Observations from the Window 10.14

A rare geek post here, maybe a bit of geek vent, actually it's an explanation of sorts. If you look here often you know I like to post videos. Lately you may have noticed that the videos, or some of them, have an ugly title bar on top that really gets in the way on smaller frames like my blog. Well let me tell you it has nothing to do with me or my coding the fault is all YouTube's.

About a year ago YouTube released a new embed code replacing the long used flash code with a new HTML5 friendly one. Since than you have had a choice between embed codes, there was a small check box if you wanted the older flash based code. Now it seems that on new videos, some possibly all, the flash version is no longer an option. The look and play of the new player is just as good as the flash version was, the problem lies in the code as it's much shorter and as of now I have no clue how to tweek it.

The new version is viewable on more devices, I just don't like the look of the bar. With the old code I would insert a small line that deleted the info bar and some of the controls so it didn't look so busy. I never went so far as to delete the YouTube logo even though I could if I wanted. Maybe I wont be so polite with the new player.

As of now YouTube says it isn't planning on actually disabling the old player, they just will no longer support it. Than again one morning I may wake up and all my embedded videos are gone.

Something to keep in mind if you blog and use embedded videos.

10/15 update - Something I forgot to mention about the new embed code that probably annoys me more than anything else. Once you insert the code you can't get rid of the viewer even in HTML mode. It is still there over top of the code itself so really what you have to do is write your entire post than insert the embed code last which can be one big pain.

Observations 10.13.1

This week in the Party of Lincoln, Part 2 ....

In Thursday night's VP debate the final question from moderator Martha Raddatz was on abortion. At one point during his answer Paul Ryan said; "We don't think that unelected judges should make this decision; that people, through their elected representatives and reaching a consensus in society through the democratic process, should make this determination." My translation would be 'we don't think what is constitutional, legal, or what a woman chooses to do matters. We think conservative, religious, wingnut men should decide this issue.' Suckit Ryan. For the record ABC's Raddatz was totally awesome.

To Ryan's credit earlier in the week he revoked his endorsement of Wisconsin state Rep. Roger Rivard after Rivard's challenger, Stephen Smith, revealed that 10 months ago Rivard had said "some girls rape easy." Rivard claims his comment was taken out of context.

Now, for the main part of this post, I give you Republican Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri who is running for the Senate seat held by Democrat Claire McCaskill. After Akin made his comments about the female body being able to shutdown in cases of "legitimate rape" Republicans all called for him to drop out of the race. At the time McCaskill stayed away from the issue unless she was asked. Anybody who follows politics knew why, she was waiting for the day McCaskill could no longer drop out and the GOP was irrevocably stuck with him as their candidate.

Wednesday was a day all political freaks were waiting for as McCaskill dropped the proverbial hammer and released three new ads in a 'it ends now' moment. All three ads feature women who were raped, two of which say they are pro-life, and one who says she is a Republican. The videos speak for themselves so I'm posting one video here with links to all three below it.

link Diana
link Rachel
link Joanie

Published on Oct 10, 2012 by ClaireMcCaskill2012

Margaret Atwood, the Canadian novelist, once asked a group of women at a university why they felt threatened by men. The women said they were afraid of being beaten, raped, or killed by men. She then asked a group of men why they felt threatened by women. They said they were afraid women would laugh at them.

Observations 11.13

With just 23 days left until the election super pacs on both sides are beginning to ramp up their campaigns. The latest on the Democrat/liberal side is Actually.org, a collaboration of American Bridge 21^st Century
and the Jewish Council for Education & Research. The following description and video are from their website.

"When lies go unchecked, we all lose. Actually.org spreads the truth, because the truth matters, even in politics. Our team calls ’em like they see ’em, and we hope you’ll support the truth by sharing Actually.org videos before Election Day."

The facts are out there, just not in Romney’s campaign.

link

Observations 10.11

This week in the Party of Lincoln, Part 1 ....

