Helen Philpot is the Cat's Meow

If I was 10 years older I’d try to steal that Helen Philpot away from her husband.
by Charlie Leck

Oh, how I love Helen Philpot (the blogger, you know, of Margaret and Helen fame)! This woman can really kick ass!

She told a reporter this week how she felt about the Republican Convention. Oh, my! Her words are priceless.

“I think the Republicans had it hard. After four years of obstructing government, they had to do something really difficult. They had to put together a convention in Tampa while God flooded Louisiana. They had to convince a bunch of white Christians that camels are skinnier and needles have bigger eyes these days. And then they had to breathe life into a $3,000 business suit.”

Oh, Helen, I love you so!

She concluded her most recently blog this way…

“The Republicans wasted three days of my life last week and they wasted the last four years trying to negate our votes in 2008 by doing everything they could to try and make Obama fail. He didn’t and I am voting for hope and change again. In 2008 more than 69 million Americans voted for Obama which means he received the most votes for a presidential candidate in American history. And some of them were old, white people like me. Maybe this time, the Republicans in Congress will know we mean it. Really.”

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Helen Philpot Asks

     My granddaughter, Daphne: I want women to have complete equality

        in this world – not only in America, but around the world

Sometimes a damned good question just stops me dead in my tracks and causes me to wonder excitedly why I didn’t think of asking it.
by Charlie Leck

I’ll be brief today. In her most recent blog, the GOP could learn something from the gays – stop worrying about what my vagina is doing (Margaret and Helen), Helen Philpot asks this remarkable question:

“And who should make the decision about ending a pregnancy – the woman who realizes now is not the time to bring a child into the world or Rick Perry who humiliates and traps women into having an unwanted child and then denies those same women and children healthcare and a decent education after the delivery?”

Honestly
Then, Helen really opens up in the next paragraph, which begins with her commonly used word, “Honestly,…..”

Good old Helen isn’t posting so much anymore, but when she does, she’s still the best there is. If you want to read a damned good blog, go ahead and read this one by Helen.

My Favorite Blogs
Here is an updated list of blogs I never miss (a number of you have asked me to update this list because some of those included on a previous list have stopped publishing)….

Daily Dish – Andrew Sullivan (daily from the The Daily Beast)

Dick Cavett, NY Times (approximately weekly)

Governor Arne Carlson (approximately monthly)

Huffington Post (daily and among world’s most powerful blogs)

Marbury (daily, British blog on American politics)

Margaret and Helen (infrequently)

Out of Ur (religious and several times per week)

Prairie Ponderings (only occasionally I’m sad to say)

Robert Reich (two or three times per week)

Scott Kelby – Photoshop (photography – almost daily)

Stanley Fish, NY Times (approximately weekly)

Talking Points Memo (daily, hundreds of thousands of readers)

Tony Rugare’s Musings – or whatever he might now be calling it (daily)

Trout n’ Caviar – Foraging the North (approximately weekly)

Van Peebles Land (a few times per week)

and... Copy Blogger (all about blogging… if you don’t blog, you won’t like it)

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A Lay Definition of the God Particle

I spent a few hours reading about the confirmation of the God Particle’s existence this week, trying to understand. As one who performed below average in physics classes, I had plenty of difficulty. Nevertheless, I gave myself an A for the effort.
by Charlie Leck

I’m copping an entire Letter to the Editor – as a matter of fact, the Letter of the Day – from today’s issue of the local paper (StarTribune). I hope I don’t get sued for copyright infringement. If I do I’ll plead stupidity and ignorance; and there will be many readers ready to bounce up and support me on that claim. [Here’s where you can find it in the paper.]

The letter, written by Margaret Deharpporte of Eden Prairie, is just too lovely not to be shared. After reading it, I just sat back and said “Amen!” The epistle represents Margaret’s reaction to this week’s news about the confirmation of the God Particle.

I find it somewhat amusing when terms such as "God particle" and "dark matter" are thrown around by physicists ("New evidence for the 'God particle'," July 3) and "Yes, scientists exclaim, there is a 'God particle' Thursday, July 5). It is my guess that such terms mean little to the average person, and I have taken the liberty to use them differently:

Dark matter: Includes all those things that reek of darkness and negativity -- wars, injustices, prejudice, poverty, murder, intolerance of differences, sickness and a lack of reverence for our Earth.

God particle: That spark of decentness in humanity that often is what allows life to be endurable when up against dark matter.

I do believe most persons might relate to those definitions.

MARGARET DEHARPPORTE, EDEN PRAIRIE

I like that. It’s worth thinking about. Thanks to the StarTribune and to Margaret. I wonder if Margaret reads the Margaret and Helen Blog. She should.

