Capitalism: A Love Story

I’m a huge Michael Moore fan, and I’m not ashamed of it. I know my family thinks he’s nuts (and that I am, too) and that he, himself, is now a rich guy, and that many people have a problem with him. I don’t really care about any of that. Being rich alone isn’t a crime; there are plenty of rich people I admire (though, admittedly, many, many more whom I don’t). He’s a filmmaker whose job is to entertain; he simply uses his platform to deliver messages that are often considered controversial—though they shouldn’t be. After all, stories about our fellow Americans and their lives should be something we care about, not something that’s “controversial.”

Usually his films are very entertaining, but lately they’ve been getting less and less so. Sicko didn’t make me laugh nearly as much as Fahrenheit 911 did—and Fahrenheit 911 didn’t make me roll on the floor laughing like Bowling for Columbine did, either. (All films, however, tore at me and made me cry—something that Moore never fails to do in his work ever since Roger and Me.) Capitalism: A Love Story, however, didn’t make me laugh at all.

I wondered, after watching it, if I might laugh five years from now. Maybe the situation is still too close at hand; maybe we’re all still suffering financially so much that I just couldn’t manage a smile. But I really think the movie just lacked that typical Mike sparkle—that scathing satire, that information infused with humor that makes his movies so memorable. After all, we’re still lacking national healthcare, as we were when I watched Sicko, and I still found some mirth in that film.

I wonder if Mike is also getting more bummed out while he makes his movies? Learning all of this stuff is obviously very depressing, after all. I don’t get that vibe from him, though. He’s always still trying to get Congress to change, people to act, the paradigm to shift. Maybe it was just a fluke. After all, the movie was still very moving, and contained lots of valuable information. Watching a business CEO whisper in President Reagan’s ear—obviously giving a command to his pet dog—gave me the chills in a very bad way. And Cater’s words about moving away from buying so much, away from commercialism, and towards our families and each other made me cry. A president actually said these words!

Are our officials really so tied to big business? Yes, I believe so. Can we do something about it? Absolutely. Even though the Wall Street reform that was recently passed was so watered down, it was an important step away from the hybrid government/business paradigm that makes up America today. And is Capitalism worth the watch? Yes. It’s as informative as you might expect; just don’t watch it expecting to laugh as much as you normally might from a Moore film.

Technology and Politics

This is a message for everyone in Washington- it’s not quite a Manifesto, but it is a laundry list of what I think are opportunities that should become imperatives in the near future. The gulf between Washington’s operations and the way they use Technology is criminal. Look at the ideals we had as a nation when we were founded, of Democracy and Freedom of Speech and connecting people across cultural, racial, ethnic and ethical divides, and you will see that we have a huge opportunity to fight, learn, agree, disagree, and be heard on social media. And listen, of course, which is the biggest thing that Congress and the rest of Washington needs to do.
  1. Twitter. Every single representative in Washington should have a twitter account and be required to tweet at least once per day to tell their constituents what they are doing. You don’t have to reveal any secrets, just say something like, “Going to a meeting with the Ways and Means committee.” Or something. Then add a link to your notes. Whatever. You personally don’t have to answer your constituents, either, but you should have a staff person on there dedicated to doing that. Your people should have instant access to someone in your office from wherever they are in the country. That is a basic thing about Democracy and how our representative government works.
  2. Facebook. Absolutely Representatives should have a Facebook Fan Page. Sarah Palin may say dumb things, but she is way ahead of the curb in using social media. She understand that that is where people are, and they are using it as part of their daily lives. She understands that they feel connected to her because they post something on her Facebook page. They understand that she is not on there all the time, but that she puts herself out there, that she is a real person with flaws, and that she is a politician not afraid to talk to the people in her voting bloc. That is why she is so popular. Again, hire someone to run this for you, but post yourself daily.
  3. YouTube. Folks. It is free to put video messages on YouTube. You should, at the very least, be addressing your constituents with a speech monthly. If not weekly. If not daily. They can give you comments, reply videos, whatcetera. Seeing someone talk in person is a privilege and an honor. People should be seeing their representatives as much as possible. You should not see them never, which is how many times I have seen any of the politicians I have ever voted for (that aren’t President or Governor) speak. Why not update me on your week- 5 minutes. What you did, what you liked, what you’re up to, what you’re frustrated with. What are you doing that is so busy that you can’t tell the people who vote for you what is going down in Washington. Call home! It’s worth it.

