My Nightmare

all it was missing was a grainy black and white shot of maron climbing the subway stairs calling for you

Yikes ! Joe Momentum in your sleep zone..

You might want to read up on The Child labor laws though.. ;-)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrMA5vitNqQ

didn't you ever hear of the shirley temple clause?

geeze haven't we heard enough from them?

http://www.minorcon.org/childrenaschattels.html

Myla is a natural!

Aides to Al Franken told reporters on Thursday afternoon that their chances of winning a recount election against Norm Coleman looked far more positive than even Wednesday evening's optimistic reports suggest.

Speaking to reporters in person and on phone, Marc Elias, the Franken campaign's chief counsel, said that the early recount results (which decreased the margin separating the Democratic challenger and Coleman by 43 votes) actually underestimated the ground gained.

"We do in fact feel very good about how the first day of the recount went... We believe that through last night, 26.5 percent of the ballots were hand counted. And that represents slightly three percent more of the Coleman vote or Republican vote than was true during the election. And nevertheless we picked up a significant chunk of votes," said Elias. "In other words, the ballots counted yesterday were more Republican than the total ballot pool will end up being. It was a slightly redder pile versus what it will finally be. And not withstanding that slightly redder view, we picked up votes yesterday. In fact, we believe that number is higher than the 43 votes reflected on the Secretary of State's official margin."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/20/franken-camp-were-doing-e_n_145...

http://ww2.startribune.com/news/metro/elections/returns/2008/recount/mse...

i guess that puts sam's unmerciful exploitation of myla in a completely different light. lets hope he got her a better accountant than the one he was using a little bit ago.

How many times do I have to tell you guys!!!

Jeeesh!

Wal-Mart Unexpectedly Replaces CEO Lee Scott; Mike Duke to Take Over Post Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unexpectedly replaced Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott with overseas chief Mike Duke, ending Scott’s nine years at the head of the world’s largest retailer.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aT4JeWeVCGUk&refer=n...

Obama Transition Team Said to Weigh Prepackaged Bankruptcy for Automakers President-Elect Barack Obama‘s transition team is exploring a swift, prepackaged bankruptcy for automakers as a possible solution to the industry’s financial crisis, according to a person familiar with the matter.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aRfqFMhlj5lk&refer=n...

Global Carmaker Rescues May Produce `Stones-and-Glass-Houses' Trade Spats A U.S.-triggered spate of global carmaker-bailout proposals may spark trade disputes over whether the Americans are unfairly trying to subsidize their industry or just making up for state aid foreign rivals already enjoy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=az43Y55hmZhY&refer=n...

Putin Sparks Parlor Game on Whether He'll Oust Medvedev, Retake Presidency Russians are back to playing their favorite parlor game: speculating on whether or when Vladimir Putin will reclaim the presidency.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aN1Q2gA5wjh4&refer=n...

Goldman Slashes U.S. Growth Forecasts, Says Unemployment Will Climb to 9% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its recession estimates, saying gross domestic product is declining at a 5 percent annual rate in the current quarter and will drop 3 percent and 1 percent in the next two quarters.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a6el6aG0f0oA&refer=e...

Fed May Lean Toward Boosting Liquidity Rather Than Rate Cuts, Bullard Says The Federal Reserve has limited room to cut its target interest rate and may shift the focus of monetary policy more to increasing liquidity, said James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aCP8I21ZFWE8&refer=e...

Hillary!

----

Hillary Clinton Nomination Is On Track

By Anne E. Kornblut

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is on track to be nominated for secretary of state in the Obama administration, transition aides said on Thursday night.

Days of back and forth followed the meeting between President-elect Barack Obama and Clinton last week in Chicago, when the two principals first discussed the post, with advisers to Clinton suggesting she might not want the job and questions persisting about the business work and international ties of her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

But the former president agreed to a thorough vetting, and Obama advisers did not back away from reports that the New York senator was the president-elect's top pick. On Thursday night, aides said that the vetting issues have been resolved, and the selection could occur soon, perhaps immediately after Thanksgiving.

in the markets.

hearing today
Cheney, Gonzales indicted in South Texas county
Cheney, Gonzales indicted in South Texas county

Cheney is charged with engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.
=
from FauXNEWS
Guerra ran his investigation into alleged prisoner abuse with a siege mentality. He worked it from his home, dubbed it "Operation Goliath" and kept it secret from his staff, he said. He gave all the witnesses biblical pseudonyms _ his was "David" _ and when necessary gave false reasons for witnesses' appearances so as not to raise suspicion in a courthouse he believed to be filled with political enemies. A clerk and a judge who share the building were among those indicted Monday.

The grand jury indicted Cheney, Gonzales, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and The GEO Group Corp. on charges related to alleged abuse in a federal detention center and in Lucio's case, of illegally profiting from prison consulting fees.

The GEO Group Corp. was indicted on a murder charge for the death of an inmate at a federal prison.
=
[back to the top link]
Willacy County has become a prison hub with county, state and federal lockups. Guerra has gone after the prison-politician nexus before, extracting guilty pleas from three former Willacy and Webb county commissioners after investigating bribery related to federal prison contacts.

Last month, a Willacy County grand jury indicted The GEO Group, a Florida private prison company, on a murder charge in the death of a prisoner days before his release. The three-count indictment alleged The GEO Group allowed other inmates to beat Gregorio de la Rosa Jr. to death with padlocks stuffed into socks. The death happened in 2001 at the Raymondville facility.

In 2006, a jury ordered the company to pay de la Rosa's family $47.5 million in a civil judgment. The Cheney-Gonzales indictment makes reference to the de la Rosa case.
~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

i read on my trading wire that one of the forces behind this is insurance companies liquidating their holdings so they can stay solvent for the long term. once they stop selling we can expect the market to reverse directions.

but then who knows?

===

the other thing that will drive up volatility today is that it options expiration day.

re cheney's indictment

What money was he playing with, and how much.

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

right dan, my position is that the effect of that localized optimization of stability will squeeze enough into margin call status where tight liquidity will force additional selling.

At that point there is no floor.

one word of your post Nando? does this mean I will die a pauper?

I don't have a clue what I wrote either.

It's time. I always have to start at least 5 days before Thanksgiving to get just the Turkey done in time. I must make the procurement today knowing how long the suckers take to thaw.

Like the Buddhists say "just like bubbles on water"....it is all empty

mmm. alaskan turkeys. you betcha.

I clean the bird and stick it in a large trash bag.

I boil about a gallon of water and fill it with at least a half pound of kosher salt, whole all spice, whole pepper, and bayleaves till the salt disolves.

Then I let it cool, combine another gallon and pour it over the bird. I let that sit in the cooler with ice bags surrounding it for two whole days before I stuff it with Granny Smith apples and onions.

why the brine bath? doesn't it make it real salty?

and it doesn't penetrate the bird...it is a real good idea to rinse it well inside and out though.

He was a big fella. Sat and watched the snowstorm for about five minutes and then went on his way. What a way to start the day. Outstanding.

Citigroup eyeing options, including a merger
Shares of second-largest U.S. bank have fallen 50 percent this week

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc shares fell sharply again on Friday as the second-largest U.S. bank by assets mulled a variety of options including a possible merger or asset sales to restore the bank’s health and investor confidence, a source said.

The cost to protect Citigroup debt against default rose, suggesting that fixed-income investors see increased risk.

Citigroup is looking at options including a sale of parts of the company, or a merger with another company, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The company has repeatedly declined to comment on its plans, beyond its announcement earlier this week that it will shed 52,000 jobs and move tens of billions of dollars of troubled securities onto its balance sheet. It said it has “very strong capital and liquidity” levels.

Chief Executive Vikram Pandit told employees on Friday that the bank will not spin off its Smith Barney brokerage, and that “rumor-mongering” is at the heart of Citigroup’s problems, CNBC television reported.

The bank is also pushing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reinstitute a temporary ban on the short-selling of financial stocks, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Citigroup believes short-sellers are contributing the sharp decline in its stock price, according to the source.

The cost to protect its debt was $425,000 annually to protect $10 million of debt against default for five years, up from $395,000 annually on Thursday, according to Phoenix Partners Group.

On Thursday, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said he planned to increase his stake in Citigroup to 5 percent from less than 4 percent. The bank’s largest individual investor called Citigroup’s shares “dramatically undervalued.”

Citigroup’s market value was $25.7 billion as of Thursday’s close, down $48.7 billion this month, and down about a quarter trillion dollars since late 2006.

Thursday’s market value was barely above the $25 billion that Citigroup received as part of the government’s $700 billion financial industry rescue package. Citigroup said it has also raised another $50 billion of capital from other investors since the middle of 2007.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27839633/

Sam Seder and Myla- very funny!

Ultimate Snub Fest: World Leaders Refuse to Shake Bush’s Hand During G20 Photo-Op

CNN’s Rick Sanchez highlighted yesterday that during last weekend’s G20 Economic Summit, leaders from around the world refused to acknowledge or shake hands with President Bush as they walked on stage for a photo-op. As Sanchez explained, everyone was “greeting each other and shaking hands, but Bush walks with his head down like the dejected most unpopular kid in high school.”

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/107918/

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

Submitted by GBC on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 12:39pm.
Bush walks with his head down like the dejected most unpopular kid in high school.”
---------

Finally, someone told the bully, no!

the MSNBC website the other day at the SLC demonstration? Looked like you.

the brine makes it super juicy and the apples remove any gamey taste out of the Turkey. If you try it just once, you will never do without it. I highly recommend it but it requires that you start cooking much earlier.

[W]e have an awful lot of crying about a power change that hasn't even taken effect yet.

The illusion of power is a wonderful thing. You can give someone no power at all, but as long as they feel like they have power, they are happy.

Think about the kinds of change that many people said they wanted. They wanted a change from a partisan Washington that has grown increasingly bitter over the last eight years. Kicking Lieberman out of the caucus is EXACTLY the kind of partisanship that most voters no longer want to see. Obama knows this. And he is smart.

Keeping Lieberman around is a conciliatory gesture, and one that gives Obama some concrete evidence of the change credential that he has run on. Its a symbolic gesture, but also a token gesture. Lieberman is already irrelevant. Obama's first term is about moving the country back to the center. The second will be sweeping progressive reform. And by that time, Lieberman will be sitting on his ass in Connecticut while someone like Ned Lamont is redecorating the Senate office.

Chill the fuck out. Obama is the most progressive president we've had in a long, long time. But he knows that to really heal the country of its ills, we first must heal the ideological rift that infects our country. It was a mere scratch, until the Republican took a butcher knife to the wound a poured salt in it. For us to pull a Bush and publicly come off as standoffish would not signal the change that Obama has promised, at least to the layperson. It would be same story, different party.

So make small gestures of little consequence. Who cares.

Obama has a mandate, for sure. And getting out of Iraq, starting to fix health care, and working on green energy independence is going to be the focus of the first term. But in four years, after we win a bunch more seats and turn Missouri, Montana, the Dakotas, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia blue, you are going to see some truly remarkable results. We are winning the battle of ideas. But Obama knows that as the Republicans completely destroy themselves, his hand only get stronger.

Chill the fuck out. Obama's got this.

~-~-~

You with your big words, and your...small, difficult words!

your picture?

small gestures....death by a thousand paper cuts....

Ask Julius Caesar about the arrogance of surrounding yourself with enemies....

Et tu Hillary?

Ani: Grand Canyon

Even the underlying accusation that Stevens accepted gifts looked petty to some who have followed Stevens’ worst moments over the last 40 years.
Sen. Ted Stevens' home in Girdwood, Alaska (Photo by: Laura McGann)

Sen. Ted Stevens' house in Girdwood, Alaska (Photo by: Laura McGann)

The house remodeling, which was the biggest gift Stevens neglected to disclose, did not create a remarkable home. This reporter originally drove right by when looking for it in Stevens’ small mountain town this September. Discovering it on a second pass, the overall size of the two-story home made it seem like a cozy chalet, not a Rep. Duke Cunningham-style mansion.

“It was the rinky-dink stuff,” said former Sen. Mike Gravel, who was Alaska’s junior senator under Stevens in the 1970s. “I don’t know of a better word or how to say it. It’s rinky-dink.”

FAMILY

One of the more flagrant Stevens scandals involved his son, Ben Stevens, who is now under federal investigation for his ties to Veco while serving as Alaska Senate president.

In 2003, Stevens allocated federal money to set up the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board, which would later hand out about $29 million in federal grants to seafood companies to promote their industry. Stevens’ son was appointed by the state to head the body, with his father’s endorsement.

At the same time that the younger Stevens was handing out grant money, he was also getting money from some of the companies applying for the grants, which were paying him tens of thousands of dollars in consulting fees. According to his state Senate disclosure forms, Stevens pocketed $250,000 in fees from the seafood companies.

Some of the grants dolled out have come under scrutiny, like the $500,000 given to Alaska Airlines to paint a
Alaska Airlines "Salmon Thirty Salmon" plane (Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines "Salmon Thirty Salmon" (Alaska Airlines Photo)

Boeing 737 to look like a wild salmon. The nicknamed “Salmon-30-Salmon” was meant to promote the fishing industry, which the airline is a part of, since it hauls millions of pounds of fish out of the state every year.

When news broke that a federal grand jury in Seattle subpoenaed several seafood companies that fish off the coast of Alaska, it looked like the scandal would catch up with at least one of the Stevens.

“This is the equivalent of Al Capone going to jail for tax evasion,” said Stephen Taufen, a former seafood industry accountant and manager turned whistleblower. “What they got Ted on was arm wrestling with pinky fingers. Will the real fight come out?”

Taufen is also a strong critic of Stevens’ fishing policy in state.

INVESTMENTS

Stevens was not a wealthy man until he took part in a series of lucrative investments in the 1990s.

In 1998, he went in on a land deal with an Alaska real-estate developer, Bob Penney, who turned a $15,000 investment into $150,000 for Stevens by 2004. That year, Penney told the Anchorage Daily News that he brought Stevens in on the Utah deal out of “appreciation for all he’s done for Alaska and the country.”

Penney lives on the Kenai River in Alaska, where he hosted an annual fund-raising event for Stevens that brought heads of defense corporations and lobbyists together to fish, drink, smoke fine cigars and spend a few private minutes with Stevens on the water.

Stevens steered millions in earmarks to Penney’s sports fishermen group that seeks to keep the river stocked with salmon for their sport, much to the chagrin of environmentalists and biologists.

EARLY CAREER

Even in Stevens’ early days in public service, he was involved in scandals that might have ended a lesser politician’s career.

In 1956, Stevens, was assigned to a team, called the legislative council, that would staff the Interior Dept.’s involvement in the law to grant Alaska statehood.

Stevens hung a sign on his office door at Interior that read “Alaska Headquarters.” The sign, and his enthusiasm for the territory, earned him the title “Mr. Alaska,” according to the book “Take My Land Take My Life,” a history of Alaska’s early statehood days.

