skippy the bush kangaroo

april, spring, summer and wednesdays

2012-02-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

how the swedes & norwegians broke the power of the 1%

george soros on the coming class war in america

what it was like to be an african american democrat at the gop florida debates

happy 125th birthday, hollywood!

and, hey, is this song on every commercial on tv?

skippy's tuesday night music club

2012-01-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

let's hear it for women. all of us out here who are complex, intelligent and talented....and are just plain mad at things the way they are.

susan g. komen foundation doesn't care about women's health

2012-01-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

they only care about the moolah their "pink" this and that brings in. if they really, truly cared about women's health, they would continue funding breast exams, cancer screenings, std testing, pelvic exams, pregnancy care and planning, annual exams, etc.

but, no. they're playing politics with women's health.

...komen's new vice president, karen handel, had run for governor of georgia in 2010 on an aggressively anti-abortion and anti-planned parenthood platform and was endorsed by sarah palin because of her opposition to reproductive choice. handel wrote in her campaign blog that she "do[es] not support the mission of planned parenthood."

"during my time as chairman of fulton county, there were federal and state pass-through grants that were awarded to planned parenthood for breast and cervical cancer screening, as well as a 'healthy babies initiative,'" handel wrote. "since grants like these are from the state i'll eliminate them as your next governor." she also wrote that she opposes stem cell research and supports crisis pregnancy centers, which are unregulated, christian-run operations whose main mission is to convince pregnant women not to have abortions.

after handel lost the gubernatorial primary, susan g. komen for the cure named her to be its senior vice president in april 2011. - huffpo

but this move shouldn't really surprise us. people associated with the "pink money machine" have shown their disdain before. the founder of the organization, nancy brinker, was the white house chief of protocol who turned the obama's away from the blair house when they were moving to washington. the obamas were not given the usual treatment for incoming president-elects. they were shown the door.

now...the door is being shut on women.

one of my favorite writers, barbara ehrenreich puts it so well...

to some extent, pink-ribbon culture has replaced feminism as a focus of female identity and solidarity. when a corporation wants to signal that it’s “woman friendly,” what does it do? it stamps a pink ribbon on its widget and proclaims that some miniscule portion of the profits will go to breast cancer research. i’ve even seen a bottle of shiraz called “hope” with a pink ribbon on its label, but no information, alas, on how much you have to drink to achieve the promised effect - salon

well...this pink ribbon culture....the pink money making machine can go to, well, somewhere where the sun don't shine.

next time someone comes around wanting you to sponsor them in a susan g. komen walk-a-thon or some such money making endeavour....tell them you will donate directly to planned parenthood in thier name. planned parenthood actually cares about women and their health...and they don't have to pay to make any pink ribbon labeled chinese made c**p.

drunk on a tuesday

2012-01-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

mcdonalds twitter campaign totally backfires

newt once wanted to build a real jurassic park

what your favorite blog says about you

this should wrap up the matlock vote

bank holiday monday

2012-01-30T06:21:00.000-08:00

a very scary visualization of global warming

read about the wisconsin recall cam

16 policy ideas to build a strong middle class

the acura legend of zelda

a sunday

2012-01-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

b of a debit card fee plan led to 20% jump in closed accounts

fbi arrests 4 east haven cops in profiling probe

second set of ikea workers vote union

"what i learned from christian sex guides"

a roller skating jam named 'saturdays'

2012-01-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

corporate rule is not inevitable

what's wrong with politifact?

are you better off than you were 30 years ago?

a majority of americans would vote out every single member of congress

what's your star wars name?

4 am friday

2012-01-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

top firefighter union execs predict backlash against anti-union governors

romeny tax returns highlight tax breaks for the rich

two house republicans got discounted mortgages from countrywide

iran bans barbie

another late thursday

2012-01-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

the wrong foreclosure settlement

google-bomb transforms the word "romney" as a verb

plus: his kids pay an even lower tax rate than romney

who wants to play? the alien v. predator chess set

and rip merlin, sherlock holmes and hamlet, aka nicol williamson

a wednesday in your garden

2012-01-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

the man who predicted the recession says rhe same economic risks remain

michigan sees lowest unemployment rate since 2008

the state of the republican race

which might last until june

and congrats to out buddy steve benen, who has always been a friend of this blog, for joining rachel maddow both as a producer and a blogger

skippy's tuesday night music club

2012-01-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

after the sotu speech...i'm feelin' americano..and so is someone else.

google goes all creepy

2012-01-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

like an internet stalker.

google will soon know far more about who you are and what you do on the web.
the web giant announced tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including youtube, gmail and its leading search engine.

google has already been collecting some of this information. but for the first time, it is combining data across its web sites to stitch together a fuller portrait of users. consumers won’t be able to opt out of the changes, which take effect march 1. - wapo

cold shower tuesdays

2012-01-24T10:48:00.000-08:00

is alec behind the new voter restrictions?

16 ships make as much pollution as all the cars in the world

a visual guide of income inequality

the poses that fictional women strike on fantasy book covers hurt

skippy's monday night music club

2012-01-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

50 years ago today....anthony benedetto recorded this timeless song for a timeless city.

child's cat murdered..."liberal" written on side

2012-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

this is where the vile hateful gop rhetoric goes.

the campaign manager of arkansas democratic congressional candidate ken aden arrived home last night to find his child’s pet cat murdered on the front porch with the word “liberal” scrawled across its lifeless body. - think progress and blue arkansas

“to kill a child’s pet is just unconscionable,” aden said monday morning. “as a former combat soldier, i’ve seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. whoever did this is definitely part of the worst of humanity,” he said.