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Afterword:
I chose to use this famous Michelangelo work as an illustration for this blog post; and, in doing so, I came upon a little blog (http://blog.sciencemusings.com) that made this remarkable little comment:

“And besides, it is not Adam or God that is the attraction of Michelangelo's painting. It is the gap between their fingers. Michelangelo could have had God touching Adam's finger. He did not. And all these centuries later, it is the gap that draws us to the painting again and again, and compels our fascination. Although both Adam and his gray-bearded Creator have lost their literal significance, the gap between their fingers -- between the human mind and the unnamable, unknown agency that creates and sustains the universe -- remains as real and as important as ever, even to the most unmystical and atheistic scientist.”
                                                                                   [Chet Raymo]

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Helen Philpot on Women’s Rights

Helen has one, though it’s 80 years old!

by Charlie Leck

Margaret and Helen don’t blog as much as they formerly did – an 80 year old broad has a right to get tired, I guess. I sure do miss those blogs, however, and I jump like an excited kid in a candy store when I see that one has been posted. That’s what happens when you’re a follower – you get notified when a blog you’re following gets posted.

So, a few days ago I noticed that Helen had written another blog. I blushed when I saw the title (Vagina is a Six Letter Word), but I rushed to it anyway. Wonderful! I laughed myself silly. You’ll find it here: http://margaretandhelen.com/2012/06/21/vagina-is-a-6-letter-word/

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Why not become a follower?
If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it! If you don’t want to post comments on the blog, but would like to communicate with me about it, send me an email if you’d like.

Can't Do Without Margaret & Helen

Old Helen told it like it is today. The old girl is a philosopher of sorts and I wish I could give her a peck on the cheek!
by Charlie Leck

"I have lived all my life speaking my mind. And I don't intend to stop now. You want to know what I really think? I think Fox News has no problem telling lies. And I think a whole lot of white people don't like having a black President. And I think gay people scare straight people. And religious people forget the basic teachings handed down by the founders of their religion. At the crossroads of every major religion, you'll find the Golden Rule. Too bad they've deleted it from their GPS." [Margaret & Helen]

The old girl, or whoever writes under her guise, really gets it. Today's blog was another damned good one and I wish to hell everyone in the country would read this stuff regularly. I really do!

How can any blogger -- and I mean any blogger -- beat this kind of stuff? Read it and weep!

"Democrats need to stop looking for middle ground and start looking for higher ground. And for goodness sakes, grow a pair and quit apologizing for it."

Damn, that's poetry!

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If you read my blog regularly, why not become a follower? All you have to do is click in the upper right hand corner and establish a simple means of communication. Then you'll be informed every time a new blog is posted here. If all that's confusing, here's Google's explanation of how to do it!

MARGARET & HELEN ARE BACK

The drawing by Charlie is actually done from a photo of the late Betty Friedan
and is not really of the anonymous and unknown Helen Philpot.

The chick, Helen Philpot, is back and she dragged Margaret with her.
by Charlie Leck

“Margaret, your letters have been a source of comfort these past few weeks. I really have not felt like writing until your nephew called me to tell me that lots of people actually read this thing and many of them think that I am dead. Goodness gracious. I had no idea that once I started I couldn’t stop. But if this is my lot in life, I guess things could be worse. It keeps me busy and right now I probably don’t need a lot of time on my hands.” [Helen Philpot]

On August 19, Helen Philpot (or whoever she is) came back from the dead (or wherever she’s been) to write again and post a blog. Thousands of us are very happy she’s back. [click here to read the post]

On September 1, she (or whatever gender this blogger really is) posted a great blog called 100 Grand Bore.

“The greatest threat against America is not terrorism. It’s not a mosque in Manhattan. It’s not gay marriage. It’s not healthcare reform. And, believe it or not, it’s not even Beck or Palin. The greatest threat against America are the tens of millions of Americans who won’t turn out to vote this November effectively giving power to 87,000 angry assholes.

“Sarah Palin is an idiot. Glenn Beck is a moron. And I am sick of Fox News. I mean it. Really.”

Lord it’s good to hear Helen say those words again: “I mean it. Really.”

I can’t tell you how much I missed the old girl. I felt some strange emotions when she stopped writing and, when it went on for weeks and weeks, I actually got angry at her and just threw up my hands and said, “Good riddance!” Now she’s back and all is forgiven.

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Two Old Bags

These old ladies do get it right most of the time. This time they nailed it!
by Charlie Leck

I hate to keep sending you to Helen and Margaret’s blog because I think the old girls are fictional and it’s really written by two young girls at Smith College or Vassar.

Nevertheless, here I am sending you to their blog again today.

