If Obama had done this it would be viewed by Fox as evidence of his not really being American and the talking point "gaffe or emblematic of larger issue" would have made its way into "legitimate" debate. I'd be hearing from students for years that Obama's the guy whose campaign misspelled America.
Instead - it's Romney and we forget it (as we should) as soon as it happens.
129 is here. This is Tendown 130.
1. Reverse Telemarketing
My best idea this week was going to neighbors houses, in the way that I get visits from salespeople (religious and commercial) to ask if I can buy anything from them.
"Hi, I'm Jim - would you like to spend a few minutes telling me about your religion?"
"Hi, I'm Jim, do you have any old magazines I could buy?"
"Hi, I'm Jim. Here's my debit card, can you make a recurring charge every month while I eat some of your leftover feta?"
2. Cliving.
As I don't have to tell you, Clive and Tanisha are getting married.
You know how you'll sometimes catch people grooving in public? Say you're at the grocery store and someone's obliviously singing Boys 2 Men as they check out the eggs? Or dancing to some private jam they have playing in their brain? From now on - call that Cliving. I'm expressing no current opinion if singing in one's car at the red light should be folded into that definition.
3. Edna
I heard a child's name this week - the name was Emma, and I guessed that not because I understood it, but instead because I knew the other option was Edna and kids aren't named Edna anymore.
In the way that African-Americans, really since the late 60s, have disproportionately chosen child names that
reflected their culture, I'd like to reflect the culture of the New Deal. We need dramatic, sweeping government programs that look to remove the stranglehold of corporate power. And we need more people less willing to accommodate that power. Between 1880-1900 35,000 Americans were killed on the job and another half million were injured each and every year. That number didn't decrease because of corporate largesse, that number decreased because regular Americans agitated, organized, unionized, and voted for candidates who used the mechanism of government to make sure it changed. If it's up to the right wing, we'll be China. We'll be Wal Mart. We need more Ednas to stand up like they did a hundred years ago.
4. The Billionaires Supporting Romney
From Rolling Stone.
In the primary season alone, Romney's rich friends invested $52 million in his Super PAC, Restore Our Future – a number that's expected to more than double in the coming months. This unprecedented infusion of money from America's monied elites underscores the radical transformation of the Republican Party, which has made defending the interests of 0.0001 percent the basis of its entire platform. "Money buys power," the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman observed recently, "and the increasing wealth of a tiny minority has effectively bought the allegiance of one of our two major political parties." In short, the political polarization and gridlock in Washington are a direct result of the GOP's capitulation to Big Money.
That capitulation is evident in Romney's campaign. Most of the megadonors backing his candidacy are elderly billionaires: Their median age is 66, and their median wealth is $1 billion. Each is looking for a payoff that will benefit his business interests, and they will all profit from Romney's pledge to eliminate inheritance taxes, extend the Bush tax cuts for the superwealthy – and then slash the top tax rate by another 20 percent. Romney has firmly joined the ranks of the economic nutcases who spout the lie of trickle-down economics. "Support from billionaires has always been the main thing keeping those charlatans and cranks in business," Krugman noted. "And now the same people effectively own a whole political party."
5. The 20 Greatest SFGiants of all Time
I redid my statistical analysis of every season in San Francisco Giants history. Here, for career value, are the 20 greatest San Francisco Giants - the only 20 responsible for 20 wins above replacement in their San Francisco careers. The best SFGiant ever is the one who currently wants a job with the club.
1.Barry Bonds 114
2.Willie Mays 106.25
3.Juan Marichal 68.6
4.Willie McCovey 63
5.Will Clark 39.3
6.Gaylord Perry 38.55
7.Jeff Kent 36.2
8.Robby Thompson 32.75
9.Orlando Cepeda 32.35
10.Matt Williams 30.8
11.Bobby Bonds 29.9
12.Jack Clark 28.2
13.Jim Barr 26.85
14.Matt Cain 25.2
15.Tim Lincecum 24.7
16.Chris Speier 24.25
17.Darrell Evans 23.05
18.Jim Ray Hart 21.8
19.Gary Lavelle 21.45
20.Jason Schmidt 20.05
That's through the 2011 season; given Cain's new contract, it's a reasonable prediction that he retires as, wait for it, the 5th greatest San Francisco Giant who ever lived.
Hopefully, our current third baseman winds up on that list one day and not this one.
6. On the Other Hand
Here's a piece about players who just appeared in one game.
7. What Else Can I Teach Online?
For multiple reasons, I'm wholly in favor of online education.
But massage therapy?
8. The best Piece This Week
If it were a Republican - we'd never stop screaming about the President's secret kill list.
In interviews with The New York Times, three dozen of his current and former advisers described Mr. Obama’s evolution since taking on the role, without precedent in presidential history, of personally overseeing the shadow war with Al Qaeda.
They describe a paradoxical leader who shunned the legislative deal-making required to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, but approves lethal action without hand-wringing. While he was adamant about narrowing the fight and improving relations with the Muslim world, he has followed the metastasizing enemy into new and dangerous lands. When he applies his lawyering skills to counterterrorism, it is usually to enable, not constrain, his ferocious campaign against Al Qaeda — even when it comes to killing an American cleric in Yemen, a decision that Mr. Obama told colleagues was “an easy one.”
9. Remember - it's the Christians who Are the Real Victims
Unless you're an adjunct at Texas A&M-San Antonio
10. But Now, He Doesn't.
My first thought - that's the end of this website.
That's all for this time. I'll be back next time. If there is a next time...
Your pal,
Jim
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