Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Anita Pallenberg


Anita Pallenberg was actress, artist and model. I remember hearing about her as a youngster but really did not know who she was.
She passed away yesterday, June 13, 2017 at the age of 73.
Anita Pallenberg was best known for being the girlfriend of two Rolling Stones band members, the first being Brian Jones and the latter being Keith Richards with whom she had three children.
Anita Pallenberg appears in more than a dozen films, the most recognizable being Barbarella.


God bless Anita.

Ball Park Franks

Congress.org presents MEGAVOTE for June 12, 2017 and Georgia's 13th Congressional District.

Recent Congressional Votes

  • Senate: Elwood Nomination - Confirmation
  • Senate: Iran Sanctions - Cloture
  • House: Customs and Border Protection Polygraph Waiver
  • House: Financial Regulation Restructuring

Upcoming Congressional Bills

  • Senate: Nomination of Kenneth Rapuano to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • Senate: Iran Sanctions
  • House: Verify Eligibility for Health Care Tax Credits
  • House: VA Personnel Accountability
  • House: Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Recent Senate Votes:
Elwood Nomination - Confirmation Vote Confirmed (67-33)
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Courtney Elwood to be general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
Courtney Elwood is youngish lady, educated at Washington and Lee, law degree from Yale. Ms Elwood clerked Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the Supreme Court. No opinions offered, she's likely used to being the smarted person in the room.
Iran Sanctions - Cloture Vote Agreed to (91-8, 1 Not Voting)
Motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the McConnell, R-Ky., motion to proceed to the bill that would impose certain sanctions on Iran. Specifically, the president would be required to block the transactions of any person deemed to knowingly engage in activity contributing to an Iran ballistic missile or mass destruction program, that is related to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, that is responsible for human rights abuses, or that contributes to the arming of Iran. The bill would also require the departments of Defense and Treasury and the National Intelligence Agency to develop a strategy for deterring Iran from activities or threats against the United States and its allies every two years.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
Frankly the douche-bag Senate leader wanting to impose sanctions on Iran after letting the last President get away with signing a treaty without Senate consent, is kind of like slamming the door on the barn after the cows are already loose. Whatever they come up with will be toothless to start with and undermined further by the Europeans. Politicians suck at deterring war. McConnell sucks at being a Senator.
Recent House Votes:
Customs and Border Protection Polygraph Waiver Vote Passed (282-137, 11 Not Voting)
Passage of the bill would authorize the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to waive the requirement that applicants for law enforcement positions at CBP undergo polygraph examinations for specific groups of applicants. Certain veterans and law enforcement officers who have already passed a polygraph examination or stringent background investigation could be exempt from the polygraph requirement.
Rep. David Scott voted NO
The description sounds like a way to clear red tape. I hope its not a way grease the transfer bad personnel between departments.
Financial Regulation Restructuring Vote Passed (233-186, 11 Not Voting)
Passage of the bill that would overhaul financial industry regulations and repeal many provisions of the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul law. It would convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into an executive agency funded by annual appropriations and would modify operations at the Federal Reserve and at the Securities and Exchange Commission. It would repeal the prohibition on banking entities engaging in proprietary trading and would modify regulations governing the amount of capital that banks are required to maintain.
Rep. David Scott voted NO
David Scott loves Dodd-Frank, Christopher Dodd was about the dullest politician to have served the Senate, and Barney Frank loves dick.
Reminds me of a insensitive joke.
Have heard heard about the new hot dogs at Fenway Park?
They're called Barney Franks.
If you don't like the taste, you can stick them up your ass.
Upcoming Votes:
Nomination of Kenneth Rapuano to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense - PN348 The Senate will vote on the nomination of Kenneth Rapuano to be an assistant secretary of Defense.
An American Marine veterans that served for 21 years before attaining different security-related posts within the government. 
Iran Sanctions - S722
The bill would impose certain sanctions on Iran. Specifically, the president would be required to block the transactions of any person deemed to knowingly engage in activity contributing to an Iran ballistic missile or mass destruction program, that is related to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, that is responsible for human rights abuses, or that contributes to the arming of Iran.
Already comment on above, go fetch the cows, the shepherds were sleeping and they got away.
Verify Eligibility for Health Care Tax Credits - HR2581 The bill would modify both current law and the American Health Care Act to prohibit the advance payment of health care premium tax credits to individuals unless the Treasury Department receives confirmation from the Health and Human Services or Homeland Securities departments that they have verified the individual's status as a U.S. citizen or lawfully present alien.
Wow, verification of need before applying a benefit, what a novel approach. Bet your bottom dollar that David Scott votes against this. Won't matter, they don't need his vote.
VA Personnel Accountability - S1094
The bill would expand the ability of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department to fire or demote VA employees based on performance or misconduct, and it would modify the appeals process to provide for the appeals of decisions by administrative judges.
It's too bad that this probably will be eviscerated by Union rules and bureaucratic friction. Also too bad that this can't be applied retroactively to take out some of the folks that committed fraud to attain bonus money, all of whom deserve to be placed under the prison.
Medical Malpractice Lawsuits - HR1215
The bill would place limits on medical malpractice lawsuits in state and federal courts by limiting the amount of the award and the time in which a lawsuit must be initiated. The bill would cap non-economic damages in lawsuits but does not limit economic damages or punitive damages.
Tort reform should happen, politicians are dominated by lawyers, therefore it is unlikely that anything passed will be effective, and if so, cut to shreds in the courts.
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Poor Grandpa


An elderly man had a massive stroke and the family drove him to the emergency room.
After a while the doctor appears wearing a long face.
"I am afraid Grandpa is brain-dead, but his heart is still beating."
"Oh, dear God," cried his wife
"We've never had a liberal in the family before!"
 

