UNEMPLOYMENT NEWS: A 99er Christmas Reality Check - NO Hyperbole

With all the misconceptions today on the unemployment news, this is a 99er reality check. No frills, no whining and most of all no hyperbole - I leave that to Washington.

Today The Obama “Bend Over” became law, making it an official eternal and undeniable truth that our President and the majority of Congress care more about Rich Americans - even the Dead ones - than they do about hurting, living but soon to be dead impoverished Americans. Basically the Unemployed got scrooged!!!!

More about this terrible tax extension bill in tomorrow's blog articles, but today I wanted to convey this travesty from one 99ers' perspective - My own!

You see, I happen to be one of the very luckiest of the long term unemployed. I have a great family who has helped me survive this wilderness. Unfortunately their coffers have greatly dwindled because my need has been so great -- especially this year when my UI ended in March. I have made it a full time job for the past 2 years plus looking to land a job (good or otherwise) and at the same time dedicate an additional 55 hours per week to advocating for the 99ers.

I cannot afford a nice Christmas dinner or even a tree for this the 3rd Christmas in a row - but I am most fortunate to still be here at all - after brain surgery, being run over by a drunk truck driver and a host of other maladies in the recent years. God must certainly have a plan for me and I am content to abide in an attitude of profound gratitude.

You see I refuse to allow 536 jerks in Washington DC to dictate my happiness. God keeps me going even when things look their darkest. The method (My sister, benefactor, UI benefits) are all just the conduit through which the good Lord provides me sustenance, sort of like Manna from Heaven in the good book.

Still I do long for the days when I could buy just the right little something nice for all the people in my life. I often fantasize about winning the lotto and just how many people I could bless with that money. I remember when my Holiday decorations were the talk of the block in my neighborhood and I could give a $10 bill in a small bible to every homeless person I met with a sign on the streets that said "Please Help!"

99er Reality Check 2010

This is the extent of my christmas decorations this year and last year as well:



It may not be elaborate but with this and a manger scene, I manage to remind myself daily the joy and true meaning of this season.

My family all live very far away but we are close despite the miles that separate us geographically. They understand that family, kindness to all, a good heart and a great sense of humor are the keys to a life of victory - no matter your humble (even dire) circumstances.

The joy of this season will NOT be spoiled by the fact My government is populated by heartless cretins and complete, mindless idiots like Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) who went on Fox News this week with host Greta Van Susteren and falsely claimed Jobless Benefits Last ‘Well Over 100 Weeks’ - with the passage of the tax bill extension for the rich.

My rebuttal to Hatch and morons like him is put to rhyme in the video below.

Yes I am blessed, as earlier this month it looked as though I was losing what little I had left, when out of the blue a benefactor came forward to actually pay me a modest stipend over the next 6 months to keep fighting for the 99ers. GOD bless you!!!

Now, FINALLY for the first time in nearly a year -- not every waking moment of my life is filled with the terror of wondering how I am going to survive yet another month of futile job search. (and I will not be bleeding my relatives dry anymore either -UGH the guilt!) That guilt is now turned into relief and fortitude to continue to fight for those not as fortunate as I am now.

One of those I am desperately trying to find help for is a 99er named Debbie S. who was recently featured on CNN Money Reports, who will be homeless again before Christmas. Any donations that are made to my website Jobless Unite will go directly to help this NYC woman.

Yes I am just 1 poor 99er myself, but I am willing to help in any way I can. It is in being a blessing to our neighbors in need that we make our world a better place. A concept much too complicated for Congress and even our President too understand and fully grasp -- it would seem.

So here is the 99ers Christmas video. It really says it all and in rhyme!! Enjoy!



[Please use the donation button below to help Paladinette to KEEP FIGHTING for the 99ers! Thank you. All donations placed here will go directly to Debbie S. above - God will bless you greatly for your simple acts of generosity]

Oscar Best Song Candidate: "Despicable Me" By Pharrell Williams

Of the 41 songs competing for Best Original Song for the 83rd Academy Awards, this one, Despicable Me by three-time Grammy Award winner Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D, is one you just can't get out of your head. The buzz may be about Justin Bieber's possible Oscar nod, but Despicable Me the song is something to hear.

The song plays to open the hit animated film starring Steve Carrell as the wanna-be-evil Gru, who's hard exterior is softened by the entry of three orphaned girls into his life.

The movie played on United Airlines westbound flights in November; that's when I first heard the unforgettable opening song.

In an interview with ArtistsDirect.com, Pharrell said that he came up with the song just on watching the movie: "Honestly, the music is dictated by what you're seeing in the film. The movie tells you where to go and what to do. Despicable Me inspired the music moment-for-moment. Basically, what you watch is what's in there. For Despicable Me, I knew I definitely wanted some Steely Dan-sounding moments in there so I shot for that a lot [Laughs]."