Stevens’ spirited display of support for statehood soon turned into a concerted lobbying effort on tax-payer time and with government resources. He pushed to hire Marilyn Atwood, the daughter of the chair of a lobbying organization working on getting Alaska statehood rights.

Atwood and Stevens ran a lobbying shop directly out of Interior. Atwood paired members of Congress with Alaskans they shared common to gain support for the statehood movement.

“We were lobbying from the executive branch,” Stevens said 20 years later, in 1977, “and there’s been a statute against that for a long time.”

In his final speech on the floor, Stevens didn’t mention the specifics of any of his scandalous moments. He just hopes for vindication.

He also wished the rest of his delegation well and also for Begich — who now takes the baton.

“This is the last frontier,” Stevens said. “and I also pray for my successor’s success, as he joins in that effort.”

http://washingtonindependent.com/19605/a-petty-ending-to-stevens-career

what a good idea. lets take something thats too big to fail and make it even bigger. oh, and since its bigger, i guess the ceo, and the board, and the senior management all need to get paid even more since its bigger...

sounds interesting. i was always partial to bread stuffing inside the turkey but my wife made me stop because she was afraid i was going to posion us all if it didn't get hot enough. i use onions, oranges, and apples when i roast duck.

This is the right wing Christian station founded by Paul and Jan Crouch. If you've watched this network, you know it's great comedy fodder. Jan wears a pink bouffant wig and clownish makeup. It's further enhanced by large bat-winged false eyelashes. The set looks more like a Texas brothel. They both sit on gold, throne like chairs. Approximately 3 years ago, Paul settled a lawsuit with a man-who alleged a sexual affair.

For the past 2 weeks, they have been fundraiser. This is when the lunacy becomes intense. So guess what subject was bringing in the bucks last night? Terri Schiavo! It was just obscene. The footage of Terri allegedly smiling and making guttural sounds was played over and over again. An attorney described this as indicative of "a healthy viable woman" This was the constant theme. Terri was healthy-and was starved to death due to disability.

It was just awful.

WSJ Editor: Economic Meltdown Linked to War on Xmas

What happens when you try to force a marriage of the theocon and unfettered free-market impulses of the Republican Party? You get a Frankenstein-like Bill O'Reilly Wet Dream: Daniel Henniger, a deputy editor of the Wall Street Journal, argues that the War on Christmas™ has played a large part in our current economic meltdown.

This year we celebrate the desacralized "holidays" amid what is for many unprecedented economic ruin -- fortunes halved, jobs lost, homes foreclosed. People wonder, What happened? One man's theory: A nation whose people can't say "Merry Christmas" is a nation capable of ruining its own economy.

It is hard to distinguish between conservative publications and the Onion.

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

This turkey is just the - tip of the iceberge. Half a million in bribes per month is just too much loot. The dumb war corrupts whole governments. They need to figure it out.

http://www.bbq-porch.org/turkey02.asp
=
[with some repeats from above + more info]
http://www.bbq-porch.org/turkey12.asp
She found the brining technique in a Portuguese cookbook (of all obscure places) and the flavor of the bird was the best of any she tried.
=
http://www.bbq-porch.org/brining08.asp
Because there's more salt in the brine than in the meat, the muscle absorbs the salt water. There, the salt denatures the meat proteins, causing them to unwind and form a matrix that traps the water. And if the brine includes herbs, garlic, juniper berries or peppercorns, those flavors are trapped in the meat, too. Instead of seasoning on the surface only, as most cooks do, brining carries the seasonings throughout.

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

A big amen to that! On top of that....the War on Drugs has never reduced a person's ability to get good, high quality cannabis for his personal medication. All they've done is drive the price up to ridiculous levels.

Pain or good THC at a high price?

The choice is ours to make. We are STILL living in the Dark Ages.

...but in these times every family member needs to work... LOL...Myla has a future in show business...Sam as a stage dad? Uh huh :)

the other stupid war....

Need a good reason to chug down a handle of everclear on Sunday morning?

Joe Lieberman will be nausiating audiences on Meet the Press with almost comatose host Tom Brokaw.

This vomit inducing mix will be presented shortly after Jim Baker and Bill Daley regurgitate the Obama transition nonsense.

Whazzup?

were you and Chubby Bubba having a good time at my expense?

Did you get a message from me on your XBOX?

Barack Obama "Fired up, ready to go!
From: thomasagrant
Added: October 10, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHfbKTiUH8U
==
The story behind Fired Up! Ready To Go! The Obama Campaign.
From: bowes3
Added: September 19, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4GQ5rGsk1A
=
Fired Up! Ready to Go! (Obama Song)
From: F0rtysxity
Added: November 26, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leJByjUcbzA
=

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

'The media have turned into head past the sphincter suck up to the guy'

If we all pitch in and get Honah a man-whore, maybe he'll go away.

>>Chubbs...the sound effects....the bubbling of your fish tank

oh, of course. I hope you all understand the symbolism of the aquarium...it represents the `tank' Lieberman is in for Bush. Ie: Lieberman is in the Tank for Bush.

I was thinking of putting the Mr. Bill (symbolic of Lieberman) inside the aquarium...but I could not get permits in time.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>The drug war is a waste of time

not to mention it harshing my buzz...
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

I'm a little surprised that soaking the turkey in brine would make it juicier...usually. such a treatment is used to extract water from the food. like when you soak a side of salmon in brine, it will make the fillet firmer.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

you can't get a buzz in a tie...

What are you thinking? That's like taking a sleeping pill after drinking a pot of coffee.

So, isn't the Secretary of State 3rd in line to the Presidency?

So I hope nobody's letting Hill arrange the security details for # 1 and # 2...especially considering all of her assassination comments.

Just sayin'...

Annette.

She's like assasination insurance making any conservative wing nut think twice.

I'll check.

I've been watching World Cup Qualifiers, so no much time to game...

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. ~ George Bernard Shaw

The Vice President
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore
Secretary of State

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_successi...

"Think about the kinds of change that many people said they wanted. They wanted a change from a partisan Washington that has grown increasingly bitter over the last eight years. Kicking Lieberman out of the caucus is EXACTLY the kind of partisanship that most voters no longer want to see. Obama knows this. And he is smart."

I didn't realize that when we were talking about change, that we meant a change in 'partisan Washington.' I guess it's partly because I hadn't noticed this partisanship that the kos poster speaks of, you know, the kind that most voters no longer want to see. I must have missed that. I must have missed the protesters chanting "stop the partisan politics now!" as well.

I love the part where the kos poster says "Obama knows this. And he is smart."
Doesn't that kind of thing make you cringe, just a bit? Maybe it's just me.

What does pre-slaughtered mean. You kill the turkeys yourself? You should come here and shoot one in my driveway.
Kosher salt?

36 inches of snow here now. Something to do all the time now.

Al Franken’s campaign claimed Friday that Sen. Norm Coleman’s (R-Minn.) lead has fallen into the double digits as the state continues its recount of the hotly contested Senate race. - The Hill

My turkeys come vacuum sealed in a plastic bag ghettodefender. That's what I meant.

Joe Lieberman will be nausiating audiences on Meet the Press with almost comatose host Tom Brokaw.

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

KTUU 2008 Sarah Palin turkey interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-kjM1asH-8
From: ArkansasTVarchives
Added: November 20, 2008
A 2008 news story on KTUU channel 2 in Anchorage. Subject: Governor Sarah Palin is interviewed at a turkey farm while turkeys are slaughtered behind her.

at 2:26 she does her turkey sound.

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

first off, I think we shouldn't really be concerned about wether matter truly exists, but rather if existance really matters...

aside from that `deep thought', one thing to consider is the relationship of matter to energy. whether something is matter or energy really depends on how you look at it. or especially the time frame.

the best example of this is a beam of light. Most people think of it as obviously energy, but when you look at it differently it is actually a (teeny-tiny) chunk of the sun being thrown very quickly.

So, the time frame is very important. If you took the universe's and compressed it into a minute's view, the universe would appear as a brief yet furious burst of energy.

yeah, it is paradoxes like the singularity of matter and energy that make physics so baffling.

are you or I energy or matter? once again, it depends on the time frame. You ask yourself, why should I listen to this guy? he hasn't left his apartment in weeks!

My answer to that is I have not been motionless at all. I have been hurtling through space via celestial motion.

another conundrum: does space (as in outer space, not as in `this space for rent) actually exist? Space is a void, a void is the area of something that is not there how can something that does not exist,`be'? and heven the `other' space probably does not exist in the three dimensions we perceive....

anyway, with such cerebral thoughts done for the day, I am free back to the usual bad jokes I'm better known for.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Charlie...you are not speaking to me?
Submitted by Regnad Kcin on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 2:06pm.

Huh? Whaaa...? Oh! This?

Hey Charlie...was that your picture on
Submitted by Regnad Kcin on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 12:43pm.
the MSNBC website the other day at the SLC demonstration? Looked like you.

Hmm. I haven't a clue if it was me or not! I didn't know our demostration in SLC was even on MSNBC.

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

"voting is common rights of
Submitted by brook on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 2:19pm.

voting is common rights of every citizen in the country. no one can appose the citizen for voting. there will be a great change in US election.

========
brook

michigan drug rehab"

---

Posted 30 minutes ago, on a thread from back in Feb.

No one can appose us. Just try it, buster.

Too bad. I was imagining you having some sort of Legends Of The Fall moment.

>>No one can appose us. Just try it, buster.

At first I thought the poster had misspelled oppose.

Appose
Ap*pose"\, v. t. [F. apposer to set to; ? (L. ad) + poser to put, place. See Pose.]

1. To place opposite or before; to put or apply (one thing to another).

The nymph herself did then appose, For food and beverage, to him all best meat. --Chapman.

2. To place in juxtaposition or proximity.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

Appose
Ap*pose"\, v. t. [For oppose. See Oppose.] To put questions to; to examine; to try. [Obs.] See Pose.

To appose him without any accuser, and that secretly. --Tyndale.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

What is emptiness then? To understand the philosophical meaning of this term, let's look at a simple solid object, such as a cup. How is a cup empty? We usually say that a cup is empty if it does not contain any liquid or solid. This is the ordinary meaning of emptiness. But, is the cup really empty? A cup empty of liquids or solids is still full of air. To be precise, we must therefore state what the cup is empty of. Can a cup be empty of all substance? A cup in a vacuum does not contain any air, but it still contains space, light, radiation, as well as its own substance. Hence, from a physical point of view, the cup is always full of something. Yet, from the Buddhist point of view, the cup is always empty. The Buddhist understanding of emptiness is different from the physical meaning. The cup being empty means that it is devoid of inherent existence.

What is meant with non-inherent existence? Is this to say that the cup does not ultimately exist? - Not quite. - The cup exists, but like everything in this world, its existence depends on other phenomena. There is nothing in a cup that is inherent to that specific cup or to cups in general. Properties such as being hollow, spherical, cylindrical, or leak-proof are not intrinsic to cups. Other objects which are not cups have similar properties, as for example vases and glasses. The cup's properties and components are neither cups themselves nor do they imply cupness on their own. The material is not the cup. The shape is not the cup. The function is not the cup. Only all these aspects together make up the cup. Hence, we can say that for an object to be a cup we require a collection of specific conditions to exist. It depends on the combination of function, use, shape, base material, and the cup's other aspects. Only if all these conditions exist simultaneously does the mind impute cupness to the object. If one condition ceases to exist, for instance, if the cup's shape is altered by breaking it, the cup forfeits some or all of its cupness, because the object's function, its shape, as well as the imputation of cupness through perception is disrupted. The cup's existence thus depends on external circumstances. Its physical essence remains elusive.

http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/emptiness.html

[+ the 2nd story half way down about Sting's opera w/ Elvis Costello is good too.]

Rosie Will Get the Last Laugh

Friday, November 21, 2008

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,455804,00.html

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A county prosecutor who brought indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday about special treatment for high-profile defendants as a routine motions hearing descended into chaos. - Dallas Morning News

>>Hence, from a physical point of view, the cup is always full of something.

As long as my cup is full of coffee , I don't mind...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7h26DfBmEo

If your pretty little girl leaves you hung up
Standing on the corner of 5th and Main
Left you standing there with a pair of movie tickets
Tear up the tickets brother and don't complain
Cause it ain't...no it ain't...it ain't no big thing.

If you wake up early one Sunday morning
Find your bag and luggage in the rain
Your chick just left town with your best friend and all your money
Tear up the number my brother and don't complain
Cause it ain't...not it ain't...it ain't no big thing

It ain't no big thing brother when things ain't looking up
It ain't no big thing when there ain't no coffee to fill the cup
The good times comin'...let 'em roll...let 'em roll

If your ma in law starts getting huffy
Walking around your pad with with a long face
Just go out and buy her a oneway passage...tell her
Go join the astronauts in outer space
Cause it ain't...not it ain't...it ain't no big thing

It ain't no big ting brother when things ain't looking up
It ain't no big thing when there ain't no coffee to fill the cup
The good times comin'...let 'em roll...let 'em roll

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>The cup's existence thus depends on external circumstances. Its physical essence remains elusive.

once again, it goes back to who is observing the cup, and how they observe it.

and, what the observer expects to find!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

it's just a figment. Without that figment, the coffee would end up in your lap.

But the coffee doesn't exist and neither does your lap. The pain of the boiling water - all imaginary.

mhappenow, that article reads real devolution in that court. It goes down hill fast.

we really do have a lot to be thankful about.

No Sarah Palin in the White House for one.....

didn't show up for court the other day?! I don't have a whole lot of faith in this guy.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Cheneys_lawyer_files_motion_to_quash_in...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/21/america/NA-US-Cheney-Indicted....
--------------------------------------------------
"I am A Great American Patriot !!!" - McCain Scroter
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

I don't mind, and it doesn't matter.

"Space is a void, a void is the area of something that is not there how can something that does not exist,`be'?"

The answer is that space is not a thing, but the qualities of things. Yog-Sothoth lives not in things but in their natures.

I believe that in order for the market to achieve a sustainable advance that is above the mean, we are due for some unforeseen positive event or events. Think about it. In the 1990s stocks went way up because of an unanticipated revolution in technology, i.e., networking and the Internet. In this decade we had a slew of unexpected negative events - bookended by 9/11 and this current meltdown. At some point, and it may be a few years from now, we will likely be subjected to an unforeseen positive - This crisis could have a happy ending

Cringe? Nah, not anymore. Just another "hope fiend", dada.

Suspension of disbelief is a coping mechanism these days. It is considered rude to point to the card up the magicians sleeve....

not take things so seriously. Shifts of consciousness. Concepts are empty too. Attachment to them causes unnecessary suffering.

