Disney Store Kids Event – Make Perry the Platypus 8/14/10

Visit your local Disney Store on 8/14/10 to make a Perry the Platypus Inaction Figure.Perry the Platypus is the pet platypus for the Flynn-Fletcher family, from the animated kids television series Phineas and Ferb. Perry lives a double life as a crime-fighting secret agent working for the "Organization Without a Cool Acronym" (The O.W.C.A.), going by the codename "

Two Free Children's E-book - "Mimi Volume One" and "Busy Book for Kids"

Here are two cute children's e-books that you can download for free on your computer.The first e-book, "Mimi volume one, a picture story book for young boys and girls," is a fun collection of stories suitable for young children and silly adults. Follow Mimi with her mom and dad, as she makes every day into an adventure, exploring the world and imagining all the fun

Free National Geographic Kids Book of Fun

Get the National Geographic Kids Small Book of Fun and the Big Book of Fun for Free.Inside the Small Book of Fun you will find the Fun Fact Challenge, Silly Sudsey Story, Maze, Fun Frozen Facts and more. The Small Book of Fun is available free of charge by download on the National Geographic Kids website.You can also get a Free National Geographic Kids Book of Fun

Political Pearls: Why Not Assail The Reagan "Legacy Presidency???" Why Not Invoke Abe Lincoln And Claim Him For Ourselves?

"The Great Communicator."   "The Winner Of The Cold War."  "The Conservative's Conservative."  "The Man Who Put Government In It's Place."  And so on,--to utilize another typical Republican's(VP Spiro T. Agnew--what country is he hiding in today?*) popularized slogan--ad nauseum.
Republicans have succeeded in getting the "Bedtime for Bonzo" star elevated to a pedestal that even Democrats won't touch in 2010.  Let's look at Reagan briefly.  The "Great Communicator?"  Here are a few of my favorite Reagan Quotes:
"I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm at a cabinet meeting."
"People don't start wars, governments do."
"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk."
"Government does not solve problems, it subisidizes them."
"My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever.  The bombing begins in 5 minutes."
"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans."**

"The winner of the Cold War???"  Modern right-wing revisionists credit his massive defense spending and caving in to the "Military Industrial Complex" his Republican predecessor, President/General Dwight D. Eisenhower, warned us about, and purchasing every ludicrous weapon system ever contrived, enriching Defense Contractor CEO's and totally absurd and ultimately discredited concepts like "Star Wars"(he actually did spend too much time in his life influenced by Hollywood trash, imagining Earth to be the "Starship Enterprise" and himself patterned after Captain Kirk rather than the "founding fathers").  The Soviets were so bogged down by trying to keep up with the Reagan arms race that they had to step down.  What an absurd and comical notion.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn.  Andrei Sakharov.  Lech Walesa.  Leonid Brezhnev.  Pope John Paul II.  Mikhail Gorbachev.  And yes, even good 'ol Boris Yeltsin.  These are the names that any sound historian associates with the fall of the Soviet Union and it's beleagered Warsaw Pact.  Not the man who co-starred with monkeys in low-budget Hollywood comedies.
All Reagan's unilateral and historically unprecedented nuclear and convential arms race with no one in particular accomplished was to create the massive, record breaking deficit that required Bill Clinton and his Democratic team 8 years to restore to surplus(which George W. turned back into deficit the very next year).
"The Conservative's Conservative Who Put Government In It's Place?"  Reagan was the "Conservative" who grew government and created deficits at a rate previously unheard of!  He gave Boeing, General Dynamics, and Sikorsky Executives huge contracts, bonuses and salaries, and decided to cut corners on hot school lunches for our nation's children by categorizing ketchup as a vegetable so we wouldn't have to give them green beans or spinach.  Those darned evil "entitled" kindergartners!
The Democratic Party has rightly taken up the mantle of the only truly great American Republican President and arguably the greatest American President and political leader of all time, Abraham Lincoln.  The Republican Party that the modern-day Republicans, the Tea "Party," and the Libertarians have divorced; and the principles of Lincoln's Republican Party for which the Democratic Party now stands; we should usurp and shout loudly and proudly about from every mountain, rooftop, soapbox or Congressional Well today!
Instead of "Tricky", or "Great Communicator", Abe had Nicknames like "Honest Abe" and "The Great Emancipater."
A self-educated attorney born into poverty, not a "B" actor as his resume qualifying him for high office.  Please compare the "communicator's" quotes with the "Emancipater's" quotes:
"The resources, advantages, and powers of the American people are very great, and they have, consequently succeeded to equally great responsibilities.  It seems to have devolved upon them to test whether a government established on the principles of human freedom can be maintained against an effort to build upon the exclusive foundation of human bondage."
or
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal!"