Take a listen for yourself:

Giants need to make a statement that lasts beyond this weekend: an editorial commentary….

Giants need to make a statement that lasts beyond this weekend: an editorial commentary….
By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online-Special Contributor-Pro Football NYC

Everyone knows the Giants have had their “moments” this year, both high and low. Although they have already managed to win more then they have lost, it seems to be a very fragile success that they have enjoyed since the “comeback” win over the Bears by the score of 17-3 early in the season. By “comeback” I mean it was the comeback game of the year for the defense. If anything is clearly evident about the 2010 NY Giants, they are not without fault or weakness. Losses to the Cowboys and Eagles have shown that in recent weeks. But this team is not without heart and soul. The offense may put the points on the board, but as Coach Parcells used to say, as many coaches before him, “the defense has to drive the truck here. Defense wins championships.” No truer words were ever spoken on the game.

Several of my fellow writers and reporters both on this group of websites and elsewhere will fill you with stats, most about the resurgence of the defense under coach Fewell. It’s the defensive assistants here that fly under the radar net, kind of like the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter during the opening minutes of the first gulf war. Shock and awe is an understatement when discussing the Giants defense, and it’s defensive backs.

It’s my learned opinion that Coach Dave Merritt and Coach Peter Giunta, are two of the best in the business. You might remember Coach “G” as the defensive coordinator of the 1999 Rams that outlasted the Titans on the last play of the game for one of the most exciting game in Super Bowl history, until the Giants topped New England in the Arizona Desert in Super Bowl 42. It’s what these coaches are doing for the Giants defense that goes far beyond the stats culled each week.

This summer I watched intently as Coach Merritt ran a tip drill for the defensive backs the first few days of training camp. Clearly the defensive backfield has become the most improved unit on the team this year under their combined watch. Ronnie Lott told us on a conference call not long ago that he’s hard pressed to identify a better group of defensive backs. High praise from one of the game’s all time greats.

As great a compliment as that is, the Giants got here on total team effort. Clearly the whole is greater then the sum of it's parts and that’s the way it needs to be on this team. Visions of last years collapse are almost as far behind in the rear view mirror of our minds as the mundane and listless play that was the hallmark of the end of the 2009 season. It’s time for this defense and this entire team to make a final statement going into the home stretch of the 2010 season that makes their faithful fans forget the pasting the team took through the middle and end of 2009.

I personally don’t attend every game anymore as I did for many years, but I have been there enough the last two plus seasons to continue to know the pain the fans feel after a loss, as well as 25 plus years of joy and adulation after countless victories. If it is truly “all clicking at the right time” as many of the players suggest, even through another rough spate of injuries, then you will see this team finish off each of their last three opponents, starting this week against the dreaded Eagles.

Offensive Lineman David Diehl, when interviewed by John Fennelly and myself several weeks back, said that this team is indeed a big extended family, as coach Coughlin often suggests. Then it’s time for the “family” to pull together as hard as they can once again, as they did late in the 2007 season.

This is the moment, this Sunday, and the next two after this, to show the NFC East and the NFL, that “The NY Giants” are back, truly back, and they are taking no prisoners in their quest for the division title, and the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Tony Romo Pops the Question to Candice Crawford

CNN reported this morning that Candice Crawford was proposed to by Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo.

Crawford works as a reporter for KDAF TV and as the two celebrated her birthday at Five Sixty in Dallas Romo popped the question to the 24-year-old. Romo is 30-years-old and well known for being Jessica Simpson's ex-boyfriend.

As well as being a reporter, Crawford is known for being the sister of 'Gossip Girl' star Chase Crawford.

Tron Legacy: 2010: A Digital Odyssey

Tron Legacy is best seen at The Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. That's where this blogger saw it just over an hour ago. The grand space with it's indirect lighting is the perfect backdrop for a most unsettling movie.

Tron Legacy is so because it's a cross between the 1982 Tron and 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact, you should see both of those movies before you set foot into the Grand Lake to see Tron Legacy. The Jeff Bridges-starring flick makes you think about the meaning of your own existence. It's also yet another story featuring White Guy Playing God While Not Mentioning God.   That was the unsettling part: the man-replace-God theme, again.

Yep. The "White Guy Playing God While Not Mentioning God" theme is hammered into us everyday.  Be it Stephen Hawking working to say God doesn't exist, and trying to make himself look like one in the process, or some Atheist like Christopher Hitchens asserting his all-knowing self into your life, telling you there is no God to trust in him, Christopher.

