W. Niederhut

Very impressive data from Israel about the Pfizer vaccine. www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pfizer-israel/pfizer-biontech-say-covid-19-vaccine-likely-to-prevent-asymptomatic-infection-idUSKBN2B31IJ

Paxton is a sociopath, IMO. In addition to his prior criminal history, let's not forget about his conduct in the aftermath of the 2020 election. His latest threats to public officials in Austin who are trying to protect the public health during a deadly pandemic are par for the Paxton course.

After watching the jarring scene where the boat suddenly blows up, I thought The Parallax View was going to end with Warren Beatty getting blown to bits in the airplane at 31,000 feet. As for Beatty's performance in Altman's film, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, it's my favorite. And Leonard Cohen's terrific soundtrack certainly enhanced that film. I've watched it many times just to hear those songs.

Joseph, I hope you didn't have to sell beer and brats at Lambeau Field during the sub-zero NFL Championship "Ice Bowl" game between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys in '67. You were probably away at college by then.

Kirk, Greg Sargent published an interesting article in the Washington Post yesterday about this very subject-- i.e., Republican voters like Ashli Babbitt voting directly against their own interests. It's Marxian false consciousness on steroids in modern America-- the illusion that guys like Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump represent the interests of middle and working class whites. Opinion | New study shows how the GOP scam is getting worse for Republican voters - The Washington Post

I watched The Parallax View for the first time ever last night, and it was so suspenseful that my palms were sweating-- not only during the Space Needle and final assassination scenes, but during the airplane flight! What a truly remarkable film, from start to finish. My only disappointment was the way the "Parallax" assassination program was linked to the private corporate sector, without any implied involvement by the U.S. Deep State. I noticed that the original novel was written in 1970, shortly after Bobby Kennedy's assassination. I also noticed that the film was panned on release by some apparent "Mockingbird" film critics in the M$M.* * The Parallax View - Wikipedia "In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote, "Neither Mr. Pakula nor his screenwriters, David Giler and Lorenzo Semple, Jr., display the wit that Alfred Hitchcock might have used to give the tale importance transcending immediate plausibility. The moviemakers have, instead, treated their central idea so soberly that they sabotage credulity."[6] "Time magazine's Richard Schickel wrote, "We would probably be better off rethinking—or better yet, not thinking about—the whole dismal business, if only to put an end to ugly and dramatically unsatisfying products like The Parallax View."[8][dead link]

This is a real Pandora's Box-- the effect of digital technology on cognitive and perceptual development. One issue is sensory overload, over-stimulation. For example, my daughters (in their mid-20s) have difficulty listening to a symphony or opera, or even watching most old movies from the 1950s and 60s, because the pace and editing of scenes is less frenetic than that of most modern films, television shows, and, especially, ads. On the flip side, I have difficulty watching modern television ads, (e.g., during the Super Bowl) because of the ultra-rapid barrage of images and sounds. It's like a video game--too much for me to process in the manner to which I'm accustomed. So, I rarely watch anything on television.

I know I'm not the only Education Forum member who is skeptical about the sudden surge in Katyusha rocket attacks on American bases in Iraq by alleged "Iranian militias" since Biden's inauguration. Cui bono? Certainly not Iran. How the media exploits liberals' empathy to sell them war Under Obama, Trump and now Biden, mainstream media has tugged at progressive heartstrings to justify endless war Humanitarian imperialism: How the media exploits liberals' empathy to sell them war | Salon.com

I vaguely remember reading that Oliver Stone had been threatened with a lawsuit if he included the Richard Helms (Sam Waterston) scene in the theatrical release of Nixon, but I can't find anything on the subject. I did find this 2015 historical appraisal of the film Nixon, which vindicated Oliver Stone from the bogus attacks by Stephen Ambrose, et.al., in the 1990s-- but the author didn't mention the Richard Helms scene. This Is What Oliver Stone’s Movie About Nixon Got Right This Is What Oliver Stone’s Movie About Nixon Got Right | History News Network

In Colorado, Denver and Boulder have been progressive for decades-- electing such liberals as Gary Hart, Pat Schroeder, Tim Wirth, Michael Bennett, et.al. Our most recent Governors-- Ritter, Hickenlooper, and Polis-- have been highly effective liberals. The city of Colorado Springs (El Paso County) is at the other end of the political spectrum-- the arch-conservative base of NORAD, the Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, and Focus on the Family. Then we have our sparsely populated, conservative, rancher counties-- politically similar to Wyoming, Montana, and Texas. Overall, the state has become bluer during the past decade, voting for Obama, (twice) Hillary in 2016, and Biden in 2020.

