The Wire's Lester Freamon

Over the last month I watched all 5 seasons of HBO's The Wire (music post here: link) and really enjoyed it.  Each season focusing on a different aspect of life in and around Baltimore.  Written, vetted, acted, filmed, directed really well, with an excellent pace, rhythm, focus; I highly recommend watching it, and not just saying "I love the wire... but I don't know any of the episodes" as most Umerikuns have stated at some time in the past.  I'd only seen bits and pieces when staying in hotel rooms, disjointed, I could not appreciate the magnitude of the series.



In retrospect, when I look across all the 100s of characters presented throughout the 5 seasons, the one character who stands out as the most likable, most relatable, least flawed, in my perspective is Lester Freamon, played by the excellent actor Clarke Peters.  Lester was one of the oldest & least appreciated detectives on the BPD.  Politically incorrect, doing "what was right" before considering how it would damage his career's trajectory, Lester's steady hand and clear mind was refreshing in each scene in which he appeared.  Fastidious, meticulous, tenacious, passionate, determined, driven, mentoring, patient, enduring, curious, insightful, intelligent, level headed (usually), deductive, adept, and righteous.  He was "good police".  As the 2nd oldest member of the last engineering team I led (with most of the other team members being 20 to 25 years younger than me, who looked up to me) and mentored, it makes sense that Lester is the one I could identify most closely with and with whom I could empathize.

Yes, in The Wire, Lester sometimes drank too much, but who doesn't drink too much sometimes? (Ben Franklin always said not to trust the man who drinks water when everyone else is drinking ale... and I do not disagree with old Ben).  Lester had quite an R rated vocabulary and tone, especially when he was justifiably incensed, but again, that's a common human trait.  I know I have from time to time.

The other character I could closely relate to, ironically was also played by "a Clark" - Clark Johnson played the city desk editor Augustus (Gus) Haynes.  Gus worked for metric driven stuffed suits who placed morality & honesty on a much lower priority than glowing recognition and public perception.  Sadly, I've worked in roles like that as well, far too often in the past.  Gus was only in the final season, and not throughout the entire series, so I didn't have enough time to relate to him, and how he dealt with tools like Scott Templeton... but I have a personal appreciation for Gus's daily struggle.

If you've not watched The Wire, you really should.  Especially if you are stuck in a airplane, a hotel, or on a couch recovering from an orthopedic injury that limits your mobility.  It'll be time well spent, eye opening, enlightening, and informative.

Dark Money - Jane Mayer

For the first 2 days of my drive across the Pacific, Mountain, and Central time zones, I listened to the 15 CD set of Jane Mayer's comprehensive book Dark Money.     Listening to the book-on-CD, it 

- kept me awake

- pissed me off

- educated me on how Charles Koch once ran for Vice President of the United States and lost miserably, on the Libertarian ticket

- how the Koch brothers recruit other multi-millionaires and billionaires to unite against anyone who opposes their 0.01% agenda

- explained how Sheldon Adleson funded Gingrich to the tune of 42 million dollars of attack ads against Romney that ultimately helped Obama defeat the embodiment of "corporations are people my friends"

- described how the Koch brothers reverse engineered the successful 2008 Obama campaign's data analytics of voter rolls, so that after the 2010 census, local and state districts were gerrymandered so effectively as to nullify the popular vote.  North Carolina was their laboratory, and it proved so successful, that even though Obama won the popular vote in NC in 2012 by more than 2%, the state went for the Republicans by having sparsely populated red districts overwhelm more heavily populated but under represented urban, educated, and poor democratic districts.

- told me how the Koch brother's father made his fortune building refineries for Stalin and Hitler

- spoke about how Charles Koch was raised by a militant German nanny, brought over from The Third Reich, until he was 5.  His nanny returned to The Third Reich after Hitler invaded Poland and France, so that she could be closer to her people and rejoice in her country's victory.  She also used to severely physically punish Charles, and enforce daily castor oil & enemas if 8am bowel moments were not produced punctually.  

