- Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) is not what one would call
self-aware. That’s is perhaps to be expected of a man whose district includes
two counties - Arlington County and Fairfax County – that both rank in the top
five nationally when it comes to average income. Folks from those sorts of
places are often self-absorbed and wrapped up in their own wealth and supposed
self-importance and it seems fitting that their representative in Congress is
the same way. Any sane, non-narcissistic man would not be saying asinine sh*t
like, “Congress is underpaid and we can’t afford to live decently in our
adopted home city. “I think the American people should know that the members of
Congress are underpaid,” Moran said. “I understand that it’s widely felt that
they underperform, but the fact is that this is the board of directors for the
largest economic entity in the world.” Right, and if any board of directors
underperformed the way Congress does on a goddamn annual basis, their company
would throw them out on their asses in less than a month. Members of Congress
currently make $174,000 a year and given their rate of production and
proficiency, they shouldn’t even be making a quarter of that. Hearing a
representative b*tch about low pay and no raises for three years is not only offensive
to the American people; it’s a downright invitation to drive to D.C., storm
Capitol Hill and cave that representative’s face in with a cue ball and a sock.
“Our pay has been frozen for three years and we’re planning on freezing it a
fourth year. … A lot of members can’t even afford to live decently in
Washington,” Moran whined. This ass hat plans to l introduce an amendment to
fix the problem during debate over the Legislative Branch bill and with any
luck, his colleagues will realize what a knob he is and kill that bill before
it takes a single step forward………
- Is Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders as brilliant
a visionary as he seems? Sure, on the surface he looks like a degenerate stoner
who can't stay sober even though he makes $11 million a year when he is so. But
dig deeper and a clearer picture emerges, one in which a player with a passion
for ganja could eventually head to a place where his favorite herb is totally
acceptable. Just hours after it was announced he would be suspended five games
by the NBA for use of the hippie lettuce, Sanders advocated for marijuana's
legalization. It's something I feel
strongly about, just to let you know something personal about me," Sanders
said. "I will deal with the consequences
from it. "It's a banned substance in my league. But I believe in marijuana
and the medical side of it. I know what it is if I'm going to use it." He added that the drug's stigma is
rooted in its illegal status and that once its prohibition is lifted,
"this all will go away." Those
words are even more prescient when one considers that the Bucks are widely
considered to be the lone NBA team with a chance to relocate in the near future
and adds in the knowledge that Seattle – a.k.a. the unofficial capital of the
stoner utopia that is Washington – is the surefire destination if and when a
team moves. Should the Bucks pack up and head to the Pacific Northwest, Sanders
would be in heaven if the league allowed pot and so did the state in which he
made his living. "In a lot of ways we've been deprived," Sanders
said. "You can't really label it with so many other drugs that people can
be addicted to and have so many negative effects on your body and your family
and your relationships and impairment. This is not the same thing.” Well said, Lar.
You have company in New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who argued in
February that the NFL was wasting its time in banning the drug. Sanders did
apologize for letting his team and its fans down, but clearly his sights are
set on something much more important……..
- Depression statistics are depressing. For example, how
does it make you feel to know that depression is one of the leading causes of deaths
across the world? Sad, right? Depression sufferers are gloomy, they can't
function well and they need lots of medication and counseling. So why are
Norwegian researchers piling on with the knowledge that depression literally
affects the heart? A study led by researcher Lise Tuset Gustad surveyed 63,000
Norwegians and found that moderate to severe depression increases the risk of
heart failure by 40 percent. Gustad, an intensive care nurse at Levanger
Hospital in Norway, described the close tie between depression and a
dysfunctional ticker. “We found a dose response relationship between depressive
symptoms and the risk of developing heart failure. That means that the more
depressed you feel, the more you are at risk,” Gustad said. She resented the
findings at the nonstop kegger that is EuroHeartCare 2014, the official annual
meeting of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions of the
European Society of Cardiology. For their project, Gustad and her team tracked
patients who were hospitalized with heart failure or died from it over am
11-year period. Of that group, 1,500 people developed heart failure. When
compared to residents with no symptoms of depression, people with mild symptoms
had a 5-percent rise in their risk of developing heart failure and those with
moderate to severe symptoms had a 40 percent increase in their risk.
