Something's In The Air

When I was a wee lad I missed a lot of school as a result of asthma. My mother's 'cure' for such an ailment was to plop me on the couch and aim a steaming vaporizer at my face for hours on end. Even in the heat of summer. By the time I reached my late teens the attacks had mercifully all but disappeared.

However, almost to the day that George W. Bush became president the asthma returned, with a vengeance. It wasn't so much the presence of the odious little quisling in the White House as unduly massive amounts of particulate matter clouding our beautiful Texas skies as a result of his lax policies on power plant emissions.

At least, that's my best guess.

Since 2001 I've had to keep an inhaler handy for those all-too-frequent moments when I found myself suddenly gasping for air. My nightly habit has become to brush, floss, and huff. (And let me add that one of the greatest bargains in the pharmaceutical world is the asthma inhaler. For literally pennies a dose you go from dying to miraculous cure. Instantly. Too bad they didn't have this ion the 60s.)

But now, for some reason I have yet to fathom, I find myself inhaler free. It could be that, due to climate change, the prevailing winds are now blowing southerly and driving all the particulate matter into Mexico. Don't know, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

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One more thing...  aside from our national anthem, and perhaps Michael Jackson's Underoos, the only thing that comes to mind when I hear the word "spangle" is the 1971 production of Neil Simon's "Star Spangled Girl". It was the first time I'd ever encountered Mr. Simon's writing and, though considered one of his lesser efforts, it remains a sentimental favorite.

I couldn't find any suitable youtube clips of the film to showcase but here are the opening credits sung by the late, great Davy Jones.

=Lefty=

Oh, that Mitt.

Mitt Romney met Dick "12%" Cheney on stage at a Wyoming fundraiser last Thursday night, but the press was forbidden from taking photos of the two together.

Aww, too bad. It would have made a great Xmas card.

This past weekend also saw Mitt stumbling over exactly when, within three years, that he was the CEO of Bain Capital. This controversy erupted as a result of the release of his 2010 tax returns so and now he insists he's not going to release any more of them. "So there! Nyahh!"

Mitt Romney. Class act.

And now, the best Obama political ad yet.

An exclusive Raging Pencils bumper-sticker! Get yours now at zazzle.com

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President Obama's Top 50 Accomplishments

Number 31: Pushed Federal Agencies to Go Green

Issued executive order in 2009 requiring all federal agencies to make plans to soften their environmental impacts by 2020. Goals include 30 percent reduction in fleet gasoline use, 26 percent boost in water efficiency, and sustainability requirements for 95 percent of all federal contracts. Because federal government is the country’s single biggest purchaser of goods and services, likely to have ripple effects throughout the economy for years to come.

For the full list of his 50 finest achievements read the Washington Monthly story.

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And now our Chart of the Day: Distribution of Reproductive Themes for 2009 Songs as a Function of Song Type.



Huge , throbbing version of the chart  here.
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Republican Job Creation Update

7-16-2012: Having failed to ACTUALLY repeal the Affordable Care Act the House took Friday the 13th off, 'cause it's SCAAAAARY. No jobs were created.

For the full 2001-2012 list of Republican sloth please visit republicanjobcreation.com.

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Fox News Lies. Dump Fox News

Mitt Romney spoke before the NNACP ad got booed for his crappy policies. Fox News' reaction: "Is the NAACP no longer a civil rights organization." Sheesh!


Click here to help Drop Fox from your cable system.