Flap Your Lips Friday
Posted by Michelle Moquin on May 28th, 2010
I’ve talked about the oil spill and the devastation it is causing in the gulf. We have heard from the UWI and Alyce, both whom have written in telling us how it is destroying them and theirs miles down below, where the oil is still gushing. But all we’ve been hearing about from the news is what is happening on the surface. What about below the surface?
Yesterday I watched a video from RePower America, showing some divers who dove down into the oil to take look. When the divers went below the surface, the scene they saw was not pretty, as they looked into the clouds of oil that were 25 feet below the surface and perhaps deeper.
The title: “What BP doesn’t want you to see”:
“ABC News went underwater in the Gulf with Philippe Cousteau Jr., grandson of famous explorer Jacques Cousteau, and he described what he saw as “one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen underwater.”
Readers: Comments? If your mouth is not wide open in shock, or grimacing in anger, flap your lips and blog me. Ah…just checked the blog comments from yesterday. Sorry peeps got to run – will respond tomorrow.
Peace & Love: “Live it, Give it”….
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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May 28th, 2010 at 10:14 am
5 Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life
Barbara Corcoran
The Corcoran Group
Many of today’s retirees see retirement as a fresh start — the chance to pursue a creative passion, launch a signature enterprise or further a favorite cause — rather than a never-ending vacation.
For those of us ready to stage a second act, a retirement locale must be more than an affordable place to spend the next phase of our lives. It has to offer stimulating cultural, intellectual and physical lifestyle opportunities.
Here are some top destinations that appeal to a broad range of interests and preferences. What they all have in common is that they’re not full of people who “act old” — they’re growing centers of recreation and commerce…
TOWNS
Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Who: Artists, people of all generations who come to soak in Vapor Valley’s thermal waters.
Where: An hour’s drive west of Little Rock and near Ouachita National Forest, a sprawling nature preserve.
Why: Hot Springs today boasts music and film festivals plus a large community of painters, potters and sculptors who display their works in dozens of galleries.
How much: The median home price is $139,000.
Tempe, Arizona.
Who: Outdoor types and people who like to volunteer.
Where: A 20-minute drive from Scottsdale and Phoenix.
Why: Tempe has 300 sunny days per year, 150 miles of bike paths and hundreds of acres of parkland in its busy downtown, around a huge urban lake.
It also is home to programs that match over-55 adults with volunteer opportunities, including high school tutoring, and second-career opportunities, such as small-business consulting and civic posts.
How much: The median home price is $153,000.
Eugene, Oregon.
Who: Environmentally conscious people of all ages.
Where: About two hours south of Portland.
Why: Wind and water supply the bulk of Eugene’s power, making it one of the greenest cities in America. Bicycles are the vehicles of choice. Scenery includes wilderness forest and protected wetlands.
Home to University of Oregon, Eugene draws youthful souls who give it a smart, independent vibe. This is a good place to start, say, an organic-cookie business or alternative bookstore.
How much: The median home price is $249,900.
RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES
Riderwood in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Who: A community of 3,000 creative intellectuals, age 60 and up.
Where: A campus 15 miles north of Washington, DC, built in 2007.
Why: Riderwood aims to nurture the mind, offering a theater group, men’s chorus, dozens of on-site classes and volunteering opportunities in surrounding neighborhoods.
How much: The entrance fee for a small apartment is $172,000, and there’s a monthly fee starting at $1,600. For a large two-bedroom, two-bath unit, the entrance fee is $330,000 and $2,037 monthly.
The Village at Penn State, Pennsylvania.
Who: Eternal students.
Where: State College, Pennsylvania, about halfway between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Why: The Village includes mixed-age housing and a “Life Care” community for people age 62 and up. Penn State students teach free classes to Life Care residents in return for course credit, and the town of State College has a busy café scene.
