Grung_e_Gene: Facts be damned! It literally does not matter to Right-Wing ers. They have been fed a diet of lies and propaganda and resdie in an alternate universe.
mikert: http://www .youtube.c om/watch?v =uzHGJ6pLU lA
John Sonntag: RT @ronchusid : Republican s Have The Weakest Final Four Ever #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/Ra2TdVpS
Tricia L Ebey: Quote of the Day: Leno on Gingrich #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/AfnuNvi2
majii: Republican s Have The Weakest Final Four Ever – http://t.c o/xvZqdmqX (via #sociables ite) http://t.c o/xvZqdmqX
sarahrosehurt: RT @RonChusid : Quote of the Day: Jimmy Fallon on The Real Romney #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/kLbK1e7F
John Sonntag: RT @ronchusid : Obama' s Critics #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/G13IoF4g
John Sonntag: RT @ronchusid : Andrew Sullivan&# 39;s Defense of Barack Obama #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/Yq9f7qGo
Marvin Smilth: Andrew Sullivan&# 39;s Defense of Barack Obama Liberal Values http://t.c o/T1HqPnC9
David Chess: I like a lot of what Sullivan says. But he also omits, or passes far too swiftly over. Can we explain indefinite detention of citizens in terms of some subtle and benign “...
Mindy Trends: Andrew Sullivan&# 39;s Defense of Barack Obama Liberal Values: The right claims the stimulus failed because it didn't … http://t.c o/yiAChh1I
Brandon Roark: Andrew Sullivan&# 39;s Defense of Barack Obama Liberal Values: The right claims the stimulus failed because it didn't … http://t.c o/ynVFgc9H
Pat: RT @RonChusid : Andrew Sullivan&# 39;s Defense of Barack Obama #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/KfJktbRm / Excellent read.
James: Perhaps God does not directly intervene in the game with his power. Perhaps the belief and confidence in God gives him strength, courage and confidence to go out and give his best.
Brett: RT @RonChusid : Obama' s Critics 211;How Dumb Are They #p2 #p21 #topprog http://t.c o/EvPvbooo
joannelusted: RT @YVForgani c: YVF in the news :: Norwood farmers to raise organic chickens for Yorkshire Valley Farms http://t.c o/UPJfs81F #OrganicCh icken
Yorkshire Valley: YVF in the news :: Norwood farmers to raise organic chickens for Yorkshire Valley Farms http://t.c o/JVr1LPb5 #OrganicCh icken
Gaius Sempronius Gracchus: I hope it’s Santorum. I think he would be easiest to beat and that he would force the country, including most of its Christians , to affirm clearly that it rea...
Ronald: Then those 43% must think God is a huge Liberal passing over Tebow and Scott WalkerR 17;s Packers to help left coast team San Francisco 49ers and the lefty city of New York and the...
This week and last week, instead of a single weekend post, there have been a series of posts with news and clips from San Diego Comic Con. Here are the posts so far:
Next season, Dexter will skip ahead so that he is beyond the death of Rita and beyond Lumen moving away. Entertainment Weekly has some more information on next season:
Dexter (Michael C. Hall) begins the season with worries that the apple won’t fall far from the tree when it comes to his son, Harrison. Will the little guy be a killer, too? “That’s a fundamental fear that Dexter has, that’s where he’s at,” Hall told the crowd. “He knows he doesn’t want his son to show those traits and he doesn’t want to encourage them. That’s a constant fear and consideration.” That’s where religion comes in! “His son is only going to get older and more in need of guidance, and Dexter feels ill-equipped to provide that. As a result he is motivated to find ways to do that, including giving him spiritual grounding .. something that Dexter hasn’t cared about.” Executive Producer Sara Colleton would like to add to that. “Dexter knows what he doesn’t want to pass on to Harrison, so he starts this journey that snowballs into a huge evolved plot for the season. It’s initiated by his desire to define faith … which is by it very nature, undefinable. It’s done in true Dexter style so it’s a lot of fun.”
Mos Def showed up but unfortunately, didn’t tease much about his new character Brother Sam. Dang. However, he’s dang glad to be here! ”I’ve been a fan of the show since day one. I bought the DVDs. If I wasn’t here, I’d be out there asking the same questions. `What happened to Rita?’”
Colin Hanks, however, teased a little more about his new character, Travis. A little. ”I really can’t give away too much. We want to keep it a fun surprise. But the one thing I can say is you’re gonna see some stuff this season that you have not seen in previous seasons. It’s exciting and I may or may not be a part of that.
