Monday, August 31, 2015

Hillary Clinton Quotes

"Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times.  But, the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.  Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion."

"Prosperity can't be just for CEO's and hedge fund managers.  Democracy can't just be for billionaires and corporations."

"I think you can disagree with people and debate over their positions with issues without engaging in the politics of personal destruction."

"Gay rights are human rights."

"I think that if you live long enough, you realize that so much of what happens in life is out of your control, but how you respond to it is in your control.  That's what I try to remember."

"Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights."

"There's no doubt in my mind that without the involvement of women in the economy, in politics, in peace making, in every aspect of society, you can't realize (a country's) full potential."

"Too many women in too many countries speak the same language, the language of silence."

"The difference between a politician and a statesmen is that a politician thinks about the next election while the statesmen thinks about the next generation."

"It's time we move from good words to good works, from sound bites to sound solutions."

"We need a new politics of meaning.  We need a new definition of civil society which answers the unanswerable question, to how we can have a society that fills us up again and makes us feel we are part of something bigger than ourselves."

"Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy and fewer rules for the biggest corporations without regard for how that will make income inequality even worse . . . They pledge to wipe out rules on Wall Street, rather than rein in the banks that are still too risky."

"Don't confuse having a career with having a life."

"The search for meaning should cut across all kinds of religious and ideological boundaries."

"If you want to know how strong a country's health system is, look at the well being of it's mothers."

"We cannot ignore the inequities that persist in our justice system.  Inequalities that undermine our most deeply held values of fairness and equality."




Sunday, August 30, 2015

Claire Rae

You've got to love Claire Rae & those Fitness Gurls!

Saturday, August 29, 2015

POTpourri

Friday, August 28, 2015

Thursday, August 27, 2015

AZ Tidbits

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Top 10 Summer TV Shows 2015

Sadly, summer is nearing it's end, and given that, I think that it's time that I rate the summer TV season.  Overall, I was very happy, I was plenty entertained for most of the summer.  Anyways, here goes, my Top 10 Television shows for the summer of 2015:  
  1. Mr. Robot (USA)
  2. Fear the Walking Dead (AMC)
  3. Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
  4. Ballers (HBO)
  5. Zoo (CBS) 
  6. Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (FX) 
  7. The Brink (HBO) 
  8. Tyrant (FX) 
  9. Married (FX)
  10. Humans (AMC) 
""Mr. Robot" sucked me in like no other new program in quite some time, hopefully they can keep it up.  "Fear the Walking Dead" has gotten off to a great start, I look forward to a long run. "Orange is the New Black" continues to roll.  Being a fan of the Rock, football and Miami, I have really enjoyed "Ballers".  "Zoo" has been a fun adaptation of the James Patterson novel. Dennis Leary pulls off the washed up rocker trying to connect with his newly discovered adult daughter in "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll".  "The Brink" has a great cast and an offbeat storyline, it's a lot of fun.  "Tyrant" is a very topical look at a brutal mid-east dictator fighting off a caliphate.  "Married" gives a humerus look at marriage.  "Humans" is a very good summer sci-fi series.

Previous Summers:  20142013

Monday, August 24, 2015

First Republican Debate

Hilarious!



I can't wait for the next debate.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

City of Phoenix Elections

Although I don't live in Phoenix, I do live nearby and what happens there does effect me, thus I have been paying close attention to their upcoming elections.  As such, I have a few endorsements on a couple of the races.

Mayor:  I had questions about Greg Stanton before he took office, but those questions have been answered and I have been very impressed.  He's been one of the few sane voices in this state, we need more politicians like him not less.  I strongly support his re-election

Proposition 104:  This proposition would result in a sales tax increase to fund new transportation projects in the city over the next 35 years.  It would cover everything from extending the light rail system to fixing roads and bridges, to expanding bus services and more.  It will also create jobs for lots of people.  Don't let the anti-tax crowd scare you, it's a small tax that won't negatively effect anyone, yet it will benefit many.  If ever there was a city that was in need of this it's Phoenix, I strongly urge a Yes vote.


***Edit***
-Greg Stanton easily won re-election.
-Prop 104 passed by a comfortable margin.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

SI Swimsuit Sneak Peak

The best reason to subscribe to SI.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Bernie Sanders Quotes

"I think that many people have the mistaken impression that Congress regulates Wall Street.  In truth that's not the case.  The real truth is that Wall Street regulates the Congress."

"Social Security is a promise that we cannot and must not break." 

"There is a lot of sentiment that enough is enough, that we need fundamental changes, that the establishment - whether it is the economic establishment, the political establishment, or the media establishment - is failing the American people."

"The billionaire class now owns the economy and they are working day and night to make certain that they own the United States government." 

"In my view, a corporation is not a person . . . Corporations should not be able to go into their treasuries and spend millions of dollars on a campaign in order to buy elections."

"If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist."