How much: Entrance fees in the retirement community start at $181,500 for one-bedroom apartments, with monthly fees starting at about $2,500.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group real estate company and president of Barbara Corcoran, Inc., New York City.
She is the real estate contributor to NBC’s Today show and cohosts ABC’s Shark Tank. Her latest book is Nextville: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life (Springboard).
May 28th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Zen Lill
I am in a Middle East country. It is very dangerous to be caught reading Michelle’s blog. It is considered blasphemous, an offender of Allah.
If many more caring people were to read that book, maybe they would be motivated to help or at least refuse to trade with the men who perpetuate this horrible condition we are in.
Thank you for acknowledging our plight.
Michelle many of us risk our lives to read your blog. It is very inspirational to read what other women are saying and thinking. I know it gives me hope.
Shri Khan
May 28th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Thanks for the video Michelle. So now we know OBama has inherited another badly run, if not corrupted department from Bush.
Mollie
May 28th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Great video yesterday. I tried to send this but I couldn’t get in. It seems only Zen Lill has the magic touch. What’s your secret ZL?
I wanted to send you this link, Michelle. It is a natural to yours.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2010/05/26/fioreyou.DTL
May 28th, 2010 at 10:52 am
I tried to post this yesterday, but was unsuccessful. You mothers out there with little ones need to read this.
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Kids in the crossfire
If you think adult meds are bad, you should see what they’re trying to force on your children and grandchildren.
Some of the nation’s most common over-the-counter children’s drugs–
meds you might find in any home with a kid–have been recalled for problems ranging from contamination to quality.
All told, Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Pharmaceuticals pulled some 40 meds, including Children’s Tylenol, Children’s Motrin and Children’s Benadryl. In many homes with children, that’s half the medicine chest!
In a 17-page report, the Food and Drug Administration detailed some of the problems with these dirty drugs. It’s a frightening list:
- “Tiny particles” in the medicine, including bits of metal;
- Bacterial contamination;
- Security lapses at the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, plant where the drugs are made;
- Inadequate training; and
- No written procedures to ensure “the identity, strength, quality, and purity” of the meds.
It might have been easier to simply list what wasn’t wrong!
In one of the most bizarre public statements in the history of corporate America, the company actually agreed with many of the FDA’s accusations.
“The quality issues that the FDA has observed, many of which we had recently identified in our own quality reviews and communicated to the FDA, are unacceptable to us,” the company said.
Say what?
That’s a little like a bank robber who, on getting caught, says he just noticed he had been stealing and found it to be unacceptable. In fact, he was just about to turn himself in.
Of course, they had to take a different approach since they can’t claim they had no idea. The FDA says the company received at least 46 complaints from consumers who said they found particles in their children’s meds… and did nothing.
But there’s a positive side to this crisis, because it’s a chance for parents to look at the alternatives. Like adults, many kids are often taking drugs they don’t need– especially these over-the-counter remedies.
Many parents reach for the Tylenol or Motrin any time they spot a fever in their child, but these days even mainstream docs will tell you that it’s the wrong approach– especially for non-threatening low-grade fevers with no other symptoms.
Fevers can be caused by any number of factors, and aren’t an automatic sign of illness. Many fevers are of no concern, especially if your child is acting normally.
And in some cases, the fever is the body’s response to invading bacteria and viruses, many of which can be wiped out by the internal temperature change. Drop the fever, though, and you can give those microscopic invaders a chance to regroup and multiply.
As always, talk to your pediatrician before you start or stop any medicine–but in most cases, you’ll do better with home remedies and a little common sense than you would with any of these meds.
Especially the ones they’re telling you to throw in the trash.
—————————-
This is a real crisis for children.
Evelyn
May 28th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
hi Misch, for some reason I was unable to access yesterdays video yesterday, but today I did…OMG, that ‘junk shot’ had me crying over here along with the Michael Moore orgasm, too freakin’ funny, love Jon Stewart.