“it is one thing to engage in civil political discourse, and for republicans and democrats to disagree with each other, which is an expected part of the political process. taking it to this level is beyond unacceptable,” aden said.- campaign website of ken aden

new moon on monday

2012-01-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

is the gop presidential field a tea party failure?

even if it is, don't worry, because chuck norris supports newt

dallas cowboys fan gear made in sweatshops

cosplay fail

and the solar storms create beautiful aurora borealis

gung hay fat choy

2012-01-23T07:07:00.001-08:00

Chinese Dragon, a photo by L2F1 on Flickr.

Happy New Year of the Dragon

skippy's sunday night music club

2012-01-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

farewell, etta.

environmental news stories sunday

2012-01-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

for those pesky little stories that somehow don't make it into debate questions....

surge in cancer cases in italy linked to illegal dumping of toxic waste. - across italy, on average, 14 males in every 100,000 die of liver cancer; in the 'triangle of death,' it was 35.9. the incidence of bladder cancer was nearly twice as high, of leukaemia 30 per cent higher. the cause? some point to the massive illegal dumping of waste by the naples mafia. - london independent

documentary reveals how contaminated water at the nation's largest marine base damaged lives. mike partain didn’t believe the rumors about a place called baby heaven until he visited a jacksonville, n.c., graveyard. surrounded by hundreds of tiny marble headstones, he started to cry. - washington post

beekeepers abuzz over threats to hives. - unlike those of most u.s. commercial beekeepers, clint walker's hives are staying home this winter. for the second straight year, he won't be shipping bees to california for the annual almond crop pollination. instead, he is keeping his bees out of agricultural fields to prevent their exposure to chemicals - fort worth star telegram

dueling solyndra ads foreshadow energy-centric campaign. - the battle of the ads began on monday, when americans for prosperity, a conservative group, launched a $6 million campaign to run one-minute spots on t.v. and social media sites attacking obama for backing solyndra - inside climate news

lack of ice cover might be affecting the ecology of lake champlain. - lake champlain is freezing over less frequently and less extensively than in decades past and the lack of complete ice cover might be starting to affect the ecology of the lake according to experts. - bulington free press

boulder a hotbed for hybrid vehicles. - if a tree falls in boulder, will it hit a hybrid electric vehicle? it's not that likely, in the big picture of things. but on the other hand, it's about five times more likely in boulder than in your average u.s. town. - boulder daily news

scab check for poultry to be scrapped under food-safety rule. the u.s. would boost monitoring of poultry processors’ sanitary practices and contamination controls instead of eyeballing each bird for scabs and sores under a plan that would save companies $250 million a year - bloomberg

costa concordia sinking: oil leaking into sea from stranded cruise liner. - oil was detected leaking into the sea from the capsized cruise ship costa concordia yesterday amid fears the stricken vessel is starting to break up. - edinburgh scotsman

republicans plot next step on keystone oil pipeline. - republicans in congress are considering using upcoming payroll tax cut or highway construction bills in order to force quick approval of the keystone xl oil pipeline but have not yet settled on a strategy, lawmakers said on friday - reuters

kids' leukemia risk rose near french nuclear plants. - while the u.s. government is investigating whether people who live in san clemente are more prone to cancer – and whether their proximity to san onofre nuclear generating station has anything to do with anything — french scientists have come to their own disturbing conclusions - orange country register

condo residents take neighbors to court over secondhand smoke. - if your home is your castle, you should be able to do anything legal you want in it, including lighting up a cigarette, right? some residents in the washington area are challenging that notion, arguing that secondhand smoke seeps through the walls and affects their health. - wapo

california woman sues pepsico's tropicana alleging deceptive advertising and consumer fraud. - a california mother is taking on orange juice giant tropicana, alleging in a lawsuit that the company's not-from-concentrate pure premium juice is "heavily processed" and not a "natural" product - abc world news tonight

shipwreck threatens europe's biggest marine sanctuary. - the wreck of the costa concordia cruise ship with 2,380 tonnes of fuel on board is threatening the environment of the italian island of giglio in europe's biggest marine sanctuary - afp

green donors want more from obama. - many green-minded donors who backed the president during his last race in 2008 say they're thrilled with the white house's decision to reject the pipeline. But they remain unconvinced that obama is committed to other key environmental issues like global warming and clean-energy technology - politico

white house throws in the towel on interior nominee. - the white house is ending its battle to win confirmation of rebecca wodder, the nominee for a senior interior department conservation position who previously headed the environmental group american rivers. - the hill

wind farm will seek permit to legally kill eagles. - a controversial wind farm proposed near red wing plans to ask for federal permission to legally kill eagles, making it one of the first in the nation to participate in a new federal strategy aimed at managing the often-lethal conflict between birds and turbine blades - minneapolis star tribune

i met him on a sunday

2012-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

should condom use be mandatory in porn?

even the national review is embarrassed by gov. nikki haley

today is roe day, so here's 10 reasons to support reproductive justice

dr. watson's blog

this is not a joke, at least not intentionally: santorum launches "conservatives united moneybomb"...or "c.u.m."

10:15 saturday night

2012-01-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

marijuana legalization bill likely to qualify for november ballot in washington

the color of welfare

dispatches from birtherstan

solar flares may drag space junk out of earth orbit

friday on my mind

2012-01-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

former mormons find a godless path

real financial regulators love prosecutions fraudulent bank ceos

millionaire ceo breaks waiter's finger for bad service

ostriches raised by humans fall in love with them

Can Dish It Out, Cannot Take It...

