Waterworks Edition

Tears of sadness and anger. Synchronicity. Jimmy Breslin still has the chops. Reader Rick sent me a link to an article Breslin wrote about the gentleman who felt it was an honor to dig the grave while our nation was mourning the death of a President. Powerfully written and emotional evocative even after all this time. Then I go to the Reader and Avedon has a link to Jimmy's newest column about impeaching Bush, which is just as well written but the emotion it evokes is anger. Anger at the stupidity of the people who think it will all be over on January 2009. Anger at our so-called Representatives who can't find more than a few sets of cojones out of 535 people. Wherever Kennedy is now, he must be wondering where the country with all that hope and optimism, went. Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country just doesn't have the ring it used to. Unless your rich.

Tears of grief. Yes, I remember where I was ten years ago and just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. I was in acupuncture school in San Diego and had @Home broadband, so I watched the story unfold on the web and television. For some odd reason I was devastated by Diana's death. It wasn't as if I had followed her every move, intruding on her life, it was more that she had proved that any young girl could live a fairy tale. Unfortunately, it was a very unhappy fairy tale with a really tragic ending. Just like life.

Tears of envy. I'm lucky if I get one number every ten times I stupidly buy a Lotto ticket but other people don't seem to have that problem. Once again someone hits the Lotto twice. There really is no sense of justice or fair play in this world.

Crocodile tears. Snow. You never know how much you are going to get or how long it's going to last. Unless it's the White House spokesman, then the answer would be September 14. One rat after another. Everyone except the chief rats who are causing the problems.

Happy tears. Craig might do the honorable thing and resign, then he can move to Iowa (no longer idiots out wandering aimlessly) and get married to a man of his own choice. No more potty breaks.

3Bs

No More Death Penalty

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Kenneth Foster didn't deserve to die for a crime he didn't commit and Texas finally pulled its head out of its ass. Which is one of the reasons my dad felt that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, a form of torture.. The last meal, saying goodbye to families etc. All of which Foster had to endure before his sentence was commuted. Whatever excuse works for you is okay by me.

If nineteen year olds aren't considered to be adult enough to drink, how can they be tried as adults, much less be scheduled to be put to death?

Hypocrisy And Awww

Oh good grief! Enough already. Whenever someone professes that something is bad, that people who practice that something are bad and uses a position of power to prevent those people from enjoying their life and then does it out of town, they are fair game. If you think it is immoral and an offense against God and nature to prefer sex with someone who has the same plumbing, you can't be sneaking around in public bathrooms to enjoy the pleasures of said plumbing on the sly and not expect someone to catch you. It is really bad form to then scream that it was a witch hunt. A witch hunt is when the federal government spends millions of dollars determining whether its chief executive's plumbing external pipe were serviced by someone with internal fixtures.

Something a little more pleasant. Awww!

An even bigger awww.

Have You Ever Noticed

That whenever Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert go on vacation, something that would give them comedy routines for weeks, always happens? This latest sex scandal and the Republican rush to distance themselves should be enough to make them want to interrupt their vacations and do a gratis episode.

Just a hopeful observation.

What I Hate More Than Shopping

Is moving. Especially in 90 degree weather. Fortunately the new place has air conditioning, which is a good thing because Mom doesn't do well in the heat, it addles her mind even more than usual. A wonderful opportunity presented itself so we're making the big move, all of a 150 yards. It's still a major pain in the ass, but my standard of living has improved immensely. Shai Shai isn't too happy, she doesn't like change. Unless it's a new food that she's discovered.

Now I just have to do all the work and then tear down the fence and my garden, which is a bummer. Plus, I'm going to try and move my DiSH because it will take almost two weeks if I wait for them to do it. Isn't life grand?

How Low Can They Go?

Oh the poor widdle babies. Being on the down low isn't working out so well for them, it almost never does. The Republican party long ago forgot that people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones. In the last few months, two men have been busted for soliciting sex in the men's room (Gross, isn't it dirty in there?) and another Senator's number (now considered old news) was found in the phone records of a prominent escort service. All are married. Barney Frank must sit at home and laugh over the the stupidity, hypocrisy and inability of the Republicans to get laid in the manner that they so obviously desire. Don't ask, don't tell. From McGreevy to Craig, the effort to deny their true biological urges has become an unmitigated disaster, both politically and personally. Then they try to justify the scandals by bringing up Jefferson, but money in the freezer is nothing like dick in a box. Or stall. Makes you wonder what the next sex peccadillo will consist of, probably something along the lines of Mercy.

From two years and many people's lifetimes ago. And I will ask the same question again. Will we ever learn?