Photo Credit: dullhulk

Al Gore Victim of Attempted Frame?!

When I first heard of the charges against Al Gore I found them hard to believe. Now the DA and the police have cleared Mr. Gore of the charges. Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk said today, Friday, there was no basis for prosecution.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Don Rees, in a memo to the D.A., Michael D. Schrunk released by the DA office and the Portland Police report have cleared Al Gore of criminal wrongdoing in the sex assault case filed by masseuse Molly Hagerty..

The DA official statement said Hagerty story did not add up, and that she failed a polygraph test, that no DNA evidence on the pants she claimed she wore during the alleged incident, and the DA suggested that the accuser may have made up the charges against Mr. Gore for money, noting that she was paid for her story by the National Inquirer.

The summary provided by the DA:

1. Ms. Hagerty, who has red hair, states she called Mr. Gore immediately following the alleged incident and told him to "dream of redheaded women" seemingly in contradiction to her assertions that she was terrified of Mr. Gore. Two days after the alleged incident Ms. Hagerty also sent an email to the Hotel Lucia stating that she appreciated the business referrals she received from the hotel. She did not mention any problem with Mr. Gore;

2. Witnesses at the hotel where the alleged incident occurred state they do not remember seeing or hearing anything unusual---directly contradicting Ms. Hagerty's published claim in the July 12, 2010 of the National Enquirer that she was "shaking and in shock" and "rushed down the hall and to the lobby where the front desk clerk noticed she was upset was asked if she was OK";

3. Forensic testing of pants retained by Ms. Hagerty as possible evidence are negative for the presence of seminal fluid;

4. Ms. Hagerty has not provided as repeatedly requested medical records she claims are related to the case.

5. Ms. Hagerty has also failed to provide other records related to the case;

6. Ms. Hagerty failed a polygraph examination;

7. It appears Ms. Hagerty was paid by the National Enquirer for her story; and

8. Mr. Gore voluntarily met with detectives and denied all of the allegations.

Chelsea Clinton's Getting Married

America and the world know that Chelsea Victoria Clinton is getting married tomorrow and it is a big deal. It is the wedding of the year, the wedding of many years, some say it is the American wedding of the century. Well, yes, it is a young century. It is the wedding that nearly everyone is talking about. Chelsea Clinton is going down the aisle in the style befitting the daughter of a popular former U.S. President. She is the product of two famous and popular parents. Her mom is the current Secretary of State.

Her parents and America are seeing her off into the world of married life, as if she is an American princess. Well, she is America's Chelsea. Born February 27, 1980, she was still twelve when her father, the 42nd U.S. President, came to the White House in January, 1993. She was a little girl. She is now all grown up and has by all accounts grown into a fine young woman.

I , as most Americans and many people in many countries, wish her the best.

Going to sue the rascal.

Shirley Sherrod the former employee at the Agriculture Department, who was the target of vicious libel, spearhead by right-wing blogger Andrew Breibart, and spread by a network of wing-nuts in the right-wing media, which includes Fox Cable News, says she is going to sue. She is going to sue Andrew Breibart, who has a history of libeling people with whom he disagrees, politically. Ms. Sherrod will attempt to hold Mr. Breibart accountable for his recklessness.

Yesterday at the National Association of Black Journalists' convention in San Diego, Ms Sherrod announced her intent to sue Mr Breibart and she had no kind words for Fox News.

Shirley Sherrod --""I will not give Fox an interview, period. They had their chance to get the truth, and they were not interested. I don't know all that Fox was doing behind the scenes to get the effect they were looking for."

Fox Cable News host and former soft porn book writer, Bill O'Reilly has said that Ms. Sherrod was injecting race into the conversation. Ms Sherrod responding to a reporter's question, replied that having lived as a black person, "I saw what Fox did and what Breitbart did. I knew it was racism, and nobody had to tell me that."