C.S. Lee said his character Masuka has some shenanigans in store. “Interns are coming up this year. Women and men. He probably gets into some trouble with some interns.” What about a real romance? “We all know him as a flaming crotch but there are other signs to him,” Lee said. “You’ll see more this year this season.”
What’s next for you, Hall, when Dexter is over? (Don’t worry, fans: No one said anything about ending the show yet). “I didn’t know Dexter was in my future back when I was a funeral director,” he said. “Hopefully it will be something I can not quite imagine.”
They also posted a longer trailer for season six than the one that I previously posted:
Above is the Fringe panel from last week’s San Diego Comic Com. The clip below was also released:
Joel Wyman has revealed on Twitter that the title for the first episode of season four of Fringe will be A Sort of Homecoming. I wonder if that refers to Peter in the teaser clip above.
Jeff Pinker and Joel Wyman also discussed Peter’s fate in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
Joshua Jacksonjoked to THR that he would like his alter ego to return to the cult sci-fi drama in a “flash of light,” when the time came. Wyman, however, wasn’t as giving. “You know, that is an assumption,” he replied when asked about how Peter would return to the series. “He will not be another identity.”
“For us, we are really using Peter’s story this season to explore a lot of the basic rules of the show, which are choices and connection,” Pinkner added.
But Wyman and Pinkner were adamant in dispelling any theories that questioned whether the events in the season finale actually happened.
“It really happened,” Wyman reassured. “What we are trying to do from a conceptual standpoint is have the audience understand that it happened and you know it did happen. We watched it and there has been a catastrophe and it needs to be righted. It will either right itself properly or it will go in a very negative way. Now you have to understand what those repercussions are going to mean.”
He added, “Peter sacrificed himself. He was a selfless hero. There are sacrifices; a sacrifice wouldn’t be hard if it was easy.”
Before they decided to go ahead with the finale, there were discussions about the events that unfolded that would affect the trajectory of the series.
“Before we decided to actually pull the trigger and do that season finale, we convinced ourselves that it happened and we were willing to play with consequences,” Pinkner said. “I think it ends up in a place that is really kind of beautiful.”
There was also a second teaser released. Plus below is an interview with Anna Torv:
Craig Ferguson interviewed Matt Smith and Karen Gillan of Doctor Who when they were in town for last week’s San Diego Comic Con. The interview with Matt Smith aired last night and is posted above. The interview with Karen Gillan aired Wednesday and was posted here.
In perhaps one of the most brazen demonstrations of incompetence and lack of concern for one’s nation from a government leader we have ever seen, John Boehner has devoted the last few days to pass a bill which had zero chance of becoming law, as opposed to seriously working to prevent a crisis next week. Boehner got his bill passed and, as expected, the Senate voted it down. The Senate has also been searching for a deal which could pass:
Senate Democratic and Republican leaders are having intense discussions to come up with a bipartisan solution for raising the debt ceiling.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters that he needs ideas from Republicans sometime Friday if Congress is to meet the Aug. 2 deadline.
A Senate GOP leadership aide said the two sides have until early Sunday morning to reach an agreement.
The two sides are discussing trigger mechanisms that could be used to build bipartisan support. Such triggers would force Congress to carry out another round of deficit reduction before the 2012 election.
At the moment, it is difficult to see them reaching an agreement, but perhaps Republicans will be more willing to compromise when we get down to the last minute. The failure of Boehner’s bill might at least serve the purpose of allowing them to argue that they had no choice but to accept a compromise Senate bill to prevent economic catastrophe. On the one hand, one would think that country club Republicans aren’t anxious to see their investments wiped out. On the other hand, the Tea Party members who have been pressuring Boehner don’t show any signs of ever facing reality.
David Letterman: “Top Ten Ways Barack Obama Can Win Over The Republicans”
10. Show up to next meeting in a Captain America uniform
9. Burn everyone a really cool mix CD
8. Bribe them with free tickets to a ‘Larry the Cable Guy’ show
7. Raise the debt ceiling, but do it with a fun sound effect
6. Do something about the heat
5. Swap places with another guy named Barack Obama — hey, don’t miss the new reality show ‘Same Name’ Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on CBS!
4. Put Chuck Norris on the nickel
3. Like I’m the right guy to ask for advice on winning people over
2. Don’t be such a poor sport when they call him a socialist, foreign-born, radical Muslim who’s trying to destroy America
1. Kill bin Laden again
Above is the Torchwood Panel at Comic Con. By Part 4 of the videos, John Borrowman is singing.
I previously posted the season preview for Torchwood: Miracle Day presented at the San Diego Comic Con here.