50 billion more dollars down the rat hole. Bush thinks that after Petraeus' doctored report is delivered next month that Congress will be too intimidated by the false data and will give him whatever he wants so he can continue killing more American soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians. I guess he didn't pay attention (not really a surprise) to the verbal flogging that a Democrat received for changing his position to support for the war. As one of his constituents pointed out, you represent us. Supposedly, but considering that neither party has done anything remotely approaching the people's will in the last few years, he will probably get his money and more families will receive filled coffins decoratively wrapped with the flag.

Pretty low seems to be the answer.

Scandals, Racism And Poverty

Another week, another Republican gay sex scandal. True to form, Senator Craig was a hypocrite and voted to deny gays as many rights as possible. Sucker. These guys never learn.

It seems that Blogger is having an issue with some of its feeds. The recent comments are not displaying, there is nothing noted on the status blog and over at the Google Help group a Blogger employee made the mistake of saying it wasn't a Blogger problem. I'll bet his keyboard is burning. Technical support is the same everywhere.

Another guy gets off and avoids being convicted of rape by using the "I was sleepwalking" defense. What a load of crap. If sleepwalkers aren't responsible for the their actions, why are drunks who kill people convicted despite being unaware and unable to control their actions? Both of the cases mentioned in the article had also had too much to drink, so what's the difference? Oh yeah, it was only rape of unwilling women. Rape, the new "victimless" crime.

I hope that all the Latinos would observe the boycott and not spend a dime in the county for the rest of the week. Or longer. Why contribute to a tax base that doesn't want you, just your money and your services? What in the world has happened to America? We have become intolerant, judgmental and foolish. Racism is not good in any form but lately people have felt pretty free to show their dislike of other cultures. Shameful, just shameful.

Ooh, ooh, .3% less people were living in poverty last year according to the latest report. Isn't that great? Why is that even considered significant? You can (and they definitely do) make statistics mean anything you want. Meanwhile back in the real world, children are still suffering from "food insecurity" as well as having no health insurance. Then they go to schools that aren't funded correctly, to study from textbooks that are written by the people who have been modifying Wikipedia. Poverty will probably be way up next year and somebody will say that it is statistically insignificant.

Reactions To Gonzales Resignation

IMG_2918, originally uploaded by SabriniC.

Spread quickly throughout the blogosphere.

IMG_2918.JPG, originally uploaded by mk545.

As expected, reactions were mixed. Some happy.

IMG_2918, originally uploaded by tollady.

Some sad.

IMG_2918, originally uploaded by mark comstock jr.

But most felt that a celebration was in order.

IMG_2918, originally uploaded by jcassidy.

The news that Michael Chertoff might replace Gonzales was met with ...dismay.

IMG_2918, originally uploaded by lauraludo.

Today's timely entries in the Random Flickr Blogging project.

If I Had A Rocket Launcher

Question of the day and quote of the week comes from Newsweek regarding the hunt for Osama, The Forgotten. Even though he has caused so much misery in his way too long time on this planet, he just hasn't been caught.

With all its spy satellites and aerial drones, killer commandos and millions in reward money, why can't the world's greatest superpower find a middle-aged, possibly ill, religious fanatic with a medieval mind-set?

Umm, this is just a guess but could it be because the crew without a clue had a different agenda, Osama had served his purpose and the debacle of Iraq was on its way to parturition? Or how about it was handled with all the grace, finesse and attention to detail that was accorded all of the other important projects that the crew without a clues has managed to screw up? There are more species closer to extinction than Osama will ever be.

The new glasses finally arrived and the world is a bit more in focus. For as expensive as they were, they should do more than that. Buying glasses is not as easy as it looks, but I paid attention and my next pair will be bought online. I need a pair of computer glasses and since I don't need to wear them in public, I can the buy cheapest frames with no frills for less than a hundred dollars at any one of the stores that were reviewed here. Not that this is a good thing, but it does make it much easier to read. Some of the websites have a light color print on a white background and focusing was hard because they blurred easily.

Speaking of hundreds of dollars, the $100 bill is getting a new look next year. Ben Franklin will move from side to side or up and down depending on how you view the bill. I don't mean to offend anyone but it sounds like it is guaranteed to keep stoners and autistics fascinated for hours.

The iPod greeted me first thing this morning with its quirky shuffle of Here I Go Again by Whitesanke, followed by The Look Of Love by Dusty Springfield, Holding On To Yesterday by Ambrosia, Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash and Turn Of A Friendly Card by The Alana Parsons Project. Nostalgia seems to be the theme. The rating system fascinates me. Since I bought these tunes individually, wouldn't they all be high rated? What is the purpose of having a category that indicates you don't like the song? Do people really buy songs they don't like? Why? I can understand if you just added albums indiscriminately but then you can uncheck the songs you don't like and the next time you sync, poof!