2012-01-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

From Thursday night's talk show mistakenly billed as a Republican debate:

...King asked Gingrich to respond to allegations by his ex-wife that in 1999, Gingrich asked her to have an open marriage with him.

"Would you like to take some time to respond to that?" asked King.

"No, but I will," responded Gingrich, receiving loud, sustained applause from the audience.

"I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that," he said...

It is hard to find decent people to run for office -- thanks in large part to clowns like Newt Gingrich. Somewhere, Bill Clinton is laughing his ass off...

thursday's child i want you back

2012-01-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

which corporations occupy congress?

that's not inequality, that's math

the greatest myth about the u.s. chamber of commerce is that they have an interest in creating or protecting jobs"

terrible, terrible news: bacon may increase cancer risk by 20%

protect the internet

2012-01-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

blackout is the new speech.

waiting for wednesday

2012-01-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

gov. scott walker violated campaign laws over 1,000 times since 2009

but don't worry, dems have collected over 1 million signatures to recall walker

pinkberry founder allegedly beat homeless man with tire iron

the sears death watch

rick santorum quotes as new yorker cartoons

ruby tuesday

2012-01-17T11:33:00.000-08:00

when you hurt the unions you hurt the workers

dutch public pension fund divests itself of wal-mart stock

this looks bad: completely-drug-resistant tb emerging in india

what do you know, it turns out pseudonymous comments on the internet are the best

stormy monday

2012-01-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

the top 5 myths of the gop tax spin machine

christian identity: the scariest religion you don't know about

pat buchanan blames gays, people of color, and van joenes (among others) for gwtting him fied from msnbc

these kids today with their rock and their roll...need some science

sunday girl

2012-01-15T03:33:00.000-08:00

the right wing's internet envy

god vs. unicorns

more and more women are happy to never get married

rare albino hummingbird caught on camera

only on a saturday night

2012-01-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

who broke the economy?

candidate mitt worth 2,708 times the average american

violent crime is way down in los angeles

black man to gingrich: "stop usimg blacks as a punching bag"

friday night fever

2012-01-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

report: sexism is rampant in the british press

english is pure chaos

and who cares if the ny times should be a truth vigilante? the real question is should vanity fair be a spelling vigilante?

thank goodness somebody has a list of all the steampunk facebook pages

outlook for thursday

2012-01-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

the gop's problem with hispanics

and has the gop lost its narrative?

elevator gate did a lot for the feminist /skeptic community, but mostly it won a major award doe rebecca watson

the secret lives of bats

king of bain (lyrics)

2012-01-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

there’s a little black spot on my resume
it’s just all of the jobs that i threw away
there’s a little pink slip that i’m thinking of
because firing folks is the one thing i love

canned 'em in california, let 'em go in maine
on my way to my gop white house reign
and you all watch your paychecks going down the drain
'cuz you know that’s why they all call me the king of bain
words & music: stung, a. winters, s. dopeland

and here's the music, if you want to sing along:

wednesday week

2012-01-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

romney's tax plan would raise taxes on the middle class and cut them for the rich

pew research finds most americans agree w/#occupywallstreet on income inequality

the meaningless sideshow of the electoral process

the internet society turns 20 this year

tuesday afternoon

2012-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

the sociopath as banker

remembering reagan

chipping away at roe

the 7 creepiest abandoned brothels on earth

(tell me why) i don't like mondays

2012-01-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

last year was a really good year for the auto industry

the gin and tacos 2011 c*cksucker of the year: donald trump!

lance mannion on ron paul on war

and here's the ultimate libertarian defense of ron paul

and stop the presses, er, we mean, let the presses start: keith olbermann will host current's coverage of the new hampshire primary:

a spokesperson for current confirmed that progress between the two parties was made over the weekend and that they expect olbermann to participate in election coverage going forward.

memo reveals tension over gop primary
"he told us he will do upcoming special election coverage," a current spokesperson told [the hollywood reporter] on sunday. "we certainly hope he does. that was our intention all along."

olbermann will have complete creative and editorial control. but it's unclear exactly what that coverage will look like; whether olbermann will do a special edition of countdown with his own panel of guests or lead the network's politically direct election specials, which have featured cenk uygur, jennifer granholm and network co-founder al gore.

the timing of the détente means politically direct will continue as planned on tuesday.

as much as we love having keith's liberal voice on television, we tend to agree w/mistermix @ balloon juice:

is there a bigger candy-ass crybaby prima donna than keith olbermann?

happy birthday, elvis

2012-01-08T08:31:00.001-08:00

thanks for the music...and the laughter...

blue sunday

2012-01-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

debbie wasserman schultz is right: romney is a job cremator

florida state rep tries to undo voter suppression law

comparing the gop candidates tax proposals

you'll enjoy this sign in a new hampshire restaurant

and may we say that avedon carol nails it:

and until we get some national voices making the case for the genuinely liberal approach to those issues - and being heard - we will be in big trouble, because the only person who even makes something that, on the surface, sounds a bit liberal, is a crazy and dangerous right-wing crackpot named ron paul.

skippy's saturday night music club

2012-01-07T22:27:00.000-08:00

saturday night's purr-fect for cat'n around with miss kitt.

saturday is the best day

2012-01-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

republicans really are anti-science

48 ads that never be allowed today

chicago parents and teachers use occupy techniques to protest school closures

are you smarter than a 4-year-old?

skippy's friday night music club

2012-01-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

friday. wow...what a difference a day makes.

another friday night

2012-01-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

indiana statehouse no longer 'the people's house'

the making of the 99%

feministe has a new look

and humble people tend to be more helpfil

skippy's thursday night music club

2012-01-05T22:41:00.000-08:00

tonight...tina covers the rolling stones.

thursday afternoon

2012-01-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

utah doctors join the occupy movement

number of homeless children in america highest in history

the pot calling the kettle 'nasty'

and hang on, it's time for cats and baths!