Gloria, I know this may sound bizarre but before my kid even popped out I spent many moments visualizing her, all of it, behavior, temperament, etc…and also called into play the type of person I would have to be to have her become all she could be – a simple example: I love lots of love and physical affection, more than most people I know, so I visualized this child as the kind who could be in the middle of playing with a pal and would suddenly leave to come squeeze me – and to this day, she does that. I’m also of the ‘kids dig boundaries’ school of thought (as long as they are respectful and fair boundaries) and I enforce my own with everyone (bc I believe in every moment we have to opportunity to teach people how to treat us by treating them that way) kids model your behavior, not your words.
If you’re not ok with them being couch potatoes, take a quick shop and get 3 yoga mats and a beginner tape and do it together after they get home from school, you’ll all reap the benefits and if they haven’t been known for opening up to you, this is a good start bc sepdning ‘proximity’ time it as important as spending ‘talking’ time. I spend lots of time discussing life stuff, sex, drugs, rock n’ roll and anything else. I’m quite open and a free thinker and so I explain the duties and respionsibility attached with being this way (it’s way easier to go along with the herd but I question just about everything), I also go big into self esteem, and right now she’s in that pre-pubescent stage where body image is everything so I talk about my own experiences a lot, so much so that when her buddies are over they’ll pull up chairs and ask me to tell the story about ‘xyz…’ and ask me straight out q’s about boys/sex/anything, I always clear it with other mothers that I speak my own truth and I give that disclaimer to them as well.
I’m the second mother they’d like to have and I tell them, have your mother write a check for $1500 a month, that’s all inclusive except clothing and I’d be happy to welcome you to Zen Lill boot camp : ) they dig the boundaries, the togetherness and the time alone for all of us her/I (I anounce my absences, off to check MM blog be back in a half, etc…). Even a therapist that she saw briefly said that 2 things happen when people separate that affect kids 1. the civility between the two adult parties and 2. the stability of home, school, schedule and she told me that as far as her qestioning went, C and I are quite respectful of each other and our child as a result is adjusting just fine. I say that bc whether you are together or separated/divorced the easy thing to do is screw over the other parent and it happens, it was never my intention to do that and I visualized exactly what we’ve got, an evolving relationship with C, we talk biz very well together, we talk about our kid together, we have several common interests and we talk about those things, we leave the rest off the table. We have managed a nice arrangement with each other, and I am proud of both our behavior, that’s more info then you asked for but I feel that having good intentions and vivid visualization techniques along with strongly enforced personal boundaries is key.
You may be tempted to go change them now, kids/hubby, but I would sugest this first: ask yourself – who do I have to be to attract what I say I want? And you can tell your kids that this is your new MO, and then join them in asking this (I do this everyday in the mirror with my kid present) – I smile and say ‘who am I going to be today?’ we laugh out loud but it allows a few things, your kids to know that your human and today I am starting anew just bc I can if I want to (very empowering) and that everyday they have the opportunity to change and/or express themselves differently or change/engage new ideas that yesterday weren’t there or hadn’t been thought of. Sorry for the length but I love this topic and I’ll just end this here…lots to think about already.
Just wanted to share, lately at the gym I’ve been asked for man advice, I think it’s funny but apparently things I thought everyone knew some women managed to live decades not knowing – how – is what I wnat to know : )
1. a woman can stand in the middle of anywhere (gym, you name it) and say, who wants to get laid? and get a line up of males, a man does this and women would not only think he’s an ass but a crude ass as well, thus his need to ask about 10-100 women out bc it’s a numbers game, it’s not personal. We can spout off about asshole-ishness and sit around thinking that males are so ‘limited’ in mind/bahavior bc of this but the truth is that that thought just makes us feel superior to a certain degree bc it elevates us…even though it results in lowered expectations, tolerating bad behavior, etc…of their man behavior.
