April 2010 Archives

OK, let's review.

On Monday, Senate Republicans blocked debate on a bill that would reform Wall Street.

On Tuesday, they did it again.

On Wednesday, they did it once again.

Then, later Wednesday afternoon, they relented and stopped blocking the bill that would regulate financial institutions and, hopefully, prevent the kind of meltdown that nearly destroyed the world economy.

I guess they finally got around to looking at the polls that showed nearly three-quarters of the population supported reforming Wall Street and that it was a stupid idea to be standing up for the rich and powerful at the expense of the rest of us.

Of course, a lot of the Republicans, and Democrats, for that matter, get loads of campaign contributions from Wall Street. (And please, don't get into the debate who gets more. They both sleep on huge piles of Wall Street cash.)

It reminds me of one of my favorite political saying. Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, once championed an anti-smoking bill, while taking campaign contributions from tobacco companies. He explained, in so many words, that if you can't take their money and then turn around and screw them, you don't belong in this profession

A recent Associated Press-Petside.com poll found that one-third of married women believe their pets are better listeners than their husbands. Eighteen percent of men believed the same thing.

I don't know. My dogs only listen when they believe I'm going to give them food.

And if your dog starts talking to you, don't listen to him. Remember David Berkowitz?

Good piece on Slate magazine about disappearing Maryland beaches.

Erosion, rising sea levels and other factors are making the beaches disappear.

Maybe somebody should do something about it.

The makers of the film about Hitler's final days have pulled the various parodies of it that have become an Internet meme.

Here is one that survived the purge:

So Arizona made it illegal to be Mexican.

Arizona is now vying for the title as the country's dumbest and weirdest state, wresting the title from Florida, South Carolina and several other states.

The new anti-immigration law is absurd. It orders police to check the IDs of a people they suspect of being illegal immigrants. I suspect they aren't going to detain a lot of Norwegians.

There is historical precedent for the police being charged with demanding papers from people who look suspicious. What could it be?

So Newt Gingrich appeared in York and said something dumb.

What else is new?

What amazes me is how anyone still listens to this guy. His opinions are based on fiction and his advocacy for ideas that have been discredited is spectacular, to the say the least.

And it's kind of amazing that a man who dumped his wife when she was undergoing treatment for cancer can preach traditional values with a straight face.

The white supremacist who sued York was murdered in his Mississippi home.

Here is a case where if you can't say anything good about a person, saying nothing at all.

Slate magazine has a piece today about the Tea Party and that while most of us find them amusing, that they represent a danger to our nation mostly because of their ignorance of history and willingness to believe balderdash spewed by Glenn Beck.

Here is an excerpt:

"The recent New York Times study of T.P.ers reported that party members are "better educated" than most Americans. But educated in what? Clearly, they--or at least a significant, influential portion of them--are utterly uneducated in history. One can get a college degree without taking a single class in world history and thus still be ripe for the idiot distortions of a Glenn Beck.

"Most people with a basic grounding in history find Tea Party ignorance something to laugh about, certainly not something to take seriously. But I would argue that history demonstrates that historical ignorance is dangerous and that it can have tragic consequences, however laughable it may initially seem. And thus the media, liberals, and others are misguided in laughing it off. And educated conservatives are irresponsible in staying silent in the face of these distortions.

"The muddled Tea Party version of history is more than wrong and fraudulent. It's offensive. Calling Obama a tyrant, a communist, or a fascist is deeply offensive to all the real victims of tyranny, the real victims of communism and fascism. The tens of millions murdered. It trivializes such suffering inexcusably for the T.P.ers to claim that they are suffering from similar oppression because they might have their taxes raised or be subject to demonic 'federal regulation.'"

Read the whole thing here.

From today's paper:

"A fisherman on Lake Marburg discovered what officials determined to be a stolen vehicle inside Codorus State Park Tuesday night.

"The fisherman was on the water near the marina when he looked down and saw the roof of a vehicle around 7:30 p.m., said Park Manager Warren Werntz."

