Elephants Can Be Trained To Do Unusual Stuff

This video is amazing. They have trained an elephant to draw a picture of an elephant by using a brush in its trunk. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk

I figured that if an elephant can be trained to do an unusual trick,
how hard can it be to train a group of elephants in Congress to start cooperating
with our new President?

CITIBANK CANCELS JET--BUT WANTS YOUR SYMPATHY

Citibank, which was harshly criticized by American ranging from the average citizen all the way up to the President, for the purchase of a new $50 million private jet, has decided to cancel the order.

However, they are now begging for your sympathy, saying that there will be heavy financial penalties for cancelling.

The executives at Citibank must be losing sleep over this--after all, a $5 million penalty might just put them out of business.

No problem guys! Just ask Uncle Sam and the taxpayers for an additional $50 BILLION in free money that you can add on to the first $50 BILLION handout we gave you.

Some of the 75,000 Americans who lost their jobs yesterday might want to throw in a few extra dollars as well.

After all, riding now in those old private jets will cause you great apprehension.
The worn leather seats are becoming uncomfortable and the carpets are showing stains.

You might want to talk to the exec at Bank of America who decorated his office for a mere $1 million. He could probably give you some great ideas for thrifty styling!

Fly The Friendly Skies

While 70,000 Americans lost their jobs today, the execs over at Citibank, whom you gave almost $50 Billion of YOUR hard-earned wages to as a gift, decided that their old private jets just weren't good enough to get around in. So they've gone ahead and ordered a new $50 Million Dassault Falcon 7X made by a French company.
And who can blame them? It's FREE from U.S. Taxsuckers and has these fine features as described on the Falcon's own website:

"The Falcon 7X will fly faster, farther and higher than any Falcon we have ever built. Yet its agility and versatility will give you unequaled performance, both in the air and on the ground.

The seven defining features of the Falcon 7X are:

1. High Speed and 5,950 nautical mile nonstop range.
2. Uncompromising cabin comfort.
3. Unprecedented value.
4. Innovative wing design and controls.
5. Unmatched reliability.
6. Dassault's signature three-engine design.
7. Unbeatable versatility.

As you review the Falcon 7X information on this site, take note of how much capability has been designed into this airplane. Then compare it with any other corporate jet in the sky. Nothing else comes close."

YOU COULD HAVE LEAST BOUGHT ONE FROM AN AMERICAN COMPANY!

The Radio Right-Wingers Were An Embarrassment

The right-wing talking robots didn't even give the new President a chance yesterday.

Three hours after President Obama took the oath of office, Sean Hannity began his radio show by destroying this special day in American history.

"His speech was uninspiring," exclaimed America's Choirboy who routinely spends much of his show telling his audience just how mean Democrats and liberals are all the time.
"It was a downer," "He's no Ronald Reagan" cried the always kind and compassionate Sean Hannity. He dedicated his entire show to disparaging our new President and the events taking place in Washington, D.C.

Mark Levine, the nasal screeching right-winger, focused his radio show on how our new President is going to lead us down the path of Socialism.

Rush Limbaugh was an outright disgrace to Americans in his slanted attacks on our new President.

The Inauguration was the opportunity for all Americans to fan away the stench of the last eight years and to start anew.

The right-wingers have again displayed their hypocrisy and given us a preview of their intentions for the next four years.

AMERICAN LIBERATION

In his latest publicity stunt, Tom Cruise is now saying that he grew up wanting to kill Hitler. The star of "Valkyrie," the fact-based film about the plot to assassinate Hitler by German officials, has suddenly revealed this psychopathic plot from his childhood.

Tom has been very skilled at getting tons of publicity over the years for various antics and statements. Some people actually believe these things while others laugh it off as the hype it really is.

We are now supposed to believe that when Tom was a 10-year-old, and his friends came over and said, "Hey Tom Dude! Let's Go Skateboarding!," his reply was, "I'm sorry guys. But I'm currently manifesting a plan to travel back in time to personally assassinate Adolph Hitler. I'm also very busy contemplating why there was a lack of social responsibility from the men stationed around Mein Fuhrer."

I can tell you this about the movie. It is an outstanding historical recreation of the actual situation that does probe those questions. However, the participation of Tom Cruise is superfluous in the movie. He added nothing special and did not detract from the film either.

