OMG Rand Paul – UPDATED
I hate politics. I hate writing about politics. It leads to nothing good… for me. But this CNBC Rand Paul interview hit me too hard for me to keep my mouth shut.
English: United States Senate candidate , at a town hall meeting in Louisville, . (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Wikipedia)
2/3/15 UPDATE: Vox.com points out that Dr. Paul’s statements regarding autism and vaccines are “even more bogus than you think.” Original post is below.
It started with this gif:
Gif of @SenRandPaul to @CNBC‘s @Kelly_Evans: “Shhh … Quiet — calm down a bit here, Kelly.” http://t.co/s5ljtYzsiN pic.twitter.com/ESj5sbvhrO
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 2, 2015
Shush you silly woman! The man is talking!
Now for the interview itself.
Paul tries to have it both ways about vaccines. This is not atypical of politicians on either side of the aisle. In fact, he says something that as far as I know is perfectly reasonable, which is the idea of spreading out vaccines instead of giving them all at once. OK. Sure. Why not?
But then he perpetuates the notion that vaccines are the sole cause of “normal children” (his words) turning into, well, I guess not normal children, because of vaccines. That puts him into the excellent company of Jenny McCarthy, MD. (Note: Jenny McCarthy is not a doctor. Rand Paul is.)
Then there’s this gem, which I haven’t seen anyone bloviate about yet, so let me be the first.
“The state doesn’t own your children. Parents own the children.”
Excuse me? “OWN?” I OWN my children? Am I missing something? I’m responsible for my children. But they are not, to the best of my knowledge, a thing that I own, like my television.
This is the song that comes to mind. It is called Politicians by a band called The Exploited. I’ll skip to the chorus.
Defensive? Sen. Rand Paul on voluntary vaccines – CNBC (Video)
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Puresounds Wireless Bluetooth Headphones (DaddyDeal)
Limited-time DaddyDeal on some wireless headphones – act now if you want ’em.
UPDATE: Um, sorry about that. The deal expired already. The price is still pretty good, assuming the headphones are good. Read the comments, do your research, caveat buyor. We’ve never used these ‘phones and have no knowledge of their quality.
End of Game Super Bowl Fight Totally Classless
I don’t use words like classless often, because the word is judgy in a way that I don’t like to be. I’m not against being judgmental; I’ve said many times that accusing someone of being judgmental is, in fact, judgmental. But what happened at the end of the Super Bowl tonight was absolutely classless.
The San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl XXIX trophy on display at the 49ers’ Family Day at Candlestick Park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Seattle Seahawks had lost the game, largely due to what basically everyone is referring to as the #WorstCallEver. (For those who weren’t watching, that refers to throwing a pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the goal line.) The Patriots were backed up into their own end zone, trying to avoid a safety, which would have given the Seahawks one last chance to win. The ‘Hawks jumped offsides, the Pats got five yards, and were a kneeldown away from victory.
Then this happened.
That’s just not cool. I’m sure the players were pissed off. They lost the Super Bowl. I’m not going to pretend I know what that feels like; I have one career sack and it was in high school during the Junior/Senior football game. (For the record, sacking the quarterback was really fun.) There are hamsters with more athletic ability than I do. Hell, there may be pieces of furniture with more athletic ability than me. But if by some chance I ever found myself on the losing end of a big game, even the biggest of all big games, I really, truly hope that I would show more class than these guys did. Good sportsmanship.
What does this have to do with parenting? Kids watch these games. Much like I prefer to avoid using the word classless, I also mislike the phrase “think of the children.” But here, I’ll say it. It’s not about being a role model. It’s about not acting like a big baby when you lose. Not throwing punches. No temper tantrums. Behave yourselves, guys.
For the record, here is a tweet from Seahawks star player Richard Sherman.
Thank you God for giving us the opportunity…. That's all you can ask for….Thank you everyone for the support all year
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) February 2, 2015
See? That’s classy. And Sherman was far from happy. Can I get a gif? Yes. Yes I can.
Super Bowl Fight! Super Bowl Fight! (Gawker)
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Raising Kids To Be Fans Of Perpetually Poor Sports Teams
A debate on Twitter — maybe not a DEBATE exactly, more of a series of tweets, some of which are amusing — regarding the raising of kids and whether or not it is a good idea to indoctrinate them into becoming fans of your favorite sports team, even if that team isn’t exactly known for winning it all. (Apologies if anyone is offended by the language of the Tweeter’s username. I’m not offended, but maybe someone else is. If so, sorry.)
My view? Don’t force the issue. If you’re a real fan of a team, your kid will probably pick up on that fandom as they grow up. Sometimes strange things happen; it’s easy to forget that our children are humans with minds of their own.