It's just weeks until the election and the Republicans are suddenly becoming security conscious as they attack the President over his handling of the Libyan Consulate attack. Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, suddenly called called his committee back from recess to look into so called lapses in Libya and the lack of more funding for security there. But from yesterday's Washington Post; "For fiscal 2013, the GOP-controlled House proposed spending $1.934 billion for the State Department’s Worldwide Security Protection program — well below the $2.15 billion requested by the Obama administration. House Republicans cut the administration’s request for embassy security funding by $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012." Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah and outspoken member of the committee, attacked the Obama administration even though he admitted to voting for these embassy security cuts.

Elsewhere in the party of Lincoln, oh wait, Arkansas state Rep. Loy Mauch called Abraham Lincoln a Marxist. But that wasn't the best part as Mauch also defended slavery; "If slavery were so God-awful, why didn't Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn't there a war before 1861? The South has always stood by the Constitution and limited government. When one attacks the Confederate Battle Flag, he is certainly denouncing these principles of government as well as Christianity." Along with Lincoln Mauch called Grant, Sherman, Custer, and Sheridan Marxists too so evidently the man has a 150 year old chip on his shoulder.

Now if you think those are just the rants of a lone wingnut you would be wrong. Here is the comment of a reader to an article on Mauch in the Arkansas Times; "Actually, when you get right down to it. Lincoln wasn't a Marxist so much as he was a war criminal. He suspended Habius Corpus. He killed more civilians than any other war we have ever fought in. More people over all died in the War of Northern Aggression than any other war the US ever fought in by far. Lincoln had his troops come to the south to beat and rape the women (both black and white). And, he locked up anyone who disagreed with him, journalist and preacher. There is nothing that Assad in Syria has done that Lincoln didn't do."

What the hell is the War of Northern Aggression? I seem to have missed that one in school or overslept or skipped class that day, I have no idea.

You just can't make this shit up.

Observations on the 2012 Election

The vice presidential debate is tomorrow night and it seems to be up to VP Joe Biden to make us all forget President Obama's dismal performance in last week's debate. What Biden needs to do is force Paul Ryan to talk actual facts and figures when discussing the GOP budget plans yet not let him look like he is smarter than the rest of us. Ryan supposedly knows more about the budget than anybody in Washington and could make all our heads spin if given the chance.

While I'm looking forward to Biden's 'happy warrior' side I also hope he doesn't get too happy and stick his foot in his mouth. The media needs to be talking about the this debate and not the last one but for the right reasons. He needs to be in the form he was in for a 2008 Democratic presidential primary debate in which he had this to say about then GOP candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; “There only three things he mentions in a sentence: A noun and a verb and 9/11, I mean, there’s nothing else.” Sadly I guess he should refrain from using the f-word too.

Looking ahead to the second Presidential debate I have faith President Obama will come back strong against Willard. The format is town hall style so more suitable to the President. Also Bain and the 47% video are sure to come up with the public, or the public as the Gallup people see it, asking the questions. But if I were given just one political wish it is that this man could fill in for Obama for just one night ....

link

Observations 10.9

Marriage for All Families: Stories from Minnesota


link

Published on Oct 9, 2012 by NewLeftMedia

The second of a four-part series made in each of the states that have marriage equality votes this November, this short shares the experiences of same-sex couples who want to get married in Minnesota. They have the same challenges, responsibilities, and aspirations as any other couple, but they are strangers in the eyes of the law. That's why marriage equality is so important: it aligns personality reality with legal reality, as a simple matter of fairness.

The series is produced in association with The Four, a social media campaign to support marriage equality in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington State. Learn more and get involved at TheFour.com


Film produced by Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll.
Music by Timmy's Work.
See the first episode here.

Observations 10.8

This man is just a national treasure, seriously, it may sound corny but I can't think of any other word to use.

"We've got to be actively involved in the electoral process," he says. "If you really appreciate the price that has been paid for that right, you should be in there participating, protecting our interests and in so doing, making our democracy a truer democracy."

George Takei


link
Published on Oct 5, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom

Observations 10.7.1

I wanted to share a portion of a statement by the North Carolina National Guard on the death of Staff Sgt. Donna R. Johnson in Afghanistan. Any death is sad, made even sadder given the location, but the line I have italicized seems important to me because I don't remember seeing something like it before. It's the flip side of the photo I used in my post on the anniversary of the end of DADT.