I say – ask for good behavior (state your needs/non-negotiables) and trust that you’ll be handled that way, if not, speak up again in a way that will get thorugh (angry judgemental shouting ain’t it), then leave him if necessary…there are others.
Why’d I bring this up? bc it goes with kids behavior, if adults are not going to model how good men and women act and perpetuate all that noise about men are this/that and women are this/that, then we get that bad behavior moving forward and girls being easily led by males, the plight of females is a term I actually disconnect with bc I don’t find it empowering to girls/women and we need to step up and teach our little humans everything we know – that’s men as fathers teaching their sons how to behave towards women, women teaching their sons how to behave towards them and other women (critical mothering is a huge downfall, I’ve met some damaged men/women via mothers that were overly critical of everything) and women must reach out to girls and discuss their changing bodies, body image, self sufficiency, etc, etc…I don’t see it a lot, people are busy and working and I understand that but you have to do the job anyway…
I’m off my soapbox now…
Charika and Shri Khan, I am thoroughly involved in this book and plan to make it my circle of males reading material – they will be quizzed later – and maybe if it out there in the atmosphere change will come. I plan to be the change I want to see in the world, Ghandi was quite on target with that statement. I wish I could simply change your world now but i don’t ahve that kind of power, wish I did.
caio for now, have a great long weekend (US residents), Luv, Zen Lill
May 29th, 2010 at 7:47 am
For those that have become members or are interested in the Zeitgeist Movement and films you can check out their latest on the BP fiasco:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwMHSByEIWM
May 29th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Thanks for the insight Zen Lill
May 29th, 2010 at 7:55 am
Here’s how the scam works for the right. First you scare your mark into believing that he will lose is financial shirt under Obama, then you provide a solution where he can put his money.
________________________________________
My #1 Way to Profit as Obama Destroys Capitalism
Dear Fellow Conservative,
What if you discovered that the vet who takes care of your dog was Michael Vick? Would you think twice about bringing Fido back for his annual shots?
Or what if you discovered that your auto mechanic was a member of Greenpeace? Would you think twice about having him work on your SUV?
Of course you would. Just as, I hope, you would think twice about trusting your retirement savings to someone who secretly despised — or simply didn’t understand — the free-market capitalist system that makes profits and prosperity possible.
Yet that, believe it or not, is exactly the position millions of Americans are finding themselves in today — as they discover that Wall Street, far from being a stronghold of “rich Republicans” and “laissez-faire capitalists,” is actually dominated by liberal Democrats who support, overwhelmingly, the prosperity-wrecking big-government policies of Barack Obama and his merry band of neo-socialists.
Think I’m exaggerating? Consider the following facts and statistics:
According to an analysis of Federal Election Commission records by the Center for Responsive Politics, the 2008 Obama campaign received $12.6 million from Wall Street “Securities and Investment” firms versus McCain’s $7.9 million
The top three corporate employers of donors to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Rahm Emanuel were Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JPMorgan
Employees of Lehman Brothers alone gave Obama $370,000, compared to about $117,000 to McCain. (No wonder Bush let them go under.)
Since 1998, the financial sector has given a total of $37.6 million to Obama, compared to $32.1 million to McCain. But Obama ran for his first national office only in 2004. So McCain got less from the financial industry in a decade that included two runs for president than Obama did in four years.
What’s this all about? Well, you see, the financial industry takes care of Democrats — and as we’ve seen in recent months, the Democrats take care of the financial industry. After all, it’s a lot easier to get rich by taking money from taxpayers than to do it by choosing consistently profitable investments for your clients.
Fortunately, there is someone who can help you invest your money who is as financially savvy and devoted to the free-market system as today’s Wall Streeters are financially illiterate and devoted to shaking down taxpayers.
His name is Mark Skousen, Ph.D., editor of the investment newsletter Forecasts & Strategies — and he just might be the smartest financial advisor working today.
Skousen, after all, launched his career by predicting, during the 1980-82 recession — and to the scornful laughter of nearly all the other so-called experts — that “Reaganomics will work.”