But I would kill if I couldn't have my americano in the am...watch out!

said Anne E. Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater Inc., whose security guards have been involved in some of the most controversial incidents in Iraq, including the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting at al Nisoor Square in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON — Private security contractors operating in Iraq could face Iraqi prosecution for acts committed when they supposedly had immunity from Iraqi law, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The failure of the agreement to clarify issues about security contractors comes as some military officials have questioned whether the agreement doesn't give Iraq more control of U.S. military activities than U.S. officials had contemplated when they began negotiating the agreement last spring.

Representatives of 172 contracting companies were invited to Thursday's briefings on the agreement. The companies provide a wide array of services, such as security and laundry, and their 173,000 employees outnumber the 150,000 U.S. military personnel now in Iraq.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/56255.html

Other occupation news:

BAGHDAD — Tens of thousands of followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr packed a central Baghdad square Friday, where they protested a U.S.-Iraq security agreement and likened Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to fallen dictator Saddam Hussein.

The crowd chanted, "Leave, leave, occupier."
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/56268.html

Nineveh

A truck bomb driven by a suicide bomber targeted a checkpoint manned by Iraqi Army in Thawra neighbourhood, downtown Mosul at 8.30 p.m. Thursday, injuring thirty six people including six soldiers and causing severe material damages to surrounding buildings and civilian cars.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/212/story/56264.html

GOP Senators threaten to take their toys and go home.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday sent a message to Democrats that Republicans are not prepared to bend to a stronger majority.

In letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), McConnell urged Reid to adopt a more conciliatory tone and warned him that Republicans will unite against Democrats if he does not. The letter was signed by all 40 GOP senators and two Republican incumbents who are awaiting the results of elections in Georgia and Minnesota.

... Mitch McConnell, Senate Whineority Leader, cries that the Democrats — who enjoy an overwhelming majority — should cave to GOP petulance. McConnell’s charade is the moral equivalent of the NY Yankees threatening to summon a whaaaambulance if the Phillies don’t let them in on their World Series victory parade.

Given the GOPs failure to extend democrats the same courtesy while they were in power, I expect the democratic response to rhyme with "Buck Stew." ...

If McConnell and his band of tools insist on throwing tantrums in the face of Democrats’ unreasonable magnanimity, the current unity shtick will wear thin with voters like me. We have had to endure eight years of obscenely partisan governance and all the resulting catastrophes. Given this, an appropriate response to McConnell’s letter can be borrowed from Dick Cheney:

Go f*ck yourself.

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

One more observation on the existance of the `empty' cup...

the cup is as full of itself as I am full of myself.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

US convicts Syrian-born arms dealer

A US court has convicted a Syrian-born arms dealer for plotting to sell arms, including anti-aircraft rockets, to Colombian rebels.

Monzer al-Kassar was found guilty for conspiracy to murder US officers, to export anti-aircraft weapons, to support Colombia's Farc rebels, and for money laundering by the New York court on Thursday.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish lobby, welcomed al-Kassar's conviction, saying that "justice has finally caught up" with him.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/11/200811211196226727.ht...

but you're not. Full is a non-operative word. Didn't you get the memo?

Alan Dershowitz : I helped keep Carter silent

Why didn't Jimmy Carter speak from the podium at the Democratic National Convention?
Alan Dershowitz said he had something to do with it.

In an interview with Shalom TV, the Harvard Law School professor says he "pushed" Barack Obama "very hard to make that decision," Dershowitz said in an interview with Shalom TV. "Barack Obama had to make a choice between his Jewish supporters and his anti-Israel supporters like Jimmy Carter, and he did not choose Jimmy Carter. And that was an embarrassment for Jimmy Carter and a show of disrespect."
http://www.flickr.com/groups/worldpolitics/discuss/72157609279049406/

"It was a good decision, a wise decision, a moral decision," Dershowitz added.

Jesus Likes Gays, "But Not in That Way"

http://www.236.com/blog/w/brad_taylor_negron/jesus_likes_gays_but_not_in...

Here is an impression of Jesus that you can do at parties that is sure to amuse: Pour water on floor, then walk on it. Wait five minutes and wait to see who follows you to the bar.

Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote, inserts language into the constitution limiting marriage to one man and one woman. Where does that leave a man that wants to insert himself in another man?

These days being Gay is like being meat in a can--vacuum-sealed sitting on the shelf for years and nothing changes. You're meat with a pause button. One day you have rights, the next you don't. One day you're on the platter getting cut into, the next your back on the shelf and again--the church has spoken...

But what they are saying has violated the Constitution. We're a nation of laws, not moral "convictions"--no matter how true you (or your religion) believe them to be. What the Church fails to understand is that Jesus would have voted "No" on the ban. Jesus was anti-tradition and hung out with lepers and prostitutes and turned over tables at the Temple Mount. This describes half the gay bars in America. So it's no surprise that, next to "The Manhole," "The Temple Mount" is the most popular name for a gay bar in America.

Read your Bible--Jesus loved giving free shots, look at the wedding in Cana, which is widely used as proof that Jesus turned water into wine. Only a bartender in a gay bar (or Charles Shaw) can do such a thing.

The wedding in Cana was probably a same sex one. Approximately one out of every ten men is gay. There were twelve apostles...Do the math. Surely at least one of those apostles was a little light in his sandals. The last supper looks like Halloween on Christopher Street--and Leonardo da Vinci was there. What further proof do we need?

Prop 8 is not an amendment but a revision: it conflicts with California's Equal Protection Guarantee, which protects minority groups from the whims of the majority by subjecting the majority to the same laws that it would impose on the minority.

Prop 8 is unconstitutional and was improperly enacted by thieves, seducers, liars and church gangsters: Mormons, who are firm believers in traditional marriage--one man and at least five women.

But there is blame to be shared. For a long time I lived in West Hollywood and watched young gay men strolling through life having no idea what came before. They didn't know about the riots at Stonewall, the vice squad, the raids. They only know about 17 types of bench presses; it's hard to form a revolution in Pilates class.

Have you been to a gay bar lately? The techno trance circuit music is so loud that you can't hear yourself think (and you can barely hear that the guy next to you isn't thinking), so forget hearing the rally cry for change. An informed gay opposition would have let the world know last year that Pat Robertson invented the Dirty Sanchez and that Jerry Falwell was the genius behind the circle jerk.

Religion is acting as the enforcer of the state...imposing a moral uniform. Well some uniforms don't fit and can some of us look like fashion/moral victims

I have often heard, "What would Jesus do?" But I say, "What would Jesus not do?" I don't think Jesus would deprive a child of a loving home from someone because they are Gay. I don't think Jesus would approve of Kirk Cameron (or any cast member of Growing Pains) speaking on behalf of his father.

I do think Jesus would skip church on Sunday morning and instead visit the nursing homes and retirement homes where so many have abandoned their loved ones. I think Jesus would be celebrate in moderation, go to Super Cuts and use Teatree shampoo and volunteer to clean up the litter along the highway.

Maybe you are like me--you do not believe scripture should be interpreted literally. I have been doing my homework. When the Bible was first published, bathhouses were mandatory, no one could read, and only the people in the Church could write.

Thankfully California's highest court has agreed to hear the case be argued; that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.

So perhaps this senseless ban on the human heart will be sped through the courts and families can truly come together and most importantly young gay kids can stand up straight in our country and feel equal to all.

This election season, we all learned a lot. I never realized that Africa is a continent. And it's good to know that change really can happen when you have Facebook, hope, knowledge, and a few hundred million dollars more than the other side.

Here is my take on the Jesus and New Testament in Hollywood terms: Boy gets world. Boy loses world. Boy becomes Lord and Savior...world ends in hellfire. Gays marry. And no one ever has to lie down on a bench press again.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>You just think you are full of yourself (...) but you're not.

anyone who says I am not full of myself clearly has not been reading my posts. ;)

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Update: When contacted by ThinkProgress, Rachel Maddow explained her reasons for avoiding the subject of gay rights with Huckabee:

I weighed whether or not to ask him about his anti-gay views, but I really don't care about them very much. Huckabee is a doctrinaire anti-gay theocratic social conservative whose views are well-known and heartfelt. I also probably wouldn't bother asking Sarah Palin about her anti-gay views if I had the opportunity to interview her -- it's just not the most interesting or newsworthy (or ridiculous) thing about either of them.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/108105/maddow_fails_to_question_hucka...

your post on matter...do you know where it came from so I can look it up please?

expected to be named Treasury Secretary on Monday Re: NBC News

Look him up now.

Hillary accepts Sec of State Job re: NBC News

Obama set to create domestic spying agency

As part of what will be the most significant reorganization of the US intelligence community in decades, the Obama administration seems set to establish a new intelligence agency to spy inside America.

The new agency, which is expected to be part of the Department of Homeland Security, will be responsible for gathering intelligence on internal threats and will be modeled on Britain’s MI5. The concept is part of a series of sweeping recommendations being drawn up by the intelligence transition team which began work immediately after the election.

Team leader is John Brennan who is being tipped to be either the next head of the CIA or a new Director of National Intelligence. However, Brennan comes with some baggage in that he was close to George Tenet, the then head of the CIA, in the immediate aftermath of 9.11 when the controversial kidnapping and torture policy was agreed and implemented by the CIA.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/3028431/obama-set-to-create-domes...

Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/clinton-to-accept-secretar...

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

Ret. Gen James Jones likely Nat. Security Advisor

Politico's newsletter, Playbook, is reporting that Obama is working to land Retired Marine Corps General James Jones to be his National Security Adviser.

The relevant text:

SCOOP: Politico’s David Rogers hears that President-elect Obama is close to landing Retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones, former Marine Corps commandant and head of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe (“Supreme Allied Commander” — one of the great titles), as his national security adviser. The omniscient Mr. Rogers e-mails: “That could be avery strong NSC like we haven’t seen in a long time.” Befitting his resume, Jones would be given a commanding role. He also was considered for Secretary of State and Secretary of Energy. General Jones currently is President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.
http://www.pollster.com/blogs/

Business roles

Following his retirement from the military, General Jones became president of the Institute for 21st Century Energy[3], an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce[8] and chair of the board of directors of the Atlantic Council of the United States.[9] He also served as chair of the Independent Commission on Security Forces of Iraq, sponsored by the Atlantic Council of the United States.[10]

General Jones joined the Board of Directors of the Boeing Corporation on June 21, 2007. He serves on the company's Audit and Finance Committees. [11]

Diplomatic roles

Jones was asked twice by Condoleezza Rice to be Deputy Secretary of State after the resignation of Robert Zoelick. He declined.[14]

On May 28, 2008, General Jones was elected to the board of DIRECTOR OF CHEVERON CORPORATION. [12][13]

Political speculation

In June 2008, MSNBC's First Read reported that General Jones was among those being discussed with Senators and Representatives by the vetting team of Senator Barack Obama as a possible Vice Presidential candidate.[19]

Gen. Jones recently APPEARED WITH MCCAIN, effectively quashing rumors of an Obama-Jones ticket.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_L._Jones

i paid 159.9 a gallon for gas today. it wasn't long ago when bush was firmly in charge that the price was over 4.00.

All the pieces are in place now for the invasion of Central Asia. Obama's call for national service will a be a call for the draft.

it's all over the net now but I linked to this.

Read the last sentence of the article for the punch line.

___

.♡. - .☮.

Dow soars 400 points as investors applaud reports that Obama will tap NY Fed President Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. - Breaking on CNN

for the transition team?

WTF?

I'm going to be shopping at a 'damaged cargo' place for our food this week..

bloggers. good day

Bill Richardson may be asked to head Commerce Dept.
John Aravosis (DC) · 11/21/2008 03:40:00 PM ET · Link
Make a comment · reddit · FARK · Digg It! · Stumble It!

From the Wash Post:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has emerged as a "serious contender" to head the Commerce Department under President-elect Barack Obama, according to a Democratic official close to the proceedings.

Richardson was originally in the mix to be the secretary of State but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) is now expected be announced for that post after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Commerce was originally rumored to be going to Penny Pritzker, the finance chairwoman of Obama's campaign and a close friend of the Illinois senator, but she removed herself from consideration on Thursday due to an inability to extricate herself from a series of complex business ties.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/11/richardson_to_commerce.h...

seems non-controversial.

He must be doing the money laundering b/c nobody is complaining....????

The Somali pirates, renegade Somalis known for hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating a purchase of Citigroup. - Bloomberg

Where is Chubby Bubba? We need a pirate expert on this stat!

Geithner's a pretty brilliant guy. A little young though. He was one of the few at the FED I had ever heard openly attack Greenspan on how his monetary policy was causing bubbles and how it would cause major problems later.

I did not agree with him giving AIG that bailout though, but what the hell do I know....

>>Where is Chubby Bubba? We need a pirate expert on this stat!

I have to be candid, Although I did major in Pirate Studies, I never gained certification.

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

We'll all be sporting a peg leg soon...

just kidding, please don't beat me with your stuffed parrots.

Any word on Andy Dick accepting the Drug Czar position yet?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>We'll all be sporting a peg leg soon...

this is a good time to invest in parrot futures.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Hey, Was that dr in the background of that Palin/turkey video?

the one wearing the pants covered with so much blood they look like desert camo?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

It was like Nightmare before Thanksgiving or Saw II.

dr is the only person in Alaska that I know. seems like it's a pretty good chance, how many white guys 30-50 could there be in AK who aren't snow-machine racers?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

why isn't Maronvseder simulcast in Yiddish?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

President pro tempore?

That's an office I've never even heard of before.

Who holds it now?

>>Who holds it now?

like the name infers, it is filled by a staffing agency. So it could be a different temp from day to day.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Bob Woodward: "I think people are fantasizing or smoking something if they think Joe Biden's going to call Hillary Clinton up and say, 'This is what we want you to do.'"

I couldn't agree more. This move is an utter, unmitigated disaster.

It marginalizes Joe Biden. Biden is now overshadowed by a political "superstar," and the vice presidency is once again rendered "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." (-John Adams).

It also signals to the Clintons (along with his many other Clintonite appointees) that their slash and burn techniques during the campaign were A-O.K. Hell, why didn't she stay in until the convention? They OWN his ass.

You can scoff at the "Clinton drama" issues as much as you want, but everyone knows that they are spotlight whores. They WILL create controversy. They WILL want massive media exposure... because Hillary wants to run for president during '16, of course.

It reopened the door for them. Hell, I was writing the epitath for the Clinton family weeks before and days after the last presidential election. I didn't think that there was a chance that Obama would appoint her to anything, let alone at least 31 Clinton staffers. He has sold out completely. This move is the move of an indecisive person -- a person who is easily molded by extraneous forces. Didn't we experience such a man in the form of a monkey-faced dolt during the last eight years?

I never believed that Obama was the messiah, but now I even wonder if he can take Clinton's crown as "the best Republican president ever."

Utter. Clusterfuck.

