Jan 01 2019

Pondering the Pundits

Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from> around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Pondering the Pundits”.

Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt

Paul Krugman: Hope for a Green New Year

Let’s be honest with ourselves: The new Democratic majority in the House won’t be able to enact new legislation. I’ll be astonished if there are bipartisan deals on anything important — even on infrastructure, where both sides claim to want action but what the G.O.P. really wants is an excuse to privatize public assets.

So the immediate consequences of the power shift in Washington won’t involve actual policymaking; they’ll come mainly from Democrats’ new, subpoena-power-armed ability to investigate the fetid swamp of Trumpian corruption.

But that doesn’t mean that Democrats should ignore policy issues. On the contrary, the party should spend the next two years figuring out what, exactly, it will try to do if it gains policymaking power in 2021. Which brings me to the big policy slogan of the moment: the so-called Green New Deal. Is this actually a good idea?

Eugene Robinson: Who isn’t running for the Democratic presidential nomination?

It has begun.

The field of candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination is starting to form, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) announcing Monday that she has launched a campaign “exploratory committee” — the same step that former housing and urban development secretary Julián Castro took earlier in December. Spoiler alert: Exploratory committees always come to the same conclusion. They’re both running.

Actually, who isn’t running? At this point, by some counts, as many as 30 potential Democratic candidates either have expressed interest in taking the plunge or have significant constituencies urging them to do so. If you thought the 2016 GOP debates were crowded, just wait. This year, Democrats may have to debate in shifts, or perhaps stand on risers like a choir.

And, no, they won’t all be singing the same tune. That’s a good thing. Even more than it needs new blood, the party needs new ideas. In the wake of President Trump’s nihilistic vandalism, the next president will have much to do — not just healing the nation, but moving it forward.

Continue reading

Jan 01 2019

House

Marching Bands. Sigh.

Yeah, done my time. Trumpet and middle range Brass so I never had to learn anything except March and Snap and Swing.

As an act of unmerited spite I urged my cousin to take up drums and to compound the crime this ek’smas I urged Emily to give her kids an electronic piano and drum kit.

Drumline Battle – Dover High School v. Sussex Tech

Our Drummers spent thousands of hours smoking weed and working on these routines. It was exactly like this. I might mention we were the top ranked Band in Connecticut.

Drumline Battle – Shadow v. 7th Regiment

Drum Corps International style.

Heavy Metal – Justice

I love Rock and Roll, put another dime in the Jukebox Baby.

Jan 01 2019

That Flower Thing

I want to say that the Rose Parade is about the only nationally televised one I haven’t come to at least temporarily despise. Macy’s is Show Tunes (not that there’s anything wrong with Show Tunes), Commercials, and Big Balloons. Well, we have Big Balloons in Stamford Connecticut too and like many New York City rituals I don’t exactly understand the point of standing around under strict security in the freezing cold with no bathrooms, food, or drinks.

The Rose Parade is the real deal. They have Bands (yes Macy’s has Bands but they never show them) and Equestrian Units (the historical heart of the Parade), and Animated Floats made of Flowers that while they pitch a Corporatist message are at least fairly subtle about it.

And they show the Bands. As someone who wasted a lot of time practicing with the biggest Club in School (we were called Band-Os, I kept trying to move it to Band Aids which I thought screamingly funny at the time) I appreciate the attention because parents sacrifice Thousands to pay for the trips. It’s worth it, they are life changing experiences. Emily went to the Rose Parade, she plays Flute and Piccalo.

My most notable Band trip was to a Ski Lodge, just for fun. They also had Horse Riding so I was only one horse behind, a witness while a future Miss America finalist was mauled and gobbled up because hers slipped and kicked the one in front of me. She played French Horn and Piano but dropped Band to become the Pianist for the Choir and I eventually replaced her in the Horn section because I was good enough at everything Brass but not particularly good at anything even though I was First Seat Euphonium.

I gave that over to my companion on the trip home.

I was also injured. A Linebacker (who says you can’t be musical and play Sports?) slammed into me on the slopes and while the force blew me out of my bindings the real damage was a 10 inch rip on my shin that left a minor cut in my blue jeans. I didn’t notice it at all until my boot started to squish.