This happens so much so I view it as part of The Matrix. And in order to avoid being brainwashed by The Matrix you have to question of frequency of what you see. How many times have you seen the "Black Guy Playing God While Not Mentioning God" theme in a movie? How about in life? Hard to find an example, eh?   And frankly, I find that idea just as unsettling as the "White Male God" message.

But I digress.

Everything about Tron Legacy is 2001 A Space Odyssey, all the way down to these connections: Hal 9000 is Clu, the program-human created by Kevin Flynn (Bridges) that becomes all too self-aware. Kevin Flynn and Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) are Dave in 2001: the person we take the journey with to where he eventually becomes the star-child, the entity around which a new life form is born. That life form is represented by Quorra (Olivia Wilde), who was created by Kevin Flynn and is the last of her kind.

Ultimately, it's left to the elder Flynn as Dave to take down Clu as Hal 9000.

While I've given away the central theme of Tron Legacy, that doesn't mean it's not a film worth $11 and 3D glasses to see. It's worth every penny.  Even if the 3D wasn't really all that necessary.  In fact, there's a disclaimer at the start of the movie that some parts of it are presented in 2D, not 3D.  But I found myself pulling up my 3D glasses to get a view of Tron Legacy without them.   What I saw wasn't too bad.   Yes, 3D added something, but it wasn't the WOW factor we've come to expect from movies like Avatar, the Gold Standard for 3D to date.

Jeff Bridges Was OK

Jeff Bridges was just OK in his role as Kevin Flynn.  His flip 1960s hipster / LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson-esque style injected just the right amont of humor into tense moments, though I can see how some would be annoyed with the act.

Garrett Hedlund was a little too action frat boyish to be believed, but we accept him as Sam Flynn, Kevin's son.

But where Garrett Hedlund was subpar, and that's due to the way the character of Sam was written, not to his acting skills, Olivia Wilde as Quorra was awesome.  She was, of all of the characters, the one you rooted for the most.  Quorra, a digital creation, was the most human of all entities in Tron Legacy.  Seeing her escape the digital world feel the sunlight at Tron's end, made up for whatever discomfort I had with the whole "White Man God" thing.

And why the discomfort?  Regardless of who does the God thing, human's aren't ready to be God, let alone play God.  Our idea of God as expressed in movies and books has little to do with being good, and everything to do with lording over other people, against their will.  

Lord, help us.

Burlesque Leads Pack Of Oscar Original Song Contenders, 41 In All

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) reports that 41 songs have made the list of contenders for the "Original Song" category for the 83rd Academy Awards.

Of them, the musical Burlesque leads all movies with 3 songs in the hunt: Bound to You, Welcome to Burlesque, and You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.

Following Burlesque in songs on the list are several films with two songs in the competition: Black Tulip, Despicable Me, and Country Strong. Below is the entire list provided by AMAPAS:

Alice from Alice in Wonderland
Forever One Love from Black Tulip
Freedom Song from Black Tulip
Bound to You from Burlesque
Welcome to Burlesque from Burlesque
You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me from Burlesque
There’s a Place for Us from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Coming Home from Country Strong
Me and Tennessee from Country Strong
Despicable Me from Despicable Me
Prettiest Girls from Despicable Me
Dear Laughing Doubters from Dinner for Schmucks
Better Days from Eat Pray Love
If You Run from Going the Distance
Darkness before the Dawn from Holy Rollers
Sticks & Stones from How to Train Your Dragon
Le Gris from Idiots and Angels
Chanson Illusionist from The Illusionist
Never Say Never from The Karate Kid
To the Sky from Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
What If from Letters to Juliet
Life during Wartime from Life during Wartime
Made in Dagenham from Made in Dagenham
Little One from Mother and Child
Be the One from The Next Three Days
If I Rise from 127 Hours
When You See Forever from The Perfect Game
I Remain from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Dream Big from Pure Country 2: The Gift
How I Love You from Ramona and Beezus
Darling I Do from Shrek Forever After
Noka Oi from Six Days in Paradise
This Is a Low from Tamara Drewe
I See the Light from Tangled
Rise from 3 Billion and Counting
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3
Eclipse: All Yours from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Nothing from Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too
A Better Life from Unbeaten
Shine from Waiting for ‘Superman’
The Reasons Why from Wretches & Jabberers


The Academy's Teni Melidonian explains:

On Thursday, January 6, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song, in random order, for voting members of the Music Branch in Los Angeles. Following the screenings, members will determine the nominees by an averaged point system vote. If no song receives an average score of 8.25 or more, there will be no nominees in the category. If only one song achieves that score, it and the song receiving the next highest score shall be the two nominees. If two or more songs (up to five) achieve that score, they shall be the nominees. A DVD copy of the song clips will be made available to those branch members who are unable to attend the screening and who request it for home viewing. A mail-in ballot will be provided.


