We're Back from Hibernation.....Roanoke Times Comic Strips Dialogue (2 of 4)

This is our first entry since September of last year, and the only reason we have come back is that there is a loyal blog reader in Riga, Latvia, who kept pestering me about when I would blog again. Ok, so actually Instagram is to blame....all those amazing photos of Lake Van in Turkey are hard to ignore!!! It's hard to believe that in that amount of time we have watched Vladimir Putin became the 45th president of our beloved America (Sorry, but we can't stand Donald Trump, if there was definitely a God, then Hillary Clinton would have won the election...excuse the editorial)

Here are eight lines of dialogue we are stealing from the "Roanoke Times" Sunday comics section which ran on March 5, 2016. The reason we are using an image of starting Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (pictured) is because a hockey goalie is referenced in "For Better or For Worse."

1) That stupid goalie! He just never looks! He misses everything! (For Better or For Worse)

2) "I think I need a hug anyway," (Zits)

3) What do you mean? (Hi and Lois)

4) I know red flowers make me sneeze. (Pickles)

5) At long last...............The Baby Aisle! (Jump Start)

6) I was just leaving for the day (Dilbert)

7) You're going to be late! (Baby Blues)

8) Chef Salad! Lasagna! Fried Chicken! (Blondie)

Now we can finally devote more time to those Mental Floss pop culture quizzes!

http://www.nhl.com

http://www.roanoke.com

http://www.gocomics.com

http://www.mentalfloss.com

Super Tuesday 4 Tweets: Ted Cruz Has Awful Night

To keep it brief: Donald Trump won Republican primaries in Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland over John Kasich and Ted Cruz, who finished last in those states tonight.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton appears poised to claim the party nomination as she was unable to do during the 2008 election cycle. She won four of the five primaries with challenger Bernie Sanders winning in Rhode Island.

The Philly Phanatic is being featured as one of our images in honor of the Pennsylvania primary; the Phillies won tonight over the Washington Nationals 3-1 (we think).

We tried to capture the night with tweets from the left, the right and the center. Alas, we were unable to get many tweets from women but the one we did get was from Jessica Valenti, who is a feminist American-based reporter for "The Guardian" (UK).

Here are the tweets; we will put Valenti first:

1) Jessica Valenti: 'It's very easy to be presidential' Hmmm....

 2) Anderson Cooper: Donald Trump says Bernie Sanders should run as an independent.

3) Dave Rubin: Cruz did win exit poll for Candidate Most Likely to Scare Children.

4) Matty Ice: Trump just won more states than Ted Cruz's mistresses.

5) David Axelrod: On big night, team Trump can't get mike to work??? Still a few wrinkles to work out, I guess.

6) Ricky Vaughn: Looks like Rhode Island delegates will be Trump 11 Kasich 5 Cruz 3.

7) Matthew Ygelsias: John King's enthusiasm for the state of Rhode Island is making the evening for me. (King is with CNN).

8) Rich Lowry: Trump's 57 percent in Pennsylvania is just astonishing.

9) Major Garrett (CBS): 'I'm not doing that,' Trump when asked about vetting running mates. 'I don't want to think about it.'

Democratic Debate from Winthrop U in Rock Hill, SC (3 of 3): Marijuana Is NOT Legal in the Palmetto State

Amazingly enough, a woman from Atlanta tries to smuggle marijuana into the Democratic Candidates Forum at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, earlier tonight.

The images above are of Cong. James Clyburn (D-SC, he represents the Charleston area), the only Democratic member of the House in Congress is also one of the most powerful Democrats on the Hill. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who, along with Martin O'Malley, is running against front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Here are the tweets:

1) Catholic Democrats: Contrast to the GOP_ they want softball moderators who support their typical ideological position. Liberal Rachel Maddow is asking sharp questions.

2) Philip Rucker (Washington Post): O'Malley did pretty well tonight: Some tough questions, but he gave sharp impassioned answers and drew contrasts with Clinton and Sanders.

3) Rock Hill Herald: Woman arrested on pot charge at Winthrop's DemForum in Rock Hill.

4) Ana Kasparian (liberal tv host): Who else is feeling the Bern!? (Bernie Sanders)

5) Brad Gorham (Syracuse University): Good showing for O'Malley; no major flubs, thoughtful answers, didn't dodge the tough questions.

6) Lex Alexander (liberal activist): O'Malley didn't say he'd close Gitmo, and Rachel Maddow let him off the hook.

