High Fructose Corn Syrup defended in embarrassingly brazen commercial

This commercial speaks for itself – Paid for by the Corn Refiners Association…..

A&E – Different Strokes vs. Disturbing Strokes

The soundtrack makes all of the difference in the world.

Here is Different Strokes the way we all (well, most of us) remember it:

Here is Different Strokes with a different soundtrack sending a whole different message:

Drama: Adolf Hitler finds out he cannot refinance his home

The best lines are, “I need a sign that says, ‘Idiot’ and hold it over my head like this!” and “I will just sell my Lehman and AIG stock.”

Sound of Music in Grand Central Station

Here is something light to help the mood of Daddy Hogwash readers on this Monday…

Tactical Internet Pants

I will probably have to get me a pair of these; you know, since what I really do for a living is work on computers.  But, it is nice to know that if I ever slid in to the law enforcement industry, I would already have the required casual attire. 

I like my country like I like my sports

Image via Wikipedia

By: Karl Frank Jr.

“Let the players play!” is the old adage, and it is a good one.  As a matter of fact, I like it.  I like it a lot.  Especially in baseball.  A good game is designed like a well-written novel.  The suspense and anticipation of every pitch, nod, wink, and stolen base can keep a true sport fan on the edge of their seat until the climactic final out.  And while there is no one way to write a novel, or play a baseball game, there is a general set of rules and regulations that everyone agrees to play by.  These rules did not appear in a magical rule book by some invisible hand overnight.  The rules of the game evolved over a period of a hundred years, and even longer if you delve in to the history of any sport that involves a ball and a stick.  If it was not for these rules that everyone agrees on before the first pitch is thrown, and the umpires to enforce them, the game that we have come to know and love would not exist –- the same applies to my country, the United States of America….

There are few things more sweet than the swing of Ken Griffey Jr.’s bat.  In 2008, he started the season seven home runs short of 600, and his last home run, number 599, had been on May 31.  The drama and anticipation of that 600th blast was on every baseball fan’s mind until finally, on June 10, 2008, this pure athlete took the Marlin’s Mark Hendrickson over the wall for his place in the history books.

One has to wonder what Griffey’s numbers would look like if he had not spent all of that time on the bench with nagging injuries - but even still, 600 hundred home runs is something that only 6 of over 16,000 former Major League Baseball players had ever managed before.  That moment in time was a feat of personal greatness by any athletic standard.

However, Griffey’s greatness did not mystically appear out of nowhere.  It was not his inborn natural talents that made him a household name in America with millions of dollars in his bank account and a place in the record books.  Instead, he was a man with a passion for the game that thrived in a system that was devised for him and others to succeed within.  To better illustrate this point, read what Sir Isaac Newton wrote of the French philosopher Descartes, “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”  Griffey was a giant standing on the shoulders of the giants before him, including a man named Ken Griffey Sr.

Yet, the system that Griffey has thrived in is not perfect, and it has never been perfect.  Individual players and sometimes even whole teams have attempted to swipe the legs right from under the giants of Alexander Cartright and his “Knickerbocker Rules,” Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Stan “The Man” Musial, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and more.  The 1919 White Sox, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Hal Chase, and the 1877 Louisville Greys, just to name a few, are black eyes on the history of baseball, and in many cases, almost brought down the game all together.

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“Vince Fumo: In search of Superman”

By: Joe Arentz, PA Taxpayer

Vince Fumo Knows how to live the Miller High Life.

Vince Fumo took greed and eccentricity to daunting new heights. Fumo, a recent former part of the Pennsylvania State Senate, was just freshly charged with all 137 counts of corruption against him, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Today, using public funds for private benefit isn’t a groundbreaking crime, but Fumo brought us a true comic book like approach to white collar crimes.

This guy not only bought clothes and (several) homes, but bought the same clothing to be placed in his scattered estates. Also, each home had to come standard with an Oreck vacuum. You’re preparing for something big when your making headquarters like that, and by the way, he bought some 300 or so guns? Also, for some odd reason, he felt it was necessary to purchase and keep several copies of the same book. I’m guessing that explained the high sales of Twilight.