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

President Pro Tempore
Robert C. Byrd
Democrat, West Virginia

http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/...
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

interesting post, and I pretty much agree. Can't believe the clintonite appointees...and there were others show weould ahve mand a fine Secretary of State.
I want the clintons and their little crew to go away, too...and let us live.

president pro tempore - A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/president_pro_tempore.htm

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Robert Byrd...:)

President pro tempore of the United States Senate

And now...the dingo will eat yo' baby!

Holy shit! Now, there's a sentence that War Dog could really get with!

War Dog didn't write that?

Submitted by nightbird on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 5:51pm.

thanks, man

and people are rejoicing about it. Sometimes I feel like I'm the lone voice in the wilderness: "THE CLINTONS ONLY CARE ABOUT THE CLINTONS. PEOPLE, THIS WAS THE ONE IN ONE MILLION THING THAT RUSH LIMBAUGH WAS RIGHT ABOUT."

Jesus.

I'm out for now.

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

And the dingo will eat yo' baby!

Joe Lieberman -- Dingo or Baby

You decide!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Was that a Starbucks cup in Palin's hand during the turkey video?

did her run for VP turn her into a latte sipping elitist?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

History of the Dreidel

http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard_cdo/aid/597255/jewish/The-His...

The traditional Chanukah dreidel (spinning top) is a throwback to the times when the Greek armies of King Antiochus controlled the Holy Land, before the Maccabees defeated them and sent them packing. The powerful regime passed a series of laws outlawing the study of Torah and many of the mitzvot. The Jews were compelled to take their Torah learning "underground," for they knew that a Jew without Torah is like a fish out of water.

Jewish children resorted to learning Torah in outlying areas and forests. Even this plan was not foolproof, for the enemy had many patrols. The children therefore brought along small tops that they would quickly pull out and play with after secreting away their texts, so that they could pretend to be merely playing games.

Our Chanukah dreidel games are a salute to these Jewish heroes of yore.

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>Dreidel History

I think Sam and Marc should come up with some sort of `spin' on Driedle history (not going to apologize for the horrible pun)for Chanukah.

maybe marc and Sam could pretend to be playing with the dreidel whenever management walks in...or something?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Iraqis protest against troop deal

Thousands of people have protested in Baghdad against a proposed deal to allow US troops to remain in Iraq once their UN mandate expires.

The demonstration was called by the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, who has strongly opposed any deal with the US.

Security was tight around the area, but the organisers insist the protest in the capital will remain peaceful.

The Status of Forces Agreement has been passed by the Iraqi cabinet, but still needs parliamentary approval.

A failure to ratify the agreement or renew the UN mandate might mean US military operations would have to be suspended. The UN mandate for the US-led coalition expires at the end of December.

The Iraqi parliament is expected to vote next week on the proposals, which have also been criticised by other groups.

The demonstration took place in Firdous Square, the scene of the toppling of a statue of Iraq's former leader, Saddam Hussein, five years ago.

Hundreds of Iraqi police searched everyone entering the square and US surveillance drones circled overhead.

Today is the day of Iraqi unity among Arabs, Kurds, all communities of Iraq, to reject the security pact

The BBC's Andrew North, who was at the protest, says people waved Iraqi flags, Shia banners and chanted anti-American slogans, and an effigy of US President George W Bush was attacked by the crowd.

Joint prayers were held with many Sunni Muslims at the demonstration, our correspondent said.

Moqtada Sadr did not attend the demonstration himself but a sermon of his was read out by a representative, Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi.

"Let the government know that America is and will not be of any use to us because it is the enemy of Islam," he said.

"The government must know that it is the people who help it in the good and the bad times. If it throws the occupier out, all the Iraqi people will stand by it."

A senior aide to Moqtada Sadr said people were "coming out to prove the security pact is worthless".

"Today is the day of Iraqi unity among Arabs, Kurds, all communities of Iraq, to reject the security pact," said Hazim al-Araji.

Mr Araji said the protest would "express rejection of the pact and the occupation," and that the crowds would remain "100%" peaceful.

Under the forces agreement, US troops will withdraw from the streets of Iraqi towns and cities next year, with all 150,000 having left Iraq by the end of 2011.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said the deal is "a solid prelude to the restoration of Iraq's full sovereignty in three years' time" and has insisted that it has no hidden clauses.

Our correspondent says there is little chance that Moqtada Sadr's supporters can stop the agreement being passed.

The event is being seen by many as showing the continuing influence of the cleric, and that he is securing his position for when the Americans do eventually leave, our correspondent adds.

About 144,000 of the 152,000 foreign troops deployed in Iraq are US military personnel.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Burma comic jailed for 45 years

A popular comedian active in Burma's democracy movement has been sentenced to 45 years in jail by a Burmese court.

Zarganar was found to have violated the Electronics Act, which regulates electronic communications.

He is the latest in a string of opposition activists to be given long jail terms by the military government.

He was detained earlier this year for criticising the government's slow response to Cyclone Nargis in interviews with foreign news groups.

More than 100 activists have been sentenced over the past two weeks in a judicial crackdown across the spectrum of Burma's pro-democracy movement.

Some people have been sentenced to terms as long as 65 years.

Many took part in protests against the ruling junta sparked by fuel and food price rises in August 2007.

'Staggering'

Zarganar led a group of entertainers who organised private aid deliveries to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which hit in May.

An outspoken satirist of the military government, Zarganar had already been arrested and jailed four times before he was taken from his home again by the authorities in June.

At the time, he seemed to think the government would have no problem with his activities.

"No, we never encounter any problems, because we negotiated with them, and we just want to pass our donation parcels. We just want to encourage our people - this is our duty," he told the BBC in an interview just before his arrest.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head says the sentence passed down on the comedian seems staggeringly severe: 45 years in prison, and he still faces further charges.

However, our correspondent says, it fits the pattern of other sentences given to more than 100 other dissidents over the past two weeks.

These include 65 years to the key members of the so-called 88 Generation of activists, and a total of 68 years to Ashin Gambira, leader of the monks' alliance that led last year's anti-government uprising.

Our correspondent says such breathtakingly disproportionate punishments send two clear messages from the generals who rule Burma: that they will brook no opposition in the lead-up to their carefully managed transition to what they are calling a "discipline-flourishing democracy"; and that they are unconcerned what the rest of the world thinks.

This wave of trials has been condemned by the UN and rights groups, as well as the United States and European countries
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

45 years for organizing private deliveries of aid to Cyclone victims!!!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

do to us if they ever ger total control...and...the neocons were almost there.

>>the neocons were almost there.

absolutely right.

remember they got all upset about non-government entities trying to give relief to Katrina supporters?

I think they tryied to pass a law making it illegal for non-gov't types to provide emergency aide.

not sure if it passed.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

no news about Grieder yet.

What did you hear?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

would have been too funny and revealing watching him help give Ted Stevens his standing ovation--

Timothy Geithner,

Career

After completing his studies, Geithner worked for

KISSINGER AND ASSOCIATES

(Kissinger Associates, Inc., founded in 1982, is a New York City-based international consulting firm, founded and run by Henry Kissinger. The firm assists its clients in identifying strategic partners and investment opportunities, and advises clients on government relations throughout the world.

Kissinger Associates does not disclose its list of corporate clients, and reportedly bars clients from acknowledging the relationship.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kissinger_and_Associates

in Washington, D.C., for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988.

In 1999 he was promoted to Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and served under Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and

LAWERENCE SUMMERS.

In 2002 he left the Treasury to join the Council on Foreign Relations as a Senior Fellow in the International Economics department. He then worked for the

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

as the director of the Policy Development and Review Department until moving to the Fed in October 2003.[4] In 2006 he became a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the

Group of Thirty.

(Group of Thirty

Derivatives

The Group of Thirty’s groundbreaking work on derivatives, Derivatives: Practices and Principles, published in 1993 was commissioned in the 1990s just as the use derivatives grew and began to move into the mainstream of finance.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_F._Geithner

(hi, blog - catching up, couldn't read yesterday or earlier today)

My husband said he saw the same video snippet, and was briefly puzzled until he realized that they had all already JUST SHAKEN W's HAND before the photo op.

(Of course, then he disparaged at the blogosphere in general, and at me for reading it. As if an honest mistake in the blogosphere is worse than years of deliberate propaganda from the corporate media.)

----------------------------
HA HA HA
Submitted by GBC on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 12:39pm.

Ultimate Snub Fest: World Leaders Refuse to Shake Bush’s Hand During G20 Photo-Op

CNN’s Rick Sanchez highlighted yesterday that during last weekend’s G20 Economic Summit, leaders from around the world refused to acknowledge or shake hands with President Bush as they walked on stage for a photo-op. As Sanchez explained, everyone was “greeting each other and shaking hands, but Bush walks with his head down like the dejected most unpopular kid in high school.”

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/107918/

(Two Hints: Obama and Iran)

Why, after so many months, was the U.S.-Iraq security pact approved now? True, the two countries were facing a deadline of December 31, when the UN authority for the occupation expires, but they could have gone back to the UN for a temporary extension or simply signed a bilateral statement not nearly as involved as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) approved yesterday by the Iraqi Cabinet.

Here's the reason, in my opinion. The election of Barack Obama changed Iran's calculus, and so Iran decided, very subtly, to shift to neutral on the pact. As a result, many politicians in Iraq who are either influenced by Iran or who are outright Iranian agents now support the pact. It's an important sign from Tehran to Obama that they're willing to work with the United States.

For months, the United States has blamed Iran for sabotaging the prospect for an agreement, and there's little doubt that had John McCain won the election, Iran would have concluded that the likelihood was very high that Iraq would be used as a base for attacking Iran over its nuclear program.

And:

Most Iraqis are opposed to any kind of deal with Washington that would keep American forces in the country, and that would give U.S. forces immunity from being punished when they commit war crimes against Iraqis.

~-~-~

When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?

No team in Cleveland has won a championship since way back in 1964. People have been born, lived their lives and died without seeing even one winner. Players actually die playing for Cleveland teams. Just Google the names Ray Chapman,
Steve Olin and Tim Crews.

Recently, the Browns finally found their quarterback. He has played TWO games. Then.....

For his next act, Brady Quinn will attempt to notch his first win as a starter at home -- with a broken index finger on his throwing hand.

The Browns quarterback hurt the finger when his hand banged the helmet of Buffalo players on two occasions in the 29-27 win Monday night.

Quinn wasn't concerned with it during the game. But when soreness in the finger increased at Wednesday's practice, an X-ray was taken and it revealed a small fracture on the tip.

He was the one I was afraid Obama was going to pick....

Now if we can get Volcker back as Fed Chair.....

Alton Brown who does a show on Food Network called "Good Eats" has a show on brining turkeys. His show is great because he explains the chemistry ( and anthropology and physics...)of cooking. You can probably get good directions for brining under his show on the Food Network site. We use his recipe and it has sugar as well as salt. The salt helps the turkey cells suck up and retain moisture

the turkey always tastes great. Cognac is a wonderful shortcut.

to a lot of places....:)

I wonder what kind of Sarah Palin quip I can come up with when I get shit for our Tofurkey...

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. ~ George Bernard Shaw

make a mixture of GOOD rum, herbs, garlic, peppercorns and a little salt and raw sugar. Then we soak a few peeled apples in that mixture for two days. Then we stuff the bird with the soaked apples and close the old hole.

The turkey always comes out pure dynomite!

the IMF seal. I wonder what he thinks of the Geithner nomination.

rub the bird with extra virgin olive oil first.

Four-year investigation confirms that bones found beneath Polish cathedral are those of astronomer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/nov/21/astronomy-archaeology

were they?

Prosecutor who had Cheney indicted yells at judge

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A county prosecutor who brought indictments this week against Vice President Dick Cheney and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday during a routine hearing.

Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself from the case, which alleges abuse at federally run prisons.

Attorneys for the vice president and other defendants leapt to their feet in objection as Guerra pounded the table and accused Banales of giving the defendants special treatment.

"Now all of a sudden there is urgency," Guerra shouted. "Eighteen months you kept me indicted through the election."

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20081121/Cheney.Indicted/

Depending on who's talking, the Fed's Tim Geithner either kept the financial world from collapsing or did Goldman Sachs' bidding. Can both versions be right

..., the Fed-financed bailout-cum-acquisition of Bear Stearns by J.P. Morgan Chase—a desperate move played out over four hellish days in mid-March, the most significant government intervention in the financial markets since the Great Depression.

Geithner was the central figure in that drama. It was Geithner’s Federal Reserve bank, not the Treasury, that came up with the $29 billion loan that made the deal possible or, more precisely, acceptable to J.P. Morgan.
http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2008/05/12/New-York-Fed-Chi...

Geithner started at the treasury department 20 years ago, winning praise for his ability to work with both Republicans and Democrats. He is a registered political independent whose first employer was Henry Kissinger, whom he helped with book research.

Geithner was also closely involved in the design and execution of the Bush administration's $700bn banking bailout, which has proven less than popular with Congress and could become an issue during his confirmation hearing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/21/timothy-geithner-barack-obam...

not the ones found so far.

The following year bones and a skull were located under floor tiles near one of the side altars in the 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral in Frombork. The lower jaw was missing.

Had company all day. My friend Gloria came over and I colored and highlighted her hair. She just left. She has a movie and dinner date tonight.

Seems like Geithner is a good choice but I haven't researched him yet. I know he was at the Fed but not much more.

That will later be discovered in Madonna's vagina.

GOP Senators threaten to take their toys and go home.
by ftwfl
Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 10:46:21 AM PST
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday sent a message to Democrats that Republicans are not prepared to bend to a stronger majority.

In letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), McConnell urged Reid to adopt a more conciliatory tone and warned him that Republicans will unite against Democrats if he does not. The letter was signed by all 40 GOP senators and two Republican incumbents who are awaiting the results of elections in Georgia and Minnesota.

Here we are on dailykos, lamenting Obama’s classy solicitation for Republican input, while Mitch McConnell, Senate Whineority Leader, cries that the Democrats—who enjoy an overwhelming majority—should cave to GOP petulance. McConnell’s charade is the moral equivalent of the NY Yankees threatening to summon a whaaaambulance if the Phillies don’t let them in on their World Series victory parade.

The following exchange between Boxer and Inhofe is instructive (h/t Scarce):

Given the GOPs failure to extend democrats the same courtesy while they were in power, I expect the democratic response to rhyme with "Buck Stew."

According to The Hill:

"What I’m saying to the new president and the new administration: ‘Do big things, and do them in the center, and you’ll be surprised at how much support you might have,’ " he said at the news conference.

Otherwise, McConnell warned, his party would stand together and block a far-left agenda.

"You're likely to have very significant unity among Republicans," he said.

As we used to say on the playground: "Eeek! Eeek! Shiver with fright! Race up a tree with mercy!"

If McConnell and his band of tools insist on throwing tantrums in the face of Democrats’ unreasonable magnanimity, the current unity shtick will wear thin with voters like me. We have had to endure eight years of obscenely partisan governance and all the resulting catastrophes. Given this, an appropriate response to McConnell’s letter can be borrowed from Dick Cheney:

Go f*ck yourself.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/21/134447/20/413/664723

I just don't know how she does it. She sounds so smart too. And Chuck Dodd, is getting better every day.