North Carolina National Guard Press Release

Lt. Col. Robert Carver

Office of Public Affairs

October 4, 2012

RALEIGH, N.C. – Army Staff Sgt. Donna R. Johnson of the North Carolina Army National Guard’s 514th Military Police Company based in Winterville, N.C., died as a result of wounds sustained in a suicide bomber attack while on patrol in Afghanistan, on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Staff Sgt. Donna R. Johnson, 29, of Raeford, N.C., is survived by her mother and father Sandra and Philas Johnson, her sister Rene Albattrawi, her Nephew and Niece, Jason and Hannah Albattrawi
and by her Spouse Tracy Dice.... (Full Statement)

Donna and her wife Tracy were married on Valentines Day of this year just before her deployment to Afghanistan.

10/8 update - Just wanted to clarify myself a bit. I was excited, satisfied, proud (pick one) to see the word spouse used with no other same-sex explanation necessary, like it was totally normal, which is exactly how it should be and hopefully always will be going forward.

Observations 10.7

I watch a lot of videos and if you do the same over time you'll find they can pull every kind of emotion out of you. You laugh, sing, dance around the room, and sometimes you just cry for any of a multitude of reasons. I just hope you have a box of tissues handy when you watch this one. The bright side is you'll be smiling through those tears.

Find Your Understanding

link

Published on Oct 2, 2012 by Expedia
Every trip is unique. On this trip, Artie Goldstein travels across the country to attend his daughter's same-sex wedding, a journey that will test him, challenge him, and ultimately change him in unexpected ways.
Seen on The Four 2012

Observations on Art 10.6

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Annie Leibovitz celebrated her 63^rd birthday a few days ago and also has a new show, "Annie Leibovitz: Master Set," that runs through the end of the year at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. "Each photograph is kind of a landmark for me or a moment or a place, or represents not only someplace in cultural history but also in photography for me,” Leibovitz said in an interview. The 147 photos in the exibit includes shots of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Mick Jagger, Hunter Thompson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Miles Davis, George W. Bush, the Obamas, Muhammad Ali and Queen Elizabeth II. Probably be well worth seeing even if it is on the campus of Ohio State University. Her Smithsonian curated "Pilgrimage" is also being shown in another gallery of the museum.


Annie Leibovitz at the Wexner Center for the Arts
from Wexner Center for the Arts on Vimeo.

Wexner Center Director Sherri Geldin, Curator at Large Bill Horrigan, and EXPRESS CEO Michael Weiss discuss Annie Leibovitz.

Observations on the 2012 Election 10.4

I know, I know, calm down, this too shall pass. Willard looked good in last night's debate, like he was giving a presentation to some board of directors, and President Obama didn't look his best, like he would much rather be somewhere else on his wedding anniversary. But when all the dust settles the President will still be ahead and in all likelihood Romney will have stuck his foot in his mouth again or had it forced there by his VP choice Paul Ryan.

I only found one thing troubling last night and that was the fact that neither Bain or the 47% video were mentioned even once. After some thought I finally decided it was on purpose, it had to be on purpose, and came up with my theory on Obama's performance last night that I think is as good as anyone else's.

Last night's debate was heavily scripted and played to Romney's strong suit, speaking to a board of directors or in a planning meeting of some sort. It was totally wrong for Obama who is at his best when he is talking to real people. If you don't believe that simply Google Obama at a rally in Denver today. My theory is that Obama decided to let Romney have his best shot, pass the baton to Biden next week, and take Romney head-on in the second debate with its town hall format where Bain and the 47% are sure to be questioned. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the President just didn't show up for some reason, either way Willard can't perform like that for another month. The only problem is in the perception because in politics if you aren't winning you seem to be losing.

One other thing that is certain after the debate is that Romney is every bit as good a liar as his partner Ryan. Hopefully next week Vice President Biden doesn't let Ryan get away with it without challenging him. I honestly can't see why anybody would decide to vote for Romney when so much of what he said last night was simply not true. But than I remembered a quote from an old Seinfeld episode.

"Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it."