In my case it’s easy — I’m a Yankees fan and a Giants fan. Neither team breaks your heart the way the Mets and the Jets do. But if I lived somewhere other than New York, I would be more inclined to encourage my kids to consider our local franchises, even if I maintained my own life-long loyalties.
Here’s the tweet that spawned this post:
IF IT WERE ME THE KID WOULD SHARE IN MY RESENTMENT SUFFERING AND MISERY FOR ALL OF FUCKING TIME. DONT BE LIKE ME pic.twitter.com/X8STBMTp5h
— ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER (@ZODIAC_MF) January 23, 2015
This reply amused me:
@ZODIAC_MF I'm raising my kid an Eagles fan and it feels abusive, somehow.
— Kyle (@Kyle19152) January 23, 2015
The thing is, if you live in Philly, and you’re an Eagles fan, there’s nothing wrong with passing that fandom onto your children. Maybe you shouldn’t encourage them to boo Santa Claus, though.
And for anyone out there who thinks being a Yankee fan is easy, one word — A-Rod. Is that even a word? I don’t know.
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Patrick Stump’s Dad Big Deadhead
Fall Out Boy has a new album out, American Beauty/American Psycho. The “Beauty” part comes from the Grateful Dead album of the same name; the “Psycho” is for the Bret Easton Ellis novel.
(There are actually movies with the same title — “American Beauty” and “American Psycho“, the latter being actually based on the Easton Ellis novel, which I’ve read and don’t recommend because it’s very disturbing. Never saw the movie, which stars Christian Bale. “American Beauty” the movie has nothing to do with the Grateful Dead album as far as I know, and I personally found it to be a bit overrated. The Dead album is good. Now that you know my opinion of everything, let’s move on with the article, shall we?)
I read that Fall Out Boy sampled a Mötley Crüe song on their new record but after listening to every song on American Beauty/American Psycho I couldn’t find it. So I hit the Google. An Billboard article from December 2014 clued me in that a bit of “Too Fast For Love” is used on the title track. I’ll have to listen to it again. (Note: I like Fall Out Boy a lot. This isn’t their best album but I’m OK with that.)
Further down in the Billboard story is this little tidbit of info:
Despite the nod to the Dead, there is no “Box of Rain” cover, though it would score Stump some points with his family. “I was talking about that record with some friends the other day. My dad is a huge Deadhead,” he said.
I’m trying to imagine a Fall Out Boy cover of Box of Rain, and it’s not easy. I could see Patrick Stump singing/playing it acoustic, whereas if the whole band did it they’d need to do it more hardcore, in my humble opinion. Like most of what Fall Out Boy does, I’d give it a listen.
It’s funny to think of the lead singer’s dad being “a huge Deadhead”. It’s a small, personal detail that made me smile. One of the things I like about Fall Out Boy (other than their music) is that they come across as honest and fairly normal. I don’t know them, and of course it’s possible that they’re all weird dudes. But that’s not the impression I get when I read about them. It helps that I like their music.
via Fall Out Boy Talk New Album, Motley Crue & Grateful Dead | Billboard.
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What To Do When It’s Stupid Cold Outside (Tips)
Came across this article of tips about what to do when it’s stupid cold outside. It appears to be warming up a little, but it’s still cold. Really cold. Did I mention that it was cold?
The image above is, thankfully, not from my window. It’s a NASA pic from the 70s. Looks cool, though, right? (Ouch. Bad pun. Sorry.)
One of the tips is to wear good socks, something that is near and dear to my heart. Or, more accurately, my feet.
Stay warm! Or as warm as you can. Cuz baby, it’s cold outside.
(That’s Ricardo Montalbán, by the way. He’s awesome. The lovely lady is Esther Williams; they’re singing Frank Loesser’s Academy Award-winning song Baby, It’s Cold Outside in the film Neptune’s Daughter. Who says this isn’t the DaddyTips age of extra information?)
Image: WINTER 1973 – 1974 MAMMOTH by NASA/Glenn Research Centervia via Archive.org
18 Ways to Stay Warm (and Safe) When It’s Ridiculously Cold | NBC New York.
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Kindle Book Sale (DaddyDeals)
A lil’ post-holiday season DaddyDeal — big ol’ Kindle Book Sale.
$1.99 each. That’s not bad.
One of the titles is this:
That seems like the 50 Shades of Grey influence. Or maybe these filthy, filthy books were always out there, but now they are more heavily promoted.
But don’t worry. There’s also stuff for the kids!
Bottom line: lots of Kindle books for $1.99 each. Now through January 25, 2015. Check Amazon’s website for details. Prices subject to change. Your mileage may vary. You probably shouldn’t buy that book with the handcuffs on the cover for your kids. But you knew that.
Amazon.com: Kindle Book Sale: Kindle Store.
