I Liked "In Time"

So Eddie and I went this Sunday and saw "In Time".  I really liked it.  It was made by the same guy that did Gattaca, and was very similar in theme and look.

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It has a pretty simple plot; people live until age 25 years old, then can earn and spend time - but for most everyone life is brutish and short.
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Time as money, immortals versus ghetto, pretty easy to see who the bad guys are.
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However, even with a thin plot, I thought Justin Timberlake did a good job.  He is less aggressively action hero, and so he has to be a smart action hero.  He has to think where Arnuld who just smash.  It was set in the future, in the LA Basin (easy to see if you know the traffic map, then show it all the time), and filmed in flat colors.
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It was fun, because parts of LA, on a hot dusty day, look very post-Apocalypse.  The end, filmed out in the abandoned neighborhood just west of the airport, are particularly effective in giving it that tragic feel.  And the LA River is used ... well as the LA River always is - a dividing line of live and death, a juxtaposition of concrete harshness and cool refreshing water, that is you only notice is to shallow to refresh when you get close to it.
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I probably loved it a little extra because of the scenes.

Stupid, Liars or Buttheads?

My head is going to explode.
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We are leaving Iraq at the end of the year.  We are doing this to keep our legal and moral agreement that George W. Bush signed.  See we are trying to be a nation, not an occupying power.
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GEORGE BUSH made this agreement.  Obama happens to be President when we have to implement it.
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But Rocken Sockem Perry says ..Perry accused Obama of pursuing an "aimless foreign policy" by making big decisions without adequately considering the advice of his commanders. He said the president has endangered Americans on the ground by announcing that U.S. troops would leave Iraq by year's end.
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And Pizza Mogul turned Author says .."A responsible commander in chief" would have done more to seek out the counsel of the military's ground commanders before agreeing to pull all troops out of Iraq, Cain said. Doing that leaves a "power vacuum," he added.

"It also leaves it unclear as to how we are going to deal with other nations," Cain said on CBS' "Face the Nation." (Scott ->Actually all it says we honor our commitments, and that is a fine thing.")

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And Mittens chimed in ..decrying it as a "sudden change of policy."
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As for Crazy Eyes, she said... She contended that the United States had been "kicked out" of the country "by the very people we liberated," and that the decision was "more politically-based than military-based."
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The Ecstasy and the Agony

UCLA won it's first game against a team with a winning record!  Yay!  Against Cal, good for us.  Of course, I will probably jinx any future wins - but that is to be expected.

Happy Bruins for a change

Kevin Prince, our oft injured quarterback, ran for 163 yards - which is required for the Pistol Offence, but we are usually afraid to run Kevin - because he gets hurt and we don't have a backup.

Kevin Prince, Running!

But it all worked great last week-end.
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Wisconsin, on the other hand, lost for the second straight time on a last play Hail Mary.  I watched it with Ed, John and Sue, and it was a heart breaker.  It was a sad house last Saturday.

Trevor's Least Favorite Holiday

Trevor HATES Halloween!

Snow Today (October 29th) at the Frick

We took John and Sue to the Frick Museum today.  We walked 10 blocks from the subway, they weren't worried about the cold. But then a little snow hit.
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Then a lot of snow.
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This was what it looked like after a walk of 10 blocks, at the Museum.

Getting worse

So we were walking up to the Frick Museum.  Boy it was cruddy outside.

Sue & John visited in October

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Ed, John and Susie @ the Apple Store.

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People who visit in October do NOT expect snow.

Wanna Know What's Weird?

Every time I go to the printer, and there is a paper jam - I LOVE clearing it.  I suppose it is because there aren't that many paper jams in our Xerox machine - which is based on the last Xerox models I was working on.  So a little proud.
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But, more than that, clearing a jam always makes me smile.
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It is one of those simple, repetitive things I can do well.

RA One

RAOne is the new Bollywood, SciFi, Action, Chast Love Story all around hazzah film.  It looks like a ton of fun.  And, SciFi or not, there are Bollywood Dance Numbers!!