- detailed how the Kochs, and all of their 0.01% friends, firmly believe that all you need to do in America is work hard, and you WILL BE successful, even though nearly all of their wealthiest friends inherited all of their wealth and they never lived in poverty or fell upon a temporary period of struggle without sufficient means to meet basic necessities even once throughout their lives

- revealed how even though David Koch suffers from cancer, and donates heavily to various cancer research foundations and hospitals, Koch Industries fights every worker's comp & injury claims from anyone exposed to benzene, leaky butane pipe lines that explode, or coal wash pond toxins; that leukemia you have, you got that on your own, pal.

- went into extensive detail how the Kochs hired private detectives who ineptly tried to smear Jane Mayer after she published a 10,000 word magazine article on them by inaccurately stating she plagiarized and misquoted her sources (this is my third Mayer book, she's fastidious in her research and thorough reporting).

- detailed how the Kochs pay college students to take courses in "free market" and "Austrian Economics" through charitable grants, in an effort to try and recruit a larger army of like minded followers

- described how the Kochs are actively reshaping tenured professor ships by funding the publishing of poorly researched and non-peer-researched publications that support their agenda and spread disinformation that "think tanks" then quote to further confuse the masses

- repeatedly described, at every level of their operations, how the Kochs try to obfuscate, and secretly attempt to conceal their profile, their operations, their purpose / intentions, using misleading names on foundations, and labelling voter suppression efforts and entitlement roll back initiatives as "voter wellness" and "election reforms".

After I finished this book-on-CD series (lucky I had a 6 CD changer in my 2007 Mazda, so I could drive for hours without having to change any CDs) I called my Godfather and talked to him as I drove along I-10 in Florida, passing multiple Florida State troopers in the median who all drove Chevy SUVs or low profile Cameros or Chargers, and discussed how great of a study Mayer's work was.  He and I had a great chat on the morning of the 13th, and it was refreshing to speak to another like-minded, well informed adult about American politics and how the richest 0.01% are carving out the country in their own graven image and laughing at the rest of us, all the way to the bank and the ballot box.  

It'll be interesting to see how 2016 turns out, with self-funded Trump, only-evangelicals-love-me-Cruz, boy-in-a-bubble-Rubio, and semi-reasonable Kasich do next Tuesday.  Hillary Clinton has a good chance of beating them all, especially if it is  3 way race with Trump stroking his ego as an independent.  I am not sure Bernie can deliver a victory for the Democrats, since so many Americans don't understand what a Socialist Progressive is, or how Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Head Start, Pell Grants, the VA, Worker's Comp, the EPA, the Voting Rights Act, the Interstate Highway System, Municipal Water Systems, City Parks, Public Beaches, the National Park System, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health are all agencies that were created by, or further the cause, of Progressive Socialism in the United States of America.    The "great good" of all of us, not just those who have inherited the most money.

ALEC - Associate Producer of Creating Horrifying Things

If you are unfamiliar with the pervasive, universal, insidious evil that ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council) does, just watch the HBO John Oliver "Last Week Tonight" episode from last week.

I had thought that I'd mentioned the corrosive molecular acid that ALEC uses for their life blood, here on JustJoeP in the past, but a google search and a blog search turned up nothing.  So I'm laying down a place marker here.

Embed video here:

How Wolves Change Rivers - Trophic Cascade

How Wolves Change Rivers.  Or... "How destructive uncontrolled deer populations can be to an ecosystem".



This video was brought to my attention by my friend John Kress.  It's produced by "Sustainable Man".  Very nice indeed.  Excellent scientific work that went into all of the factual observations, recorded data, and scientific method applied.   (you mean, they didn't just trust in a Bible story for guidance on how to observe the actual changes, over time?)

