In Pain and On Drugs

And they still weren't able to blow one by the house boy. No wonder he got replaced. The state of Missouri was willing to elect a dead man instead Ashcroft, and even though he was compensated for losing, seems to have had difficulty signing off on destroying the constitution to save it. Pancreatitis sucks. Instead of eating your young, you eat yourself. Kind of appropriate.

Justice Deputy Resisted Parts of Spy Program - New York Times

The unusual meeting was prompted because Mr. Ashcroft's top deputy, James B. Comey, who was acting as attorney general in his absence, had indicated he was unwilling to give his approval to certifying central aspects of the program, as required under the White House procedures set up to oversee it.

With Mr. Comey unwilling to sign off on the program, the White House went to Mr. Ashcroft - who had been in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital with pancreatitis and was housed under unusually tight security - because "they needed him for certification," according to an official briefed on the episode. The official, like others who discussed the issue, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the program.

Mr. Comey declined to comment, and Mr. Gonzales could not be reached.

Accounts differed as to exactly what was said at the hospital meeting between Mr. Ashcroft and the White House advisers. But some officials said that Mr. Ashcroft, like his deputy, appeared reluctant to give Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales his authorization to continue with aspects of the program in light of concerns among some senior government officials about whether the proper oversight was in place at the security agency and whether the president had the legal and constitutional authority to conduct such an operation.

Doesn't look like it. Reminds me of the President's Analyst(located him in the bathroom!). Just not as good looking.

What is known is that in early 2004, about the time of the hospital visit, the White House suspended parts of the program for several months and moved ahead with more stringent requirements on the security agency on how the program was used, in part to guard against abuses.

The concerns within the Justice Department appear to have led, at least in part, to the decision to suspend and revamp the program, officials said. The Justice Department then oversaw a secret audit of the surveillance program.

The audit examined a selection of cases to see how the security agency was running the program. Among other things, it looked at how agency officials went about determining that they had probable cause to believe that people in the United States, including American citizens, had sufficient ties to Al Qaeda to justify eavesdropping on their phone calls and e-mail messages without a court warrant. That review is not known to have found any instances of abuses.

Of course not, if we knew they would have to kill us.

Several senior government officials have said that when the special operation first began, there were few controls on it. Some agency officials wanted nothing to do with it, apparently fearful of participating in an illegal operation, officials have said.

At its outset in 2002, the surveillance operation was so highly classified that even Larry Thompson, the deputy attorney general to Mr. Ashcroft, who was active in most of the government's most classified counterterrorism operations, was not given access to the program.

That led to uncertainties about the chain of command in overseeing law enforcement activities connected to the program, officials said, and it appears to have spurred concerns within the Justice Department over its use. Mr. Thompson's successor, Mr. Comey, was eventually authorized to take part in the program and to review intelligence material that grew out of it, and officials said he played a part in overseeing the reforms that were put in place in 2004.

But even after the imposition of the new restrictions last year, the agency maintained the authority to choose its eavesdropping targets and did not have to get specific approval from the Justice Department or other Bush officials before it began surveillance on phone calls or e-mail messages. The decision on whether someone is believed to be linked to Al Qaeda and should be monitored is left to a shift supervisor at the agency, the White House has said.

Aah yes, the Peter Priniciple in action.

On so many levels.


Technorati Tags: ashcroft, comey, wiretap,

Good Advice for the New Year, Part 2

They don't mention champagne which is what I'll be having. Fake it till you make it is my plan for the new year.

ABC News: How Not to Drink Your Calories This New Year's: "Light beer is perhaps the best option for calorie-minded drinkers. It has 110 calories per 12-ounce serving. White wine is 100 calories per five ounces, and red wine is 105 calories per five-ounces.

For straight shots of distilled spirits like bourbon, whiskey, scotch and vodka, it's about 50 to 100 calories per ounce. Mixers like soda and juice will add more calories.

'If you use water, club soda or a diet drink, you're not adding calories,' said Collette. 'Most other mixers add significant calories and in some cases, more than double the calories per drink.'

Among the more calorie-laden drinks are regular beer, which packs about 150 calories for a 12-ounce drink, and margaritas, with 327 calories per six ounces.

'When you're talking about alcohol, the calories come from the alcohol. And no matter what the drink is, it's the same calories per gram,' Collette said.

Some other calorie amounts:

A seven-ounce gin and tonic packs 189 calories.

A rum and Coke (or other similar soda) contains 361 calories.

A six-ounce amaretto sour holds 421 calories.

Eight ounces of eggnog adds 320 calories and 18 grams of fat.

'What is in eggnog? You have at least one type of liquor, and we know that most liquors are at least 65 calories per ounce. An ounce is a very small amount. It's less than a jigger of alcohol,' Collette said. 'And other things that are in eggnog could possibly be ice cream or cream, and we know that most of the calories in those foods are coming from fat.'

Worse yet, alcohol calories tend to end up as fat stored in the abdomen."

That explains Santa. And that must be diet eggnog. I tasted some killer nog but it was 200 calories for 2 oz, need 6oz for the drink plus alcohol, I wouldn't be able to nibble.

Please be careful, don't drink and drive it isn't worth the price.

And you might spill the drink.

I Hope So

I started reading this article and thought "how cool, they are finally getting around to noticing what my friends and I have been saying for years." We are not our mother's 50. And there is that baby boomer thing which means that there are quite a few of us.

ABC News: Is 50 the New 30?: "n 2005, women over 40 won about two to three magazine covers a month compared to one a month in 2004. Demi Moore, 43, is featured in Versace ads and Sharon Stone fronts the Dior campaign. The reason? Older consumers want more and companies are trying to meet their demands.

Companies are trying to take advantage of every trend, said consumer research expert, Marshall Cohen.

'Companies have recognized these consumers are frustrated with how come this brand doesn't talk to me,' said Cohen. 'How come they don't speak my language? Why are they only talking to the younger generation?'

The famous women who front ad campaigns and grace the covers of magazines merely reflect what is going on in society, experts say. Older women are no longer pushed to the sidelines. More and more people find them sexy.

Women like Demi Moore are marrying younger men. Her second husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, is 15 years her junior. Others like Sarah Jessica Parker, who is 40 and the mother of a two-year-old, are giving birth at an older age.

It might help that cosmetic surgery has become more popular and accepted. Since 1997 procedures ranging from botox to breast augmentation have increased by 465 percent."

I take issue with the last paragraph. Not only have I ever had any type of plastic surgery, I don't even wear makup and people regularly underestimate my age by 7 to 15 years. I always win a toy at the carnival. This was a perfectly well written article that for some reason departed into snark land at the last minute.

And they talk about bloggers.

OMG! They're Human!

All except for one, our little doubting Thomas. Oh to be a fly on the wall.



So, Guy Walks Up to the Bar, and Scalia Says... - New York Times

Justice Scalia was the funniest justice, at 77 "laughing episodes." On average, he was good for slightly more than one laugh - 1.027, to be precise - per argument.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer was next, at 45 laughs. Justice Ginsburg produced but four laughs. Justice Clarence Thomas, who rarely speaks during arguments, gave rise to no laughter at all.

Of course, what passes for humor at the Supreme Court would probably not kill at the local comedy club. Consider, for instance, the golden opportunity on Halloween this year when a light bulb in the courtroom's ceiling exploded during an argument.

It takes two justices, it turns out, to screw up a light bulb joke.

"It's a trick they play on new chief justices all the time," Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who joined the court that month, said of the explosion.

"[Laughter.]"

"Happy Halloween," Justice Scalia retorted.

"[Laughter.]"

And then, the kicker. "We're even more in the dark now than before," Chief Justice Roberts said.

"[Laughter.]"

On the other hand, in a January argument in a statute-of-limitations case, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy made an amusing observation about the absurdity of modern life.

"Recently I lost my luggage," Justice Kennedy said. "I had to go to the lost and found at the airline, and the lady said has my plane landed yet."

CBS had a show called First Monday, which was on Friday (Joe Mantegna, James Garner, Charles Durning and others) had some great dialogue and was all about the personalities of the justices. I enjoyed it even though I knew it would never get renewed.

