SOTU Blogathon (2 of 3): Does Bernie Sanders Like Moo Goo Gai Pan?

With images of President Barack Obama, Washington Wizards star John Wall, and Cong. Peter King (R-NY), we present with a second round of tonight's tweets regarding the SOTU:

1) John Harwood of CNBC: Obama: 'We're threatened less by evil empires and more by failing states."

2) Lizz Winstead: Peter King needs some Activa.

3) Roll Call: Obama: 'The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. But, there are still threats.'

4) Miriti Murungi: Bernie's about to order Chinese food (image of him pulling out iPhone was beneath tweet).

5) Ken Rudin (NPR): A little history here. This is the first SOTU where the two men standing behind the president debated each other in the last election.

6) Jonah Goldberg (National Review): Wait.....WAIT!! Barack Obama killed Osama Bin Laden? I never heard that before."

7) The Onion (satire news): Biden Urges Paul Ryan To Check Out Nude Scenes from 'Porky's' on Phone.

8) Politico: Obama: "If you doubt America's commitment or mine to see that justice is done, ask Osama bin Laden."

9) The Weekly Standard (conservative magazine): Obama's talking foreign policy at SOTU right now. But, he's leaving out the sailors detained by Iran today.

10) Catholic Democrats: Did anyone ever think 8 years ago that a Democratic president would be quoting a pope in his SOTU?

11) Nicholas Kristof (New York Times): Obama has been mostly in law professor mode. But he showed passion when he denounced attacks on Islam as unfair and counterproductive.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.weeklystandard.com

http://www.newrepublic.com

SOTU Tweets: Right, Left and the Fog Machine

Greetings to our blog readers in Canada, Scotland, Luxembourg and the city of Yozgat, Turkey, where it will be 4:00 a.m. when President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address; you Canadians are perhaps just as aware that the Edmonton Oilers will be across town in America's capital where they will play the Washington Capitals.

There are reasons why we have images of Cong. Bob Latta (R-Ohio, his district is around Toledo), Donny Osmond and Vice President Joe Biden, but let's go ahead and present some tweets from the early evening hours here in les etats unis:

1) Cong. Latta: I applaud RepFredUpton and SenJohnThune for developing a proposal to establist clear, reasonable rules for the Internet.

2) Mormon Democrats (yeah, they are the reason we chose Osmond though he is a Republican): The GOP forgets that GW Bush's resolve didn't stop Putin from invading another country, nor did it prevent North Korea from obtaining nukes.

3) The Onion (a satirical journal): Biden Arrives Early to Set Up State of the Union Fog Machine.

4) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont): The typical middle class American family made less last year than it did 25 years ago.

5) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia): Not only did Lisa drive from Botetourt County to be my SOTU guest, she brought cookies form Mrs. Rowe's in Staunton! (I actually went to high school with Sen. Kaine's guest Lisa Shutters Barnett; Botetourt County is four hours south of Washington, DC)

6) Ken Rudin (NPR political analyst): "It's 4 p.m. on the day of the SOTU and that only means one thing: Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) is already sitting in the House chamber."

7) The Baltimore Sun: SOTU preview: Obama calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy, free community college and expanding paid leave."

8) Joy Ulfelder (political scientist): Save an hour of your life and read the SOTU instead of watching it tonight. Most boring theater ever.

9) Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri): "RT if you agree every American deserves a chance to succeed.  Our top priority should be working together to create good paying jobs."

10) Martha MacCallum (Fox News host): "I will be hosting On the Record tonight_ see you soon!"

11) David Corn (liberal reporter): "Mitt Romney shifts his position on Climate Change_ Again!"

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.baltimoresun.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.c-span.org

http://www.rollcall.com

DC Week (3 of 8): The Onion's Take on Congress

The images here are of: 1) Cong. Howard Coble (R-NC), who at 82 is one of the oldest members of the House though he is a few years younger than Cong. John Dingell (D-Mich.; born in 1926); 2) A poster for "D.C. Cab" which starred cult acting sensation Mister T, who is now 61! and 3) Den. Mark Warner (D-Va), who at age 58 is three years younger than Mister T.

Warner, along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), is in a group of party centrists trying to resolve the government shut down. which is actually causing economic problems for DC-Metro area cabbies.

Here are the tweets, concerning not only the federal shut down, but also other things going on in Washington, DC:

1) Howard Coble: "14 Democrats agree U.S. has a spending and debt program."

2) Washington Diplomat: "Embassy warns Americans in Egypt that weekend protest could turn violent."