The video, voice by American Akron, is great.  Except towards the end her nose ring looks a little like a boog.
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Player's Club Last Night

Katrina, Nichole and Sam.
Fundamental Theater Group

So last night we went to a "thank you" reception from Sam and the Fundamental Theater Group.  Eddie and I had helped with some early productions, and donated airmiles so they could fly to Edinburgh for the Fringe - and they had a great show.
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Actually their show was "3D Hamlet" at the Edinburgh Fringe, and not only did Alec Baldwin and Kate Mulgrew play in it via projector, but Adam Rapp, Scott Adsit and (for one night) Simon Callow came in person to play in the show.
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So this thank you was in the New York Player's Club - kind of a gentlemen's club for actors, writers and entertainment who-ha's.  From it's web site..."In 1888, Edwin Booth, America's pre-eminent Shakespearean actor, and 15 other incorporators, including Mark Twain and General William Tecumseh Sherman, founded The Players. Modeled after London's famed Garrick Club, The Players was the first American "gentleman's club" of its kind.
Its purpose: "The promotion of social intercourse between members of the dramatic profession and the kindred professions of literature, painting, architecture, sculpture and music, law and medicine, and the patrons of the arts...  ".
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And Booth, was the brother of John Wilkes Booth.
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Anywho, here are some kind of fuzzy pictures of the inside (I didn't want to be obvious, I didn't know if pictures were permitted).  It was REALLY cool to see and go inside.

Top of the stairs 2nd floor. Can you spot Angela Landsbury?

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The Great Hall, looking down from the staircase.

I, of course, was trying to be very cool, and went down to the pub / grill to get a couple of drinks.  Right at the bottom of the stairs was a autographed picture of Leslie Howard.  Leslie Howard!  I was so cool, I turned and tried to read it, missed the last step and tumbled into the grill room doors.  Glass doors, with other glass looking out to the stairs; the 2 patrons and 3 employees all saw me take the tumble.
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I felt a fool, until the bartender said it happened all the time.  He might have been nice because I tipped in cash - but I'll take it.

Happy Diwali

It's Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights.
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If you don't know that you don't work in a multinational that outsources.
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Today the East Asian Employees Group had Diwali Treats brought in for everyone.  Yum!

Success - A Start

You can say a lot of things about the Occupy Wall Street movement (#OWS), but they have already moved the discussion in a very positive way.  Look at the graphic from NBC Nightly News last night.  Ed and I were talking, and this seems a big deal to me.  #OWS has changed the discussion.

Brian Williams in Wednesday Night's News Cast.

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Let me say one thing that people should understand - particularly those from @NOT America..
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The success of the very few does NOT offend Americans.  As a matter of fact, Americans LOVE rich people.  We really do, I say that not sarcastically.  And we do because one of the pillars of the American system is the thought of economic mobility.  The idea our children will always be better off that us.
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What #OWS, and many of the rest of us, don't approve of is... cheaters.  The #OWS anger isn't anger at the Rich, it is anger at the Rich that have rigged the system.  The bankers who blew everyone's savings in a housing bubble - then got bailed out, while most people didn't.  The bankers and other rich that default and declare bankruptcy and just get more loans - while college kids can't get out from under tuition loan debt.
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Why do developers get to walk away from a $4 BILLION dollar mistake in Stuyvesant Town - but the kid who took out $30,000 of school loans, because Princeton was the entry cost of getting a job, why does he get stuck with the bill when there are no jobs there.
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And that is where the anger is, and the harping of Citibank and Bank of America's Senators doesn't change that.  You can call them stupid, or dirty or hippies.  But we all know the truth, the rich in this country are buying up the lawyers and the rules.  #OWS is just making sure that people look at it.
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Yay for them.

He he

The Futility of Fighting the March of Technology

Technology marches on.  Actually it races on, and woe to those that fight it.  To stop and say No! is both futile and frustrating.

