Hubble telescope sends annoying stream of selfies

December 4, 2013

Posted by Andy Borowitz

HOUSTON (The Borowitz Report)—NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, whose mission is to capture images that help scientists better understand the universe, has instead spent much of the past several weeks transmitting an annoying series of self-portraits, NASA scientists confirmed today.

NASA officials were alarmed in mid-November, when, ignoring their orders, the Hubble extended a long robotic arm in order to get a good vantage point on itself and began snapping thousands of blurry, low-resolution photos.

Despite NASA’s repeated instructions to the Hubble to look for evidence of water on distant planets, the telescope continued to produce more and more self-portraits, posting them to its Instagram and Twitter accounts along with the hashtag #pimpin.

Harland Dorrinson, operations manager at the Johnson Space Center, said that NASA had monitored the images sent back by the Hubble since 1990, but that if it persists in sending back nothing but self-portraits, NASA would “probably stop following it.”

“The Hubble might think it looks good in these pictures, but they’re of no interest to anyone but the Hubble itself,” he said.

Photograph by NASA.

You just can't believe what Fox News says

Fox News is obsessed with Obamacare. (photo: Fox News)

Fox News: Now the Anti-Obamacare Propaganda Channel

By Reed Richardson, The Nation

30 November 13

he evolution hasn 't been overnight, but if you spend any time watching Fox News nowadays the endstate is unmistakable. When it comes to the network 's cable and online programming there are now but two overarching rules in place.

1) Take every opportunity to bash Obamacare.

2) When covering anything else, see Rule #1.

Anecdotal evidence of Fox News 's willingness to obsess over Obamacare to the detriment of other big news is aplenty, as I documented after sitting through six hours of Election Night coverage earlier this month. Ironically, the network 's fixation on the President 's healthcare reform law that night caused it to be late to the game in adopting the mainstream media 's McAulliffe-almost-lost-because-of-Obamacare meme. (Which was total bunk.)

But the most damning proof of this now singular devotion to all-Obamacare, all-the-time coverage comes in statistical form. A quick term search on FoxNews.com, for example, offers up a revealing pattern on the number of stories posted there for the past year/month/week/day:

Obamacare 1698 427 88 18

NSA 716 92 12 1

Benghazi 792 60 7 1

IRS 503 46 14 5

Budget deficit 467 18 2 0

As each of these much-touted-by-the-right-wing "scandals " have withered and died on the media vine without bearing fruit, the alleged horrors of Obamacare have been planted by Fox News to take their place. So much so that Fox 's Obamacare coverage now even eclipses cataclysmic worldwide tragedies like Typhoon Haiyan. Just how dramatically out of whack Fox 's news judgment is was quantified by Pew Research study last week. In tracking 20 hours of programming across five days in mid-November, Pew found Fox News devoted nearly eight hours - almost 40% of its entire newshole - to just one issue: Obamacare. As for covering the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in decades, Fox News devoted just six minutes of airtime - the equivalent of two commercial breaks. (Even opinion-heavy MSNBC spent 41 minutes covering Haiyan, and just over three hours on Obamacare.)

To be sure, Obamacare is a big story and some critical media coverage of the botched Healthcare.gov rollout is certainly warranted, as are questions about the president 's "If you like your plan, you can keep " broken promise. But fair-minded accountability journalism is not what Roger Ailes is trying to achieve with his network 's rabid focus on Obamacare. It 's not the quantity of Fox News 's coverage that 's problematic; it 's the quality. Or should I say lack thereof. When taken as whole, Fox 's news products have clearly metastasized into a toxic media mass of one-sided hyperbole, willful misinformation, and outright anti-Obamacare propaganda.

Consider these "fair and balanced " headlines - some "news, " some opinion - from just the past few days: 

"ObamaCare: A Doctor 's Nightmare "

"ObamaCare Slams Smokers with Sky-High Premium Costs "

"Unions Given 'Special ' ObamaCare Deal "

"Obamcare Forcing People into Medicaid "

"How Should GOP Attack ObamaCare? "

"How ObamaCare Has Diminished the President "

"Dog Has Bone to Pick with ObamaCare "

Or my personal nominee in the could-have-run-on-Free-Republic category:

"Obamacare 's Arrogance, Corruption, and Abuse is Just Beginning " 

But buried below the rampant bias evident in these headlines are even more misleading talking points. In the Medicaid story from above, for instance, the writer stokes fears of Obamacare by citing a flawed, oft-debunked study that suggests that Medicaid patients die twice as often as those with private insurance. (Here 's why that 's wrong.) And my favorite wingnut-special column from above throws everything but the socialized communal kitchen sink at the reader, whether it 's tired canards like "Chicago-style corruption " and "replac[ing] free markets " or actual falsehoods like Obamacare is ballooning healthcare costs (nope), and the law has ignited a wave of businesses hiring part-time workers (sorry).