One trip to the Emergency Room later I was consigned to the casualty list and soon enough my Second Seat joined me with a shoulder injury. I don’t remember the particulars. When the time came to head home we were both assigned to the ‘Cripple Bus’.

She was beautiful, much better looking and nicer in every respect than future Miss Connecticut. Out of Section Solidarity we sat together, she on the side where her sling arm was not exposed. It was long and dark and eventually she fell asleep leaning against me.

I, on the other hand, was quite awake.

During the ride home, after we got off the bus, Richard (who had been a Chaperone) said, “So, how’d you enjoy the trip?”

“Umm… It was ok.”

I am an idiot. You can carve that on my forehead and tombstone.

My most notable Choir trip (What can I tell you? I did school as a courtesy to the System and needed only enough overall credits to keep active, I already had what I needed to graduate, but lacked a Quarter credit in Gym which my Coach busted my balls on even though I had a Varsity exemption, so I had to have Richard plead my case and wound up cleaning lockers for four hours) I missed. Bus left at 7 am and we passed them leaving.

It was not all bad. My Alternative Newspaper had a trip scheduled to go into New York on the same day and pick up some Awards from the Columbia School of Journalism, one of which was mine, and it was fun but not a novelty.

When I got back Richard said, “Are you still packed?”

Well, I’ve been away.

So we hit the road and several hours later I was with my Choir. It was a very nice thing to do.

Anyway I no longer feel compelled to liveblog the Rose Parade.

Here’s the Order of March–

Pre-Parade Vehicles and Units

  1. Sound Car
  2. Pace Car
  3. Rose Parade Opening Show
  4. Rose Parade Opening Unit presented by Honda Rose
  5. Rose Parade Opening Pod x 4
  6. Kaiser Catamount Pride Band & Color Guard, Fontana
  7. Honda CRV (2 vehicles)
  8. U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit Flyover

