the economic struggles of Americans right now – this hits home with me. It hits home with me because my family has been impacted by the economy and we’ve been impacted by health issues. This is not a sob story or an attempt to make someone feel sorry for another person, but rather a look at how this man’s actions actually have a trickle down effect to others – as if he actually pulled out the financial rug himself.
Here is a lay out of what he did and theoretically how it impacts the rest of us paupers:
Hires White House decorator guru Michael Smith to decorate his corporate office at $800,000, which is about the same as sixteen Merrill Lynch analysts making $50,000 who were laid off when ML announced a 10% workforce reduction in 2008.
Area rugs valued at $131,000, which is roughly the value of a first time home for a young family which are now left with a mortgage payment and no income.
Guests chairs valued at $87,000, which equates to the salary of a highly skilled network administrator losing his IT job.
Wall sconces at $2700, which equates to about six months of the average COBRA payments for a laid off worker who has no other health coverage.
A credenza valued at $68,000 – another salaried employee – gone.
A $1400 trash can – again another mortgage payment- gone.
Do not forgot the $4 billion in executive bonuses which he paid out as Merrill Lynch was being purchased by Bank of America. This was billions (billions!) of dollars handed out to individuals who didn’t even have the leadership capability to keep ML afloat. BofA has just recently received $25 billion in bailout funds just prior to the take over of Merrill Lynch. Thank god our government stepped in and helped with the financial burden caused by that huge ass $13,000 chandelier hanging in Thain’s office !
This rant could go on and on. The damage has been done and it is most likely Thain will get a nice pension payout from BofA execs under the table unless it becomes public news – which if he does – it will. If he does- it may be time for me to run naked down the street because apparently you can get away with anything in this country. Hopefully, it does not happen and the man slithers back into his life outside of his corporate crime spree. It’s nothing more than a crime spree considering Merrill Lynch was a sinking ship and pink slips were being handed out.
A CEO is hired based on his or her credentials and seemingly a perfect fit for the organization – so they are compensated nicely. The problem is that the methodology of “salary” is relative to all employees within the company. The assembly line worker making $40,000 still wants to be paid if the company does not do well. The same goes for the CEO as they don’t want their value depreciated by a falling stock price just as much as the worker in the office. Hell, if you had $40 or $50 billion in stock value – you’d probably not even wink at someone walking in with a chair valued at more than a car. Board of Directors are creating invincible, highly compensated money churning robots with no regard for those people who hold very fragile roles within the framework of a corporation. It’s a reality, we work in an At Will employment environment which is dictated by the behavior of the market. Good market= jobs, bad market= layoffs. But, can the spending be justified when employees are being escorted out the door, salaries are lost, and families forced to suffer a little bit until something better comes along? Many people never get that second chance to recover, but this slimy pig will.
This irresponsible corporate spending is virtually untouched by any current laws governing corporate responsibility. How does this type of criminal “free” spending not fall under any Sarbanes Oxley guidelines? There is no accounting oversight even though , based on the books, this spending looks certified. The legislation apparently only concerns itself with whether or not the spending is reported as “complete” and “accurate”. I do not understand how the SEC can’t hold the power to freeze the payment for outlandish office decor – is this not considered a “large” or “unusual” payment?
A road warrior consultant can’t spend over $30 on an out of town dinner, but John Thain can do this.
Heard It In A Bar RSS Feed- Texas – what the hell is wrong with you!? September 3, 2010I’m going to be honest with you, it is going to be very difficult for me to be calm about this. First, we had the Rep. Barton apologizing to BP for the Obama “shakedown”. Even his own party rolled their eyes and popped their Tums. I was up in arms over this and even got [...] […]She
- Lost is over and I actually miss it… September 3, 2010Six years of roller coaster loop de’ loops, dozens of undeveloped characters, and a story line that was as easy to follow as a chicken in a barnyard. If you didn’t watch Lost, you missed a show which challenged the fan to no end. Season after season of questions, theories, hypotheses’, cliff hanging plots, and a [...] […]kansasview
- Teetering on the edge…how does Bret Michaels do it? September 3, 2010I have to give Bret Michaels credit, he has battled a life of disease and he keeps bouncing back. At the age of six, he was diagonosed with Type I diabetes and has struggled to maintain his health all the while becoming an 80’s glam metal rock god, a history of hard hard partying, and what [...] […]kansasview
- A softball player who just happens to know the law, sign her up… September 3, 2010Does this woman really matter to you? If you look deep into the background of a possible supreme court justice, do you want actual bench experience or do you prefer someone who knows the law and has written a few hundred papers on well…the law? Princeton graduate, Harvard Law Dean,…on the surface at least Elena Kagan [...] […]kansasview
- When it rains for Tiger, it pours… September 3, 2010The muscle of this man has shrunk and shows more sign of atrophy as each new story surfaces. This blog did a pretty good job of leaving Tiger alone and I have to say after the recent events, I still stick to that credo. The bomb of the last couple months has dropped, the shrapnel has [...] […]kansasview
- Where have we been? September 3, 2010Well, a few good men and an even better woman started the idea of this blog and we owe it to someone to unspill the contents of our head, or at least mine. The time has come to once again say all the things I want to say and it’s an invitation for you as well! It’s [...] […]kansasview
- Brittany Murphy’s death is troubling September 3, 2010Not that it’s another tragic celebrity death, not that it’s another young life taken so early…these are all troubling and sad in their own right. It’s another tragic case of someone getting caught up in the web of drugs…the legal type! It truly saddens me that so many of these stars seek out more and more prescription [...] […]kansasview
- Internet fun for the weekend… September 3, 2010By far one of my favorite websites of late is called GraphJam.com. Essentially, the website attempts to break down the world and how we interact with it in a series of graphs. It is hilarious when you see how the world around us can be so easily summed up in a pie or bar chart. [...] […]kansasview
- So why are more companies not yet hiring? September 3, 2010U.S. Workers are still filing a large amount of unemployment claims and this is after five weeks of declines in this area. Where are the culprits and which industries are still hurting? It’s apparent as we have seen over the last year is that a gradual stabilization of the economy does not naturally translate to a increase [...] […]kansasview
- Facebook is down…Facebook is down…5:42 (cst) September 3, 2010This website is not a help desk for Facebook but it’s a civic duty to keep the American public aware of all possible natural disasters!! Facebook is down! Facebook is down! Don’t toss your Iphone in the river or hurl it at your wife and complain that it doesn’t work worth a s***. Here is the current [...] […]kansasview
- Texas – what the hell is wrong with you!? September 3, 2010