This guy was a social Lex Luthor. He had an elaborate yacht, which I will dub “The Superboat”. Fumo loved to take exotic trips on his Superboat with his lady fare. With the Superboat as the final piece, the puzzle was solved: he was hunting for something powerful, maybe Superman himself. You’re going to need all the Oreck vacuums you can find if you want to take down the “Man of Steel”.If the Superboat didn’t dispense Fumo’s (publicly) paid goons on Wave Runners, Fumo definitely had his Kryptonite, “credit cards from a South Philadelphia nonprofit he controlled.”

This guy is looking at jail time, yet how ironic that he’s  living off the public dollar, still. Now that is villainous! Judge Joe’s sentence: throw him to his own “Better Neighborhoods” in Philadelphia with not a penny. Let him live in a city that accrued 332 murders in 2008 with no job and an awful credit rating.

21st Century and the 20th Century Boy: Twitter

By: Joseph Arentz

It’s been around for awhile, but I suppose the last of the dial up users finally got the message of the existence of a website known as “Twitter”. “Twitter”, in a nutshell, is a series of short updates, keeping followers informed of someone’s or something’s happenings.

If only Isaac Asimov warned us of the dangers of “Twitter” instead of robots. Back a decade or two ago, the modern world would be following Austrian cyborgs if they wished to live, or running for their lives on their 21^st birthday. We’re not even logging on to our Internet to ride on a cyber motorcycle. How can their be social networking and no Robocops?

Instead we get to keep up with menial updates from everyone. In addition to all your cool friends but America’s beloved B-listers, such as Hulk Hogan and William Shatner (you fell a long way from the captain’s chair, Shat) have an account. Government officials of course also harnesses the awesome power of Skynet, I mean Twitter, from our current President to the Israeli Consulate.

Bottom line here folks, doesn’t someone usually have to ask before we answer the question, “What are you doing?” Twitter: taking the fun out of stalking.

One More Reason to Be Nice to Your Children - Freakonomics Blog

Image via Wikipedia

A parenting tragedy if I ever heard of one.  I read this while holding my sleeping 10 month-old daughter… Warning! Do not read if emotional

Before he got on the train, little Alexandra looked up and asked, “Daddy, will you bring me a cane?” Bucky [Fuller’s nickname] promised he would bring back the souvenir as he set off for an enjoyable day of football and friends.

Harvard won that day, and Bucky spent most of his time lost in drink, camaraderie, and parties, forgetting his troubles as well as his family on Long Island. When he arrived in Pennsylvania Station in New York the following afternoon, Bucky telephoned Anne [his wife] who could barely speak. She told him that Alexandra had suffered a relapse and was in a coma. Stunned, Bucky caught the next train to Long Island. Arriving home, he found Alexandra still unconscious and a doctor doing all he could to save her life.

Bucky could only sit near her bed looking on helplessly as the doctors and nurses continued their work well into the night. Eventually, the situation calmed down, but Alexandra’s condition did not improve. Then, in the early hours before dawn, she opened her eyes and smiled up at Bucky. As he bent close to his daughter, Bucky heard her tiny voice ask, “Daddy, did you bring me my cane?”

Fuller could only turn away in shame and agony. In the furor of drinking and celebrating, he had forgotten his daughter’s simple request. Following her question, Alexandra closed her eyes for the last time and died in her father’s arms a few hours later. Bucky never forgave himself for that incident, which, even in the last years of his life, would bring tears of remorse to his eyes.

One More Reason to Be Nice to Your Children - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com

The Federal Trade Commission Fights Back Against FreeCreditReport.com

Update: The videos are slow to load at the moment…

The songs are not as catchy, but the message is perfect and easy to understand.  I found this originally on Consumerist.com, which was recently purchased by Consumers Union, the non-profit that runs the popular Consumer Reports magazine.

If you have been awake for five minutes over the last couple of years, you have probably heard those catchy tunes from FreeCreditReport.com.  (Don’t go there!)  While they will give you your credit report for free, you very well may get trapped in to ongoing fees related to credit report updates.

However, there is a genuine and legitimate free credit report website, and it is called AnnualCreditReport.com.  At some point, the government required Experian, Equifax, and Transunion (the three credit reporting agencies) to provide Americans with a free credit report once a year.  AnnualCreditReport.com is their joint project to make that happen.