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I suggest a simpler plan.  Ignore what you don't like.
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For example, I don't tweet.  I don't read Tweets, I ignore  #MostEverything.  I am truly stupefied at how quickly email has become obsolete.  People text now.  I don't particularly text.  I find myself with too many errors in things I can spell check - I cannot even imagine how stupid I would look texting.  (Actually I RM at work, so I do have an idea about how horrible I would look texting).
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I don't NOT text, I am just not in the habit.  I have gotten better at noticing them on my phone (iPhone has that cute little icon with the red exclamation point when there is a message).  But I don't always carry my phone - particularly when I am sitting at home, so I don't always answer right away.
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I liked Email.  I liked being able to put down a little something.  It was more like (snail) mail than the phone.  Quick, and you didn't have to talk.
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But now, it is old fashioned and we are on to texts and tweets and soon just emoticons that will tell you everything you need.  Kind of like how the Germans just smush together words.
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KD  6M

Good-bye Flamey

Flamey is sad....

Oh, the sadness inherent in this note.  Ed is leaving NBC Universal Sports and (sniff) Olympics.
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Now this is great for my Eddie. Page turned, time to move on, new chapter, opens a window, blah blah blah..
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But it isn't a new chapter for Scooter.  I had the best of all possible worlds...  Tickets to the Olympics, the French Open, Wimbledon, you name it.  I got to go to the fun, with none of the work.  Let me tell you, ATMs don't compare to watching Andreas Thorkildsen throw the world record javelin toss in Beijing.
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But this isn't about me.  Okay, not fully about me.  It is about my pumpkin.  He is doing well.
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He has gone through denial, anger, rage, and has moved on to acceptance and even anticipation.
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I am still a little in the sadness phase myself :-).

Andreas, contemplative.

Okay, it is about me.  Boo De Hoo!!

Your Tax Dollars at work

"Get Your Freak On", is no longer just a song title and lyrics.
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Some woman who had a vibrator in her checked luggage got a little note from the TSA (Transportation Security Authority) - telling her to get her freak on.
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Inappropriate, sure. But at least she found it funny.  And as a good friend, who shall remain nameless, once said - "You have to take the batteries OUT".

I was just thinkin

Once, when my 401K did horrible and I was complaining to Ed, I said "It would have been more fun, and just as profitable to flush a one dollar bill down the toilet 3,265 times!  At least I could have watched them go1"
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Speaking of that, if I flushed $1.2 Trillion dollars down the toilet, $1 at a time - assuming 2 flushes per minute, I could flush, non-stop, for 114,155 years.
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If I wanted to get it done faster, I could have every person in Minneapolis flush for 109 days.  One dollar at a time.
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How did we even spend that much in Iraq?  Someone got real freakin' rich!

Let's Remember One of the Fabulous Reasons we are in this Mess

Sure, the housing crisis screwed us, but why couldn't we bounce back.  If only we had $1.2 Trillion hanging around.  Where oh where could we have blown $1,200,000,000.00?
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Oh yeah...(link to the other 3 reasons the Iraq War was a disaster for the US).

Economic. Remember the Bush administration’s assertions that the Iraq war would pay for itself? On March 27, 2003, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told the House Appropriations Committee that Iraqi oil would pay for the costs of the war: “We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon.” In a press conference on Oct. 2, 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted: “The bulk of the funds for Iraq’s reconstruction will come from Iraqis—from oil revenues, recovered assets, international trade, direct foreign investment—as well as some contributions we’ve already received and hoped to receive from the international community.”

This was yet another unforced error by the neoconservatives, the most blundering foreign policy elite in American history. Apart from the more than 4,000 Americans killed, the more than 30,000 Americans maimed, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who lost their lives or have been wounded, a conservative estimate of the costs of the war puts it at $1.2 trillion, although Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes estimate that the long-term costs, including medical treatment for veterans, may exceed $2 trillion. David Leonhardt of the New York Times put this into perspective, back in 2007:

For starters, $1.2 trillion would pay for an unprecedented public health campaign — a doubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children’s lives.