Friday, June 9, 2017

Brighton Beach Memoirs

There once was a man from Brighton
Who said to his girl, “You’re a tight one.”
She said, “Pardon my soul,
but you’re in the wrong hole.
There’s plenty of room in the right one.”
😀

Biblical

In the garden of Eden sat Adam,
massaging the bust of his madam,
he chuckled with mirth,
for he knew that on earth,
there were only two boobs and he had ‘em.

Nomination Central

Congress.org presents M E G A V O T E for May 30, 2017 and Georgia's 13th Congressional District.

Recent Congressional Votes

  • Senate: Branstad Nomination
  • Senate: Sullivan Nomination
  • Senate: Thapar Nomination
  • House: Pesticides Regulations
  • House: Prosecution of Child Pornography
  • House: Child Abuse Reporting

Senate Votes:

Branstad Nomination Vote Confirmed (82-13, 5 Not Voting)
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Terry Branstad to be U.S. ambassador to China.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
A former governor of Iowa and Army man Vietnam era. What the heck is up with Johnny Isakson and all the missed votes?
Sullivan Nomination Vote Confirmed (94-6)
The Senate confirmed the nomination of John Sullivan to be deputy secretary of State.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
John J. Sullivan will specifically will serve as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. A former Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Defense serving during the G. W. Bush tenure as President.
Thapar Nomination Vote Confirmed (52-44, 4 Not Voting)
The Senate confirmed Amul R. Thapar of Kentucky to be a judge for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
Amul Thapar previously served as Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, appointed during the Bush administration. He is a young man of 48 years. Thapar was on then candidate Trump's list of potential SCOTUS nominees in September 2016. The absence of Democratic votes is encouraging.

Recent House Votes:

Pesticides Regulations Vote Passed (256-165, 9 Not Voting)
The bill would generally prohibit EPA and states from requiring that entities applying pesticides near navigable waters must first obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act, if the application is authorized under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Rep. David Scott voted YES
Seems like a reason regulation on face value, in practice this exposes many farms to restriction of use and I suspect will affect agriculture business negatively.
Prosecution of Child Pornography Vote Passed (368-51, 11 Not Voting)
The bill would make the production of child pornography a crime whenever a minor is engaged in sexually explicit conduct, regardless of whether the conduct was initiated for the purposes of producing such content.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
Everybody, well nearly everybody thinks that child pornography is bad. Such laws are easy to pass.

Child Abuse Reporting Vote Passed (415-3, 12 Not Voting)
The bill would require adults authorized to interact with minors or amateur athletes to report any suspected incidents of child abuse, including sexual abuse, to the sport's governing body, and it would allow victims of abuse to seek damages in court.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
Everybody, well nearly everybody thinks that child pornography is bad. Such laws are easy to pass. This stinks a bit of "authorizing" government employees to get folks listed simply for possession. 
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Copyright (c) 2017.


Tuesday, June 6, 2017

More Gram Parsons

Maybe I am on a Gram bender.

On hearing this version of Love Hurts I figured it was the original that Nazareth covered but no.

The song was written and performed first by the Everly Brothers, in 1961.

More Than 7 Million Voter Registrations Are Duplicated in Multiple States - Washington Free Beacon

More Than 7 Million Voter Registrations Are Duplicated in Multiple States - Washington Free Beacon7 Seven million is an awful lot in election where 150 million people vote.

Dark End of the Street

It is a lot of fun to compare versions of a song done in soul and then country.
Here we have Gram Parsons' version of a song written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman.


And the version I like best, from the movie The Commitments.


And the version most folks will recognize, by Percy Sledge.

Percy is gone now having passed in 2015.
Gram, a Georgia boy, has been gone for nearly 44 years.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Buy a Round

A union boss walks into a crowded bar next to the factory and is about to order himself a drink, when he sees a guy close by wearing a "Make America Great Again” hatHe does not have to be an Einstein to know that this guy is a Republican. So, he shouts over to the bartender so loudly that everyone can hear, "Drinks for everyone in here, bartender, but not for the Republican."
Soon after the drinks have been handed out, the Republican gives him a big smile, waves at him then says, "Thank you!" in an equally loud voice. 
This infuriates the union boss. Later, the union boss once again loudly orders drinks for everyone, except the Republican.  As before, this does not seem to bother the Republican.  He continues to smile, and again yells, "Thank you!" 
The union boss says to himself, "Damn Republican!" After a while, the union boss once again loudly orders drinks for everyone, except the Republican. As before, this STILL doesn't seem to bother the Republican who continues to smile, and again yells, "Thank you!"
The union boss asks the bartender, "What the hell is the matter with that Republican?  I have ordered three rounds of drinks for everyone in the bar but him, and all that dumb ass does is smile and thank me.  Is he nuts?"
"Nope," replies the bartender.  "He owns the place."