10/5 update - From Mother Jones today; "On a conference call with reporters, a defensive David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, noted that the president's supporters would have liked to see Obama slam Romney on Bain, tax returns, and the 47 percent video. But, he added, "a lot of these issues are well known to the public," and Obama's "choice was to talk about the main things people are worried about in their lives." Obama, Axelrod said, had wanted to avoid an insult-fest and instead use the debate to discuss the future. He did note that following the debate the campaign would "make some adjustments.'"

Observations on the 2012 Election 10.3

Tonight is the first of three debates between Willard and President Obama as the Presidential election campaign enters its final phase. No matter what the talking heads on both sides say I have to wonder just how important this phase is. Early voting has already begun in seven states, the latest being the all important Ohio where it began yesterday. Still a committed political geek can't help but be excited if just for the debate's entertainment value. The entertainment started early when poor Willard couldn't even get his campaign through debate prep without messing up. It was leaked by his handlers that during debate prep Willard had been given a bag full of 'zingers' to use on the President. This is nothing new, unless they are literally talking about twinkies, but you aren't supposed to announce it ahead of time. It's supposed to at least seem like the candidate came up with them on his own.

Something sure to be debated after the election is the effect that the billions of dollars poured into the campaigns by corporations had. This is the first Presidential election since the United States Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case in 2010. The Court, in a 5-4 decision, said that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations or, as Willard himself put it, corporations are people my friend. It just doesn't seem to be having the effect the Repubes and wingnuts wanted but it still needs to be overturned, something that should be high on any list of possible legislation for an Obama second term.

The dissenting opinion was written by Justice John Stevens who showed how strongly he felt by actually reading a large part of it from the bench. Stevens than retired as the third longest serving justice in the history of the court. Below are a pair of excerpts from that opinion, if you are brave, bored, or just a total political fool like me you can read the complete opinion here.

"In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant. Although they make enormous contributions to our society, corporations are not actually members of it. They cannot vote or run for office. Because they may be managed and controlled by nonresidents, their interests may conflict in fundamental respects with the interests of eligible voters. The financial resources, legal structure, and instrumental orientation of corporations raise legitimate concerns about their role in the electoral process. Our lawmakers have a compelling constitutional basis, if not also a democratic duty, to take measures designed to guard against the potentially deleterious effects of corporate spending in local and national races....

At bottom, the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics."

If you got this far thanks for reading and that concludes today's lesson. Don't forget, the circus begins tonight at 9 PM Eastern.

Observations from the Gallery 10.2

Warning, phone generated mini-vent to follow ....

Ash is tired of listening so I'm going to vent hear. I saw something on twitter that just irritated the hell out of me. I didn't bother replying to it because sometimes that's just what people are looking for and besides 140 characters just wouldn't do the job anyway. Also I really don't use twitter to chat, it's more I micro-blog, empty my mind, this is what I'm looking at, reading, or thinking about at any given moment.

October is LGBT History Month and somebody, who shall remain nameless, evidently tired 'history months' tweeted wanting to know when white history month is. Think about that for a minute, when is white history month?

Well let me tell them something. Whites really don't need a month because they wrote history so every month is white history month. For that matter every day is white history day. The history of art, politics, religion, and any other area you care to name. Except for rare instances whites wrote it because the winner writes the history and I can't think of any time in the last millennium where whites weren't the winners. Now that may sound racist at some level but as you can see by the photo I happen to be white so by definition this can't be racist. Hell I don't even like the term white unless we are talking about photography.

Before you ask about Women's History Month read the last paragraph again, insert men wherever I wrote white.

Vent over, Ash thanks you for listening.

Observations 10.2

Marriage for All Families: Stories from Maine


link

Published on Oct 2, 2012 by NewLeftMedia

The first of a four-part series made in each of the states that have marriage equality votes this November, this short shares the experiences of same-sex couples who want to get married in Maine.They have the same challenges, responsibilities, and aspirations as any other couple, but they are strangers in the eyes of the law. That's why marriage equality is so important: it aligns personality reality with legal reality, as a simple matter of fairness.

The series is produced in association with The Four, a social media campaign to support marriage equality in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington State. Learn more and get involved at TheFour.com

Film produced by Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll.
Music by Timmy's Work.