7) Liz Mair (Republican strategist): Martin O'Malley.....still the only D that makes me look favorably on Hillary Clinton. What a clown.

8) Dan Zak (Washington Post): Martin O'Malley brought a Martin O'Malley to a knife fight.

9) Ari Melber (MSNBC): Martin O'Malley says Dems have lost SC because they've forgotten the middle class.

http://scdp.org/

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/

http://www.winthrop.edu

http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/

Democratic Debate Forum Tweets from Winthrop U in Rock Hill, SC (1 of 3): Larry David 2016

Tonight, we give you live tweets from the Democratic Debate/Forum aired on MSNBC (which we are taping, but first we want to inform the world that the University of North Carolina women's volleyball featuring Paige Neunfeldt (pict. bottom) won on the road at Syracuse University by a score of 3-1 (25-19; 18-25; 26-24; 25-21). Kudos to the Tar Heels.

The Democratic debate took place at Winthrop University (center image is school mascot) in Rock Hill, SC, where my late grandfather Dudley "Doc" Sturgis once taught economics.

Though we didn't find any tweets we could use referring to comedian/actor Larry David (pict. top), there was much mention of him as he played presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) who was joined at Eagles U by Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.

Since the last debate in Las Vegas, candidates Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee have dropped out of the race.

Here we go; most of these tweets were right before the start of the forum. Others are about politics or political views  in general:

1) Winthrop U: As Byrnes Auditorium filled up before the forum, attendees took time to document the special night with selfies.

2) Jim Bradley (A WSOC-TV reporter; ABC/Charlotte, NC): "Supporters outside Byrnes Auditorium. National spotlight on Rock Hill, SC. I'll let you know what the candidates say."

3) Bernie Sanders (from earlier in the day): Anybody who suppresses the vote, who intentionally tries to keep people people from voting, is a political coward. They are undermining democracy." (Ahhh, it's too bad Sanders didn't run against Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey; we aren't a fan of his).

4) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va., from earlier in the day): Effects of climate change in VA are real. Sea levels rise and recurrent flooding putting community of Hampton Roads at most serious risk."

5) Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC, from earlier): "The president's rejection of Keystone XL pipeline, which has strong bipartisan support, is shameful."

6) Anna Douglas (newspaper reporter for "The Rock Hill Herald"): "The stage seats are full now too. I see many Winthrop students. They look excited."

7) David Corn (liberal journalist with "Mother Jones" referring to the next GOP debate): "Chris Christie in the kiddie debate will be like Godzilla against the kittens."

8) Michael Clark (WBTV-TV; CBS/Charlotte, NC): A mix of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Sanders supporters outside forum.

9) Chris Cillizza (Washington Post blog "The Fix" discussing GOP contender Ben Carson): "Just to avoid future controversy; I applied to Stanford. They saw fit not to admit me."

GOP Boulder Blogathon...........Round One (of 3): Where the Buffaloes Roam

Tonight at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo., one of our favorite places in America, the Republicans went at each other live on CNBC. The debate went up against Game Two of the World Series and American Pickers on History. But, even though we are not in Boulder and we didn't even watch the debate on tv, we did follow it closely on Twitter.

Left. Right. Center. Non-Partisan. Here are seven tweets about the debate and one about a college volleyball game as well as one about the weather forecast for Raleigh, NC:

1) Hillary Clinton: In the past two debates, no one said a word about equal pay. Maybe the third time's the charm.

2) Peter Sagal (NPR program host): These guys on CNBC are talking unaware that America is screaming at the them to shut up. They're living a nightmare.

3) Tom Tomorrow (liberal cartoonist): Most of the political cartoonists I know would have more interesting things than these chuckleheads.

4) Josh Kraushaar (National Journal): Rubio shakes Trump's hand, Jeb doesn't shake Rubio's hand.

5) Texas Volleyball: Early in the second set, TCU takes a 7-3 lead.

6) Chris Hohmann (TV weather person in Raleigh): Showers with heavy rain are moving into the Triangle and the Sandhills.

7) Patton Oswalt: Hey CNBC anchors, they're bringing the candidates out. CUT TO THEM. enough of your Fraggle Rock yapping.

8) Joan Walsh (The Nation): This commentary is stunningly conservative.

9) David S. Bernstein (Boston politico): Mork and Mindy was set in Boulder. CNBC could be showing some clips from it rather than this painfully bad routine.

http://www.colorado.edu

http://www.visitbouldercoloradousa.com

Noon Rush Hour Tweets: No More Garden Yeti Statues

Greetings to our blog readers in Canada, Kuwait and Japan........