The main role could have been played by any competent actor.
The star of the movie was the storyline, historic detail and set design.
The movie can be screened in schoolrooms all over the country without any worry about ratings or content. The movie could have been made by The History Channel and is recommended to anybody desiring greater knowledge about this plot that went wrong.

History books either don't mention this plot or give it a few lines.
The content of the movie does a great deal to shed a light on this incident that could have shortened the war much quicker.

Just pretend that Tom, the only one with no foreign accent has laryngitis.

"Christina's World" - An Emotional Masterpiece

You've seen this painting before. You probably didn't know its name.

I knew its name, "Christina's World," and that it was painted by a man named Andrew Wyeth. His most famous painting.

Neither you or I knew the significance behind it--until today.

The artist, Andrew Wyeth, died today at age 91.
Another surprise, did not know he was still alive.

I have always found this to be one of the most haunting paintings I have ever seen.

It had always seemed to me that the girl in the painting was LONGING to get to the house for some reason. And that she was in some state of AGONY.

I felt that the painting clearly implied this and I never researched it further.

Today I was amazed to find out that I had been right, but found out the entire story.

Wyeth painted "Christina's World" after he had met a girl who had polio, couldn't walk and had great difficulty getting around.

This is the astonishing thing. You'll notice that he does not show the girl's face.

Yet, I always inferred the LONGING and AGONY from the movement and position of her body.

Only an artistic genius could accomplish the revelation of these feelings and motivations without showing the subject's face.

Knowing the story also adds an entirely new emotional layer when viewing "Christina's World."

Or just hearing the title.

Worst President: Richard Nixon or George W. Bush?

One of the highlights of being a baby boomer is that we got to live through two of the worst Presidents in American History--Richard M. Nixon and George W. Bush.

And one of the moments I have been waiting for has arrived--selecting who was the worst.

Let's make a comparison of their misdeeds in office.

Richard M. Nixon: Used the FBI and the CIA to silence political opponents and enemies. Refused to listen to a growing vocal majority in America that wanted us out of Vietnam. Undermined the entire office of the President by orchestrating illegal activities to guarantee his re-election (Watergate). Took us off the gold standard thereby initiating the downfall of the value of the dollar which we are now all experiencing many times over. Created the atmosphere for the greatest generation gap and counterculture lifestyle (the 60's) we have ever experienced (well the music, fashions, and the word "groovy" were the fun parts) in U.S. history. But he did do one good thing--too bad it's turned out to be our biggest source of destruction: Opened up relations with China. We never expected that all of our manufacturing would go over there putting millions of Americans out of work.

George W. Bush: Decided that there were laws he didn't need to follow, so he'll do it his way. Murdered 4,000 Americans and over 1 million Iraqis in a war that was unnecessary. Many more counting Afghanistan. Approved torture of those who were yet to have a trial. Approved wiretapping and surveillance of Americans at the whim of the government. Created a police state atmosphere in America. Allowed corporations and financial institutions to run wild resulting in the economic mess we are in. Created "free speech zones" undermining the entire concept of Freedom of Speech and Assembly. Created the Patriot Act so your great grandmother can be harassed at the airport by overzealous civil service Gestapo. Undermines stem cell research. Interjects one religion into formerly secular government institutions calling them "faith based initiatives." Allows a few media companies to buy up all their competitors.
Destroys the "Bill of Rights." Walks all over the first 10 amendments to the Constitution so they are no longer recognizable.



There's more...but I'd say we have a clear winner!

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

The name of the book and just released movie is a bit odd. It sounds like some kind of children's book and you would expect Willie Wonka or a similar character to lead you through a fantasy land of sweet tasting consumable flowers and foliage.

It doesn't. Adapted from the 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is the new "Forrest Gump." As a matter of fact, the screenplay is by the same man who wrote that 1994 delight which was probably your favorite movie as soon as you saw it.

Screenwriter Eric Roth works his magic again to give you the most romantic and touching film since "Forrest Gump." Again combining a sense of history with a captivating story, I am highly recommending this to anybody that fell in love with "Love Story," "The Way We Were," "The Notebook," "Titanic" or anything else you think I left off.

The title does not serve it justice. Just pretend it's called "Benjamin's Story" and go see it.