Obama State of the Union 2015 Address Recap & Video

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 21, 2015

President Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address to Congress, and while the speech obviously hit all the Foreign policy and Domestic unrest buttons, the crux of Obama’s address dealt with strengthening the middle class and helping 99% of the country recover from the recession that only the top 1% has yet to recover from (and flourish).

Republicans not-so-shockingly hated on the Tax-the-Rich aspects of Obama’s plans, but the President wisely laid out a path to progress that opposition to will come off as purely political and anti- middle class.

As Obama humorously pointed out, “I have no more campaigns to run.” The Republican side of the chamber cheered, to which he responded with a smile: “I know because I won both of them.”

The Orator-in-Chief is clearly not spending his next 2 years as a lame duck. This infuriates Republicans who routinely insist the recent 2014 midterm elections somehow nullify the 2012 Presidential elections. Apparently, the twice-elected President isn’t allowed to do finish his 4 year term because a Congressional election happened in the meantime. Half our government really needs a Civics lesson.

In an ideal government, now that the Exec branch laid out its plans, Congress would DEBATE and NEGOTIATE to find the best way to accomplish the goals. Unfortunately, reality will show that negotiation will consist of a big SCREW YOU, and nothing will get done at all. Because Amurika.

While this State of the Union won’t be remembered for any HUGE declarations, it is still a good example of a strong progressive vision, as well as a plan from a leader that wants to see America progress to be the land of liberty and opportunity for ALL of us promised by our Founders.

Watch the full speech above, or read the full transcript below.

Read: State of the Union 2015: Full transcript – CNN.com.

READ: State of the Union 2015 fact check – POLITICO.

Watch: Obama State of the Union 2015 Address: President’s [FULL] SOTU Speech Today on 1/20/15 – YouTube.

Keep eye contact with Kate Upton for 45s (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 21, 2015

 

 
Good Luck.

Watch: Keeping eye contact with Kate Upton for 45s can you do that – YouTube.

Richest 1% will own more than all the rest by 2016 | Oxfam International

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 19, 2015

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

OXFAM International released another report detailing the disgusting inequality getting worse all over the world, as well as in the Earth’s worst offender: the United States.

The most staggering statistic: By 2016, the combined wealth of richest 1% of the Earth will soon have more than the other 99% of the Earth’s population combined.

Here are some other shockingly disturbing facts on how much worse the situation is getting:

• 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25-a-day.
• Richest 1 percent have seen their share of global wealth increase from 44 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2014 and at this rate will be more than 50 percent in 2016.
• 80 of the richest people on the planet have same wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people. The wealth of those 80 people (almost half of whom live in America) doubled in cash terms between 2009-2014.
• 20% of billionaires have interests in the financial and insurance sectors, a group which saw their cash wealth increase by 11 percent in the 12 months to March 2014. These sectors spent $550 million lobbying policy makers in Washington and Brussels during 2013. During the 2012 US election cycle alone, the financial sector provided $571 million in campaign contributions.

OXFAM is calling on governments to adopt a 7 point plan to tackle this runaway inequality:

1. Clamp down on tax dodging by corporations and rich individuals
2. Invest in universal, free public services such as health and education
3. Share the tax burden fairly, shifting taxation from labour and consumption towards    capital and wealth
4. Introduce minimum wages and move towards a living wage for all workers
5. Introduce equal pay legislation and promote economic policies to give women a fair deal
6. Ensure adequate safety-nets for the poorest, including a minimum income guarantee
7. Agree a global goal to tackle inequality.

By no means should everyone on Earth be equal or achieve the same level of success, but our governments should not support and continue to pass laws to protect and exacerbate egregious and harmful inequality.

Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness (as well as opportunity for success and growth) should be options for all of us, not just for Kings, CEOs, and Shareholders.

Read: Richest 1% will own more than all the rest by 2016 | Oxfam International.

The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Kid President (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 19, 2015

 
Kid President shares the story of Dr. King in his typically AWESOME! fashion.

