ConnecticutBob.Com is a modest blog on the internet since 2006. Progressive ideas are encouraged, and all politically-minded and reasonable people are welcome. America is the greatest country in the world, but we'll invade you if you disagree.
Here's some stuff from mid-way through my business trip to Austin.
JetBlue rocks! This is in the departure lounge at JFK. It looks like a nightclub! Sadly, it was 8:20 in the morning, and I usually don't start drinking until 9, so I gave it a pass.
I saw a movie while I was there. It was cool, but then again I'm a nerd.
The Paramount Theater on Congress Street in Austin is an historic landmark. Great place to see a film. The score from the movie was so loud it quivered my kidneys.
Street scene along Congress. It was 20 degrees cooler in the shade. Outside the temperature hovered around 100. "But it's a DRY heat!". Shut the fuck up!
A gibbous moon glares at what I think is called the Wells Fargo building. A nearly full moon brings these guys out:
I apologize for the shitty quality, but I left my good camera at home on my desk. That's what I get for leaving at 6AM. Anyway, you can't see the bats circling under the bridge, but when the camera pans downriver you can see the enormous black swarms of bats heading out for their nightly feeding.
...some days I really wish I'd opted to NOT use that stupid Roman numeral numbering scheme.
Anyway, by the time this post goes up I'll have just arrived in my favorite Texas town, Austin. And it just seemed appropriate to post a video by a band that exemplifies the "Texas Swing" sound, and also not coincidentally calls Austin home.
So here's a heaping helping of "Asleep At The Wheel" playing the classic song Route 66.
There are some moments in your life that are indelibly burned into your memory.
That moment when I was ten years old, sitting in the living room with my family watching Neil Armstrong's shadowy figure on our black & white TV stepping off the foot of the lunar landing and making that famous statement is one of my most memorable.
Then, during all those years after the flight when a lesser man may have tried to cash in on his historic accomplishment, Armstrong chose a quiet life, teaching engineering at University of Cincinnati and living on a farm. He eschewed the public eye and when he spoke about the moon landing he was usually quite reserved and brief.
Rest in peace, Neil Armstrong. You were one of the good guys, and a true American hero.
Republican douche-nozzle, paid GOP mouthpiece, er, I mean, "ultra-conservative blogger"Pamela Geller is paying for these obscene posters that appeared recently on MTA property. Geller runs a moderately successful blog called "Atlas Shrugs", where apparently spewing hate rhetoric and bigotry is considered an honorable pastime.
(BTW I visited her blog and my PC lit up with all sorts of shit it was trying to upload. Trust me, you do not want to go there if your virus protection isn't completely up to date.)
The ads are apparently part of Ms. Geller's anti-Islamic "crusade" (or jihad if you will) that she's been ranting about for many years.
My pal Saramerica (Sarah Littman) was part of the article linked above:
Town resident Sarah Littman said she saw the ad at the Cos Cob Station last week and quickly filed a letter of complaint with both the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council and wrote to all three selectmen as well as the District 8 members of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) as well as her State Rep. Fred Camillo (R-151).
“I was shocked and incredibly offended when I saw the ad,” Ms. Littman told the Post, adding that she has received a lot of support from those she has written to. “One of the reasons I love living in Cos Cob is that it has such a small town, bucolic feel to it with a strong sense of community. To have this kind of dreadful hate speech blasting you in the face as soon as you drive into the parking lot was shocking to me.”
Congressman Jim Himes also spoke on the controversy:
This has attracted the attention of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4), himself a Cos Cob resident, who criticized the ads in a statement to the Post.
“I am greatly disturbed to see the anti-Islamic signs at Metro North stations,” Mr. Himes said. “Condemning an entire religion for the actions of its worst extremists is ignorant and wrong. I cherish our free speech, but hate speech has no place in the public discourse.”
What Ms. Geller refuses to see is that comparing all of Islam to the actions of those extremists is exactly the same as condemning Christianity because of the actions of nutcases like Jim Jones, David Koresch, or Fred Phelps.
But Geller is much too full of hateful bile to digest anything as nuanced as that.
"First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare," ... "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
Ah, Jesus...I don't even know where to begin with this colossal dunderhead!
Rep. Todd Akin (R-no surprise) has voiced what may be the single most misogynistic phrase ever uttered during a senate campaign.
It really bothers me that there are people like this who have some say in how our government creates and upholds laws.
Somebody, please tell me, just how fucking stupid do you have to be to win a congressional seat in Missouri? Not to mention the obvious lack of intelligence displayed by the voters who put this jackass in Congress!
#legitimaterape is trending on Twitter like crazy right now.
Well Todd, you finally got noticed for something you said. I hope you're enjoying your moment in the spotlight!
Tonight Chris Murphy won the senate primary in Connecticut by an easy margin. Now the congressman from the 5th district will face off against wrestling promoter and 15% tax bracket billionaire Linda McMahon in the November election.
You can help Chris Murphy become our next senator by clicking this link to his website and learning about his stance on the issues. And by volunteering your time or contributing to his campaign fund, which is much smaller than McMahon's.
Thank you to everyone who made this victory possible, and will help continue this into November and beyond!
(Ed. note: I wrote this post last Friday, right before we left on vacation, and scheduled it to go online at 11:30PM on Primary night. Yes, I'm taking a bit of a chance of this becoming my "Dewey Defeats Truman" moment, and should that happen I'm willing to take the heat for it. But I'm so sure Chris will have won this election easily that I'm happy to take that chance and support our next senator in the battle to win in November.)
Yes, today is August 8th. But since I'm going to be out of town the entire day on Primary Day next week, I downloaded the absentee ballot form and went down to the City Clerk's office to cast my ballot.
There is only one race on this year's form here in our district. Murphy v. Bysiewicz for the senate nom.
I won't say for whom I voted, since it's a private matter. And everyone should vote, especially considering what they may think of the candidate who did some pretty fucked up things in recent memory.
Just vote. Regardless who you support.
UPDATE: CT Joyce voted today, too.
But you gotta watch those city clerk office workers...they took my license to copy, and if I didn't ask for it back, well...