The New York Times, building on Professor Wexler's pioneering work, analyzed the available transcripts for the term that began this October. The mood under Chief Justice Roberts has brightened, the analysis found, with the average number of justice-generated laughs per argument rising to 2.9 from 2.6 the previous term.

In the current term, the Times analysis found, there has also been movement in the funniness-of-individual-justices department. Justice Breyer has taken the lead, at 28 laughs, edging out Justice Scalia, with 25. They also tied in the largest-number-of-jokes-in-a-single-argument category, each squeezing five into a single hour.

Chief Justice Roberts made a strong early showing, coming in third, with 13.

"It looks like he'll be competitive," Professor Wexler said in an interview.

Justice Clarence Thomas continues to bring up the rear, with what is shaping up to be another jokeless term for him.

You would have thought he was tired of being in the rear. They have contests to be Miss Congeniality? What, do they Iron Chef the constitution? Play a little Deal or No Deal when it gets to be a judicial stalemate?

Not to be harsh, but Survivor didn't work out all that well last year.

Good Advice for the New Year

Ray Charles' "It's All Right" was playing in the background when I found this article. Long term survivors will tell you that it is best if you don't dwell.

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - New York Times

Self-reflection is especially problematic when we are feeling down. Research by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a clinical psychologist at Yale University, shows that when people are depressed, ruminating on their problems makes things worse.

In one study, mildly depressed college students were asked to spend eight minutes thinking about themselves or to spend the same amount of time thinking about mundane topics like "clouds forming in the sky."

People in the first group focused on the negative things in their lives and sunk into a worse mood. People in the other group actually felt better afterward, possibly because their negative self-focus was "turned off" by the distraction task.

What about people like police officers and firefighters who witness terrible events? Is it helpful for them to reflect on their experiences?

For years it was believed that emergency workers should undergo a debriefing process to focus on and relive their experiences; the idea was that this would make them feel better and prevent mental health problems down the road. After 9/11, for example, well-meaning counselors flocked to New York to help police officers, firefighters and rescue workers deal with the trauma of what they had seen.

But did it do any good? In an extensive review of the research, a team led by Richard McNally, a clinical psychologist at Harvard, concluded that debriefing procedures have little benefit and might even hurt by interrupting the normal healing process. People often distract themselves from thinking about painful events right after they occur, and this may be better than mentally reliving the events.

What can we do to improve ourselves and feel happier? Numerous social psychological studies have confirmed Aristotle's observation that "We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage." If we are dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, one of the best approaches is to act more like the person we want to be, rather than sitting around analyzing ourselves.

Social psychologist Daniel Batson and colleagues at the University of Kansas found that participants who were given an opportunity to do a favor for another person ended up viewing themselves as kind, considerate people - unless, that is, they were asked to reflect on why they had done the favor. People in that group tended in the end to not view themselves as being especially kind.

The trick is to go out of our way to be kind to others without thinking too much about why we're doing it. As a bonus, our kindnesses will make us happier.

A study by University of California, Riverside, social psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues found that college students instructed to do a few acts of kindness one day a week ended up being happier than a control group of students who received no special instructions.

This is one of the meanings of "smell the roses". Watching children, puppies and kittens play usually brings a smile to the most hardened of souls. There are exceptions, but that is exactly what they are, exceptions.

You can teach yourself to be happier by actually looking out for others happiness. Instead of trying to quit doing something this year, why don't you add something new to spice things up? Smile or say hello to five new people a day.

You never know what might happen.

Technorati Tags: New_Year, Advice, depression, 9/11

Internal or External?

Focus. By way of Skippy, who mentioned me while I was in the middle of a site redesign and all my links were inoperable. Sorry.

Locus of Control Test Results

Internal Locus (49%) Individual believes that their life is defined more by their decisions and internal drive. External Locus (51%) Individual believes that their life is defined more by genetics, environment, fate, or other external factors.

Take Free Locus of Control Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

I thought it was pretty accurate.

Can I do this too?

I'm running out of money and unable to print any, don't have any taxpayers, can I raise my debt limit so I can pay my bills with money I don't have?
US government warns it's running out of cash - Yahoo! News

In a letter to Senate leaders Thursday, Snow said the statutory debt limit imposed by Congress of 8.184 trillion dollars would be reached in mid-February and the government would then lose its borrowing power.

"At that time, unless the debt limit is raised or the Treasury Department takes authorized extraordinary actions, we will be unable to continue to finance government operations," said the letter, seen by AFP.

Snow warned that even if the Treasury took "all available prudent and legal actions" to avoid breaching the ceiling, "we anticipate that we can finance government operations no longer than mid-March".

"Accordingly, I am writing to request that Congress raise the statutory debt limit as soon as possible."

The Republican-led Congress last voted to increase the debt limit in mid-November 2004, despite opposition from Democrats who demanded the free-spending federal government tighten its belt instead.

The US debt limit sparked bitter partisan battles in the mid-1990s between a Republican-dominated Congress and the Democratic administration of president Bill Clinton, leading to shutdowns of the federal government.

Once the US government hits the ceiling, it comes under threat of defaulting on its debts and can lose the ability to raise future credit on the capital markets.

We won't default, we'll print more and start making gold the way to purchase fine items, that way rich people won't be too incovenienced. Or better yet, eliminate services for those people who don't donate to the republican party.

Technorati Tags: politcs, economics, news

Butt Dust

Kids say the darndest things. As has been noted before.

These have to be original and genuine - no adult is this
creative!!

JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: "Mom why have you got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?"

MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old she didn't remember any more. Melanie said, "If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six."

STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom goodnight. "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window."

BRITTANY (age 4) had an earache and wanted a painkiller. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a childproof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?

SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she said, "It makes my teeth cough."

DI (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "How much do I cost?"

MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple that were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?"

CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?"

JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt." Concerned, James asked: "What happened to the flea?"

TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for awhile and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?"

The Sermon I think this Mom will never forget.... this
particular Sunday sermon..."Dear Lord," the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. "Without you, we are but dust." He would have continued but at that moment her very obedient daughter (who was listening!) Leaned over to her and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"

Presidential Lying

Time to pay the piper, again.

Thanks, MoxxieGrrrl.

Too Good To Pass Up

They worry about pit bulls. It is the attitude of the dog, not the breed.

Pack of angry Chihuahuas attack officer in Fremont

A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home following a traffic stop, authorities said.

The officer suffered minor injuries including bites to his ankle on Thursday when the five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway, said Fremont detective Bill Veteran.

The teenager had been detained after the traffic incident, Veteran said.

The officer was treated at a local hospital and returned to work less than two hours later, Veteran said.

It was the third time this month a Fremont officer was bitten by a dog while on duty. Neither of the other officers were seriously injured.

And it was the second bizarre incident in as many hours for the Fremont Police Department.

Two hours earlier, a homeowner in Niles reported that an intruder broke into her home and added pornography to her computer.

The woman said she woke up and was startled to see a stranger typing away on her computer. The intruder fled, but left behind an altered screen saver that featured images of "erotic Indian art," Veteran said.

Nothing was reported stolen, and neither the woman nor her nine-year-old daughter was hurt, he said.

Why would somebody add pornography to your computer? And then leave? Very strange.

Just Ask The NSA

They should know.

Justice Dept. Probing Domestic Spying Leak

The officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, said the inquiry will focus on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Times revealed the existence of the program two weeks ago in a front-page story that acknowledged the news had been withheld from publication for a year, partly at the request of the administration and partly because the newspaper wanted more time to confirm various aspects of the program.

Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for The Times, said the paper will not comment on the investigation.

Revelation of the secret spying program unleashed a firestorm of criticism of the administration. Some critics accused the president of breaking the law by authorizing intercepts of conversations _ without prior court approval or oversight _ of people inside the United States and abroad who had suspected ties to al-Qaida or its affiliates.

Investigate the leak, yes, let's do that. Somebody must pay for pulling the curtain away from dear leader and showing the internal workings of the machine.

Time to Change the 22nd Amendment

Historically, before FDR, the president had served no more than two terms and afterward Congress was determined that it wouldn't happen again. This was before the days of widespread television with their incessant commercials touting how one person was better than another and that this enables them to do a job determining the direction of the country. The one nice thing about living in California during the last presidential election was that since we were considered to be blue, they didn't bother with the political commercials. We had practically none in my area. I'm pretty sure it was a little different in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.