Five score and four years after this Great Emancipater uttered these words, another remarkable emancipater inspired by the courageous President Lincoln(who, like King, knew the personal risk of assassination was almost inevitable because of his bold commitment to justice), the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., chose the shadow of the monument in our nation's capital dedicated to Lincoln's life, legacy and inspiration, to reiterate Lincoln's words at Gettysburg by proclaiming in such a way that the entire world heard:
"I have a dream, today!  That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of it's creed:  That all men are created equal!" 
The absurd, almost existential, comedy that will be Beck's "I have a scheme" speech at the same location on the anniversary of that speech would actually be funny if his notions of racial hatred and class warfare didn't actually appeal to a pathetic minority of people who mostly reside within the very narrow confines of the tent that is the so-called Tea Party(the likes of whom threatened and took violence to members of congress following the health care vote-remember?).
And while Reagan only complicated and made much more difficult the efforts of great statesmen, labor leaders, religious icons and political dissidents to bring about an end to the tyrrany in Moscow and end the Cold War instead of setting it ablaze with more, bigger and more expensive killing machines and people; Abraham Lincoln motivated the populace, gave the Abolition of slavery as it's central goal, in addition to preserving the Union and the Constitution, and rode herd over the military to unilaterally effect victory in America's deadliest war--the Civil War.
And then following the successful conclusion of the war, Lincoln as a leader, once again rallied the American people to forgive the secessionist leaders, and invested federal cash to launch an economic revival--particularly geared for the devastated South!  Clemency, mercy, reconciliation, pardon and reconstruction was his primary goal in the short time he served following victory before being killed by a glory-seeking former secessionist.
The modern day Republican Party under the "leadership" of Chairman Michael Steele and the likes of Sharrron Angle, Palin, Boehner, Gingrige, Romney, and the Pauls(Rand and Ron) and Huckabees of this world have clearly abandoned the roots of the party renamed and reinvented by Honest Abraham Lincoln.  We Democrats should loudly and proudly give them Reagan and Proclaim our inheritance of The Great Emancipater's legacy. 
WE HAVE A GREAT MESSAGE TO TAKE INTO THIS NOVEMBER AT THE BALLOT BOX!  WE NEED NOT BE ASHAMED AT ALL!  OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE JANUARY 20TH, 2008 ARE AMAZING UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LEADERSHIP.  LET'S WAKE UP AND BE UNABASHED ABOUT OUR PRINCIPLES, PROUD OF OUR INHERITANCE AND BE NOT ASHAMED TO STAND UP PUBLICLY FOR THE DISADVANTAGED, THE POOR, THE DEPRIVED--AS WELL AS FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS!!!  LET'S STOP TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY SEATS WE'RE GOING TO LOSE.  LET'S START TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY SEATS WE'LL PICK UP AND WHETHER WE CAN INCREASE OUR MAJORITIES HUGELY!!!  WHY TALK DEFEATISM, WHY NOT TALK VICTORY!!!  THE GENERAL ELECTION IS HERE.  LET'S GET TO WORK AND WIN, AND WIN HUGE!!!  WE CAN DO THIS, AND UNABASHEDLY IS THE ONLY WAY!  :)  PEACE, AND I'LL SEE YOU ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL....

*As an aside, let's think momentarily of the legacy of the currently living Republican ex-Vice Presidents. Dan Quayle. "Dick" Cheney(those Republican "Dicks" in the White House get us every time, don't they!)..  I'll take Fritz Mondale and Al Gore any day!

In Honor of Muse It Up Publishing's Own Litsa...

...with love.


Often behind the scenes are voices that speak words so profound but do it in soft, gentle ways...like the soft wind that carries the hint of honeysuckle your way just as spring breaks through the last pinch of winter.

That scent makes you stop, inhale deeply, and smile.


And like the ripples that spread out from a small stone tossed into a huge lake...

Muse It Up Publishing's Marketing Director Litsa Kamateros is our gentle breeze, our stone tossed into the huge publishing waters, and the quiet but steady beat of...
...our hearts.

