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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2012 9:04 PM

Tactical Animal: Sorry Folks, Election’s Over, Donkey Out Front Shoulda Told Ya

Submitted by ChrisSick

Edited by nicole_powers

by ChrisSick

In which we analyze exactly how many blowjobs Bill Clinton deserves to be given, the death and resurrection of the post-convention poll bounce, and the alternative universes of the GOP.

Got-damn, Bill, you lookin' mighty fine.

If you haven't seen former President Clinton's speech at the DNC yet, I would suggest that you:

A. Consider moving out from underneath that rock you're living under.

AND

B. Pucker up your best blowjob lips, 'cause after watching that speech, you're gonna wanna properly congratulate the man what gave it.

And — goddamn — he deserves it! Bill Clinton didn't just make a persuasive statement for Barack Obama's reelection, he made a powerful argument for liberalism as the solution to our current economic malaise, as well as the pathway to future prosperity in a technocratic global economy. And, in doing so, he slid a rhetorical ice pick straight into the lungs of every Republican attack raised this election cycle.

“In Tampa, the Republican argument against the President’s re-election was pretty simple: we left him a total mess, he hasn’t cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in.”

Close your eyes. Repeat that line while doing your best Clinton imitation. Punctuate the pauses with a subtle point of your thumbnail. Turn out the lights. Take it slow. Point that thumb. And then, you try and tell me you aren't hot in the bathing-suit area. I defy you to.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's yet another symptom of my degeneracy into Werewolf Disease. The doctors tell me it's the most severe case they've seen since Glenn Beck was fired from Fox News for finding new sides of his mouth to lie out of. And, worse, they tell me that there's no cure – but for the reelection of Barack Hussein Obama.

But there's good news on that front. Friends, countrymen, election junkies — I give you the death and resurrection of the post-convention bounce:

“The death of the convention bounce?

“The convention bounce may not be extinct. But it’s definitely on vacation...”

— Headline and lead quote from Aaron Blake's The Washington Times' Fix post, 4th Sept, 2012

“An 8-point convention bounce for Obama?

“Buried in New York Times polling guru Nate Silver's latest blog post is a chart that should have Mitt Romney ordering out for some Xanax...”

— Headline and lead quote from Robert Wright's Atlantic story, 9th Sept, 2012

The Nate Silver post Wright refers to makes for predictably fascinating reading, but let's cut to the back of the page, here:

[source: Nate Silver/FiveThirtyEight]

That is what a post-convention bounce ought to look like. The Real Clear Politics’ average of polls that I typical cite shows a disappointing average of +1.6 for the President. But when you start to tease out the numbers, you see why that’s misleading – namely that the majority of the polls being averaged are from the middle of last week. The two best indicators — Rasmussen and Gallup's daily tracking polls — both show a much greater amount of heat for the President, weighing in as of today (9 Sept, 2012) at +4 for the President from Rasmussen and +5 from Gallup, despite the variations of voter models and house effects for each.

Meanwhile, Silver's indicators show a 6.7% increase in the odds of the President winning reelection, a 0.6% increase in the popular vote to his favor, and an increase of 11.4 votes in the Electoral College (for a total of 316.9). Intrade — my other handy predictor — shows a 3.5% increase in the odds of Obama winning compared to the post-RNC numbers, that settled into a +2.5% increase for a current 58.3% chance of reelection for Obama.

Now, as much fun as I'm having seeing how many times I can work the words “Bill Clinton” and “blowjob” into the same sentence, obviously, the former President wasn't solely responsible for the success of the convention. Other highlights included:

Julian Castro's keynote, which reminded some of Obama's 2004 speech that broke the then-Junior Senator onto the national scene.

The First Lady’s speech, which made voters (the ones who aren't racist jackasses, at least) fall in love with her all over again.

Joe Biden, who proved that he can be at least as classy as the dude from the Dos Equis ads.

And the President, who was, well, the President, and there.

Okay, so the President either underperformed or purposefully decided to leave his A-game at home. And we could dissect, at length, the myriad reasons why this may be true.

But, really, there's no need to. Because it’s irrelevant.

If Romney had gotten a meager +1.5 bounce out of his convention and Obama performed roughly the same, examining why his speech was so muted in comparison to previous examples of his rhetorical abilities would be a worthwhile exercise. But it simply does not matter. The Democrats clearly had a more successful convention than the Republicans, even by completely meaningless measures.

Except in the alternative universe that so many Republicans seem to enjoy residing in.

One of the advantages to being an occasional blogger for a well-known alt-pinup site as opposed to being, say, Dick Morris, is that I don't have to make sudden, off-the-cuff predictions that can easily be refuted within days. Also, it means I don't have to wake up every day being Dick Morris.

“Overall, tonight left America with the impression that Obama saved GM, killed Bin Laden, and passed ObamaCare (which most of us don't like). What a thin, thin record on which to base a plea for reelection.

“The result of these two conventions is a decided advantage for Romney.”

– Dick Morris, FoxNews.com, 7th Sept, 2012

Presumably, after writing that, Dick swallowed another pint of LSD and decided the rest of the universe simply does not exist.

The rest of the GOP decided, even before the convention, that the strongest line of attack against Obama would be to recycle the Reagan question of Carter, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

“The president can say a lot of things and he will...

"But he can’t tell you that you’re better off. Simply put, the Jimmy Carter years look like the good old days compared to where we are right now.”

– Paul Ryan, East Carolina University, 3rd Sept, 2012
[Source: Washington Post]

For those under the didn't-hear-about-Clinton's-speech rock who revel in being ignorant of all salient facts, two things to be aware of:

1. While overall unemployment was less under Carter (about 7% compared to 8% under Obama), other economic indicators, such as inflation and interest rates were much, much, much higher. So high, in fact, the Misery Index became a popular reference point to better understand the pain caused by economic conditions of life during the Carter administration. Obama's highest score on the Misery Index is still below Carter's lowest.

2. Another relevant detail to keep in mind when considering this argument is that we're not losing nearly one million jobs a month, like we were in early 2009.

See that giant fucking dip in the middle of January, 2009? Yeah, over that shit.

But the Republican alternate universe isn't simply home to bizarre economic statistics or surreal interpretations of events. It's also home to a completely different definition of “facts” than here in the regular ol’ universe:

“So here we go: If the Democrats are going to call Paul Ryan a liar for lying about running marathons (among other things!), Breitbart’s ‘Big Government’ will FACT CHECK Michelle Obama’s speech about how she loves her husband and so forth."

– Alex Pareene, Salon, 5th Sept, 2012

There seems to be a sense among many Republicans that the lack of lies told at the DNC — as compared to the RNC — reflected by the lack of the media's debunking and citing said lies, proves media bias. James Fallows (who, I believe, first used the phrase “post-truth” that so frighteningly describes our current discourse) sums it up nicely:

“How 'false equivalence' works. My mailbox is swamped with messages from Republicans asking when 'the media' will get on Joe Biden's speech tonight with the same list of factual errors they/we produced after Paul Ryan's 'post-truth' convention speech last week. Also, when Biden will be attacked the way Ryan has been about his marathon claims.

(...)

“The answer to the first question is: If someone comes up with illustrations of Biden mis-stating facts as grossly as Ryan did in his speech, then he will deserve and get comparable grief for them. But the expectation in most of these notes, interestingly, is that it shouldn't matter whether there is any objective difference in who is bending the truth at any given time. If you point out problems 'on one side,' then you'd better find some equal and offsetting problem on the other, or else the game is rigged. Whether or not the problem is there.”

Oh, Republicans. Please, never change. Never cease to be so amazingly, mind-blowingly insane.

Except, wait.

Actually do change, since you're killing our Democracy.

There's 57 days, 12 hours, 35 minutes, and 12 seconds left before election day and no cure yet in sight.

Related Posts
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commentary
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2012 1:17 PM

Moment of Clarity: Are We In The Middle Of A Zombie Apocalypse? (And If So, Can Someone Eat Simon Cowell’s Brain Already?)

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Activism, Blog, Comedy, Entertainment, Movies, Politics, TV, #OWS, Occupy, Occupy Wall Street

commentary
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9 2012 9:04 PM

Got Problems? Sex, Love and Relationship Advice From SuicideGirls’ Team Agony

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: All Things SG, Blog, Love, Relationships, Sex, Society

by SG's Team Agony feat. Clio

Let us answer life's questions - because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.

