Boomer Cultural Icon Death Alert

Monkees Singer Davy Jones Dead at 66

Davy Jones of the Monkees has died of an apparent heart attack at age 66. The singer – who had been on a solo tour this month - complained of chest pains last evening and was admitted to a hospital this morning in Stuart, Florida.

What a shame.  RIP.

Who'd have thought that Davy Jones would be dead at 66 and Keith Richards would still be alive at 68?  The vagaries of genes and nature are indeed......vague.

Is "prudence" REALLY worth the cost of a nuclear armed Iran?

US, Britain urge Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear program

The age-old question comes to mind; "if not now, when? If not us, who?". While an attack on Iran for the purpose of destroying their nuclear capabilities is most certainly risky, to say the least, is it ant more risky that allowing an unstable and apocalyptic minded regime like Iran acquire the most destructive weapon known to man?

There was a time when the West had the courage of its convictions and could distinguish between good and evil. Granted, during the years leading up to World War II, the West was slow to act upon the blatant evil that was the Third Reich. I'll not defend the foot-dragging that resulted in the murders of untold numbers of Eastern Jews and other targets of the Holocaust, but once roused, the evil of Nazi Germany was revealed for all to see and the commitment to its destruction was absolute. One would think that horrible lesson would span the generations. One would think that the horror of 9/11 would have renewed Western civilization's commitment to the elimination of the barbarism and ignorance that were at the root of that horrible September morning.

It would appear that one would be wrong on all of those counts. We seem to believe that we can negotiate with evil, that "sanctions" can eliminate more than a millennium of benighted, violent ignorance. We seem so certain of these misbegotten ideals that we're apparently willing to risk one of the most dangerous regimes in history obtaining the most destructive weapon ever developed.

This is folly on a scale heretofore unknown by virtue of the cost alone.

"Social Media" and the Adolescentization of America

MA Congessional candidate, SEAN BIELAT's people "defriended" me on Facebook and deleted my comments. Why? Because I dared to call in to account the utter shallowness of accumulating Facebook "friends". I was deleted not for profanity, but simply for my criticism of a lame post trying to drum up 10K "Facebook Friends".

Last night, before I was deleted, I was essentially told to 'either DONATE or go away'. I took exception to its nakedly cynical tone, and even stated that he's a good candidate who's ill-served by such antics. This morning I found I had been "deleted".

No matter, I don't live in MA anyway. The point I was making was the immaturity and lack of seriousness of a post, NOT TOUTING POLICIES, but accumulating "Facebook Friends". SEAN BIELAT's Facebook staff clearly doesn't care for dissent and has achieved the emotional development of a teen-aged girl so I can only assume that my dissent was right on target.

I wish Mr. Biielat the best of luck in his campaign, and When his Facebook staff gets through that annoying puberty thing, I'm sure they'll turn out just fine.

Today in History, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan

On February 9, 1964, The Beatles made their first appearance on American TV on The Ed Sullivan Show. Just three months before, President Kennedy was slain in Dallas; prior to 9/11, that was the seminal historical even of my life. America desperately needed to sing, and the Beatles were more than happy to give us the songs:



I was 10 years old and, along with most of America, I was in front of the old Black and White witnessing history, once again, unfolding in front of me. Even at that young age, I knew I was seeing something very, very special. RIP, John Lennon and George Harrison, you're missed more than you know.

As for popular music, it's still something of an echo of Elvis and the Beatles. You young folk can argue that point all you like, but it's true. All Hail Rock and Roll!

Does the Administration LOOK for ways to annoy Great Britain?

Britain had to plead with US to take part in Iran flotilla

Defence sources have revealed that the Americans only relented and allowed a Royal Navy frigate to join the mission following an intervention from Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.

The revelation that US defence chiefs saw little military value in UK participation will raise new questions about Britain’s international clout after Coalition defence cuts.

Britain's rich naval history predates the founding of our country by centuries and is a source of British pride. To treat our friends so shabbily and callously is unforgivable, yet is, alas, becoming part of this Administration's policy trademark.