"We got a collapsing middle class.  We have more wealth and income inequality today than we've had since the 1920's . . .  And what big money can do is put an unbelievable amount of TV and radio ads out there to deflect attention from the real issues facing the American people."

"We have a government of, by, and for billionaires."  

"The millionaires of America are on the warpath.  They want more and more and more."

"If the goal of healthcare reform is to provide comprehensive, universal healthcare in a cost effective way, the only honest approach is a single-payer approach."

"Why should taxpayers subsidize starvation wages?"   

"Teachers did not cause this recession.  Firefighters and police officers did not cause this recession . . .  This recession was caused by the greed, the reckless and illegal behavior of the people on Wall Street."

"We are moving towards an oligarchic form of society, where the billionaires will control the economy and the political life of this country."

"History will record that the Citizens United decision is one of the worst of our country."

"We have a moral responsibility to make certain our kids and grandchildren can live on a habitable planet."   

"If we stand together, we will win." 

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

POTpourri

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Lawrence Lessig

He makes a lot of sense.

Monday, August 17, 2015

AZ Tidbits

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Top 10 Porn Stars of 2015

Based upon internet searches.



I'll have to post my own Top 10 list soon.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation - starring Tom Cruise & Rebecca Ferguson.  Disparage his character all you want but Tom Cruise just keeps churning out entertaining movies!   I really enjoyed this one, I really hope they keep the MI series going because they've all been so much fun to watch.  This time, Ethan Hunt (played by Cruise) goes rogue to take on a rogue cabal of international operatives called the Syndicate.  The syndicate is obviously up to no good and must be stopped, enter Ethan Hunt and the IMF.  There are plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep everyone interested, the action scenes are top notch, and the movie moves along at a swift pace all thanks to the direction of Christopher McQuarrie, who is cementing himself as one of the best action film directors in the business.  The supporting cast (Rebecca Ferguseon, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin, Jeremy Renner & Ving Rhames) is also strong, especially Ferguson, who is also quite easy on the eyes.  Overall, a perfect action movie for the summer, I highly recommend, go see it!

I will give it 4 out of 5 stars (*****).

Friday, August 14, 2015

Thursday, August 13, 2015

POTpourri

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Fear the Walking Dead

I'm really looking forward to "Fear the Walking Dead" on AMC.



It is set to premiere on August 23, 2015.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

75 Movies Every Man Should See

Esquire recently published a list entitled "The 75 Movies that Every Man Should See".  Being a movie buff and a guy myself, I thought I'd post my own list.  To me a guy movie contains one or more of the following:  action, adventure, humor, suspense, raunch & sports.  Here goes:
  1. The Godfather - 1972 - Marlon Brando, Al Pacino
  2. Rocky - 1976 - Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire
  3. Star Wars - 1977 - Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford
  4. Fight Club - 1999 - Brad Pitt, Edward Norton
  5. The Godfather Part II - 1974 - Al Pacino, Robert De Niro
  6. Jaws - 1975 - Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss
  7. Fast Times At Ridgemont High - 1982 - Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates
  8. No Country For Old Men - 2007 - Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem
  9. Animal House - 1978 - John Belushi, Stephen Furst
  10. Die Hard - 1988 - Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman
  11. First Blood - 1982 - Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy
  12. The Terminator - 1984 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton
  13. Black Hawk Down - 2001 - Josh Hartnet, Ewan McGregor
  14. Dirty Harry - 1971 - Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson
  15. Pulp Fiction - 1994 - John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson
  16. Fatal Attraction - 1987 - Michael Douglas, Glenn Close
  17. Cool Hand Luke - 1967 - Paul Newman, George Kennedy
  18. Platoon - 1986 - Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger
  19. Caddyshack - 1980 - Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield
  20. Training Day - 2001 - Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke
  21. Ricky Business - 1983 - Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay
  22. Unforgiven - 1992 - Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman
  23. The Wolf of Wall Street - 2013 - Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill
  24. Zero Dark Thirty - 2012 - Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke
  25. The Dark Knight - 2008 - Christian Bale, Heath Ledger 
  26. The Hangover - 2009 - Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper
  27. The Hurt Locker - 2008 - Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie
  28. 300 - 2006 - Gerard Butler, Lena Headey
  29. The Bourne Identity - 2002 - Matt Damon, Franka Potente
  30. The 40 Year Old Virgin - 2005 - Steve Carell, Catherine Keener
  31. The Departed - 2006 - Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson
  32. Old School - 2003 - Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn  
  33. Silence of the Lambs - 1991 - Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins
  34. Gladiator - 2000 - Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix
  35. Memento - 2000 - Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
  36. Saving Private Ryan - 1998 - Tom Hanks, Matt Damon
  37. There's Something About Mary - 1998 - Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz
  38. Donnie Brasco - 1997 - Al Pacino, Brad Pitt
  39. Fargo - 1996 - William H Macy, Frances McDormand
  40. Swingers - 1996 - Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn
  41. Braveheart - 1995 - Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau
  42. Casino - 1995 - Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone
  43. Heat - 1995 - Robert De Niro, Al Pacino 
  44. Shawshank Redemption - 1994 - Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
  45. Dumb & Dumber - 1994 - Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels
  46. A Few Good Men - 1992 - Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson
  47. Goodfellas - 1990 - Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta
  48. Raiders of the Lost Ark - 1981 - Harrison Ford, Karen Allen
  49. Full Metal Jacket - 1987 - Matthew Modine, R Lee Ermey
  50. Hoosiers - 1986 - Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper
  51. Reservoir Dogs - 1992 - Harvey Keitel, Micheal Madsen
  52. Beverly Hills Cop - 1984 - Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold
  53. Scarface - 1983 - Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer 
  54. Trading Places - 1983 - Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd
  55. Blade Runner - 1982 - Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer
  56. Airplane! - 1980 - Robert Hayes, Leslie Nielsen
  57. Apocalypse Now - 1979 - Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando
  58. The Deer Hunter - 1978 - Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken
  59. The Outlaw Josey Wales - 1976 - Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke
  60. Slap Shot  - 1977 - Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean
  61. Taxi Driver - 1976 - Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster
  62. Deliverance - 1972 - Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight
  63. Casino Royale - 2006 - Daniel Craig, Eva Green
  64. Wall Street - 1987 - Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas
  65. Rudy - 1993 - Sean Austin, Jon Favreau
  66. Terminator 2:  Judgement Day - 1991 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton
  67. Bad Boys - 1983 - Sean Penn, Esai Morales
  68. Bull Durham - 1988 - Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon
  69. Point Break - 1991 - Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze
  70. Tommy Boy - 1995 - Chris Farley, David Spade
  71. Cast Away - 2000 - Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt
  72. Pale Rider - 1985 - Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty
  73. The Warriors - 1979 - Michael Beck, James Remar
  74. The Wrestler - 2008 - Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei
  75. Taken - 2008 - Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace


