Ten Things To Know for Today and This Week: Gallipoli's 100th Anniversary Remembered

Ten things to know for this day and this week:

1) Today marks the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli

2) The Battle of Gallipoli claimed 131,000 soldiers, including 86, 000 Turkish forces, according to the BBC

3) Today, Prince Charles (pict. top) joined in ceremonies with leaders from Turkey, France and New Zealand at the battlefield in Turkey's western Aegean coast.

4) On the occasion of another 100th anniversary, this one marking the alleged genocide of Armenians in Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire, Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan told the Turkish English-language newspaper "Daily Hurriyet" that he would like to see diplomatic relations between Ankara and Yerevan established.

5) The 7th Annual Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival takes place in the Raleigh-suburb of Cary, NC, on Sunday; this year, the event will recognize the poetry of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova (1889-1976). (The late Turkish poet Hikmet is pict. center)

6) The liberal magazine "Mother Jones" was founded in February of 1976; it has a circulation of 203,251.

7) The neoconservative magazine "The Weekly Standard" was established in September of 1995; it has a circulation of 104, 682.

8) Barbra Streisand (pict. bottom) turns 73 today.

9) Aurora, Colorado, pop. 325, 078, has the third largest population in the western state.

10) The British new wave/ska band The English Beat was formed in 1978.

http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.weeklystandard.com

The DC List (3 of 3)..........Last Group of Republican Congressman.............and when they turn 103

Welcome to our beloved blog readers in Croatia, Costa Rica and Brazil!

For those of you who live outside America, the Republican Party is a far right wing coalition of Jump-4-Jesus evangelicals, Yosemite Sam gun nuts, fringe anti-government anarchists, rich greedy multimillionaires and war mongering radicals who like to see us invade the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Of course, in spite of this, we respect their members who serve in public office and the long hours they put in up in Washington, DC, and on the golf courses they play on for fundraisers.

Here are ten more Republican House members and the years in which they will turn 103, when their seats might become competitive again:

1. Cong. Rob Wittman (R-Va., pict. top) 2062

2. Cong. Richard Hudson (R-NC, pict. center) 2074

3. Cong. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC, pict. bottom) 2070

4. Cong. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) 2069

5. Cong. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) 2073

6. Cong. John Culberson (R-Tex.) 2059

7. Cong. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) 2063

8. Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ) 2056

9. Cong. John Duncan (R-TN) 2050

10. Cong. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc., failed 2012 veep nominee) 2073

http://www.newsmax.com/ (Right wing journal we disagree with)

http://www.motherjones.com/ (Left wing journal we are more inclined to agree with)

http://www.politico.com

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.theonion.com/section/politics/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com  (for more GOP reps and they will turn 103)

Polar Vortex Tweets: Homeless in DC; Pipes Burst in Atlanta

An NHL hockey game in Buffalo, NY, against the Carolina Hurricanes from Raleigh, NC, scheduled for tonight was postponed due to blizzard conditions. But, things were not much better south of the large city near the Canadian city. NPR reported that homeless were seeking shelter in Nashville, Tenn., as was the case in Washington, D.C.

Pipes burst in Atlanta, record-low or near record-laws were reported in Charlotte, NC, and Roanoke, Va., with the Charlotte record dating back to 1884!

Here is a look at ten tweets which tell the story:

1) Roanoke County (Va) Schools: Roanoke County Public Schools will open two (2) hours late tomorrow (Jan. 8th) due to continued cold conditions.

2) Mike Mac (a Weather Channel correspondent): You know it's bad when they cancel a Buffalo Sabres game and the police are called on snowmobiles.

3) Politics and Prose (indy bookstore in Washington, DC): DC readers if you see a person in need call 1-800-535-7252 for shelter hotline.

4) WSOC Weather (CBS tv station in Charlotte, NC): Today's low of 6 degrees breaks record set in 1884.

5) ABC_11_WTVD (tv station in Raleigh, NC): Duke Energy is asking customers to reduce their usage for the next 24 hours due to high demand for electricity because of the cold weather.