Geithner Picked for Treasury
New York Fed President Timothy Geithner will be nominated to be President-elect Obama's Treasury secretary, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"The FBI began calling Geithner confidantes this week, starting a vetting process of getting the Fed veteran in place almost as soon as Obama is inaugurated."

"Obama plans to introduce his entire economic team early next week, hoping to sooth the roiling financial markets and answer rising pressure on the president-elect to become more involved."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122729804822648663.html

Update: Bloomberg says former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers will get a key role in the White House.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awL0Rc_Hx_ow&refer=h...

Vomitoon?

Scowcroft Advising Obama
CNN reports that President-elect Obama "is getting foreign policy advice from an unlikely source: Republican Brent Scowcroft, who was national security adviser in the first Bush administration."

"Two sources familiar with the conversations confirm to CNN that Obama reached out to Scowcroft for phone chats even before he ran for president, and the back-and-forth has continued in recent days as the president-elect assembles his Cabinet."

"Scowcroft is very close to current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is rumored to be in the running to stay in the Cabinet for at least an interim period at the start of the new Obama administration."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/20/transition.wrap/index.html

Scrowcroft was against the war in Iraq

Franken Camp: Coleman's Lead Has Now Fallen To Less Than 100 Votes
Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken has now fallen to double digits, according to the Franken camp's tally from its own observers.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/franken_camps_cl...

that have already been put up today. You must have been off the blog today.

Citigroup May Get Government Rescue, Investors Say (Update1)

By Christine Harper and Bradley Keoun

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. will probably get rescued by the U.S. government after a crisis in confidence erased half its stock-market value in three days, investors and analysts said.

Citigroup has more than $2 trillion of assets, dwarfing companies such as American International Group Inc. that got U.S. support this year. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may favor a rescue to avoid the chaotic aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy in September.

“There is no question that Citi is in the category of ‘too big to fail,’” said Michael Holland, chairman and founder of Holland & Co. in New York, which oversees $4 billion. “There is a commitment from this administration and the next to do what it takes to save Citi.”

While Citigroup executives say the company has adequate capital and liquidity to ride out the crisis, its tumbling share price may shake the confidence of creditors, clients and rating agencies. A similar scenario played out at Lehman, when Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld declared the firm was “on the right track” five days before the firm went bankrupt.

“The market may be implying some sort of regulatory intervention,” Jason Goldberg, a former Lehman analyst who now works at Barclays Capital in New York, wrote in a note to clients today. “In situations where the government has stepped in, the equity holders have not fared well.”

Pandit’s Conference Call

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit told employees today that he doesn’t plan to break up the company, aiming to reassure workers as the stock resumed its skid. Citigroup shares dropped 94 cents, or 20 percent, to $3.77 at 4:08 p.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of about $21 billion. The stock pared its loss after the close of official trading, fetching $4.07 as of 4:35 p.m.

Pandit and Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden, speaking on a worldwide conference call this morning, also said they don’t expect to sell the Smith Barney brokerage unit, according to two people who listened to the call and declined to be identified because it wasn’t open to the public.
More here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3ArjWNoRSKw&refer=h...

that I liked:
President-Elect Obama Delivers Video Message to the European Olympic Committee on Behalf of Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid
http://www.pollster.com/blogs/

Of course, he doesn't believe in public education either:

Obamas chose private Sidwell Friends School

Sidwell Friends is a private Quaker school in northwest Washington that Chelsea Clinton attended.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_school_3

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - A fundamentalist Christian University has apologized for racist policies including a one-time ban on interracial dating that wasn't lifted until nine years ago and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.

Bob Jones University founded in 1927 in South Carolina said its rules on race were shaped by culture instead of the Bible, according to a statement posted Thursday on its Web site.

The university, with about 5,000 students, didn't begin admitting black students until nearly 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling found public segregated schools were unconstitutional.

There are times I post and other people post what I have posted and no one ever says anything about that. So....I guess you'll have to deal with my posts that have been posted.

You should be out on that dinner date that your friend went on. Some guy in Chi is missing out.

Nadler Introduces Resolution Opposing Possible Bush Pardons of His Own Subordinates for Crimes He Authorized
By David Swanson

Here's a resolution, hot off the presses from Jerrold Nadler, Chair of the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee: H.RES.1531, "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President of the United States should not issue pardons to senior members of his administration during the final 90 days of his term of office," Sponsor: Rep Nadler, Jerrold (introduced 11/20/2008). There is a petition promoting this resolution, through which you can write to your representative and senators at
http://democrats.com/nadler-pardons

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37830

On the first day of Minnesota's recount process, the Coleman campaign challenged roughly 2.3 ballots for every 10,000 cast, and the Franken campaign challenged 2.5, for a total of 4.8 challenges per 10,000 ballots according to figures compiled by Minnesota Secretary of State.

Yesterday, the second day of the process, that challenge rate rose to 3.1 per 10,000 ballots for Coleman, and 3.4 per 10,000 ballots for Franken, for a challenge rate of 6.5 ballots per 10,000.

And now, on day three, according to the Star Tribune, "a rash of challenges has marked today's recount action in Ramsey County [St. Paul and outskirts], with observers from both campaigns questioning voters' intent far more widely than they did the first two days."

It is hard to know whether this phenomenon is statewide or occurring in Ramsay County only, which had had an usually low rate of challenges over the first two days of ballot counting. Nevertheless, given that there are very few disincentives to challenge ballots, it is not surprising that something of an arm's-race has occurred as both sides learn from one another's behavior.

He may not be going there in person, but Barack Obama is lending his voice to the Democrats' efforts to win back a Republican-held senate seat in Georgia. The President-elect speaks out in a new 60-second radio ad for Jim Martin, the Democratic challenger to freshman Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Martin and Chambliss face off in a runoff election on Tuesday, December 2.

Chambliss won a plurality of the vote 17 days ago on Election Day, but Georgia state law calls for the winner to grab 50 percent plus one vote. Due to the inclusion of a third party candidate, Chambliss fell just shy of that threshold, forcing a runoff contest.

In the radio ad, Obama says Martin, a former state lawmaker, will “do everything he can to help me change Washington and get America moving again.” Obama ends the ad with a plea to voters, saying “please join me in supporting Jim Martin for the United States Senate on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and head to the polls just one more time this year.”

Obama's turned more than two dozen field offices over to Martin’s campaign. A number of former Obama campaign workers and volunteers are also now in Georgia working for Martin....

A number of big name surrogates have traveled to Georgia to campaign for the candidates. Former President Bill Clinton joined with Jim Martin at a rally in Atlanta Wednesday and former President Al Gore campaigns with Martin this weekend....

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/21/obama-weighs-in-on-georg...

you can be really dangerous with your visions.

No thank you for that.

Presidents Kill People, Especially Bush
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/21/12447/270/444/664692

With all due respect to Cenk, I think the important question now is not how many people Bush killed, but how many Barack will kill. If Barack's serious about "Afghanistan", he will kill 5 million.

President-elect Barack Obama will not move for months, and perhaps not until 2010, to ask Congress to end the military's decades-old ban on open homosexuals in the ranks, two people who have advised the Obama transition team on this issue say.

Repealing the ban was an Obama campaign promise. However, Mr. Obama first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus and then present legislation to Congress, the advisers said.

"I think 2009 is about foundation building and reaching consensus," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The group supports military personnel targeted under the ban.

Mr. Sarvis told The Washington Times that he has held "informal discussions" with the Obama transition team on how the new president should proceed on the potentially explosive issue.

… One Heterosexual Nation, under God, with Liberty & Justice for Straight People

Citigroup May Get Government Rescue, Investors Say... - what are you commenting on?

Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup... - are you referring to the pirates?

"You may not like our price, but we are not in the business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to
offer the shareholders anything," said Ali.

http://www.whosdatedwho.com/pictures/W/8/W8N4I5C.jpg

-
I dare you to click on img :)

and I think he has plugs...on KO

The New Ozymandias
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/21/191657/65/267/627232

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

BRIEF-Republican senator blocks US Treasury bailout program watchdog

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat
and chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, on Friday:
* Said the nomination of Neil Barofsky to be watchdog of the U.S.
Treasury Dept's $700 billion bailout program is blocked by an unnamed Republican
senator or senators.
* Said delay is "regrettable" and hopes hold will be lifted on Barofsky's
nomination as inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
* Said the Barofsky nomination was cleared by all Democrats in the
Senate.

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=5e0fe748-45...

was just on Countdown and he seems to agree with Krugman on the economy.

Help the Auto Industry. We can't let manufacturing fail.

Spend money to help Seniors and Children

Infrastructure spending.

New accusations have emerged during the appeal of the bribery conviction of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama that could buttress Democrats’ claims that the case against him was politically tainted, even as he prepares to argue against his conviction in a federal appeals court in Atlanta early next month.

The accusations, from a Department of Justice employee, suggest that the Republican United States attorney whose office prosecuted Mr. Siegelman remained substantially involved in the case, long after she insisted she had removed herself from it because of her partisan connections.

And the formal complaints by the employee, a legal aide in office of the United States attorney in Montgomery, Ala., have brought to light an episode in the 2006 bribery and corruption trial that Mr. Siegelman’s lawyers now say could have led to a key juror’s removal: flirtatious messages sent by jurors to the prosecution about the marital status of an F.B.I. agent who was working with prosecutors. Other jurors have said they felt pressured by the judge to reach a decision in order to go home, and said some jury members read about the case on the Internet during the trial.

(snip)
Yet in her complaint, the Justice Department employee, Tamarah T. Grimes, cited several instances suggesting Ms. Canary maintained a close watch on the case. Ms. Grimes said a legal aide in the office reported on Mr. Siegelman’s trial to Ms. Canary or her top deputy “every day, sometimes several times per day by telephone.” Once, she observed Ms. Canary “frantically pacing in the executive suite” after a courtroom blowup, “pleading with someone” to get on the phone to “tell Louis he has to control his temper.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/22siegelman.html?hp

I tuned-in to the tail end of Limbaugh's show today.

(I know, I know. It marks me as an idiot.)

I needed to fill an audio gap in my day whilst installing electrical conduit so I figured "Hey, I wonder if Limbaugh is apoplectic following the Obama win?"

Yes, he is. Actually, he's not so much apoplectic as he's got no material to work with, so he is making shit up out of whole cloth.

(I know, I know. He has ALWAYS been making shit up out of whole cloth.)

Anyway, he has two memes that he is pounding in between self-referential accolades: He refers to Obama as "The Messiah" and he asks (rhetorically) "Where's Obama?"

In the first case, it is painfully obvious that Limbaugh's preferred team didn't have a Messiah in office for the past (nearly) eight years. I don't know what to call George W. Bush, but "Messiah" is pretty much inapplicable. The Republican nominee for the recent presidential election wasn't exactly the Second Coming, either.

In the latter case, Obama has been simultaneously everywhere in daily news reports and, per his repeated admonition that the U.S. has only one president at a time, nowhere.

Limbaugh is flailing. He's got nuthin'. He repeats his meme of the "seething hatred" of Liberals, then he launches into a rant that seethes of hatred.

I am giving him more credit for honest emotion than he is due. I don't believe that he believes any of the crap that he spews. He created a character-for-profit and he is stuck with playing the same role over and over again.

Kinda like Don Knotts and Barney Fife.

It is not so much Limbaugh's Rant-For-Profit that bothers me. It is the mental midgets who call themselves fans and, in so doing, validate my dark and cynical assessment of the intelligence of the average American.

Oh, and one more thing. The tanking economy is entirely due to Liberal ideology. Limbaugh didn't make the case...because...well...because it is an absurd case even if it could be made. But he made the statement and that's good enough for his fans.

Shortly after Limbaugh ended his show, I heard David Brooks and E.J. Dionne on NPR giving their opinions of recent Obama administration appointees.

The difference between Rush "Anything For A Buck" Limbaugh and a pair of informed and erudite political analysts was striking. It was like night and day.

...and David Brooks was begrudgingly conciliatory toward the Obama team's obvious superiority over any political operation that we have seen of late.

The only thing that thrills me more than crushing conservatism is making Conservatives like it.

you need to link it to the David Lynch Eraserhead link.

A top union leader in New York City who helped deliver the vote for President-elect Barack Obama will become the White House political director.

Patrick Gaspard, currently the personnel director of Mr. Obama’s transition team, has informed union officials he’ll be taking the job, according to two sources involved.

“Patrick’s a consensus builder who has shown he can bring people together in a common cause,” one source said.

Currently on leave from his job as executive vice president of the powerful health care workers’ union Local 1199-SEIU, Mr. Gaspard has long been a political strategist in New York. During the Obama campaign he was its national political director. In that role he was in charge of the union’s “weekend warrior” program, a successful national effort to get out the vote in swing states.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081121/FREE/81...

A Circuit Court judge has dismissed Internet author Andy Martin's lawsuit seeking to obtain a copy of President-elect Barack Obama's Hawai'i birth certificate.

Judge Bert Ayabe upheld arguments from Gov. Linda Lingle's administration that Martin — a political opponent of Obama — had no standing under state law to obtain a copy of the document.

The decision, issued late Wednesday, first denied Martin's "emergency motion" for production of the birth certificate.

Martin "does not have a direct and tangible interest in the vital statistic records being sought, namely the birth certificate of President Obama," Ayabe wrote.

Martin did not fall into any category of persons defined under state law as having a legal right to the record, said the judge.

(snip)

Before the election, Fukino issued a statement saying that she and the registrar of vital statistics had personally examined the birth certificate and found it to be valid.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881121035...

Maybe this will finally stop these wingers from trying this again!

Meet The Wife That Han Solo Never Had

http://io9.com/5095275/meet-the-wife-than-han-solo-never-had

If ever there was proof that, despite his protestations, George Lucas really didn't plan out the entire Star Wars saga in advance, it probably comes in the shape of the discovery that, in 1978, Lucas told co-writers that Han Solo wasn't destined to end up with Princess Leia... because he was a married man. Married to a wookie, that is. Stunningly, I'm not making this up.

This somewhat surprising development in Han Solo's love life comes from a reputable source: the official Star Wars website itself, which is currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars Holiday Special by interviewing people involved in the ill-fated production. One of those people is screenwriter Lenny Ripps, who drops the bombshell when discussing Lucas' involvement in the project:

To me, it didn't come together. The ideas were all right but I'm not sure that they belonged in the same room. What was interesting to me was that Lucas started talking about Star Wars as if it was a real world. He said things like "Well, you know Han Solo is married to a Wookiee. but we can't say that." Now that was 20 years ago [in 1998], so my memory may be wrong.

