OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version - Official

You know how I love wacky videos. This one is really awesome. Watch all the way till the end for a special treat.

Salute to Granny D

I just read that Granny D died at age 100. At age 90, she walked from California to Washington DC to show support for campaign finance reform. She was a true liberal and progressive who was willing to make a personal sacrifice for something she thought the country needed. We need more like her. This is from her local paper in New Hampshire:

A public memorial service will be held Sunday for Doris “Granny D” Haddock, the New Hampshire political activist and senatorial candidate who died Tuesday after years of fighting for campaign finance reform.

She first garnered national attention 10 years ago, when she walked across the country to bring attention to her cause.

She turned 100 in January, and died at her home in Dublin surrounded by her family. According to The Associated Press, her son, Jim Haddock, says Sunday’s service will be held at the Dublin Community Church where his mother worshipped.

In 1999 and 2000, Haddock walked 3,200 miles over 14 months to promote public financing of campaigns. Four years later, she ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate against Republican Judd Gregg.

In a book about her famous walk, Haddock said she sometimes felt foolish, but when she thought about people who doubted her, she became angry and her anger fueled her passion.

But she never came across as an angry person. She was full of positive energy and chose to take a constructive path at a time when politics has become a blood sport. The outpouring of tributes from all political perspectives is testament to the fact that even today, there are people who can bridge the political chasms that have divided America into two camps.

A Blog I Like

I recently discovered a funny blog that I want to recommend. It's political and humorous and filled with funny visuals and wordplay.

And it has a great name: Mock Paper Scissors.

Here's an entry you might enjoy: http://www.mockpaperscissors.com/?p=30514

Reader mail

Here at the Nest we get all kinds of mail from our readers. My interns stay busy processing and responding to mail; some messages require a new blog entry, such as this one.

Curious question: a reader wants to know how my middle boy got his middle name, and what is the significance of this name.

The interns did some research and let me know that the meaning of this unusual name is "chaste". Well, I can tell you that is not why we picked this name for our second born.

You see, the middle name in question is Virginius. According to the "Think Baby Names" website, this name is not in the top 100 baby names. Surprisingly, it isn't even in the top 1000 baby names. Check it out here: http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Virginius

I say it's time for a resurgence of the name Virginius, a fine old southern name, almost as good as Atticus. And better than Septimus.

But none of those names would do for our son. You see, my mother's name was Virginia (Colussy) and when she died in 1981, we decided to name our next child after her. Was it our problem that the child was a boy?? It certainly wasn't my problem, as the mother doesn't determine the gender. We had no disagreement on the middle name, but I do recall a number of discussions about the first name. Paul got to pick that and I was uncertain about it until my grandmother told me that the first Colussy to come to this country was named Peter. So that made me happy. I like that family connection.

Peter Virginius Woody

Interesting graphs

In case you aren't depressed enough about the economy, take a look at this link.

Back to the crash

The American economy has just had its worst decade since the 1930s

Feb 25th 2010 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | From The Economist print edition

http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15579916

Things I don't understand

Tonight I am listening to some of the evil liberal media (they're everywhere!) talk about what is revealed in Karl Rove's new book, which he will now be hawking on all the mainstream media outlets. What fun for us! We get to relive all the shit heaped upon us during the 8 years of darkness.

I can't help but wonder once again, why aren't these people in jail? 2 wars they started. Thousands killed and maimed. Trillions of dollars wasted. Lying and fearmongering and demonizing anyone who dared speak out against the war. Cheapening American ideals throughout the world. Good grief. I guess it's true that republicans can get away with anything.

I often said during the 8 years of darkness that not only were bad things being done, but that the bar on what constitutes a good president was constantly lowered by his personal lack of credentials for the job as well as the entire administration's disregard for the constitution and for the meaning of democracy. History will not judge this era kindly, nor us for for allowing it to happen.

I need to go watch a dog video now until I calm down.

cool dog video

I know there are current events I should ranting about but this dog video is just so cool that you must see it. Watch all the way to the end.