I am so tired of the the constant running for election and then reelection. The news will only continue to post more stories about who has raised the most money for something that will happen in late 2008. It's like a basketball game. You can lead the first three quarters of the game but it is the last two minutes that are interesting and the last 30 seconds are intense and usually determines the outcome. I'm like most American's in the fact that I don't care until the last 30 seconds so quit bugging me. In my defense let me say that I have already made up my mind by the time I vote (for the last dollar standing) in the useless June primary.

The Fix - Chris Cillizza's Politics Blog - (washingtonpost.com)

As always, the two ends of the spectrum are the easiest to identify. Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) stands out as having had the best year; Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist (R) clearly had the worst. Between those two poles (and pols) is a considerable gray area. In several instances an argument could be made that some politicians included in the "worst" category could be included in the "best" and vice versa. Take this list as a conversation starter. Have quibbles or kudos? Post in the comments below. And remember: If you are running for president, it's far better to have had a bad 2005 than a bad 2007.

So exactly what is my proposal? One six year term for president. Period. Using a four year term to split the difference between the two year term for the House of Representatives and the six year term for the Senate was useful during the horse and buggy days. Now they get elected and the next day have a reelection PAC. Do the job first. Times have changed and it is time for us to change with it. With the technology we have today we can have a national primary folowed 60 days later by the national election. Then the president can actually do some work their first five years in office before they become a lame duck.

Other countries seem to be able to pull off elections within a shorter time period. Even Iraq. They might not always be successful, but can we say that our's are? Less and less people are voting and it could be that they are so desensitized that they just don't care until the day after because they think the system is corrupt, that their vote won't count, or will be disqualified for some reason that they have no control over.

We have the technology to easy the voter's suffering. Could we start using it?



Technorati Tags: voting, term limits, 22nd Amendment, elections,

Dumb and Dumber

Especiallay if he thinks he isn't on a watch list now. When I was 16 my parents knew where I was at all times. I certainly wouldn't have been able to disappear for more than one night and certainly not to another continent. Times certainly have changed.
AP: U.S. Teen Runs Off to Iraq by Himself

"In one day I probably spent like $250 on taxis," he said. "And they're so evil too, because they ripped me off, and when I wouldn't pay the ripped-off price they started threatening me. It was bad."
It could have been worse — the border could have been open.

As luck would have it, the teenager found himself at the Iraq-Kuwait line sometime on Dec. 13, and the border security was extra tight because of Iraq's Dec. 15 parliamentary elections. The timing saved him from a dangerous trip.

"If they'd let me in from Kuwait, I probably would have died," he acknowledged. "That would have been a bad idea."

He again called his father, who told him to come home. But the teen insisted on going to Baghdad. His father advised him to stay with family friends in Beirut, Lebanon, so he flew there, spending 10 days before flying to Baghdad on Christmas.

His ride at Baghdad International Airport, arranged by the family friends in Lebanon, dropped him off at an international hotel where Americans were staying.

He says he only strayed far from that hotel once, in search of food. He walked into a nearby shop and asked for a menu. When no menu appeared, he pulled out his Arabic phrase book, and after fumbling around found the word "menu." The stand didn't have one. Then a worker tried to read some of the English phrases.

"And I'm like, 'Well, I should probably be going.' It was not a safe place. The way they were looking at me kind of freaked me out," he said.

It was mid-afternoon Tuesday, after his second night in Baghdad, that he sought out editors at The Associated Press and announced he was in Iraq to do research and humanitarian work. AP staffers had never seen an unaccompanied teenage American walk into their war zone office. ("I would have been less surprised if little green men had walked in," said editor Patrick Quinn.)

Wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt in addition to his jeans and sneakers, Hassan appeared eager and outgoing but slightly sheepish about his situation.

The AP quickly called the U.S. embassy.

Embassy officials had been on the lookout for Hassan, at the request of his parents, who still weren't sure exactly where he was. One U.S. military officer said he was shocked the teen was still alive. The 101st Airborne lieutenant who picked him up from the hotel said it was the wildest story he'd ever heard.

Less surprised if a little green man walked in. What's going on over there?

Technorati Tags: iraq, runawayteenager

Did They Hit Anything?

I'm sure we would have heard about it if there had been any damage.

Iraq al Qaeda claims missile attack on Israel

"The lion sons of al Qaeda launched ... a new attack on the Jewish state by launching 10 missiles ... from the Muslims' lands in Lebanon on selected targets in the north of the Jewish state," said the statement, attributed to al Qaeda and posted on an Islamist Web site.

It appeared to be the first claim of responsibility from al Qaeda for an attack on Israel from Lebanon. The statement could not be authenticated, but was posted on a main Web site frequently used by Iraqi insurgent groups.

The statement did not give the date of the attack.

It was not immediately clear if the group was referring to a rocket strike which wounded three people in an Israeli border town late on Tuesday, or some other attack.

Israeli warplanes attacked a Palestinian guerrilla group's training camp in Lebanon in response to that rocket attack.

"This auspicious attack was a response by the mujahideen (holy fighters) to the oath by the mujahid sheikh Osama bin Laden, leader of al Qaeda ... which the (Jews) and idolaters' servants in Muslim countries failed to grasp. The future shall be more bitter and more harsh," said the statement.

And Israel would have overretaliated and that definitely would have been noticed.

Blonde Snark

Remember being blonde is a state of mind, not a haircolor. Blondesense likes to change her logo as often as Sarah Jessica Parker changes her looks. Looks cool.

BlondeSense

Iron Hymen or Abstinence Words of Wisdom From Our First Lady:

"Take it from me ladies---this is no good reason to rush into S-E-X. That's why I pray you choose abstinence, so you need never know the heartbreak of being trapped in a loveless marriage just because you drank too many margaritas one night and gave up your honey pot to a pushy young cokehead from a so -called 'good family."

Too funny.

They Should Check The Stats

On coming back from the dead if they really want a disconnect from reality. I think One Life To Live had Victor Lord come back at least three times and then there was the bad guy who fell out of an airplane only to return a few years later with no injuries.

Best Place to Have a Coma: Soap Operas

Soap operas aren't medical documentaries, but media messages may subtly shape people's views, the researchers note.

"Although these programs are presented as fiction, they may contribute to unrealistic expectations of recovery" for patients in a coma, they write in BMJ.

Uncanny Survival

Casarett's team studied the depiction of comas on U.S. television soap operas from 1995-2005. During that time, 64 soap opera characters had what appeared to be comas.

Here's how those characters fared:

* Nearly nine out of 10 fully recovered
* 8% (five "patients") died
* 3% (two "patients") remained in a vegetative state

Those results are "unrealistically optimistic," write the researchers.

What's more, two of those deaths were faked so that the characters snuck away to live on. Viewers didn't know that right away, so the phony deaths were counted as actual deaths.

No word on how the comatose characters maintained perfect hair and makeup, whether actors' contract negotiations or TV ratings raised their risk of having a coma, or if the faked deaths prompted new storylines of lawsuits against the fictional caregivers.

Coma in the Real World

Here are some coma facts from Casarett and colleagues:

* Previous studies have shown survival rates of 50% or less for coma patients.
* Typically, less than 10% of patients recover fully from comas not caused by trauma. That's about nine times rarer than what happened on the soaps.
* Recovering coma patients often face subtle mental and functional deficits.
* Months of intensive physical and occupational therapy are usually needed after coma.

"Of course, soap opera storylines are not always written to reflect real life," the researchers write.

Good grief, I hope not. Otherwise I could have a kid show up that I never knew about because I had amnesia (and so did everyone else in town) and didn't remember giving birth to identical twins, one of which was raised as my baby brother and the other is the girl (small accident at birth) he met at college and is having an affair with her mother.

Did you get that?

Tim's TV Top Ten

But he makes it clear he's only doing it under duress.
OK, I give up -- Here's my Top 10 for the year (sort of)

This is partly because the television season does not fall in a calendar year, like everything else. It runs from September to May for the networks. And June to God knows when for cable. In fact, the whole concept of a season gets murkier each year.