[Clio in Born Into A Light]

Q:I’ve wanted to ask this so many times, but knew no women would tell me the truth unless they did not know me. I’m 27 and was born with Muscular Dystrophy. All my life I’ve asked girls out and they all said no but would lie about why, though I know it’s the chair. All I ever wanted was the truth. Women are all I can think and dream about. Every guy I ever knew, even my dad, has told me no girl would ever sleep with me unless I paid for it – and that’s if I’m lucky. I can’t take much more heartache. I need to know if all women are going to look at me the same way and just face it that its just a dream I need to get over.

A: This is a difficult question to answer, but let me start by saying FUCK what your friends and your father say. Don't let anyone tell you that you're any less worthy of having a girlfriend than an able-bodied person. It's discouraging for anyone to be put down over and over again, and I honestly can't tell you if a relationship’s in the cards for you or not, but don't give up on your dream of finding yourself a lady. I did a quick online search on your condition and relationships, and I found plenty of stories from people with Muscular Dystrophy who are dating or even married with children. So regarding your question if all women will reject you based on your wheelchair; the answer is no. You might have to work harder at it than the average guy, but confidence and a positive attitude will significantly improve your chances of landing a date, regardless of your disability.

Good luck!

Clio
xoxox

***

Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls crack team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

commentary
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6 2012 11:52 PM

SuicideGirls Group Therapy: Caia On The SuicideGirls Lounge

Submitted by Caia

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: All Things SG, Blog, Retail

commentary
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6 2012 11:30 PM

Moment of Clarity: Why The Occupy Anniversary On September 17th Matters

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Activism, Blog, Politics, #OWS, Occupy, Occupy Wall Street

commentary
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6 2012 11:18 PM

Ur W33K 1N G33K (September 1 – 6)

Submitted by Saccora

Edited by nicole_powers

by A.J. Focht

A year ago, NBC buried their Wonder Woman pilot and all hopes of seeing the Amazon princess during prime time. The CW, known for their superhero television series such as Smallville and the upcoming Arrow, is now in talks to revive her with a Wonder Woman origins series. The prelude to the legend of Diana of Themyscira’s is being penned by Allan Heinberg. The CW is only working on a script now; the pilot has yet to be greenlit.

Henry Cavill, who will be playing Superman in the upcoming Man of Steel film recently spoke about the project in an interview. He wasn’t able to relay much, but he did say that beyond making Superman easier to identify with, they wanted to take a realistic approach to the movie. It seems likely that Man of Steel will be the first feature in the new DC movie universe, leading into the Justice League movie, and there have been rumors that it may cameo other Justice League members – namely Wonder Woman. Man of Steel will premier in theaters in June 2013.

Kick-Ass 2 is bringing back most of the main actors from the first film, including Chloe Moretz, Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and even Nicolas Cage. And a new big name has also joined the crew; Jim Carrey has been confirmed playing the part of The Colonel in the sequel. Kick-Ass 2 is set for a summer 2013 release.

With the release less than a year out, Star Trek 2 has wrapped up filming and is headed for post-production. In recent interviews, actors http://nerdbastards.com/2012/09/06/praise-for-star-trek-2-from-chris-pine-and-zachary-quinto/ " target="_blank">Chris Pine (Captain Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) both gave their opinions of the project. Pine insists he can’t give the movie enough hype, and that the threats are even greater this time around. Quinto said the project was more challenging, but bigger and bolder than the last. We will all know soon enough as Star Trek 2 is set to release on May 17, 2013.

J.J. Abrams’ new NBC series Revolution has released the full first pilot online early. The series deals with events fifteen years after a post-apocalyptic scenario where all electricity on earth shuts off. The pilot delivers tremendous performances and is a great hook into the series. It’s a must see for all fans of post-apocalyptic stories. That’s not all Abrams is working on though, he is also currently developing a ‘android buddy cop drama’ for FOX.

Last week’s premiere of Doctor Who, “Asylum of the Daleks” broke records for BBC America. The long awaited return of the Time Lord brought in record numbers, with 1.6 million tuning in to see the premiere. In a recent interview, Matt Smith discussed the upcoming season and the future of Doctor Who in general. On a final Doctor Who note, Neil Giman announced at his Hugo acceptance speech that he will be writing a second episode, which is slated for the second half of season seven.

commentary
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2012 9:06 PM

Life Beyond the Bar Scene: Dancing in the Rain

Submitted by Laurelin

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Blog, Booze, Food & Drink, Love, Relationships, Sex, Society, All Things SG, sex

by Laurelin

Disappointment is one of the worst feelings in the world. I vividly remember experiencing it as a little girl who so badly wanted a cat for her birthday; my parents had a huge wrapped gift on the table when I woke up, and as I tore through the paper I was so sure it must be something for my new cat. It was a birdcage, and as it took everything in me not to break down in tears. I forced a smile, and I named my first pet parakeet Buttercup.

Later on in high school I would pick out my favorite outfit just to have my crush be out sick that day. I would do something out of line at home and have my parents so upset that they weren’t even angry, just disappointed, and I wished with all my heart I could take it back but I never could.

As I get older I notice that a lot of the time the fierce optimism I associate with my bright demeanor has faded. When one always expects to be let down, it almost makes the inevitable disappointment more manageable. That guy you liked, it never would have worked out anyways. He would never like someone like you. Things would be too complicated, too messy and it’s probably better this way, even though inside I’m screaming because I want so badly for just one person to prove me wrong.

I remember the moment I realized my last relationship was over, the black cloud of disappointment just washed over me like a wave and I was shaken to the core with the realization that this was really it. I was back to being just me, not me and him. It was the day after his birthday, and we were supposed to meet for a drink at the bar we worked at. I wanted to see him so badly, our schedules were tough and we rarely had days off together. I waited...

Every time the door opened I looked, and it was never him. A lifetime spent watching the door, and he never came, my cell phone eventually glowed with a text that simply said, “I’m sorry.” I walked home and I watched the trains go by under the overpass and I knew it was over, this was the last time he would let me down.

We all have baggage. An expected crash and burn after so many before seems only right; but maybe, just maybe, this time things will be different. As someone new comes into your life, there’s that fine line between great expectations and where they’re going to fall. I can’t help but find myself waiting for a storm, holding my breath, forever waiting for disaster.

It’s exhausting and I wish for something different. Outside it starts to rain, and I quicken my pace as I head for the bar. I wonder if he’s there yet, and I wish for sun briefly before realizing I don’t even care. No matter how grey the sky becomes and how rarely the sun seems to shine, maybe I’ve been going about things all wrong. Maybe the key is just to learn to dance in the rain.

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commentary
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2012 9:04 PM

Tactical Animal: Politics In The Post-Truth Era

Submitted by ChrisSick

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Blog, Politics, Paul Ryan, RNC

by ChrisSick

In which we dissect the epidemic of Werewolf Disease, chairs what talk back, and why four-day-long political infomercials are entirely useless.

There's nine weeks left until this horrible, grueling, vile campaign is over. 63 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes, and 10 seconds, as of this writing. Now, 9 seconds. 8.

Yes. I am counting all of them.

It has, thus far, been officially No Fun. There was some dim hope, previously, that the introduction of Paul Ryan — the acknowledged Big Idea man of the Republican party — would dramatically shake up the race, and introduce some much needed debate of the issues. Which is the word talking heads on television use to describe median tax-rates for middle-class wage earners and average Social Security payments. As opposed to meaningless Culture War arguments that only affect unimportant things like whether or not a woman's less important, legally, than the fetus she carries, or if those people should be allowed to get all married up.

Paul-motherfucking-Ryan, as he shall be known henceforth (having inherited the title of Big Idea Man of the GOP along with the “motherfucking” honorific from Newt-motherfucking-Gingrich), turned out to be surprisingly disappointing. As the media's anointed Serious Policy and Pretty Face Conservative, he broke the hearts of many a Neutral Arbitrator when he took the stage in Tampa with a mouth just full of goddamn lies. For those of us who've read his budget proposals and seen the non-partisan analysis of same, the fact that the man is a compulsive liar wasn't all that shocking. That he lies about facts that can and will be immediately fact-checked by even friendly media sources is a bit disconcerting, but such are the risks of politics in the post-truth era.

What was surprising was learning that Paul-motherfucking-Ryan did not, in fact, lie. At least, according to reliable media shills. Jennifer Rubin, Knight Templar of the Romney Media Crusade, got out ahead of the story to tell the twelve people who read her WaPo column (mostly employees of Media Matters and Alex Pareene over at Salon) that the left was totally losing their shit:

“The crowd loved it. So nearly en masse the left decided that Ryan 'lied.'