6) Capital Weather Gang (Washington, DC): Anchorage, AK, currently 19 degrees. Dulles is 10 degrees. Anchorage high is headed to the 30s.

7) Mother Jones: Temperatures ranked worst to best_ 5) Blistering heat; 4) Freezing cold; 3) A bit chilly; 4) a little warm; 5) just right.

8) Jonathan Chait (columnist for "New York" magazine): How many polar vortexes have we had before we decided to label it a 'polar vortex?' This can't be the first one.

9) National Weather Service (Blacksburg, Va, bureau): "Readings this morning were so cold, all climate sites set new record low temperatures!"

10) CBS Atlanta: "Marietta_ watch out for ice due to water main burst at Powder Springs Rd."

http://www.wunderground.com/

http://www.weather.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/

http://www.motherjones.com

Tweets Considering All Things Considering Washington DC: (2 of 2) The Great Train Robbery

With a government shutdown looming as the House Congressional Republicans are acting like great train robbers of the Wild West (pictured, forgive the editorial commentary, but we stand by it), we thought we'd look like at some tweets from all perspectives in the nation's capital.

Let's get started (not all tweets pertain to the train robbery):

1) Suzy Khimm ( a liberal journalist who has written for "Mother Jones" and "The Washington Post"): "Republicans have abandoned any pretense that the debt limit fight is about debt."

2) David Corn (a liberal journalist who is an editor for "Mother Jones"): "Obama: 'See what the prices are, and make up your mind. '//Letting the market work. What a socialist!" (Corn is referring to the Obamacare squabble)

3.) Washington Diplomat: "NSA spied on Indian embassy and U.N mission. Edward Snowden file reveals."

4.) Jeff A: "#GOPDemands: All people who work for the government should get Obamacare." (Ok, here's our token Republican here).

5) The Hill: "Senator Barb Mikulshki (D-Md.): GOP can huff and puff, but they won't blow Obamacare away."

6) Rudolf Benkirk (the Dutch ambassador to America): "Only feathers and a bird are natural than a Dutch man or woman on a bicycle. #ThinkBikeChicago"

UPDATE: We decided to add the black-footed ferret which was tweeted about by the National Zoo. To see that tweet, go to our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.washdiplomat.com/

http://dc.the-netherlands.org/

Tweets of the Day: "What Would Rodman Do?" (about Syria)

Full disclosure: NPR commentator David Brooks, who is known for his center-right politics, said that there seemingly few liberal hawks supporting military intervention in Syria, but I happen to be one of those people. Nevertheless, I am posting tweets from right, left and center, as well as many tweets which contradict my view of what Washington DC needs to do stop Syria's madman dictator Hafez al-Assad.

The images here are of 1) former NBA star/transvestite/unofficial diplomat Dennis Rodman (he has made several questionable trips to North Korea) 2) A tank in Syria 3) Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the Senate's fiercest hawks who has always supported military action against the Damascus regime.

Let's go:

1) National Review @NRO (a conservative magazine): "Obama's #Syria strategy threaten, retract and wander about the stage."

2) Adnan Abdullah @adnanish1(a Muslim activist): "U.S. Military strike on #Syria will add fuel to fire in the Middle East. May God prevent it and bring peace to the whole nations of #Islam."

3) Chris Wallace @foxpokerfox (the poker player, not the Fox News journalist): "Where is Dennis Rodman when we need him? #Syria."

4) David Corn @DavidCornDC (a liberal journalist): "Fantastic debate (for the most part) w/n my Twitter feed re #Syria. I'll keep asking as we get closer to a vote. Le me know if you switch."

5) Washington Diplomat @diplomatnews: "US orders embassy workers out of Beirut ahead of possible Syria strike."

6) Today's Zaman @todayszamancom, a Turkish newspaper: "US envoy to UN says Syria's Assad barely dented chemical weapons stockpile."