To create a Top 10 list in December means that barely four months have rolled out in the TV season. That's not a year. Anything before that was LAST SEASON. Come on, where's the continuity here? Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Fox's "24" is one of your favorite series and you're absolutely positive it should rank in the Top 10. The question then becomes: "Oh, you're referring to last year, right? Because the new season doesn't start until January." The whole idea seems ill conceived and flawed.

I made this argument on radio station KFOG a few weeks back. The reaction? Shut up and give us your list. No one cares about the senselessness of it. Nobody cares about the cliche factor. Nobody cares that I could probably give you 10 entirely different picks while pressed into a corner at a cocktail party. Give up the list. Just give it.

Even my boss knows better. He doesn't even ask for it. I went on vacation and managed to not be involved in that Sunday Pink section collection of year-end lists that the other critics participated in. I got letters wondering why. People got back my out-of-office reply. Life was good. Except my vacation ran out and a review scheduled for today had to be moved. Which left only one true option:

Not one of my favorites made his list, so you have to go see what he picked.

Fiscal Responsibility

Doesn't seem to be present here, one more lesson we seem to have forgotten.

USATODAY.com - Corps pays $100K for retooled jeep

That's seven times what a deluxe commercial version of the vehicle costs. It's also three times what U.S. Export-Import Bank records show the Dominican Republic paid four years ago for a military version of the vehicle, called the Growler, a recycled version of the M151 jeep.

The Marines and the contractor, General Dynamics, say the vehicle has been thoroughly revised with modern automotive parts and adapted to fit on the V-22.

"Yes, it did start off with jeep technology, and it does look like a jeep in a lot of ways," says John Garner, the Marines project manager. But he says it's now "state of the art."

Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a non-profit group that monitors Pentagon contracts, says taxpayers are getting a deal that "stinks" on an unarmored vehicle that makes no sense for today's missions, where troops face ambushes and roadside bombs.

"In a time of war, we should not be wasting money on a junker which will not protect our troops," Brian says. Under current military safety rules, the Growler would be barred from service in Iraq except as a utility vehicle that doesn't leave the security of a base.

The Marines have budgeted to buy more than 400 Growlers, along with a French mortar and ammunition that it would tow, under a contract that could total $296 million.

The Growler beat two other vehicles for the contract, Garner says.

Built by Ocala, Fla.-based American Growler, the original Growler is made partly from salvaged M151 jeep parts and is available in several versions for as little as $7,500 in kit form. At the high end, there's a $14,500 upgraded "tactical dune buggy" with a "bikini top."


The Marines' version has considerable upgrades from the commercial and Dominican Republic models, the Corps and contractor say, including a turbo-diesel engine, disc brakes and other systems adapted from modern vehicles.

"It's not your grandfather's jeep," says Kendell Pease, a General Dynamics spokesman.

Obviously. But they must think we are senile if this is their version of balancing the budget and strenghtening the military...industrial complex.

They aren't even trying to hide their contempt for the working American. I'm pretty sure they would prefer that their taxes went to improving their neighborhoods or protecting their National Guard and Army Reserve troops.

I Don't Know How To Curtsy

And I really shouldn't have to. This guy is funny.

Capitol Hill Blue: Dealing with a modern King George

To show my fealty, I tug my forelock in the old ritual of subservience except that I haven't got a forelock, as a result of male pattern baldness, and therefore, as a substitute, I tug my back mullet-lock in all honor and obedience.

I pray King George for his gentle forbearance because he has said that even discussing his new royal powers may aid the enemy. Of course, the last thing I wish to do is aid the enemy. It's just that the old habit of free speech dies hard.

Now that King George has enthroned himself, it is only right that he assume the other trappings of monarchy. May I, his lowly and worthless servant, suggest a coat of arms? Perhaps a church built on the ruins of the wall of separation between church and state. Maybe lobbyists rampant on a field of money.

His Majesty also needs royal titles tailored to the American context. It is my honor to suggest the following, which I hope the NSA will record to my credit ...

Henceforth, throughout the land, let him be proclaimed as His Royal Texas-ship, Defender of the Faith, Interpreter of the Constitution, Protector of the SUVs, Guardian of the Malls, Warrior King, Scourge of the Liberals, Bane of the Activist Judges, His Most High Majesty and Most Excellent King George W. the First of Many.

We beseech you, your kingship, to institute a system of hereditary peerage based upon merit and loyalty (i.e., campaign contributions) so that we peasants will have someone to look up to other than the tawdry celebrities on TV. Sir Rush of Bloviation, Sir Karl of Spin, these will be names to conjure with in the future days of dynasty. Perhaps, as a goodwill gesture, you could name Bill Clinton as a knight of the garter belt.

Priceless.

Good Luck With That

I want what they're smoking in the WH if they think these problems are going to disappear, it is just going to get worse now that people are awake and aware that they have been lied to.

Bush Team Rethinks Its Plan for Recovery

Now his team is rethinking its approach to his second term in hopes of salvaging it.

The Iraq push culminated the rockiest political year of this presidency, which included the demise of signature domestic priorities, the indictment of the vice president's top aide, the collapse of a Supreme Court nomination, a fumbled response to a natural disaster and a rising death toll in an increasingly unpopular war. It was not until Bush opened a fresh campaign to reassure the public on Iraq that he regained some traction.

The lessons drawn by a variety of Bush advisers inside and outside the White House as they map a road to recovery in 2006 include these: Overarching initiatives such as restructuring Social Security are unworkable in a time of war. The public wants a balanced appraisal of what is happening on the battlefield as well as pledges of victory. And Iraq trumps all.

"I don't think they realized that Iraq is the totality of their legacy until fairly recently," said former congressman Vin Weber (R-Minn.), an outside adviser to the White House. "There is not much of a market for other issues."

I see dead people and so does the rest of America.

It took many months, and much political pain, for that realization to sink in. In the heady days after reelection, Bush and Rove sketched out an ambitious agenda to avoid the traditional pitfalls of second-term presidents. They settled on four domestic priorities for 2005: remaking Social Security, revising the tax code, cracking down on court-clogging litigation and easing immigration rules. As the year ends, only some litigation limits have passed, and Social Security, tax and immigration plans are dead or comatose.

As Bush focused on Social Security the first half of the year, the cascading suicide bombings in Iraq played out on American television screens. It was summer by the time Bush decided to shift public attention to Iraq. A speech at Fort Bragg, N.C., failed to move the political needle. Bush then escaped to Texas for August -- a vacation shadowed for weeks by a dead soldier's mother named Cindy Sheehan, then brought to an abrupt halt by Hurricane Katrina.

Plans to rebuild public confidence on Iraq were shelved as the president was consumed by the hurricane and the fiasco over Harriet Miers's Supreme Court nomination. Then after I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, was charged with perjury in the CIA leak case, Democrats forced an extraordinary closed-door Senate session to demand further investigation of the roots of the Iraq war.

It is just going to get worse. A novel approach might be to come clean and ask forgiveness, but that is too much like those rehab programs Bush never attended. When he talks to God does he ever admit he made a mistake? Or does he consider himself an equal?

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

Puhlease. The Department of Homeland Stupidity and Fraud has been one big frat party for "people in the know" and as with all parties, it had to end sometime. Those pesky whirling dervishes Katrina and Rita showed up during the main course and are preventing dessert from being served.

Homeland Security Is Faulted in Audit

In addition, the report found, "the circumstances created by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provide an unprecedented opportunity for fraud, waste and abuse," primarily because FEMA's grant and contract programs are still not being managed properly.

Hey, the people who needed it the least, got the most. What's the problem?

"While DHS is taking several steps to manage and control spending under Katrina, the sheer size of the response and recovery efforts will create an unprecedented need for oversight," the report concludes.

Only if you had contact with a suspected terrorist or someone 17 times removed. And then it will be behind your back.

The audit is the latest in a series of tough assessments of the beleaguered department, which has been widely criticized since it was formed in March 2003 by combining 22 disparate agencies. In a final "report card" issued earlier this month, for example, the former members of the Sept. 11 commission gave the DHS low or failing grades in many key areas, including airline passenger screening and border control.

Earlier this week, a group of House Democrats issued a report alleging that the department had failed to follow through on 33 promised improvements to border security, infrastructure protection and other programs.