With this
information, the research team developed a theory in which depression triggers
the release of stress hormones which induce inflammation and atherosclerosis
and those symptoms worsen a person's existing heart disease. Most psychiatrists
agree that the best way to overcome depression and its wide-reaching effects
its to catch it early in life. For the rest of us, it’s merely a matter of not
letting the nonstop negative news about this psychological downer drag us to
the depths with it………
- Panama gets a lot of credit for its canal. Not so much for
its public transportation, but President Ricardo Martinelli wants to
change that in his final weeks in office. The Panamanian leader brought the
pomp and circumstance on Saturday when he inaugurated the most-emblematic
project of a five-year term marked by fast economic growth and more than a hint
of pomposity. In unveiling Central America's first subway system – a project
aimed at alleviating Panama City’s gawd-awful traffic, Matrinelli offered a
counterpoint to critics who have blasted the $2 billion spent on the 9-mile rail line. Those critics
argue that the money would have been better used building a higher-capacity
surface transport network and expanded bus system. Others lamented the
grandiose party to mark the occasion, with a free concert and fireworks being
deemed a bit over the top just to celebrate a subway system. To the cynic, this
could be nothing more than a month before Panama's elections to drum up support
for Martinelli's preferred successor, former Housing Minister Jose Domingo
Arias. Despite Saturday’s party, trains won't run a full schedule until Monday.
Martinelli, knowing he is knocking on retirement’s doorstep, predictably
doesn’t give a damn what his critics say. The 62-year-old supermarket magnate
is fond of saying that he has accomplished more in five years than was done in
the previous 50. With an approval rating of 60 percent, it seems his
constituents agree. He is also confident in his ability to get chosen successor
elected, which no incumbent Panamanian president has done since democracy was
restored in 1989. "This is a project that makes the opposition burn,"
said presidential aide Roberto Henriquez. "But gentleman, I'm sorry: The
metro is a reality, and next week we'll be delivering the benefits to all the
people." Boom. That is straight fire right there. Along with his subway
project, Matrinelli has overseen the spending of $15 billion on infrastructure improvements, including new
hospitals, airports and 990 miles of highways. His arrogance will be tough to
replace regardless of who succeeds him…….
- Consider this one of the least likely casting choices on
or off Broadway in recent memory. Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has rarely
been linked to anything religious or holy, but that isn't stopping the raunchy
rocker from agreeing to star in a new production of the stage musical Jesus
Christ Superstar. Granted, Lydon isn't appearing as the Son of God himself,
but being in the same room with someone playing the messiah seems a bit odd for
a guy whose career could be measured in groupies slept with, rows of cocaine
snorted or number of hangovers the morning after a rocking post-show party. Lydon
will appear as King Herod in the touring production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice musical, taking the stage with fellow recording artists Brandon
Boyd of Incubus, Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams and former man-bander
JC Chasez of ‘N Sync Degrees Town Boys. Boyd will hold down the role of Judas,
while Williams will play Mary and Chasez will play Pontius Pilate. The tour
will be an extensive one, spanning 50 dates and starting June 9 in New Orleans.
Along with his role as a traveling thespian, Lydon is also set to release his
autobiography later this year and as chance would have it, being a part of a
well-known musical is an excellent way to generate publicity ahead of the
release of a book containing one’s life story. Lydon and music journalist
Andrew Perry will pen the tome, which will hit shelves in October. "This
book is basically about the life of a serious risk-taker," Lydon said.
"I make things safe for other people to follow on in my wake. I'm a
stand-up-and-be-counted fella – but that's in a world where nobody seems to be
able to count." Hey oh, Johnny……..
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