Hillary's Little Blog

For Hillary
Because Lord knows she could use a little help.

Oh, what now?
Somehow the Democratic primaries have devolved into America’s long nightmare. Thank you, media! You’re getting bored, so the rest of us have to get bored too.

Hillary Clinton recently pointed out that many primaries have lasted into the summer - citing 1968, for instance. In that citation, she mentioned that Robert Kennedy had been assassinated in June, 1968.

This somehow instantly became… what? That she was somehow suggesting or hoping that Barack Obama might get assassinated? That seems to be what we’re supposed to take away. From MSM to the blogosphere, the voices were raised.

Outraged. That's the word. We have become outraged. Why? On whose behalf? Robert Kennedy Jr. was quoted in the New York Times: “I’ve heard her make that argument before. It sounds like she was invoking a familiar historical circumstance in support of her argument for continuing her campaign.”

Exactly.

Not that I want Ms. Clinton to stay in the race. I've had it up to here with the Clintons. I've also had it up to here with fake outrage. Stop it, America! Don't make me come up there. I'll turn this car around and we'll go straight home. I mean it.

Zombies return.
According to the New York Times, a Chicago company called River West Brands is buying up old brand names, hoping that their vague familiarity might be worth something. Remember Brim? “Fill it to the rim – with Brim!” They own that. These brand names are also called ghost brands, orphan brands, or zombie brands. They include Underalls, Salon Selectives, Nuprin, Coleco, Eagle Snacks, Quisp, Ipana, and Duz. I didn't even know half of these were gone.

There will always be an England.
Rough Guide to England, according to Reuters, says at one point: "as a glance at the tabloid newspapers will confirm, England is a nation of overweight, binge-drinking reality TV addicts."

Science!
Sociologist Harry Collins was interviewed by the Scientific American. He said, "It is easy to imagine all sorts of horror stories if we abandon the idea that there are some people who know what they are talking about and some who don't. Most scientific disputes that concern the public are at the cutting edge—the place where things are not completely certain. Examples are the safety of vaccines, the true importance of global warming, the effects of farming genetically modified food crops, and so forth. Even now, in the U.K., the relatively dangerous disease of measles is becoming endemic as a result of a widespread consumer revolt against the MMR vaccine about 10 years ago. Parents believe that even though doctors assure them that vaccines are safe, those doctors may be wrong. Therefore, the parents think they are entitled to throw their own judgment into the mix. Quite a few social scientists are pushing this trend hard."

That is so right. Thanks to the Internet, everybody now officially knows everything. Which is nothing.

Vermont
I went to my daughter's graduation in Vermont. It was fabulous. And the lilacs were in bloom. Man, do I miss lilacs. At a reception afterwards, one of the neighbor ladies brought over a rhubarb crisp. I haven't eaten rhubarb, I don't think, since a pot luck church basement dinner in 1970.

My daughter, Justine, is moving back to the Bay Area this summer, and is looking for work. She's a very talented artist, but will probably settle for admin.

Pawnbrokers
Publicly traded pawnshops, those that are part of corporations that also issue payday loans, aren't doing so well. In these hard times, a lot of people are defaulting on those loans. And the companies are closing down the pawnshops, apparently, because they don't generate enough income.

So if you're looking to sell your old banjo to help pay off your payday loan, better find a mom n' pop pawnshop. Because the company that owns your loan, it seems, is shutting down venues that it owns that help you give them their money. Do I understand capitalism? No.

Buzzkill Dept.
Nick Turse, Tomdispatch.com, who seems to think that IRON MAN is a military-engineered semi-fascist propaganda, concludes his review with this:

What the film Iron Man actually catches is the spirit of the successor "complex," which has leapt not only into the cinematic world of superheroes, but also into the civilian sphere of our world in a huge way. Today, almost everywhere you look, whether at the latest blockbuster on the big screen or what's on much smaller screens in your own home -- likely made by a defense contractor like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic or Toshiba -- you'll find the Pentagon or its corporate partners. In fact, from the companies that make your computer to those that produce your favorite soft drink, many of the products in your home are made by Defense Department contractors -- and, if you look carefully, you don't even need the glowing eyes of an advanced "cybernetic helmet," like Iron Man's, to see them.