2012 Presidential Race: Ladies, Gentleman, Politicians…it’s time to start up your rhetoric!

Windbags unite! Hot air aficionados are ready for a chance to heat up race with meaningless rhetoric…

That’s right folks…we’re going to have us an election. In 19 months. Between now and then, make sure you’re wearing your high boots during the debates as the shit will be piling up fast!

Republicans presidential hopefuls have been noodling around and sending up hot air balloons of interest for several months now. Most recent is former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick (I sometimes lose it and call the president a liar) Santorum. He’s setting up a fundraising committee that allows him to take the first steps toward a 2012 presidential campaign.

But it’s the “Donald” (as in Trump) as a GOP presidential candidate that really tickles me – “Your fired!” host and Real Estate Czar, is already a frontrunner along with (Gasp!) Mike Huckabee! And why not? They’ll fit in nicely with the other clowns whose names are floating around looking for infusions of hot air and money.

There’s Newt (Two Failed Marriages and loon) Gingrich;  former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who believes in a guy named Joseph Smith and money;  and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (can you say former lobbyist?) with  his vision of the “New South.”

This past weekend, attendees of the Awakening 2011 conference for American values voters selected Rep. Michele Bachmann as its straw poll winner. Bachmann won 23 percent of the vote, while Huckabee garnered 22.8 percent and Newt Gingrich placed third with 21 percent of the vote.

A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll revealed Huckabee and Trump are neck-and-neck (or dollar for dollar) in the race. Frank Newport, the editor in chief of Gallup, says “this is a very unusual year” for GOP candidates because, unlike previous presidential races, there is no clear leader.” No kidding?

The Democrats, of course, are going with the guy in office right now. President Obama didn’t waste any time in announcing his intentions for the next election. It’s safe to say the 2012 presidential race is off and running and he’s in the campaign mode.

Isn’t that special? Obama and the GOP are going to have their hands out asking for taxpayer money (elect me with your money) and on the other hand they’re busy trying to balance a budget on the backs of the middle and lower class while giving the wealthy and corporations tax breaks.

Makes me warm and fuzzy all over knowing that the circus  election is going to be taking up most of those reprobates time trying to get re-elected, or elected for the first time, while the rest of us suffer through their meaningless rhetoric and this never-ending recession.

As It Stands, at least we don’t have to buy tickets to watch the “horse and pony” shows…or wait…do we?

Lakers earn Second Seed in the West with overtime victory

Okay…you knew it was inevitable when you saw the picture of me sitting in my den surrounded with Laker memorabilia on the top of this page. I’m going to talk about the LA Lakers at some point.

The occasion today is their narrow victory last night that kept them from sliding into the third spot in the West. It also means they won’t have to face a hot Portland team in the 1st round.

That doesn’t mean their opponent, The New Orleans Hornets, are going to be a pushover. The Lakers do have a winning record against them this season, which is a favorable sign. However, as any sports fan will tell you, the Playoffs are a whole different animal! Everyone’s A game, every game, makes for epic matchups. And upsets.

I frankly don’t know what to think about this year’s Lakers. They’ve been more unpredictable than the stock market or a thoroughbred racehorse this season. Watching them play the last seven games produced plenty of “Tums” moments for me. Watching their five-game swoon was equivalent to someone scratching their fingernails on a blackboard (or white board) for a dedicated fan such as myself.

Will the Lakers repeat? Three Peat? Tie the Boston Celtics for the Most Championships? I’d like to say YES! resoundingly…but reality tells me…the competition is tougher this year in the wild wild West. When the smoke clears the winner is going to face stiff competition from a new guy in the East:

I predict the Chicago Bulls are going to be the Beast that manhandles ALL opponents.  Lakers VS Bulls….hmmmmmm …the last time that happened (1995) the Lakers lost. Or was it 1998? See…I can’t even get that straight I was so traumatized!

If the Playoffs Started Today

Go Lakers!   Photo Source

GE target of hoax saying it will return tax refund

Good Morning Humboldt County! I got a good chuckle while sipping my coffee this morning when I read this little news item:

“General Electric Co, embroiled in controversy over its low 2010 U.S. tax bill, was the target of a bogus press release claiming that it would donate billions of dollars to the federal government.

The official-looking release, complete with the GE logo and slogan "imagination at work", said that GE would send its $3.2 billion tax refund from 2010 back to Washington.

The Yes Men, an activist group known for issuing hoax statements claiming major attitude changes in corporate America, said it sent the release in an e-mail to media outlets on Wednesday.” Story Here.

Graphic Source

Somewhere in Space Tonight Someone is Looking at the Earth…

Source

Spring isn’t the only Thing in the Air– Feds curb Coreflood malware

Cyber crime is also blooming as Botnets infect 2.3 million computers worldwide. 

“The FBI and the Justice Department on Wednesday began dismantling a ring of international computer thieves who have stolen an undetermined amount of money by infecting more than 2.3 million computers with malicious software, the biggest such enforcement action U.S. authorities have ever taken against cyber criminals.” Story Here

Image source

Spring is a good time to enjoy street art…

More info.                                                                       More Banksy on streetartutopia.com.

Oh That’s Right! Spring has Sprung and It’s Time for the Young

Hey Ewe!

A pair of lambs sit in the shade of a tree among daffodils at the Hall Farm in Stratford St. Mary, eastern England.

Chris Helgren / Reuters

VIA

A ship-based laser tested by the Navy's research arm could put the heat on Somali pirates.

I know that I just posted something on this new weapon of the Navy’s yesterday, but I didn’t connect the “bobbing boat” in the test with Somali Pirates…silly me. Perhaps this weapon was designed with those rascals in mind. You never know.

No matter how you look at it, it’s Buck Rodger’s stuff to old coots like me!

Excerpt:

“The baseball-sized laser beam, though, could be used to stop small crafts from approaching naval ships. It could also target pirates.

"You can use the laser to ward off an attack, or you can dial it down to a non-lethal level where it basically becomes a very bright light so they know they are being targeted," Michael Deitchman, the director of air warfare and weapons at the Office of Naval Research, said Wednesday.

Deitchman said the laser provides two benefits not seen in other military weapons. The laser is precise, unlike bullets that can ricochet and hit unintended targets, and the laser's strength can be dialed down from a lethal level to a nuisance level.” Story Here

PHOTO: An optimistic artist's rendering of a fully operational Maritime Laser Demonstrator.Office of Naval Research

Good morning Humboldt County! Another post from ‘As It Stands’ to greet your day…

Well here we are on a wacky Wednesday where the improbable is possible, and the world continues to turn…    

From a salesman falling on his sword to ingenious and improbable products, infomercials entertain as well as shock and enlighten us.

Skip ahead to read about:

The Katsak

A presidential Chia Pet

An electric facial mask

A Collection of the Best and Historic Magazine Covers of All Time

 Esquire: December 2000: Clinton

It was said that this photo was inspired by Lincoln Memorial, but everybody interpreted it with reference to Monica Lewinsky.

           TIME: June 21, 1968:

A figure by Roy Lichtenstein, representing a hand with a pistol. This cover was released after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. It demanded a legislation about restricting the arms sales.

Texas Monthly: January 2007: The Dick Cheney Cover

After the famous lampoon cover (the sixth from the top in this list) the same idea was remade here, with a few modifications, of course.

This cover also became a huge success and won the Best Cover Line of the Year award from Magazine Publishers of America in 2007.

 

GO HERE TO SEE THE REST