 “MLK grew up to be a great man of course, but things weren’t all that great in the world when he was growing up. Not everybody was treated like they were somebody. And I believe that you should treat everybody like it’s your birthday.”

“People looked at the color of their skin and that’s how they decided if they were friends or not. Not cool man.”

Watch: The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Kid President – YouTube.

Big Block of Cheese Day Is Back (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 19, 2015

 
Join Obama administration officials on Wednesday January 21, for Big Block of Cheese Day – a daylong engagement event on social media – inspired by the West Wing and President Andrew Jackson’s 1837 open house featuring a 1,400 pound block of cheese.

Watch: Big Block of Cheese Day Is Back – YouTube.

Watch: Leo’s Big Block of Cheese speech – West Wing – Video.

Current Economy is a Republican Dream Come True, but Obama, so “Disaster”

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 13, 2015

“DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE NOT BUYING I — I’M GONNA KEEP SELLING IT!”

It’s a narrative cemented in over half of our idiot Country’s minds: the economy is tanking and President Obama’s policies are to blame.

Certainly none of the morons espousing this opinion can point to a single Obama policy (Socialist!!!!) that caused this allegedly tanking economy, but even worse, they ignore the simple fact that the economy (by all statistical measures except for employee wages and inequality) is booming.

As Vox’s Ezra Klein points out:

This is the problem with how Washington — Democrats and Republicans alike — interpret economic news. If Mitt Romney was president right now the economic numbers would be seen as proof that he was a remarkable success. They would appear to show that his agenda — repealing Obamacare, cutting taxes, deregulating the economy, greenlighting the Keystone XL pipeline — was precisely what had been needed to unleash the awesome growth engine that is the American economy. Conservatism would be ascendant. Liberalism would be discredited.

But Barack Obama won the election. The Affordable Care Act hasn’t been repealed. Taxes were raised in 2013. Regulation has proceeded apace. The Keystone XL pipeline is no closer to being built. And yet the economy is roaring. The ambitious economic promises the GOP field made for their conservative policies have been achieved despite the continuation of liberal policies.

Obamacare is an overwhelming success – millions of previously uninsured now have coverage and the ACA hasn’t hurt job growth. Despite financial, environmental, and corporate regulations, the US has 59 straight months of positive job growth and 2014 saw the most jobs created in 21st century. Unemployment is under the 6% Romney promised to achieve, now at 5.6%. The dollar is up 15% and stands at a 9 year-high. Despite the Socialist Obama, the Stock market is up 168% since March 2009. Yet, the Obama is Destroying the Economy narrative continues.

Even more hilarious, the two most high-profile cases of pure Republican tax-slashing, pro-Corporation policies being enacted (Kansas and Wisconsin) have been undeniable, egregious, devastating failures.

So why do so many refuse to believe in a healthier 2015 economy not destroyed by Progressive measures? It’s not just blatant ignorance and partisan loyalty, but mainly because Joe American hasn’t seen his income go up in years. Wages are still low and 99% of hard-working Americans haven’t shared in any of the booming economic gains. They’re not getting paid any more than they were before this recession, and in many cases, less than before the crash.

But the ignorant party-faithful continue to blame the people fighting for higher/fairer wages, and support the people fighting tooth and nail to keep their wages as low as possible. They want to continue the policies that pay them less so their bosses and shareholders make more. They want to continue to be told how lazy, ungrateful, and unAmerican they are whenever they complain about their ever-shrinking slice of the ever-increasing pie. Makes no cents sense.

That said, regardless of which Party wants to take credit or lay blame, the President has very little effect (positive or negative) on the overall economy. The purpose of this post isn’t to applaud Obama’s imaginary magic economy-wand, but rather to  point out the ridiculousness of the moronic Republican message.

While the recovery is far from over, this is the exact economic success Republicans “promised” they’d achieve — yet somehow we have at least two more years of hearing how horrible it is because Obama.

Read: What would Republicans say if Mitt Romney were president and the economy was this strong? – Vox.

Read: The GOP Should Stop Lying About Obama’s Economy – The Daily Beast.