I got my first Pfizer COVID vaccine shot today at a local Safeway pharmacy-- one year after the first reported cases of COVID appeared here in Colorado. Not too crowded. The lady in line in front of me was a grocery store worker, and I was surprised to hear that she and her colleagues had to wait so long to get vaccinated. Feels like a brand new day! I haven't been to the hair salon for a haircut since March 19, 2020, and my hair hasn't been this long since the days when we wore bell bottoms and wondered if John Lennon buried Paul.

I've only seen the director's cut. Any information about why that scene was omitted from the release version? Another critical scene in the film (for JFKA related issues, I presume) is when Anthony Hopkins says, "If Dick Nixon is going down, EVERYONE is going down..."

Speaking of the stimulus check issue, how about this important study of Trickle Up/Keynesian economics from Stockton, California? It works! We have repeatedly witnessed the failure of "supply-side"/Trickle Down economics in the U.S. since 1980. Keynes was right 90 years ago. Capitalist economies can remain in a stable, depressed equilibrium indefinitely in the absence of adequate consumer demand. Ergo, extreme wealth inequality is a major drag on economic growth, not a stimulus. A city gave people $500 a month, no strings attached, to fight poverty. It paid off, study says.www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/03/stockton-universal-basic-income/

The most nauseating thing about the current GOP obstruction of Biden nominees is that these are many of the same Senators who rubber-stamped the nominations of several of the worst Cabinet appointees in history, for Trump-- Betsy DeVos, Scott Pruitt, Louis DeJoy, Ben Carson, Mick Mulvaney, Bill Barr, et.al. Ted Cruz just voted in committee against Merrick Garland's appointment as AG, then Cruz falsely claimed that Garland had refused to answer questions from the Judiciary Committee!

I just got an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine on Friday, March 5th. I got lucky, because it's the very first day that I became eligible here in Denver. Meanwhile, it's worrisome to hear about Governor Abbot terminating COVID precautions in Texas.

Shocker. Trump's flying monkey at the Pentagon-- acting Sec Def Chris Miller-- blocked D.C. security during the January 6th coup attempt. (Trump fired Mark Esper after the November election and appointed Miller acting Sec Def in a move that raised serious concerns about the transition to Biden's presidency.) D.C. National Guard Commander Recalls 3-Hour Delay In Approval On Jan. 6 : NPR

I love this lady. Just watched the Netflix documentary about her life. I always thought that Dolly Parton was just a redneck bimbo with a goofy blonde wig. Never realized what a truly remarkable person she is. From 'Jolene' To Vaccine: Dolly Parton Gets COVID-19 Shot She Helped Fund Dolly Parton Gets First Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine She Helped Fund : Coronavirus Updates : NPR

Thanks, Cliff. Speaking of wipeouts, I caught a ski in a snowboard rut up at Keystone today and had quite a tumble. No major damage, so it was all good. 🤪

Now we're cooking Cliff. Here are two surf rock classics that I recorded with my Peckerwoods studio band many years ago-- Walk Don't Run (1960) and Wipeout (1963.) Walk Don't Run was recorded by Chet Atkins in 1956 before the Ventures made it a hit in 1960. Walk Don't Run by Willie Wunderlich and the Peckerwoods | SoundClick Wipe Out by Willie Wunderlich and the Peckerwoods | SoundClick

Did someone say, "Surf Rock?" Now you guys are getting into a genre of great interest to me and my one man Peckerwoods studio band. How about this cool Fender Strat opus from 1960?

And now we learn that Donald and Melania Trump were secretly vaccinated in January. Apparently, they didn't want to risk setting a good, life-saving example for their fans. 🙄

It's especially upsetting to hear about this happening on NPR-- somewhat like hearing Warren Commission Report propaganda being promoted on the McNeil/Lehrer News Hour at PBS over the years. (I've noticed that NPR has also promoted government disinformation about the U.S./NATO/Saudi proxy war in Syria during the past decade.)

41 percent say they are not willing to receive coronavirus vaccine 41 percent say they are not willing to receive coronavirus vaccine | TheHill

Apparently, about half of all Republicans in former Confederate states, (in addition to Kentucky and Oklahoma) now want to secede from the U.S. And Texas Governor Greg Abbott has not yet objected to a Republican Party resolution in Texas calling for secession. Meanwhile, for a little comic relief, here's Al Franken's re-creation of Mitch McConnell's post-impeachment acquittal speech. 🤥

Mike Pence, apparently garnered just 1% of the C-PAC vote for 2024 GOP Presidential candidates today-- trailing such Never Masker GOP luminaries as Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem. This is all the thanks Pence gets for patiently standing and smiling while having to smell Donald Trump's horrible KFC farts for the past four years. 🤥