There are also many videos on line with interviews with the cast and crew. In the above video, Jane Espenson discussed Torchwood, along with writing other genre television shows.
Reportedly the series gets darker by Episode 5, and major events occur in Episode 7.
There are some mild spoilers regarding Episode 3 below.
The third episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, Dead of Night, was the weakest of the season so far. Highlights include an homage to Doctor Who in the clip above. During a raid on PhiCorp, Jack remarks that it is “bigger on the inside than on the outside.”
The episode did build up the conspiracy more, but also was weakened by having two of the main characters wander off for a couple of gratuitous sex scenes. The scenes were cut from the version to be shown on the BBC this week. The scenes includes both homosexual sex between Jack and someone he picked up in a bar, interspersed with a heterosexual sex scene between Rex Matheson and Dr. Vera Juarez. A video of the sequence is available here.
“Sarah Palin’s documentary, ‘The Undefeated,’ will be available on Pay-Per-View and On Demand by Sept. 1. The movie will be shown in English, with English subtitles.” –Jimmy Fallon
The debate over the deficit and debt ceiling has been dominated by talk of spending cuts without consideration of what spending is really necessary to maintain the United States as a great nation. The right wing falsely equates freedom with cutting government spending. They believe that we could have our economic prosperity without most of the infrastructure and benefits which we obtain by pooling resources for the public good.
Despite false comparisons to the founding fathers by misappropriating terms such as the Tea Party, the vision of the right wing is to turn the United States into a banana republic which, while it might have a smaller government, would be dominated by a handful of large corporations and religious zealots. It would not resemble anything which most Americans would desire. Such a society would definitely not be more free in any sensible use of the word.
Thomas Friedman wrote on this topic today. While I question the value of some of his suggestions, he makes some important points. He ended by pointing out the toxic message from the Tea Party:
Anyone who says that either entitlement reform or tax increases are off the table does not have a plan for sustaining American greatness and passing on the American dream to the next generation.
Alas, that is the Tea Party. It is so lacking in any aspiration for American greatness, so dominated by the narrowest visions for our country and so ignorant of the fact that it was not tax cuts that made America great but our unique public-private partnerships across the generations. If sane Republicans do not stand up to this Hezbollah faction in their midst, the Tea Party will take the G.O.P. on a suicide mission.
Unfortunately the Tea Party risks not only taking the Republican Party on a suicide mission, but risks taking the entire country down with them.
Greg Laden explains why global warming denialism should end now. A portion of his post:
This year, we have experience the most expensive year of weather disasters in our history. The total cost of disasters this year, and we are still only in July, is in the tens of billions of dollars, perhaps 32 billion. A typical year in recent times has been about 6 billion. The cost in human lives has also been high, with over 600 people killed from flooding, tornado outbreaks, and other storms.*It is hard to attribute specific damage or death to global warming, but guess what: It is also hard to attribute specific deaths to influenza during the influenza season, but we manage to count the effects of flu anyway. For the latter, certain categories of morbidity or mortality which are known to be linked to influenza are monitored all year, and we see an increase during flu season while at the same time a smaller sample of people are showing up with influenza demonstrated through blood tests. Similarly, with global warming effects, we can see a broad association between heat and storms, and we know where that heat is coming from. We know that because the science on this is pretty good.
2011 will almost certainly turn out to be the hottest year on record. 2010 and 2005 were previously tied for the hottest. June 2011 was the 315th consecutive month above the 20th century average. The last time we experience a month with global temperatures lower than the 20th century average was February. February 1985.* Five years before I wrote that article I mentioned.
The arctic sea is no longer covered with ice as it used to be. Now, the ice cycles are fundamentally different. The change that is happening there is difficult to track and a few more years needs to pass before we’ll fully understand it. But ice that has not melted in many many years has melted, and ice that normally forms no longer does.
The denialism should end, but it won’t. The facts never matter to right wing propagandists.
Karen Gillan on Craig Ferguson last night. Craig and Karen talked about porn, and Craig showed Karen his TARDIS. The interview with Matt Smith will air on Friday.
“Sarah Palin is becoming a grandmother again (or for the first time, who knows). It’s not Bristol – Bristol, of course, is re-saving herself for marriage. This is Palin’s oldest son Track. His wife is pregnant. They got married two months ago, and now she looks like she’s six months pregnant. So you do the math, because certainly the Palins can’t.” –Bill Maher
With Craig Ferguson being a huge fan of Doctor Who, it comes as no surprise that he interviewed Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, presumably when they were in the area for Comic Con. He will be airing the interview with Karen Gillan tonight, and with Matt Smith on Friday.