Combined, the cost of running those programs for a decade wouldn’t use up even half our money pot. So we could then turn to poverty and education, starting with universal preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old child across the country. The city of New Orleans could also receive a huge increase in reconstruction funds.

Very Cool Bird Feeder on the High Line

So, the High Line Park has some interesting pieces of functional art on it.  There are flyovers, curved seating, waterfeatures for kids, etc.
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One interesting thing is this Bird Feeder.  It is swept back and is very cool.

Feeling Better

Well, the dizziness is lessening.  I am work today.  I hit a sleepy wall at 11:30, but I think I made it through that with minimal head bobbing.
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Hopefully it keeps getting better.

Visiting with Mickey & the pups

So we are in LA for the week-end and staying with Gavi and Micky.  Here are Micky and Eddie doing what we love.. sitting in the front room, enjoying the sun and the warmth with the pups and shooting the shit.

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Islands for lunch.  My dizziness is getting better. 

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Great Day.

Andrew Sullivan Makes a Simple Point

(From Andrew Sullivan) A reader writes:

Bush and Saddam - One Trillion dollars and thousands of US lives.Obama and Qaddafi - One Billion dollars and zero US lives.Meep Meep indeed.

And this time, the Arab world loves us as well.

To rid the world of Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki and Moammar Qaddafi within six months: if Obama were a Republican, he'd be on Mount Rushmore by now

10 Years Ago - This was the Face of the Afgan War

Ten years ago this was what the Economist had to say about the Afgan War.
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Bush shouldn't have started it and forgot about it.
Obama shouldn't keep us there anymore.
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America continued its military action against Afghanistanusing bombers and AC-130 gunships which can be used against ground troops gathered in small numbers. Observers said that this suggested that use of America's own ground forces was imminent.

I'll Answer What I Want

Words mean exactly what
I say they mean.
 No More  No less

So... if you haven't been watching (and pulling your hair out) you have been missing some fabulous redefinitions of questions.  For example, the word "Jobs" to Michelle Bachman is translated somewhere in that dizzy dizzy brain to Obamacare.  Don't get me wrong, full credit to here for making the translation, she does it ever single time.
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And this question was asked of Gov. Perry the other night by Anderson Cooper in full Silver Fox mode, "Governor, as noted, there are 1 million uninsured children in your state, how would you attack this problem if you were president."  A question which Governor Perry used to attack Mitt Romney about having illegal workers mow his lawn.  Now, I assume that in the practice debate, the coaching went like this...
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Governor Perry, when they hit you on uninsured kids, say that most are children of immigrant workers.  Then they are going to hit you on illegal workers in Texas.  That's when you hit Romney with the undocumented workers mowing his lawn.
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Governor Perry, applying  spray tan as Garnier (official hair products of the debates) adjusts his hair, he nods.  "Kids.. too many workers... illegals... lawn.  Got it!"
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I have a feeling that if Michelle Bachman had mentioned her kids before the question about uninsured kids, Perry would have accused her of using undocumented workers on her lawn.

Anderson, in full dreamy mode Tuesday night.

The Evening Wear Competition

Last night the Republican Debate moved on to Evening Wear - and Question phase.
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Miss Minnesota, Michelle Bachman, considered a lock for Evening Wear, seemed to make a mistake last night as she veered in Michael Jackson territory - epaulets, scary neck and all.*
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Meanwhile Miss Massachusetts and Miss Texas almost came to blows over an old fracas regarding the hired help.    Mitt expands his repertoire of facial expressions to add "sadly condescending" and "bright furious red" to his three others ("condescending", "incredulous" and "steel blue").
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Miss Congeniality stuttered his way through the "9"s again, while trying to explain the differences between  fruit (or colors - one cannot be sure).  Anyway, I think we decided orange was bad - but we will have to consult John Bohner on that.**
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Miss Frothy Mix explained that, in addition to World Peace, the Latinos should be drawn to him because of his family values, and what he stands for in marriage and how they believe the same thing, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, both his real church and them with the pagan Pope.  What started as a subtle way to talk about the gays moved to more and more overt as Mr. Santorum wasn't sure the Latins would catch his coded references, English not being their first language and all.
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A fun night was had by everyone, except those that have a hope in hell for the country.
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* - Look at me, no Oxford comma!
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** By the way, Speaker Bohner has  certainly dialed back the sun-bed by about 12 notches, hasn't he?

