Things that make no sense to me

Some musings about things that make no sense to me. Please feel free to send in your own. I will update this initial list from time to time.

• Why can you get free wi-fi internet access at any Motel 6, Red Roof Inn, Super 8, Microtel, and many other budget oriented lodging chains, but have to pay $12.95 or more per night at the local Marriott and Radisson?

• If green glass is such a pain in the butt to recycle, why continue bottling products in it?

• Why do people continue to vote against their own best interest?

• If we believe in free-market competition, then why do we continue to allow mega-mergers in telecommunications and other industries?

• Why are banks allowed to call it “totally free checking” or “absolutely free checking” when the checks themselves cost anywhere from $15-$25 per box?

• Why do cyclists, scooter riders, and motorcyclists think their heads are stronger than concrete, asphalt, and car windshields?

• If libertarians and anarchists think their should be no government regulation or interventions whatsoever, then why don’t they move to the Shangri-La of deregulation known as Somalia (see funny video below)?

• Why does Pennsylvania spend money on highway mile markers for every tenth of a mile?

• If religious denominations cannot get along, why do they expect the rest of us to?

• Why do they exclude oil, food, and medicine room the inflation numbers — so what if they are volatile, we all still use them. Otherwise, the figures are just a giant misleading lie.

• If politicians, political action committees, and special interest groups are proven to be consistently inaccurate, then why aren’t they banned from buying more advertising.

Read Full Post »

Simple steps to combat global warming

These are not meant to be a quick and easy solution, but are simple steps that each of us can take to help reduce global warming. They include:

• Ride your bike, walk, or take mass transit more often.
• Use white or light color roofs and pavements to reflect more sunlight away from the  Earth, instead of absorbing it.
• Plant more trees.
• Employ no-till farming.
• Recycle, reduce, and reuse as much as you can.
• Install drought-resistant landscaping,
• Install low-flow toilets and shower heads.
• Start planning now proactively versus reacting later at a higher cost to both public and private entities — research and identify vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change and then install the proper safeguards.
• And above all, ask the climate question of local officials and businesses — in the age of global warming, what is your community going to look or be like?

Read Full Post »

If cats ruled the planet…

If cats ruled the planet:

• Everything would be purrrrrfect.

• Sandboxes would be required every 100 feet.

• There would be no national bird symbols – as they have all been devoured.

• All sports teams must be called Cats, Wildcats, Pumas, Cougars, Bengals, Cheetahs, Jaguars, Lions, Tigers, Catamounts, Leopards. Snow Leopards, Mountain Lions, or Panthers. No whimpy bird names are allowed.

• The Meow Mix theme song would be the worldwide anthem and will be played purrpetually. No other song may be played – ever!

• Tweety Bird would be public enemy number 1; Jerry and Mighty Mouse numbers 2 and 3; Pixie and Dixie numbers 4 and 5.

• Twitter would be renamed “Putty-tats” and tweets would become cat-a-logues.

• Humans and dogs would exist solely to serve cats.

• Catalonia would be the official site of the world capital.

• There would be no disasters, only catastrophes.

• The three national sports would be hairball spitting, catnip swatting, and mouse dissection.

• Sleep would be the daily and nightly pastime.

• Children would receive presents at Christmas from Santa Claws.

• Monuments would be erected in each major city honoring Top Cat, Mr. Jinx, Tom, Sylvester, Snagglepuss, Felix, and the correct half of Cat-Dog.

• The term “dead cat bounce” would be outlawed and changed to “overpaid moron on Wall Street bounce.”

• The “Stray cat strut” would be the worldwide dance.

• Ignoring others, smugness, and an aloof attitude will be compulsory subjects in school.

• Declawing shall be outlawed – they make it easier to get our point across to our, oh so loyal, subjects. This mean YOU!

Read Full Post »

The 2011 halftime report – Best new music

"Codes and Keys"

It has been quite a banner first half of the year for great music in 2011. A number of terrific albums have been released since the start of the year and a familiar band from the past has made a big comeback. There have been a few disappointments along the way too, most sadly the break-up of one of my favorite bands.

Here’s my list the best new music of the first six months of 2011:

Best New Album

Codes and Keys –  Death Cab for Cutie (DCFC)

Runner Up Albums

Belong – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Raven in a Grave – The Raveonettes

Arrows – The Lonely Forest

The King of Limbs – Radiohead

Wasting Light - Foo Fighters

Move Like This - The Cars

Best New Single (tie)

“Anti-D” – The Wombats

“Walk” – Foo Fighters

 Best New Video

“Anti-D” – The Wombats

Runner Up Videos

“Simple Math” – Manchester Orchestra

“You Are a Tourist”  - DCFC

“Recharge and Revolt” – The Raveonettes

Best Comeback

The Cars

Biggest Disappointments

The break up of the band The Stills (please say it ain’t so, eh)

Angles  - The Strokes

Simple Math – Manchester Orchestra

James Durbin not winning on American Idol

Read Full Post »

What would a Republican recruitment video look like?

