Suffering continues in the Midwest
Flooding is not just bad it is awful in the midwest. We must stay on this story. This picture is not from Katrina. It is from Cedar Rapids, Ia.
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Countdown’s tribute to George Carlin
I really can’t add anything worth while. Keith Olbermann. George Carlin.
Markos on Countdown
Keith Olbermann chats with Markos Moulitsas the publisher and founder of the DailyKos. They discuss FISA in relation to Netroots and Barack Obama. Now, I have not really pushed Barack Obama in my recent posting on FISA but it is clear that we, Netroots, need a Senator to lead this fight. Chris Dodd? Russ Feingold? Pat Leahy? Hillary Clinton? Now, Hillary is in an idea position to get back into the good graces of the liberal left. She could lead this charge but Barack Obama would be perfect. Is he the leader of the Democratic party? Yes or No? If the answer is yes then he needs to figure out a way to stop this bill.
Now there is a down side to Barack Obama picking up this sword and running with it. The Republicans will truly get energized against anyone who tries to block this bill.
Special Edition - The Errington Thompson Show - FISA update
I think that this FISA legislation is very important. Therefore, I contacted McJoan (Joan McCarter) from the Daily Kos to chat about what’s going on and what we can do to help stop this legislature that will not make us safer.
The Mark Agrast, from the Center for American Progress, has written a nice piece outlining the many wrongs of this bill. Glenn Greenwald continues his excellent coverage of this issue. Kargo X has also been on this issue.
To get involved please check out the following - Act Blue (I have donated!!!), Color of Change, Electronic Frontiers Foundation and MoveON.org.
BTW, remember I’m on iTunes and several other podcasting services.
What’s Going On - News Round Up
I’ll repeat my top story - George Carlin died last night of heart failure.
- The Washington Post’s Michael Dobbs who runs their Fact Checker blog has given Barack Obama three Pinocchio’s for his “reversal” on campaign finance. I don’t know. I guess if I was a McCain supporter I would be furious over this. Obama has made the right decision. It will allow him to compete in all 50 states.
- Atlanta Magazine is completely dedicated to the water shortage in Atlanta in specific and Georgia in general. They even delve into the good intentions and bad ideas of the Georgia Legislature. If you live anywhere which has the potential of being water starved this is clearly worth a read. By the way, could conservatism be to blame for the current water shortage?
- The rival faction in Zimbabwe has pulled out of the election runoff because of the violence against his supporters. I continue to be amazed at the lack of coverage that this is getting in the major news papers and newscasts.
- Frank Rich has a fabulous op-ed on the forgotten war — Iraq. Although I mention the 51 deaths in a recent car bombing here on my blog, most major newscasts did not cover it. Most Americans agree that we need to get out of a rack. Therefore, we’re just waiting to sign the final papers.
- Over 800 people are missing from a capsized ferry in the Philippines. A major typhoon hit the island on Saturday. Maybe it’s just me but it appears that the Philippines may have the worst natural disasters in the world.
- Do you remember Boone Pickens? Don’t vomit. He was a billionaire who funded The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. He offered $1 million to anyone who could prove that their allegations were wrong. 10 of John Kerry’s mates have written a 13 page report refuting The Swift Boat Veterans. I wonder if Mr. Pickens will keep his word.
George Carlin dead at 71
Now that’s it. I’m officially old. Those funny guys that I use to listen to with my friends are all dying or dead. Those guys who were racy - Redd Fox, Richard Pryor and George Carlin are all dead. George Carlin died last night at the age of 71.
He like Pryor wandered in the early days trying to find his voice. The Hippy Dippy weatherman has the first Carlin routine that I can remember. The 7 dirty words was his classic. It truly made him. The routine, besides being risque, it showed, again, how Carlin plays with language. How he can turn a phrase or word and make it really funny.
He had this routine in which he talked about the old west. He asked wouldn’t it be funny if every time they talked about killing someone in one of those old westerns, you could substitute the word F$ck for kill. “Sheriff, I’m going to f$ck ya’ and I’m going to f$ck ya’, slow.”
Carlin was the master of language. He was able to look at words or phrases and make them hilarious in the right context. Below is an example from his great routine - Stuff.
Carlin was one of the greats. I loved his spirit and his humor. I’m thankful that I still have some of his records to listen to. I wonder what he is asking God right now?
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Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