2012-01-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

snowy owls soar south in rare mass migration

skippy's wednesday night music club

2012-01-04T22:20:00.000-08:00

tonight...a little tina turner doing a beatles cover song...as only tina can.

wednesday girl

2012-01-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

top story tonight: democrats dominate twitter

it's the ron paul supporter drinking game!

get ready to occupy congress on jan. 17

daddy, what was government?

password breach

2012-01-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

a massive breach of security has exposed over 68,000 credit cards. the main cause of the breach was insecure passwords.

here's my tip for creating secure password that is easy to remember: pick a title from a book or box or something that is always on your desk and use that as the passwords. make it all lower case except for the third and fourth characters and substitute a letter for a number in the first i, l, or o. Seems complicated but is easy once you try. say the book "Tom Sawyer" is on your desk and is a permanent fixture. it might be one of a dozen books on your desk. so now your password is "t0MSawyer" (that second character is a zero). i don't like that it is only nine characters, but then i always go for fifteen or more characters. for many years i used UN1XthecOmpletereference, but then i worked in computer security some years ago and learned a lot about password cracking. my current password is above fifteen characters and has case changes and number substitutions and some non-alphanumeric characters.

password cracking can be done in a number of ways, but a dictionary-based cracker is easily defeated by my suggestion. you can't defeat a brute force cracker that generates every character and number combination in the world, but if you have a complex password, it will take a brute force cracker too long to crack your password, making it worthless to hackers to try.

skippy's tuesday night music club

2012-01-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

more aretha. just because she's the queen of soul.

tweet of the day

2012-01-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

callie schweitzer @cschweit

barely out of tuesday

2012-01-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

autism and racism

roy edroso gives the best analysis yet as to how libertarianism is f*cked up

is fukushima radiation killing seals in alaska?

orcs for romney!

skippy's monday night music club

2012-01-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

congrats to the queen of soul who will be walking down the aisle this year.
(apparently her fiance has not heard this song...)

new moon on monday

2012-01-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

thers provides an accute analysis of the gop field

don't forget the raging misogyny of ron paul supporters

gee, maybe ipads and kindles don't interfer w/an airplane's instruments all that much after all

lance mannion reviews "tintin"

this is why gop wants to defund pbs

2012-01-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

they challenge the right wing nut job's dog whistle talking points....especially the "there is no such thing as climate change" meme.

mainstream news outlets spent a lot of time in 2011 covering the record-breaking year for extreme weather in the u.s. but only a few of them spent much time exploring the link between those events and global warming.

so pbs deserves a special mention for a segment that aired last week looking at how global warming is influencing extreme weather events. as jeff masters, co-founder of the weather underground, explained in the piece: "they all tend to get increased when you have this extra energy in the atmosphere. I call it being on steroids ... for the atmosphere." - grist

vermont trying to live up to it's name

2012-01-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

"les verts monts" - the green mountains.

vermont has taken a large step forward for us states, outlining in its comprehensive energy plan how it will get 90% of all its energy from renewable sources by 2050. currently vermont gets 23% of its energy from renewable sources, mostly biomass and hydropower which supply roughly 50% of the state's electricity. - treehugger

tweet of the day

2012-01-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

environmental news stories sunday

2012-01-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

let's hope 2012 is a better year for the environment than last year. it doesn't seem to be starting off well...

smog from celebrations closes philippine airport. - smog from new years eve celebrations was so thick in manilla this year that flights had to be diverted - philippine daily enquirer

anyway...happy new year to all of skippy's readers.

global warming: top stories of 2011. - if 2011 goes down as the year that global warming awareness reached a critical mass, it could be attributed to the spate of unusual weather events around the globe - summit county citizens voice

world pays ecuador not to extract oil from rainforest. - an alliance of european local authorities, national governments, us film stars, japanese shops, soft drink companies and russian foundations have stepped in to prevent oil companies exploiting 900m barrels of crude oil from one of the world's most biologically rich tracts of land - london guardian

diy cesium scanning store may be 'new normal.' - the surreal sight of a do-it-yourself radiation testing facility standing next to a hardware store and an Internet cafe raises a question for japan: is this the new normal? - japan times

ohio connects quakes to injection well. - the state has temporarily halted the disposal of waste produced from shale drilling within a 5-mile radius of the d&l energy brine-injection well on ohio works drive in girard. the announcement was made late saturday following the magnitude 4.0 earthquake that shook the youngstown area around 3 p.m. - youngstone daily business journal

oil rigs may provide bird buffet for sharks. - heaped on a table at the laboratory, the pile of beaks, feet, eyeballs, feathers and whole bird carcasses testified to what may be the oil industry’s most unexpected environmental impact - mobile press register

severe storms led to sewage spills across connecticut. - while power outages during tropical storm Irene and the october snowstorm left much of the state in the dark, they had a less-publicized but possibly more damaging result — millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into waterways throughout connecticut when backup power systems failed at waste treatment plants - hartford current