I was just listening to the new Drive By Truckers CD on the way to work and this song came on. Weird.

Heard on the radio that Tiger went to a Nickelback concert.

Nickelback.

Hasn't the guy suffered enough for his sins?

Great news for fans of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David will be back.

The L.A. Times reports:

"HBO's favorite misanthrope is coming back for more.

"The network announced Tuesday that Larry David has agreed to do an eighth season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' the comedy in which he plays a more neurotic version of himself.

"'After much soul-searching - and by the way, it was nowhere to be found - I have decided to do another season of 'Curb,' ' David said in a statement. 'I look forward to the end of shooting, when I can once again resume the hunt for my elusive soul. I know it's here somewhere or perhaps in the rugged mountainous regions of Pakistan.'

This excellent piece from the investigative journalism organization ProPublica gives a pretty good clear description of the kind of fiscal shenanigans that led to the near total collapse of our economy in 2008.

It's a very good read and before you make up your mind of financial reform and the dire need to regulate Wall Street, give it a read.

It's astonishing.

From the Associated Press:

"SHARON, Pa.--One item stood out when a cleanup crew gathered 21 tons of trash from the banks of the Shenango River in western Pennsylvania: a prosthetic leg with a shoe still attached."

You would think someone who lost a prosthetic leg would have reported it or something.

The New York Times Paul Krugman, a Nobel-prize-winning economist, weighs in on the Goldman-Sachs fraud case and the need for meaningful financial reform. Goldman-Sachs profited handsomely from the cratering of our economy, something that should spark widespread support for reforms, which isn't exactly happening.

His conclusion?

"The main moral you should draw from the charges against Goldman, though, doesn't involve the fine print of reform; it involves the urgent need to change Wall Street. Listening to financial-industry lobbyists and the Republican politicians who have been huddling with them, you'd think that everything will be fine as long as the federal government promises not to do any more bailouts. But that's totally wrong -- and not just because no such promise would be credible.

"For the fact is that much of the financial industry has become a racket -- a game in which a handful of people are lavishly paid to mislead and exploit consumers and investors. And if we don't lower the boom on these practices, the racket will just go on."

The lead from the Associated Press story about Ben Roethlisberger returning to practice with the Steelers:

"PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger will line up under center, take the snap and throw his first pass to a teammate since the Steelers ended the season Jan. 3."

You could make a joke here. But I won't. Nope. Not me.

Sure it is, but this Associated Press is pretty gross.

"PHILADELPHIA--A New Jersey man is facing charges after police say he intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl in the stands during a Phillies game.

"Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Clemmens of Cherry Hill, N.J., was arraigned early Friday morning on charges stemming from an incident during Wednesday night's Phillies-Nationals game.

"Police say Clemmens began trying to make himself vomit on an off-duty police captain and his family after a companion was removed from the stadium for unruly behavior."

Jersey. Figures.

York County Coroner Barry Bloss is battling cancer.

He had a tumor removed from his stomach and is undergoing chemotherapy to attack the disease. It's a tough fight, but Bloss is a tough guy.

As with any public official, we here at the newspaper have had run-ins with Barry over things. But overall, he's a good person and a good public servant. A decent man.

Hope he beats this sucker.

With all of the blather going around about taxes, here is something to keep in mind, from the Citizens for Tax Justice:

"Recent polling shows that most people believe President Obama has either left taxes the same for this past year or actually raised them. The truth could not be more different. The President cut taxes for 98 percent of working people in 2009."

Here in Pennsylvania, the non-partisan group found:

-- 99 percent of working families and individuals in Pennsylvania benefitted from at least
one of the tax cuts signed into law by President Obama.

-- Working people in Pennsylvania received $1,220, on average, from these breaks.

-- These tax breaks benefited working people at all income levels.

Read the whole thing here.

The Orioles set an attendance record Monday night.

A mere 9,129 people attended the game, a 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay. It was a record low.

Remember the days when even a poor Orioles team would sell-out Camden Yards? Vaguely?