According to starwars.com's Ross Plesset, however, his memory is surprisingly good:

As outrageous as Ripps's recollection sounds, there is evidence supporting it. Pat Proft corroborates it and an early draft of the Star Wars script (January 28, 1975) has Han Solo living with a furry female creature who he kisses. Proft also remembers learning that Han was raised by Wookiees, which is verified on pages 46 & 131 of Laurent Bouzereau's Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays.

Admit it; you didn't think the old rogue had it in him, did you? Somewhere out there, someone has already written the fanfic about what happened when Mrs. Solo came home after Return of The Jedi to see Han and Leia hooking up... and wanted to join in.

http://www.starwars.com/movies/saga/20081117.html">Holiday Special: Script and Directors [StarWars.com] (Thanks, Bonnie!)
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp will return two of its leased corporate jets amid intense criticism in Washington this week on the luxury travel arrangements of its chief executive even as the company pleads for federal aid.

CEO Rick Wagoner was in the capital to testify on the company's dire financial situation but his testimony was overshadowed by irate lawmakers who blasted him for flying on a private jet to ask for public funds and failing to make personal sacrifices in exchange for federal assistance.

Chief executives from Ford Motor Co, and Chrysler LLC, who were also there to plead for $25 billion in federal aid, came under fire too for flying to Washington in private jets.

Wilkinson said the decision to return the leased corporate jets was made before this week's hearings and that the company in September returned two other of the seven jets it had at the beginning of the year.

"There is a perception issue," Wilkinson said of Wagoner's travel to Washington on a private jet. "We need to be very sensitive to that going forward."

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AK5EG20081121

Submitted by toniD on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:17am.
Wal-Mart Unexpectedly Replaces CEO Lee Scott; Mike Duke to Take Over Post Wal-Mart Stores Inc...
-----
It would have been funnier if Lee Scott were replaced with Li-Su Chin.

I'm just sayin'.

Holiday Special: Script and Directors

http://www.starwars.com/movies/saga/20081117.html

FAX: What was George Lucas's original vision?

RIPPS: I think he wanted to make a sweet and sentimental vision of a holiday season and I think it evolved into something maudlin which was not what I thought his vision was. Now I don't mean to speak for him, but my inclination was that it got kind of sappy.

FAX: It was an eclectic combination of elements: drama. space fantasy. and musical variety.

RIPPS: To me, it didn't come together. The ideas were all right but I'm not sure that they belonged in the same room. What was interesting to me was that Lucas started talking about Star Wars as if it was a real world. He said things like "Well, you know Han Solo is married to a Wookiee. but we can't say that." Now that was 20 years ago [in 1998], so my memory may be wrong. [As outrageous as Ripps's recollection sounds, there is evidence supporting it. Pat Proft corroborates it and an early draft of the Star Wars script (January 28, 1975) has Han Solo living with a furry female creature who he kisses. Proft also remembers learning that Han was raised by Wookiees, which is verified on pages 46 & 131 of Laurent Bouzereau's Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays.]
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

I saw that the Somali Pirates were trying to buy inot Citigroup. It's really cheap now and with all the "booty" they've been getting from holding ships hostage....

I had to read it twice to make sure it wasn't an Onion story.

But the one I posted was not about the Somali Pirates, it was our Gov't Pirates!

>>Maybe this will finally stop these wingers from trying this again!

no, it think it will only make it worse.

they were denied the info they wanted, now they can say `what are you hiding?' `Cover-up' and `conspiracy!'
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

was chewie his bother in law?

LOL

Texas hearing on Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzales indictment turns chaotic

Associated Press

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A county prosecutor who brought indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday about special treatment for high-profile defendants as a routine motions hearing descended into chaos.

Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, who is accusing the public officials of culpability in the alleged abuse of prisoners in a federal detention center, asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself. Guerra has complained about Banales' handling of the case.

Attorneys for the vice president and other defendants leapt to their feet in objection, as Guerra pounded the table and accused Banales of giving the defendants special treatment in allowing motions to quash the indictments to be heard before the defendants were arraigned.

"Now all of a sudden there is urgency," Guerra shouted. "Eighteen months you kept me indicted through the election." The charges against Guerra were dropped last year. Guerra lost re-election in the March Democratic primary

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112208...

>>so a question come to mind

with you it's always a question of one sort or another, Jim... ;)
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Will Sarah Palin legalize hunting turkeys from helicopter?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

"enquiring minds want to know"

just got done yakking with some old friends about our favorite kid games and toys.

what a hoot!

Sarah Palin and the turkey pardon. I wish they'd stop showing that. Makes me sick!

Had to turn it off!

"I tuned-in to the tail end of Limbaugh's show today...whilst installing electrical conduit"

...Risky. Glad your alive to blog about it. :)

Thousands protest in Iraq
against US troops pact

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched Friday against a pact letting U.S. forces stay in Iraq until 2011, toppling an effigy of President George W. Bush where U.S. troops once tore down a statue of Saddam Hussein.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081121/ts_nm/us_iraq;_ylt=AioQdqH2IE2U0VADG...

Americans still giving,
despite economic meltdown

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As more Americans turn to charity amid worsening economic gloom, operators of food banks and other aid groups are relying on the surprisingly resilient generosity of their neighbors and finding that even when times are tough, people still give.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_on_re_us/meltdown_charity;_ylt=Ai...

Submitted by toniD on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 9:45pm.
I saw that the Somali Pirates were trying to buy inot Citigroup. It's really cheap now and with all the "booty" they've been getting from holding ships hostage....
--------
You have reminded me of another bit of Limbaugh lunacy.

Limbaugh asked (rhetorically), "Doesn't anyone on those ships have a gun?"

Of course you and me and everyone other than Limbaugh's fans know that the pirates have rockets and grenade launchers as well as automatic rifles. And that a rocket fired into an oil tanker is, well, kinda iffy insofar as survivors from the tanker attack are concerned.

Limbaugh fans would be suffering from cognitive dissonance if there was any cognition involved.

Their inability to connect the dots goes hand-in-glove with the statistical fact that Green county (where Springfield, Missouri is located along with the Assembly of God headquarters and is the heart and soul of Roy Blunt's congressional district) has the highest rate of child abuse of any county in the state of Missouri.

Family fucking values. Praise Jesus.

US seeks 300 billion dollars
from Gulf states: report

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The United States has asked four oil-rich Gulf states for close to 300 billion dollars to help it curb the global financial meltdown, Kuwait's daily Al-Seyassah reported Thursday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/bs_afp/financeeconomyusgulf;_ylt=Ag...

>>"Doesn't anyone on those ships have a gun?"

chances are there will be some very heavily armed boats out there trolling for pirates very soon.

at least, that;s what I'd do. cargo ships retrofitted for combat. should a pirate ship approach and commit to boarding, sink them, leave any survivors to drown.

let's see who wants to be a pirate after that.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>> heavily armed boats out there trolling for pirates very soon.

predator drones could come in helpful as well.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Sounds like Halloween in the East Village....

>>Green county (...) has the highest rate of child abuse of any county in the state of Missouri.

Imagine how much worse it would be without the Assembly of God headquarters being there!

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

...have Disney delusions about pirates, Crank.

...have Disney delusions about pirates, Crank.

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:11pm.
chances are there will be some very heavily armed boats out there trolling for pirates very soon.

at least, that;s what I'd do.
------
A maritime security service owner/operator was interviewed on NPR yesterday. No pirate has ever boarded or harmed a ship subscribed to his service.

The service uses audio deterrence (sound waves that cause pain within 1500 meters, stored on an iPod...which is kinda funny in a high-tech/low-tech sorta way), barbed wire (it's kinda hard on propellers) and a few other tricks to keep the pirates at a safe distance.

He said that the pirates don't mess with a ship that displays security measures because there will be an unprotected ship passing through soon.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97241722

In need of cash, states auction goods online
By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press Writer Valerie Bauman, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 21, 6:19 pm ET

ALBANY, N.Y. – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin isn't the only government official hawking goods online. With the economy continuing to tumble, more state and local governments are using the Web to clear out inventory and bolster deflated budgets.

Need a desk? An airplane? How about an armored personnel carrier? Items like these and others are now just a click away for the highest bidder.

Joseph Hamrick, a 59-year-old construction worker from Goose Creek, S.C., got hooked on one such Web site, GovDeals.com, about five months ago. Since then, he's gotten good deals on a 1999 Dodge truck in great condition, 36 bicycles and more than 2,000 brand-new T-shirts, among other things — much of which he gives away to charity and co-workers.

Terry McCorkle, owner of McCorkle Sales in Claxton, Ga., resells the heavy construction equipment, trucks and trailers that he purchases from GovDeals.

For states, it's an easy way to unload assets and bring in extra revenue.

New York has brought in about $658,000 in online surplus sales through eBay during the 2008-09 fiscal year that will end March 31. The state is selling things like lab supplies, scrap metal and a lot of World War II steel helmets. Like most other states, New York also holds traditional auctions off-line for vehicles and equipment and had brought in $3.5 million by the end of October.

In South Carolina, Charleston County officials sold their police airplane, old police cars and other types of equipment through GovDeals, paying a lower commission and reaching a wider customer base than traditional auctions offer.

GovDeals exclusively peddles government goods of all kinds, even airplanes, like the one Palin auctioned off on eBay and spoke about on the campaign trail.

Other unusual state government assets for sale online include:

• A pair of size 7 high-heeled, knee-high "pleaser" boots confiscated in Ohio with bids starting at $15.

• DuPage County, Ill., is auctioning a framed, autographed Sammy Sosa Cubs jersey for a minimum bid of $156.77.

• The school board in Auburn, Ala., is selling two deep fryers with minimum bids of $515 and $321.

"We were looking for a more efficient way to sell surplus property, and the actual benefit is we're making an extraordinary amount of money doing it," said Scott Bartley, an accountant in the Charleston County comptroller's office.

GovDeals uses software to validate buyer identities and contact information, and runs checks against its own internal database to ensure no one had problems with a buyer of the same, or similar name and address. GovDeals' parent company also owns the Web site GovLiquidation.com, which sells surplus and scrap metal from the U.S. Department of Defense. That site has a multiple-stage vetting and identification process before buyers are approved. Some buyers have to complete certificates describing the buyer's business and how they will use the item.

The economic downturn has been a boon for government auction sites.

GovDeals has added 12 full time employees — a 40 percent increase — in the past two quarters. Another Web site, bid4assets.com has seen a 30 percent increase in government auction listings this November compared to the same month last year.

Jenny Lynch, a spokeswoman for bid4assets, said the company is preparing for a large influx of government sales in January, when many governments start drafting budgets for the next year.

Charleston County, South Carolina, used to sell at local auctions but only brought in a fraction of what it gets now. More customers online means higher bids and sales, and cuts the costs of owning property. Before going online, the county averaged about $250,000 annually in revenues from auction sales. Now that average is about $850,000 a year, Bartley said.

Between July and November this year — the only data available — state and local government surplus sales through online auctions fluctuated up and down 30 percent, but are currently about 25 percent higher than they were in July, according to governmentauctions.org, an industry group.

While buyers are attracted by the low prices, they make bids for different reasons.

McCorkle has bought nearly 90 different assets from GovDeals for resale because he considers the site easy-to-use and trustworthy. "Most of the time they don't misrepresent it when it's a county and government entity," McCorkle said.

Hamrick, meantime, plans to donate most of the bicycles he bought to the Marine Corp. for Christmas, and he shared the cotton shirts with his fellow construction workers.

His wife, who is from Valencia, Spain, wasn't convinced of his new hobby until he brought home a "huge" painting of the Spanish Armada. "She didn't really think much of it until we got the picture — and she loved it," Hamrick said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_on_bi_ge/government_auctions_1/pr...

Clinton Is Said to Accept Offer of Secretary of State Position

Submitted by ghettodefender on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 4:26pm.

All the pieces are in place now for the invasion of Central Asia. Obama's call for national service will a be a call for the draft.

____________________

Look.

I think Obama's "Team of Rivals" horseshit is a bad ideer. Granted. It didn't work for Lincoln until *after* it had initially failed. Is Obama gonna get the grace period Lincoln got? My guess is no.

So, yes, I think Obama's bein' naive. I think Obama's arrogantly (vainly) countin' on his winnin' personality to carry the day. 'N mebbe it will. I have no difficulty conjecturin' a scenario where I'm flat-ass wrong, a-course, and I hopes I am. But you can wish in one hand 'n shit in the other, but one tends to fill up faster'n t'other.

(If you wanna read somebody what gets paid to write second that particular opinion, here 'tis:)

Team 'o rivals bipartisan collegial! horseshit

But will sez this:

How a body jumps from disappointment in Obama's judgment to ascribing the motives for an invasion of Central Asia complete w/a draft wrought outta a call for nat'l service is a realpolitickal marvel utterly beyond my comprehension.

No really....

I have a cousin who lives down that way.
And come Thursday, I'll be up to my eyeballs in AOG'ers.

I'm taking alot of chewing gum.

And taffy.

Wa(n)a peesh? :-) (planning on keeping the mouth fully jammed for Mom's sake)

Somali Islamists 'hunt pirates'

Somali Islamist insurgents have begun searching for the pirates who hijacked a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker last Saturday, reports say.

A spokesman for the al-Shabab group, Abdelghafar Musa, said hijacking a Muslim-owned ship was a major crime and they would pursue those responsible.

The pirates are thought to be trying to obtain a multi-million dollar ransom.

The ship, the Sirius Star, is believed to be be anchored off the Somali port of Haradheere.

It has an international crew of 25 people and is carrying $100m (£67m) worth of crude oil.

'Show of force'

"We are really sorry to hear that the Saudi ship has been held in Somalia," Mr Musa told the Associated Press.

"We will fight them."

Reports said Islamist fighters had descended on Haradheere in an apparent show of force, saying they were looking for the pirates.

"The Islamists arrived searching for the pirates and the whereabouts of the Saudi ship," an unnamed elder in the port told Reuters news agency.

"I saw four cars full of Islamists driving in the town from corner to corner. The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship."

Another report suggested local militia and Shebab fighters had arrived in Harardhere in a move to position themselves for a share of any spoils.

"There are many militiamen who have arrived in the town and they want to get a share from the pirates if the ransom is paid," Ahmed Abdullahi, a local elder, was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

Meanwhile, Kenya reported on Friday that Somali pirates had been paid more than $150m (£101m) in ransoms in the past 12 months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7743204.stm

Embattled military contractor Blackwater Worldwide received quite a blow today when U.S. officials said that the new Iraqi security agreement doesn't give retroactive immunity to military contractors. This means that Blackwater employees could now be tried for crimes in Iraq, such as the infamous shooting in September of last year when Blackwater guards opened fire and 17 civilians were killed in Baghdad. (McClatchy)

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/56255.html

same shot of him as above shirtless in bed with glasses on.

Submitted by Crank Bait on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:29pm.

A maritime security service owner/operator was interviewed on NPR yesterday. No pirate has ever boarded or harmed a ship subscribed to his service.

