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THANKS, WHITNEY

"I don't know how to sing black - 

and I don't know how to sing white either.

I know how to sing." 

Whitney Houston
(1990 Essence interview)

She certainly did.

WORST RESTROOM IN THE WORLD

Spotted in Shirlington, Virginia.
(Click on the picture to see a larger version)

Clearly, this space is under construction (see ceiling tiles); so I don't think you'll ever actually catch anyone using these facilities in this state.

But funny.

A DAY LATE AND $650,000 DOLLARS SHORT

In spite of the reversal of its February 1, 2012 decision to cut $650,000 in grants to Planned Parenthood, the Susan G. Komen Foundation has exposed itself as a right wing operation. In doing so, it has damaged its brand... possibly beyond repair.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with being political. But they'd be daft if they didn't think there would be ripple effects to their actions - like losing the trust and support of all those donors who believed they were a non-partisan organization.

Donate directly to Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Fund here.

Cancer-Shmancer is another good organization.

L-U-V MADONNA

The new single is incredibly good. A different sound... with a dash of Nicki!

"In another place, at a different time, you can be my lucky star... Every record sounds the same, you've got to step into my world."

Hmm... words of advice for a certain other "Lady" singer?

A month to go until the release of her new album, MDNA.

Here's a great remix of the new single...


And don't forget... Madonna's Golden Globe Award-winning single, "Masterpiece," from her upcoming film, "W/E"... which is the story of King Edward and Wallis Simpson - her directorial debut.

50 plus and still amazing.

FREE FALL

"People always want to sit next to me on a plane." - Vesna Vulovic

Exactly 40 years ago today, Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant on JAT Flight 367, became the sole survivor falling 33,000* feet after a terrorist bombing that tore her plane apart.


Here are two good sites that explain what happened: (website1) and (website2). Website2 is in Spanish but easily translatable. The following excerpt is from Website1:

"While passing over the city of Srbska-Kamenice, the explosive device detonated. The DC-9 was torn into pieces, and the plane’s wreckage, along with its 28 passengers, fell through the sky for three long minutes before striking a frozen mountainside.

A German man, upon arriving at the crash site, found all of the plane’s passengers dead, save one. Vesna was lying half outside of the plane, with another crew member’s body on top of her, and a serving cart pinned against her spine. The man had been a medic in the second world war, and did what he could for her until further help arrived... 

...Her good fortune in surviving the accident is most likely due to her low blood pressure, which caused her to pass out quickly and prevented her heart from bursting. But despite her positive outlook on life, Vesna does not consider herself lucky. Thirty years after the crash, she said to Philip Baum in an interview, 'I’m not lucky. Everybody thinks I am lucky, but they are mistaken. If I were lucky I would never had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. The accident ruined their lives too.' It’s a valid point, along the same lines as arguing that the event wasn’t a 'miracle,' given that there were 27 people who didn’t survive. The assertion that 'it could be worse' is small comfort to the pragmatic, because certainly, it could also be much better."

Vesna is alive and well today, and fully recovered from her injuries. Apparently, according to this New York Times article, "she admits she enjoys watching airplane crash films."


*Years later, however, further evidence revealed that her fall may have been well below 33,000 feet; as the plane was much closer to the ground when it broke apart. The evidence also suggests that it may not have been a bomb. The plane may have been shot down as it was being forced to land in what was then Czechoslovakia. But 40 years later, does that even matter?

OOPS

Photo: DigitalGlobe

Thoughts and prayers to all the victims.

NAUGHTY GENERAL

Behold, General Tso's Chicken Wings. A completely unhealthy new take on a Chinese "classic." There is no real reason for this post. Terrifically unhealthy eats are good once in a while... maybe... as a way to celebrate the end of the Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann presidential campaigns. There. Reason enough.

Happy New Year to us all!

This is the takeout version of General Tso's Chicken Wings from Peking Garden in DC.

BEST NEWS PHOTO OF 2011

This Pete Souza picture of the White House Situation Room during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden is unquestionably the most note-worthy news photo of 2011.

Happy New Year.

RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY

"FREE AND EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS"
Delivered by Secretary Clinton
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
===================================
On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a historic speech at the United Nations in Geneva declaring that LGBT rights are human rights and human rights are LGBT rights. The full transcript of the speech can be found here.

Related.

"A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY"

In honor of the 70th Anniversary... check out these two sites (website1) and (website2). They've got some rare pictures of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor - and the aftermath.