3) Jonathan Chait (a liberal journalist with "New York" magazine): "Once Republicans realized shutting down the government wouldn't stop Obamacare, they already printed up the t-shrts."

4) Roll Call: "Susan Collins Stands Behind Plan as Leaders Attempt Larger Deals."

5) Arizona Democratic Party: "It's time we let the tea party know the future of our country is not a game! #EndtheShutdown."

6) "The Onion" (a satirical news publication): "Psychiatrists Deeply Concerned for 5% of Americans Who Approve of Congress."



http://www.washdiplomat.com/

http://www.theonion.com

 http://www.rollcall.com/

http://nymag.com/

http://azdem.org/

http://coble.house.gov/welcome/

http://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/

Tweets Considering All Things Washington DC (1 of 2)

Just because we have a photo of Sen. Ted Cruz, that does NOT we are endorsing him.

Here are some tweets about Washington, DC, today, and not just Congress and the federal government (well, this entry is):

1. Politico: "Delay is not a major blow to Obamacare, exchanges for individuals are still expected to open on time."

2. Hunter: "Obama is supposed to negotiate with ppl who refuse to negotiate even with their own party. Yeah, that will work."

3. The Daily Show: "Ted Cruz cites a children's book about a stubborn jerk who decides he hates something until he's tried it."(They are referring to "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss)

4. Tea Party Cat/Top Conservative Cat: "#GOPDEMANDS: All liberals must watch all 21 hours of Ted Cruz's filibuster until they proclaim him as a savior."

5. Cong Virginia Foxx (R-NC): "Americans aren't interested in spin, they're concerned about whether they'll be paying more for health care on Jan.1"

6.The Onion: "It was a gamble, but 'it paid off'...............45th President of the United States: Ted Cruz."

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.theonion.com/

Ten People Who Would Make Better Oscar Hosts Than Seth MacFarlane (satire)

Seth MacFarlane was so exceptionally awful as an Oscars host that we thought we'd make a mock list of who would be better than him. Last night, MacFarlane crossed a clear line by making a reference to Jodie Foster in her Oscar-winning role in "The Accused," a film about a woman who has been raped, in a "We Saw Your Boobs" song.

Alas, our good friends at "The Onion" did something somehow even more dubious when they called Quvenzhane Wallis, the nine-year-old Oscar nominee for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," an unmentionable expletive on Twitter. "The Onion" took the tweet down and apologized.

Here is our list:

1) Paris Hilton (pictured, obviously)

2) Miley Cyrus

3) Kim Kardashian

4) Jimmy Kimmel

5) Toby Keith

6) Bob Costas

7) Howie Mandel

8) Alex Trebek

9) Kristen Stweart

10) Rush Limbaugh

Saturday Morning Tweets_ Picking Up Those Pesky Pennies

It's been a long time since we talked about Turkish soccer, but we learned today that our beloved Bursaspor, a team nicknamed the crocodiles even though Gustave the notorious man-eating croc' lives a long way from Turkey in the central African country of Burundi, tied Istanbul powerhouse Fenerbahce 1-1.

Here is a look at some tweets we have digested (yes, that is a nudge to Gustave) from the 11:00 a.m. hour (New York time, which seven hours behind Bursa and Istanbul):

1. @TheMuslimGuy (Arsalan Iftikhar, a progressive Muslim-American): "DC Friends: Sunday night check out my friend comedian Dean Obeidallah @DeanofComedy shows in Wash. DC, will be fun!" (Obeidallah is a Palestinian-American comic, he is pictured top).

2. @current (Current TV): "In Colorado, a ballot initiative to legalize pot is more popular than either Romney or Obama."

3. @FSU_Volleyball (Florida State Seminoles Women's Volleyball, featuring two Turkish student athletes Fatma Yildirim and Duygu Duzceler, this tweet is in reference to their very close win over Georgia Tech last night): "@FSUVolleyball is on the road and headed to Clemson. Thanks everyone for their Twitter love last night! We love our fans."

4. @HuffingtonPost (Huffington Post): "Burger King unleashes pumpkin burger" (pictured, middle).

5. @LOLGOP (LOL GOP): "The other freedom ObamaCare offers is the chance to create your business w/out fear of losing or not being able to afford health care."

6. @neilhimself (Neil Gaiman, a famed fiction writer): "Wife is jogging somewhere."

7. @wamu885news (WAMU 88.5-FM, a new station based in Washington, DC): "The Baltimore National  Aquarium is asking the public to help name its baby sloth."