wildfires devastate chilean wilderness. - wildfires sweeping through one of south america's most famous national parks are devastating thousands of acres of pristine habitat. so far, more than 21,000 acres of torres del paine have been destroyed by blazes that have yet to be brought under control - london independent

more storms on the way unless we learn to manage the land. - when the bureau of meteorology releases its annual data this week, it will probably announce that australia has just had the second or third wettest year in its recorded history. no surprise. by changing the landscape, we changed the weather - sydney morning herald

nimasa: bonga oil spill requires national, international response. - as efforts to clean the oil spillage at the bonga offshore production storage and offloading vessel continue, the management of nigerian maritime administration and safety agency has said only a national and international response could save ecological and aquatic lives in the oil- and gas-rich niger delta region - lagos this day

new china food safety scandal widens to oil, peanuts. - chinese authorities in a southern boomtown have detected a cancer-causing toxin in peanuts and cooking oil that was only recently discovered in milk, in the nation's latest food safety scandal - afp

green will be hot for 2012, flordians predict. - being eco-friendly will be important in art, food, landscaping and across the spectrum of design, floridians predicted. - melbourne florida today

missing maps mean pg&e lines weren't inspected. - pacific gas and electric co. failed to check nearly 14 miles of gas distribution pipelines for leaks for up to two decades when it lost track of 16 maps needed to guide mandated safety inspections of its system in eastern contra costa county. - sfgate

a tempestuous year. - is there a connection between last year’s extreme weather events and global warming? the answers might be a lot clearer if the republicans in congress were less hostile to climate change research. - nytimes

the recession squeeze on buses and trains. - for the average american driver, the time wasted in traffic jams has more than doubled in 30 years. the best way of easing that gridlock — not to mention saving gas, curbing pollution and finally finishing that novel — is public transit - nytimes

new hampshire celebrates 25 years of environmental protection. - the year 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of des and its service to the people of our state. des has played a vital role in protecting and restoring our precious natural resources and public health - exeter news-letter

only new economics can save great lakes . - there is a substantial and growing consensus that planet earth is in trouble and that the prevalent economic model, which has brought us to the point of crisis, will not be the solution to the crisis - ashland current

study: does enduring extreme weather make you vote liberal? - on the heels of a disastrous weather year in the usa, and with the long presidential campaign season looming, a new study finds that people who have endured extreme weather events are more likely to support environmental legislation, even if it means restricting individual freedoms. - usa today

benzene fouling drinking water at suncor refinery, chemicals seeping into sand creek. - toxic petroleum dissolved in groundwater beneath suncor energy north of downtown denver is seeping directly into the bottom of sand creek near the creek's confluence with the south platte river, and piped drinking water at the refinery may be contaminated with benzene - denver post

arnold schwarzenegger's green road back. - in recent weeks, schwarzenegger has begun to return to the spotlight, making public appearances at renewable energy and climate change events, advocating for green technology and touting his energy achievements in the golden state - politico

happy new year

2012-01-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

members of congress have gotten much richer in the last 6 years

93 year old woman who cleaned tennessee state capital for 30 years denied voter id under new law

how right wing conspiracy theories may pose a genuine threat to humanity

mcdonalds closes all their stores in bolivia

skippy's saturday night music club

2011-12-31T23:56:00.000-08:00

my personal song of 2011. i've been high. i've been low. i've been yes and i've been oh hell no. i've been stop. i've been go.

welcome jon swift fans!

2011-12-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

first, a big thanks to batocchio for linking to us in his jon swift memorial year end blog round up.

secondly, if any of you are wondering, here's the explanation of blogroll amnesty day.

happy new year, and let's hope 2012 doesn't end with a mayan prophecy!

auld lang syne

2011-12-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

crooks& liars presents the top 50 videos of 2011

the 5 dumbest things republicans have done this year

the worst tv of 2011

the year in science

the year in lies

the 10 worst economic ideas of 2011

the top 10 gop moments of 2011

the most under-reported stories of the year

the best celebrity tweets of 2011

10 winning moments for the 99% in 2011

and don't forget 2011: the year in extreme animals

skippy's friday night music club

2011-12-30T23:01:00.000-08:00

remembering some of the favorite songs of 2011. this one holds a special spot in my heart for a long term lover who passed away several years ago. "someone like you" by adele.

friday night

2011-12-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

mitt romney's corporate welfare

"sex and the single girl" turns 50

1,100 year old mayan ruins found in north georgia

we hope you all enjoyed your last christmas...ever!

skippy's thursday night music club

2011-12-29T23:40:00.000-08:00

remembering some of the favorite songs of 2011. i am howlin' for these guys. the black keys.

love the irony

2011-12-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

that those gop peeps who failed to qualify for the virginia primary ballot were caught in their own voter suppression tactics.

calling governor bobby jindal

2011-12-29T17:38:00.000-08:00

why don't you go up to alaska and find out what that so-called "wasteful" volcano monitoring is all about.

a volcano in alaska's aleutian islands sent up an ash cloud thursday that prompted scientists to increase the alert level for commercial aircraft traffic.

the alaska volcano observatory said satellite images at 4:02 a.m. alaska time showed cleveland volcano had spewed ash 15,000 feet into the air in a cloud that moved east-southeast. u.s. geological survey scientist-in-charge john power called it a small explosion. - cbs

progressive

2011-12-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

is the new black in fashionable political polls.

a new poll from the pew research center for the people & the press out yesterday shows that “progressive” is the most positively viewed political label in america, with 67 percent holding a positive view compared to just 22 percent who view the term negatively: - think progress

thursdays

2011-12-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

don't tax the rich; tax inequality itself

some advice for chuck norris

we're #1!