Which is what I want to happen to Osama bin Laden.

Tnanks to Bruce Cockburn for the title. And the sentiment.

Crossposted at the 3Bs.

Health, Politics, Space And Scandal

A new way to combat high blood pressure. It's still going to involve drugs, but I wonder if the same thing could be accomplished with diet since they are targeting amino acids with a little hydrogen peroxide instead of nitric oxide in an attempt to activate protein kinase G (PKG). Supposedly this new mechanism will have a positive effect blood pressure. I wonder what the negative effects will be?

Wonkosphere is supposed to track trends in the blogosphere in regards to the eventually (but not soon enough, for several reasons) upcoming Presidential election and how well the candidates are doing in the fame game. For the record, I am a John Edwards fan. As much as I would love to see a woman or a black person in the White House, neither one of the current options would be my first choice.

For the second, and probably last, time in my life, Uranus is providing us with an edge on view. And wouldn't you know, things have changed. The rings are different from when V'ger Voyager went past in 1986. Imagine that. Of course we do have much better equipment now, which might be influencing some of the data.

Speaking of Star Trek, the new fan movie is out on the web. It stars George Takei and should be a hoot.

Looks like another Republican sex scandal. Unfortunately this one involves murder, suicide and the state of Florida. Florida is the place, not the reason. Guns and people are very rarely a good mix.

The wacky astronaut is back in the news again. She wants her bracelet off and for her statement to be eliminated. A 72 page statement means she was quite the chatty Kathy. She should have stuck with name, rank and serial number.

The Snowball Is Getting Bigger

The tipping point is closer than we think. Four of the nation's largest banks borrowed 500 million dollars each and said that they were doing it to support the Fed and the overall market. Other banks have done it too. So,what's up? In the last few days several billion dollars has been injected into the market to "increase liquidity" in an effort to make investors comfortable. Well, I hope they are, because I'm not. It won't help the hapless consumer on the bottom of the heap, with the weight of all that debt crushing them and the only part of their income that is increasing, is the percentage that no longer belongs to them.

Considering how quickly some of the new housing developments were built, it should be no surprise that attention to detail wasn't as good as it should have been. Whether or not it has to do with a good percentage of foreclosures is open to interpretation.

The people who are getting laid off as the mortgage banking industry fold in on itself, were considered good credit risks and probably owned their own homes. For a few more months anyway, then they're going to be part of the problem. 25,000 people since the beginning of August with half of those in the last week, some communities are going to be hit hard. Not good, and that's putting it mildly.

Well, that was cheerful, wasn't it?

Shai Will Never Have To Worry

About me taking her skydiving. For one thing I'm not jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. And if I did, my dog wouldn't be with me. I have to admit that Buddy looked pretty calm, like it was no big thing and looked great in the doggles. Pugs rule!

Rose Colored Glasses

As if proof were needed, a secret manual has surfaced (courtesy of the ACLU and a subpoena) which details how the president and accompanying press must never see protesters, it might harsh the buzz. It's quite detailed in how to accomplish the perpetuation of a fairy tale existence. The best part is that it dates back to 2002 when times were relatively good. No wonder Bush doesn't understand why the American people are so upset with him. He doesn't read the papers or watch the news so protesters would be quite a shock to the system. It also explains why he doesn't like to go out of the country, not as many believers in pretending like everything is hunky dory in the world.

Fianlly, a reason for me to download Google Earth. So I can use Google Sky and waste my time looking at the stars and finally being able to figure out where the heck they are in relationship to where I am. At least that's how I hope it works. Satellite view will take on a whole new meaning.

Fourteen more families of American soldiers are permanently without a loved one due to the debacle that is Iraq. I wonder if there is a White House manual on how not to deal with that.

Not just a White House fashion faux paux, flip-flops are also a health hazard.

Foreclosures, Food And Health

Home foreclosures are up and almost 180,000 families are looking at serious credit ramifications as well as trying to find a new home. 93% over this time period last year, with Nevada, Georgia and Michigan leading the pack statistically but California has the most overall. Almost 165,000 suffered the same fate in June.

Food is the anchor point of my day. I can be eating breakfast and about three bites in, I'm thinking about what to cook for dinner. I like to pick my vegetable individually, that way I can control the quality as well as the amount. I prefer a butcher to prepackaged meats for the same reason and I'm willing to pay for it so food is a big part of my budget. I enjoy going out but I really enjoy cooking my own food and have been enjoying the green beans, tomatoes, herbs and serrano chiles from my garden. Cooking is relaxing for me and I can and do cook for one as well as cook for more. I enjoy every aspect of cooking, from planning to chopping to consuming. I don't usually consume more than a few bites, the pleasure for me is the experience. And the absolute utter control I have over the whole process doesn't hurt either.