Whenever I hear a former Wasilla Alaska mayor (a town with NO City Services whatsoever, relying entirely on the county & state to help the citizenery) turned partial single term governor, talk about how she enjoys shooting wolves, I begin to mourn for the loss of insight, the lack of focus on science, and perpetual dumbing down of the United States electorate.  At least she helped prevent a McCain presidency (and a war with Iran that would have resulted)... even if she's really bad at everything else she's tried to do.

If you're afraid of wolves, that's natural for an uninformed human to feel fear of a pack of large predatory carnivores who are poorly understood by most people.  But in the last 100 years in North America, there's been exactly 2 people killed by wolves (link here).  In comparison: "in North America, since 1990, bears (black and grizzly) killed 59 people and cougars killed 11. In the U.S., domestic dogs kill 20 to 30 people every year. And hunters kill nearly 100 people in the U.S. and Canada every year and injure around 1,000."  Appears homo sapiens are still the most lethal species on this planet, after viruses and bacteria (on average).

Grammar & Accuracy Matters: Then?

I was driving along Golden Lantern in Dana Point earlier this month, when I saw this license plate holder in front of me.  "My wife is better then yours".  Well, first of all, that's just stupid.  That Corolla driver has never met Dr Desert Flower, and she is the best wife in the world, so wrong on the premise.  But look more closely, "then yours" indicates the driver doesn't understand the difference between "than" and"then" (it's simple, google it, Corolla guy).  But if I assumed this was intentionally grammatically structured as accurate, and that the driver was implying "First of all, my wife is better, then, your wife may be 2nd best" he's lacking a comma, so that is not accurate either.  Another failure of the American education system.

It is nice to drive around California and see very few "Truth Fish", W, "Rhino Hunter" or anti-Darwinian  placards besmirching my field of vision when I am at a stop light or parking lot (as there always were in GA, SC, and Arizona).  There's alot more "Hope", Obama/Biden, Evolve Fish, Wiccan, Coexist, Surfer, and laid back emblems, stickers, plate holders, and placards.

Airborn Swine

Vice Presidents Huckabee & Brownback

Had John McCain picked someone electable for his running mate, I am NOT SURE that Barack Obama would have been elected president.  Huckabee actually won several state primaries and caucuses.  Brownback would have appealed to all the evangelicals and extreme right wingers who eventually became Tea Baggers.  Both Brownback and Huckabee would have energized their bases and might have gotten the more reasonable right wing to go out and vote.  Instead, McCain made the fatal flaw of picking a 1/2 term Governor, who had formerly been a mayor of a 2000 person rural city where there were no city services provided, a city known as the crack capital of Alaska.  The VP candidate he picked galvanized opposition from literate, intelligent, reasonable people, like librarians, teachers, professional females with college degrees of all sorts, moderates of all shapes and sizes.

I postulate here, as I watch the circular firing squad that the Republican Primary field of 2012 is presenting, that it was McCain's choice of Palin that sealed his fate as an unelectable moderate Republican.  McCain was the least undesirable of Republican candidates in 2008.  Yes, he had some terrible flip flops, lapses in judgments, and mis-statements, but he never believed Barack Obama was a secret Muslim, or that Barack Obama was not patriotic or that he hated America.  McCain corrected ignorant supporters who called then-candidate Obama a 'socialist' and 'secret Muslim' at his rallies.  Compared to the 2012 field of loons who are running, McCain presented a very reasonable choice.

Huntsman is reasonable, and therefore, in 2012, he will be unelectable.  Romney, though easily despised, completely artificial, and slippery enough to do ANYTHING to get people to like him, is still less electable today than McCain was in 2008.  Front runners Paul, Bachmann, and Dick Perry are each to the right of most of the wackiest 2008 candidates (with Perry again today, denying climate change, and wanting to abolish 80% of all Federal Revenue by abolishing Federal Income Tax, what an idiot!). 

There is the possibility that the GOP will come up with a reasonable candidate who can appeal to moderates and independents, but so far, no such person has shown his (or her) face or raised their hand.  Whoever that reasonable person Might be, will have their pick of extremist Tea Party courtiers who they can choose as a VP running mate.  Maybe they'll repeat McCain's fatal flaw of picking a loser who will seal their fate against the incumbent President.  Maybe they'll learn from previous history...  I dunno.