and rest in peace tarzan's pal, cheetah

jon stewart

2011-12-29T03:01:00.000-08:00

patron saint of skippy the bush kangaroo...and lover of kitties.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

looking back at 2011

2011-12-29T00:57:00.000-08:00

bad food news of 2011.

good food news of 2011.

the political scandals of 2011.

osama bin laden's death most impactful story of 2011 (say aol voters)

top corporate governance stories of 2011.

the bbc wants to quiz your knowledge of top stories of 2011.

npr's top songs of 2011. can you hum a few bars of these?

time's top 10 of everything in 2011

skippy's wednesday night music club

2011-12-28T23:25:00.000-08:00

a little look back at some of the top songs of 2011. love her or hate her...gaga's got it going on.

wednesday girl

2011-12-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

homecare workers now legally considered actual workers instead of volunteers

newt gingrich failed to register newtgingrich.com, which is now a dem parody site

buying insider trading information from congress - and getting rich

what's going on with voter supression and the doj?

barely out of tuesday

2011-12-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

the plight of the 1%

and rebuttal thereof

pot arrests drop in nyc

why we need the consumer financial protection bureau

happy boxing day

2011-12-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

ny att.gen. teams w/federal housing finance agency to investigate mortgage fraud

what they won't tell you about pepper spray

time's person of the year: the photo you didn't see

and here's the great gop hot air balloon race

orthocracy speaks

2011-12-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

"please allow me to introduce myself. you have no name for me, so i must name myself. i am 'the orthocracy.' you have in your language no name for me because i do not let you see me. i rule by a set of rules that cannot be spoken, for, not only is it taboo to voice them, but they are too revolting, too embarrassing for your human sensibilities to bear."

"although no well organized orthocracy allows the rules of rule be made explicit, one can infer the outlines of a system of rules behind the veil -- a ruling system."

"the 13 rules of rule

"1. keep them weak.

"2. keep them dumb.

"3. keep them scared.

"4. control all their resources.

"5. divide them, conquer them.

"6. control their rhythm and pace.

"7. control their chemistry.

"8. control their sex.

"9. jack them around.

"10. use coercion routinely, brute force when necessary.

"11. use deception routinely, the big lie when necessary.

"12. none of this can show.

"13. this is the system; there shall be no other."

The Only Modern Xmas Story

2011-12-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Dr. Black has already embedded one of the few worthwhile modern Xmas songs.* And I usually leave re-posting this story to Brad DeLong, but he appears to have gone all-in for Latin and skipped it this year. So, without further ado, Mark Evanier:

I arrived, headed for my favorite barbecue stand and, en route, noticed that Mel Tormé was seated at one of the tables.

Mel Tormé. My favorite singer. Just sitting there, sipping a cup of coffee, munching on an English Muffin, reading The New York Times. Mel Tormé.

I had never met Mel Tormé. Alas, I still haven't and now I never will. He looked like he was engrossed in the paper that day so I didn't stop and say, "Excuse me, I just wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed all your records." I wish I had....

I waved the leader of the chorale over and directed his attention to Mr. Tormé, seated about twenty yards from me.

"That's Mel Tormé down there. Do you know who he is?"

The singer was about 25 so it didn't horrify me that he said, "No."

I asked, "Do you know 'The Christmas Song?'"

Again, a "No."

I said, "That's the one that starts, 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...'"

"Oh, yes," the caroler chirped. "Is that what it's called? 'The Christmas Song?'"

"That's the name," I explained. "And that man wrote it." The singer thanked me, returned to his group for a brief huddle...and then they strolled down towards Mel Tormé. I ditched the rest of my sandwich and followed, a few steps behind. As they reached their quarry, they began singing, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." directly to him.

A big smile formed on Mel Tormé's face — and it wasn't the only one around. Most of those sitting at nearby tables knew who he was and many seemed aware of the significance of singing that song to him. For those who didn't, there was a sudden flurry of whispers: "That's Mel Tormé...he wrote that..."

As the choir reached the last chorus or two of the song, Mel got to his feet and made a little gesture that meant, "Let me sing one chorus solo." The carolers — all still apparently unaware they were in the presence of one of the world's great singers — looked a bit uncomfortable. I'd bet at least a couple were thinking, "Oh, no...the little fat guy wants to sing."

But they stopped and the little fat guy started to sing...and, of course, out came this beautiful, melodic, perfectly-on-pitch voice. The look on the face of the singer I'd briefed was amazed at first...then properly impressed.

On Mr. Tormé's signal, they all joined in on the final lines: "Although it's been said, many times, many ways...Merry Christmas to you..." Big smiles all around.

And not just from them. I looked and at all the tables surrounding the impromptu performance, I saw huge grins of delight...which segued, as the song ended, into a huge burst of applause. The whole tune only lasted about two minutes but I doubt anyone who was there will ever forget it.

Go read the whole thing. The rest of us have to abide with this:

If you liked this, please consider joining me in donations to Oxfam America or Heifer in honor of others. Which will still deliver an e-card in time for the 25 December thingie.