7) The Hill @thehilltweets: "Fashion designer Kenneth Cole ripped over controversial Syria tweets."

8) Daily Kos (@dailykos): ""McCain,, John Kerry cite WSJ op-ed written by advocate for Syrian rebels."

9) Mother Jones @MotherJones, a liberal magazine: "Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): Want my Syria Position? Wait Till Next Week."

10) TheAtlanticPolitics @TheAtlanticPOL: "Attacking Syria is the least popular intervention idea since Kosovo."

11) Sabrina Siqqui @SabrinaSiddiqui: "Cong. Gerry Connolly (D-Va) tells Bloomberg TV that Obama should hold of all military strike in Syria if Congress doesn't approve."

12) HurriyetDailyNews @HDNER, a Turkish newspaper: "#StateDepartment approves drawdown of non-emergency personnel who wish to leave #Adana (a major American military base in Incirlik, Turkey, is near Adana, which is Turkey's fifth largest city and fairly close to the Syrian border).

http://www.nationalreview.com/

http://www.dennisrodman.com/

http://www.washdiplomat.com/

http://www.todayszaman.com/home

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com/

Top 10 More Things To Do List

Well, as it turns out, there are some more 'things to do' that we were not aware of:

1. Buy groceries

2. Decide on Cat's Cradle shows (music venue near Chapel Hill, NC)

3. Look up comic books values

4. Read, compare and contrast "The Nation" and "National Review"

5. Read, compare and contrast "The Weekly Standard" and "Mother Jones"

6. Make some Counter Culture Coffee

7. See what the weather in Istanbul, Turkey, is like

8. See what the weather in Trenton, New Jersey, is like

9. Avoid Blacksburg, Va., at all costs, as Virginia is having commencement this weekend

10. Let the freaking cat in

The Last Tweets from Charlotte- Obama's Warren Buffett Problem

As the Democratic National Convention starts in about one hour, we have one last round-up of tweets before this evening's speeches get underway. Bill Clinton will be speaking in the key-note address on Wednesday night. Other key speakers will include Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, Tex., who delivers his speech tonight in Charlotte, NC, as will First Lady Michelle Obama.

We have a 1970s era NASCAR car at the bottom because the NASCAR Hall of Fame is in Charlotte.

Here are some tweets from the 4:00-5:00 p.m. hour (eastern U.S. time) today, both regarding the Democratic convention and other political soup du jours:

1) @cnnbrk (CNN Breaking News): "CNN Poll: Romney  gets convention bounce of 1 point."

2) @OpenSecretsDC (Opensecrets.org): "Mitt Romney raises $100 million for this straight month reports @politico."

3) @tnr  (The New Republic, a center-left magazine): "Bite the hand that feeds? Obama needs corporate America's money but can't stand the taint."

4) @BlairMiller9 (Blair Miller_ a reporter for WSOC-TV/Channel 9, which is Charlotte's ABC affiliate): "Cool moment in the arena. Amber Riley practicing the National Anthem_ nailed it several times. She plays Mercedes on 'Glee.'"

5) @WBTV_News (WBTV is the CBS affiliate in Charlotte): "RT (retweet) @PCameronWBTV: VP Biden, wife and son are on the ground in Charlotte. Lookout for rolling road blocks across town."

6) @DavidCornDC (David Corn, a reporter for the liberal publication "Mother Jones"): "Just saw Chris Matthews mobbed by MSNBC fans at the nifty MSNBC pavilion. Tremendous love for MSNBC on the streets of Charlotte."

7) @EzraKlein (Ezra Klein, a columnist with "The Washington Post"): "Like Romney, I also prefer muffin tops to muffins. But unlike Romney, I figure they tasted better because they were less healthy."


http://www.cnn.com

http://www.opensecrets.org

http://www.tnr.com

http://www.wsoctv.com

http://www.wbtv.com

http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.nascarhall.com

Pre-Convention Tweets from Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC

One ironic thing we found out while putting this together is that the Carolina Panthers, the football team for Charlotte, NC, the city hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) will be playing their first game on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Tampa, Fla., is the city that hosted the Republican National Convention, which ended with Mitt Romney's platform speech on Thursday night.