"For starters, that is the ultimate compliment. It is in effect saying the speech worked so well and was received so well that the only thing to say is that it was a con job.

"But the 'lies' turn out not to be lies at all. They are not even misrepresentations or exaggerations."

Which is true, given that only leftists count lies by omission, lies by misrepresentation, and, well, straight-out-factually-incorrect statements as, y'know, actual lies. Oh, also, Actual Grown-Ass Adults not stricken with a severe case of Werewolf Disease.

Werewolf Disease, according to various medical experts, is a Real Thing. And this is one of the clearest cases I've ever seen. Symptoms of Werewolf Disease include being full of lies and false equivocation, not giving a single shit about anything resembling truth or facts, and generally having a smile made of knife blades and hatred.

And, apparently, the entirety of the right wing has been stricken.

Which, really, should shock no one. Of the themed nights, one was, naturally, about rebutting a statement Obama never actually said, and another was about “Loving America,” since Democrats clearly do not.

Because apparently you can take the I-4 from Tampa International directly to the Tampa Bay Times Forum and bypass truth entirely. Select highlights of the convention include:

Chris Christie's keynote address, in which he promises to tell hard truths while lying extensively about his record as NJ Governor.

Mitch “One-Term Obama” McConnell, reading from — what sounds like — the same chain email your grandparents have forwarded you thirty times since '08 that you've deleted without opening.

Marco Rubio's speech about economic opportunity and how voting for an incredibly rich man who came from a privileged background over a moderately rich man from a modest background will reinforce that message and ensure opportunity.

Every single female or ethnic minority GOP member the convention organizers could find.

One, Mia Love, notably followed by a blonde actress and birther there to tell you how Obama is destroying society.

Lots of jokes about how often the President plays golf. Because he's such a slacker compared to the previous President who had three times as many vacation days in his first term.

A number of personal and family friends of Citizen Mitt, who basically were there to show us that the Republican Presidential nominee does, in fact, have friends.

And, finally Mitt Romney's acceptance speech. Which no on can even recall because, just prior, a crazy old man spent fifteen-minutes arguing with a motherfucking chair.

Yes, did you think I had somehow forgot about that? Did you think anyone, ever, anywhere, could somehow forget about that?

[Via @zdroberts]

Clint Eastwood stood on stage at the Republican National Convention and argued with a chair. Then Mitt Romney took the stage and no one was listening to a single word he said, because we were all busy thinking about Clint Eastwood arguing with a chair.

It was, to use a classic Hunter S. Thompson description, deeply weird. And, if you were watching at home and felt unsettled by the whole thing, you were not alone. Within hours the New York Times had the story on high-level finger-pointing and blame-shifting within the Romney campaign. The speech was panned by liberal commentators and Republican politicians alike.

But!

Within hours of that, The Romney Media Crusade marched forth to bravely deny that there was anything even remotely weird about the speech, and if you thought there was, well you're just far too coastal elite to get what Clint was laying down. As Derek Hunter of the Daily News observed:

"In the convention hall, Eastwood talking to an empty chair was huge hit. In homes across the country, the reaction was the same. Inside the lefty bubble was the only place it wasn’t well received.”

Polling data released so far is split, with Public Policy Polling finding narrow disapproval in Florida and North Carolina, and Survey USA noting widespread approval among Floridian voters. Both firms are noted for having a left-leaning house effect, for more information on in-house polling biases, see Nate Silver here.

None of which matters worth a damn, Clint Eastwood's angry chair is to this cycle what Sarah Palin's debate performance was to the 2008 race. It doesn't matter what the polling says, any conservative with a keyboard will tell you to shut your stupid, liberal piehole, because Clint's speech was pitch-perfect, and he wasn't talking to you, anyway, silly liberal. He was talking to Real America.

After the dust settled and the President ordered the hurricane to dissipate, the polling came in. The Real Clear Politics average of polls has the race at a complete tie, but it only includes two daily tracking polls that closed after the end of the convention, Gallup and Rasmussen. Gallup's is a seven-day registered voter poll that shows Obama with a +1 advantage, while Rasmussen's three-day likely voter poll gives Romney a +4 advantage for a net bounce of +5 post-convention. (Note: A late check of the polls show Rasmussen giving Romney only a +3 advantage as of 9/4/12)

Nate Silver has, as is his wont, posted an incredibly complex analysis of post-convention polling to try and determine a standard baseline for convention related bounces. If you can actually find such a number within that web of regression analysis and multi-column tables, god bless, but I'm far too tired to sort that out, so for sake of argument we'll take the Rasmussen's three day/likely voter poll at face value (here's a quick list of reasons why we probably shouldn't take Rasmussen at face value).

A five-point bounce isn't bad, but historically it seems soft, and as the Clint Eastwood jokes filter out into the land of memegenerator and the like, we're left struggling to see a post-VP announcement bounce, and the softest possible post-convention bounce. Meanwhile, hot on the heels of Tampa comes the DNC in North Carolina which will most likely negating any potential gain.

Assuming George Clooney doesn’t get drunk and challenge Clint Eastwood to a fist-fight (he’d lose), it's hard to imagine that by this time next week the race won't have returned to its status of statistical dead heat with a small, but consistent, lead showing for Obama. Worth noting: none of the outside indicators — such as Nate Silver's chance to win, or Intrade's prediction market — have shown any dramatic shift away from the odds of Obama winning reelection.

Which seems to indicate these conventions are a gigantic waste of time, television coverage, empty chairs, and, of course, the $136 million in taxpayer dollars spent subsidizing the political conventions this year. The campaigns themselves will spend roughly $3 billion this cycle and at the end we'll have learned the Mitt Romney really is exactly as boring as his haircut would suggest, and that the country's first black President is still viewed as a metaphorical antichrist by a disturbingly large number of troubled individuals, and a literal one by some that are quite famous.

All of which is bringing the Werewolf out in me, but for the sake of your edification and entertainment, I’m postponing treatment until after the election. Sixty-three days, 7 hours, 53 minutes, 7 seconds...6...5...

Related Posts
Tactical Animal: Politics In The Post-Truth Era

commentary
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2012 9:02 PM

Meet Michael Easton – The Independent

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Blog, Comics, Entertainment

by Damon Martin

For every Geoff Johns and Jim Lee in the comic book industry there are a thousand writers and artists just hoping to climb, scratch or claw their way onto the radars of a major publisher like DC or Marvel. The role of independent comics however has served as a rich creative breeding ground where there is no corporate bottom line to meet or concerns that stories are too graphic or gritty to land on the page. With that freedom also comes the kind of passion that is lost in the more mainstream comic world, since, as most independent comic book writers and artists will tell you, no one is making millions from self-publication.

Michael Easton is a life-long comic book fan and writer, who worked for DC/Vertigo when he co-penned the graphic novel The Green Woman with award winning author Peter Straub. As much as Easton loved working on that book, there is a certain freedom that comes with a self-published work like his 2008 graphic novel, Soul Stealer, which is a 500-plus page gothic story following an immortal warrior named Kalan, with wonderful art provided by Christopher Shy.

The freedom allowed Easton to tell the story in his own words, without worry that a publisher would tell him something was too graphic or that he needed to cut pages. He told his story to a very specific audience, but those that read it stuck by him, and that's one reason why independent comics will always hold a special place in the industry.

"You end up having a lot of late night phone calls with Shanghai when you're going through the printing process. You end up talking at 3 o'clock in the morning about how you want your color bleeds going. But we set this up because it was going to be a freedom issue. Nobody was going to let us do a 550-page, large format, hardcover comic book, but that's where I think the independent business is going," Easton said when speaking at San Diego Comic-Con. "Digital comics are great, but if you offer people something extra, you offer the large format, you put in sketches, you put in outtakes, you put in an audio track, posters, things like what were doing, I think you'll get a collector audience."

Those late nights also included writing sessions till all hours as he listened to Radiohead and Jeff Buckley for inspiration. The end result paid off because the collectors picked up on Soul Stealer and it has become a cult classic among comic book enthusiasts. Easton admits his book wouldn't have been the same if he’d had to conform to certain standards required by many major publishers.

"Some of the comic companies now are having very specific regulations about what you can and can't do. And with Chris, I mean he's the ultimate graphic artist…you want somebody who's going to bleed on the page with you. The horror has to be horrific, and the violence has to be violent, and the beautiful, passionate sexual element has to be there too. You can't always do that when you're worrying about some kind of censorship issue and things like that. We don't have that, we have complete freedom," said Easton. "We did the book exactly like how we wanted to do it."