In an 11-page response to the inspector general's findings, homeland security officials acknowledged problems but disputed some of the criticisms and offered explanations for others. For example, the department said it has created a special procurement office to oversee hurricane contracts and is using consultants to monitor the process.

Halliburton?

Department spokesman William R. "Russ" Knocke said that "retooling FEMA is one of our greatest and most urgent priorities."

"We continue to make programs more efficient, effective and results-oriented," Knocke said, adding that "the department is making substantial progress in implementing several core management initiatives," including improvements in personnel policies and financial accountability.

How Republican. Isn't that what they promised to do in the first place?

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who took over the department this year, is in the midst of implementing a broad reorganization of the 180,000-employee department and has announced initiatives in border security and other areas.

Ah yes, ye olde shell game.

But the department's bumbling after Katrina prompted widespread criticism -- along with the resignation of FEMA's director -- and many lawmakers have since questioned whether DHS is capable of handling recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend is reviewing the hurricane response by DHS and other agencies.

Research, review, renovate. Anything but relieve and restore.

Gravity Works

9.8 meters per second/squared is the accepted value unless you are in politics where it more closely resembles the speed of dark (Steven Wright). As with most roller coaster rides, it seems to take a long time to get to top and then you go swooshing down so fast it is hard to breathe.

The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff

A reconstruction of the lobbyist's rise and fall shows that he was an ingenious dealmaker who hatched interlocking schemes that exploited the machinery of government and trampled the norms of doing business in Washington -- sometimes for clients but more often to serve his desire for wealth and influence. This inside account of Abramoff's career is drawn from interviews with government officials and former associates in the lobbying shops of Preston Gates Ellis LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP; thousands of court and government records; and hundreds of e-mails obtained by The Washington Post, as well as those released by Senate investigators.

Abramoff, now 47, had mammoth ambitions. He sought to build the biggest lobbying portfolio in town. He opened two restaurants close to the Capitol. He bought a fleet of casino boats. He produced two Hollywood movies. He leased four arena and stadium skyboxes and dreamed of owning a pro sports team. He was a generous patron in his Orthodox Jewish community, starting a boys' religious school in Maryland.

For a time, all things seemed possible. Abramoff's brash style often clashed with culturally conservative Washington, but many people were drawn to his moxie and his money. He collected unprecedented sums -- tens of millions of dollars -- from casino-rich Indian tribes. Lawmakers and their aides packed his restaurants and skyboxes and jetted off with him on golf trips to Scotland and the Pacific island of Saipan.

Abramoff offered jobs and other favors to well-placed congressional staffers and executive branch officials. He pushed his own associates for government positions, from which they, too, could help him.

He was a man of contradictions. He presented himself as deeply religious, yet his e-mails show that he blatantly deceived Indian tribes and did business with people linked to the underworld. He had genuine inside connections but also puffed himself up with phony claims about his access.

Abramoff's lobbying team was made up of Republicans and a few Democrats, most of whom he had wined and dined when they were aides to powerful members of Congress. They signed on for the camaraderie, the paycheck, the excitement.

"Everybody lost their minds," recalled a former congressional staffer who lobbied with Abramoff at Preston Gates. "Jack was cutting deals all over town. Staffers lost their loyalty to members -- they were loyal to money."

A senior Preston Gates partner warned him to slow down or he would be "dead, disgraced or in jail." Those within Abramoff's circle also saw the danger signs. Their boss had become increasingly frenzied about money and flouted the rules. "I'm sensing shadiness. I'll stop asking," one associate, Todd Boulanger, e-mailed a colleague.

Cool, I'll stick my head in the sand and see if all the shady crap the administration is doing will go away too. For a religious guy how could he forget that it is the "love of money that is the root of all evil" or "pride goeth before a fall".


Technorati Tags: abramoff, lobbying

The Zell Miller of the GOP

Except he isn't foaming at the mouth and he isn't betraying his party or his country.

Presidents all the same when scandal strikes | ajc.com

First, in the best tradition of former President Bill Clinton's classic, "it-all-depends-on-what-the-meaning-of-is-is" defense, President Bush responded to a question at a White House news conference about what now appears to be a clear violation of federal electronic monitoring laws by trying to argue that he had not ordered the National Security Agency to "monitor" phone and e-mail communications of American citizens without court order; he had merely ordered them to "detect" improper communications.

This example of presidential phrase parsing was followed quickly by the president's press secretary, Scott McLellan, dead-panning to reporters that when Bush said a couple of years ago that he would never allow the NSA to monitor Americans without a court order, what he really meant was something different than what he actually said. If McLellan's last name had been McCurry, and the topic an illicit relationship with a White House intern rather than illegal spying on American citizens, I could have easily been listening to a White House news conference at the height of the Clinton impeachment scandal.

Don't be shy, say what you really mean.

On foreign policy, domestic issues, relationships with Congress, and even their selection of White House Christmas cards and china patterns, presidents are as different as night and day. But when caught with a hand in the cookie jar and their survival called into question, administrations circle the wagons, fall back on time-worn but often effective defense mechanisms, and seamlessly morph into one another.

Shh, it's called executive privilege, kind of like a do over.

First, we get a president bobbing and weaving like Muhammad Ali. He knows he can't really tell the truth and he knows he can't rely only on lies. The resulting dilemma leads him to veer from unintelligible muttering to attempts to distract, and then to chest-beating bravado and attacks on his accusers.

Soon, he begins taking trips abroad and appearing at the White House podium with foreign leaders with minimal command of English, allowing him to duck for cover whenever scandal questions arise.

Minimal command of English used to work with the faithful , but it looks like those days are over.


Technorati Tags: scandal, politics, electronic spying, wiretapping, bush, bob barr

0 for Four

Why am I not surprised? Four years, zero results. Abuse our rights and then have nothing to show for it but a smirk.
Insight

U.S. law enforcement sources said that more than four years of surveillance by the National Security Agency has failed to capture any high-level al Qaeda operative in the United States. They said al Qaeda insurgents have long stopped using the phones and even computers to relay messages. Instead, they employ couriers.



"They have been way ahead of us in communications security," a law enforcement source said. "At most, we have caught some riff-raff. But the heavies remain free and we believe some of them are in the United States."



Several members of Congress have been briefed on the effectiveness of the government surveillance program that does not require a court order.



Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, who was briefed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the matter, said he plans to hold hearings on the program by February 2006.



"There may be legislation which will come out of it [hearings] to restrict the president's power," Mr. Specter said.



The law enforcement sources said the intelligence community has identified several al Qaeda agents believed to be in the United States. But the sources said the agents have not been found because of insufficient intelligence and even poor analysis.

Okay, let me get this straight. Insufficient intelligence (in more ways than one), poor analysis (if the only tool you have is a hammer, the world looks like a nail), FEMA is so incompetent we are still finding new ways they dropped the ball, the Department of Homeland Security isn't, foreclosures are up, the Christmas retail season was not that helpful to retailers, new home starts are down and the Constitution is just a piece of paper and Elton John got married without the world coming to an end.

Have I missed anything?

Technorati Tags: al-qaeda, wiretaps, NSA

Incestuous Politics

The reasons given for not marrying one's first or second cousin is that the potential to pass on bad genetic information is too great. The same would seem to be true in politics, not that anyone seems to be paying attention.

Chiefs Demoted in Pentagon Succession Line - Los Angeles Times

A little-noticed holiday week executive order from President Bush moved the Pentagon's intelligence chief to the No. 3 spot in the succession hierarchy behind Rumsfeld. The second spot would be the deputy secretary of defense, but that position currently is vacant. The Army chief, which long held the No. 3 spot, was dropped to sixth.

The changes, announced last week, are the second in six months and mirror the administration's new emphasis on intelligence gathering versus combat in 21st century warfighting.

Technically, the line of succession is assigned to specific positions, rather than the current individuals holding those jobs. But in its current incarnation, the doomsday plan moves to near the top three undersecretaries who are Rumsfeld loyalists and who previously worked for Vice President Dick Cheney when he was defense secretary. The changes were recommended, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, because the three undersecretaries have "a broad knowledge and perspective of overall Defense Department operations." The service leaders are more focused on training, equipping and leading a particular military service, said Whitman.