The service uses audio deterrence (sound waves that cause pain within 1500 meters, stored on an iPod...which is kinda funny in a high-tech/low-tech sorta way), barbed wire (it's kinda hard on propellers) and a few other tricks to keep the pirates at a safe distance ...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97241722

_______________________

Pirates is 'n ever was the ultimate canary inna coal mine re: the sway a superpowers, imo.

When times is tough for superpowers, specially when they does s.t. profoundly stupid 'n gets preoccupied 'n stuck inna (wait for it) quagmire, pirates tends to flourish. Cuz attention is focused elsewhere.

The fact that the world is got pirates abscondin' w/supertankers fulla oil 'n cargo containers 'n other such valuable truck is a validation of just how far 'Murica is fallen.

'Course, no one ever coulda predicted ...

>>He said that the pirates don't mess with a ship that displays security measures because there will be an unprotected ship passing through soon.

I guess I didn't mention the armaments would be hidden.

It would not be hard to do. you could have them behind false walls or cabins on the deck or superstructure.

The false cabins might work out nicely, because it would be easy (and cheap) for ship owners to build `empty' cabins...after the pirates know to look for these camouflaged guns, the pirates would avoid any ship that had similar structures.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>is a validation of just how far 'Murica is fallen.

just wait for the Indian uprisings!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Submitted by Crank Bait on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 9:30pm.

I tuned-in to the tail end of Limbaugh's show today ...

(The difference between Rush "Anything For A Buck" Limbaugh and a pair of informed and erudite political analysts was striking. It was like night and day.

...and David Brooks was begrudgingly conciliatory toward the Obama team's obvious superiority over any political operation that we have seen of late.

The only thing that thrills me more than crushing conservatism is making Conservatives like it.

______________________

Think it's important to point out that them "erudite political analysts" yer citin' didn't get "erudite" till the public-at-large fina-fucking-ly figgered out the fraud bein' perpetrated onnit.

Only then did lyin' motherfuckers like David "Carnage-in-Iraq-ain't-a-bug,-it's-a-feature!" Brooks start to hedge his bets 'n criticize the stupid motherfuckers he spent years fellating.

There's certain self-justifyin' cowardly lyin' bastards, imo, who shouldn't never show their faces in public again. Prominently among them is David Brooks. Higher yet is Tom Friedman. But the apotheosis of lyin' bastardry on behalf of pseudo-intellectual bullyism prize would hafta go to Bill Kristol.

What this points to, imo, is how conservatives are simply bigger assholes than liberals. This ain't keepin' w/Obama's "We Are Teh World" moment, I realize, but consider:

If a liberal was wrong, ever, then he or she would never be welcome to opine inna public forum ever again.

(B/c their judgment can't be trusted, a-course.)

At least w/o bein' reminded of how fucking WRONG! they was back in the time wise. Is a conservative ever -- fucking ever? -- introduced by sayin': "Here's the stupid shit this guy usedta b'lieve, so take it w/a grain a salt."

Point bein': Conservatives make liberals pay for errors in judgment (real or imagined). Liberals do not. Again, point bein': You can draw a straight fuckin' line from Nixon's abuse of power to his pardon to the Reagan ascendancy to Iran Contra ('n ever'thing associated w/it), to Cap Weinberger's pardon 'n Lawrence Walsh's expulsion to the Bush years bein' populated by neoconservative livin' undead zombies from the Reagan (and Nixon) years.

If there ain't no price, they licks their wounds 'n regenerates like a herpes sore on the body politic.

So when a hyperventilating bedwetter like David Brooks or Bill Kristol is wrong -- repeatedly. demonstrably. epically. -- this is not a problem, for a conservative!, and may well lead to the advancement of their career.

Think "failing upward!" a la Bushistic up-is-downism. (Think Kinda-Sleezy Rice 'n AbuG as representative examples.)

"Erudite" David Brooks is not, imo.

Submitted by dr on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 10:35pm.
...you can wish in one hand 'n shit in the other, but one tends to fill up faster'n t'other.
------
(Bait contemplates constipation and wishing, which leads to a paradoxical conundrum.)

I'm just sayin'.....

>>Eraser head is Sec. of Treasury

I must be tremendously dense, but I still do not see the connection.

was it the hair?

if you made me sit through 10 minutes of that (twice) just because of the hair...
*************************

"maybe if I'd seen the movie it would make sense?"

(CNN) -- For the first time in 400 years, the beaver has returned to Great Britain.
Experts hope the beaver's return to the United Kingdom could lead to more habitat restoration.

Experts hope the beaver's return to the United Kingdom could lead to more habitat restoration.

Four wild beaver families arrived at London's Heathrow airport Thursday night, the first step in an effort to reintroduce the mammals -- probably hunted to extinction around the reign of King James I, in the 16th or 17th century -- to the British countryside.

The beaver families, which were trapped in Norway after several months of careful observation, will be quarantined for six months before being released in western Scotland.

"This is the latest stage in a truly exciting development for wildlife watchers, not just in Scotland but around the world," said Michael Russell, Britain's minister for environment. "I am sure the beavers are awaiting their release from quarantine... as keenly as I am."

Conservationists and wildlife advocates hope the reintroduction of the beaver will spark a further restoration of natural habitats in the British isles.

"Beavers hold the potential to create new wetland habitats which in turn increases the appeal to other native species," said Simon Jones of the Scottish Beaver Trial, which is overseeing the project. "We are excited to get the trial under way and see what benefits beavers can bring to Scotland."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/21/scottish.beavers/index.html

yes, the hair.

But also the surreal nature of his nomination.

The un-natural birth of this crisis. The temptations of capitalism. Owning the "problem" et.al.

But mostly the hair.

dr,

We agree that any pundit who gets it astronomically wrong should have it tattooed on his/her forehead...although a Twilight Zone-esque, giant, alien forehead would soon be needed to provide space for paragraphs of error.

I used the word "erudite" because both Dionne and Brooks were citing facts from their awarenesses of happenings in the real world and drawing conclusions therefrom, whereas Limbaugh just pulls shit out of his ass to fill air time.

You can be forgiven for missing the posts in which I gloated over Brooks' sucking-up to the coming administration.

He has to continue to sell his column and he isn't stupid enough to believe that people want to continue to read more of his Conservative crap.

When the Conservative ship sank, rat-bastard Brooks had to decide between clinging to flotsam or swimming to another boat.

>>You can be forgiven for missing the posts in which I gloated over Brooks' sucking-up to the coming administration.

OH, NO HE CAN'T!!!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Submitted by gbasin on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:19pm.
...Four wild beaver families arrived at London's Heathrow airport Thursday night...
-----
When I see a line like this, I am completely immobilized by the sheer wealth of joke material.

Submitted by Crank Bait on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:22pm.

... You can be forgiven for missing the posts in which I gloated over Brooks' sucking-up to the coming administration ...

__________________

The worst of it is I knows you must knows this.

It ain't ever easy to convey the totality of one's thoughts, a-course, specially inna brief blog post, but the very least a body is owed by a reg'lar reader is the benefit of the doubt.

I apologize.

;)
Sorry,couldn't resit..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

dada,

I wanted to acknowledge some of your recent comments on the blog.

When I have doubts about the men on the planet, I am reminded that there are some men who I respect and admire for various reasons.

Thank you for reminding me, admirable dada.

--------------

Another admirable man said:

"Yes, two minutes. Before that, and after that, we should be taking direct action against the obstacles to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

---

"But before and after those two minutes, our time, our energy, should be spent in educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the neighborhood, in the schools.

Our objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White House, in Congress, into changing national policy on matters of war and social justice."

-Howard Zinn

-------

p.s. Speaking up against blatant sexism/misogyny is part of the social justice movement. Thanks for taking direct action, dada.

--------

Link:

http://www.progressive.org/mag_zinn0308

I would have taken "under 3" in the "How long will it take Crank to bite on this straight line" pool.....

What I mean to say is that we live in a culture that now organizes around celebrity - and Obama knew it, and knew that lots of left organizations aren't really ideological - they are, if anything, organized around the Democratic Party and Bush hatred. So he basically figured out that if he could become a celebrity - and a Democratic Bush-hating one - he could swallow up a huge part of the "progressive infrastructure" and organize it around him (and all the hateful "if you question Obama, you hate Obama" comments that will inevitably be at the bottom of this diary actually confirm this!). And we shouldn't blame him for being a "celebrity" - it's not an epithet. And we shouldn't blame him for seizing his moment. Not at all.

This, by the way, is very different from the Reagan model. Reagan was a telegenic, for sure - but he was a product of a movement. In the age of celebrity worship - the age where we literally organize AROUND celebrity - Obama is a movement unto himself.
David Sirota :: Obama Ate the Left, And We Shouldn't Blame Him At All. But What Do We Do Now?
So now, because of this, you have a large majority (though not the whole) of his 10 million-person email list overarchingly organized around the celebrity Barack Obama - not really around issues (though certainly people can like Obama and support specific issues). That means he feels no real obligation to appointing "movement progressives" because he has his own movement - one that's about helping, aiding and defending Barack Obama. Again, I say that not derisively or in anger at Barack Obama - I say it just to note an important fact.

Heads of government having movements organized around them as individuals - rather than having to deal with independent social movements - is something lots of autocratic developing world countries have experience with (think huge murals with pictures of leaders - seems similar to the Obama murals doesn't it?). We may have had presidents who were products of movements before (ie. Reagan), but we've never had presidents who are individual movements unto themselves. It's exciting that the movement could push the progressive whims of the Dear Leader - but also frightening, in that it could serve to defend the government from pressure (and as a side note, those who tried to use the election to organize around issues, rather than around individual candidates, were largely attacked in the blogosphere and elsewhere for trying to do that - so in that sense the blogosphere helped create this quandary we're now in).

You can't blame Obama for this - he saw an opportunity and he took it. And I still believe in his heart he's a left-of-center progressive who will ultimately demand that his appointments respect that vision (as I say in an upcoming In These Times article, personnel is usually policy, but it may not be total policy under Obama). But his appointments prove - once again - that if there is no independent movement to pressure politicians, they will go the path of least Establishment resistance.

That's not a theory of the moment - it's just a historical fact. The challenge now is not to lament the reality we face - or even to debate it. It's undebatable reality, whether people organized around Obama want to admit that reality or not. The question now is what movement progressives can do to be really constructive in this reality? I'm not sure.

But I will say this - simply blindly trusting Obama (as good a heart as I think he has) or ANY elected official seems rather stupid considering the history and basic dynamics of how power works.

UPDATE: The knee-jerk anger in the comments section really substantiates the fundamental point of this diary better than the diary itself. To discuss reality about power, the progressive movement and Obama is to automatically subject oneself to vicious personal attacks from those who simply do not want to discuss anything that considers the possibility of independent pressure on Obama. I mean, hell, this is a diary that does not fault Barack Obama in the least - that indeed says he's a progressive. And still - still! - the attacks flow. It's really truly a perfect example of how Obama has successfully organized a huge swath of America around him - not around issues. And again, he deserves no blame at all for that. None at all. The question is simply how to organize in that environment? If asking that question is committing a crime or being "self-promoting" - then dear lord, what are we ever allowed to ask?

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10094

I was away for a few and EXPLOSIONS over Turkey...
Remember Dear Alice there was that truck accident near SAC and all 800 Turkeys got AWAY...(the Turkeys had to be released since it was how the truck could get fix -- then the turkeys got away). To look further in this season of Death, I still eat FOWL a few times a month, sometimes, since I am O Blood, and when super upset I crave, past candy, meat. I LOVED all meat until I became "awake". When living in the mountains I decided what was there I could kill, if I had to. FOWL was it -- ginny hens I think (I knew once, but I would have to look up, and that was at another time... and thus not worth ATT to look up) ... I personally believe and wish, LIKE STAR TREK, we have faux meat. I decided what I personally can kill, if...in horrid times, but NEVER beef.
I would see when a child of 6ish, at parents friends farm, chicken killed and I had to help defeather a few. In the old days my grandmother showed how to "burn" the left-over "hair" off.

When in late teens, I found what VEAL WAS... "HUMANS eating babies".

I immediately quit VEAL. --
I am trying now for GOOD DEATH FOR CHICKENS., with everyone cutting there meat & meat consumption.
SADLY I am not a FULL VEGGIE YET!

we both laughed our asses off here in bed.

Submitted by gbasin on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:19pm.
...The beaver families, which were trapped in Norway after several months of careful observation...
---------
Sven, who was trapped in Norway after several months of a baggage-handlers strike...

This is important info that you just don't get that often:

Beavers are pure vegetarians, subsisting solely on woody and aquatic vegetation. They will eat fresh leaves, twigs, stems, and bark. Beavers will chew on any species of tree, but preferred species include alder, aspen, birch, cottonwood, maple, poplar and willow. Aquatic foodstuffs include cattails, water lilies, sedges and rushes. Cattail and water lily tubers are favorites. Using their nimble front paws, beavers will roll lily pads like cigars to eat them. Beavers do not eat fish or other animals. In cold climates, each fall beavers will stockpile sticks underwater because they do not hibernate. They live on these sticks because once their pond freezes they will no longer have access to trees on the land. Beavers remain inside their lodge all winter except when they swim under the ice to their food cache for a stick to nibble on.

'friendly/free range' mink and shaved beaver coat
Price: $2,200.00

Ad ID: 85428290
Visits: 31
Street address: innisfil ON, L9S 2H5 View map
Location: Barrie
Date Listed: 04-Nov-08

pd over $4000
new condition
3/4 length

http://barrie.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-clothing-friendly-free-range-mink...

One by one respected journalist will be tossed under the bus for speaking their concerns...

You already know my take...Kool-Aid Kills...Period.

***

Ms. Anthrope...our progression has been identical. No Veal since I found out what it was (maybe 30 years ago), No meat at all for the last 2 years...Poultry is next...when I can find the resolve....till then, free range is a somewhat weak compromise I allow myself.

Working on it.....Hang in there...

Nadler Introduces Resolution Opposing Bush Pardons
Submitted by toniD on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 8:34pm.
Nadler Introduces Resolution Opposing Possible Bush Pardons of His Own Subordinates for Crimes He Authorized
By David Swanson

Here's a resolution, hot off the presses from Jerrold Nadler, Chair of the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee: H.RES.1531, "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President of the United States should not issue pardons to senior members of his administration during the final 90 days of his term of office," Sponsor: Rep Nadler, Jerrold (introduced 11/20/2008). There is a petition promoting this resolution, through which you can write to your representative and senators at
http://democrats.com/nadler-pardons

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37830

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

mhappenow,do you still have that link to the MN vote ?
Thanks.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

No red meat since 18 (58 now) vegan for a while now chicken and fish..no sugar since 1977

http://ww2.startribune.com/news/metro/elections/returns/2008/recount/mse...