Read: The Laffer Curve has flatlined.

Tall Justice 2 with Chris Bosh (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 9, 2015

 

 
Watch Chris Bosh return as Tall Justice, the Meter-maid on a mission.

Watch: Tall Justice 2 with Chris Bosh

Watch: Tall Justice 1 with Chris Bosh

Obama Proposes Free Community College Program

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 9, 2015

“I want everyone to enjoy college as much as I did….cough, cough…”

President Obama continues to disappoint anyone who hoped the next two years would bring a lame duck presidency, this time by announcing a proposal to make Community College free (for 2 years) for anyone who wants it.

“Put simply, what I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who is willing to work for it,” the President said. “It’s not just for kids…We also have to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to constantly train themselves for better jobs, better wages, better benefits.”

The proposal is based/inspired by similar programs/proposals in Tennessee Chicago, and would be open to adults and kids alike who can keep a modest GPA (likely 2.5) and maintain certain education standards. 75% of the tab would be picked up by the Federal government, while the states (who can opt in or out) will pick up the other 25%.

Not only would this open up education and occupational training to millions of Americans, but it would also open up more jobs as people will be taking part/whole time off work to get their 2 year (and eventually 4 year) degrees.

With an estimated 10 million or so to take advantage, the as-of-yet unknown cost would be great – therefore this proposal will certainly face strict opposition from cost-conscious Republicans. Of course, any proposal also has to overcome the hate from those GOPers who refuse to help America if it means making Obama and Democrats look good.

In the meantime, here’s to Progress and more proposals that help everyday Americans and make us all smarter.

Read: Obama Proposes Free Community College Program – ABC News.

Read: Four Reasons To Be Skeptical About Obama’s Free Community College Proposal.

Michelle Jenneke Shake-Shake-Shake (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 9, 2015

 

 
Australian Hurdler (and renowned ass-shaker) Michelle Jenneke shakes it up for World Star and the results are Horny as hell.

Enjoy.

Watch: Michelle Jenneke: World Famous Australian Hurdler (WSHH Candy Special Feature) – YouTube.

Women Talk About Penises (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 9, 2015

 
Ever wonder what she thinks about your junk?
Watch: Women Talk About Penises – YouTube.

Senate’s 46 Democrats got 20 million more votes than its 54 Republicans – Vox

Posted by The Ryno on Jan 5, 2015

 

 
From VOX:

On Tuesday, 33 US senators elected in November will be sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden — including 12 who are new to the chamber. The class includes 22 Republicans and 11 Democrats, a big reason why the GOP has a 54-46 majority in the Senate overall.

But here’s a crazy fact: those 46 Democrats got more votes than the 54 Republicans across the 2010, 2012, and 2014 elections. According to Nathan Nicholson, a researcher at the voting reform advocacy group FairVote, “the 46 Democratic caucus members in the 114th Congress received a total of 67.8 million votes in winning their seats, while the 54 Republican caucus members received 47.1 million votes.”

This doesn’t mean that the Republican majority is illegitimate or anything like that. Indeed, after 2008 and 2012, the tables were turned: Democrats got more Senate seats than their vote share suggested they should. The problem isn’t that the deck is stacked in favor of Republicans. The problem is that the deck is stacked in favor of small states, which receive equal representation in the Senate despite dramatic variance in population.

THE RYNO’S NOTE: this stat no way indicates that Democrats really own the Senate (or that the Senate it broken) it does negate any argument that American voters overwhelmingly reject President Obama or want Republican-only policies. (Articles were added below to see rebuttal downplaying significance of this statistic).   

Read: The Senate’s 46 Democrats got 20 million more votes than its 54 Republicans – Vox.

Read: Senate Democrats got 20 million more votes than Senate Republicans. Which means basically nothing. – The Washington Post.

Read: More on the Myth of Democrats’ 20-Million-Vote Majority | RealClearPolitics.

Make “Paid For By” Politicians a Thing of the Past (Video)

Posted by The Ryno on Dec 30, 2014

Jason Alexander wants to make “paid for by” politicians a thing of the past!