10 Things NOT to Do in Public



  •  Unless you are under the age of three (and then it is still questionable), DO NOT pick your nose in public. I don’t want to see you flicking your boogars all over the streets, I’m tired of looking at you digging for gold that you will never find in places that should not be explored, and it truthfully makes me wonder if maybe you are perchance in need of a little help in the nose regard.
  •  Expose your flab unnecessarily. The exception of course is if you are actually participating in a sporting event and no, walking slowly in the mall DOES NOT count. I don’t care if you are larger than the average person, I just don’t feel its appropriate to display your flab in most cases.
  •  Shout at women who would never condescend to speak to you in the first place- not because they are stuck up, but because most women are not particularly wooed at the sound of “Nice tits”. Some are, but unless you are as good-looking as they are or they are extremely intoxicated, it won’t get you anywhere. Guaranteed.
  •  Masturbate. This goes into the category with the flab. You can do it in the privacy of your own home, but whipping it out in public is extremely inadvisable. No one wants to clean up your mess.
  •  Cut off pedestrians with your car. As tempting as the idea of scaring the occasional pedestrian may be, you are driving, they are walking, accidentally hitting them is NOT really that good of an idea. Call it a cultural thing.
  •  Brag about your accomplishments and who you know to people that could care less. The time to do that is maybe in a job interview, or maybe to your Grandma or perhaps a family member, but most people don’t care.
  • Spit. I know that it is acceptable in Asia, but this isn’t Asia. I don’t want to step on your Loogey, no matter how attractive you think it might be.
  •  Vomit on the sidewalk. In some places, sidewalk vomit is actually called “Pizza” - this doesn’t make it ok or endear you to anyone at all.10.  Play pocket pool. It is a lot more obvious than you think it is when you do it. No matter how secretive you are, all eyes be on you wondering wtf is that guy doing.

Zirh Introduces a Booze-Soap Line

At the end of a long, hard night drinking out on the town, it’s likely that you will have at least some alcohol on your body, your top, your jeans,  your purse, your man-bag, your Iphone, your Ipad, or whatever else you might happen to have with you. If you aren’t going out, however, and would like to pretend that you’ve been out for a wild night on the town in order to impress your friends, you can now use Zirh’s booze-inspired scented soaps.

We can all thank our lucky stars that Zihr has a few different choices in their booze soap line.  For those who prefer an Asian scent (or a Sake cocktail), you might want to try out the Sake Bomb, which supposedly smells like Lemon Grass and retails for a ridiculously expensive 15 bucks. Those who are more serious drinkers and like a little more bang for their buck in a cocktail might like the Zirh’s Long Island Ice-Tea soap, which reportedly smells like a combination between citrus and cola. YUMMY! The Screwdriver (unsurprisingly) is marketed as having a citrus-like scent.

Despite the inclusion of the cocktail names in the soap’s names, the Zihr website doesn’t say anything about whether any of the soaps smell like alcohol. A lot of specialty soaps smell like alcohol anyway, so it truthfully would not make much of a difference. If the alcohol scent is really important to you, you could probably put a little vodka in a spritzer bottle to spray on yourself when you feel the need. A warm Sake Spritzer could also do wonders to perk up tired skin and make you feel like you are out boozing when you’re at home or in the office.

I have a hard time imagining that the booze soaps will have much value to anyone beyond novelty.   As to whether or not the cleverly-named soaps are worth the 15 dollar price tag each is definitely questionable- that’s a lot of money to pay for a single bar of soap. That said, I do think the Zirh soap would look sufficiently nice enough in a glass soap dish to dress up a single guys’ bathroom, which always goes far in impressing in any single ladies that might be around because we all know that how a soap looks and is marketed is much more important than whether it actually cleans well, smells nice, and produces nice suds.

No Naughty Words, Please!

Goldman Bans Bad Words.