Boy, did he get that right. And boy, has he gotten it right ever since:
Just this past March he called the exact bottom of the market, telling his subscribers that “stocks are a screaming buy.” In the four weeks following, the Dow soared a remarkable 24.5%.
In 2006 — more than two years before the financial meltdown — he warned subscribers that “we clearly are headed for fiscal disaster,” and showed them how to protect themselves.
Just weeks before the NASDAQ collapsed in 2000, he warned his subscribers that tech stocks were dangerously overvalued.
He told his subscribers in 1995 that the NASDAQ would double, and then double again — which is exactly what it did.
He called the Gulf War of 1990 “a turning point for U.S. stocks” — and the Dow subsequently began a bull market that didn’t end for nearly ten years.
And he issued a “sell everything” recommendation to his Forecasts & Strategies subscribers just 41 days before the stock market crash of 1987 — then told them to get fully invested again several weeks later, just in time for the recovery.
It’s because of calls like these, after nearly 30 years of publication, Forecasts & Strategies is still going strong, while literally hundreds of rival newsletters have gone the way of Janeane Garofalo’s acting career.
And here’s the best thing about Mark Skousen. He knows how to make you money even while President Obama is wrecking the economy with his “New New Deal.”
After all, Dr. Skousen points out, the late billionaire John Templeton — whom Money magazine called “the greatest stock-picker of the 20th century” — began to build his vast fortune while FDR was wrecking the economy with his original New Deal.
Let’s face it: Making money in Obama’s America is about to get harder — keeping it, harder still. So we can all use as much trustworthy financial advice as we can get. The best investment advice I know of, bar none, can be found in Mark Skousen’s Forecasts & Strategies — and I urge you, now more than ever, to give it a try.
Click here to learn more.
________________________________________
I almost feel sorry for the marks
Mike
May 29th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Doug
It was a nice feel good video, but what exactly are they offering to replace capitalism? Who will be in charge? And How will it be implemented?
Sounds like the spiel given to the people of China, Russia and countless other countries by self serving dictator wanna bes.
I’m all for something better. But I am very skeptical of those who tell me they have a better way without making it clear what that is and how it will be implemented.
Robert
May 29th, 2010 at 8:17 am
You are so right about the scare tactics the Right uses to get into the pockets of the gullible, greedy, and selfish in America.
But are you aware that they have devised a more direct con game for the ignorant. For those who are too dumb to understand the simple message sent to them via email, they now have a video.
No need to read and contend with words above your brain’s ability to understand. Tune in to these videos and get motivated. Check this out Mike.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
New Must-See Videos!
Hello There,
I have to tell you about a brand-new free service we just launched at HumanEvents.com.
Our friends from the Hoover Institution produced a bunch of terrific videos that we are making available to you, our valued reader.
The first videos you’ll be privy to are with bestselling author and syndicated columnist Mark Steyn. You may be a little surprised — maybe a little shocked — at what Mark has to say.
So forget TV. Remember, these are free — just head over to our site and watch them right now. Keep an eye out for upcoming videos.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now they can excite there mob with instant fear, racism, and xenophobia.
Mardi
May 29th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Cherrs Robert, good q’s bc until any movement can prevent the anonzs’ of the world from making money on everything it’s just a nice feel good thought. Anonzs’ insights on all things political and therefore money making has changed forever the way I read the news and hear the news bc I always wonder now – who’s profiting from this little debacle? I feel jaded, fleeced and minimally in-the-know concurrently. I don’t know the answer but thanks for posting the link Doug Main Dude : )
Mandy, you’re welcome. See? That one comment from you made that soapbox rant worthwhile, there’s nothing I like better than to help my fellow women. Now if we could be for each other and have each others back the way men do for each other we’d be a serious force to reckon with…I will keep that dream alive for us all.