Mom is becoming frailer and less sure of herself by the day. It is hard to watch the woman who never let anything stop her, be so tentative at everything. From walking to making any kind of decision by herself she is more like a toddler than an adult, frightened by the unusual and forgetful of the rules. The concept of gravity has always baffled her and lately it's worse. Seven years ago I changed my plans from opening a practice in Palm Springs to being stuck in the ugly that is knows as San Jose, because her neighbors were worried that she wasn't eating. Sometimes for days at a time even though she worked and was around people all the time. If I had known then what is suspected now, maybe I could have made more of a change to her diet in order to stave off the mental decline.

Another reason to have an iPhone. When I go grocery shopping I always have my iPod, phone, ATM card shopping list. I could be down to just the iPhone and the ATM card and next year it would probably be just the iPhone. Technology can be a wonderful thing. Sometimes.

The Original

Because I like it and it was there.

Man Up, Grow A Pair And Stop Sniveling

The first two articles on this morning's reading list reinforced just how little of the American spirit is left in its citizens. From the war that must not be mentioned, to trying to justify basing a world view based on fear, is to continue down a well trodden path. One that the world has traveled before but the lessons have been forgotten.

The WaPo has an article about the conservative Democrat, Dan Boren (D-OK) and the patriotic silence that his district suffers from. Even though fifteen of his constituents lives have been lost in the debacle that is Iraq, nobody wants to speak out because they don't want to be unpatriotic. The Republicans noise machine certainly did its job well. When people who have suffered the most, understand the least and are willing to continue suffering emotionally and spiritually, that isn't patriotism. It's brainwashing. While a person doesn't have the right to yell fire in a crowded theater, one does have the right to point out that the nation has lost its way, the compass is broken, the flashlight's batteries are dying and the guide has other goals besides the survival of the troops.

Then from the Guardian comes a story where the author (Andrew Anthony) offers up the specious assumption that many on the liberal left side of the political equation, got to be that way because we felt that America was always the culprit on the world stage. Excuse me? I'm a liberal because I care about people, not things and I certainly don't wallow in angst and self-pity trying to reassess my perspective because I'm scared. Which is what he is doing. One moment in time, albeit the most tragic and revenge inducing, should not be responsible for turning a grown man into a whiny, hormonal (he uses mid-life crisis as an excuse), defensive, mewling ball of quivering baby bleats.

He assumes quite a bit in his hit piece, not the least of which is how fast someone can put together a reasoned argument under pressure. He must have spent a long time on this article because he uses lots of big words to make his arguments sound logical but all they do is reveal a man who waited until his forties to see the world as it really is, not just as a foil for him to have a good time. Once he saw that reality includes the terror that millions have lived with on a daily basis, he wants us to believe that he has grown up and that the other side has the right view and that everything he believed before that point was wrong and we should listen to him because now he has wisdom on his side. What a crock.

In Chinese medicine terms he lost a lot of Kidney qi due to fear on September 11 and no longer has enough water to rise up and cool the Heart which can lead to cloudy or irrational thinking. In regards to Hugo, OK, the grief (Lung) has smothered their voice, leaving them unable to speak up and fearful of authority. If we had had a different leader on 9/11, one who was capable of seeing the larger picture, this country could have continued forward into the future instead of retreating into the darkness of the past.

Terror is the world's problem, not just white people being killed by brown skinned people. Germany had the Baader-Meinhof, the US had Timothy McVeigh and Eric Rudolph, Japan had the Aum Shinrikyo and now we all have a problem. One that needs to be addressed on an individual and global scale. Why can't governments all over the world coordinate their efforts and decide on a moment in time and use that moment to arrest suspected terrorists all over the world? Let the court system sort it out instead and at the very least the terrorist networks will have been disrupted and it might be possible for the Bauers, Bonds, Bournes and Plames of this world to infiltrate suspected groups. Law abiding citizens rights are being eliminated in a futile attempt to control terrorism, so it would have to a one-time only deal, leaders shouldn't have that much power on a daily basis, that leads to the bad examples (Stalin, Hitler, Pinochet) we've seen previously.

Instead what we have is the death and destruction of our military, forced to keep fighting the wrong target and ensuring that there will be an endless supply of people willing to die for what they believe in. And take others with them. At this point there are very few innocents left, because our silence has allowed the atrocities to continue.

Crossposted at Big Brass Blog and If I Ran The Zoo.

Questions And More Questions

Jose Padilla. Good grief, where in America can you find twelve people dumber than Bush, with the memory of Gonzales and the soul of Cheney? Miami, as in Florida. Well that answers that question.