Under Academy rules, a maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film. If more than two songs from a film are in contention, the two songs with the most votes will be the nominees.


To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.

The Academy will announce the winning nominations on Tuesday, January 25th at 5:30 AM, in the in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be held Sunday, February 27th on the ABC Television Network.

Shelley Malil: 40 Year Old Virgin Actor Sentenced to Life For Attempted Murder

Shelley Malil was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in 12 years for stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Kendra Beebe, over 20 times.  The actor broke down in the courtroom as he apologized for his actions.

The stabbing took place in Kendra Beebe's home in San Diego, California, when Malil came over unannounced and found her drinking wine with another man. Malil grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen and stabbed Beebe repeatedly.  Beebe had wounds on her back, arms, chest and neck, as well as two punctured lungs by the time the attack was over.  Malil fled the scene when neighbors heard Beebe's screams and was caught the next day at an Amtrak station in Oceanside.

Malil was convicted 3 months ago after only 4 hours of deliberation.  He may be eligible for parole in 9 years for time served and good behavior.  After the trial Beebe stated that “During the course of the trial it became clear he was an actor, but not a very good actor at that. His testimony was lie after lie after lie.”


John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

Check me out on www.theforceofnature.net

Morgan Freeman: Hoax Tweet That Actor Died

The rumor that Morgan Freeman passed away today made it's way through the twitter universe. The tweet purportedly came from CNN's twitter account. The network has clarified this though saying that "CNN did not report Morgan Freeman death. Rumor is false. CNN will aggressively investigate this hoax."

The hoax fooled many people though as it was re-tweeted throughout the web. I've noticed that celebrity death's seem to happen pretty often on the internet. I remember awhile back there was a rumor that Zach Braff had passed away.

I'm not sure how these things spread so quickly, or why they get started in the first place. Maybe it's that thing we have inside of us that makes us want to be the first to tell our friends about something, that makes us jump to pass along news like this. You know the urge I'm talking about, the one that makes you send out Youtube links to people in hopes that you'll be the first to introduce them to some hilarious video. We always want to be one of the first to know, or tell, about something, and so things like this spread like wildfire through the interweb.

And I'm not really sure about the people who actually start these rumors. As far as their motivation is concerned I mean. We all know that one person who does things just to see what happens. Maybe this is the same mentality behind spreading around fake celebrity death reports. I remember in the case of Zach Braff the guy who started it was dubbed, "douchebag" of the day by Zach Braff himself, for making his mother cry.

I think in the end people just want to feel special and get attention. The person who started today's rumor is anonymous for now, but he's still getting attention. Attention by people like me who write about this stuff, and people like you who read about it.

The point is, don't believe everything you read on twitter and people are attention whores, and hopefully the guy who started today's rumor didn't make anyone in Morgan Freeman's family cry.

John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

Check out my other work at www.theforceofnature.net

Grim Sleeper: LAPD Releases Photos of Potential Victims

The LAPD released photos today that were discovered on the property of Lonnie Franklin Jr.  A man who was arrested for the murder of 10 women in July of 2010.  The killings occurred between 1985 and 2007, with a 14 year break in between from 1988 to 2002.  This period of inactivity is what earned the serial killer the nickname "Grim Sleeper."

The police found over a thousand photographs of women in the serial killers trailer.  The photographs are sexually explicit in nature and in some cases the women appear to be dead or severely drugged.  There are 180 different women among the 1 thousand or so photos that were discovered.

The crimes that Lonnie Franklin are accused of were traced back to him through ballistics and DNA evidence found at the scene of these crimes.  But the police cannot be certain that these are the only murders he committed and released the photos in an attempt to possibly identify more victims of the serial killer.  The chief of police Charlie Beck said "We certainly do not believe that we are so lucky, or so good, as to know all of his victims,"We need the public's help."


The images have been made available through the media and online.  Due to the explicit nature of the photos the LAPD has cropped the images to only show the faces of the women.  The photos can be found on the LAPD's website at http://www.lapdonline.org/  

John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

Check out comics and other writings at www.theforceofnature.net

Facebook Glitch: Social Network Site Went Down

Facebook went down for 30 minutes on 12/16/10.  The site was taken down intentionally at 4:15 due to some glitches with an upgrade of new features.  Facebook issued this statement in regards to the temporary shutdown

"For a brief period of time, some internal prototypes were made public to a number of people externally.  As a result, we took the site down for a few minutes.  It’s back up, and we apologize for the inconvenience."