In today's Wall Street Journal the world is being told that the firm Goldman Sachs has banned "naughty words." Employees are told to stop using curse words in their emails. Well? the bosses are looking ahead, concerned about -- what if, the company's emails are subpoenaed again by a Congressional committee! How would it look to America, if a firm of hard working honest fellas and gals, dedicated to looking after the pension funds of old people, and the funds of widows and orphans, employees are using blue language? Not that the bosses don't trust their workers, but a software program is to be installed that will prevent any "bad words" from appearing in the emails.

This is funny. I mean, if a Wall Street guy or gal can't cuss, how can he or she be Wall Street? Wall Street is for hunters, the toughs, the dudes and gals who fight mean everyday, to grab and to take, to make stuff theirs -- the predators.

I am not saying that regular people should curse. There is a lot that can be said for using polite language in private as well in public communications. But! If a Wall Streeter can't cuss, then what? Captain Kidd didn't curse. None of the pirates of old cursed. There is no cursing in the Mafia. Wise guys never cursed. Sure? Right? Well -- Invent a language? The F word becomes feathers and the S word becomes slips. The bosses, those old birds, at Goldman -- some smart typing finger at Sachs could email -- "are feathering their employees, putting them in slips?"

Did I write that? (Smile!)

Bear Rescues Bear

In Laconia, New Hampshire a black bear entered a home of humans to rescue a bear. Well, a stuffed bear.

The Associated Press reports that a black bear walked into a New Hampshire house through an open door, (In New Hampshire are doors still left unlocked and open? Isn't that a neighborly thing?), ate two pears and a bunch of grapes, (This bear seems to be a healthy eater), took a drink from the family fishbowl (Well, maybe the bear couldn't find a clean glass), and grabbed a stuffed bear on its way out the door (Maybe the bear needs glasses and mistook the stuffed bear for a relative? So this wasn't theft but a rescue attempt!.)

Fox Cable News probably would have race baited the story as followed -- A BLACK, socialists bear, an obvious racist, broke into the house of a white New Hampshire family. This bear is an Obama supporter, is for his communist agenda to redistribute the wealth. It stole food, water, and a family heirloom, (the stuffed bear). This theft has left a white family heart broken and devastated. To top off this outrage, Eric Holder's Justice Department has refused to indict and to prosecute this black bear!

Or Fox Cable News might have hyped the terrorist angle. A new threat to America! A terrorist attack right here on the home front. From an American backyard, a jihadist bear invaded an American home. A brave American family valiantly fought off the attacker and saved the family's pet, an America goldfish, which was seconds from being taken as hostage or as food. The jihadist made off with a hostage, the family stuff bear. Where is Obama's Department of Homeland Security, when an American family pet can be threatened, and the family's stuffed bear can be taken from its home by a jihadist? How do we know the bear is a jihadist? Everybody knows that Bin Laden's jihadists love to wear black.

Raped at 21 by Polanski?!

Roman Polanski Serial Rapist?! A beast?!

Freed by the Swiss, where justice goes not to the just, but can be brought by the rich, Roman Polanski struts among his cinema and art friends, to them child rape doesn't seem to matter. Now a new tale: In 1974, Edith Vogelhut, then a twenty one year old, says Polanski drugged her (gave her MDMA, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as Ecstasy), manhandled her, handcuffed her and then raped her, sodomized her repeatedly. (anal sex). This happened in the same house, where three years later, he drugged and raped a 13 year old girl.

Ms Vogelhut was twenty one. She attended Hollywood parties. She participated in after party activities. She said on in a video released yesterday on that gossip web site RadarOnline. "I kind of knew that we were going to have sex, but I didn't expect anything out of the ordinary," she said. "I did not expect to be sodomized." Ms Vogelhut said she didn't tell her story sooner because; -- Quote, "I was humiliated. I had absolutely no one to tell." Ms Vogelhut plans to release a tell-all book, with one chapter about the alleged encounter with Polanski.

Ms. Vogelhut is a former model. She is also known as Shelli Paul and as Glamor magazine editor. She is just is the most recent alleged Polanski victim to come forward and accuse him of rape, British actress Charlotte Lewis came forward, last May, and said that Polanski sexually assaulted her in his Paris apartment, when she was just 16-years-old. Ms Vogelhut said Ms. Lewis' revelations prompted her to finally come forward.

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