I would do three things:

1.  I would watch these videos.  They are entertaining enough to watch and share.

2.  Visit consumerist.com on a regular basis for great consumer tips.

3.  Visit AnnualCreditReport.com once a year to get your latest credit information and verify that it is correct.

Enjoy:

And this one:

‘The Four Horsemen HD - Now on YouTube’ by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett - RichardDawkins.net

For your viewing pleasure and spiritual journey…

On the 30th of September 2007, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens sat down for a first-of-its-kind, unmoderated 2-hour discussion, convened by RDFRS and filmed by Josh Timonen.

‘The Four Horsemen HD - Now on YouTube’ by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett - RichardDawkins.net

Boozy films and ads make viewers drink more - health - 04 March 2009 - New Scientist

I know it is anecdotal at best, but based on personal experience, I believe this 100%.  Not only does it make me instantly crave a drink on many occasions, what I crave depends on what the actor or actress is drinking.  Last evening was a perfect example.  My wife and I were watching Becoming Jane when the male lead sat in a pub with a mug of beer.  My taste buds instantly lit up.  If it wasn’t for the Strawberry Nestle Quick I had just downed, I may have given in to temptation.

If you find yourself craving a beer next time you’re watching someone do the same on your TV, you won’t be alone.

Two studies suggest that people drink more when viewing drinking behaviour in films and advertisements. The results strengthen calls for tighter regulations on how and when alcohol is portrayed in movies and commercials.

"Although we do not argue for banning alcohol portrayals in movies, it might be an idea to explicitly warn people, especially parents, that movies contain such scenes, and that these affect drinking directly," says lead researcher, Rutger Engels of Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Boozy films and ads make viewers drink more - health - 04 March 2009 - New Scientist

Limbaugh Misquotes Constitution During CPAC Speech

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

This contains a certain element of poetic justice.  Does anyone remember Rush hammering Barbara Streisand for misquoting Shakespeare? 

We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you.

Limbaugh, it seems, meant to say "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," which, of course, is in the Declaration of Independence. Just to be sure, however, the Constitutional Accountability Center compared his remarks to the Constitution’s preamble, and didn’t find a match.

Limbaugh Misquotes Constitution During CPAC Speech

The Credit Crises Video of Videos – Good Stuff!

This is a great video from Jonathan Jarvis explaining the credit crises and the role of the investor in the market crash.  Its only shortcomings that I can see are that it does not delve in to how the credit default swaps came in to existence, nor does he speak to the faulty risk formula Wall Street used starting in 2001 to assess the risk of these securities.  Perhaps they require videos of their own.  Regardless, here you go:

James Lovelock says the human race’s only hope is to adapt - fixing global warming will just make it worse

I have always felt that James Lovelock was on to something with his Gaia theory of Earth, which as The Daily Galaxy states, “the Earth is essentially a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.

But, in this case, I hope that he is wrong.  According to his latest thoughts on global warming, it is really too late to do anything about it, and the “affluenza” that Thomas Friedman emphasizes in his book, ‘Hot, Flat, and Crowded‘ has taken over the developing world is starting to affect the planet.

Here is the kicker, not only is it too late to do anything about it, according to Lovelock, doing too much to fix it might actually make it worse.  Essentially, he says we should be more responsible for the sake of it and just learn how to adapt to what is about to happen to us as a race of people.

It also brings to mind a comedy sketch I saw by George Carlin when he said something like:

“The planet has been through a lot worse than us.
Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through
earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar
flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the
poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and
asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires,
erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic
bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The
planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!” Here is the whole thing, but in typical Carlin fashion, it includes a lot of profanity.

The Status of “Spaceship Earth”

It’s a horrible catch 22 situation that leaves only a very small gap for any joy at all. If we continue to do nothing (note the use of the word continue), then we will doom ourselves. If we do do something, like a massive cut back in the emission of carbon in to our atmosphere, Lovelock believes that we would further damage Earth.

“Any economic downturn or planned cutback in fossil fuel use, which lessened aerosol density, would intensify the heating,” Lovelock will say, in a lecture to the Royal Society today. “If there were a 100 per cent cut in fossil fuel combustion it might get hotter not cooler. We live in a fool’s climate. We are damned if we continue to burn fuel and damned if we stop too suddenly.”