In the past week, however, Fox News 's radically dishonest coverage has moved beyond to surreal to the absurd. Now so blinded by its outrage over the healthcare reform law, the network 's programming can no longer see anything else as but a reflection of Obamacare. Of course, the Iran nuclear deal was the big news over this past weekend, but even above and beyond the network 's standard bellicose blovation [a sample chyron: "Sucker 's Deal "], Fox News is there to remind viewers that it 's all just a transparent attempt at distraction.

There was half-term Gov. Sarah Palin on Fox News Sunday singing this same song to host Chris Wallace about Senator Harry Reid 's exercising of the "nuclear option. " But when, in the midst of his obsequiousness, Wallace actually pointed out to Palin that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare will give healthcare to 30-million uninsured Americans while the latest GOP plan would only cover three million, Palin 's misdirection-as-response was the very definition of tinfoil-hat chutzpah. First, she dismissed the CBO 's numbers as unreliable and then had the temerity to call it a "sad state of affairs " that "a normal American " such as herself has to be so cynical about government. And, for that matter, why hasn 't Obama ever proved that his FEMA re-education camps don 't exist? Probably because if he did, it 'd all be part of grand scheme to…you guessed it…distract from Obamacare 's failures.

Sure, Fox 's lukewarm embrace of Obama conspiracies is nothing new. But still, it 's a wake-up call to our discourse when former President Bush spokesperson and U.S. foreign policy history buff Dana Perino prefaces a question about the timing of the Iran deal to conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer with the always responsible phrase: "I 'm not the biggest conspiracy theorist, but… " 

As you 'll no doubt be shocked, shocked to learn, Krauthammer agreed with her implied suggestion that this whole diplomatic initiative with Iran was little more than a panicked put-on by the White House. And who could argue with his logic, particularly since he does such a fine job of it himself: "They clearly were in a hurry, though they probably would have gotten here with or without the collapse of Obamacare, but it sure gave them an extra incentive to get in a hurry because they need any distraction, any distraction possible for a government in collapse. " So, not even credit given for being an efficient appeaser? Tough room.

OK, so what? Fox News long ago - like since its first day on the air - cast aside any pretensions about objectivity to promote its owner 's and president 's political preferences. And Obama 's presence in the White House has only turned that latent animosity up to 11. But when a network so fully walls itself off from impartiality and honesty, it really does matter, particularly when one political party is so in thrall to their propaganda that it bases its dogma on it.

Case in point, only minutes after the nuclear deal with Iran was reached on Friday night, Republican Senator John Cornyn was Tweeting this: "Amazing what [White House] will do to distract from [Obama]care. " And as the Washington Post 's Greg Sargent noted, Republicans - just like before the 2012 election and during the government shutdown last month - are again cocooning themselves inside a parallel universe where the Obama-is-doomed storylines on Fox are pre-destined to occur and unprecedented obstruction of the government is a winning strategy. In the long run, they 'll be sorely disappointed once again, but thanks to Fox News, our nation will have to suffer through Republicans making the same momentous mistakes once more.

Pick the right toys for preschool child

Posted: December 03, 2013

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ASU research shows that preschoolers choose to spend more time in art activities than anything else.

By Sarah Auffret, sauffret@asu.edu

ASU Media Relations 

 

Put a preschool-age child in a roomful of toys and he’s likely to gravitate to art activities or books. In other words, giving your child a fresh box of crayons or watercolor paints for Christmas may lead to more happy hours of play than a fancy talking doll or remote-controlled car. 

 

Research being conducted at Arizona State University’s T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics shows that three- to five-year-olds in a well-equipped preschool setting choose to spend more time in art activities than anything else. 

 

Their next favorite activity is playing on the playground – running, climbing, swinging – followed by looking at books. After that comes participating in musical activities, such as singing and playing musical instruments. 

 

“Art and music are both associated with the development of math-related skills,” says Priscilla Goble, doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the school. “Art activities provide children opportunities to experiment with colors, size, texture, patterns, cause and effect, and trial and error.” 