*The other was, of course, sung without the slightest sense of irony at soup kitchen being run at a homeless shelter by the cast of Glee.

environmental news stories sunday

2011-12-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

christmas version

trees in trouble: grim future for frankincense. - frankincense is still used today — for perfumes, incense and traditional medicines — but a new study suggests that its future looks grim - weekend edition (npr)

northeast holds front line in climate change war. - up and down the connecticut river valley in massachusetts colleges and major research universities have expanded their course offerings to address the growing interest in meeting the challenges of a ‘carbon-constrained’ future and other questions of environmental sustainability - springfield republican

add vitamin d to scotland's food: experts. - international experts are calling for food in scotland to be fortified with vitamin d, in an attempt to cut the large numbers of people who develop multiple sclerosis at sunshine-deprived northern latitudes - london guardian

fractured earth, polluted water? - in new mexico, water is precious. until we know more about how fracking can impact water supplies, state regulators should require more information about the chemicals being pumped into the ground. new mexico would be better off safeguarding our water before drilling starts, not after. - santa fe new mexican

global warming and malaria: it’s kind of complicated. - al gore’s “an inconvenient truth” may be the first place a lot of people heard about it, but scientists have been worried for a long time about how climate change will affect infectious diseases - climate central

don't take bath this christmas as drought order is issued. - people in the south east are being asked not to take a bath over christmas to save water after the first winter drought order in almost 10 years was imposed - london daily telegraph

reindeer are fading into holiday myth. - in the barren lands of the far north, where caribou numbers have undergone natural fluctuations over decades, the question is whether the declining populations will have the chance and the space to rebound as their ranges face mineral exploration, mine, oil and gas development, and a changing climate - new york times

green christmas more frequent due to global warming. - there was time in the great white north when dreaming of a white christmas would almost always be a dream come true. - canadian press

mercury rule is president obama's christmas gift to america. - the obama administration delivered a last-minute christmas present this week. on wednesday, following a tortured history, the epa finally released new standards that sharply reduce the emissions of mercury - mother jones

sony's bio battery turns waste paper into electricity. - sony has unveiled a paper-powered battery prototype in japan. the technology generates electricity by turning shredded paper into sugar which in turn is used as fuel. if brought to market, the innovation could allow the public to top up the power of their mobile devices using waste material - bbc

great lakes funding & christmas tree debate. - people who are working on cleaning up the great lakes got some good news this week. after months of negotiations, the 2012 federal budget contains $300 million for the great lakes restoration Initiative - environment report

the best christmas gift ever: saving santa from the watery north pole. - this christmas, think about a donation to the ‘where will santa live?‘ campaign, where your dollars will be put to the best use possible for santa and his crew as they get ready to face their new reality of a warmed up north pole. - scientific american

columnist objects to ads depicting santa as a homeless climate refugee. - “where will santa live?” the ad asks. “santa’s workshop is sinking." actually, it’s okay, kids. santa’s coming next saturday night just as he always does - toronto sun

endangered reindeer. - reindeer – also called caribou – are ubiquitous in the world’s northern latitudes, but the populations closest to the north pole are dwindling because of climate change. now there is a push to list the large deer as endangered - living on earth

real christmas trees save water. - fake christmas trees might be convenient and seem eco-friendly at first glance, but their environmental costs – measured in greenhouse gas emissions and landfill space – far outweigh their benefits, say conservationists who urge consumers to "stay real" this holiday season - national geographic news

oh little town of blogleham

2011-12-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

remains of a 17th century stone church were found in florida

attacks on obama policy shames christianity

"and unto them a snowy-white albino kiwi was born"

newt gingrich's letter to virginia, regarding the existence of santa and claims he said otherwise

and christwire presents 5 christmas things gays have ruined

it's not christmas

2011-12-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

until the king sings...

merry xmas

2011-12-25T09:25:00.001-08:00

the blog before christmas

2011-12-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

newt gingrich's graveyard in the closet

nearly 1/3 of americans are arrested by age 23

say hello to the world's smallest frog

all we want for christmas is democrat with a spine

And So Happy Xmas...Now with Canadian Content

2011-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, James Bianco, chez Ritholtz, noted a WSJ article entitled "Dividend Stocks Become the Heroes":

This year, the 100 stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index with the highest dividend yields are up an average of 3.7% before dividend payouts, according to Birinyi Associates. The 100 lowest-yielding stocks are down an average of 10%.

Is this a good idea? I understand the move to dividend-paying stocks—companies that admit they don't know what to do with their excess cash are almost by definition better-run than those that hoard it without announcing future plans for its use (hi, MSFT!). And some companies have a lot of excess cash right now.

But there is a difference between paying a dividend because it's the best use of funds for your investors and having a high dividend yield. Don't believe me? Ask Bank of America shareholders ($2.56 Annual Dividend, just under an 8% yield) ca. 2008:

Or those who bought The Big C for its $2.08-cents-per share Annual Dividend (around 6-7% yield) in late 2007*:

Of course, banks might be the except. But here's the past five years of Toronto Dominion, which was paying around a 3% p.a. Dividend** around the same time period:

What would have happened to your overall investment if you had gone for the higher-paying firms? It's not pretty:

I like dividends; they're an admission from a firm that it doesn't know better than its owners what to do with some of its cash. But high-yielding dividends are often a sign of bad management giving away "excess" cash in good times.***

The first rule of finance: when something appears too good to be true, it probably is. Caveat emptor and may all your investments for 2012 be good ones.

*The graphic scale and dividend amounts were distorted somewhat by the 10:1 reverse split earlier this year.