Can printing more money be far behind? It didn't take long for elation turned to panic, did it?

Why is everybody so surprised that Robert Mueller kept accurate notes? Every medical professional (even me) in the country knew that Ashcroft was definitely not "lucid". This story is old news and even worse, it's about a subject that most Americans like to ignore. Until it happens to them, by which time it is way too late.

Thursday Morning Nibbles

Broadband over power-line sounds like an interesting concept and 10 Mb download and upload speeds shouldn't be available to just the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. No offense, but that isn't a city that sounds livable to me, Texas isn't exactly the most progressive of states. Plus they just love their executions, no matter how unjust.

Two German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light. I hope they have a plan to fix it.

Bringing freedom to the Iraqis. By way of biometric scans and national ID cards. So they can move about in their own country and we can track them while they do it. Yup, life sure is better for them than it was four years ago.

I'm Not With Stupid

Stupid study alert and once again I have to differ with the conclusions. Now, I admit that I have serious authority issues so trying to persuade me by changing labels won't work. Eating is something that I do for my tastebuds and since I am rather adventurous, willing to try most anything. As I get older I tend to eat like a Klingon, in the fact that I like to eat most of one thing before moving on to the others. I want to experience the flavors of the food in front of me. My tongue is the sole arbiter of what tastes good and I tend not to rely on other's opinions. One of the most expensive meals that I ever ate, was the least liked. The champagne was excellent but nothing helped the flavor of chervil, an herb that I discovered tastes like puke to me. I tried to volunteer for a hypnosis experiment, but it turns out I'm not very suggestible. Also the time that I spend eating is related to the either the conversation around me or the book I'm reading.

Last night's dinner was excellent. Costco had a small package of fresh ahi tuna which I covered with pepper, cayenne and crushed red pepper, drizzled it with soy and seared quickly in a pan. Served it with jasmine rice and seared baby bok choy (cut in half) in a little olive oil and splashed it at the end with a little fish sauce. It looked beautiful and was healthy at the same time. Didn't even taste like the diet food it was.

The age of endarkenment. This author uses homeopathy (with a great jab at Enron) to make his point, but the evidence that we are sliding back toward the Dark Ages is all around us. In the fourth series finale of Babylon 5 civilization has gone backwards due to a war and science becomes a dark art, blamed for everything and critical thinking is a thing of the past. All the people in America who believe the biblical version of creation but don't practice any of Jesus' teaching, are a glaring example of a nation that can no longer process information in a logical fashion. This probably goes a long way to explaining why the Dark Wraith goes ballistic when his students try to use Wikipedia as a reference.

Dumb And Dumber

Today's stupid quote comes from someone who thinks they are an expert. Criticizing the Filipino prison for allowing the prisoners to dance and bringing up that it isn't true rehabilitation is one of the stupidest things I've read all day. As if we rehabilitate all or any of the prisoners in the vastly larger US penal system.

Along with the security risk, Edward Latessa, professor and head of division of criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati, told ABCNEWS.com that the prisoners are not being rehabilitated.

"I suppose the inmates have some fun," said Latessa, who cited several examples of similar programs that have been attempted, and for the most part abandoned, by American prison officials. "But there's always a concern when you have programs like that and you're offering them as rehabilitation programs. The people that are participating think they're getting something out of it, but they're not."

"That's a potentially harmful effect," he added.

Rather, Latessa argued that more appropriate rehabilitation programs, like substance abuse or family reunification programs, should be implemented with such coordination and vigor.

Is this guy serious? American prisoners are locked up and forgotten, increasingly confined to isolation cells with virtually no contact with the outside world and this guy has the balls to worry about rehabilitating prisoners in another country. Because they are having fun and everyone knows that isn't to be allowed. They must suffer until they are released, just like here in the US.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and playing games in space is likely to be an exercise in fatality. Fix the damn gash. If it isn't fixed and the shuttle is destroyed, it will be difficult to get a good night's rest.

"This is not a catastrophic loss-of-orbiter case at all," he said. "This is a case where you want to do the prudent thing for the vehicle."

Although the gouge is small, it pokes through the thermal tiles, which protect the shuttle during reentry. Under the tiles is only a thin felt layer over the space shuttle's aluminum frame.

No wonder astronauts have flown drunk. I would too if I had to depend on penny pinchers for my life. Yes, it will be difficult but not as difficult as attending all of the funerals. This isn't Marooned or Space Cowboys, this is real life. Maybe you should treat it with some respect.

Random Flickr Blogging 1844

IMG_1844, originally uploaded by bakaichick.

Berry, berry good.

Random Flickr Blogging explained.