We took down some tweets from the noon hour on the east coast, which was three hours ago, but perhaps those of you joining us from San Jose, Calif., have time to read this on your lunch break. Did you get Chinese take-out? Just wondering.

Congrats to Ghana for its 1-0 win over Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations in Guinea, the winning goal came from Asamoah Gyan in the 91st minute. Our favorite Turkish team (well, we like Galatasaray too) Bursaspor also won 3-2 at the last minute, as Brazilian international Fernando kicked in the game-winning goal over Konyaspor in the 92nd minute.

The images above are of 1) Big Ben Clock in London, which actually has a Twitter account; 2) A Garden Yehti statue; and 3) Hillary Clinton, who is the current favorite to win the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2016.

Here are the tweets:

1) Big Ben: BONG BONG BONG BONG BONG

2) WDBJ Weather (tv station in Roanoke, Va.): Snow now falling across the Roanoke Valley and Salem area. We'll see a mix with sleet this afternoon.

3) NPR News: Goodbye, Garden Yeti....in-flight catalog SkyMall files for bankruptcy

4) Karia Pacheo: Legitimately more upset about SkyMall than any celebrity death I've about on Twitter.

5) Sean Lemon (Guitarist for Room 94):........... (hashtag MakeSexAwkwardin5Works): Can my friends watch please?

6) Chris Cillizza (aka The Fix, a Washington Post political columnist): I am taking August off! DNC says Dem convention will be held week of July 25, 2016, back-to-back with GOP convention (Yea, this is the reason why we have an image of Hillary)

7)  What the F*** Facts: None of the menu items on the McDonald's menu are certified vegan or vegetarian. Even French Fries, which use natural beef flavors.

8) The Guardian (UK newspaper): Laura Deas takes World Cup skeleton bronze in St. Moritz (Switzerland).

9) Felix Salmon: I wanted to cover a protest event, but, it's scheduled to last 3.5 hours. No one has that kind of time in Davos (Switzerland).

10) Nona WillisAronowitz (contributor to The Nation): Sorry, old white Republican dudes; tweeting like a teen won't make us vote for you. (Perhaps, she has Cong. Bob Goodlatte in mind........we always make fun of him on this blog)

11) DCist: Maryland once again tops list of most millionaires per capita.

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.visitlondon.com

http://www.dcist.com

http://www.thenation.com

Quote of the Day/Week- John McCain

It seems that politics both here in the United States in Turkey, my late father's country, is always filled with irony.

Since I was very apprehensive about the possibility of a George W. Bush presidency in 2000 and I had sincere admiration for Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), even though I am a Democrat, I crossed party lines and voted for McCain who did in fact lost to Bush and (forgive the partisan commentary) my worst fears were fully realized.

I did actually end up voting for Al Gore in the general election of 2000.

Eight years later, I voted for Hillary Clinton in the North Carolina Democratic Party and later Barack Obama in the general election. Thus, I am perhaps one of the very few people who have voted for McCain, Obama and Hillary Clinton (I voted for her husband twice as well).

Though he has become more conservative and less rebellious in recent years, I still admire McCain personally, especially since he had the courage to go after Rush Limbaugh in light of the far-right talk show host's sexist comments controversy.

Today, McCain was in the news for publicly slamming the media for going overboard in regards to the 'Etch-A-Sketch' gaffe made by Mitt Romney aide Eric Fehrstorm on CNN yesterday.

Here is the quote from McCain, 75, whose daughter Meghan McCain sent waves when admitted that she liked sex; we expect that would even make Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who is believed to be one of the most liberal U.S. Senate members, blush:

"I don't doubt the sincerity of my Democratic friends. And they shouldn't doubt ours."

SIDEBAR: While the nation is abuzz with the Sweet 16 games underway tonight in Division One men's college basketball, over the weekend, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (29-4) beat Cabrini College (31-2) from Radnor Township, Pa., 63-60 for the Division Three basketball title in my hometown of Salem,Va., last weekend. The other two teams in that Final Four were MIT and Illinois Wesleyan. Chris Davis lead the winning Warhawks with 12 points; John Boyd scored 18 points for the losing Cavaliers.

Know Your Congress Reps and Senators (Entry 20 of 21)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is the second U.S. Senator we're profiling who is also a published novelist. Our very first entry featured Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va) who also like Boxer has a journalism background. Boxer's two novels include "A Time to Run" (2005) and her most current work "Blind Trust" (2009).