Ruth, where’s anonz? Just curious to know if he’s alright…
Have a lovely day everyone, it is a gorgeous day here in the southland and I’m going to make a move!
Luv, Zen Lill
May 29th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Hafa adai
Some good news concerning the Guam War Claims Bill. It has been approved by the House of Representatives.
_______________________________________________
Guam War Claims Bill Linked To Defense Act, Again; But The Real Test Is In The Senate
Last Updated on Saturday, 29 May 2010 14:02
Written by Kevin Kerrigan
Saturday, 29 May 2010 07:13
Guam – Guam News
Guam – The Guam War Claims Bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Friday. It was attached as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, just as it was last year.
The amendment was introduced by Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo and was part of a package of other specialty amendments that were tacked onto the Defense Authorization bill all at once by a voice vote. The 2011 Defense Authorization Act was then approved by the full House by a vote of 229 to 186.
However, the real test for what’s formally called “The Guam Loyalty Recognition Act” will come in the Senate, where it failed to pass last year.
It failed because the measure includes compensation not just to the living survivors of the Japanese occupation during World War II. It would also provide compensation to the immediate descendants of those who survived the occupation and have since died.
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan and Senator John McCain of Arizona opposed compensation to descendants because of the precedent it would set. They suggested eliminating descendant compensation from the measure, but Bordallo rejected the compromise and the War Claims amendment failed in the Senate.
Its fate in the Senate this year continues to be uncertain.
Bordallo is quoted in a release as saying that: “The House today reaffirmed its support for Guam war claims by adopting my amendment by voice vote and we now focus our efforts on the Senate.”
______________________________________________
It is very difficult for Guam to prevail in the Senate because the Senate is made up of 99% whites. And whites never feel that OTWS deserve the benefits they take for granted.
White america is so used to being the affirmative action group of America that they try to put that label on any group that ask government to equalize the benefits government has been giving them for being white.
If by their definition Affirmative Action means a benefit bestowed on a group simply because of their race, then white america has benefited from Affirmative Action since the United States of America became a country on July 4, 1776.
.
I am not anti white. There are plenty of white members in my family. I an simply stating a fact that cannot be disputed.
The fact is the Senate is made up of 99 whites and 1 OTW. Does anyone think it just a coincidence that OTW causes asking for reparations to make up for the Affirmative Action given to whites die there?
The truth is that most whites in America believe that this is “their” country and they will do anything to remain the Affirmative Action race here..
Any OTW group who asks for parity or make up for past wrongs are labeled as seeking “Affirmative Action.” This allows whites to claim that racism is over and all groups should be treated the same.
As I said, I am not against whites, but I want to set the record straight. Guam is entitled to the same benefits that whites get from Congress every day.
Peter
May 29th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Zen Lill
It is rumored that Anonz is in recovery somewhere in Germany. It is believed he is recovering from a nasty burn. The girls are always asking after his welfare. So I try to stay informed.
It is difficult to get information because there are so many death threats made against his life daily. We were recently informed that our phones had been tapped.
It seems someone expected him to call. Why they would think Anonz is that stupid, I cannot say.
The last time I heard from him is when he told me that the powers that be will drive the European Euro down to discourage the oil countries from replacing the dollar with the euro.
He told me to continue playing the American markets even though the market will drop precipitately whenever the big player want to shake out the pack and to take a little profit.
If I hear anything I will certainly let you know. But he is staying away from those he cares about because he does not wish to endanger anyone.
Oh, I too like what you had to say. I put a copy in the diplo pouch that goes out to him.
Ruth
May 29th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Michelle
I watched that video and it made me weep for those sea creatures that cannot know what is happening to their environment.
May 29th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Stop assuming that you know what someone else is thinking. Whatever you think another person is thinking, you are wrong.
Assuming and acting on what you think another person is thinking leads to misunderstandings and upset.
If we remember and accept that we’re all different and that we each see the world in our own way, relationships improve and we are happier.