Part of the reason Easton is able to do the things he's able to in his books is because writing is his passion but it doesn’t always pay his bills. During the daytime hours, Easton has been an actor for most of his adult life, working on several television shows including soap operas like General Hospital and One Life to Live. Not needing to bow down to the almighty dollar has given Easton the flexibility to tell his stories the way he wants to. It's also allowed him to keep his stories personal. He’s never has to sell to the highest bidder because he had to make rent.

"I'm very fortunate to have a day job. This allows me to do everything the way I want to do it. We've had film companies come to us, and in another life I would have optioned this thing off a long time ago, but having the day job has allowed me the financial independence to say I'm waiting for the right people to look at this. Waiting until Christopher Nolan sees this or Ridley Scott or James Cameron, we really want to be turned down by all of those people before we would go somewhere else," Easton commented. "You only get one shot. It really is a passion, and it's a passion to take something like this to another level."

With Soul Stealer now available in a special one-shot hard cover edition, Easton is moving onto his next story called Credence, about a New York City cop which he has described as “Californication meets The Bad Lieutenant.” Long-term, Easton would love to see his newest creation land on television alongside shows like Breaking Bad or Sons of Anarchy – the kind of edgy shows that push the envelope and have developed loyal and deeply involved fans.

"We've done about 135-pages, it's going to be a long graphic novel...the story stops when it needs to stop. It's got a real great, edgy feel. Everyone right now is talking about movies, but I love what's going on with TV right now. Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Justified, Californication. and Weeds. I think it's the most interesting storytelling," Easton said. "I think if Shakespeare wrote today he would have written The Sopranos, he would be David Chase. He would tell the story the way he wanted to. So where Soul Stealer was this big epic film, Credence is going in the other direction. Let's do a gritty little movie. I live in New York, so it has that ‘70s kind of French Connection feel to it."

Easton hopes to debut Credence this October at the New York Comic Con, and if there's one thing to say about this particular independent comic book maker – he's definitely going to do it his own way.

For more on Michael Easton's work visit: michaeleaston.com/

commentary
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2012 12:34 PM

Moment of Clarity: Life Is This Miniscule Thing…It’s This Moment And Then It’s Over…Use It Wisely My Friends

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Blog, Activism, Politics

commentary
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2012 9:05 PM

The Art of SuicideGirls Feat. SaintKitten

Submitted by SaintKitten

Edited by nicole_powers

by Blogbot

[SaintKitten in Cute Moustache]

Artist / SG Member Name: Carolina Montoya a.k.a. SG Hopeful SaintKitten

Mission Statement: Some of the things I do are inspired by weird dreams I have, so there's no common meaning. I’m working on a project about how tattoos are a physical introduction to the person that has them. I guess everything that I’ve been doing lately has an element of that. For instance, I love classical paintings and sculptures, and you can tell by some of my own paintings and tattoos that I do.   

Medium: My favorite it’s definitely oil. But I also love to try new things, and mix them up. I’ve done some watercolors as well, but I will always return to oil.   (I'm also a tattoo artist, and as such, my medium is ink in skin.)

Aesthetic: Finding my own style has been an issue for me, so I’ve tried pretty much everything I think it’s possible to. I’ve even done a few “Buffay’s” (you’ll get it if you ‘re a Friends fan). But I have to say realistic drawings and paintings are my thing. 

Notable Achievements: Notable? Not yet. Personal achievements? Yes, everyday! I try really hard to get better day by day, and I’m proud of a few things I’ve done, but I have to say to be in the place I want to be I’ve still got a lot of stuff to discover and learn.  

Why We Should Care: You should care because I’m just like most of you. It’s not easy for me to buy cool stuff, or wear nice clothes, and most of the time I give away my work. What I really want with my work is that people can relate to it, and the only way of making that possible is that my work is seen.   

I Want Me Some: You can contact me via SG or on http://www.facebook.com/CarolinaMontoyaSaintKitten " target="_blank">Facebook.

***

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commentary
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2012 9:02 PM

Tactical Animal: Now We’ve Got Ourselves A Race

Submitted by ChrisSick

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Blog, Politics, Paul Ryan

by ChrisSick

Paul Ryan. Well, hot damn.

Background:

At the start of the summer I discussed - with our lovely SG News editor, Nicole Powers - the idea of writing a horserace style campaign blog. A week-in-week-out, who-won-this-round, sort of analysis for the purest of the pure political junkies. I wanted to tear through all the meaningless shit and campaign antics that average voters just couldn't give less of a fuck about, but the political werewolves, the true tactical animals, can't get enough of.

Funny thing happened on the way. First, I got busy and distracted with real life.

Then - and much, much worse - I got bored.

This hasn't been a fun race by stretch of the imagination. Mitt Romney is so godawfully boring he makes dry toast look like a culinary adventure. And Team Gobama has replaced '08s Hope & Change with Karl Rove's '04 reelection playbook – known to informed political junkies as "Independents? Fuck the independents."

The campaign had officially become No Fun. And given that this is the first presidential election I'll observe without the helpful assistance of bourbon or heroin, it just didn't seem like there was anything worth saying. Polls gave Team Gobama a consistent but small lead. Ed Gillespie remained employed by Team Mittens apparently due to an office betting pool to see if him or the candidate would have the most gaffes by Election Day.

Overall, it looked like the President would eek out a largely meaningless win without an electoral mandate and go on to see his second term as stymied by Republican opposition in Congress as the later half of his first has been.

But then - Paul motherfucking Ryan. Hot damn.

Paul Ryan changes the entire dynamic of the race. Since the outset, Team Mittens has hoped the '12 election would be a pure referendum on the first term of the President. That the combination of a painfully weak recovery and persistently high unemployment would result in enough anyone-but-Obama votes to ride him into the White House without the sticky business of being pinned down to specific policy prescriptions, making campaign promises, or answering a lot of uncomfortable questions about his taxes.

With the addition of Paul Ryan to the race, election 2012 has become about big ideas and competing visions for the future of the country. Paul Ryan is - despite some schism in his party - the acknowledged go-to-guy for big ideas on the budget, debt, and deficit. He's articulated a specific policy remedy to a problem that Republicans had previously mostly used as cudgel against Democrats without bothering to ever remedy themselves.

Specifically: Mittens and Ryan and Republicans at every level of the ticket, will argue that dramatic reductions in taxes, regulation, and government services will unleash the magical powers of the free market, boost economic growth, and that said growth will - eventually -- offset the reduced revenue and pay down the growing Federal deficit.

Team Gobama and Democrats, on the other hand, want to see the maintenance and expansion of the social safety net, increases in stimulus spending, and higher taxes for the upper brackets to start reducing deficit spending now, while arguing that the debt is best addressed after the economic recovery is complete.

And because of this, the election officially matters now. Even a narrow win by either candidate can and will become a mandate for their preferred ideology.

But more important - for my purposes, anyway - this election is going to be fun. There's going to be attack ads with Mittens and Ryan gleefully shoving seniors over cliffs. The President is going to be called a socialist - more than he already has been. Ayn Rand's name will be mispronounced by anchors on major cable television networks. There's a fifty-fifty shot Joe Biden will show up at a press conference drunk and challenge Paul Ryan to mud wrestle him.

Because being a tactical animal, a true political werewolf, isn't about policy. It isn't about addressing meaningful solutions to endemic failures of government or solving systemic problems.

No.

This is politics as bloodsport. This is about the greatest joy a political junkie can feel: watching their preferred candidate slip a metaphorical icepick in between the ribs of the opponent and then walk off to kiss a baby while their lungs fill with blood.

"Not everybody is comfortable with the idea that politics is a guilty addiction. But it is. They are addicts, and they are guilty and they do lie and cheat and steal - like all junkies. And when they get in a frenzy, they will sacrifice anything and anybody to feed their cruel and stupid habit, and there is no cure for it. That is addictive thinking. That is politics - especially in presidential campaigns. That is when the addicts seize the high ground. They care about nothing else. They are salmon, and they must spawn. They are addicts." -Hunter S. Thompson, Better Than Sex

With that firmly established as the raison d'etre for this column, let's get down to the numbers and the tactics. The numbers have been ugly for Mitt Romney from the start:

He's never been well-liked by the more rabid base of his party, who would've much preferred a nominee more willing to be openly racist - Gingrich or Santorum - who could thoroughly vet the President. By which they seem to mean accuse him of hating white people, America, capitalism, and, I don't know...kittens.
.
That these particular attacks haven't been very effective with the remaining 45 - 50% of the country that supports the President is of little concern to them. The Tea Party/Republican base cares far more about attacking the President as criminal, racist, and corrupt than they do about actually winning the election. For them, it is their salmon swimming upstream moment. They don't care if it wins votes or not, it just feels right.