Help fight corruption:https://mayday.us

Watch: PAID FOR BY – YouTube.

The True(r) History of Christmas

Posted by The Ryno on Dec 24, 2014

“So who do we put down as ‘Father’ on the birth certificate?”

Christmas might be the most celebrated day in the world, but the facts of the birth of Jesus Christ (for whatever you can take to be “fact” from 2000 years ago) differ greatly from what most people have in their head.

Contrary to popular belief, December 25th is definitely not the precise date of Jesus’ birth. The date was actually established in the mid-4th century by Roman Emperor Constantine who converted to Christianity and forced the entire Roman Empire do the same. Many assume Constantine picked December 25th because it was already Saturnalia, a Pagan Holiday that celebrated the sun-god, and the rebirth of the sun during the winter solstice. Given that it was already a festive time for Romans, merging the holidays made the Empire’s transition to Christianity smoother.

While its clear that this how the 25th came to be the OFFICIAL date to celebrate the birth of Jesus, as the Bible is silent on the topic and Jesus didn’t have Facebook, scholars differ over Jesus’ real birth date.  Using clues from the Bible (like the fact that flocks were grazing) scholars generally agree that it wasn’t Winter time, but more likely between July and September.

As for the Year of His birth, many assume it was year 0, but was more likely between 7 BC to 2 BC. This is primarily based on the fact that King Herod plays a big role in the story of Jesus, and Herod died anywhere from 4 BC to 2 BC. Given that Herod worried about losing his throne to baby that would be King of the Jews, and passed laws to kill all babies under the age of 2, it stands to reason that Jesus was born at least a couple years before Herod died.

As for the story of Christmas, that usually comes down to the popular images of the Nativity. This image (popularized by Sir Francis of Assisi in 1223) takes place in a stable (manger) with Mary, Joseph and the just-born Jesus, surrounded by Shepherds, animals and the 3 wise men blessing the baby with their gifts. Interestingly, the Bible itself debunks most of this popular image.

To start with, a manger is more of a cave (not a thatched stable) and would have been filthy, disgusting and covered in animal feces (not an ideal place for childbirth, by the way).

Also, the Nativity depicts how the Magi (Wise Men) were there to bless the newborn, but they actually didn’t make it there until much later. The Bible tells the Magi witnessed the Christmas star which foretold the birth of the Jewish Messiah, and when they told King Herod of the Star, he sent them to find the boy who would be King. They followed the star to Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph, and the young boy Jesus. Scholars say this journey would have taken anywhere from a few months to a couple of years, so obviously they weren’t there when Jesus was born.

On another note, who ever said there were 3 Wise Men? There is no mention anywhere in the Bible about 3 Magi. The only thing mentioned are 3 gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) so history distorted this by assuming 3 Magi brought 1 gift each.

Many think the Christmas star the Magi witnessed was bright as can be, but if that’s the case, why would the Magi have been special to see it? The Magi are assumed to have been well-versed in the charting of stars, so it was with this wisdom that allowed them to read the alignment of the stars and “know” that the Messianic prophecy was taking place. They followed the star(s) to Bethlehem and by the time they arrived, they didn’t just bless Jesus and his family with gifts, but also warned of Herod’s treachery and warned them to leave. Jesus, Mary and Joseph then fled to Egypt until Herod died, then made their way back to settled in Nazareth.

Personally, I find the entire story amazing in a historical context, but do note the extreme similarities between this story and a few other historical/religious stories throughout the years. Think about it, a King scared of losing his crown to a rightful heir of the Jews decrees that all boys will be slaughtered, then the family flees only to come back years later to “lead” his people against the aggressors. Sounds a lot like Moses, right?

My point is that while the men and their deeds existed, over the years the stories morph into what we “expect” the basic themes of stories of messianic heroes happen to be.  Knowing the history behind a myth shouldn’t lessen its meaning, but instead strengthen the power of the tale by making something so distant in time more real and relatable.

Here’s to learning and loving for all.