Material from Nate

R.I.P.
Nebraskan Thurl Ravenscroft died on Sunday. He was best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in Kellogg's Frosted Flakes television commercials and as the singer of the song "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the Christmas TV special based on the Dr. Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Down the Road with the Filibuster
I watched the Lehrer “Real” News Hour last night until I had the urge to vomit. Gwen Ifill was interviewing nauseating Senators Nelson, Chafee, Sessions, and Schumer about the Memorandum of Understanding, signed as an expression of trust between Republicans and Democrats, which vows to use the filibuster only under exceptional circumstances, allow a vote on an agreed number of judicial nominees, and refrain from changing the rules to quench dilatory tactics.

Gwen: How does the MOU resolve the conflict between Democrats who want to filibuster judicial nominees and Republicans who want to change the rules to force a vote?

Senators: Bar, bar, bar.

Gwen: Hmmm. Although I don't suspect it, perhaps my question needs refining. Considering the disparate opinions between Democrats and Republicans regarding the merit of judicial nominees, what happens next when Democrats want to filibuster and Republicans want to force a vote?

Nelson and Chafee: Bar, bar, bar.

Schumer: Bar, bar, bar. Now the rules cannot be changed. Bar, bar, bar. But Democrats can filibuster.

Sessions: Gwen, let’s get one thing straight: Democrats are huge pussies. If necessary, Republicans will change the rules to force a vote on judicial nominees.

US flips its lid over 'middle finger' tag

PepsiCo president Indra Nooyi gave a graduation speech at Columbia Business School in which she compared the United States to the middle finger. There’s no need to read the transcript of the speech or engage in reasonable cogitation. Please form an opinion based on this blog, and my message to you: Indra Nooyi is unpatriotic. Coke is better.