“It’s been very good working with the President. He and his Administration have been coordinating with us. It’s been wonderful.”
– New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, about President Obama, on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I want to just let you know that your governor is working overtime to make sure that, as soon as possible, everybody can get back to normal.”
– President Obama, about Governor Christie.
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For the scriptually-challenged – yes, that’s a real term – the month of November has been designated by “Saint Literature” as “National Novel Writing Month,” a month to challenge prospective writers to produce a complete novel in 30 days. The technical goal is 50,000 words, which is about 1,700 words, or 6 double-spaced manuscript pages per day. “NaNoWriMo” began in July 1999, when a group of San Francisco writers decided to see what they could do with the written word in a month’s time. As with any artistic endeavor, the purpose was merely to make a statement – whatever that’s supposed to mean. In 2000, they moved the challenge to November. Last year 256,618 people took part in the event, and 36,843 succeeded in writing a complete novel.
Some have criticized it as a waste of time and energy. Who, after all, produces a quality literary piece in 30 days? As with any art work, though, it’s all a matter of perception. Some people may read my stuff and think it’s crap. I respect their decision, as I light a curse candle at midnight on their behalf. Make of it what you will, but we writers are the voices of our respective communities. If we didn’t put words to paper or computer screen, children would go blind from masturbating too much and more people would vote Republican.
Image courtesy of “NaNoWriMo.”
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Since 2004, “Movember” has sought to bring attention to prostate and testicular cancers and raise money to combat them. The “Movember” movement urges men to grow moustaches – a uniquely masculine characteristic – as a sign of support. Despite years of progress, unfortunately many men still don’t take their health serious enough. A number of men know more about their vehicles and guns than the workings of their own bodies. It’s part of the hyper-masculine persona that males – especially in the U.S. – are bred to possess; they’re raised with the belief that they must always be strong, both physically and emotionally, lest they be deemed weak and effeminate and therefore, absolute failures. Believe me – I’ve been there. Even I don’t like going to the doctor, and my first visit to an urologist a few years ago was fraught with suspicion. But, since I convinced my father to visit an urologist several years earlier, I figured I’d better live up to my own words. Still, male genitalia are often the subjects of bad jokes and worse comedy movie plots.
The first week in April is considered “Testicular Cancer Awareness,” and this past August President Obama designated September 2012 as “National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.” That pretty much proves how little attention this gets on the national level. But, as with any health issue, “Movember” doesn’t just want a single week or month out of the year dedicated to its cause. Everyone’s health is important, but people have to take decisive action on their own.
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“One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas? Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”
– Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, criticizing President Obama’s rapid response to Hurricane Sandy as opposed to his alleged dismal response to the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Syria last month.
Brown was head of FEMA when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005, and of course, we all know what a stellar job he did with that mess. Aside from the blatant mendacity in claiming Obama reacted “too fast” to Hurricane Sandy, dragging the Benghazi attack into the debacle is the epitome of partisanship. But, I would expect nothing less arrogant and disrespectful from a Bush appointee.
“The president has been all over this, and he deserves great credit. He gave me his number at the White House and told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it. It’s been very good working with the president and his administration. It’s been wonderful.”
– New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, praising President Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy Tuesday morning.
Abrasive and controversial, Christie doesn’t offer quaint platitudes, which makes him a favorite of the Republican Party. But, during times of crisis, politics has no place.
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After Hurricane Sandy’s long trek up the eastern seaboard of the United States, the New England area is just beginning to assess and clean up the extensive damage. The Category 1 storm made landfall in southern New Jersey late Monday, the 29th, and quickly collapsed into a sub-tropical cyclone. Categories aside, this is already proving to be several times worst than last year’s Irene. Sandy collided with an arctic hurricane that swept down from the north to create something of a super-system, or what some called a “Frankenstorm,” an obvious reference to Halloween. But, some 8 million people are without power from West Virginia to New York. Thus far, authorities have recorded 43 fatalities directly related to the storm. New York’s financial district is scheduled to reopen tomorrow morning after being closed these past two days. Now, cold weather is moving into the region and could hamper recovery. As always, please think of the victims and their families.
Stone Street in Lower Manhattan.
Water inundating a PATH station in Hoboken, NJ.
F.D.R. Drive in New York City by Houston Street.
A building in New York City on 8th Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets with the entire front blown off.
Lower Manhattan.
Greenwich Village in Manhattan.
Plymouth Street in Brooklyn.
Atlantic City, NJ.
People stood in line for gasoline along Route 35 in New Jersey.
Residents were evacuated from their homes in Little Ferry, NJ.
Workers pumped water from the subway in Lower Manhattan.
A child was rescued from flooding on Staten Island.
Residents survey fire damage in Breezy Point, Queens.
Firefighters put out a fire in Rockaway Park, Queens.
In Breezy Point, more than 80 homes were reduced to ash.
Downtown Manhattan on Tuesday.
Manhattan streets lit mainly by headlights.
A flooded tunnel leading to F.D.R. Drive in New York City.
In Connecticut, 3 people are confirmed dead and 615,000 are without power.
Tuckerton, N.J.
Cars piled up in floodwaters at a garage near Wall Street.
A fallen tree in the Battery Park neighborhood of Manhattan.
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Last Tuesday, October 23, a group of men defaced political campaign signs for President Obama and then, physically attacked a local man, Leo Flores, who is running for office in Lubbock, Texas. Flores captured most of the action with his cell phone camera. Once the attacks came to light, Lubbock Republican Party Chair Carl Tepper dismissed it all by saying, “I have a weird suspicion that the Democrats might have damaged their own signs. It’s an outlandish story.”
Lubbock, which isn’t exactly a mecca for academic and scientific intellectuals, is already deep in Republican territory. Of course, there are a lot of places in Texas that can make that claim. It doesn’t surprise me that the local Republican Party Chairman negates the severity of the vandals’ actions. These are the same bunch of clowns who helped put George W. Bush into the governor’s mansion twice and the White House twice and have helped Rick Perry hold onto the current governorship like the papacy. Yes, it’s getting increasingly dangerous to be even a moderate Democrat here in Texas. But, free speech isn’t a privilege – it’s a right.
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“I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. And, I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”
– Indiana Senate Republican candidate Richard Mourdock, expressing his pro-life stance.
The Bible’s Genesis chapter according to the GOP: ‘And the Lord said, go forward young man and fuck as many females as you can to spread the seed of your father’s glory. Then, get them to make you pancakes in the morning.’
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More Stupidity in Action
“Obama’s making these phone calls, looking for somebody to play the role of a Greek column today, and he found Gov. Christie to do it. Christie’s the only Republican not just praising Obama . . . Let’s just put it this way: Is it wrong for one man to love another man? But that man-love out there is isolated in the state of New Jersey.”
– Rush Limbaugh on his radio show, condemning Chris Christie for working with President Obama on the Hurricane Sandy aftermath.
This is the downside of free speech: anyone with a microphone, computer or bullhorn can say just about anything they want – no matter how blatantly asinine.
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Tagged as Chris Christie, Hurricane Sandy, President Obama, rush limbaugh, stupid comments