 

She is studying classic toys and gender differences in preferences for toys, but she emphasizes that parents should stay away from stereotypical gender toy ideas. Children benefit from as broad a diversity of play experiences as possible. 

 

“Parents don’t need to look only in the pink or blue sections of toy stores. By playing with a variety of different toys, children can learn all different types of skills,” she says. 

 

Books, of course, promote reading and writing skills, and a love of learning. There’s a reason why story hour at the library is so popular. 

 

Pretend play with dress-up props, play kitchens, or with dolls or action figures, comes in at number five on the favorite list for preschoolers. Dramatic play in these situations promotes language development and literacy, as well as social development. 

 

Blocks and legos are next in the order of preschool children’s preferences, followed by bikes and wagons, playing on a computer, then math and science activities. The researchers’ observations did not include playing on small computer tablets. 

 

“Toys and games with small manipulatives, such as blocks and puzzles, afford opportunities for children to learn about math concepts: sizes, shapes, numbers, order, area, length, patterns and weight,” Goble says. 

 

Math and science activities such as counting, flash cards, test tubes and sorting are considered “discovery activities,” along with sensory activities using play dough, water, rice and shaving cream, she says. They are thought to help children learn about measurement, practice number concepts and carry out problem-solving skills. 

 

High levels of play in typically “masculine” activities – such as blocks and legos – tend to develop spatial abilities, while high levels of play in “feminine” activities – such as coloring, books and dress-up – tend to develop verbal abilities. That’s why it’s important for children to participate in both, Goble says. 

 

Here’s a list of preschool children’s favorite activities, in the order of preference, to take to the toy store: 

 

• crayons, paints and other art activities

• large motor activities (running, climbing, swinging, etc.)
• books
• music, singing, musical instruments
• figure play (dolls, action figures, Fisher Price figures)
• blocks, legos, Lincoln logs, etc.
• bikes, tricycles and wagons
• computers
• math and science activities
• sensory play with water, clay, dough, etc.

But Sarah Palin IS a 'WORLD-CLASS IDIOT'

Martin Bashir has resigned as host of his MSNBC show over comments he made about Sarah Palin.

Bashir made the announcement Wednesday in an email first reported by Mediaite.

He has been under pressure since his Nov. 15 broadcast, when he called the former Alaska governor a "world-class idiot" and suggested she receive the same disgusting treatment given to slaves as described in a slaveholder's diary.

Bashir was responding to Palin's comparison of America's debt to China to slavery.

The Gazette Blog echoes Bashir's sentiments, and nobody can fire us anymore.

Why is McDonald's getting backdoor subsidies?

12 Fast Facts About today's Fast-Food Strike

December 4, 2013

By Richard Eskow

ourfuture.org 

This Thursday, December 5, workers at fast-food restaurants around the country will be striking for higher pay and better working conditions. Their primary demand is an increase in their base hourly wages to $15 an hour.

Here are 12 things you should know about Thursday’s action.

1. If wages had kept pace with productivity gains, the minimum wage would be over $16 an hour.

Corporate profits have soared. Workers are producing more, but they’re not sharing in the rewards.

Productivity and the minimum wage generally increased at the same rate from 1947 to 1969, during this country’s postwar boom years. Using a conservative benchmark, economists Dean Baker and Will Kimball determined that the minimum wage would be $16.54 today if it had continued to keep pace with productivity.

The strikers are asking for $15 an hour.

(Source: Baker and Kimball, Center for Economic and Policy Research) 

2. The average fast food worker makes $8.69 an hour.

Many jobs pay at or near the minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour. And an estimated 87 percent of fast food workers receive no health benefits.

(Source: UC Berkeley Labor Center) 

3. The CEO of McDonald’s Corporation makes $13.8 million per year.

That’s a 237 percent pay increase over last year, when he was paid a “mere” $4.1 million. Presumably health benefits are also included.
(Source: USA Today) 

4. McDonald’s cost the American taxpayer an estimated $1.2 billion in public assistance per year.

In other words, taxpayer money is subsidizing this large corporation’s profits – at the expense of American workers.

(Source: National Employment Law Project) 

5. McDonald’s made $1.5 billion in profits last quarter.

That’s up 5 percent from the previous year.

(Source: McDonald’s Corporation) 

6. The 10 largest fast food companies cost taxpayers an estimated $3.9 billion in government health assistance and $1.04 billion in food assistance.