Memo To Karl Rove

Don't let the screen door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. You can try to avoid testifying to Congress, but you were the architect of most of what has gone wrong in, with and to America for the last seven years and one way or another, you are going to pay for your crimes. You should have been frogmarched out of the White House years ago.

Ta ta and thanks for nothing. Try not to steal anything on your way out.

Putz.

Sunday Morning Musings

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a passion about space. It isn't just because it's the final frontier, it's our best hope for survival. Not just as a species, but as a vital contributor to the wonder that is the universe. Just as we are not alone in the universe, I am not alone in believing that expanding into space will be our salvation, the editor of Cosmos puts forth the rationale very eloquently.

Merv Griffin has passed away (must have been the editor's day off, two paragraphs are very strange and barely make sense). When I was a kid mom used to watch Merv and I enjoyed the guests but I will always be grateful for the creation of Jeopardy, my all time favorite game show. Rest in peace and thanks for the years of fun.

Tricky Dick trips over his own tongue. A video has surfaced of Shooter from 1994, explaining how and why invading Iraq would be a bad idea. That it would lead to a quagmire, that the amount of American dead (projected to be in the hundreds, not thousands like it is now) would not be worth it and that Iraq would break into several pieces. The only thing that has changed in the last thirteen years is that the situation on the ground is actually worse.

My relationship with my brothers has never been as good as it could be, the reasons are varied and everyone is pretty sure that they are right. I've always felt that it was a shame but there is absolutely no chance that I am ever going to live up to their expectations. As a friend of mine pointed out, I could become president of the US and would still be considered a failure that would never amount to anything. I gave up caring a while ago, except when it comes to taking care of mom. This is a responsibility that is mine and mine alone and I'm pretty tired. As mom has aged it becomes more difficult and consumes more of my life and all my resources. Every decision is based around my mom and not what is good for me. I accept this most days and studies show that others are in the same leaky boat. After mom is gone we will probably be one of the families that never speak again. It's a shame but it isn't unheard of.

The US has slipped to 42nd in the life expectancy ratings due to lack of universal health care, preventative services, obesity and a high rate of infant mortality. But we spend the most on health care, that should count for something.

JollyRoger nominated me for a Thoughtful Blogger Award and I appreciate it greatly. He must have a pretty cool sister to say such nice things about me.

Musical Whiplash Sunday

Dazed And Confused by Led Zeppelin
I Second That Emotion by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
A Face In The Crowd by Tom Petty
Worked It Out Wrong by Chris Isaak
Summertime by Janis Joplin
Mama Told Me Not To Come by Three Dog Night
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
Surf City by Jan & Dean
Silver Threads and Golden Needles by Linda Ronstadt
Moving In Stereo by The Cars
Somewhere Down The Crazy River by Robbie Robertson
Precious And Few by Climax
Invincible by Pat Benatar
My Prerogative by Bobby Brown
Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield

Crying In My Beer

I admit it, some time off was taken. Just haven't been into blogging lately, too much of the same old thing with no end in sight. Thank goodness I missed the speechifying, I'm all smirked out.

Rupert's still buying, the space shuttle is flying but Houston sees another problem. With landing. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is justifying its new 23 hour homemaking course, that is only open to women, as moving against the tide to keep our nation from being destroyed. Anything that demands that a woman with a full time job put her home first should be called by its real name. Slavery. And what can you learn about cooking and raising a child in 23 hours that can't be learned from PBS at your leisure?

Christopher Hitchens is mystifying, again. How can you not know the ending of the story from the title of his review? Yes, I know that a lot of people have read the book, but that isn't really the point, is it? That the MSM considers the big screen to qualify as news, is stupefying. Which fictional spy is better? Give me a break.

When the big one hits it will be a disaster, of this there is no denying, especially since California has paid as much attention to its infrastructure as Minneapolis didn't. The new war adviser (almost as many of them as there are senior level al-Qaedas that we have killed or captured) is oversimplifying, the draft will only provide shrapnel stoppers, not experienced troops or knowledgeable leaders to command them.

Iraqis are still dying(not that anybody is really paying attention anymore) and the attorney general (he doesn't deserve to be capitalized) is trying to export his lying to a country that already has serious problems and doesn't need any more of our "help". Nobody is vilifying the troops who committed war crimes in addition to crimes against humanity, because it was during a time of war. Murder is murder, ask all the people on death row back here in the states and most of them didn't coldly and viciously plan their crimes. Almost, but not quite, makes you think some of the Nazis punishment was too harsh. But then, history is usually written by the winners, isn't it? And imitated by the ethically impaired.

Crossposted at 3Bs.