Monday, August 10, 2015

Boxing's KO of the Year

Let's give that award to Izu Ugonoh right now!

Sunday, August 9, 2015

AZ Tidbits

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Friday, August 7, 2015

Ant-Man

Ant-Man - starring Paul Rudd & Michael Douglas.  Not having been a reader of the "Ant-Man" comic books, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, it was action packed, quirky and a lot of fun.  Michael Douglas plays Dr. Hank Pym who has invented the technology to shrink a person down to the size of an ant.  Dr. Pym then recruits ex-con Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) to become his Ant-Man superhero.  The two then team up with Dr. Pym's daughter Hope (played by Evangeline Lilly) and Scott's ex-con buddies (played by Michael Pena, T.I. and David Dastmalchian) in a bit of corporate espionage in order to keep their technology away from the evil intented Darrin Cross/Yellow Jacket (played by Corey Stoll).  It's all quite fun as Rudd needs to switch between being microscopic and human size to save the technology and eventually his daughter.  Rudd is surprisingly good as a superhero, he shows some nice range.  Michael Douglas is Michael Douglas, what isn't he good in?  Evangeline Lilly didn't have much to do, I suspect that will change in the sequel though.  Michael Pena was fantastic, he added a nice comedic touch to the proceedings.  The direction from Peyton Reed was also top notch, he really kept things moving at a nice pace.  I really enjoyed this one, go see it!

I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars (*****).


Thursday, August 6, 2015

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Separation of Church & State

What did the founding fathers think about the separation of church & state?

Thomas Jefferson
"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."

"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty."

"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."

John Adams
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."

Thomas Paine
"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set to up terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."

James Madison
"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together."

"Every new and successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance."




Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Obama Climate Change Plan

Although long overdue, I like it, it's a good start!




Monday, August 3, 2015

2016 Presidential Field Update

Jim Gilmore has finally officially announced his run for the 2016 Presidential race.  That increases the Republican field to 17, with the Democratic field remaining at 5.  Unless Joe Biden jumps in, I suspect that we are now set.

Here's how they rank in my opinion (as far as their chances):

Democrats:
  1. Hillary Clinton
  2. Bernie Sanders
  3. Martin O'Malley
  4. Jim Webb
  5. Lincoln Chafee

Republicans
  1. Jeb Bush
  2. Scott Walker
  3. John Kasich
  4. Donald Trump
  5. Ben Carson
  6. Marco Rubio
  7. Rand Paul
  8. Mike Huckabee
  9. Rick Perry
  10. Chris Christie
  11. Lindsey Graham
  12. Rick Santorum
  13. Carly Fiorina
  14. Ted Cruz
  15. Bobby Jindal
  16. George Pataki 
  17. Jim Gilmore
I don't know what Jim Gilmore is thinking, there's really not a huge clamoring for him to jump into the race, perhaps he's hoping to boost his post 2016 earnings potential,  He's got zero chance at the nomination.  

Sunday, August 2, 2015

POTpourri

Saturday, August 1, 2015