But with Ryan, now Mittens has got that base back on his side. Which, says a lot straight from the jump. I can't remember the last time a President picked a running mate who hadn't been a primary challenger to win votes within his own party. But then again, we're talking about a man who got a bigger tax break for his pony last year than you made in income.

For his pony.

You can see how that could present unique challenges for Citizen Mittens. And while Ryan might provide a short-term bump in the polls, his team needs to be very smart and very lucky (so far they've been neither) to carry that bump beyond the convention. Long-term, it signals what a bumbling shambles his campaign has become though.

Beginning in July the pressure to release his taxes became so great that Romney was facing denouncements from respected political veterans within his own party – like the guy who pays black people not to vote on Election Day, or the one who assured Republicans that Sarah Palin was the future of the party. Important, respected Republicans were turning on him.

Fleeing the country and the bad press for a chance to sell himself as an intercontinental man of the world, Citizen Mitt managed to offend half of Europe and most of the Middle East, as well as the entirety of the traveling press corps. Only to return home to have to deal with grade-school-chicken-shit accusations from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - which they couldn't even mount a defense to other than to call Reid a dirty, dirty liar. Seriously, that was Republican's official response. I'm not making that up.

Which brings us full circle to the announcement of Ryan as veep candidate. The news broke on a Friday evening when most respectable political journalists were already down the bar, half-in-the-bag. Friday is known as take-out-the-trash day, because no one's paying attention so it's a good time for campaigns to release news they don't want anyone to see.

We won't know until the bitter and unemployed members of Team Mittens start releasing their tell-all election books sometime next year why the release was dropped Friday evening. But we can all clearly tell that the pressure to shake up the race was getting to them. And the problem, for Republicans at least, is that while Paul Ryan as veep makes this a race, it doesn't fundamentally alter the dynamics of that race.

Team Mittens is still, at bottom, cooking with the wrong ingredients. Paul Ryan is conventionally attractive, articulate, and not given to sounding as radical as his policy prescriptions actually are. But Paul Ryan isn't at the top of the ticket and, as Rahm Emmanuel said after the announcement, you can't outsource likability. An effective advocate is not the same as an effective candidate.

Moreover, after the long summer slump of speculation on the VP selection, it's safe to say what Team Romney wasn't comfortable with. They became convinced that playing small-ball with a candidate who might comfortably deliver a swing state, like Marco Rubio or Rob Portman, won't be enough to carry them into the White House. They went for a game changer. But all they got was a candidate that Team Gobama was already salivating at the prospect of running against.

Democracy Corps, a DNC-affiliated polling and strategy firm, has been focus-testing the living shit out of Ryan's much-touted "Pathway to Prosperity" to figure out the best framing for the attack. See, Democrats had already planned to saddle Romney with Ryan's budget, whether he supports it or not. Putting Ryan on the ticket, accepting his plan and all its failings, just makes the lift easier.

And since this is exactly that type of blog, I'll make a nine-week-out prediction for the general election: Barrack Obama is going to be reelected President, and he's going to do it with at least a three-point margin in the popular vote and 300 votes in the electoral college. And I'll take any action anyone wants to lay down on that.

commentary
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2 2012 9:04 PM

Got Problems? Sex, Love and Relationship Advice From SuicideGirls’ Team Agony

Submitted by Smythe

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: All Things SG, Blog, Love, Relationships, Sex, Society, advice, Problems, sex

by SG's Team Agony feat. Smythe

Let us answer life's questions - because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.

[Smythe in There Is A Light]

Q: I have a very close friend who recently told me she was physically attracted to me, and wants to start a friends with benefits relationship. There is a lot of sexual tension between us, and although I'm very sure I won't develop feelings for her, her friends have told me that she hopes down the line we can have a full-on relationship. I'm afraid of her developing emotional feelings, and endangering our friendship. I really love the girl and don't want to lose her as a friend. What should I do?

A: Holy goodness, that's a toughie. It is really awesome that you realize there may be issues with engaging in a friends with benefits (FWB) relationship. If she's already made mention of hoping for more than just ass with you, then odds are things will get complicated. She's going into things with hopes for more, and she will probably get attached more than is warranted in a FWB arrangement. It seems like, despite what she may say, she won't be able to help herself from getting overly emotionally involved. At the end of a FWB relationship, depending on the kind of a person she is, it may just take a moment for her to wrap her head around the shift back to strictly friends status, but there is the possibility of her taking it hard, like a legit break up, and you may lose her as a friend.  

You also don't have to jump into the deep end with the FWB thing. Talk about it with her, express your concern about losing a friend. Probably don't mention her friends speaking to you; let the conversation just be about you and her. Gauge her responses to your concerns, it may be clear at that point that it’s best not to go any further. If you decide to give the FWB thing a go, maybe keep it PG-13 for a bit and see if her attitude towards you shifts. I feel like a lot of people can shrug off a few make out sessions, but damage control after sex can be a bit harder.  

Tread carefully, if you dare to tread at all.

Smythe

***

Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls’ team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

commentary
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2 2012 9:02 PM

Confessions Of A Reluctant Dater: The Jake Ryan Theory

Submitted by Bradley

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: All Things SG, Blog, Love, Relationships, Sex, Society, sex

by Bradley Suicide

I, like so many of us, grew up loving ‘80s classics. The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Saint Elmo’s Fire, on and on. I could recite these movies word for word, line by line when I was growing up, and to tell you the truth, still can.

The movie that took the cake for me was, by far, Sixteen Candles. Something about it captivated me. And of course, I was enthralled with the smoldering and sexy Jake Ryan, just like almost every other girl. With that amazing bone structure and those perfectly gorgeous piercing bedroom eyes, he had my heart beating out of control (I have to pause and take a moment).

In case you live under a rock and haven’t seen Sixteen Candles, I will take this opportunity to tell you to pause your reading and pick up where you’ve left off once you have watched every amazingly corny moment of it in its entirety.

The other day this slice of ‘80s awesomeness was on TV so I flipped it on while I got ready for work. Somewhere towards the end of the movie between when Samantha’s sister is in the middle of her drug induced nuptials and when that limo pulls away revealing the ever breathtaking Jake sitting there waiting for Samantha it hit me, Jake Ryan was a douche bag.

Plain and simple.

After carefully mulling over the key moments in the film that led me to this conclusion, I was dumbfounded that it had taken me so long to realize this. Between throwing a Project X style party and destroying his parents home, being an asshole to his girlfriend, then basically pimping her out in a rufied state to some random dude he doesn’t know, and lending a kid without a license his dad’s Rolls Royce…well I am pretty sure all of that has nut sack written all over it. The cherry on top of all of it is that horrible scene where Jake and his friend appear to be doing innumerous pull-ups, only when the camera to pans out you realize that in true bro fashion they have been standing on the ground the whole time thinking they are hot shit. Watching it now, it kind of reminds me of Mike “The Situation” from Jersey Shore!

Long after the candles on the cardboard cake had been blown out and the credits had rolled, I was still reeling. I began looking at the guys that I am attracted to and re-evaluating the relationships that I have had, both short and long, with this new epiphany in mind. And then, Doh! Facepalm! The pieces fell into place. Things like this are the reason I, and so many other girls, like assholes. We are conditioned to like the guy that is a complete douche at times because it has been beaten into us since our youth. Not to say there isn’t other conditioning that I am sure is involved, but humor me here.

On top of it all, and I am sure people are going to rip me a new one for this, but the ending of this movie is so far from the scope of reality that it’s insane. When on earth has this happened? In a high school setting, when has the smoldering, popular, sexy as all hell dude ever left his perfect ten girlfriend for a chick that he doesn’t know and that is by no means bad looking but definitely wouldn’t turn your head? Never. It doesn’t happen. Berate me all you want for this, but you cannot say that I am wrong. (I didn’t blossom until after high school and was very awkward for most of it, so I was definitely on the plain side of that coin.)

And I know it isn’t just me that this crap has subconsciously affected, go ahead and flip on the radio to Taylor Swift, her songs are all filled with this exact scenario, which in turn is screwing over yet another generation of females who are being set up with the same recipe for heartache and disaster that Sixteen Candles so generously left my generation. It’s a vicious cycle.

Now that I have come to this conclusion, I can actively work on trying to pick better dudes. Like guys that treat me well, who don’t pimp me out to people when I’m inebriated, and who actually can do pull-ups. I don’t think it’s too much to ask, but thus far this seems to be a pretty tall order.