Parade

  1. Celebration of Dreams, American Honda Motor Co., (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  2. Alabama State University Mighty Marching Hornets
  3. U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard
  4. U.S. Marine Corps, West Coast Composite Band
  5. Still Serving America, The American Legion, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  6. Spirit of the West Riders
  7. Home Tweet Home, City of Alhambra, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  8. Flower Mound High School Band, Flower Mound, Texas
  9. Far Out Frequencies, Cal Poly Universities, (Self-built)
  10. Mini Therapy Horses
  11. Music Moves Us — Inspiring a Healthier World, Kaiser Permanente, (Fiesta Floats)
  12. Wells Fargo Stagecoaches
  13. Chaka Khan, 2019 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal
  14. The Power of Music, City of Torrance/Torrance Rose Float Association, (Fiesta Parade Floats)
  15. The Lassiter High School Marching Trojan Band, Marietta, Ga
  16. Rhythm of the Heart, Donate Life, (Fiesta Floats)
  17. 2019 Tournament of Roses President Gerald Freeny
  18. California Highway Patrol Mounted Patrol Unit
  19. Harmony of Hope, City of Hope, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  20. Florida A&M University, The Incomparable Marching 100
  21. A Carousel of Experience, Farmers Insurance Group, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  22. Banda Escolar de Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  23. Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band
  24. The Best Almonds Make the Best Almondmilk, Blue Diamond Growers, (AES Creative)
  25. Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Herald Trumpets
  26. 2019 Royal Court
  27. Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band
  28. Stompin’ Good Time, Burbank Tournament of Roses Association, (Self-built)
  29. Yellow Submarine, Western Asset Management Co., (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  30. Scripps Miramar Ranch
  31. Ohio State University Float
  32. Ohio State University Band
  33. Helping Kids Rock Their Future, Kiwanis International, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  34. Ride Captain Ride, Trader Joe’s Company, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  35. Mercer Island High School Marching Band, Mercer Island, Wash.
  36. Taste the Magic, Stella Rosa Wines, (Fiesta Parade Floats)
  37. Pickerington Marching Band, Pickerington, Ohio
  38. Tree Frog Night, La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association, (Self-built)
  39. University of Washington Float
  40. University of Washington Band
  41. A Divine Melody Resonates in All, United Sikh Mission, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  42. Fezzy’s Garden of Hope and Healing, Shriners Hospitals for Children, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  43. Mayor of Pasadena, Terry Tornek
  44. Books Keep Us On Our Toes, The UPS Store, Inc., (Fiesta Parade Floats)
  45. Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps
  46. Tuned for Any Challenge, 24 Hour Fitness USA, (AES)
  47. The Valley Hunt Club
  48. Spend Your Life Living, Northwestern Mutual, (Fiesta Parade Floats)
  49. 2019 Rose Bowl Game Hall of Fame Inductees
  50. Service Rocks!, Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  51. LAUSD All-District High School Honor Band, Los Angeles
  52. Rockin’ the Vest, Lions Clubs International, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  53. The New Buffalo Soldiers
  54. Chanting Stones: Karahunj, American Armenian Rose Float Association, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  55. The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band
  56. Rhythms of Taiwan, China Airlines, (AES Creative)
  57. U.S. Forest Service Pack Mules Celebrate Smokey Bear’s 75th Birthday
  58. Play. Rest. Repeat., Big Bear Rose Parade Association, (Fiesta Floats)
  59. The Norco Cowgirls & Little Miss Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Teams
  60. Joy to the World, the Lord is Come, Lutheran Laymen’s League/Lutheran Hour Ministries, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  61. Na Koa Ali’I — Hawaii All-State Marching Band
  62. Rhythm of Paradise, Dole Packaged Foods, (Fiesta Floats)
  63. Hawaii Pa’u Riders
  64. Come Sail Away, Carnival Cruise Lines, (Fiesta Floats)
  65. 1st Cavalry Division, Horse Cavalry Detachment, U.S. Army
  66. 200 Years of Harmony, Odd Fellows and Rebekahs Rose Float, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  67. Another Day in Paradise, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, (Fiesta Floats)
  68. Munford High School Band, Munford, Tenn.
  69. Let’s Go To The Hop, Downey Rose Float Association, (Self-built)
  70. Los Hermanos Bañuelos Charro Team
  71. Cultivate a Better World, Chipotle Mexican Grill, (AES Creative)
  72. All-Izumo Honor Green Band, Izumo, Japan
  73. Harmony’s Garden, Sierra Madre Rose Float Association, (Self-built)
  74. Budweiser Clydesdales
  75. Celebrating Easterseals — 100 Years of Disability Services, Easterseals, (Fiesta Floats)
  76. Banda Municipal de Acosta, Costa Rica
  77. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Universal Pictures & Dreamworks Animation presents “How To Train Your Dragon”, (AES)
  78. Calgary Stampede Showband
  79. Calgary Stampede Showriders
  80. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, (Phoenix Decorating Company)
  81. Cavalcade of Bands Honor Band, Pottstown, Pennsylvania
  82. Harmony Through Union, Chinese American Heritage Foundation, (Fiesta Floats)
  83. Gold Rush Fire Brigade, Pilot Hill, Calif.
  84. Three Little Birds, South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, (Self-built)
  85. Lincoln-Way Marching Band, New Lenox, Illinois
  86. Backyard Harmony, Underground Service Alert of Southern California (DigAlert), (Fiesta Parade Floats)
  87. Royal Swedish Cadet Band

Closing

  1. Wells Fargo Closing Satellite Pod
  2. Wells Fargo Stagecoach — Rose Parade Closing Show
  3. Rose Parade Closing Unit

I kind of hope this link works.

Rose Parade Live Stream- KTLA

Jan 01 2019

The Breakfast Club (In With The New)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

photo stress free zone_zps7hlsflkj.jpg

This Day in History

Fidel Castro seizes power in Cuba; Abraham Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation; Ellis Island opens; Hank Williams Senior dies.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.

J. D. Salinger

Dec 31 2018

Happy New Year 2019

Out with the old. In with the new. Have a Happy and Healthy New Year.

We bid 2018 farewell with a Parting Glass.