I Really Do Like This idea

I do love this idea, although I hate the name "The Robin Hood Tax".  The idea is that you charge 0.0025% tax on financial transactions.
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Now for most people, that is nothing.  If I am buying say $500.00 of stock for my 401K, that would cost me $500.01 (actual $500.0125).  So any extra penny on every $400.00 I purchase or pull out of stocks.  On $40,000.00 - that's a dollar.  Not excessive.
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So how can it raise so damn much, Banks do microtrading all the time.  They have superfast computers and huge amounts on fractions of a cent.  This generates funds for the banks that they then use to give giant fat bonuses.  Not to lend out. And it is risky. Like when all the big banks failed because they bundled up crap mortgages and then made tons of money doing microtrading - but when it all went in the shitter we had to pay up.
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Since we supported them when they needed it, how about a tiny tiny pay-back?
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And if they stop doing this - then stock market volatility goes down and that's a win win.

What does it feel like?

So I am freakishly dizzy.  This "Labrynithitis" what does it feel like?  By the way, it is pretty much exactly what Julie said too, "BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo)" I think it is just another name for it.
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Do you remember that "first" computer game.  I feel like this, "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike"
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It feels just like that.  If you don't know the game, you aren't a real geek!

Labrynithitis

Say what?
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Labrynithitis - which is what I have.  I have some weirdass thing in one or more of those little semi-circular things that makes everything dizzy.  The doctor said it should go way sooner or later, hopefully in a few more days.
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Just so you all know, Ed is on the ball with the dizzy-queen jokes.
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xoxo

This Pollack Guy is Smarrrrrrt

Kenneth Pollack - he is smart.  I know I have heard that name before.  Oh yeah, he works for Brookings.  He must be right!
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AND he even admits the US made mistakes about Iraq WMD.  Who made those, I wonder?????
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Advocacy of Iraq invasion

In his second book, The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq (pub. 2002), Pollack details the history of United States actions against Iraq since the Persian Gulf War of 1991. He discusses the need to invade Iraq, and the possible ways of going about it. Pollack argued that Saddam Hussein was simply too volatile and aggressive in his policies to be trusted not to begin another conflict in a volatile region. In The Threatening Storm, Pollack argued "the only prudent and realistic course of action left to the United States is to mount a full-scale invasion of Iraq to smash the Iraqi armed forces, depose Saddam’s regime, and rid the country of weapons of mass destruction.” Pollack predicted, “It is unimaginable that the United States would have to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars and highly unlikely that we would have to contribute even tens of billions of dollars.” Likewise, he wrote, “we should not exaggerate the danger of casualties among American troops. U.S. forces in Bosnia have not suffered a single casualty from hostile action because they have become so attentive and skillful at force protection.”^[1]

I wonder if he says the same thing Snookums does?

I wonder what the Snuggle Bear says when you squeeze him?  I wonder if it is the same thing as the Snookums Bear says?

Duck Soup: WAR!

Yikes;  Looks like Duck Soup again!
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The key to the U.S. government’s case against two Iranian-born men charged Tuesday with plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington is an anonymous member of a Mexican drug cartel who has been charged with narcotic-related offenses and is currently on the payroll of the U.S. government.

One anonymous source is not considered the basis of credible news story but “CS-1,” as he is identified in court papers, appears to be the linchpin to the U.S. government’s five-count indictment of Mansoor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Gholam Shakuri, allegedly an Iranian intelligence officer. The Obama administration has seized on the indictment to mobilize the U.S. government worldwide to a more confrontational stance against Tehran, something advocates of U.S. military action against Iran have long sought.

