By spocko, on August 29th, 2013% People always talk about going back in time to stop JFK’s assassination. Why not go back to prevent #MLK s? #IHaveADream .@io9
— Spocko (@spockosbrain) August 29, 2013
This occurred to me today on the 50th Anniversary of the I had a dream speech. I see a lot of the, “If MLK was alive to day…” Well, what if he was? How would the world be different if he wasn’t assassinated?
How would the people who hated him attempt to destroy him? Reveal tapes of his love life? Fake connections to Communism?
One of my favorite time travel premises is a book that examines. “What if you went back in time and stopped Reagan from going into politics? You didn’t have to kill him or anything, just make his movie career more successful, or make him be interested in something else.”
By spocko, on August 27th, 2013%
This is beautiful footage. Watch it full screen at 1080 resolution.
By spocko, on August 26th, 2013% Did you ever notice that when Americans talk about torture they are always in the power position? They always see themselves as the person deciding whether or not to torture someone? They never put themselves in the shoes of the person being tortured. They never consider that they might be wrongfully held and tortured. – Interrobang, writer, Canadian, brilliant friend
I’ve played violent video games. I’d killed billions of pixels (most look like monsters, but not all). I’ve watched violent movies and TV. I’ve seen thousands of simulated murders. I don’t think playing the games or watching the movies makes me more apt to pick up a gun and go on a shooting spree. (I can’t speak for everyone though, considering this: 8-Year-Old Shot and Killed Caregiver After Playing Grand Theft Auto. I wonder what games or shows other kids were playing or watching before they shot people? What if they were playing Super Mario Bros or watching Barney?)
I’ve also seen torture used in TV and movies. Remember 24? Kiefer Sutherland was always saying, “There is no time!” and “We have no other choice!” Torture was a convenient shortcut to the next plot point. The people tortured were . . . → Read More: @ubisoft Video Game @splintercell Lets You Torture Gitmo Prisoners For Fun!
By spocko, on August 16th, 2013%
This looks like it was taken in San Francisco in July or August. Love SF but this fog is getting to me. I think I need to go the East Bay or Marin, that’s where the Wizard (and the sun) live.
By spocko, on August 15th, 2013% My comedian friend Jimmy Dore got to do what journalists rarely do–but should–call out a politician on his BS. This is from his podcast. I animated it with goAnimate. It’s short, about a minute and a half.
It’s great that most people have a camera, phone, video and audio recorder on them at all times. Politicians and their spokespeople now need to find new ways to dig out of terrible comments. When they can’t “walk it back” or “clarify in context” they just deny they said it.
As John Oliver said on the Daily Show, it’s their job to find politicians and media saying the opposite of what they said earlier. And now it can be ALL of our jobs. Fire up those iPhones!
However, the mainstream press love to give politicians, ‘A second bite at the apple’ after a bad quote appears. In Dan Balz new book, “Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America,” We see Mitt in full denial mode. As Luke Johnson at the Huffington Post points out in his piece: Mitt Romney On 47 Percent Remark: ‘Actually, I Didn’t Say That’ About Personal Responsibility. This is the third opportunity he . . . → Read More: Mitt Never Said That 47% Thing! Romney: ‘Actually, I Didn’t Say That’
By spocko, on August 10th, 2013% Last night I went to Rooster T. Feathers in beautiful Sunnyvale to see Jimmy Dore’s stand-up comedy show. It was great. He was hilarious. If you are in the Bay Area pop down to the show tonight or Sunday. Rooster T. Feathers is a great venue. (Link to get tickets). I haven’t laughed this hard since seeing Maria Bamford at the Punchline in SF. (BTW, check out Maria Bamford’s interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross)
I’m a huge fan of the Jimmy Dore Podcast (Here’s a link to the most current episode)
When I explain to people what the podcast is like I say. “It’s like the Daily Show, only on radio” and that usually hooks them. One of the guys on the podcast was a former Daily Show writer. ( Steve Rosenfield, )
It also usually includes the brilliant Frank Connif who wrote for Mystery Science Theater 3000. (Favorite Line, “Chris Christie voted for the Defense of Marinara Act”)
Besides the political comedy they do spot on funny phone calls with celebrities with Mike MacRae, doing Bill O’Reilly, Herman Cain, The Pope, Paula Deen, President Obama, and my favorite, Chris Christie.
Robert Yasumura, Stef Zamorano, Paul Kozlowski help . . . → Read More: Hilarious Jimmy Dore in Bay Area Aug 10-11, 2013
By spocko, on July 15th, 2013% My friend Lisa Graves, the executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy and the publisher of ALEC Exposed, was on Disrupt with Karen Finney this weekend. Here is a link to the whole show.
I want to share with you a part of the story I haven’t seen anywhere else.
:..if Trayvon’s family does not prevail in a civil suit and this claim is invoked, under that law, they would be required to pay George Zimmerman’s attorney’s fees and lost wages. It would require the victim’s family to pay the killer. And pay for the killer’s wages. That’s the law in over two dozen states in this country now.”
So, for everyone hoping that the Martin family might have a shot at winning a civil case, it’s not going to be easy.
I also want to point out that the Center for Media and Democracy is a GREAT group, I’ve been a fan for decades. They were responsible for getting 33 corporations to leave ALEC by showing them that the disgusting “Kill at Will” laws pushed by the . . . → Read More: Trayvon’s Family Might be Required to Pay Zimmerman’s Lost Wages
By spocko, on July 1st, 2013% A man is filming on-duty police in Hawthorne California. He is walking his dog on a leash. He is filming from a distance. He is holding his phone up, NOT like a gun but like a phone. When he is done either he hears the police say something or he believes that filming the police is illegal and submits himself to the police for arrest.
WARNING, GRAPHIC VIDEO. DOG SHOOTING.
Did the man know it was legal to do this? Did the cops? Did they arrest him for filming or some other reason?
I can see how the dog getting shot will upset people, but from the point of view of the police, a large dog is running at them. The dog doesn’t respond to verbal commands and the officers felt the need to protect themselves. They probably did nothing wrong according to their own guidelines. Also, the man did not have control of his dog during the incident. Of course he was handcuffed, but he could have put the dog in the car with the windows partly up or he could have giving the leash to someone else.
I’d really like more people to know the rules on . . . → Read More: Man Films Cops. Is Arrested for Filming. Then They Shoot his Dog
By spocko, on June 29th, 2013%
This clever animated graphic from the Economic Policy Institute lets you see exactly how income inequality affects you personally. It also shows how it was created and gives suggestions on how to fix it.
I love the little animated money men. I do wish the uber rich would go back to wearing those stylish top hats and carrying their money in bags with $ signs on them.
Graphic copyright Periscopic
By spocko, on June 27th, 2013%
Rep. Tammy Duckworth takes apart IRS contractor for ‘gaming’ veterans benefits program.
Here’s a little tip.
If you catch a company or individual profiting from ripping off the government you can use what are called qui tam laws and get the DOJ to sue them on your behalf. And you can get up to 15% of the recovered money.
Wouldn’t that be nice? Not just to bust the people breaking the law and gaming the system, but to have your bravery (or honor) rewarded. Now what you do with that money is up to you, but it could be used for anything, including flushing more corruption out of the system that is supposed to serve the American people and veterans and not just unethical people who want to game the system.
|
Subscribe to Spocko's Brain Blog via Email
|
Comments are closed 