Thomas Donnelly, a defense expert with the American Enterprise Institute, said the changes make it easier for the administration to assert political control and could lead to more narrow-minded decisions. "It continues to devalue the services as institutions," said Donnelly, saying it will centralize power, and shift it away from the services, where there is generally more military expertise and interest.

Under the new plan, Rumsfeld ally Stephen Cambone, the undersecretary for intelligence, moved up to the third spot while former Ambassador Eric Edelman, the policy undersecretary; and Kenneth Krieg, the undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, hold the fourth and fifth positions.

The first to succeed Rumsfeld remains the job of the deputy secretary, a position currently vacant because the Senate has not confirmed Bush's nominee -- Navy Secretary Gordon England.

Senators have already approved Donald Winter to be England's replacement as Navy chief, and it is expected that Bush will eventually move England into the No. 2 Pentagon job without congressional approval through what is known as a recess appointment.

Recess appointment, warrantless spying. What's the dif? Or as Mel Brooks puts it best "It's good to be the king".

Technorati Tags: politics, military, rumsfeld, recess appointment,

Butt Out

What part of a sovereign nation do we not understand?

Specter Urges Discipline in Hussein Trial

"I have been disappointed the way the court has permitted Saddam to dominate the proceedings, and I respect Iraqi sovereignty and I respect judicial independence, but it's also a fair comment to evaluate what is going on," Specter said, before a meeting with the trial judges.

Says who?

"The evidence is there to portray to the world exactly what has happened here," Specter said. "You have a butcher who has butchered his own people, a torturer who has tortured his own people. . . .And that evidence ought to be presented in a systematic way."

Their country, their problem. See Romania for details.

Specter said that U.S. and international law have precedents for holding disruptive defendants in contempt and trying them without their being present in the courtroom. "Those are subjects I intend to take up with the Iraqis," he said.

I'm sure they're waiting with baited breath.

Kevin Dooley, a U.S. Embassy liaison officer working with the special tribunal trying Hussein, said it was likely that charges for other cases would be filed against the former Iraqi leader, but he declined comment on the number or length of the prospective trials.

In an interview last week with the Arabic language, London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, chief investigating judge Raeed Juhi said authorities were ready to present cases against Hussein in the 1988 chemical bomb attack of the Kurdish town of Halabja that killed 5,000 people and a campaign that killed more than 100,000 Kurds and leveled Kurdish villages.

But Juhi added that "if the deposed president is sentenced to death in the Dujail case and is executed, all other cases against him would be dropped."

Major understatement.

Top Ten Lists

I personally don't have one, but the LA Times recipe top ten is out and it does happen to include my new favorite way to make eggs(major yum), but the burger looks really good also.

A luscious year's top 10 - Los Angeles Times

It wasn't easy to choose the 10 best. There were a few we knew had to be included. The Italian-style slow-roasted shoulder of pork that we perfected by testing it no fewer than nine times, from Laurie Winer's March story about porchetta. Nancy Silverton's burgers, which forever changed the way we think about hamburgers, from Emily Green's August cover story.

Then it gets tougher.

We went crazy for Russ Parsons' brilliant snap pea soup with Parmesan cream, from his April story on snap peas. But back in February, when he showed us a completely new way to look at quiche, those recipes were life-changingly great too.

I'm sure I'll find more before the year is out.

Doesn't Sound Like A Good Idea

How do they fit in the body armor? Wouldn't they lose weight in the heat and carrying their packs?

'Semper Fit' on Home Front Only - Los Angeles Times

The rigors of being deployed in Iraq have made it difficult for Marines to comply with the fitness plan, known as the Body Composition Program, Marine Corps officials said.

Under an order issued before Christmas, commanders are allowed to exempt their troops in Iraq from what is usually a six-month program.

"In combat, the priority is combat and getting home safely and completing the mission," said Lt. Col. Kristi VanGorder, head of the training section at the Training and Education Command at the base in Quantico.

Once a Marine leaves Iraq, he or she is required to resume the fight against fat.

Failure to meet the Corps' standards for body fat percentage can lead to an administrative discharge.

Every Marine undergoes an official weigh-in at least twice a year. If an individual is heavier than a set standard for his height, then body fat is calculated.

For men, the calculation involves measuring the abdomen and neck; for women, the waist, hips and neck are measured.

The maximum body fat for men is 18%; for women, it is 26% — although the standard is looser if the Marine excels on an annual fitness test.

If his or her body fat is below a prescribed maximum, the Marine is considered to meet the standards regardless of weight and height.

"We don't want a bunch of skinny Marines," said VanGorder. "What we want is healthy Marines."

An overweight Marine who has been enrolled in the program before going to Iraq "should attempt to make progress," according to the order.

Although while in Iraq the Marine will be exempt from the weigh-ins and other aspects of the program, the individual will not be eligible for promotion until returning to the U.S. and meeting the body-fat standards. The only exception is a Marine who performs heroically in combat and receives a meritorious promotion.

You're fat, but you can still stop bullets for us just don't expect a reward unless you do something spectacular.

How low are we going to go?

I Do It For Free

I never thought of setting up a business for what I do for fun. Hmm.

Presents Causing Panic?

Except these days they're figuring out cell phones, computers, USB flash drives, Xbox 360s, PSPs, BlackBerries, DVD players, Treo 650s, digital videos and cameras, fancy photo printers and TiVos. Now Dec. 26 means parents spend hours deciphering manuals or on the phone on hold to get tech support while kids forlornly wait for their shiny new toys to become more than expensive paperweights.

That's why Hacker ran this ad: "Call Us Because You Know You Need Us."

Hacker had prepared for this day — finding four extra people in case he needed backup, like the guy he met at the drive-through coffee shop in Falls Church ("He seems techie"). And he'd borrowed friends' Xboxes and latest gadgets to make sure he was up to speed.

"The biggest noise is from the kids these days," Hacker said. "When the parents get computers or digital cameras and can't figure out how to work them, they take it in stride. When the kids' machines don't work, you hear about it immediately. They scream the loudest: 'Dad, I don't have 10,000 songs in my pocket! What am I going to do?' "

Learning to think for yourself would be a good start. Then you could try reading the directions.

When You Lie Down With Dogs

You can expect to get up with fleas. The wheels are starting to come off the gravy train. When you are poor jail is bad but you get 3 squares, clothes and a roof over your bed, not much bargaining room. When you are rich is when the carrot and stick (good lawyers!) part of the law kicks in. Two and a half years in a minimum security prison as opposed to ten at a medium is actually going to matter and is worth rolling over on your friends and former coworkers.
Enron Executive Agrees to Plea Deal

All three men had been scheduled to face trial Jan. 17, and the trio long had presented a united front. But eleventh hour negotiations with the Justice Department's Enron Task Force -- and the prospect of spending decades behind bars if he gambled at trial and lost -- ultimately proved persuasive for Causey, who had rejected previous government offers, the sources said. They spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the impending trial. The deal comes at a delicate time for Lay and Skilling, who are charged with leading a conspiracy to defraud investors by hiding debt and inflating profits at the Houston energy trading firm before its December 2001 collapse. They are the last and among the most eminent corporate executives to face trial in an era of scandal dating to the 1990s. Defense lawyers for Lay and Skilling are almost certain to seek a delay in the trial because of Causey's plea deal, the 16th by a former Enron executive. The company cut thousands of jobs after its December 2001 bankruptcy, which also cost shareholders more than $85 billion in losses.

Um, no honor among thieves also springs to mind. The little people are the losers, pension holders are once again looking for work and retirement is out of the question. No matter how much time these guys serve it will never make up for the many lives they destroyed. Or as Jimi put it "white collar conservative flashin' down the street" ala Milken.

Try being black and robbing a 7/11 of $20 with a plastic pop gun and see how much time you get.