Within hours, the indictment revived talk of war betweeen the United States and Iran. The  Wall Street Journal called the indictment  ”a sobering wake-up call” for those opposed to military action. The Iranian government called the charges  a threat to “the peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region.”

While indictment has provoked skepticism among independent observers, and ridicule from Salon’s Glenn Greenwald, the critical role of an anonymous informant in the government’s case has been drawn less attention. Virtually all of the overt acts alleged in the indictment took place in the presence of the informant or in response to his offer to carry out violent acts. His account of the alleged terror plot is driving U.S. foreign policy yet his veracity is far from established.

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She's not a Butterbean anymore

A century ago, in a county thousands of miles away, by the name of Orange. worked out hero scott and his good friend Katherine.  One day, the good Miss Katherine mentioned that she was growing a person inside her.  No worries, it was no bigger than a butterbean.
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And even when his child was born, the butterbean name stuck, although she was a lovely (if smaller) young child.
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Well, Miss Butterbean is Cameron now, and she and her mother head off to deepest, darkest Brazil (okay - not really but saying "Rio - home of Carnival and Ipanema" isn't as dramatic).  and I hope our friend Sam isn't counting on seeing the teeny, tiny, Butterbean.  For Cameron is growing up into a beautiful young lady.  Albeit, without the Orange County drama one might expect and that her mother would NEVER allow.

History Repeats; First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

So my Grandfather (who I really liked - as you may or may not remember) was Manic / Depressive.  Which was the old, much more descriptive name,  for Bi-Polar.  Bi-Polar sounds so boring.  He was NEVER boring (smiley face).
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And he told me that in studies of the Amish, it is mildly hereditary, male through the mother's line, skipping a generation (yep - that makes it me).  Yay.
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Well, one thing I never understood was he didn't always like to take his medicine (Librium?) because "it made him fat."  Well, he was fat, so I never understood it.
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But time passes, and I am becoming more and more convinced that my Effexor is making me fat.  Particularly now that I am on the "generic".  I think I want to go back on Prosac, which killed my appetite.  I was always, like, stomach quesy on it, but I was thinner.

This is all part of an agenda that's being pushed forth by the so-called globalists in our government and the world government to keep the people stupid so they don't realize what's going on.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44875168/ns/us_news-life/#.TpXhm5tvBiI
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Florida county to stop adding fluoride to water

One of Florida's largest counties will stop adding fluoride to the water supply before the end of the year, commissioners decided this week, in a move that some opponents say was influenced more by tea party propaganda than it was by health or financial considerations.
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The issue was pushed by tea party activists, charged one commissioner who voted to keep fluoride in Pinellas County's water supply. Fluoride is a chemical credited with dramatically reducing cavities and tooth decay.

"We're going to pay a price for this for generations to come," Ken Welch, the commissioner, said, reported USATODAY, adding that activists "hijacked" the conversation.

Pinellas County will allow the current supply of fluoride to run out, which should happen sometime before Dec. 31, said commission Chairwoman Susan Latvala after county commissioners voted 4-3 on Tuesday to discontinue adding the substance. The move affects about 700,000 people.

The vote followed three hours of heated debate, where dentists citing decades of medical research on the benefits of fluoride went head-to-head with anti-big government activists who argued fluoride was harmful.

"Fluoride is a toxic substance," said tea party activist Tony Caso of Palm Harbor, The St. Petersburg Times reported. "This is all part of an agenda that's being pushed forth by the so-called globalists in our government and the world government to keep the people stupid so they don't realize what's going on."

"This is the U.S. of A., not the Soviet Socialist Republic," Caso told the commission.

(there's more - but you have to read it yourself).

Woo Hoo: Best University Heads West!

No, not to UCLA (we were 13), but to CalTech.  Is the first time since the rankings started the top spot has headed West (Stanford is tied for #2).
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From the LA Times Report...(as related by young Mr. Coyne)
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Caltech celebrated the announcement Wednesday that it has been ranked the world's best research university by a British higher education magazine, beating Harvard University in the listing for the first time.