It's Mom's 77th Today

I have a doctors appointment and then we are headed off to Cache Creek, mom wants to play the slots. They have several good restaurants out in the middle of nowhere, maybe her sons would like to join us for dinner? Since we will be in the North Bay, so to speak, it could be a nice birthday surprise.

I finished Potter last night and the only thing I have to say is, I thought only two were supposed to die. Or did I empathize with too many characters? And no, I wasn't satisfied with the ending. When they get to the seventh movie, they are going to wish they hadn't cut certain scenes from the movies.

Oh well, off to start a day of fun for the birthday girl.

Paranoia, Not Just For The Mentally Ill

As the old saying goes, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you aren't being watched, and Eugene Robinson's column expands on that idea. The sad part is that most Americans think it's okay to be watched that much, suffering from the delusion that it will protect them from terrorism when in reality what it does is allow them to be tracked through almost every aspect of their life. Every financial transaction from Starbucks to the bank with the laundromat in between, all under the guise of preventing theft.

Some seem incapable of understanding that it isn't just on television or in the movies and that being innocent won't help once you fall under suspicion. Almost everything you have done on a computer can be retrieved and used against you. A person can be tracked visually leaving a parking garage, turning right at the light, getting on to a bridge or toll road and all the way to their next destination. The handy cell phone with its GPS signal pinpoints them within a few meters and also has the dual purpose of enabling the government to listen in on their calls without oversight.

Conveniences of the 21st century have made it possible to build a psychological profile on anyone in just a few minutes and use it against you. Viewing habits can be tracked by way of Tivo and movie reward cards. What you eat and drink can be determined from several sources such as shopper's reward cards and when eating out the debit or credit card transaction reveals the type of food as well as the location. Credit cards are used so frequently that even after watching all the popular police procedurals, people still don't realize that those same techniques can, and will be, used against them. For any reason and at any time. No justification needed. What's innocent today might not be tomorrow. And at the rate we're going, it won't be.

It is just a short step to the regulated behavior of a bad science fiction movie, or for those who fear being left behind, being forced to wear the number of the beast in order to proceed legally through their lives.

Oh well, off to change the tinfoil.

Crossposted at the 3Bs.

Frigtards, Freetards And The Rest Of Us

Fake Steve's identity has been revealed and it really wasn't the real Steve. It would have been really funny if Bill Gates had been the author. But instead it was some guy named Daniel Lyons. I am so bummed. Real Steve says he isn't going to read Fake Steve's book (as if anyone believes him at this point since he's admitted to liking the blog) when it comes out in October. Now Fake Steve doesn't have to worry about blogging on company time because the company has decided to run his blog. Pretty cool. And as Fake Steve likes to say, peace out.

Justice Is A Wonderful Thing

Too bad there isn't more of it. How many people convicted of a deliberately planned rape and murder, complete with accomplices, are sentenced to 110 years and know they won't have to serve it all? It seems that raping a 14 year old girl, killing her and her family to cover it up and then lying about it is okay if you do it in the military. But if you are black, live in the state of Texas and were driving a car when your friend loses his mind and kills someone, you get the death penalty. Oh well, I guess time, place and the race of the convicted do mean everything. Especially when it comes to the death penalty.

Dianne Feinstein needs to be removed from office. She does not represent me, my state, my ideals or my principles. Her vote to allow a paranoid megalomaniac more power to intrude into innocent American's lives is just one more example of the political whore she is. It's way past time for her to close her legs, get up off her back and go home, she's made enough money off the taxpayers. Yes, I'm angry.

I'm irritated, so I'm going to go shopping for a new mattress and finish reading Harry Potter. Mom finally finished it and now it's my turn. I have studiously avoided reading or listening to anything about the book so I can form my own opinions. Like that has ever been a problem.

Education, Politics, Space, Thrills And Spills.

One of my first posts was about a group of high school kids who had achieved a rather spectacular (won an underwater design contest sponsored by NASA) goal and then were abandoned by the system because of something that was outside their control. Well, the only thing that has changed are the names and the support of their extremely savvy high school classmates. Common sense needs to prevail sometime and it is heartwarming to see it in these kids. They deserve all the help they can get to pass the DREAM act. Children should not have to suffer because of their parents mistakes.

A pissing contest between little baby frat boys, what a brilliant assessment of politics as currently practiced. The words petty, selfish, childish, arrogant, spiteful and elitist also spring to mind. All of the people who won't get paid because the Republicans in the California senate are holding their breath in the corner, will have a negative effect that ripples through the state's already shaky economy. But hey, it's only those that are poor or disabled, they can survive because they are used to having nothing. Or so goes the convoluted thinking of those that have everything they need. At the taxpayers expense.