Boxer, 69, is one of several senators from both parties that I'm following on Twitter along with the likes of Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). Along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Boxer is one of two female Jewish senators.

In one of her recent tweets, Boxer said she is determined to prove Karl Rove wrong as the former George W. Bush aid wrote in the conservative-leaning "Wall Street Journal" that Boxer's seat is one of six that Republicans could pickup in the 2010 mid-term elections. Rove predicted that the seat could be grabbed by former Hewitt-Packard chair Carly Fiorina, even though she has no political experience.

On her personal blog, Boxer said that each time GOP insiders predict her demise she pulls through because California residents support her stands on job creation, health care and the environment.

Comedian/actor/talk show host Dennis Miller, who became a Republican after Sept. 11th, told politico.com that he was actually recruited by then Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), who was unseated by Webb, to run against Boxer. Another former stand-up comedian/actor/talk show Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), whom we've also written about in this series, later wound up getting a senate seat himself.

Boxer's official senate web site advocates her work helping small businesses and working to prevent violence against women in conflict zones. Boxer, who was previously a member of Congress, replaced Sen. Alan Cranston (R) (who retired from the senate) in 1993. Boxer beat conservative commentator Bruce Herschensohn by five points in part because of her opponent's revelation that he had gone to a strip club. Recently, Boxer became the first female chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee replacing Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD). She also chairs the Select Committe on Ethics, and Boxer is the only senator chairing two committees.

Boxer became known as a member of congress when she insisted that Anita Hill's sexual harassment allegations against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas (now the most conservative justice on the court) be taken seriously.

According to wikipedia.org, her current approval ratings are hovering in the mid-forties. And, she is a target of right-wing activists for her stances on a woman's right to choose abortion, carbon emissions caps, stem cell research and gun control. Boxer also supports a moratorium on the death penalty.

Boxer is also known as an advocate for health care and education, and she has worked aggressively in addressing the rise in autism rates among children.

Besides being a novelist, Boxer has made cameo appearances in tv shows ("Curb your Enthusiasm" and "Gilmore Girls) and films ("Traffic"). She was also featured in a 2007 documentary about female senators from both parties called "14 Women." The film may actually seem a bit dated now since two of the featured senators, Hillary Clinton (D) and Elizabeth Dole (R) are no longer in the Senate. Dole was defeated by Kay Hagan (D) in the 2008 elections, and Clinton stepped down to become Secretary of State.

UPDATE- The California Republican Party is now following me on Twitter. I wonder if that was the result of this entry!

Know Your Congressional Reps and Senators (18 of 21)- Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)

Today, we are featuring Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in our series. Pryor represents what is becoming the norm for red state Democrats that is a political figure who would be conservative enough to be a Republican in New England, but it is progressive enough to be a Democrat in Dixie.

Pryor was born on Jan. 10, 1963, in Fayetville, Ark. He is currently the third youngest U.S. senator behind Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Col.) and Kristen Gilibrand (D-NY), who is Hillary Clinton's succesor.

Pryor is the junior senator from Arkansas behind Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) who is also out of favor with some national Democrats for being too conservative.

Pryor was elected in 2002. He beat out incumbent Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) in part of the Republican's divorce from his wife of 29 years which subsequently lead to his marriage to a congressional aide.

Mark Pryor holds the same seat that his father David Pryor held from 1979 to 1997, when the senior Pryor was replaced by Hutchinson. Mark Pryor was the only Democrat to unseat an incumbent Republican in the U.S. senate during the 2002 election cycle.

Pryor was featured in the Bill Maher documentary "Religulous," which questions the reasoning and logic behind the world's three most popular faiths: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

In an interview with Maher during the film, Pryor was very open about his evangelical views. Pryor is also a member of the secretive evangelical politicians group known as The Family, which has recently been plagued with scandals since two of its members Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev) and Gov. Mark Sanford (R) of South Carolina have publicly acknowledged extra-maritial affairs.

Pryor was one of 12 Democratic senaotrs to vote for the controversial Military Commisions Act of 2006, which admits evidence obtained through torture. He was also one of six Democrats to vote for the confirmation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales though he called on him to resign in 2007 when questions about Gonzales' handling of the office came into light.

The Arkansas senator endorsed Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama for the Demoratic primary.

Pryor surprsingly faced no Republican opponent during last year's election cycle, and his term will expire in five years.