Doug's Dynamic Drivel

Overall I thought yesterday’s Super Bowl XLIV commercials were very boring and no where near the “quality” we’ve come to expect. Still I liked the one Bud ad

(not from yesterday’s game but a classic Bud commercial anyway)

Worst commercials yesterday? Too many to rate but certainly the Doritos and GoDaddy ads top the list along with the Vizio one – if you don’t know what Vizio is you can’t tell from the commercial and you’ll be almost as much in the dark if you visit their awful website.

Related posts

• Quote of the day (1)
• Best Budweiser commercial yet (0)

Dixie the puppy is finally growing up and not tormenting the cats anywhere near as much as she used to. Felix, the cat, is a lover not a fighter – right from the start he thought the best way to win Dixie over was to keep brushing up against her, it worked.

Related posts

• I did not gain weight, the cartons shrunk (0)
• Understanding Your Cat (0)
• The Origin of Cats and Dogs (1)
• I win (0)
• I had to laugh (0)

Planned Parenthood has the perfect response to the Focus on the Family, Tim Tebow anti-choice ad that CBS apparently helped them write and will air during the Super Bowl on Sunday, despite their “no controversial” ad position that they have used to block any progressive ads from being shown.

I like this one too

Related posts

• Well said (0)
• RMN (0)
• Pretty much says it all (0)
• It’s No Joke (0)
• Dems to go (0)

As true in the US as it is in Canada

‘We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.’: US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (b1856-d1941)

111TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION

H. J. RES. _____
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States permitting Congress and the States to regulate the expenditure of funds by corporations engaging in political speech.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland (for herself and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on ____________________

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States permitting Congress and the States to regulate the expenditure of funds by corporations engaging in political speech.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

‘‘ARTICLE—

‘‘SECTION 1. The sovereign right of the people to govern being essential to a free democracy, Congress and the States may regulate the expenditure of funds for political speech by any corporation, limited liability company, or other corporate entity.
‘‘SECTION 2. Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed to abridge the freedom of the press.’’

It is good but it does not go far enough. The right to person-hood must be revoked for corporations. Short of that they will always find a way around. Section 1. is weak. You would first have to get a congress to pass such legislation and since most of them are already bought by those corporations they will never vote for it.

Related posts

• Say what? (0)

Los Angeles/New York – The American rhythm and blues legend Etta James, 72, who has battled addiction to heroin and other substances, is in hospital with a serious infection, her son told the Los Angeles television station KTLA. She most recently made waves by lashing out after her trademark song, “At Last,” was chosen by Beyonce to sing at an inaugural party for US President Barack Obama in January 2009. Photos of Obama and First Lady Michelle dancing to the song splashed the front pages across the US.

James’ son Donto James told KTLA that his mother was being treated for sepsis, or blood poisoning, KTLA reported online on Friday. He said she possibly also suffers from Alzheimer’s.

She does this so much better than Beyonce ever could.

Related posts

• No related posts.

From Wired

“No More Blood For Oil.”

Bumper stickers with that phrase were synonymous with opposition to the Iraq War, during the George W. Bush administration.

Simply hosting that message on one’s bumper was cause enough to remove two attendees at Bush’s 2005 speech at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum in Colorado. The White House had a policy of excluding those who did not agree with the president from his public appearances. It’s a policy a federal appeals court is upholding in a decision a dissenting judge decried as “simply astounding.”

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2-1 ruling means, in short, that the would-be attendees who were ousted from the event had no First Amendment constitutional right to remain at the speech. The two plaintiffs obtained the free tickets from a local Colorado representative, and sued the government for giving them the boot.

“Plaintiffs simply have not identified any First Amendment doctrine that prohibits the government from excluding them from an official speech on private property on the basis of their viewpoint,” Judge Paul J. Kelly wrote for the majority Wednesday> He was joined by Judge Deanell Reece Tacha.

So here’s the problem. Even if this gets moved to the US Supreme Court it will likely still fail because the majority of the justices on that court now are conservatives in the GOP sense of the word (if they were true conservatives they’d toss it with a scathing comment). But that’s not the full problem, no, there are probably two seats on the bench coming available during Obama’s term, especially if he becomes a lame duck president. Stick your hands up those who think he’ll stand up to the GOP and nominate real progressives? (you in the back there – ya you – really?….oh I see you were just cleaning your glasses – OK) Now those of you who think he’s going to cave and nominate some slightly right of center judges and then in the spirit of bi-partisanship when the GOP objects to them being to liberal he’ll let the GOP suggest who to nominate? (whoa too many hands to count – better take off my shoes and socks:) .) There’s the real p[roblem America, by the time Obama is out of office you are going to be stuck with a very right wing Supreme Court and it will be game over.

Related posts

• You go Tweety (0)
• Yet Another Obama Failure (0)
• Worshipping False Idols (0)
• Who is really responsible (0)
• Well said (0)

Regular readers will know that I have occasionally ranted over the ever increasing Americanization of Canadian politics and society. By that I mean the sell out to business at he expense of the citizenry. Today I ran across the site below and the article What Happened? by Dave Patterson. He says it much better than I have

For over 200 years our ancestors worked and struggled to make Canada one of the bright spots on the world map – peaceful, democratic, progressive, prosperous, providing an ever-improving life for all of its people, a country consistently rated among the best in the world with the brightest of futures. And then something happened during the 1970s – although some things certainly continued progressing – technology, for instance, never stopped looking for and finding new and better ways of doing things – other things stopped progressing and started regressing. Instead of general living conditions for everyone getting better as the years went by, things started going backwards. Poorer jobs with poorer wages and less security for the average family instead of better jobs with more money and security. Regressing social safety nets, our national health care program getting attacked instead of strengthened. Less safety and honesty and civility throughout our land, less democracy, less openness and accountability from our politicians, less honesty and intelligence and more propaganda and superficiality from our media, a people more and more becoming petty and mean and angry and bitter and grasping rather than happy and content and generous and enjoying the fruits of a life well-lived. From wherever ancestors go, ours must be wondering what happened …

Go read the whole article, it is pretty much equally applicable south of the 49th as it north of it. Well said Dave.

The Rude Macedon: What Happened?

Related posts

• The Million Can March (0)
• Stealing Your Vote (2)
• It’s a sign (2)
• Elizabeth May at Ottawa Rally Against Prorogation (0)
• Bad research (2)

Related posts

• Wait for it (0)
• This is completely unacceptable (0)
• The Disgrace That is Stephen Harper (2)
• Stephen Harper is a disgrace (0)
• Science: Talking to the Press 101 (0)

Good on Roger Ebert – he flays Rush Limpballs Limbaugh over his racist, politically opportunistic, remarks regarding Haiti.

Related posts

• The Two Rs (0)
• The Best Person For The Job (0)
• Home grown terrorists (0)
• Haiti – raw footage (0)
• Ditto Ditto Ditto (0)

Shot shot from a streetcar traveling down Market Street in San Francisco in 1905 before the big 1906 earthquake and resulting fires that destroyed the city.

Now compare that to the same ride in 2005

Related posts

• Uh Oh (0)