Some women simply do not understand the concept of "Team"

Top among them; Brazilian Supermodels who should be seen and not heard.

Gisele rips Patriots receivers for husband Brady's Super Bowl loss 

NDIANAPOLIS -- Gisele Bundchen ripped into the Patriots receivers for the failed plays she believes cost her quarterback husband Tom Brady a fourth Super Bowl ring 

The Brazilian supermodel was caught on camera lambasting No. 12's teammates after Sunday's game in Indianapolis as she angrily defended taunts against her husband by Giants fans. 

Fans can be heard yelling "Eli rules!" and "Eli owns your husband" as she made her way through Lucas Oil Stadium following the Patriots' 21-17 defeat, the second time Giants quarterback Eli Manning has bettered three-time winner Brady on the Super Bowl stage. 

The comments riled Bundchen, judging by video obtained by online gossip site "The Insider," with the model making it quite clear to those around her who she thought was to blame for Brady's failure to land the win. 

"You [need] to catch the ball when you're supposed to catch the ball," she is heard saying. "My husband cannot [expletive] throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."

Maybe Tom will teach her the meaning of "STFU" during the off-season.

Actually, Yes.

Does this fall under the "Not Watching Sausage Being Made" rule?

Yeah, I think it does, and are we supposed to see this as good news?

McDonald’s confirms that it’s no longer using ‘pink slime’ chemical in hamburgers 

McDonald's announced last week that, as of last August, is has stopped using ammonium hydroxide in the production of its hamburgers. MSNBC reports that the chemical, used in fertilizers, household cleaners and even homemade explosives, was also used to prepare McDonalds' hamburger meat. 

And while the announcement is making headlines, you may (or may not) want to know about some other unusual chemicals being used in the production of some of our most-popular foods:

Actually, no, I'd prefer not to know.  If you would like to know, however, please follow the link.  I'll admit that my guilty pleasure was a periodic trip to McDonald's but as I've gotten older, the craving has been less frequent as it just made me feel like crap for the rest of the day.

That this is a chemical used in homemade explosives may explain.........oh, never mind

The United Nations: Constantly Redefining Ludicrous Since 1946

The organization that gives equal voice to despots as well as statesmen and practitioners of genocide as well as champions of freedom and self-determination has the world economy now in its sights.

Does anyone with at least one functioning synapse trust the UN with "retooling the world economy"?   It's like giving Bernie Madoff your 401K to play with in his spare time in prison or having Michael Moore watch your lunch while you go to the rest room.

UN panel says retool world economy for sustainability 

The world can no longer afford to ignore the environmental cost of economic growth and must redefine the very concept of national wealth, a UN panel of heads of state and environment ministers said Monday. 

The panel challenged leaders to recognise that "current global development is unsustainable."
"We need to chart a new, more sustainable course for the future, one that strengthens equality and economic growth while protecting our planet," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in Addis Ababa to mark the release of the panel's report, which outlines more than 50 policy recommendations.

By 2030, the report warned, the planet will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water. 

These needs are emerging "at a time when environmental boundaries are throwing up new limits to supply," it said. 

Continuing along the same path as today risks "irreversible damage to both ecosystems and human communities." 

Entitled "Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing," the 100-page report seeks to shape in broad strokes the agenda for the Rio+20 summit this summer.

It sounds a lot to me like UN-Speak for "looting and kneecapping the productive First World in order to bestow that loot on the Third World".

I care not if you "like" me on Facebook

I drove by a bank branch the over day and on their electronic message board it said; "Like us on Facebook!"

Why? I know there are some pretty insecure people out there that obsess about how many Facebook "friends" they have (even at the expense of actually, you know, making real friends), but banks? I know that banks aren't the most popular institutions these days, but have they unraveled to the point that their emotional stability is that of a teen-age girl?


The truth is, if most of your "Facebook friends" are essentially strangers, you may want to reevaluate how you're spending your time (you know, you only get so much) and look up "shallow" in the dictionary.


Why can't I dislike something on Facebook?