As dismal as the O's are expected to be this year, there is hope the team will shatter that record before the season ends.

The judge in the public corruption case against former state Rep. and Revenue Secretary Steve Stetler asked the attorney general to file a more complete response to Stetler's request to dismiss the charges because they are politically motivated. AG Tom Corbett, if you recall, is running for governor.

A hearing is set for Friday.

The question is: Does Corbett expect to ride this case into the governor's office? Probably, but that doesn't mean the charges don't have merit. It could get weird.

Our own Frank Bodani has a report on spring practice at Penn State today.

JoePa is talking down his team, saying they're young and not very good. As someone who's followed Penn State football for longer than I care to admit, I've heard it before. Joe will come up with something. But then again, with trips to Alabama and Iowa early in the season, it could be a long fall.

I think they'll be all right. It's kind of early to tell what kind of team Joe will have. But you gotta have faith in the guy. He has proven that he kinda knows what he's doing.

OK, Kitty Kelley is on all of the morning programs talking about how the media has blacklisted her because they are afraid of Oprah.

Kelley is allegedly a professional writer. She needs to look up "irony." I don't think she completely grasps the concept.

My friend Dr. Mo, aka David Moyar, is a postal carrier. On Saturday, he was attempting to retrieve the mail from the mailbox in front of the old courthouse when he encountered the Tea Party people, or 9/12 Patriots, or whatever they're calling themselves.

Here is his part of his report:

"As I attempted to get through the crowd, saying 'excuse me' and 'I'm just trying to do my job,' I noticed many of the people would see me and immediately look away and refuse to move or acknowledge my presence. I again tried to get to the mailbox saying, 'I've got a job to do here' when one lady screeched at me 'Nobody's stopping you.' I replied, 'Oh yes you are.' At that point a man who was blocking my access to the mailbox shouted in my face 'You don't have a job, you work for the government.' At this point I'd had enough and asked, 'What is your problem?' He replied 'I don't have a problem, you're the problem, The Government.' This was greeted with a chorus of others pointing at me and chanting 'You're the Problem The Government.'"

The postal service? Seriously?

So the Westboro Baptist people skipped Millersville to go to West Virginia to torture the survivors of the horrible coal mine accident there.

You know, I don't think God had anything to do with the deaths of those miners. It probably had more to do with the coal company's flouting of safety regulations and the political influence its owner has in that state.

In the old days, when people messed with West Virginia coal miners, the result usually wasn't pretty. Westboro would be well advised to tread lightly.

Funny stuff.

Here is the whole text:

WASHINGTON--During an emotionally charged press conference Monday, newly minted Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb expressed gratitude to the unappreciative, abusive, and intolerant fans of the Philadelphia Eagles for their total lack of support over the years. "I'd like to thank all the Eagles fans who were always there to demand the whole world from me every week, who expected me to do everything with almost nothing, and who blamed me for the team's every failure," said the six-time Pro Bowler, who also apologized for his failure to shore up the Eagles defense and his inability to keep Brian Westbrook healthy while leading the team to five NFC championship games. "I can't thank them enough for the constant insults or tell you what their lack of support meant to me when Rush Limbaugh made racist comments about me. My only regret, besides every (bleeping) awful moment of the past 11 years, is that I couldn't give these people what they wanted most: drafting Ricky Williams back in 1999. No fans deserved it more." McNabb then wished probable Eagles starting QB Kevin Kolb luck winning the next 25 Super Bowls "because nothing else will be enough," gave all Philly fans the finger "because I can't give them all cancer," sighed with pleasure, and went to turn in his Eagles playbook to the Redskins' defensive coordinators.

Jeff Koons talks about how York County inspired this work of art.