Helen covers some of the basic rules of life that should be in play in America – in order for it to consider itself a great country. An example follows.

“No child should go to bed hungry and no parent with a sick child should have to worry about not having health insurance.”

Makes sense, doesn’t it? That is, in a really great nation!

Or, how about this one?

“At the intersection of all the major world religions, you will find the Golden Rule. It’s a place where you will never run into Limbaugh, Coulter or Palin. We all should have directions to that intersection.”

There are lots of others in-between and I recommend you give them a read and then drop me a note, thanking me for the favor of sending you there.

[Read the old bitches, Helen and Margaret: WE HAVE A DREAM!]

Searching for Helen Philpot

I still believe Helen & Margaret are a couple of young girls at Smith!
by Charlie Leck

Helen and Margaret write one of the most popular blogs on the web. They are a couple of very elderly, old girls -- both are in their 80s -- and they have millions of readers.

It’s Helen who does most of the posting. When Margaret does write, one really can pick up the style difference between the two. Very recently, Helen has been reviewing, chapter by chapter, Ann Coulter's newest book, Guilty. An example of her quick and rapier style wit and her brilliant writing is demonstrated in the review of chapter three of Coulter's work. [read it] This writing, it seems to me, comes from a professional and I think that's what the actual person behind Helen really is.

Oh what the hell, I’ll still go and read the frauds (if they are frauds) because they’re funny, fun and witty. I'll just keep pretending that they are old broads who have hit on extraordinary success.

There are a number of things, however, that keep making me think they’re phony. The syntax and vocabulary slips from time to time and sounds much too young for a couple of old geezers.

Though some people claim they can’t find any anyone with those names in the regions in which they’re supposed to live, those folks must have missed Helen’s explanation that they are writing under pen-names because Helen’s grandson thought it would provide them more security. It all gets much too complex and only underlines the feeling they are fictional.

If these two old girls were for real, they’d have been invited to speak at some of the most popular colleges and universities in America. Big money in that, girls! I'd travel pretty far to see the two of them in person and to hear them speak.

The fictional Helen Philpot (they’ve changed names for security reasons, as I mention above) was born in 1926. She would have entered college in about 1926 or ’27 and gotten out in about 1932. Yet, she reminisces recently about Cliff Notes Books which didn’t appear on or around college campuses until 1958. I guess there’s no reason why she wouldn’t have seen them around the bookstores!

Well, real or not, Helen kept me highly entertained all during the campaign (the months and months and months of it) and I kind of fell in love with her. If she turns out to be a fake, it won’t be the first time I was jilted by a bogus dame.

And, Helen keeps on cooking, even now that the race is over and part of history. She loves to take on the Coulter chick and Rush Limbaugh, too.

I’m confused about the question we’re working on here. What do you think? Are they the real deal? Or are they a couple of goofy, funny girls at Smith?

A Bad Case of Bronchitis

Thank goodness for my love of reading!
by Charlie Leck

Sometimes I wake up Grumpy!
For years, my wife has kept this little sign above her desk. She thinks it’s cute. You be the judge…

“Sometimes I wake up Grumpy! Sometimes I let him sleep!”

Well, I’m laid up for a while. I’ve come down with a solid, miserable case of bronchitis. It started with a bad cold that wouldn’t go away. It just hung around and hung around and now it’s all settled into my bronchial system and I’m taking antibiotics to try to drive it out. This is not a good thing to happen just before Christmas, when I’m trying to finish up my shopping and get the house all ready for the big gift-opening ceremony on Christmas morning.

I cough so much that it tires me out and then I take to bed and sleep. When the cough is in neutral, I try to read. There’s no shortage. I have stacks of books I want to get through and the newspaper is always at hand and so is the Internet and the New York Times on-line and all those inviting, wonderful blogs.

Ross Perot and Freakonomics
For instance I just finished running through the Freakonomics Blog and its interview of Ross Perot about our current economic crisis and what he thinks of the Obama approach to solving it. It’s worth a quick read.

Tom Friedman: While Detroit Slept
Friedman writes about the new intensity of business competition in the world. In their youthful days, the big three auto makers only had themselves to compete against. Now, there is a whole world of innovation waiting to slam them if they doze. Well, Detroit didn’t doze, but it’s been in a long, long Snow White like sleep and there’s been no Prince Charming rushing to their sides to awaken them.