But, today, we are posting tweets from earlier this afternoon regarding the DNC in Charlotte. The images above are of: 1) James Taylor, the folk/adult contemporary singer will be performing at the DNC on Thursday; Taylor is a North Carolina native. 2) The donkey is the traditional mascot of the Democratic Party and 3) a cheerleader for the Carolina Panthers.

Here are the tweets:

1. @DavidCornDC (David Corn, a liberal journalist who works for "Mother Jones"): Already time for another convention. Anyone have any suggestions what to do in Charlotte tonight?

2. @BuzzFeedAndrew (Andrew Laczynski): Occupy Protestors of DNC Banks got bailed out. Charlotte got sold out. Remind me again what stadium the DNC is in.

3. @karentravers (Karen Travers): 10 copies of Sunday NY Times at 7-11 near my Charlotte airport hotel. I can't even find it in Northwest DC sometimes! Well done Queen City!

4. @TheClothier (William Wilson): 90% of the population of Uptown Charlotte are police officers. I've never felt so safe, yet so trapped.

5. @ChuckTodd (Chuck Todd, a White House correspondent for NBC News): In place on floor of Charlotte Convention, will be doing a quick report on gender battleground state politics for @meethepress.

6. @debprice50 (Deb Price, a right-wing Tea Party activist): Obama campaign says it will fill football stadium for convention finale....yeah...right.

7. @LOLGOP (A satirical pro-Democrat tweeter): Silence has asked Mitt Romney to stop using its stuff at his rallies.

http://www.demconvention.com

http://www.demconvetnion.com/blog/

http://www.ncdp.org

http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.nbcnews.com

http://www.panthers.com

Things We Learned on Twitter Today: Michele Bachmann Headline-Maker

I've been a fan of Suzy Khimm, a great liberal reporter, since she wrote an excellent profile of Virginia's crazed right-wing maniac attorney Ken Cuccinelli, who looks like a grown-up Pinocchio doll, in the December 2010 issue of "Mother Jones."

This afternoon, Khimm tweeted the following:

"Daily Beast's most popular articles today: 1) Is Michele Bachmann submissive? 2)Queen of the Cougars."

We didn't want to put a photo of Bachmann up, since she does look like a professional female wrestler. And, ironically, her state of Minnesota elected a pro wrestler, Jesse Ventura, for governor.

(These headlines are in reference to Bachmann's 'performance' during the Republican debate in Ames, Iowa, last night. I didn't watch, but I gather her heated exchanges with Tim Pawlenty were very amusing. Pawlenty took over after Ventrua's term expired as governor of Minnesota.)

So, instead, we went with this image of a gorgreous Wyoming chainsaw cougar. We tried to find a cougar from Colorado, but I guess we will have to find one somewhere on the net some other time.

And, we thought that since Bachmann apparently wants to turn back the clock on social progress, we'd include an image of a Tupperware party. Perhaps, if elected president (of course, that will mean many of us on the center-left will get one-way plane tickets from Expedia to Costa Rica), she will also segregate schools again.

SIDEBAR: I saw a bumper sticker in Roanoke, Va., which I'm surprised even an ardent Republican would put on his or her vehicle: it is an image of George W. Bush with the line- "Do You Miss Me Yet?," well let me just give you the short answer, NO!

Sunday Leftovers

Yes, it is a lazy Sunday afternoon here in Stuart, Va., in rural Patrick County where one has nothing to do except stare at the bambis and thumpers in the backwoods and shot them (ok, not really where I'm at, and I don't hunt!).

But, we have made some mistakes with this blog, and our sister 'Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" in recent weeks and we wanted to set the record straight even though no one is whining to us personally.