"One of my most known works is the 'Rabbit' made out of stainless steel. People often will ask me, 'Where does an idea like that come from?' I would think that somebody just has to drive around York County, and you can kind of get an essence -- especially if you drive around Easter time (when) there are a lot of inflatable rabbits. There (are) always a lot of gazing balls, whether they're blue or just silver and red. This type of generosity to your neighbor, of putting something in your yard. . .that always made a very large impression on me. When I made the 'Rabbit' I was trying to share my own cultural history, even though it's in stainless steel and mirrored and very reflective, I really believe it just comes from just trying to share this type of environment. When people put things like an inflatable out in their front yard or put a gazing ball in their front yard, they're really doing that for the pleasure of their neighbor. In York, for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day or any excuse, people enjoy putting a lot of things out in their yard for their neighbor."

Cool stuff. Art can come from anywhere, even the weird stuff York County people put in their yards.

If you haven't watched this yet, go do it now. An amazing piece of journalism.

Simply heartbreaking.

I know, it sounds boring, but this Paul Krugman column gives a pretty clear explanation of the financial crisis in Greece and how the U.S, learn from it.

His conclusion:

"What worries me most about the U.S. situation right now is the rising clamor from inflation hawks, who want the Fed to raise rates (and the federal government to pull back from stimulus) even though employment has barely started to recover. If they get their way, they'll perpetuate mass unemployment. But that's not all. America's public debt will be manageable if we eventually return to vigorous growth and moderate inflation. But if the tight-money people prevail, that won't happen -- and all bets will be off."

So those voices calling for cutting back on spending and tightening the money supply, the ones who say spending will kill the economy, are wrong, at least according to Krugman, a Nobel Prize winning economist.

Read the whole thing here.

It is a testament to our culture here that this community has been able to produce two great artists with stunningly different visions.

Del McCoury is a bluegrass legend, a musician who has broken boundaries. For instance, his band has performed tunes penned by folk-rocker Richard Thompson -- an amazingly cool version of "'52 Vincent Black Lightning" -- and has corroborated with musicians as diverse as Bruce Hornsby and Steve Earle. The guy is a genius, a very modest genius.

And then, there is Jeff Koons, an artist with an amazingly deep vision. His work has consistently broken new ground and has often made us redefine our idea of what art is. He also is a genius.

That they would both be from York County says something. What that is, I'm not sure.

And a side note, Louis Appell mentioned Dominick Argento, a Pulitzer-prize winning opera composer. Dominick is a my uncle. Little known fact: He's a big Minnesota Vikings fan.

Ed Rendell came to town bearing gifts -- $4 million for renovations to Central Market and conversion of the old Eagles building into an art gallery and studio space.

Of course, the naysayers on the Internet criticized it. What they don't seem to understand is that this kind of stuff leads to good things. Construction workers will be able to find work. Businesses will make money and, hopefully, hire people. Sure, it's a relatively small gesture, if that can be said of $4 million, but it's worthwhile.

Central Market is a cornerstone of downtown and the city. Go to the market on Saturday mornings and it's the city as it should be. The more we can do attract people to market and to other downtown destinations, the better.

So, thanks Ed.

Speaking of Ed, I was wondering what he had to say about the Donovan McNabb trade.

The Westboro nutcases are heading to Florida to protest at a Bon Jovi concert.

Seriously.

They claim that "these old fools" have never preached to the millions who have seen them in concert over the past three decades.

What?

What about "Livin' on a Prayer"?

Goldman-Sachs, the financial giant of Wall Street, had a great year in 2009.

And it's boss see no reason to apologize for that.

That's nice to know. I'm sure all of the nearly half a million people who lost their unemployment and insurance this past week are feeling all warm and fuzzy.

I'm a fan of terrible movies, and by terrible movies, I don't mean movies that are simply bad, but movies that transcend terribleness and achieve a level of art that inspired awe that someone would even commit such an atrocity.

So, it was with great pleasure that I read this piece in Slate about terrible movies. Featured are "Birdemic" and "The Room." I haven't seen either one, but am looking forward to the experience.

Here is the trailer for "Birdemic":

And here is the trailer for "The Room":

And one of the great scenes from the movie:

Now that's acting!

Craptacular!