I had that thought the other day while thinking of a woman I spoke to during my calls for OFA. Laurie has had incredibly poor fortune the past few years. She and her husband both had health emergencies in 2008. Her husband lost his job because of his, and he couldn’t get another one because he was a) illiterate and b) too ill to work. They had to deal with a mess of red tape to get unemployment benefits, which have since run out. Laurie has diabetes and so can’t get private insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Her husband gets about $900 a month in Social Security payments, $650 of which goes to the rent. They have no other income and are struggling to provide for their daughter.

Laurie was obviously lonely and desperate; it was the longest call I’ve had so far because she kept talking and I just didn’t have the heart to hang up. She kept saying “it’s not fair” and I completely agreed with her. Obviously an election more than a year away was not at the top of her list of priorities. I gave her the number for the local United Way hotline and said I honestly believed President Obama had the interests of average people like her at heart when he crafted policy.

It’s because of people like Laurie that I’m involved with the summer program at Organizing for America. It’s because of people like Laurie that I’m trying to get Obama re-elected. We have to lower the unemployment rate and create jobs. We have to raise taxes on the rich to raise revenue and balance the budget. We have to revise our health care laws so people like Laurie and her family don’t fall through the cracks. We have to raise disability payments to a living wage so Laurie isn’t worried about her family ending up hungry and homeless. That’s not the promise America was founded on.

Of course, Republicans are totally opposed to all of the steps outlined above. They seem to care only about the top 1% of fellow millionaires. I presume the Republicans have a similar program in which they recruit volunteers. How do they do that? By appealing to “family values” and “tradition”? By extolling the racism and sexism of the 1950s and refusing to acknowledge a multicultural future? By saying “you, too, can help pollute our nation’s air and water”? By championing massive profits in the oil, financial and health care industries? By criticizing so-called “entitlements” while at the same time benefiting from government subsidies and health care? By bellowing about constitutionality while taking away people’s right to vote? By advocating smaller government while at the same time nosing into the most personal details of women’s medical care? By celebrating all of the old white men in their establishment?

I just honestly can’t imagine what kind of tools they use to get people interested in their party. Obviously those people are out there, what with the success of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. And certainly Democrats aren’t perfect. We don’t have strong, assertive voices or clear messaging on vital subjects. But I believe more Democrats have more average people’s interests in mind than do Republicans.

Read Full Post »

A 360 degree kick ass concert – U2 last night

If you have the opportunity to see U2 during their 360 degree tour, it is worth ever penny. Great songs, terrific performances, one wickedly amazing stage, and a fabulous time. And if you are as lucky as we were in East Lansing to have Florence and the Machine as the opening act, even better.

Three encores, 2.25 hours of great U2 music, and 75,000 of us rockin’ Spartan Stadium. What a great time! Here are some photos I took – sorry if some are fuzzy, I was too busy singing and playing air guitar. Catch this tour if you get a chance – its terrific!

Florence and the Machine on the big screen

Florence and the Machine on stage

The stage is set

The Edge walking the circular stage

Bono on the big screen

The screen lowers to encircle the band

The Edge kicking ass on guitar

So cool!

Read Full Post »

Adventures of a bike parking advocate, pt. 1

As the usage of bicycles for commuting, exercise, and recreational purposes grows, I have been contacting businesses and organizations in the local area that do not have bike parking racks to see if they would consider adding them. Since Greater Lansing contains campuses of several colleges and universities, bike travel is a big deal. Here is brief a summary of my results thus far:

Kohl’s - My initial contact was a year or so ago using a comment card in the store. No luck there. More recently, after navigating their website for longer than it should take to figure out how to contact them, they quickly responded with a sort of corporate “we’ll see.”

Schuler Books – Same previous bad luck with comment cards. Instead, I sent an email to the store manager and got a very pleasant response. The store will be contacting the management company of the shopping center about installing a bike rack near their entrance.

Quality Dairy – If there is any chain of convenience stores that could use bike parking, it is this one – partially because they serve ice cream, so a lot of people bike and walk there for a summer treat. Sent an email through their corporate contact address and have heard nothing ever since. Disappointed, but note entirely surprised.

Rite Aid – Verbal inquiries to the staff received perplexed looks (I was wearing my bike helmet at the time – perhaps they thought I was a space invader) and generally “good luck with that” verbal responses. An email to their corporate office was received, but no written response or action has been indicated or taken.

Maru – Have not heard back to date from this popular sushi restaurant that often has anywhere from two to four bikes tethered by its employees to nearby signs and trees. Seems like a less than subtle hint to add bike parking, but who I am to say? No response to date.

MDOT – Wrote to the regional office of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and suggested they add bike racks at their park and ride carpool lots around the state, as part of a new “Bike and Ride” program. Received a positive response that suggested I involve area bicycling advocacy groups. An email went out last week to them and my fingers are crossed.

Keep tuning in, as I will update this post now and then when I hear more or inquire at other businesses and organizations.

p.s. If you happen to frequent any of these organizations, please ask them to add bike parking. Thanks!