Ramifications are US

At what point did they not think this wouldn't come back to harm us? Our diplomats have as little cover as an undercover CIA agent. Spying on the Security Council? I'm sorry, did the U.N. invade or declare war on us and I missed it? Hubris, a game the whole State Department can play.
The Raw Story | Rice authorized National Security Agency to spy on UN Security Council in run-up to war, former officials say

President Bush and other top officials in his administration used the National Security Agency to secretly wiretap the home and office telephones and monitored private email accounts of members of the United Nations Security Council in early 2003 to determine how foreign delegates would vote on a U.N. resolution that paved the way for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, NSA documents show. Two former NSA officials familiar with the agency's campaign to spy on U.N. members say then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice authorized the plan at the request of President Bush, who wanted to know how delegates were going to vote. Rice did not immediately return a call for comment. The former officials said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also participated in discussions about the plan, which involved "stepping up" efforts to eavesdrop on diplomats.

snip

Eavesdropping on U.N. diplomats is authorized under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Services Act. However, it's still considered a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which says that "The receiving state shall permit and protect free communication on the part of the mission for all official purposes... The official correspondence of the mission shall be inviolable."

According to one former official, "The administration pushed the envelope by tapping their home phones."

If this story is true we have fallen father from US ideals than I had thought. And I had thought we were down as far as a Wiggly Worm but it is looking more like a Multicellular Microorganism. This not an improvement.

The Benjamins and the Veterans

If at first you don't succeed, try again. Have you ever had a flashback? Of course you have. When they are pleasant they are called memories and we willingly revisit them many times. Others that aren't so kind to us we try and forget but they tend to come back at inconvenient times, like when you are trying to make a good impression and you keep remembering the kids laughing at you when you were eight and sometimes you still blush when you think of something dorky that you did.

A Political Debate On Stress Disorder

Experts say the sharp increase does not begin to factor in the potential impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, because the increase is largely the result of Vietnam War vets seeking treatment decades after their combat experiences. Facing a budget crunch, experts within and outside the Veterans Affairs Department are raising concerns about fraudulent claims, wondering whether the structure of government benefits discourages healing, and even questioning the utility and objectivity of the diagnosis itself.

This is their second try this year. Notice how it comes from people who haven't been to war. My mom, as some of you know, can tell you stories of what it was like to have bombs blowing up your house. She gets still gets twitchy when she hears a certain type of deep roar overhead or a truck backfire. She manages to go about her daily life with very few problems because she is a survivor. She is able to separate her memories from day to day reality and go on with her life. Through the mercy of the universe and the wonders of genetics I have also inherited that ability. Not everybody can do that and history has always had "broken" people after a war. The difference being that most soldiers died of their injuries and now we are able to save people who are missing three limbs and have brain injuries.

Among the issues being discussed, he said, was whether veterans who show signs of recovery should continue to receive disability compensation: "Whether anyone has the political courage to cut them off -- I don't know that Congress has that will, but we'll see."

Much of the debate is taking place out of public sight, including an internal VA meeting in Philadelphia this month. The department has also been in negotiations with the Institute of Medicine over a review of the "utility and objectiveness" of PTSD diagnostic criteria and the validity of screening techniques, a process that could have profound implications for returning soldiers.

Profound implications. As if the war hasn't already rearranged their lives in a negative fashion. Humans are the only creatures on the earth that pay for their mistakes more than once. An animal either dies or is recovers from their mistake and never repeat it. Humans get to replay their booboos ad nauseum and if you don't someone or something will remind you.

"We have young men and women coming back from Iraq who are having PTSD and getting the message that this is a disorder they can't be treated for, and they will have to be on disability for the rest of their lives," said Frueh, a professor of public psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina. "My concern about the policies is that they create perverse incentives to stay ill. It is very tough to get better when you are trying to demonstrate how ill you are."

Extremely true statement. Anytime you have to recall an event you lay down more chemical chains of hormones and other assorted biochemical processes thereby reinforcing it and making it more difficult to forget. Studying is boring and static; without smells, sounds or moving visual stimuli to reinforce the item so you go over it many times before it tends to stick. Events with more background or emotional impact tend to be more vivid. I distinctly remember the day my dad died. I can replay it in little flashes when I have to, but I try not to because it makes me sad.

Compensating people for disabilities is a cost of war, he said: "Veterans benefits are like workmen's comp. You went to war. You were injured. Either your body or your mind was injured, and that prevents you from doing certain duties and you are compensated for that."

Scott said Veterans Affairs' objectives were made clear in the department's request to the Institute of Medicine for a $1.3 million study to review how PTSD is diagnosed and treated. Among other things, the department asked the institute -- a branch of the National Academies chartered by Congress to advise the government on science policy -- to review the American Psychiatric Association's criteria for diagnosing PTSD. Effectively, Scott said, Veterans Affairs was trying to get one scientific organization to second-guess another.

War is different from anything you will ever do in your life and America (fortunately) lives in this insular bubble that has prevented us from experiencing it firsthand and we tend to be a little callous towards others. Our lack of empathy for some issues is frightening. Over the last century war has changed. In Vietnam the "enemy" (men, women anc children) popped up out of nowhere to kill the troops. In Iraq they are inside of homes, next to schools and hospitals or part of the police. You live in a heightened state of fear and excitement which makes memories stronger. Coming back to a society that is worried about who is Dancing with the Stars or a "war on Christmas" is disorienting and surreal.

This is about avoiding responsibility. This is a cost of war and should have been factored in at the beginning. We sent them there, we take care of them when they get back. Maybe military policy should be changed to assume that all troops will suffer PTSD and treat them accordingly, make them prove they DON'T have it and treat the ones that do.

This is not a budget issue, these are real lives.

Yes, It Did

Veronica Mars is one of my favorite shows, love the theme song and my thoughts are not matronly when I think of Weevil or Logan.

MercuryNews.com | 12/26/2005 | Best of television: 25 reasons to tune in

5. ``Veronica Mars'' (UPN)

Like ``Lost,'' this high school drama (with Kristen Bell, above) went from very good to even better at the start of its second season. No other series had quite the same mix of snappy dialogue, emotional kick and pop culture awareness. (UPN)

Lost is okay, not as good as last year or it could be that Ana gets on my last nerve. Battlestar Galactica (willing to watch on Itunes rather than pay comcast for a digital box) rocks though I thought that this last 10 episode arc was a little weak in some departments. 24 will be here in 3 weeks and I stopped watching DH because I got bored. Weeds should be out on dvd soon and hopefully Everwood will give Delia some storylines to help return it to the great show it was. I'll watch West Wing until the last episode, even though they jumped the shark when they killed off Mrs. Landingham and John Spencer's passing will definitely complicate things. Hopefully they won't decide to make the season opener a dream sequence.

Other than that, not much on this season.

Please Sneeze Into Your Elbow

That way you won't contaminate your hands and you will stop the projectile sneeze goo from infecting anyone else.

Aches, pains of flu appear in Bay Area / Strain bugging Western states has yet to spread nationwide

It is unclear whether it is good news or bad that the flu outbreak this year is occurring over the Christmas school break. Children are thought to be the major carriers of influenza, catching it in schools and spreading it around their communities. The winter break from school could help snap the chain of transmission in schools, but it may mean the virus will spread during holiday family gatherings.

"Now, instead of their classmates, they'll be infecting their grandmas, grandpas and younger siblings,'' Bergen said.

Disease control experts are increasingly stressing that frequent hand washing and respiratory etiquette -- covering your mouth when you cough and your nose when you sneeze -- really does help cut down the spread of influenza and other winter illnesses.

Martin Brandfon, of Redwood City, said he has avoided the flu with his own mix of influenza defenses.

"Whenever I see or hear anyone who is sick, I turn and go the other way,'' he said. He also has a prevention scheme your doctor may not recommend: "My theory -- a shot or two of Jack Daniels a day, and next thing you know, it's springtime."

That also works or you just don't remember being sick.

Freedom From Religion

Not. This brings up the fact that not everybody celebrates the same holidays and if you are used to making stir fry from scratch you might want to get your ingredients the day of shopping.

BostonHerald.com - Local / Regional News: Market’s blue over forced shutdown

Boston cops rolled up before noon to close the bustling Super 88 Market in the South Bay Center. The six-store Asian supermarket chain also opened on Thanksgiving despite warnings from Attorney General Tom Reilly.
“People need to eat. People come in here to do last-minute shopping,” shrugged an unapologetic Rudy Chen, the chain’s general manger. “It’s not a big holiday for Asians.”


