A Classy Act(or)/Dancer

Fred Astaire - now there, folks, was a classy guy with soul. Do you remember that scene from "The Band Wagon"; the one in which he and the Cyd Charisse character first danced together? It was back when they were walking through the park and found that open area....Yeah, well, get this. During that same scene, director, Vincente Minnelli, noticed that Fred was struggling (emotionally) with a certain move. When he asked him what was wrong, Mr. Astaire responded by saying, "I can't do it that way. I did it that way with Ginger in 1941." When Mr. Minnelli responded to that with, "Fred, it's just a little move. Nobody'll notice", Astaire persisted, "No, I've got to do it a little bit different." And, so he did, preserving that old memory with Ginger and, yes, creating an entirely new and different one with Cyd.

The Real-Life Jeffersons.

Here's an interesting study, folks. According to the IRS, 58% of the people categorized as lower class (economically) in 1996 had, by 2005, achieved a higher economic strata - 5% actually moving all the way to upper class....How surprising is that, huh? I mean, if you listen strictly to progressives and/or had had your your teeth purely on stuff from C.Wright Mills, etc., you'd have probably thought that the United States was even more stratified than India..........................................................................................Of course, this isn't to say that the argument is any way, shape, or form, settled. The progressives can always say that the only way that these people were able to progress at all was because of the safety-net that had no doubt helped them when they were down - this, as opposed to conservatives, who would probably attribute the results more to welfare reform. But you know what, folks, I would much rather have the two sides arguing over who gets credit for something than blaming each other for the bad stuff....................................................................................................P.S. Granted, being that this study ends in 2005 (three years prior to the economic collapse), it is at least somewhat limited. Still, though, I did find it encouraging.

Bill the Plumber

O'Reilly continues unimpeded a simpleton. I mean, just take a gander at some of those poll questions of his. One of them was actually, so, "Do you think that America is a fair and just place?"...And, yes, folks, the frigging fact that he so literally believes there to be a readily discernible yes-no response to this crap. THAT'S what really gets me. Oh, and, get this - he followed up that little query with this one; so, "Do you think that President Obama thinks that America is a kind and just place?" Simplistic in its angularity, that dandy................................................................................................P.S. Needless to say, folks, the responders to Mr. O'Reilly's questions gave a much higher affirmative rate to the former question. They, very much identical to their mentor/hero, are predictable.

My Favorite Ricky Gervais Joke From the Golden Globes

"I've never seen so much air-brushing in my life.......Girls (he's referring here to the female cast members from "Sex and the City"), come on. We know how old you are.......I saw one of them on a 'Bonanza' episode."

Note to Donald Trump 3

Word about town is that you, Donald Trump, have an excellent relationship with "the blacks"....It's true, huh? Yeah, well, guess what, I have a friend who just happens to be one of those blacks, and HE....has always had an excellent relationship with "the idiots". Hm, I should probably fix the two of you up some time, huh?......................................................................................................Oh, and, just for the record, he was once in favor of universal health-care and a millionaire's tax, too. AND, he was pro-choice. Lots in common, the two of you!

Note to Lawrence O'Donnell 1

Dude, while I've generally agreed with you on this whole Donald Trump fiasco; the fact that Mr. Trump has acted disgracefully and that he is undoubtedly lying (this whole thing about him conducting an investigation is total BS), I have to tell you here, you yourself may have stepped over the line last night................................................................................................Yeah, I'm referring to your insinuation that Mr. Trump is acting out of academic jealousy, that Mr. Trump indeed may have applied to the President's alma maters (Columbia and Harvard) and that he was rejected by them. Apart from your having presented absolutely zero evidence for this "theory", you've also taken an absolutely unwarranted dig at the University of Pennsylvania. Perhaps you didn't know this, Mr. O'Donnell, but the University of Pennsylvania, as well as its law school, have consistently been ranked in the top 5-10 in the United States. AND, the Wharton School of Business, that part of Penn in which Mr. Trump attended, was recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the NUMBER ONE undergraduate business school in the country (their graduate program was #3).....................................................................................................Look, Mr. O'Donnell, I get it. After everything that Mr. Trump has done, it really is kind of hard to say that he himself is owed any sort of apology. But, I do think that you owe the University of Pennsylvania and it's many fine graduates (go to Wikipedia and scroll down to notable alumni - I think that you'll be impressed) a big apology. As is almost always the case with folks like you (i.e., partisan talking heads), you've taken it perhaps a bit too far.

Ann Miller, Folks

The greatest female tap-dancer ever (apologies to Eleanor Powell), and the hottest girlie this side of Cyd Charisse. She probably should have come with a warning-label, frankly.