**An annual dividend of US$2.28, with the stock trading around US$70-75 per share.

***This is not an unusual story, sadly. The collapse of LTCM, for instance, occurred after the fund gave much of its investment monies back to investors and then count not remain solvent for so long as the market remained irrational. (The contemporary equivalent is MF Global.)

grandma got run over by a blogger

2011-12-23T05:21:00.000-08:00

the recall election signature gatherings are proceeding apace

here's a bi-partisan bill that makes any company that moves its call centers off-shore ineligible for federal loans or grants

anonymous donors pay off strangers' layaway accounts

but some wal-marts in texas didn't let the accounts get paid

and doug j of balloon juice punks politico

silent blog, holy blog

2011-12-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

6 stories you may have missed about from #occupywallstreet

ceo pay shot up in 2010

7 facts about veterans that will shock you

and other facts that republicans fail to grasp

say hello

2011-12-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

to if i ran the zoo

o blog all ye faithful

2011-12-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

it turns out that people getting unemployment insurance work harder at finding jobs

meet the budget the media doesn't want you to know about

pew finds most americans blame republicans for the do-nothing congress

and neil pollack knew christopher hitchens better than you

jingle blog jingle blog jingle all the way

2011-12-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

the faux rage over the false war on christmas

what you can do to occupy the holidays

holiday gifts for the activists o. your list

gov. scott walker is costing wisconsin 18,000 jobs a year

new moon on monday

2011-12-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

aclu sues gov. scott walker over wisconsin voter id law

gop wants to harness the power of social media

tea party politico issues racist facebook rant calling for obama's assassination

it's the pepper spraying cop tumblr!

sunday sun

2011-12-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

pz myers is glad phillip johnson is still alive, but intelligent design is dead

don't support the salvation army, they support anti-lgbt policies

"people like me are the only thing that stands between us and auschwitz," sez newt gingrich

probation officer fired for signing pro- pot petition

and rip christopher hitchens

say hello

2011-12-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

to proof positive

saturday night special

2011-12-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

the brutal logic of climate change

"you're a mean one, newt gingrich"

9 demands of the 99%

voyager 1 is in the stagnation zone

thank god it's friday

2011-12-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

koch-fueled americans for prosperity takes credit for bullying the gop into climate denial

meanwhile tens of thousands march on koch industries for suppressing voting rights

rats free each other from traps, then share chocolate

you should hate the mental welfare state

gay chinese penguins raise chick, get married

thursday's child

2011-12-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

software that listens for lies

an open letter to pixar

a strong middle class is the key to economic growth

scooby doo is "veggie tales" for secular humanists

and rip producer of "easy rider," "five easy pieces," and "the last picture show" (and father of the monkees),bert schneider

we apologize for calling a racist a racist

2011-12-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

it's really just a coincidence that the gop candidate's phrase "master race" just happened to have once been used by other folks.

we humbly apologize. even if it's all true.

wednesday morning, 3 a.m.

2011-12-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

corporate tax dodging has cost states $42 billion in revenue in the last three years

there's a pretty bad oil spill off the coast of brazil

invented peoples for mitt romney

cbo sez dems jobs plan creates more jobs than gop plan

church on tuesday

2011-12-13T06:05:00.000-08:00

presidential pardons in black and white

christmas gifts for rationally curious

if ron paul is the third-party spoiler, which campaign will he spoil?

sure, august j. pollack designed our 'roo logo, but now ted rall drew suburban guerilla's new header

skippy's monday night music club

2011-12-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

have yourself a very merry evening.

stormy monday

2011-12-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

frank miller doesn't like #occupywallstreet. alan moore doesn't like frank miller

dem. rep fires staffers after they make fun of him on twitter

paypal sucks

morgan stanley exec calls for more taxes on the rich

today is the day to occupy west coast ports!

skippy's sunday night music club

2011-12-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

yeah...it's not the holiday season until you hear mele kalikimaka

skippy the bush kangaroo

april, spring, summer and wednesdays

skippy's tuesday night music club

susan g. komen foundation doesn't care about women's health

drunk on a tuesday

bank holiday monday

a sunday

a roller skating jam named 'saturdays'

4 am friday

another late thursday

a wednesday in your garden

skippy's tuesday night music club

google goes all creepy

cold shower tuesdays

blogrolling in our time

skippy's monday night music club

child's cat murdered..."liberal" written on side

new moon on monday

gung hay fat choy

skippy's sunday night music club

environmental news stories sunday

i met him on a sunday

10:15 saturday night

friday on my mind

Can Dish It Out, Cannot Take It...

thursday's child i want you back

protect the internet

waiting for wednesday

ruby tuesday

stormy monday

sunday girl

only on a saturday night

friday night fever

outlook for thursday

king of bain (lyrics)

wednesday week

tuesday afternoon

(tell me why) i don't like mondays

happy birthday, elvis

blue sunday

skippy's saturday night music club

saturday is the best day

skippy's friday night music club

another friday night

skippy's thursday night music club

thursday afternoon

skippy's wednesday night music club

wednesday girl

password breach

skippy's tuesday night music club

tweet of the day

callie schweitzer @cschweit

barely out of tuesday

skippy's monday night music club

new moon on monday

this is why gop wants to defund pbs

vermont trying to live up to it's name

tweet of the day

environmental news stories sunday

happy new year

skippy's saturday night music club

welcome jon swift fans!

auld lang syne

skippy's friday night music club

friday night

skippy's thursday night music club

love the irony

calling governor bobby jindal

progressive

thursdays

jon stewart

looking back at 2011

skippy's wednesday night music club

wednesday girl

barely out of tuesday

happy boxing day

orthocracy speaks

The Only Modern Xmas Story

environmental news stories sunday

oh little town of blogleham