For starters, I am not a fan of arch right-wing Republican nuts, teenage heartthrob singers or radical North African dictators. But, we have at times incorrectly spelled the names of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, our Worst Person of the Year for 2010, singing sensation Justin Bieber and trickiest of all Libyan el presidente Muammar Gaddafi.

In addition, I noticed that a label for Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) was posted as Bon Goodlatte, so even though I would gives millions of dollars to his Democratic opponent if I were as rich as George Soros, I do regret that error as well.

Cuccinelli was the subject of a great article in the Dec. 2010 issue of "Mother Jones" where Suzy Khimm 'rightfully' illustrated him as a lunatic who cares more about satisfying political wonks, affluent conservative lobbyists (ie. the NRA) and media wackos like Glenn Beck than the folks back in Patrick County (as well as the rest of Virginia).

James Parker of "The Atlantic" (March 2011) wrote an excellent piece about how Justin Bieber, 16, used the Internet and social media to woo his (we presume mostly female) fans in ways that "The Partridge Family" could have never dreamed of.

And, lastly Dirk Vandewelle, an expert on Libya, wrote a disturbing article in the March 7, 2011, issue of "Newsweek" about how the country will have a hard with or without Gaddafi for reasons that are way too complicated to explain here.

That same issue of "Newsweek" also features a great cover story by Sharon Begley on how the Twitter-age is essentially making us all idiots or zombies incapable of making good decisions (idiots and zombies are my words, not Ms. Begley's-- we can't afford to be sued by "Newsweek!").

All of this reminds me of how I was going to try to spend my Spring Break, which is this very week, going to either Honduras or Costa Rica, but instead I am doing this.

Well, it does beat shooting poor, defenseless animals with an uzi!

Quote of the Week- Fidel Castro

My dear mom who resides in the cola-mining hamlet of War, West Virginia (ok, she doesn't really live there) thinks that there is probably already an FBI file on me since my late father was a Muslim from Turkey and I once had a subscription to the very liberal publication "Mother Jones" for a short while after George W. Bush became our el presidente.

(I checked out the "MJ" web site- they have an interesting article by David Corn on Afghan president Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington, DC, in which allegedly President Barack Obama grilled him like Mike Wallace).

So my idea of devoting Quotes of the Week to radical left-wingers during the month of May will probably not change anything, though I should point out that I'm a moderate Democrat.

Having said that, I may want to take a cue from the Oklahoma City Tea Party, and start a radical far-left revolution only to remove myself from the movement if I should run for Congress one day! One has to wonder why there are Tea Parties in places like Oklahoma City since the only elected Democrat in the state is probably a water and sewer commissioner for the City of Tulsa.

Of course, we should add that this does not mean we favor Fidel Castro's policies even though we are quoting him. In fact, we will give you the link to a Cuban-American blog (cubalibre.org) even though they may be to the right of Bill O'Reilly. Though there could well be a Cuban-American Democrat in the Miami metro area--and, he probably has an unlisted phone number.

Here is our quote:

"I began a revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 men and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action."

UPDATE: I should point out that I am aware that the governor of Oklahoma and several members of Congress from the state are in fact Democrats. But, somehow I doubt they are as liberal as Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)

My Christmas Gift Wish List 4 Next Year (Satire)

1. Zhu Zhu Hamsters
2. Che Guevara t-shirt (pictured)
3. Glock 19 gun (pictured)
4. Mister Potato Head (pictured)
5. "The Wire" box set*
6. $50 Starbucks gift certificate (s)
7. Chuck Norris' "The Delta Force" on dvd
8. The Octagon Hot Dog Converter**
9. First issue of "Hot Stuff" (pictured)***
10. Subscription to "Mother Jones"

*- I have to thank comic strip artist Keith Knight ("The Knight Life") for that idea.
**- Yes, this is an actual product
***- If anyone can look its value up in "Wizard," I'd appreciate it.


PS_ If anyone in my late father's hometown Istanbul, Turkey, is stumbling upon this blog_ yes, us Americans are insane! But, not many are as over-the-top as me.....