The Pasadena institution, which specializes in science and engineering, was first in the World University Rankings by the Times Higher Education magazine in London. Harvard had topped the list since the ranking began in 2004 but slipped to second this year, tied with Stanford University. TheUniversity of California system had five campuses ranked in the top 40 worldwide.

Caltech placed second last year, and its current rise to first by a small margin over Harvard was due largely to increases in its research funding, an official with the British publication said. The listing relies heavily on universities' research budgets, faculty publication and the effects of research.

"It's not that Harvard has declined. It's that Caltech has just slightly edged across the line in the indicators," Phil Baty, the editor overseeing the rankings, said Wednesday.

The rest of the top 10, in order, were the University of Oxford, Princeton University, the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, the University of Chicago and UC Berkeley.

Other California campuses in the top 100 included UCLA at 13; UC San Diego, 33; UC Santa Barbara, 35; UC Davis, 38, tied with Australian National University at 38; USC, 55; andUC Irvine, 86.


(Scott: Wisconsin - Madison was rated 27th in the world, 3rd in the Big Ten (I know what you all care about)  Yes... the evil Wolverines were 18 and  Northwestern 26 - so close!)

You Are Kidding, Right?

We have 1 country, 2 parties, and we can't agree in Congress that today is Wednesday.  And you are pushing 17 countries, many with coalition governments to go faster.
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Right.

World Peace.

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These "debates" have fallen into a rough pattern.
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The "debates" are a test of the politician's ability to turn any and all questions to their personal talking points.  Herman Cain and Mitt Romney seem to have multiple talking points.  Michelle Bachman is all Obamacare, all the time.  Ron Paul is all Crazy-Fed all the time.  Newt Gingrinch is 100% about proving he is smart and smarmy (it must be a more enviable trait than I imagine).  Rick Perry just tries to prove he's not an idiot (he is failing).  Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorium can't find an angle at all.
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There is no debate as I understand the word.  And this is a both Republican and Democratic issue - Dem's just don't have a race this year.
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If this is going to be the level of debate, let's just move to the Evening Gown and Talent portion of the competition.

So.. I am simple minded

So, I am simple minded.  No reason to create complex solutions, when simple answers exist.
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For example, Occupy Wall Street.  Very Smart People are trying to put this into context with the street rallies in Egypt, Tunisia and England.  The ideas have ranged from the end of capitalism, the problem with globalization as brought on by Ronald Reagan, to Class Warfare (I cannot bring myself to link to Mitt), to Mob Mentality (nor can I, in good faith, link to Eric Can't or).
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But it seems to me to be much simpler.
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Occupy Wall Street is just like the protest in Egypt, or Yemen or England or Tunisia.  It is the "powerless" demonstrating against "those that have power".  In the case of Wall Street, both economic and - through their donations - political power.  But, unlike Egypt et all, #OWS will fail to make any big changes.
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Not because they are wrong - they are powerless and Wall Street is pretty much in charge - but because the rest of us are okay.  The "Wall Street / Washington" nexus does control all the power and most of the money in the country.  But not all of it, and there is a LOT of money in this country.  The rest of us aren't "the 99%" doing crappy.  MOST people are doing okay, to pretty darn good.   The employed, the successfully retired and those caught by the safety net are doing just fine.  Those occupying Wall Street don't represent the 99%, but the - maybe - 10% who are both failing and are "not disillusioned" with the political process.
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And, in thinking about this I wondered if not-disillusioned is a double negative, meaning illusioned. ha ha.  But I don't think so. "Un-disillusioned" in terms of the political process probably translates to delusional. ha ha.
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But then I figured that un-jaded is probably a better term.  Because those not protesting... we are jaded, and pretty sure we can't change the world.  I wish I still thought marching down there would help.

It's National Coming Out Day - and I got in trouble for not wearing purple

It's National Coming Out Day - and in my frenzy this morning (posted here) - I forgot to wear purple.  I have been suitably chastised. So, if you don't know, I'm ... you know.... gay.
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I am sure you are all shocked.  Shocked!