8. @TheOnion (The Onion is a faux news journal): "Area Man Spends Absurd Amount of Time Trying to Pick Up a Penny."

http://www.deanofcomedy.com

http://www.current.com

http://www.seminoles.com

http://www.aqua.org (web site for the National Aquarium)

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (8 of 10) _ New Hampshire

Name: Mary Murphy (a fictional person)

Age: 68

Occupation: Antiques Dealer

Residency: Dover, New Hampshire 03820

Political Affiliation: Independent leaning Republican

Will Likely Vote for: Mitt Romney (but her state will likely vote for Barack Obama)

Today, we continue to look at how an individual in a given swing state can impact the election. Older people tend to vote Republican, so much so that the faux news publication "The Onion" wrote an article stating that GOP operatives were working diligently to keep older voters alive on Election Day, which is four weeks from today. But, women voters are favoring President Barack Obama.

In New Hampshire, Obama holds a relatively comfortable lead over Mitt Romney by a 50-44 margin according to the "Politico" swing state map. Obama is faring even better in Massachusetts, a state that Romney governed. The margin there is 59-34.

It thus appears highly likely that Romney will be the first presidential candidate to lose his home state in an election since Al Gore lost Tennessee to George W. Bush, in the highly controversial/dubious election of 2000. 

The last person elected president to lose their home state was Richard M. Nixon in 1968.

And, in case you were wondering, Barry Goldwater's running mate in 1964 was William E. Miller.

That's all we have time for today; there will be another installment in this series tomorrow.

http://wiswallhouseantiques.com (An antique store in Durham, NH)

http://www.politico.com

http://www.theonion.com

New Words to Live By

We just finished a gut-wrenching article in "Rolling Stone" about the life of Adam Yauch (1964-2012) who was one of the Beastie Boys; the band made it big when they were young (Yauch is in the center, he is the one without a hat). He died from cancer in May.

But, our entry tonight is meant to hopefully be a happy one, as we look at two words in "The Urban Dictionary," a web site which also has a print version, in similar fashion to "What White People Like."

We are also striving to post four entries per blog tonight, since we will not be blogging tomorrow. Thus, ironically, like Chick-fil-a, (we strongly differ with their right-wing politics) we will be closed on Sunday. The satirical publication "The Onion"wrote that the fast food chain owned by evangelicals would start serving the "Queer-hating Cordon Bleu" sandwiches soon.

Here are two recent words which may go over well with the Beastie Boys fan base:

MEDAL FATIQUE: The inability to stay awake during the day because one has stayed up late watching coverage of the Olympics......(editorial note: Would apply to anyone who had to watch Turkish women's weight-lifter Nurdan Karagoz; the mere mention of her name seems to increase our blog hits!).

COFFEEDANCE: The sudden burst of confidence, focus, or creativity one experiences after drinking coffee or a drink with caffeine (editorial note: Yay! Starbucks!).


One can also find discussions of matters pertaining to the English language through the American public radio series "A Way with Words."

We fully intend for the use of words from "The Urban Dictionary," and we sincerely hope that neither they, nor "The Onion" or Chick-fil-a sue us for billions of dollars.

http://www.urbandictionary.com

http://www.waywordradio.org

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.beastieboys.com

http://www.boycottchickfila.com

http://www.starbucks.com

Quotes from International Writers- Albert Camus

This just in: Nancy Pelosi and Michele Bachmann have agreed to a celebrity women's boxing match at half-time of the Minnesota Vikings-Washington Redskins game in Washington, DC (well, actually the game will be played in Maryland) on Oct. 14th. I'm sure Katie Taylor, the Irish woman who won gold for her country in the sport in London, will be very proud.

Yes, we thought that would get your attention. Of course, it's NOT true. We must profess to being influenced by the satirical publication "The Onion," which stated this week that Barack Obama will star in a Judd Apatow comedy to appeal to young voters.

But, this entry is actually our kick-off in a series of quips from famous writers. We start with the French novelist Albert Camus (1913-1960) who alas lived a short life. The writer who was born in Algeria is perhaps best-known for his novel "The Stranger" (1942).

Here is his quote:

"Any authentic creation is a gift to the future."

http://www.theonion.com

Quote of the Day/Week- Charles Darwin

Today, Google used the image of Danish bishop and scientist Nicolas Steno (1638-1686) on his 374th birthday as their 'google doodle." Steno was instrumental for many things, including discovering human salivary ducts, and there is a Steno Museum in Arhus, Denmark, which is dedicated to displaying findings in the arenas of science and medicine. But, alas, for our purposes, Steno really didn't leave behind a meaningful quip.

The same can not be said for English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) whose findings on the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador are taught in classroom and disputed in places of worship around the globe; hence 'the Darwin fish' that is displayed here.