Someone thinks they have an explanation for the random flashes of light that people have seen while gazing at the moon. I like the theory of space aliens watching us from their hideout on the moon, but that wasn't presented as an option.

Give me a break! My dog can walk on her own four paws. The only time I would consider carrying her would be crossing blacktop on a hot day and that makes it a safety issue. A dog fanny pack is just insulting to the animal and the weight distribution will mess up the owners low back and hips. Absolutely a stupid idea. Sheesh, who buys this crap?

Skateboards are dangerous and extreme skateboarding is best reserved for those who have no fear of dying. Jake Brown is one lucky guy...who will have to get a new pair of shoes after falling the equivalent of a five story building during a very high speed maneuver at the X Games. Somebody was watching out for this guy.

Manhattans Took Me By Storm

Won't be doing that again and for future reference, three is my limit. Hanging with the King (of Zembla, who is suffering from a touch of blogger malaise which hopefully won't turn into Ted Barlow disease), Tom and Generik can be intoxicating. In more ways than one. Catherine from the Poverty Barn is a very gracious and entertaining woman. The guys from Needlenose were there as well as other assorted BARBARians. I believe a fun time was had by all. I hope to attend the next one, but it will be just water for the hour before I leave.

This morning was the annual Kfog local music soirée in San Jose. What a blast. Mom and I went again but this time Gordon Biersch was prepared with food and drink. I scored a gift card for 50 songs and just got done downloading 30 of them. Plus I got the new music sampler that has music from Norah Jones, Amos Lee and others, along with the fourth Local Scene CD which has some really good stuff. My iPod is going to be so happy.

The only thing I can say about the bridge tragedy, is that it was just that. I do not like bridges and schedule my trips to either avoid them or to cross them at a time that won't require that I sit on the bridge because I was stuck in traffic. For many years our infrastructure has been deteriorating but nobody wants to pay to fix it, maybe some minds will be changed. It shouldn't require someone's death to make us contribute more to society but that seems to be what we are comfortable with, which is short-sighted, stupid and shameful.

Politics, Delusions, Iraq And Scandals

The US Attorney scandal continues to show how the Bush administration was determined to take care of their friends and contributors instead of uphold the law. I don't know why this is such a surprise to me at this point, but the sheer audacity and hubris instead of common sense that is continually displayed by the crew without a clue almost baffles me but then I remember who we're dealing with and realize that it is probably going to get worse instead of better.

Bonehead comment of the morning has to do with the current California budget crisis. Medi-Cal funds have run out and just like in Iraq, the Assembly is on vacation in lieu of fixing the problem. The disabled, elderly and chronically frail, which includes Alzheimer's patients, are to be left with nothing and expected to survive until the Assembly comes back from summer recess. Unfortunately the flaming gasbag from behind the Orange curtain still has a microphone.

Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine (Orange County), said he is not overly concerned about the budget stalemate dragging out weeks or even months longer. He said the state continues to take in tax revenue and most agencies have plenty of money in reserve.

Ackerman said that even if the budget is delayed another month, his goal of cutting spending is worthwhile. "Our goal is to get a responsible budget," he said. "We'd like to get it sooner than later, but I think the most important goal for the people of California is to have a budget that does not spend more than it takes in."

I do hope that nobody in the Legislature is collecting their salary until this crisis is resolved but somehow I doubt they have that much empathy, compassion or ethical principles to deny themselves while others suffer. And yes, I did call (5:33 am) and leave a message expressing my disappointment with his head up his rear stupidity. Nicely of course.

From the last throes to significant progress in two short years. Duck! Cheney offered up his unwanted and very rarely based in reality opinion on several subjects. Of course he is relying on sources he trusts (mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the rightest of them all) to keep himself informed. It's the usual litany of donkey doo; war good, Hillary bad, Scooter has legal bills and needs a job, etc.

Meanwhile back in the real world all hell is breaking loose again. July was a relatively quiet (in other words the MSM didn't report very much) month in Iraq, but the first of August (Happy Birthday baby bro!) is a return to the violence of earlier in the year. So far this morning there are reports of four US troops dead, along with one British soldier and 67 of those Iraqis nobody cares about AND the Sunni Arabs are quitting the government before they go on vacation. The politicians mustn't make as much money over there otherwise they would wait until they came back.

I made the Heirloom Tart for dinner last night. It rocked! I used a different recipe than the one from Epicurious because the goat cheese sounded better. I added black pepper to the prepared crust, rolled it out again and then stuffed the baked crust with fresh basil and thyme from the garden as well as a Cherokee Purple, Ace and Pink Caspian that I picked fresh and sliced within minutes of harvesting. The goat cheese was the only thing I didn't have on hand and added just the right amount of tanginess. Will definitely do this again before the end of the summer. Yum!