And there you have it, my Jake Ryan theory.

You’re welcome.

Xoxo
Bradley

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commentary
FRIDAY AUGUST 31 2012 10:12 AM

Dear Republican Friends: Regarding Your Stand On Healthcare…

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Activism, Blog, Favorites, Politics, Healthcare

by Sandor Stern

Dear Republican Friends,

Regarding your stand on healthcare…

This country spends more on health care than any other country in the world. One would expect that fact to translate into the best medical care. I know you believe it does, and you are correct when it comes to medical advances and facilities, but we are not even close to the best when it comes to the medical care of our population. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, we spend almost twice as much per capita than any other nation – $7290 in 2007 and it has increased since then. That amounts to 16% of our GDP. 18.5% of government revenue is spent on health care. And what do we get for that money? Our life expectancy is lower and our infant mortality rate is higher than every other industrial nation. Our system is ranked 37th in the world among 191 nations. And your reaction to those facts is a pledge to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act – the most comprehensive health care reform in 45 years.

You brand it with an Obamacare label in your effort to denigrate it. That is laughable; firstly because it mirrors Romney's Massachusetts Health Care Plan of 2006 (framed by the Republican conservative think tank's Heritage Foundation) and secondly because it does not reflect the single payer plan that Obama would have liked. Though Democrats held a majority in the senate, they fell short of the sixty votes needed to pass a bill unpalatable to the Republican senators. The Affordable Care Act was obviously a compromise. Given its auspices it seemed a safe direction. It's basis is insurance coverage through private companies. Who would have guessed that the Republican party and its presidential nominee would disown a plan like that? In hindsight, considering the Republican about face on so many of your previous legislative bills, this should not have come as a surprise.

What baffles me is your disregard for Romney's turn around. He initially touted his plan (that included mandatory insurance for all) as a model for the nation. Then he waffled by saying his plan was good for his state but not for the nation. Now he avoids the subject. My question to you is: if the plan is good for the state why not for the nation? All this hue and cry goes on about the Romney plan, but nobody seems to ask the pertinent question – is it working for the people of Massachusetts? 98% of Massachusetts residence now have insurance, including 99.8% of children. Two out of three adults in the state support the law and 88% of doctors say it improved or did not affect the quality of care. It seems the proof is in the pudding.

To this date, the Affordable Care Act has improved health insurance coverage in many ways. Children can stay on their parents’ policies until the age of 26. Individuals with existing insurance policies no longer have to pay deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses for certain preventive care services. Children under 19 cannot be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Insurance companies cannot drop your coverage if you become sick, nor can they place lifetime limits or arbitrary annual limits on coverage. Insurance companies are required to spend more of the premium dollars they receive on health care services and quality. It becomes easier to file complaints about the quality of care in a nursing home. Better access to information on nursing home quality and resident rights is available. Seniors who reach the Medicare doughnut hole receive a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and a 14 percent discount on generic prescription drugs. Medicare benefits have expanded to include free coverage for wellness and preventive care. Hospitals that improve the quality of care for people with Medicare can qualify for new payments.

But that’s not all. Yet to come in 2013: Those who reach the Medicare doughnut hole receive a 52.5 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and a 21 percent discount on generic prescription drugs. Increased funding will be available to help families and children get coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance program (CHIP). Hospitals and doctors can qualify to receive a new type of payment (called a "bundle") to coordinate with each other as they care for patients. Yet to come in 2014: Insurance companies cannot deny anyone health coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Those who reach the Medicare doughnut hole receive a 52.5 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and a 28 percent discount on generic prescription drugs. Subsidies are available for those with limited incomes who purchase health insurance through an exchange. Children, parents and adults without children who do not have Medicare and who have a limited income are able to apply for Medicaid. Spouses of people on Medicaid who receive care services at home get the same protections for income and other resources as spouses of those on Medicaid who live in nursing homes. Yet to come in 2020: after continuing yearly declines in doughnut hole costs, the Medicare Part D coverage gap or "doughnut hole" will be completely closed.

These are the present and future benefits of the Affordable Care Act that you want to repeal. Why? You claim multiple reasons. You rail against the mandatory coverage. You consider it socialism. Under your definition of socialism that would make mandatory withholding taxes for social security, Medicare, and Unemployment insurance socialism. It would make mandatory driver's licenses socialism. In fact, mandatory income tax would have to be listed under your definition. Yet, there are no socialist aspects to the Affordable Care Act. Individuals purchase their coverage in an open market from private insurance companies. The physicians who provide services work on a fee for service basis. Hospitals and laboratories remain in the hands of private enterprise. So where is the socialism you love to scream about?

You claim that the costs of insurance will go up. Without doubt if there is no mandatory coverage that will be true. That was true before the ACA and was one of the prime reasons to institute the act. When healthy young people are not buying insurance, the price goes up for those older and in poor health. Mandatory coverage keeps the costs down. And before grumbling over that, how many people paying into social security and Medicare die too young to ever collect a dime? How many people pay unemployment insurance and never need to collect a check in return? That's why it's called insurance. It's a necessary price one pays today just in case the day arrives when the need arises.

You seem to prefer remaining with the old "free enterprise" system – which has never been free or even enterprising. In that system, 40% of U.S. citizens did not have adequate health insurance, if any at all. The cost to these people has been that they’ve been avoiding medical care, sometimes until it was too late for a cure, often to the detriment of preventive steps, and for some a cost in dollars that led to bankruptcy. The cost to the nation has been a crush of patients inundating emergency rooms – paid for by the taxpayers. Is that the trade off you really want? Medical costs paid for others through your income tax rather than a small bite out of every citizen's pocket?

There is no doubt that the Affordable Care Act is flawed and that flaw is the same one that exists in the Massachusetts Plan. In Massachusetts, though 97% of taxpayers are complying with the law, the cost of premiums rose 12.2% between 2006 and 2008. One of the main reasons for cost increases is due to the administrative overhead, and that will apply to Affordable care. An apples to apples comparison of plan overheads is best seen in administrative costs for Medicare and Medicare Advantage. According to the Congressional Budget Office, expenses under the public Medicare plan are less than 2% compared with 11% expenditures under the private plans of Medicare Advantage. Meanwhile the General Accounting Office reported that in 2006, Medicare Advantage plans spent 83.3% of their revenue on medical expenses and 16.7% for non-medical expenses and profits. That makes sense. Private Insurance companies are in business for profit and they must spend money on sales and advertising to compete with each other. Why do we need them in the health care business? That is why a single payer system gets you the most bang for the buck. We only have to look to our northern neighbor, Canada, for comparison.

In the mid sixties Canada and the USA faced the same issue in health care. As citizens aged, private insurance companies either denied them insurance coverage or asked exorbitant rates. This was an overwhelming humanitarian problem. The USA decided to alleviate the problem through Medicare, a plan that insured citizens above the age of 65 years. Canada decided to institute a Medicare plan that covered every citizen from cradle to grave. This is a system similar to those in almost every industrial nation in the world. There are only two exceptions: the USA and Turkey. Good company, right?

Before you start shouting "socialism" look at the facts. The Canadian system is no more socialist than our own Medicare. Patients choose their own doctors and those doctors are paid on a fee for service basis. Though federally funded, each province and territory maintains and oversees its own separate plan. Spurred, I suspect, by profit seeking private insurance, pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, a mythology about the Canadian Health Plan has taken root in this country.

Myth: taxes in Canada are extremely high. Fact: the average after-tax income of Canadian workers is equal to about 82% of their gross pay. In the USA that average is 81.9%. Myth: Canada's health care system is a cumbersome bureaucracy. Fact: the provincial single-payer system in Canada operates with a 1% overhead. That's even better than our own Medicare operating costs. Myth: the Canadian system is significantly more expensive than the USA system. Fact: 10% of Canada's GDP is spent on health care for 100% of the population. The USA spends 17% of it's GDP but 15% of its population has no coverage, and millions of others have inadequate coverage.

Myth: Canada's government decides who gets health care and when they get it. Fact: the government has absolutely no say in who gets care and how they get it. Those decisions are left entirely to doctors. In the USA HMO's and private insurers make medical decisions all the time. If they decide they won't pay for a medical procedure like an MRI you won't get it no matter what your doctor thinks – unless you pay out of pocket for it.

