A Tale Of Two Republican Governors...

 

Although we are not impressed by much of what is said and done by those in the Republican party these days, we were impressed with Nikki Haley's reply to the Presidents State Of The Union address on January 12th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mOmjjCBH5Y

 

Even though we don't agree with much of what she said, what stuck us was the dignity and passion with which she said it and her ability to critique her own parties actions.

We had noticed this once before right after the shootings in South Carolina and Ms.Haley's heart felt and emotional comments in the aftermath; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7elw5ewEzw

as well as her undeterred determination to remove the confederate battle flag in such a timely fashion. She didn't wait and make excuses but had the flag removed very soon after.

Her comments in the Republican reply after the SOTU where actually pretty gutsy in this political climate.

 

And then there is Sarah Palin...

One time Governor of Alaska who never finished her first term ( and to this day no one knows why...)
Bombastic, ill spoken, shrill. She drags tons of personal baggage along where ever she goes and gladly lets it seep into the political conversation.
At this point we were honestly surprised that even Donald Trump would think it a good decision to dust her off and pull her back into the spotlight!
But there she was for all to see. Ranting and raving about God only knows what...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvlm3LKSlpU
and now she seems to have disappeared just as mysteriously as she emerged.
But not before the great Tina Fey had a crack at least one last impersonation; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeJmXGlpzjU

So there you have it; one is classy and the other trashy...they seem kind of a fitting metaphor of the Republican party these days...


Have a great weekend.


Noodle and crew

                                 Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

 

 

Okay, this is embarrassing...so I sleep with a stuffed dog, have you got a problem with that?

Sorry, I get a little defensive...





Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Noodle and crew

Nothing To Fear But Fear...

                             

 

 There are a lot of scary things in this world.

 

According to recent reports, people are as scared if not more scared than they were just after September 11th, 2001.

 

There are new statistics out that report that middle age white working class men and women are now, for the first time in modern history, dying at an earlier age.
And some of the main reasons are alcoholism, drugs and  suicide...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-group-of-middle-aged-american-whites-is-dying-at-a-startling-rate/2015/11/02/47a63098-8172-11e5-8ba6-cec48b74b2a7_story.html
(There are those who disagree on the scope and magnitude of these reports and site other issues as well);
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/13/yes-death-rates-for-middle-aged-whites-are-rising-but-why

I can't help but think that fear has a lot to do with all of this and much more that is going on in our society right now...

Much of what we have been hearing lately especially from some politicians is , you should be very, very scared!

Some of those running for president would like you to know that even though you should be scared they will make you safe because they are going to "make America great again!"
Although they seem hard pressed you tell you just what that means or how exactly they intend to achieve this feet.

So, be afraid but only be afraid of what they tell you to be afraid of...
 

You should be afraid of Mexican immigrants and Muslims and young black men and that someone is coming to take your land, your guns and your freedom...
 

But, there is no need to be afraid of climate change as it creates devastating storms and oh by the way have you seen Beijing lately?
 

 

Or of the increasing economic division between the you's and the me's and the extreme rich of the world.
Or extremist white Americans who blow things up like a certain federal building in Oklahoma City.

You should be afraid of a government that wants to make sure you have health care and a good education and safe roads and bridges to drive on and clean water and air..

You should be afraid of anyone who doesn't look like you or worship were you do or how you do.
 

Maybe it would be wise to be a little afraid of those telling you what you should and shouldn't be afraid of. Just maybe they don't have your best interests at heart ...

Just remember, a country divided is much easier to manipulate.
 
Instead of giving in to the fear mongering perhaps we would be better off coming together in compromise and rational behavior. That is how we can truly make America great.

Don't get me wrong there will still be plenty to be afraid of. Right now you could go outside and get hit by a bus!

But if we keep dividing ourselves into little categories and picking out the differences between us, if we only help those who are like us. Only try to understand that which affects us. Then where does that leave us?

We can point our fingers at all sorts of scary things and blame them on anyone or anything  we have a mind to.

But what if we all choose to NOT  buy the magic beans all those people who keep talking at us are trying to sell us?
What if we were to make them tell us the specifics of what they profess and we hold them accountable if they do not. What if instead of just taking their word that they are telling us the truth, we do a little work and find out if what they are telling us is factual or if they are just trying to hand us those magic beans again...


Maybe if we do a little work of our own we'd all be a little better off and a little less scared.




Have a wonderful weekend!


Noodle and crew






 

 

 

 

 

 

                            WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

Have a wonderful Wednesday!


Noodle and crew

Our Very First Sticky Paws and Hairballs vs. Kitty Kisses and Fuzzy Hugs of 2016!

 

                                                (okay...who put this plant in my window?)