Dec 31 2018

New Year 2019 Celebrations

Celebration of the New Year celebrations from around the world

Dec 31 2018

In Memoriam 2018

A look back at the celebrities, actors, political figures, musicians, singers, athletes and other people of interest who touched our lives that have passed away in 2018.

Dec 31 2018

Pondering the Pundits

Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from> around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Pondering the Pundits”.

Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt

Paul Krugman: Bad Faith, Pathos and G.O.P. Economics

As 2018 draws to an end, we’re seeing many articles about the state of the economy. What I’d like to do, however, is talk about something different — the state of economics, at least as it relates to the political situation. And that state is not good: The bad faith that dominates conservative politics at every level is infecting right-leaning economists, too.

This is sad, but it’s also pathetic. For even as once-respected economists abase themselves in the face of Trumpism, the G.O.P. is making it ever clearer that their services aren’t wanted, that only hacks need apply.

What you need to know when talking about economics and politics is that there are three kinds of economist in modern America: liberal professional economists, conservative professional economists and professional conservative economists.

Kamala Harris: Everyone Gets Sick. And We Deserve Better.

In 2008, our mother asked my sister, Maya, and me to meet her for lunch. When we arrived, our mother didn’t seem like herself. We wondered what was going on. Then she took a deep breath and reached out to us both across the table.

“I’ve been diagnosed with colon cancer,” she told us.

I know that many can relate to the emotions I felt in that moment. Even just reflecting back on it now fills me with dread. It was one of the worst days of my life. [..]

She got sick before the Affordable Care Act became law, back when it was still legal for health insurance companies to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. I remember thanking God she had Medicare.

That’s something I’ve been thinking a great deal about in the days since a federal district judge in Texas, ruling in a lawsuit filed by a group of Republican governors and state attorneys general, declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. This was not the first attack by Republicans on the law, but if upheld, it will be the most catastrophic.

Without the protections of the A.C.A., Americans with pre-existing conditions could be denied health insurance and insurance companies would once again be allowed to discriminate based on age and gender. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 50 million Americans could be rejected for coverage by health insurers if the A.C.A. were to disappear.

At the same time, people in their mid-20s would get kicked off their parents’ plans. Lifetime caps could come back. Out-of-pocket costs would no longer be capped. The expansion of Medicaid in dozens of states could be reversed. The human toll would be unthinkable, with some experts estimating that 20,000 to 100,000 people could die each year.

We must fight with everything we have to avert this catastrophe. And as we do so, let’s also accept the truth that even with the Affordable Care Act intact, our health care system still needs fixing. Let’s acknowledge that there are nearly 30 million Americans who still don’t have health insurance. And there are plenty more who have insurance but can’t actually afford the rising cost of health care.

Continue reading

Dec 31 2018

A Year In CP Time

One of the reasons why I no longer do Sausage Grinder of Snark is that I think the site runs at a quite sprightly pace, seldom are there more than yesterday’s and today’s posts on the page (unless you push ‘Fetch More’ or shop the Most Recent List which goes back about a week), TMC or I are busy busy (TMC in particular is usually busy).

She gently reminds me on occasion that I should put more below the fold to encourage page clicks but, just as I admire Atrios and digby for their writing style, I also admire the dignity of their presentation. I’m very old school, even in forced change I try and preserve as much as possible. It is remarkable to me that DocuDharma is 11 years old and The Stars Hollow Gazette 8.

That’s a long, long time in blog years (1 == 7, like dogs) and so it has been in meatspace as Roy Wood Jr. points out-

The Daily Show has steadily improved as you might expect, Roy Wood Jr. is easily the standout correspondent so I look for his work. It would be ironic in the contemporary sense if 2019 made 2018 seem an island of stability.

Dec 31 2018

Year In Review

Perhaps you’re looking for something introspective and deep but it’s a bad time of year for that. Concentrating on the futility of the past is contraindicated for me my Therapist says, instead I should focus on the future.

Which… is bleak. I expect the enormous criminality of Republicans both in policy and personally to be exposed and in response a violent push back by people with guns, though all they need is automobiles and clubs.

How the Government will react? Good question, keep your passports and bugout bags handy. It will be a long, hot, summer.

I’ll try to focus on frothier stuff.

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