Including this incredible color photo:

ONE STEP FURTHER

This is directly related to the post SABOTAGE... kind of.

I received one of those fundraising emails from the DSCC today. It was technically from Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), and bits and pieces of the letter appear below:

“If Republicans held the Senate right now, just imagine what we’d be watching: Passage of the Ryan Plan, Bush-era efforts to privatize Social Security, and more tax cuts for billionaires while the middle class would be left holding the bag.

And make no mistake: That’s exactly what will happen if Republicans take the Senate in 2012.

No wonder Republicans refused to compromise and instead deadlocked the Supercommittee. They're banking on holding all the keys in 2013.

Right now, the Democratic firewall means their extreme agenda doesn’t stand a chance. Their plan all along has been to take the Senate in 2012 and then just pass that agenda into law... 

Obstructing every effort at fairness these last two years was Part One of the GOP plan. Part Two is happening right now – their attempt to take the Senate and knock down our firewall. ...”  -- Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

I like where this letter goes... and I think it could have gone one step further...
(after the jump) 

PRACTICALLY WHILE DRIVING A CAR

"Well, he read in the strangest way. I mean, I could never read unless I'd have a rainy afternoon or a long evening in bed, or something. He'd read walking, he'd read at the table, at meals, he'd read after dinner, he'd read in the bathtub, he'd read - prop open a book on his desk - on his bureau - while he was doing his tie. You know, he'd just read in little, he'd open some book I'd be reading, you know, just devour it. He really read all the times you don't think you have time to read...

He was just always reading, practically while driving a car."

- Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, 1964

John F. Kennedy would have loved the iPad. Listen/read the Second Conversation of Mrs. Kennedy's oral history to get a better idea of what I mean. The man not only read frequently; he read multiple books concurrently. Fabulous.


Quotes are excerpted from transcripts of Mrs. Kennedy's interviews with Arthur Schlesinger in 1964. Incidentally, that is the hand of the late Steve Jobs holding the Photoshopped iPad in the JFK picture above.

SABOTAGE

This post had been a mere sidebar to the post "MINDING THE TORCH" from about a week ago. I thought I'd bump it into its own post because cracks have suddenly appeared on Grover Norquist's iron grip on Republican lawmakers not to raise any taxes. Have a look...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Key GOP congress members - in both chambers - have this week shown signs that they may just be willing to break their pledge to Norquist. It's a long shot, but it is one important sign that the UberBuster (see below) might become a thing of the past. (Episode: Thursday, November 3, 2011.)

ORIGINAL POST: 30 October 2011
(after the jump)

MISTAKES ARE MADE

A quick Halloween post for the heck of it. Perry wins for most scary.


Strangely compatible with Paul Lynde.


The headline above is a quote from McCain-Palin survivor, Steve Schmidt, who said that this evening on "The Rachel Maddow Show" (MSNBC), to describe the Perry campaign.

Boo!

MINDING THE TORCH

As we approach the same point in the Obama Administration at which the Kennedy Administration came to its sudden and tragic end, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take stock.

[after the jump]

MARCO... FOOLED YOU

"...This is the story of the Cuban Exile Community, and it defines what so many of us who are a product of it are. And I know this. No matter where I go, or what title I may achieve, I will always be the son of exiles [huge applause and chant] and will always be the heirs of two generations of unfulfilled dreams." 

- Senator-Elect Marco Rubio, Victory Speech 2010

Interesting to revisit the victory speech to see just how he used the "son of exiles" narrative in his campaign. In this speech, the quote above is followed by a long narrative about his dad's fleeing Cuba for better opportunities in the United States. The saga ends with:

"This story I know well, and it verifies to me the greatness of our country.. because tonight, with your vote, you have elected his son to the United States Senate."

Reminds me a bit of Eve Harrington getting the Sarah Siddons Award.



... and there really ought to be two more of each the American and Floridian flags behind him.

FUNNY COMMERCIAL

This is a few years old. I found it while organizing my computer files. Funny one... for the heck of it. (May take a couple of viewings to hear/understand due to low-ish quality.) Enjoy!

LIGHTS ARE ON... BUT WHO'S HOME?

With still a few months remaining before the first votes are cast for the race to become the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee, the party's struggle to determine its identity has been playing out like a not-so-interesting episode of "Project Runway"... one day you're in, and the next day, you're out. Only, in this version, Heidi Klum and Michael Kors are replaced with Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Sorry, Heidi... Sorry, Michael.
(more after the jump)

THANKS, STEVE