Myth: there are long waits for care. Fact: there are no waits for urgent or primary care in Canada. There are reasonable waits for most specialists' care and longer waits for elective surgery. Despite the waits, Canada is ranked 7 points above the USA in patient care by the World Health Organization. Canada boast lower incident and mortality rates than the USA for all cancers. Life expectancy in Canada is 81.3 compared to 78.1 in the USA. The infant mortality rate in Canada is 4.5 and in the USA 6.9. Per capita expenditure in Canada is 3,895 dollars per year and in the USA it is 7,290 dollars per year. Fewer Canadians (11.3%) than Americans (14.4%) admit unmet health care needs.

Myth: Canadians are paying out of pocket to come to the USA for medical care. Fact: If a Canadian goes outside the country to get services deemed medically necessary, not experimental or are not available at home for whatever reason, the provincial government where they live fully funds their care. Those patients who do come to the USA for care and pay out of their own pocket are those who perceive their care to be more urgent than their Canadian doctors believe. In a Canadian National Population Health Survey of 17,276 Canadian residents it was reported that 0.5% sought medical care in the USA in the previous year. Of these, less than a quarter had traveled to the USA expressly to get care.

Perhaps the best example of furthering the myth is that of an Ontario resident, Shona Holmes, who traveled to the Mayo Clinic after deciding she could not wait for medical care at home. She characterized her condition as an emergency; she was losing her eyesight and portrayed her condition as a life-threatening brain cancer. Her Ontario insurance refused to reimburse her for medical expenses and she sued – and lost. In 2009, at the peak of the Republican fight against the Affordable Care Act, she appeared in ads on American TV warning of the dangers of the USA adopting a Canadian style health plan. After the ads appeared critics pointed out discrepancies in her story: the Rathke's cleft cyst for which she was treated was not a form of cancer and was not life-threatening. In fact, the mortality rate for patients with a Rathke's cleft cyst is zero percent.

The facts are available to anyone with the inclination to pursue them. In the face of those facts, how can you take a stand to repeal The Affordable Care Act? If anything, you should be working to improve it. I don't find evidence of that in the Republican Party Platform.

Just asking

Your friend

Sandy

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THURSDAY AUGUST 30 2012 9:05 PM

SuicideGirls Group Therapy: Pia On Ass Appreciation

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THURSDAY AUGUST 30 2012 9:04 PM

Ur W33K 1N G33K (August 24-30)

Submitted by Saccora

Edited by SG_Blog

Tags: Blog, Comics, Entertainment, Gaming, Geek, Internuts, Movies, Comic Con, TV

by A.J. Focht

This weekend is your last chance to see The Avengers in theaters. Disney is rereleasing the film for one weekend only. Avengers was playing on 142 screens last week. It is unknown how many more theaters will be picking the movie back up for the holiday weekend. Rumors of Disney releasing The Avengers with extra footage before the summer’s end surfaced months ago. It is unclear as of now if this weekend’s release will have that extra footage or not. Either way, it looks like Disney is determined to close the $40 million dollar gap to take the second highest grossing box-office record from Titanic.

ABC has officially ordered a S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot. Joss Whedon is co-writing it with his brother Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen. All three are executive producers on the project. While Jed and Maurissa will be the show runners, Joss assures us that he will show up now and then to take credit for everything.

Rumors that Ben Affleck was being considered to direct the Justice League movie have been floating around for a while. He’s not alone on that list though as a handful of directors have been rumored for consideration. The list includes: The Watchowskis, Brett Ratner, Zack Snyder, Ruben Fleischer, and McG. There are also one or two more names in consideration that haven’t been released yet.

Sony has officially announced the Metal Gear Solid movie – again. The announcement was made at the Metal Gear Solid Anniversary event in Tokyo. Spider-Man producer Avi Arad is behind the project. Little more is known other than that the movie is currently in development.

Sony isn’t just working on videogame based movies, they are also working on a movie about the videogame console wars. Sony has registered a bunch of domains relating to the movie. The current rumor is that it will be like a Social Network for the gaming world.

If Morgan Freeman wasn’t already the voice you heard in your head as you played God over your LEGOs, he probably will be now. LEGO: The Piece of Resistance is a LEGO film that will star Morgan Freman, Elizabeth Banks, and Chris Pratt. Freeman will be playing a character named ‘Vitruvius’ who is described as ‘Gandalf meets Mr. Magoo’.

A few weeks ago David Duchovny gave an interview saying he wanted to make a third X-Files film, and now a third movie might indeed be underway. Gillian Anderson answered questions about it at the Toronto Fan Expo and said that things were looking pretty good, after having met with series creator Chris Carter. It looks like FOX is the only holdout now.

commentary
THURSDAY AUGUST 30 2012 9:24 AM

Surveillance State America: 7 Ways You Can Stop It

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Activism, Blog, Politics, NDAA, TrapWire

by David Seaman

Look, we all know it has become bad. Surveillance cameras everywhere, many of them funded by federal DHS grants. Cops pulling people over for no reason, asking to see your driver's license and quizzing you on where you're going. TSA agents conducting invasive patdowns, which include applying pressure to your genitalia, and obnoxious "chat-downs" asking you about your personal travel details. Police officers at peaceful protests wearing camo and combat-ready body armor. And now we know, based on The New York Times' recent reporting and NSA whistle-blower William Binney, that nearly all American citizens are being spied on by the government without a warrant.

It's heart warming stuff, isn't it? Luckily, only a handful of crypto-fascist morons are promoting this agenda of greater surveillance and more police on the streets. There are 314 million of us. Here's how we can take America back:

1. Remain non-violent and peaceful, at all times. Seriously – things like smashing surveillance cameras and protests turning violent or disorderly will only give those in power and the mainstream media an "excuse" they've been looking for to justify the existence of such programs in the first place. Oh, and the DHS grants won't stop – those surveillance cameras you smash, youthful angry one, will be replaced. Promptly replaced.

2. When you protest, go big. I don't want to see any more rag-tag teams of 10 or 15 chanting protesters with handwritten signs. Use the Internet to organize, do peaceful and fun "flash mobs," make sure attendance is always in the thousands or hundreds of thousands. Stun the rest of us with your silent power. And do it often. NDAA, TrapWire, and the warrantless surveillance programs we now know about threaten the very future of this republic. They threaten your safety, and the next generation's safety. You can't stop until these things are addressed by the masses, addressed by those in power, and fixed.

3. Shirt and tie. Suits. Shaving. Haircuts. The more credible you appear, the more undeniably mainstream – the sooner the rest of America will wake the fuck up.

4. Dominate social media. There are reportedly "sockpuppet accounts" on article comments sections, Twitter, and Reddit trying to normalize things like warrantless wiretapping. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear – this is to protect us from terrorists only." Fight this propaganda battle tooth and nail. Call out those who don't know what they are talking about. Call out those intentionally distracting or lying.

5. Record it all. We may not all be at your protests, but with YouTube and Vimeo you can reach an audience 100-fold greater the next day.

6. Support good politicians. There aren't many, which is why they need your support – money and time – to remain in office.

7. Never stop. The stakes are too high. If warrantless wiretapping, gropedowns, guilty until innocent, and imprisonment without trial become the "new normal" to keep us safe, we have lost our own country. We have burned our own founding documents. We can't afford to let that happen.

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commentary
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 29 2012 10:57 AM

Moment of Clarity: A Category Five Shit Storm Hits The RNC

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Activism, Blog, Politics, RNC

commentary
TUESDAY AUGUST 28 2012 11:28 PM

The Do-Damage Congress: Who’s Responsible?

Submitted by SG_Blog

Edited by nicole_powers

Tags: Activism, Blog, Politics

by Steven Whitney

As established by comparing statistics – what some might call bald-faced facts - last week, the present 112th Congress is categorically the worst in the history of our country. It’s scorned by reputable historians and the electorate, which gives it an all time low approval rating of just 10%. The two most respected inside observers of the Washington scene – Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein – have made it inarguably clear that the Republican Party is responsible for the most pernicious and dysfunctional body ever to plague the halls of American government, one that does much more harm than any good.

Especially after the epic triumphs of “the American century,” how did our government fall to this lowest of points just twelve years into the new millennium – and what members of the current legislature are most responsible?

In 1964, as a forerunner to today’s “approval polls,” a nationwide sampling by the Gallup poll asked Americans if they expected their government “to do the right thing.” Despite the turbulence of the Cold War and the JFK assassination, an astounding 77% replied positively. And, generally speaking, we had done the right things from FDR through JFK: ended a Depression, won a “Good War,” offered our former enemies humane treaties that would allow them to peacefully rebuild, became home to the United Nations, and built an infrastructure that along with a progressive but fair tax structure created a prosperous and stable middle class. America was the envy of the entire world.