And now in Litsa's own words...Muse It Up Publishing, and it's purpose comes alive:

" We dare you to catch the MUSE FEVER?.....writers/editors/cover artists/future readers...it can be infectious ... please be forewarned. Do you qualify to be part of this MUSE?
>
> First signs and symptoms to be aware of:
>
> * above quality writing
> * uplifting muse team spirit
> * whip-noodle cracking publisher
> * ongoing group and team promotions
> * enthusiastic and fun-loving bunch of writers
> * mind-blowing covers
> * exceptional and unlimited number of book genres
> * extraordinary e-reading book experiences
> * The E-MUSE bringing e-books to life...
>
>
> Can you handle it??"


~BUILDING THE TEAM TO ACHIEVE THE DREAM~ words also fashioned by Litsa Kamateros. Thank you Litsa from the WHOLE MUSE FAMILY and those about to be adopted too.

Sociological Stuff: CT Workplace Shooter 911 Call Hero!

The mass murderer in the Manchester, CT workplace rampage this week apparently took the time to phone 911 before taking his own life without killing anyone else. The tape was released today and the 911 Professional(to call them Operators or Dispatchers is a pathetic understatement of the awesome duties they routinely undertake) taking the call was way beyond professional and likely saved more lives and injuries.
His calm demeanor, the line of talk and perfectly chosen questions designed to defuse the situation should be classic lessons used in the future to train all involved in emergency services.
Remember the 911 Dispatch Hero coaching the young boy hiding in his bathroom a few weeks ago during a home invasion. The 911 Dispatch Hero who took the call from Michael Jackson's indicted Doc when he was dying.
There are so many such tapes now. We hear them often, and they bring joy to my heart at how many good and well motivated emergency workers of all kinds there are out there. Police and firefighters, EMTs, etc. are on-scene and risk their own lives(WTC 9/11 says it all)-make no mistake- and are heros almost inherently.
911 heros are heros as well-make no mistake there, either.  While their own lives may not be at risk routinely, others lives are, based only on their listening skills and what they say and how they say it!  And these individuals are willing to step out and take on this awesome responsibility! 
It's a totally anonymous job in 99.9% of cases. No glory, no credit! No personal thank-you's from those they help. The hallmarks of these awesome and essential public(government) employees are: humility; lower pay and less concern for personal credit than many others; professionalism; courage; competence; and saving lives daily. 
That's my impression of these truly unsung heros. Unabashed Left will now be referring to 911 Dispatchers as 911 Hero Dispatchers from now on.  A new job title for a group of people we genuinely admire.*  

*Note to the Libertarians, Tea Partyists and Republicans:  Do you oppose the "evil" government from engaging in this heroic activity and do you opt-out of 911 for yourself and your families.  Government is not "bad," it is good, just depends on how it's utilized. Peace.......

Economc Hardship: BP's Not So Subtle Doug Suttles Bails Out on the People and Creatures in the Gulf of Mexico!

The cement at the top of the BP well isn't dry, and the pemanent "bottom kill" operation via the relief wells hasn't begun. But the ink, pictures and video look good, so Doug Suttles, the BP executive in charge of the Gulf operations is relocating his life back to home in Houston. 
Just maybe his premature homecoming is for the following reasons: 
1) To "Get His Life Back" a la Tony Hayward. 
2) To steer media attention away from the Gulf as much as possible. 
3) As his $50,000,000.00+ media blitz ridiculously declares: "Staying in the Gulf until he makes this right"(as if 11 dead men and their devastated families, dead wildlife, poverty, disease, injury and species eliminated can ever be made "right"). Apparently Doug Suttles figures everything is all "right" now!
The only good news from a BP executive since this whole mess began was Tony "Wayward" Hayward's" resignation and BP exile to Russia, where there are no warm water ports and no yacht races. 
Unabashed Left is investigating to see if this move is designed to avoid Tony's extradition to the US for testimony and/or criminal charges--certainly it's easier to extradite from the UK than from Putin's Russia, and certainly Tony's 1st choice in life is not to be a figurehead over BP's ongoing project in Russia! We are checking into the extradition treaties with Russia and will report back here at unabashedleft.blogspot.com - ASAP. What do you think Tony and BP's motives here are? Comments welcome and always are. Argument and opposing views are most welcome always here.  Peace....