First up; a big Kitty Kiss  to a local doctor for bringing attention to and making people aware that the water in Flint, Michigan had become toxic.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, first decided to check lead levels in children after reports that the water was discolored and smelled and tasted bad.
This was after a City Manager was put in place by the governor who then took charge over the officials elected by the people of Flint. The City Manager decided to save money by switching the drinking water which was brought in from the Great Lakes to water from the local river.
Now there is a state of emergency and thousands of residents have been poisoned by toxic levels of lead; http://www.npr.org/2015/09/29/444497051/high-lead-levels-in-michigan-kids-after-city-switches-water-source

http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/15/flint_doctor_mona_hanna_attisha_on

If you would like to help; http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/13/us/iyw-flint-michigan-water-crisis-how-to-help/

A great big super duper Fuzzy Hug to Prez Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry for using words to make the world a safer place! Today the historic Iran nuclear deal went into place AND to every ones surprise American hostages were released too...
For more info on this historic deal check out our post from September 13, 2015;
http://herecomesnoodle.blogspot.com/2015/09/this-weeks-sticky-paws-hairballs-fuzzy.html

Next up, a large Sticky Paw goes to Chris Christie's mouth.
Not only does Mr. Christie act like a two year old bully but someone needs to tell him there is no place on the world stage for talking smack about the president of the United States no matter who it is!
http://time.com/4182070/republican-debate-christie-rear-end/
And if talking like a bully in a school yard weren't bad enough...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/01/15/chris_christie_s_debate_strategy_interrupt.html
for the later we give him a great big hairball!

Next up a big hairball for Donald Trump.
All these months he's been acting all sweet and cozy with Ted Cruz but then this week the gloves came off and he hit Teddy with "maybe you can't be president...". Look we are not in any way fans of Ted Cruz but that's just as low a blow as when The Donald started with his birther talk about the president. It's a little old by now and it's not attractive Donny!
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/articles/2016-01-07/donald-trump-succeeds-in-mainstreaming-birther-questions-about-ted-cruz

(We are awaiting tonight's democratic debate and will report accordingly.)

Next up.......a big Fuzzy Hug to Seattle's very first cat café the Meowtropolitan;
https://seattlemeowtropolitan.com/  we can't wait to visit!

And that brings us to squirrels!
For those of you who love cake AND squirrels, a big Fuzzy Hug to squirrel cake...
yep, we found a recipe for Squirrel Cake, really...
http://www.adventures-in-cooking.com/2012/07/squirrel-cake-aka-nutty-german.html

And as long as we are talking about squirrels how about a funny squirrel video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yikpWtIFU8



Well that's it for now...
Have a wonderful weekend!


Noodle and crew

                                   Wordless Wednesday...

 

                                                            When in doubt take a nap...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 

Noodle and crew

 

 

 

 



The Power Of A Good Political Ad...

                        

With the dominance of social media and 24 hour cable news it is difficult to keep up with all the
amazing information both good and bad that is floating around out there.
We wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words about the power of political ads.

Now that we are actually into 2016 and the primaries are right around the corner, we thought it might
be a good time to bring a few of these to your attention in case you missed them...

A well done political ad can go down in history.

Take for example the most famous ad Daisy Girl. The ad only ran once on September 7th 1964 and
was Lyndon Johnson's  response to a statement by Barry Goldwater that he would consider using
nuclear weapons in Vietnam.

The ad created an immediate controversy and was pulled from the air. However the news
organizations picked it up and ran it over and over on the evening news; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k

There was also the ad that was credited for its impact on the Regan campaign; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-IBF8nwSY

You don't see too many political ads unless you are in a swing state or one of the early voting states,
which leaves a lot of us out.

So we thought you might like to take a look at a few REALLY well done ads from this current race...

First up is a truly powerful ad by the campaign of Ben Carson; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ZiFJ5LLAg

Then there is the ad that was put out by supporters of Joe Biden when he was deciding if he would
run; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RUNxejHftA

There was this very compelling ad as a response from Carly Fiorina to Donald Trumps comments about her face; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODfUOnw2x0g

And a powerful set of Hillary Clinton ads; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76hY_YrAOZk
about the middle class.


The power of a good ad is enormous when it's done right. (take it from someone who attended film school for four years)
They can touch your heart, change your mind and make you laugh or cry...

Just don't confuse the ads with the candidates themselves and you'll be okay!




Have a wonderful Sunday...


Noodle and crew

                             WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

                                              I am a conundrum of shadow and light...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 

Noodle and crew

                                             The Talk...

 

 

This week a grand jury voted not to indict the two police officers involved in the shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tamir-rice-inductment_56818253e4b0b958f65a0909

Incidents like these have made it almost mandatory for parents of children of color to have the talk with their kids. Something that seems inconceivable in this day in age in a country that professes to be advanced and civilized;
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/parents-talk-african-american-sons-police/

Imagine if Timothy Loehman's parents; http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/timothy_loehmann_the_cleveland.html
had had a similar talk with their son when he was a teenager.
Perhaps the out come of  November 22, 2014 would have been much different...

I can't help but wonder what the out come would have been if Tamir had been white?

When set next to the case of Ethan Couch; http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35216590
it is difficult not to wonder what if...


We wish you a happy New Year.


Noodle and crew