This car, its graphics designed by Jeffrey Koons, is the 17th BMW Art Car, the distinguished art series which uses BMW cars as the canvas. He joins company with artists Andy Warhol, Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein, who previously designed cars. Pretty good company.

Koons will be town Thursday to receive the Governor's Award for the Arts.

Simply amazing. Could be the play of the year, on opening day.

Salon.com has a slide show of lessons learned by the Tiger Woods affair.

My favorite is right here.

View the entire slide show here.

You show up to Easter dinner, make sure you dress appropriately.

This is a warning, from an Associated Press story from Columbus, Ohio:

"COLUMBUS, Ohio--Police in Ohio say a woman shot her cousin to death during an argument that started because one woman didn't think the other was dressed properly for Easter dinner.

"Columbus police say 19-year-old Danielle Pickens showed up Sunday night at the home of Evelyn Burgess wearing a T-shirt and jean shorts. Detective Steven Eppert says 42-year-old Burgess told officers she thought the outfit was inappropriate and disrespectful.

"The women fought. Police say Pickens walked outside to leave and Burgess shot her in the head with a handgun."

If you're going to Easter dinner in Columbus, make sure your Easter bonnet is made of Kevlar.

Good interview with Del McCoury on the occasion of being named Artist of the Year by the Governor's Awards for the Arts, which he will accept Thursday in York.

Read it here.

Del is a living legend and a national treasure. And he's one of humblest and most decent people you'll ever meet. A great musician and a great human being.

Congrats to Del for this honor. But as he says, he doesn't do what he does for honors -- and he has collected a lot of top awards -- he does it because he loves the music. It shows.

Well, the Eagles did it. They got rid of the best quarterback they've ever had, trading him to a division rival for a bag of magic beans.

Bets of luck of Donovan, except the two times a year he faces his old team.

I'm among those who think this was a bad idea and the Eagles were trading their best chance of winning.

Well, we'll see.

All I know is that when the Eagles are 6-8 next year, I'll be wearing my McNabb jersey.

Some wingnuts are upset that a school in Utah is teaching kids about democracy.

Utah is apparently trying to catch up to Texas in the derby to make kids as stupid as some adults.

As you all know, I am a fan of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman's column.

In today's column, he explains financial reform, the next big fight in Washington.

It's worth reading to get a overview of what Tea Partyers are going to be screaming about in the coming weeks and months.

The Baltimore Sun's excellent columnist Dan Rodricks weighs in on the Westboro case.

Here's an excerpt:

"We can only hope this healthy reaction against hatred continues and that those, like Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin or Rush Limbaugh, who like to gin up their followers with provocative and nasty commentary, will think about the power of their words to inflict harm next time. Same with the politicians who are decrying Mr. Snyder's $16,510.80 bill for Westboro's court costs.

"Let freedom ring. Let civility reign."

Very good sentiment, but I think Rodricks overestimates the ability of O'Reilly, Malkin and Limbaugh to make that connection.

This is from the debate, or whatever it was, between U.S. Rep. Todd Platts and his challenger in the Republican primary, Mike Smeltzer.

"Smeltzer said he finds it objectionable that, when he uses checkout machines, he must specify whether he wants instructions in Spanish or English."

What?

Who cares?

Debunked.

This time from Slate magazine.

My favorite, the last one, about how health care reform is a plot to pollute our precious bodily fluids.

Of course, that gives me the opportunity to post this:

Tonight, Sarah Palin, in her continuing effort to milk her little bit of fame for as many dollars as she can, debuts her Fox News show about "real" Americans.

One of the "real" Americans she planned to have on the show was LL Cool J. Apparently, that was news to LL Cool J. What Fox planned to do was lift a 2008 interview with him and put it on the show. He objected and Fox pulled it.

Glad to see that Palin and Fox News are adhering to the high standards they've set for themselves.

This just in: Apparently, Toby Keith was being promoted as a guest on the show, which was news to Keith. His publicist said she's not sure what they plan to do or what Fox News interviews Palin will recycle for her craptacular show.

This is not going to end well. But still, Palin will be paid and that's what it's all about.