Sociopaths and Rod Blagojevich
My wife and I have been reading a lot of material about sociopaths lately. A joint study we’ve decided to conduct. Sociopaths possess natural charm and the ability to seduce almost anyone – intellectually, socially or sexually. Most of what we’ve read is pretty extraordinary stuff. Take a look at this list of the characteristics of the sociopath. Then if you’ve been reading about Governor Rod Blagojevich lately, think about how the characteristics fit him. [This list is from http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/index.html]

Narcissim
Glibness/superficial charm.
Grandiose sense of self-worth.
Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
Pathological lying
Conning/manipulative
Lack of remorse or guilt
Shallow affect
Callous/lack of empathy
Parasitic lifestyle
Poor behavioral controls
Promiscuous sexual behavior
Early behavior problems
Lack of realistic, long-term plans
Impulsivity
Irresponsibility
Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
Many short-term marital relationships
Juvenile delinquency
Criminal versatility (Hare, 1986)

Blagojevich is a sociopath and should never have been elected to any responsible office; however, these personality types are great at fooling people and selling themselves.

"There are psychopathic personalities in the highest echelons of government, and even within religious hierarchies in America. You can t just assume that a person with the title judge or hospital orderly got there honestly and won t manipulate the hell out of you." [Psychologist Schreibman]

Schadenfreude
Residents of other states around the union are taking some sort of perverse joy in reading about political corruption in Illinois. So are members of the Republican Party. Let’s not forget, however, that this governor had a 13 percent approval rating in Illinois, so there wasn’t really anyone who thought very much of him. Sure he’s corrupt, but, more than that, he’s also crazy, whacked out of his mind nuts. As one of my daughters, in an email from Chicagoland, said: “Yes, humiliating, but not a surprise whatsoever. In fact, it's somewhat a relief. He's terrible!”

Bobby Jindal watch!
The Indian-American governor of Louisiana is worth keeping your eyes on. One can only hope he doesn’t get too caught up in the politics of the region and its corruption. Jindal looks like a promising star of the future for the Democratic Party. Tobin Harshaw writes about Jindl at the Opinionator.

Chutzpah
Chutzpah is a great word isn’t it? It’s probably the best of all the gifts we’ve been given by the Yiddish vocabulary! How else could you explain Governor Blagojevich right now? He’s got some Chutzpah!

Best and the Brightest II
I wrote last week about Obama’s ‘best and the brightest’ approach. It continues with the appointment of his new energy secretary who just happens to be Nobel Prize winner, a physicist and the former chief over at the Environmental Pollution Agency (EPA). Steven Chu will be named to the cabinet post today or tomorrow. He’s currently director of the Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory. Chu is a personable guy as well as a genius. He’ll win easy approval and his appointment indicates how serious Obama is about global warming and the development of alternative energy sources.

Mass Murders in the Congo
These are the kinds of stories I’d just as soon pass up. Rebel forces and U.N. peacekeepers are clashing in the eastern Congo and it is not so certain that the U.N. is winning. This is an ugly and complex story and it is difficult to figure out what we should be doing about it as a nation – not that we’re loaded with resources and capabilities right now. The current NY Times story is about as thorough as anything in the press today. It’s not pleasant reading, but I think it’s mandatory.

Helen and Margaret
Now, are all of you out there reading Helen and Margaret regularly? Old Helen can produce some down-right good stuff. (I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that this blog isn’t some kind of hoax and that it really is written by these two old ladies. I’d be terribly embarrassed to find out I’d been jived.) Well, if you aren’t reading them you are missing one of the really hot and popular blogs on-line these days. I wouldn’t thinking of missing out on what these two broads have got to say for themselves these days: Here’s a little taste (a short clip from a very good and lengthy blog):

It seems that Palin is my cross to carry… my burden to bear. Clinging to what’s left of its dying reputation the Republican party has credited her with the Chambliss win down in Georgia. Delivering that win makes Palin the new Republican torchbearer. I don’t know about you, but I am impressed. If Palin can get an old white guy re-elected in Georgia, I would imagine walking on water is right around the corner. But maybe she’s not really carrying the torch as much as she has struck a match and is now playing with fire.

Folks, is anyone else out there laughing? You just can’t make this kind of stuff up. Well, I take that back. If I have learned nothing else these last 8 years, I have learned that the Republican party can make shit up… a lot! They made up weapons of mass destruction and suddenly the concept of “preventive war” became part of our foreign policy.

Now before I go any farther, I am going to ask each of you to do a little research on preEMPtive war, preVENtive war and the Bush Doctrine. When you finish you will have accomplished three important things. First, you will know that preEMPtive wars are a slippery slope. Second, you will know that preVENtive wars are really an oxymoron that only a moron like George Bush could rationalize. And third, you will
know more about US foreign policy than Sarah Palin did when she was running for Vice President.

So are you done with your research? Good then let’s continue.

So much from my sick-bed.
I’ve got to take a nap. I feel really grumpy right now.