There is also the possibility that the GOP will field a reasonable (yet un-named candidate), AND the Tea Party crazed faction of the far right wing will field their own Tea Party Candidate as well, splitting the vote in a 3-way, 1992 Perot/Bush/Clinton-esque race (Perot was from Texas also).  There's not predicting what crazy people might do. 

And yes, I know that the Republicans are going to do everything in their power (in the majority in House of Representatives, and as the LARGE Minority in the Senate, and as rulers of the SCOTUS) to make things as bad as possible for all Americans leading up the November 2012 elections, saying "NO" to everything, not compromising on anything, and redefining the word "Despicable" ... but there's nothing we, as a nation, can do about it.   At least, not without a TARDIS.

(And Perry needs to stay off my radio, his hubris and hypocrisy is over-whelming: link here)

Scared, Angry, Selfish, "I got mine, FU!" Rich Whites

Wow, so many rich white people really do not like or are afraid of President Obama. The voting record (link here) is reflected in the current Tea Bagger demographics. It's a good thing the United States is becoming less homogeneous over time. Thanks to Dr. Zaius for the link.

You Betcha!

"A significant lapse in judgment" - T.Purdum
If you don't want to read the 10,000 word Vanity Fair article on how wrong of a selection the McCain campaign made when Palin was chosen, see this short video summary from Crooks & Liars.

Oh please oh please, run in 2012 Sarah! I want everyone to know that dinosaurs were on the ark, global warming is imagined, you didn't really sell your jet or give back the bridge to no where money, you wanted your daughter to marry a fertile red-neck simpleton, you support making rape victims pay for their own rape kits, how Wasilla is the meth capital of Alaska, how easy it is to get residents to like you when you pay each one $3K a year to be in your state. Repressed Conservatives cannot resist you (anymore than they can resist Argentinian women, Minnesota bathroom boys, or congressional pages)!!

Hilariously Parodied

...and speaking of hilarious exaggerations, that are so accurately done, they make drinks spew out of the nose, this SNL Olbermann mockery perfectly illustrates Keith's histrionics, beautifully. Poor Ms. Precious Perfect! Damn you Lieberstein! "...up with which we dare no longer put!" Ben Affleck's characterization is dead on.

Such extremism has driven my occasionally watching eyeballs to DVR Maddow instead.

A very good day

Finally.
It feels like a massive weight has been lifted - and an acrid, sewage treatment plant East Chicago Toll Road like stench has been blown away by a formidable wind.

I do not believe I have ever seen so many people PACKED into the National Mall - ever. When I was in Jr High School, my parents took me to Chicago to see John Paul II in Grant Park. There was a million people there. From the looks of it, there was probably twice as many people packed into DC today.

I am going to get unadulterated joy from watching Hannity and O'Reilly & Faux squirm, and spout venom, and warn against the evils of change.

So refreshing!

"I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Doggone It, Enough People Like Me to be Elected Senator"

Al Franken finally declared the winner in Minnesota's contentious senate race.

Palin's shielding of future inlaws

compare and contrast. Sherry Johnston, 42, mother of Levi Johnston - self proclaimed redneck and father to Palin's unborn grandchild - gets arrested and all details or the arrest are withheld. Justin McIntyre, 18, gets arrested and all details are given to the media. If only Justin would've banged Bristol, he could've stayed out of the media. Her arrest. His arrest. Compare and contrast. That's the Real America! You bet'cha! The way to get things done on "Wasilla Mainstreet", is to keep the police under tight control, don't let'tem say anything to that gotcha media. Not at all like they do things down in dat big city of Valdez.

Tip o' the hat to Gen. JC Christian, Patriot.