Republicans are demanding cuts to government health and food programs. With all the talk of deficit reduction, it’s surprising that no one has pointed out that a great way to lower expenditures would be by ending these backdoor subsidies for highly profitable corporations.

(Source: UC Berkeley Labor Center) 

7. These 10 companies earned $7.4 billion in profits last year.

They also paid out $7.7 billion in dividends. Meanwhile …

(Source: National Employment Law Project) 

8. Fast food workers are more than twice as likely to be on public assistance.

25 percent of American workers receive some form of public assistance – which is a disturbing figure itself. For fast food workers that figure was 52 percent.

And it’s not just part-time work that’s causing the problem.  More than half of full-time fast food workers receive some form of public assistance.

(Sources: University of California, Berkeley/University of Illinois study; UC Berkeley Labor Center) 

9. Most of the workers who would be affected by this wage change are adults.

We also hear that it’s not necessary to raise the minimum wage, especially for fast food workers, because most of them are “kids” working a few hours each week for pocket money. Think of this as the “malt shoppe” argument.

But it’s not true. Most low-wage workers are adults. Nationally, adults make up 88 percent of the workers who would receive a raise if the minimum wage were increased to $10.10 per hour. In locales as distinct as New York State and Albuquerque, New Mexico, that figure rises to 92 percent.

(Sources: US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Fiscal Policy Institute, New Mexico Voices for Children/Fiscal Policy Project) 

10. Over 7 million children live in minimum-wage households.

And many of these workers are parents. Seven million children – nearly  one American child in ten – feels the effects of low wages.

(Source: data from the National Women’s Law Center) 

11. This strike is targeting large employers.

66 percent of low-wage workers are employed by organizations with 100 employees or more. Thursday’s strikers aren’t targeting mom-and-pop operations. They’re striking against some of America’s largest corporations.

How large? McDonald’s employs 707,850 people. Yum! Brands (better known as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC) employs 379,449 people. Altogether these 10 companies employ 2,251,956 people.

The workforce for these ten companies is greater than the populations of Nebraska, West Virginia, Idaho, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota,  Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, states which hold 28 seats in the United States Senate.  Shouldn’t these fast-food workers have a voice of some kind too?

(Sources: National Employment Law Project, US Census Bureau) 

12. There’s probably a rally near you.

There’s an easy-to-use website to help you find one. There’s also an online workers’ strike kit, for fast food workers who want to take action.

(Source: Low Pay Is Not OK)

   SCROLL DOWN TO 'OLDER POSTS' FOR  

EXCLUSIVE GAZETTE BLOG INTERVIEW WITH 

MIKE VODEN'S WIFE, PAT ROLLINS

She explains what really happened and why Mike is NOT GUILTY.

And she reveals what the Payson Roundup hasn't told you.

Walmart: pay living wage or face death penalty

December 2, 2013

Thom Hartmann

ourfuture.org

On Black Friday, more than 1,500 protests took place at Walmart stores around our country.  Organizers reported more than 100 arrests in civil disobedience actions. The events centered around ‘ low wages, unethical treatment of workers, and their history of trying to prevent employees from forming unions.  This year, thousands of workers and supporters joined the protests – showing just how much the movement has grown since last year’s Black Friday strikes, which included only 400 people.

The workers’ rights group Our Walmart does not yet have a count of exactly how many workers joined events last Friday, but the group described the events as “widespread, massive strikes and protests.”  This growing movement is a clear indication that workers – and their supporters – are fed up with the low-wages and unfair treatment from Walmart and other corporations.  Employees of one of the largest companies on the planet shouldn’t have to turn to government benefits to buy food or pay for housing.  And, taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing a company that refuses to pay people a living wage.

It is a privilege to do business in our nation, and our commons makes those huge corporate profits possible in the first place.  If corporations refuse to pay workers what they deserve, then they shouldn’t have the right to do business here.  As Congress continues to slash social services, like food stamps and heating assistance, life is getting harder and harder for those trying to live on minimum wage.

Rather than sentencing the poor to a life of hardship, it’s time take away these corporate charters, and tell companies like Walmart that Americans won’t subsidize their unethical wages.  If Walmart refuses to pay workers enough to survive on, than they should have no right to do business in our great nation.  It’s time to tell Walmart to pay a living wage, or face the corporate death penalty.  It’s that simple.

Originally posted at ThomHartmann.Com.