But then LBJ escalated the Vietnam War beyond any reason and Nixon’s White House embraced a criminality more damaging to our country than Al Capone’s, including illegal slush funds held by CREEP (the Committee for the Re-Election of the President) that started the disastrous landslide of Big Money into national campaign coffers. Coming back-to-back, along with Nixon’s bogus “Secret Plan to end the Vietnam War,” American morale crumbled and its confidence waned. By the end of 1974, the majority of Americans no longer trusted government. The 77% approval rating of 1964 belly-flopped to 36% just ten years later, and has spiraled downward ever since.

Beginning with Ronald Reagan’s 1st inaugural address, in which he proclaimed, “...government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” Republicans leapt upon this disenchantment to hammer home a virulent anti-government message while fueling the flames of the culture war that began in the 1960s. Today, voters must generally decide between a political party that believes government is an essential and beneficial tool to its citizens and a party that wants to “starve it, shrink it, and choke it to death” – the no-government government as reflected by today’s GOP Congress.

When we elect men and women to Congress – the governing body of the United States – shouldn’t we expect them to actually want to govern? And to govern efficiently and in our best interests? Isn’t that the most basic job description of any member of Congress? So why would anyone vote for someone fiercely dedicated, as the Republicans are, to not governing and even to destroying the very process of governance? Doesn't the GOP realize that if they are successful in destroying our government, they will also destroy our country?

Of those who still openly operate in today’s political arena, Reagan acolyte Grover Norquist was perhaps the first to put into motion a plan – the Taxpayer Protection Pledge – to intentionally dismantle our government. State and national office-holders signed the pledge as if in blood, promising that they would not vote to increase taxes, no matter what. Never. You want a war against al Qaida in Afghanistan – no taxes, just borrow the money. And let’s lower taxes so we bring in even less money. You want to illegally invade Iraq and wage a decade long war – no taxes, just borrow the cash from China. And let’s have some more tax cuts.

Eventually, of course, a dramatic surplus left over from a Democratic administration became debt, and the debt deepened as no new tax revenue was raised. So our country wound up essentially broke (and broken) and the pledge signers – numbering 95% of all Republicans in Congress – stuck their heads in the sand and proclaimed that the only way to save the country was to lower taxes on corporations and the upper 2% even more than they already had, and, of course, to drastically cut benefits they mistakenly call entitlements for the Middle Class and poor. And it all started with a premeditated and Machiavellian pledge intended from the start to destroy the balance of power in our democratic republic.

Ironically, the GOP sees itself as the party of business, so individual Republicans must know that most businesses fail when they are underfunded. Yet the party that prides itself on knowing how business works fails to see the connection. Or perhaps, ominously, they do recognize it as a perfect storm to blow away government and replace it with the Free Trade Market of their dreams and our nightmares – no oversight, no regulations, no taxes or levies, no unions, no living wages, and no big damages payoffs for oil spills, chemical spills, nuclear meltdowns, distribution of potentially lethal products, or any other fatal or disabling disaster that is the direct result of their immoral business practices. And this is the party that blathers endlessly about “personal responsibility?”

As Speaker of the House in 1995, Newt Gingrich became the standard-bearer for Norquist’s Pledge and accordingly shut down the government for 28 days in a wrangle with President Clinton over – you guessed it – spending on Medicare, education, the environment, and public health. Clinton vetoed a Republican budget bill that cut all of those and Gingrich rather testily threatened to not raise the debt ceiling – a maneuver the GOP tried again last year (and which contributed to the downgrade of our credit rating) – thus closing down our capital. The conflict was resolved in January of 1996 and the government once again opened for business. But Newt’s hypocrisy, unwillingness to compromise even to keep America open, and his contagious nastiness not only became the model for the new GOP, but also left an atmosphere sufficiently poisonous to asphyxiate our very democracy. While this revisionist scholar from Hell is happily long gone from Congress, his influence as a so-called intellectual is still so substantial that for a few jaw-dropping weeks he was the frontrunner in the Republican Primaries for President.

But four members of our present 112th Congress, which has reached record lows in lack of governance, stand above (or perhaps below) all others in the wretched wasteland they have made of this formerly august body.

As Jon Stewart has pointed out, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) actually looks like a turtle. But more damaging is the tortoise-like manner in which his head retreats into a hard-cased shell from which no interaction is possible whenever action is desperately needed – say, anytime in the last four years. Most despicable is his disdain for real democracy. If any law proposed by Democrats might pass – even by vast 59-41 margin – he engineers a filibuster or cloture requiring 60 votes for passage so the proposal dies before a floor vote can be taken, thus robbing the American public of the “majority rules” principle on which our nation stands. This 60 vote standard almost ensures that Congress cannot pass any bill more significant than the naming of a Post Office, and absolutely guarantees no passage of a bill opposed by 41 minority Senators – and our government winds up completely frozen.

But even though McConnell has frequently been dubbed “the worst Senator in history,” the worst legislators reside in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Michelle Bachmann, head of the Tea Party Caucus

This trio not only blocked the American Jobs Act, but has voted to repeal Obamacare 33 times. They’ve introduced myriad bills that are anti-environment / pro-pollution, anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-abortion, anti-contraception, anti-NPR/PBS, anti-sexual and gender variation, and extremely pro-gun. These bozos have continually attempted to defund Planned Parenthood and proposed hundreds of bills to lower taxes on corporations and the wealthiest 2% of Americans while severely slashing benefits to the Middle Class, unemployed, foreclosed upon, and poor. This was not what our founders had in mind when they envisioned a system of “checks and balances.”

To be fair, Boehner – whose eyes well with tears at the mere mention of Ronald Reagan – did reach a negotiated agreement with the President on the Debt Ceiling, but Cantor – a strange, smarmy know-it-all who appears to be running for student council on an austerity platform – killed it, heightening the debate while lowering our credit rating. Indeed, Cantor’s staff-written bio page on the House website has the gall to describe him as “a results-oriented leader” even though his House has delivered the worst results in the history of American government.

Over the last decade, it’s hard to imagine anyone who has spewed forth more insanity than Bachmann. Take your pick – warning parents that The Lion King was gay propaganda, claiming Glenn Beck could solve the debt crisis, assuring her constituents that Nobel Prize scientists supported Intelligent Design, likening her visit to Iraq in 2007 to shopping at her home state’s Mall of America, and many more that should have landed her in a loony bin (not coincidentally, her Tea Party cohorts just banned the word lunatic from the floors of Congress). But instead, she’s the leader and Poster Girl for the Tea Party. And, one must admit, she’s the right woman for the job, especially given her latter-day Joe McCarthy witch hunts, first to vet all citizens whose views she considers “anti-American,” and recently to investigate anyone she suspects might have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood (which includes a respected aide to our Secretary of State). Call it vilification by The Six Degrees of Michelle Bachmann. She also advocates abolishing the minimum wage to create jobs – and she might be right on this one, if you want to work for fifty cents a day.

At the height of Ancient Rome, its government was led by the First Triumvirate – a political alliance of Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Crassus. Sadly, Western Civilization is now at least partly in the hands of a different kind of Triumvirate – one as pitiful as Rome's was great – the three House Republican leaders we’ll call Weepy, Creepy, and Crazy.

The tragic result is a vicious circle which is potentially fatal to our democracy - House Republicans pass odious laws that cannot get through a Senate vote, while Senate Democrats propose humane legislation that can’t even get to a floor vote, resulting in complete paralysis. Solely for political gain, Republicans would rather block and bloviate than help their fellow citizens recover from a massive crisis, especially one caused by an immoral GOP administration that in just eight years devastated America in every way possible.

The upcoming November election presents voters with a clear choice – to continue a cruel and abysmal charade pantomimed by a true confederacy of dunces or to sweep into office those who actually care about governance, about democracy, about human rights, about fairness, and about the 95% who need their Congress to restore dignity not only to government itself but to their own lives.

This time we better get it right.

Related Posts:
Worse Than A Do Nothing Congress
Forget The Barbeque On Labor Day – It’s Time To Take Care Of Business
Chicken Shits: The Slippery Slopes of Chick-fil-A
The Vagina Solution
Fighting Back Part 4: The Big Liar, Intimidation And Revenge
Fighting Back Part 3: Fighting Fire With Fire
When The Past Is Prologue
Fighting Back Part 2: Defining Rovian Politics
Fighting Back
The Electoral Scam
Being Fair
Occupy Reality
Giving. . . And Taking Back
A Tale Of Two Grovers
A Last Pitch For Truth
America: Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.
Gotcha!

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