Health Care Passes with a Laugh

The United States Senate passed a historic $871 billion health care reform bill today. A lot of people have problems with the bill. Liberals are saying it's too much of a compromise and doesn't go far enough. Conservatives are saying it's awful because it makes everyone more equal and that will upset the status quo (in so many words). That latter ideology is pretty ironic considering health care reform used to be something Republicans could get behind. Richard Nixon said, "Comprehensive health insurance is an idea whose time has come in America. There has long been a need to assure every American financial access to high quality health care. As medical costs go up, that need grows more pressing." But of course, this was back when Republicans were actual politicians representing the people and not religious circus freaks.

I say it's a good start. It's a step in the right direction. Is it enough? No. Is it the only chance we had to actually make a move on universal health care before next year's elections? Yes. Don't forget, we live in America and Americans are bitter folks who hold massive grudges. Frankly, not much has come out of the Obama administration this year (at least that's the perception) and it's pretty much a guarantee that we as a country will hold that against him the next time we're at the ballot box. Obama's not an idiot - he knows what he's doing. This bill was basically now or never.

Perhaps the funniest (well, probably funny for people 50+ who are into politics) thing to happen out of this whole drama is what happened at today's vote. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, voted "no" on his own bill! He quickly corrected himself and voted "aye", but not before getting a hearty laugh from the rest of the Senate. It's good to see all those old fogies in good spirits. It just goes to show you, laughter and happiness are two things that can truly cross party lines - two things that actually matter.

The Snowman Suicides

Not one to get wrapped up in the holiday spirit? Are you a certified grinch, a self-professed Scrooge?

Well here's a little something to un-cheer you up.

Over at the Huffington Post, they've collected a series of some pretty morbid snowman scenes.

I've posted my favorites. To check out the rest, go here.

Weekly WTF?: A Holiday Toast

A triple-header Weekly WTF?! Too much good stuff over at BoingBoing to limit myself.

1) A printer that's a toaster!
2) A Christmas tree that's made of Heineken bottles!
3) An irresponsible/clever/cool mother! (You decide)

Class Act: I Go For the Wings

From DetentionSlip.org:

Story: Paradise Valley High School teacher who took students to Hooters in Phoenix is put on leave

The teacher, who oddly enough is a woman, claims that Hooters was the only restaurant in the entire Phoenix area that could accommodate the group for lunch. With a population of almost 2 million people within city limits, you would think they would have at least attracted a McDonalds franchise to open up by now.

Here's the official article. Upon further reading, we find out that this teacher's students played at an event for Obama's inauguration.

Adam for the Day

I Most Certainly Approve: The Ukulele Kid

This is the cutest/funniest/craziest/silliest/absurdest/most adorable YouTube video I've ever seen... and I've seen A LOT of YouTube videos. Definitely watch it, then watch it again, the make other people watch it. Someone get this kid a record deal, but please don't make him learn how to actually speak.

Song of the Year: "In These Arms" by The Swell Season

Ladies and gentlemen, my favorite song of 2009: "In These Arms" by The Swell Season.

The Swell Season's latest album, "Strict Joy" is a life changer. A few years ago, I saw the movie "Once" starring these two - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - and was moved beyond belief. I still count it as one of my top ten favorite films of all time. The songs from the "Once" soundtrack are the most played in my iTunes, with some songs having been played over 200 times. It's a little obsessive, really. But the songs never get old or ruined by too much play.

I don't like introducing songs I truly love that much because they really need no introduction. So, Happy Holidays - here's a gift for you.

Kool Aid and Jesus Juice

I never tire of Sarah Palin. She is a certified wacko with certified wacko supporters. Does she hurt American society by existing? Yes. But it's really entertaining to watch her and her supporters be nutjobs.

I love this video, where a reporter interviews Sarah Palin supporters at a book signing for her new "book", Going Rogue. After watching these interviews, it's pretty clear that the majority of Sarah Palin supporters are only supporting her because they've drunk the Kool-Aid (and the Jesus Juice, of course). They continuously spout out falsities that they've been conditioned to believe by watching too much Fox News.

Here's how I see it. It's not their fault that most of these people feel this way. They're essentially victims of fear and propaganda... and extreme Christianity. It's too easy to blame them. After the laughter subsided, I really just started to feel sorry for them.

Some of my favorite moments:

At 4:10:
Reporter: "Do you think Sarah will win if she throws her hat into the ring?"
Man: "Uh, well, he (Obama) is naturalizing a lot of the illegal aliens - he's in the process of doing it - they're saying she's not gonna have the votes when you throw those numbers in."
Reporter: "There won't be enough white votes on one side to get a candidate through?"
Man: "No way."

At 4:36:
SP Lookalike: "We do need to have profiling. The politically correctness has gotta get out now. I mean, we're Americans and she sticks up for the American people, not for other people. We're first, other people the last."

At 5:24:
Weird Lady: "Drill, baby, drill!" (Laughs)
Reporter: "Of course a lot of people are saying we don't have enough oil."
Weird Lady: "Well, look at it like this. Suppose that we do drill, and not just for oil but for gas, and for, for... well, while we're talking about that, some of these special interest groups like PETA and that, that try to endangered species with polar bears and other animals. We need to get the polar bears off the endangered list so we can drill there."

Also, check out the Miss South Carolina wannabe at 2:10.

Mark Ruffalo...

in "You Can Count on Me"


... sigh.

One of my top ten favorite movies. Netflix it now. Scratch that, buy it.

Pictures Fixed

Was recently alerted by a reader that the pictures in my "Homecoming Anthropology" post last week weren't visible. How horrible! The post meant nothing without the pictures! I've re-uploaded them to the original post, which you can find here: http://michaeldisciplined.blogspot.com/2009/11/homecoming-anthropology.html