With that, here is our quote from Darwin, who made these comments long before the 'evolution of video games,' including Donkey Kong and Angry Birds:

"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the whole of life."

SIDEBAR: We love this tweet from Onion Politics, a subdivision of the satirical faux news publication "The Onion:" "Fiercely independent New Hampshire voters pick guy everybody thought would win." For those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that person is Mitt Romney.

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Bush 'Executes' 253 People

Perhaps "The Onion" decided to tweet this faux story they ran back in 2000 because Illinois officially abolished the death penalty today, but we just loved the headline even though 'the story' is almost 11 years old:

"Bush executes 253 New Mexico Democrats"

"The Onion" is a satire newspaper/magazine which now has its own show on IFC. In the 2001 fake news article, the publication said George W. Bush ordered the execution of 253 Democrats in Las Cruces, N. Mex., so he could get the state's five electoral points away from Al Gore.

They even had this great faux quote from the ever-diabolical Karl Rove: "We express great sorrow for the families of the condemned."

We must admit that as much as we love "The Onion," they have gone over the line at times. I do think the 2009 faux story proclaiming that female Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson from Iowa had died after a fall from the uneven bars was in remarkable bad taste. And, the then-17-year-old gymnast said she strongly disapproved what "The Onion" did.

But, the 2000 classic faux story about the 'actions' of Bush is vintage "Onion" material. And, of course, Fox News runs stories which are just as ridicilous, but they pass them off as genuine news!

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Tommorow, I am hoping to finally post the last ten films I've seen. It is going to be quite a strange list indeed!

Things We Learned on Twitter Today: Snows-a-Coming to Northwest USA

According to a tweet from "The Seattle Times," there is a winter storm warning that has been issued for the Cascades region of central and eastern Washington state where they are expecting (double yikes!), one to three feet of freaking snow by Friday afternoon!

Comic strip artist/political cartoonist Keith Knight who pens "The Knight Life" will be protesting in front of "The Seattle Times" today as they newspaper dropped his comic strip. According to the comic strip's web site, Knight said he was ironically on his way to Seattle to give the editor a fruit basket for deciding to add "The Knight Life"!

And, "The Onion" also has a 'story' about the Northwest part of the United States today as they put together a mock article regarding people's opinions over the disclosure that the property which was once the location of the Unabomber's log cabin in a remote part of western Montana is up for sale. Kylie Laskin (since "The Onion" publishes fake stories, we have no idea if she is a real person) said: "That (the property) would be a perfect place for my Kevorkian van."

We also want to pass our condolences to the friends and family of Elizabeth Edwards who passed away at her home in Chapel Hill, NC, yesterday from a seven-year fight with cancer. But, I must profess I'm glad I backed out of volunteering for her estranged husband John Edwards for the South Carolina primary. We all know what happened there!

Top trending topics on Twitter today include: Grinch, Birthday Ian, Yoko Ono, Pearl Harbor, Rubin and Glee Christmas.

High School of the Week- Valley High School in West Des Mones, Iowa

Today we close out the High School of the Week feature (we've covered all 50 states between our two blogs!) with Valley High School from West Des Moines, Iowa, which is the alma mater of Olympic gold medalist gymnast Shawn Johnson (pictured here).

We got this idea after seeing a Milk campaign ad with Johnson in a magazine while buying groceries at a supermarket last week (where we also got undocumented status updates on Michael Douglas' battle with cancer that we could have done without). Johnson was posed with a glass of milk on the sole of her bare foot on a balance beam, the event she won individual gold for at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Johnson, who is now 18, also got national attention when she won on "Dancing with the Stars" last year. Of course, being a celebrity can bring unwelcome attention which Johnson found out when "The Onion," a usually hilarious journal published a satirical article that Johnson had 'to be put to sleep after falling off the balance beam.' Johnson was not amused, particularly since the term "Shawn Johnson is dead" became a hot search topic after "The Onion" wrote the article in June of last year.

Johnson is not only alive and well, she mentions on her official web site that she is training for the 2012 Olympics in London.

As for Valley High School, it is also the alma mater of another Olympian Karlos Kirby, a bobsledder.

SIDEBAR: The Coffeeparty USA, which is meant to counter the far right Tea Party, tweeted the following words from Burmese human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma is officially known as Myanmar) who was freed from house arrest today: "We have to choose between dialogue and utter devastation."

SIDEBAR TWO: Though we highly disagree with "The Onion" for publishing a fake story/satire piece in June 2009 proclaiming that Shawn Johnson died from a balance beam fall, we do love their story today which states: "Oprah invites hundreds of lucky fans to buried with her in a massive tomb."