Chilled Pastafarians

The FSM was written in on a ballot in Minnesota for Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor, alongside Al Franken's name. The Republican blasphemers, who of course are non-believers in The Almighty, challenged the ballot. The "Lizard People" also got a vote, but it was thrown out as an over-vote. It'll be 2009 before a winner is declared.

Hypocrisy Greater Than Self

“Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in return.” ~ John Sidney McCain the Third

Why I changed my mind about McCain from 2000, to 2008:

“I’d never seen anything like that ad. Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to the picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield — it’s worse than disgraceful. It’s reprehensible.” - John McCain, circa 2002, regarding Saxy Chambliss' smearing Max Cleland.

"McCain (R-Ariz.) will come to Georgia on Thursday to help Chambliss. Though details were still being confirmed Monday morning, McCain will likely appear in Cobb County on Thursday afternoon. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will also come to Georgia for Chambliss, and an invitation has been extended to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has not confirmed." - John McCain, 2008.

Hat's off to "Women For John McCain".

Palin's Greatest Hits

The last 4 months had a massive influx of uninformed, naive, close-minded, 13th century, anti-science, misguided, self-contradicting, fundamentalist, pseudo-folksy quotes from former beauty pageant contestant Sara Palin. Thanks to Crooks & Liars and The Daily Show, for this compilation. Hopefully, by the time 2011 comes around, the far right religious fanatics who love this dim-wit will be such a fringe group, the nation will be able to view them with the same side-show skepticism that is afforded to Nader.
http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/daily-show-sarah-palins-greatest-hit
If we're all lucky, this will be the last Palin-related posting, for a long long time.

Covered in bear grease & wearing flip flops

This Daily Show piece is hilarious, spot on, poignant. Tag lines include:
- Looks like he's getting an invisible massage
- Looks like Obama came by to pick up McCain's daughter for the school dance
- My friend, you'll get her home by 10 or I'll make you the first female president
- I'm the ACORN worker who registered "Haywood Jablowme" in all 50 states
- Climb Everest covered in bear grease and flip flops
- My sherpa? I'm gonna go with Wilford Brimley
- we want a government that pees very far away from the tent

Apoptosis of Steven's Senate Career

Election returns last night signaled apoptosis for one Alaskan. Ted Stevens won't be providing humor on the Senate floor anymore for Americans. Pick your flavor of coverage: Faux, MSNBC, Yahoo, CrooksAndLiars. Did he win? No! If the "Bridge to Nowhere" had lead to a larger constituency, maybe he could have. Stevens was, by many estimates, one of the largest industries in the state of Alaska bringing in over $6 billion in pork.

An added bonus of this defeat is that with Stevens losing, his senate seat won't have to be replaced by the brilliant governor of the 49th state, once his colleagues would have ousted the convicted felon from their exclusive group. Hopefully, she'll drop further off everyone's radar screens as well.

In this hilarious compilation video about the internet being "a series of tubes", the FSM even makes a brief appearance. Enjoy.

The US's bitterly divided electorate

Zaius Nation had an interesting link to this Washington Times story, complete with maps.
"What the electoral map would look like if the election were decided by [fill in the blank]."

I am not surprised, but I am disappointed. Note: I never want to live in Idaho.

No Soup For You!

St.Mary's in Greenville SC, where I used to attend Roman Catholic mass when I lived there, now has a priest who is telling his parishioners that they'll be damned to hell if they don't go to confession and ask for God's forgiveness [TM] for the sin of voting for Obama, before taking communion. This is asinine, and it's 'case in point' as to why I stopped going to Catholic masses after my son entered 3rd grade - Not To Mention, that this risks the parish losing its tax exempt status for endorsing a political candidate.

What a bunch of fearful, narrow-minded, hate mongers! Drive more members of your flock away with a huge whip. Morons.

As there's lots of Red and Blue Staters who read this, chose your link to the AP story:
FOX (spelled Faux)
MSNBC (more serious nutjobs bloviating commercially)

thanks to my buddy Matt for bringing up this one.