Dec 252012
 

Today I’m feeding a few people in my building, who cannot afford Christmas dinner, but they are doing a lot of the work this time.  I’m current with replies.  We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.  May your Christmas holiday be everything you wish it to be.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:50 (average 5:26). To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Links on the Medal of Honor [a violent video game] site allowed visitors to click through on the Web sites of the game’s partners and peruse their catalogs.

“It was almost like a virtual showroom for guns,” said Ryan Smith, who contributes to the Gameological Society, an online gaming magazine. After Mr. Smith and other gaming enthusiasts criticized the site, Electronic Arts disabled the links, saying it had been unaware of them.

The video game industry was drawn into the national debate about gun violence last week when the National Rifle Association accused producers of violent games and movies of helping to incite the type of mass shooting that recently left 20 children and six adults dead at a school in Newtown, Conn… [emphasis added]

I find it totally hypocritical that the gun industry’s hired shill, the NRA, blames violent video games at the same time they support the games with their advertising dollars.

From YouTube: A Very Republican Christmas

This video was posted to YouTube a year ago by the NRA. Need I say more?

From The New Yorker: Today, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) released the following holiday letter to the American people:

Dear American People:

It’s Speaker Boehner here, writing my first and last ever holiday letter to you. Why am I doing this after all of these years, you might ask? Well, I won’t mince words. I’ve started drinking a little early this Christmas.

Somehow I suspect that Agent Orange has done so every Christmas, but this year, I don’t blame him.  If I had his caucus, so would I.

Cartoon:

25Cartoon

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  11 Responses to “Open Thread–12/25/2012”

  1. 4:26  although I must say that Santa is looking a little flat!  Mrs Claus must have him on one of those high fibre diets.

  2. Puzzle — 4:26 although I must say that Santa is looking a little flat! Mrs Claus must have him on one of those high fibre diets.

    NY Times —  And their lies aren't even convincing to those of us who are sound of mind!  Such hypocracy!

    …the National Rifle Association accused producers of violent games and movies of helping to incite the type of mass shooting…

    It is all in what questions you ask and how you ask them.  Obviously, a nerve was hit which is likely why he refused to answer about Activision having permission to use likenesses of Freedom Group's weapons.

    A spokesman for the Freedom Group, Ted Novin, said in an e-mail that Bushmaster had “received no payment, nor have we paid for placement of our products in Call of Duty.”

    “The gaming and entertainment industry routinely use likeness of our products without our permission,” he added in the e-mail. But he did not respond when asked if Activision had received the Freedom Group’s permission to depict its products in Call of Duty.

    Weapons manufacturers, the NRA, video game producers and marketers are all in bed together.  When you lie down with dogs you get fleas!

    YouTube — I remember the picture of the father/son in red shirts from last year.  I was disgusted then, and I am today.  To hype guns at Christmas is so out of step with the meaning and spirit of the season.  And for Kennedy to mention 2nd amendment rights when talking about automatic and semi-automatic weapons is ludicrous.  There definitely needs to be a law about banning assault rifles and any automatic/semi-automatic weapons, plus there needs to be a rewrite of the 2nd amendment to define what specific types of weapons are acceptable.  The 2nd amendment was written in a different era with different circumstances.  I fervently believe that the founding fathers would faint dead away if they knew how the 2nd amendment were being interpreted today.

    The New Yorker — What John Boehner would like to say but dare not.  Very amusing!

    Cartoon — Great cartoon!  I am going to see my mother and feed her dinner later.  I'm going to try to take Annie, my youngest and smallest cat at 21.25 pounds, to see Nana and she will be wearing a little Santa hat.  Nana will really love seeing her again.

    • That puts you in first so far.

      …and when you lie down with Republicans, you get ethical VD.

      Amen!

      Thanks, ansd have fun.  I'm sure SantaCat would approve.

  3. Merry Christmas Tom and kudos to you for all you do for your neighbors. Hopefully you can relax tomorrow and get better sooner.

    NYT…The NRA, video game producers and their marketers think of only one thing, money and could care less who gets hurt by their actions.

    YouTube…Sickening!

    New Yorker….Wonder if the Speaker will still have the gavel next year?

    Great Caroon Tom. Thanks for all you do.

     

    • Thanks John.  I just do what I can.  When one lives alobe, doing for others gives meaningg to the holiday.

      Amen!

      Amen again!

      I think so, but only becaause Lyin' Ryan sees it as a political liability.

      Thanks, and YVW! 🙂

  4. I hope you all had a Peaceful day full of Love.

     

    I'm hunkering down and waiting for the blizzard to hit later today. They are predicting 6 to 12 inches of snow for us.

    Yikes!

  5. I hope you had a wonderful dinner with your neighbours – you do so much for others and you have COPD too – you really are extraordinary TC (would that I could emulate you!).

    In the Scottsdale video – I could only watch the first one and a half minutes – but Santa in those couple of photos looked very like a hostage! 

    (Mind you – Santa Claus in his modern incarnation was after all mostly created by Coca Cola [we are told] – and bears no resemblence to the original Bishop in what is now Turkey…. but then we are also told that Coca Cola along with other multinationals has put loads of money into funding Right Wing organisations, so perhaps it was just a matter of time….).

     

     

  6. BLUSH!! blush  Thank ypu Pat.

    Interesting.

    Of course.  Just as Republican Supply-side Jesus bearsd no resemblence to tthe real Jesus.

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