John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

Check out my other work at www.theforceofnature.net

Steven Donziger Loses Chevron Ecuador Appeals Court Battle

Chevron Ecuador lawsuit boss and budding movie star Steven Donziger lost another important battle in the ongoing Chevron / Ecuador issue. Steven The Don, as this blogger will refer to Steven Donziger for his role as "The Godfather," even toward discussing a plan of intimidating an Ecuador judge, has failed, once again, to quash the Chevron subpoena granted by U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan.

According to the Courthouse News Service, on Wednesday, The 2nd Circuit Court agreed with Judge Kaplan's order in responding to Donziger's appeal of the order which has him in the position of having to be interviewed by Chevron lawyers and turn over 8,000 pages of documents related to the case.

The 2nd Circuit Court wrote:

After an independent review of the record, we conclude,substantially for the reasons stated by the District Court in its orders of November 10 andNovember 30, 2010, that the District Court did not abuse its discretion. We therefore affirm theOctober 20 and November 29, 2010, orders of the District Court and we remand the cause to theDistrict Court for further proceedings consistent with this order.

In other words, Steven The Don has to work under Judge Kaplan's order and with Chevron's subpoena.

What This Means

What this all means is an ultimate path toward proof that Steven the Don's claims that the American Oil Giant polluted the Ecuadorian Amazon until 1992 - but using false information and studies gathered well after Chevron left Ecuador, and during a time when Petroecuador, Ecuador's own oil company, was using the same oil wells and production facilities - is false and fraudulent.

Courthouse reports that Karen Hinton, the active spokesperson for Donziger, said the ruling has nothing to do with the merits of the lawsuit.

Not true.

The lawsuit Donziger has worked on covers up Petroecuador's own terrible environmental record as well as Ecuador's overall strategy of the nationalization of oil. Donziger's non-profit pitbulls at Amazon Watch have asserted that Ecuador's not a party to Steven The Don's lawsuit.    That's not true, as was discussed in this space several times before.

The silence of Amazon Watch is deafening, and for good reason.  Someone misled them.   Even now, they have to question the merits of this case.

Not All Bad Or Good

The overall point is that no one party is bad.  Chevron has been painted that way and with a frequency greater than one can imagine.  Yes, oil companies do pollute, and they help curb and prevent it too.  And the implication in this for some time is Steven The Don and his people are angels.  Not so. Indeed, Steven himself has met with Petroecuador execs - one can guess why he's not suing Ecuador's oil giant.  Moreover, they've been used by an Ecuador that seeks to keep oil revenues for itself, has kicked out American oil companies, and has done little, if anything, for its poor.

Stay tuned.

School Board Shooting, Clay Duke, Reveals Psychotics Among Us

The shocking video of an obviously deranged psychotic by the name of Clay Duke walking into a Panama City, Florida School Board meeting and opening fire on its board members, makes everyone, especially school board members, ask if that can happen to them.



The scary answer is "yes," if you consider how it seems we're at a place in our society where our very way of exchanging ideas seems psychotic. Or, as the definition goes "abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality."

Think of how many times psychotic behavior is displayed each day. It could be someone expressing an unusually dramatic reaction to someone's throw-away comment. Or over-reaction to a person on an airplane who's wearing Muslim religious headdress.  The overall idea that "someone is out to get you" is coupled with people who make threats to the same people. And all for no reason. The Internet has become the great bullhorn for people who may, either temporarily or permanently have such problems.

The lousy economy, getting better for some though, doesn't help. Neither does the overall loss of civility in American society. Little by little, we seem to think it's OK to be mean to each other. And in the video game world, people trash talking while "blowing each other away" is common. Some of that, the trash talking part, has seeped into normal life.

On top of all that, schools don't teach people how to embrace diversity. So, in a tight economy, the idea that someone with or without skin color is doing better than the person who think's things are messed up, can reach psychotic levels.

Have doubts?

Take a look at the website forum Stormfront, where forum titles like "Affirmative Action, and how it screwed me!" and "BLACK GUY PROBLEM, help!!!" draw up to tens of thousands of "threads." And all on a site that's one of the ten largest in the World.

The problem is that we seems to have some people who insist on giving in to their desire to hate, rather than practicing the ability to empathize with the other person.

Consider our cable news, where Fox News is conservative and MSNBC is liberal and both are beating the ratings pants off CNN, which doesn't know what it wants to be. But why should CNN pick a side in a fight between extremes? Why fight at all?

With all of that, it's easy to think these are scary times, but there are good people out there. You just have to look for them, and practice being one of them.

Especially at Christmas!