Super 88 stores have closed on Chinese New Year every year for 25 years, even if the holiday falls on a prime weekend shopping day, Chen said. “We don’t expect other stores to close that day.”
Boston police spokesman Officer John Boyle said management agreed to lock the doors after police showed up.
“Detectives will issue a license premise violation and seek a complaint in South Boston District Court,” Boyle said.
Reilly’s office couldn’t be reached.
James Creelman of Roxbury got turned away at the market’s door by four uniformed police officers stationed in the entryway. He left wondering how he’d make Christmas dinner without butter.
“I think it’s kind of archaic,” Creelman grumbled. “Who is some religious type to tell me I can’t get a pound of butter?”
He can thank the Puritans, who laid down the law — the blue laws, that is — 400 years ago.
“I could use some apple sauce. Where is this place?” quipped state Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Newton), who has pushed to repeal obscure blue laws such as those banning blasphemy and fornication.

Of course it does make you wonder how they didn't know Christmas was coming, you would have had to have been in a vacuum or speak another language. You will observe OUR holidays the other cultures are not important.

NIMBY Those Victims

They just love to make me say I told you so.

'Not in my back yard' cry holding up FEMA trailers

In one of the post-Katrina era's ironic role reversals, the same local officials and residents who once screamed at FEMA to get trailers to New Orleans quickly are now fending off the 17,777 trailers that FEMA has on hand in Louisiana and says it can deliver immediately.

"My concern was strangers coming into my neighborhood that I knew nothing about," said Dianne Galatas, one of several St. Rose residents who fought plans to put a 200-trailer site in her neighborhood for New Orleans Sewerage Water Board employees. Amid the clamor, the board withdrew the plan last week, citing a lack of local infrastructure.

"It's a nice and quiet and safe neighborhood, and that's how I'd like to keep it," Galatas said. "I don't want my neighborhood ruined because theirs is."

No one disputes that the city must repopulate to recover, and common sense dictates that flood-ruined homes can't house people. Consequently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency wants to install trailers at sites throughout New Orleans, an approach the agency has used in other areas after disasters and that has been embraced, in theory, by most city officials.

But the bridge between theory and practice has been blown in some areas by opposition to the placement of trailers. Mayor Ray Nagin tried to sweep aside such opposition last week when he released his list of trailer sites. The move triggered howls of outrage from City Council members and some residents, and the administration quickly began backing off what seemed a bold proposal, a cause and effect that underscored the power of the "not in my back yard," or NIMBY, camps.

You never know your neighbors, you just don't want a whole bunch of black people moving next door. Heaven forbid, your daughter might want to marry one and you can't have that, now can you?

Courtesy of Edit Copy.

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

Sort of. It seems you have to pay and supervise if you want to get it just right.

Bloggers, Money Now Weapons in Information War

Roggio's arrival in Iraq comes amid what military commanders and analysts say is an increasingly aggressive battle for control over information about the conflict. Scrutiny of what the Pentagon calls information operations heightened late last month, when news reports revealed that the U.S. military was paying Iraqi journalists and news organizations to publish favorable stories written by soldiers, sometimes without disclosing the military's role in producing them.
"I am convinced that information operations from both sides are increasing and intensifying. I think both sides are beginning to understand that this struggle will be waged in both the kinetic and informational realms, but that the latter is the decisive area of operations," wrote Daniel Kuehl, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington who specializes in information operations. "The insurgents target several audiences, including the Islamic world and the American populace." In addition, the military has paid money to try to place favorable coverage on television stations in three Iraqi cities, according to an Army spokesman, Maj. Dan Blanton. The military, said Blanton, has given one of the stations about $35,000 in equipment, is building a new facility for $300,000 and pays $600 a week for a weekly program that focuses positively on U.S. efforts in Iraq. The names of the city and the television station are being withheld because the producer of the show said he and his staff would be seen as collaborators and endangered if identified.
A local U.S. Army National Guard commander acknowledged that his officers "suggest" stories to the station and review the content of the program in a weekly meeting before it is aired. Though the commander, a lieutenant colonel whose name is being withheld because he is based in the same area, denied that payments were made to the station, the Iraqi television producer said his staff got $1,000 a month from the military. It does not disclose any financial relationship to viewers. There was no explanation of the discrepancy between that amount and the figure of $600 per week provided by Blanton. "The coalition forces support us," said the producer, who added that while the U.S. military reviews each program, "they don't change anything."
But he also said military commanders suggest stories, often about U.S. reconstruction projects or community efforts by the military. He acknowledged that the program portrays American military projects in a positive light.
The commander said: "We want a free and independent press. We found this small little TV [station] and asked if they are able to work with us. Our only guide to them is to tell our story, good or bad."

All the news that's fit to print, after it has been checked for "accuracy"(am I supposed to be speaking another language?). If you don't like the way the news is going, find a station that will do it your way appears to be our modus operandi.

Ethics, principles and morals are in short supply lately. It seems that you can lie about everything except a blowjob and get away with it. Show me the money.

I lost my titles

On my archive pages when I changed templates. I've spent two days trying to track down some lost code and I don't want to start all over again, please bear with me.

Guess I'm going to have to learn to code after all this cutting and pasting thing only works for little things.

The only one not indicted

Was the clerk who actually sold the beer, everybody else got sued in a foolish attempt to place blame for a tragic incident. I didn't use accident because there were too many areas for intervention.

A car crash, and a trail of broken lives - Dateline NBC - MSNBC.com

Stephen Bromstrup got the invite that day, and after getting the okay from his mom, got into the Firebird and picked up two friends. But instead of going straight to the party, they went to a convenience store, where his parents would later be stunned to learn they illicitly bought a 12-pack of Milwaukee’s Best. The boys were savvy enough to show the store cashier that they weren’t undercover operatives for the police. Paul Bromstrup: He pulled right up to the front door, Stephen driving. His buddy, 15 at the time, takes his shirt off, walks inside. The reason he takes his shirt off is so that they know he’s not wearing a wire. No asks for an ID, no fake ID used. Just walked in and bought a 12-pack of beer. After getting the alcohol, Stephen said he and his friends then detoured to this park to knock back a beer before driving to the O’Brien’s. By the time they arrived the party was in full swing.

Is the liquor store still in business?

Did you get the memo?

Dear Friends

I have been watching you very closely to see if you have been good this year and since you have I will be telling my elves to make some goodies for me to leave under your tree at Christmas. I was going to bring you all gifts from the 12 days of Christmas, but we had a little problem.

The 12 fiddlers fiddling have all come down with VD from fiddling with the 10 ladies dancing, the 11 lords leaping have knocked up the 8 maids a-milking, and the 9 piperspiping have been arrested for doing weird things to the 7 swans a-swimming.
The 6 geese a-laying, 4 calling birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves and the partridge in a pear tree have me up to my sled runners in bird shit.

On top of all this Mrs. Claus is going through menopause, 8 of my reindeer are in heat, the elves have joined the gay liberation and some people who can't read a calendar have scheduled Christmas for the 5th of January.

Maybe next year I will be able to get my shit together and bring you the things you want.

This year I suggest you get your asses down to Walmart before everything is gone.

Love,
Santa

Just Thinking This

I have this friend who served in Vietnam and when Bob Hope died he told me that seeing him saved his life (sanity) and I was wondering what the troops have to look forward to now. I remember all the specials, the jokes and the smiles on the troops faces. Now they are shuttle off to the back of nowhere, forgotten and unappreciated. Have our stars become so selfish that they can't understand how that momentary flash of normalcy can help someone to face atrocities that they should never be involved in? I don't support the war but I do support the troops. Leaving them behind, alone and forgotten, is not my idea of support.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Stars turn backs on America's troops in Iraq

During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys. Just as the seemingly intractable nature of the war has led to a growing recruitment crisis, so the United Services Organisation, which has been putting on shows for the troops since the second world war, is struggling to get celebrities to sign up for even a short tour of duty. It is a far cry from the days following the September 11 2001 attacks, when some of the biggest names in show business, from Jennifer Lopez to Brad Pitt, rallied to the cause. "After 9/11 we couldn't have had enough airplanes for the people who were volunteering to go," Wayne Newton, the Las Vegas crooner who succeeded Bob Hope as head of USO's talent recruiting effort, told USA Today. "Now with 9/11 being as far removed as it is, the war being up one day and down the next, it becomes increasingly difficult to get people to go."

They deserve better.