Read Full Post »

Righting a terrible wrong from 15 years ago – Winnipeg gets its beloved Jets back

Finally, the National Hockey League (NHL) has corrected a terrible misdeed from 1996, when the Winnipeg Jets were transferred to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. Winnipeg’s beloved Jets were gone, as was a part of this great city’s soul.

On June 21, 2011, the NHL Board of Governors voted too approve the sale of the struggling Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment of Winnipeg. Even better for all of us who loved the original Winnipeg Jets, True North announced Friday night during the NHL draft that the team will re-assume the classic name of Jets. Good move gang!

One may ask why some guy raised in Central Indiana and now living in Mid-Michigan is such a big fan of the Winnipeg Jets. Several reasons:

• I grew up in Indianapolis and loved attending games of the former World Hockey Association (WHA), which bore the Winnipeg Jets as well as my hometown Indianapolis Racers.  Sadly, Indy’s team did not survive the merger with the NHL, so the Winnipeg Jets became my adopted favorite team.
• Winnipeg’s and Canada’s storied hockey histories.
• My wonderful visit to this great city of the Canadian prairie in 2006 only added to my support of anything and everything Winnipeg, including the Blue Bombers of the CFL.

Don’t get me wrong, as a Michigander, I am a proud Detroit Red Wings fan. But, I am really looking forward to the 2011-2012 NHL season and rekindling my love for the Winnipeg Jets as they once again take to the ice. No matter how the Jets do this season, the team will be adored by the good people of Winnipeg and by at least one guy in Greater Lansing, Michigan.

Read Full Post »

The devolution and evolution of Barack Obama

Dan Savage at Savage Love has done a great job recently at tracking President Barack Obama’s stance on marriage equality. It recently made the news that as a candidate for Illinois state Senate in 1996, Obama told Outlines newspaper, in his own handwriting, he supported gay marriage. However, presidential candidate Obama in 2008 was clearly opposed to gay marriage. In the last few months he has suggested there might have been an “evolution” of his position and that he’s now leaning toward supporting gay marriage. But communications director Dan Pfeiffer and spokesman Jay Carney insist Obama up until this point has not supported marriage equality.

Confused? I don’t blame you. I have long suspected Obama’s stance on the issue is a political decision rather than an actual personal belief. I just couldn’t understand how someone who has appointed so many gay people to positions of power in the government, who has allowed hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples, who has worked to repeal don’t ask, don’t tell, and who has shown every other indication of supporting full equal rights for gay Americans could stop short at marriage.

I agree with Savage that it’s likely Obama changed his position in order to win the presidency, and yes, that disappoints me. But Savage asked some thought-provoking questions. If progressives push Obama to support marriage equality before the 2012 election, and he loses, that issue will be blamed for it. Are we willing to let a President Pawlenty or President Bachmann become a reality for the sake of our principles? By the same token, if Obama had supported same-sex marriage in 2008, and lost to John McCain/Sarah Palin on that issue, what would our country look like now? Would the trade-off have been worth it? I don’t know. I fully support marriage for heterosexual and homosexual couples, but the thought of Sarah Palin being vice president right now still makes my skin crawl.

In a perfect world, Obama could express his true beliefs and there would be no political consequences. No one would refuse to vote for Obama next year because of this one stance. However, we all know the world is far from perfect, and Republicans would be using his support for same-sex marriage to raise millions of dollars and drive their base into a frenzy. I’ve had enough of their idea of governing to last me a lifetime. I’d much prefer letting Obama have another four years to move this country forward.

Read Full Post »

New York passes marriage equality

Two great pieces of news in one day! First a federal judge granted Planned Parenthood of Indiana an injunction restoring Medicaid funding, and then New York state approved same-sex marriage. After several days in which is was unclear whether the issue would be voted on or whether there was enough support for the measure, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill late Friday. It makes New York the largest state where same-sex couples can now legally marry.

One of the sticking points in the debate was exemptions for religious institutions. I have never had a problem with churches, synagogues or mosques not performing same-sex weddings. I don’t agree with it but that’s totally their choice. And what gay couple would want to get married in an establishment that regards them as subhuman, anyway? However, if a state government legally recognizes same-sex couples, those people should not be discriminated against in, say, a religiously affiliated hospital. I also don’t think those couples should be prevented from adopting children from religious adoption agencies. Your religious beliefs should end where someone else’s civil rights begin.

One interesting tidbit is that this law passed a Republican Senate when two years ago it failed in a Democratic Senate. I have to praise the Republicans who went against their party and voted in favor of love:

With his position still undeclared, Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Republican from Buffalo who had sought office promising to oppose same-sex marriage, told his colleagues he had agonized for months before concluding he had been wrong.

“I apologize for those who feel offended,” Mr. Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.”

It’s statements like his that give me hope that although marriage equality exists in just five states right now (with New York to be the sixth), in the not-too-distant future it will be reality in all 50.

Read Full Post »