I find it a discomfiting irony that a guy who had good instincts on the Iraq War defeated an opponent who had bad instincts on same in the primaries, only so's the guy w/the good instincts can then nominate the gal w/the hawkishly bad instincts to help him govern.

Did I miss something?

Submitted by mhappenow on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:59pm.
...no sugar since 1977
-------
Lonely feelin' deep inside
Find a corner where I can hide
Silent footsteps crowdin' me
Sudden darkness, but I can see

No sugar tonight in my coffee
No sugar tonight in my tea
No sugar to stand beside me
No sugar to run with me

Vegan...it is a real commitment Michele...I know several former vegans who went back to fish and poultry....but, I have to at least try...is it really that tough to keep it going?

Submitted by mhappenow on Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:59pm.

No red meat since 18 (58 now) ...

_________________

Forty years spent wandering in the dessert?

mammals.

I tried going vegetarian a couple times but I start to feel ill if I go too long without fish, no idea why. Maybe I'm addicted to mercury.
--------------------------------------------------
"I am A Great American Patriot !!!" - McCain Scroter
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

Elevate 'n reward those who were wrong!

----

Startin to look like another Outcome isn't it?

Online and Active! (in the last 2 min)
There are currently 3 users and 1 guest online.

Online users
dr
Crank Bait
Chubby Bubba

_____________

Christopher Guest is online?

I Forgot where I put it,before..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Sounds like a name for a band.. ;)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

dr,
I listened to the interview with Dr. Stuart Brown. After I started the program, I recognized him. He did a great PBS special about play.

(Believe it or not!) I am interested in some of his theories of play and how they relate to creative thinking in different environments.

His ideas remind me of the concept of beginner's mind -- which is followed and practiced in some cultures and religions.

It was fascinating to check out the pictures of the playful critters. Thanks for posting the interview, dr.

----------

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

-Plato

------

For More Information and Interviews:

The National Institute of Play -

http://nifplay.org/

insane. Vegan, I felt irritable and ungrounded. Had to add the protein. I am fine without grains but if I don't eat some chicken or fish I become very unhappy.

Nuthin like a bacon and egg on a roll and a regular coffee to start the day...

Fuck, war storying about bacon...how pathetic is that???

As soon as Obama started getting the daily CIA briefing everything changed...

Nothing like getting slapped in the face with a little reality....

Once President Obama was tossed into the Real World he ran to the right...

Straight into Hillary's arms...

Did I miss something?

Submitted by OBAMAS 97 PERCENT on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 12:19am.

Elevate 'n reward those who were wrong!

----

Startin to look like another Outcome isn't it?

________________________

Gloating about the phenomena of lavishly rewarding failure.

No beating around the Bush for you, Dog.

sorry cent

Being a NY'er think I miss egg sandwiches most of all.....

Submitted by cent on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 12:25am.

Nuthin like a bacon and egg on a roll and a regular coffee to start the day...

__________________

You deny yerself eggs 'n bacon?

Why?

(OK, I unnerstands the bacon objection, tho' I don't adhere to it, but what's yer beef -- so to speaks -- w/chicken embryos?)

The whole idea is to try living without killing anything...animal anyway....

It is a karma thing...I am in debt way over my head.....

only be a temporary deal. Good news.

-------------------------------------
Gates may stay just a little longer

Smoother transition aim of delay

By Robert Burns and Anne Gearan THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON— What Robert Gates once called “inconceivable to me” — his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day — is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington.

The 65-year-old former spymaster has turned publicly mum on the circumstances under which he would stay, even briefly, after President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But one of the leading scenarios for a wartime transition at the Pentagon has Gates holding the fort, at least for some months.

If Gates does stay on, the announcement could come soon.

http://telegram.com/article/20081121/NEWS/811210650/1052
--------------------------------------------------
"I am A Great American Patriot !!!" - McCain Scroter
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

It's been a while since you have updated your blog..I noticed...

HeeHee..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I can live with that...reluctantly....(begrudgingly)

--"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

-Plato --

That was nice what you wrote about dada....

How are YOU, Star Vox?

LIFE BEGINS AT FERTILIZATION. ENJOY YOUR ABORTED CHICKEN, SINNER.
--------------------------------------------------
"I am A Great American Patriot !!!" - McCain Scroter
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

Senator Norm Coleman's lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken shrunk again today but not by very much. The latest figures show a deficit of 120 for Franken with 64 percent of votes recounted. At this rate when all the votes have been recounted Franken will still trail and the outcome will depend on hundreds of ballots challenged by each campaign as well as a court fight over some rejected absentee ballots.

The odd thing today is that Franken lost a lot of votes in big Democratic-leaning counties where he had been doing well. The most likely explanation: a conspiracy of the Lizard People.

If the pace continues as it has so far (and it probably won't, given the big shifts from yesterday) then Franken would gain another 53 votes and come up 67 short in the first phase of the recount. The second phase will be the counting of the challenged ballots and there's still the issue of the rejected/uncounted absentee ballots.

To catch up Franken needs something to break his way, like:

1. Perhaps the precincts counted in Hennepin and the other pro-Franken counties were pro-Coleman and the inner-city ballots will turn up more Franken ballots. I don't know which precincts within the counties were counted.

2. Perhaps the Franken ballot challenges are less frivolous than the Coleman campaign challenges. I'm not sure how this would work but I suppose it's possible.

3. The lowest percentage of ballots recounted are still in pro-Franken areas. The problem is, he has performed worse in those counties than in ones which favored Coleman. But with roughly 380,000 votes still to be examined in those big counties, Franken might be able to find those additional 67 votes I think he'll need.

ADD 4. Win the absentee fight and win a big enough margin there.
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10095

Looks like I'll be up for the next few hours....

I just felt tired all the time, snapped at everyone, and my immune system took a vacation. Had to go back.

mhappenow, I love your Jolly Roger peace flag.
--------------------------------------------------
"I am A Great American Patriot !!!" - McCain Scroter
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

...[brought to you by the dept of useless information]...

Did I hear turkey bacon?

Not eggs dr...not yet...

Submitted by cent on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 12:32am.

The whole idea is to try living without killing anything...animal anyway....

It is a karma thing...I am in debt way over my head.....

______________

Fair enough.

It's a disciplined position, but if you been innoculated or wear leather anywheres, I'll own you still gotta lotta work to do.

It's purty darn tough to get around the fact that most peoples, ever'wheres, no matter how ascetic, is complicit in the harm of animals.

It is what it is.

Will tell you a little vignette from the opposite end of the spectrum, tho', fwiw.

Know a conservative ideologue up here in Alaska. He claims he's killt people in what he calls "black ops" missions in Central America. He listens to right-wing radio and Fox Noise, a-course.

I was doin' my laundry at the fish processin' place 'n he were there.

He starts to expoundin' on how he ain't got no moral problem w/killin', but, if a body "reads the Constitution right", evidently, accordin' to this guy, you'd come to the inescapable conclusion that abortion was "premeditated murder". Now, discount that the authority he was citin' was "life, liberty 'n the pursuit a happiness", which is another document altogether.

I just find it innerestin' that this guy ain't got no qualms (again, accordin' to him) 'bout killin' other peoples, but if you wuz to squash you some zygote action, that'd be enough to send this guy over the moon.

Peoples is funny. Meanin' peculiar.

(Myself included.)

Do you think if you had held on for 5 years, or even 10 years it would have changed. Or is it a permanent thing...?

on page two. Is that gonna happen?

asleep, most likely from lack of protein...

Not always.

(if your name is Alaska...)

I'm going to send it next week..if it sucks just toss it or put it at your lib's free shelf or something...

This loan to the U.S. auto makers must be tied to retooling not only for clean, efficient cars but also for clean, efficient public transport vehicles and rail systems.

It's time the American unsustainable self-indulgence with the car is put behind us and we move on to creating the finest PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM in the world.

The days when Americans greedily consume and consume and consume 25% of the Earth's resources ARE OVER! Turn the page. This is the 21st Century and we should envision it greed-free.

Cars, cars, cars. Jets, jets, jets. Those CEOs of the Big Three should have taken trains or the Greyhound bus to Washington -- and maybe THEN they'd understand what the majority of Americans REALLY need: Transportation systems that are dependable, clean, green, fresh and sleek. That's what we need.

Why should each American, as soon as possible, need to have a personal vehicle just to commute long, tedious, sometimes maddening, hours to work or school, creating more pollution, consuming tons of resources? Why should Americans be forced into lifetimes of paying off car loans, dealing with fuel price gouging, and being taxed endlessly to repair overworked roads? We have an opportunity right now -- a PERFECT opportunity -- to demand: LET'S REBUILD OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE AND REDUCE OUR DISEASE OF CONSUMERISM. Let's start from the ground up to rebuild America in ways that express a true sense of our values, our sense of community, our love of nature, and our desire for our children to live lives better than our lives where we've been yoked and sickened by over-consumption and the personal debt that entails.

Besides, we only have our Addiction to Over-Consume because, from cradle to grave, each of us has been brainwashed by means of advertising, subliminal messages, and cultural pressure to feel incomplete without consuming scads of stuff. Even when disaster strikes, the Usurper in the White House told us to go shopping.

And like the Planet's worst pushers, we've exported this consumption frenzy as something cool, when actually it is something shallow, hollow, and unrewarding and unsatisfying. The dissatisfaction is so rampant, our psychological depression is cultural, leading to our huge consumption of so-called anti-depressants. The Multi-National Corporations want to continue using these same methods to make the rest of the world automaton consumers like us, and this is our opportunity to reach out and do something decent for the rest of the world for a change, by clarifying we were the first guinea pigs in this sick experiment, and it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth the so-called convenient over-packaged food, developed to be lifeless so it can sit on shelves for years; it wasn't worth the heart disease from stress, it wasn't worth the cancer from industrial chemicals/toxins; it wasn't worth the depression and pill-popping.

If the bailed-out banks won't loan the automakers the money they need or loan any of us the dough to rebuild America the better way, then it's time to say the hell with the current system and nationalize the Federal Reserve and start from scratch. Who needs those thugs and sociopaths who only want to prey on us for profit, make our lives no more than consumption trances, and toss us and our communities in a refuse heap when it serves them?

Is anybody talking about this? Everything I've been hearing so far is just about preserving the concrete expression of our Over-Consumption Disease -- OUR CAR CULTURE -- with a mere overlay of desire to green it up a bit. THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, my fellow Progressives. We need a new American Dream that is bigger and richer than just cleaner cars for those who can afford them! What we need is clean dependable TRANSPORTATION FOR ALL that ultimately reduces our consumption of fuel and metals and asphalt and cuts the resulting pollution.

Allice -
Thanks for coming to lumpinprollie on the blogspot field. Yeah treebu (who got the site together - to my unending approbation) has been busy as hell deploying hugely of herself in this burgeoning earth-renewing power (just made that up) industrial revolution phase.
And I'm in the teeth-grinding semester-homestretch with the people in my Lit class and many students who come for help in the community college where I work. O daily wonders!
I do stand in awe of your assiduous maintenance of your whitelightblacklight blogspot thing. I've found some amusing semi-universal pieces to post on treebu's, and I soon shall--a few HOROSCOPES IN HELL from Bob Balogh.
Please stay tuned.
- A

I think it's a nutrition thing. That and my mercury addiction.

Maybe the proteins or omegas I wasn't getting or something?

My main concern is trying to not eat mammals though. It just seems icky to me, like I'm eating my relatives or something. Birds are basically leftover dinosaurs who somehow avoided the big asteroid die-off. They don't gross me out so much.

I do want to give vegetarianism another shot though, mainly for environmental reasons.
--------------------------------------------------
"I am A Great American Patriot !!!" - McCain Scroter
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

"I ain't no saint. Sure as hell ain't no savior..."

A body got to do what it can.....even if it's for it's own sake....

Killin's killin...in my book. Just tryin to see how little I can do...

***

Turkey Bacon...

bless you Edna...

and curse you Edna. :)

>>and a regular coffee to start the day...

that reminds me of a party I was at years ago...I was in a community college production of Eugene Ionesco's Rhinocerous (very good play about fascism) and we took the play to Orcas Island one weekend for a couple shows.

anyway, the director had been a Broadway actress, and man, did she drink that weekend...in the middle of a performance we ran out of `hair gray spray' which I needed for the last of my 3 roles, Dudard. Amy came to the `rescue' and suddenly slathered my hair with clown white (makeup) It took nearly a week to wash out of my hair...but I digress...

anyway, after the final curtain we were set for the cast party...nearly anyway, I remember going out to a couple bars looking for fellow cast members with my sister and a couple other friends who came along for the weekend. man, we got the strangest and most hostile looks from locals as we entered the `Upper Tavern' in eastsound (at that point there was also the lower tavern situated down the hill, The joke being on them, as my sister later moved to the Island and has lived there for the last 25 years....I digress yet again.

Later, cast, crew, friends and family all assembled at a tiny two bedroom apartment. the 20 or 30 of us all spent the night there. But we all drank copious amounts of various boozes. Throughout the night Amy, the director, would go into a story about how when she first got to new york she ordered coffee and the guy serving it asked if she wanted regular coffee. Like any other normal human being, she assumed regular coffee meant plain or black coffee and was surprised that when she got the coffee it was w/cream and sugar. she had about a 5 minute bit about this, complete with accented character voices.

Being drunk as a lord, and having been such since about noon, she regaled us with the story many, many times. each time she felt her story more hilarious than the last. (I imagine you've had a similar experience once or twice in your life.) each time the exchange between her and the coffee vendor became longer and more animated.

anyway, that's my regular coffee story...but no recap of that evening would be complete without the part about how around 3 or 4 am, as we were all trying to sleep on the living room, kitchen and hallway floors. The sole bedroom was reserved for the Amy's pregnant sister and the sister's boyfriend. For more than an hour he kept saying "look at this, look at the cat, look what I can make him do." Of course, we were all looking at each other wondering just exactly what it was this guy was doing with that cat.

This continued until pregnant girlfriend loudly replied, "I've seen it all before and I think it's disgusting."

We never did find out just what disgusting thing he was doing that she had seen all of before...and the phrase `I've seen it all before and I think it's disgusting became an inside joke for years to come.

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Submitted by cent on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 1:07am.
----

You're doing just fine Cent!

Great video, Sam!

Taoism - Crap Happens
Hare Krishna - Crap Happens, Rama Rama Ding Dong
Hinduism - This Crap Happened Before
Islam - Crap Happens Whenever I Blow Myself Up
Sufi - When Crap Happens Spin Around Till You're Dizzy
Zen - What Is The Sound Of Crap Happening?
Buddhism - When Crap Happens... Is It Really Crap?
Confucianism - Confucius Say " Crap Happens"
Jain - Holy Crap It's Alive!
7th Day Adventist - Crap Happens On Saturdays
Protestantism - Crap Happens Because You're Lazy
Catholicism - Crap Happens And You Deserve It
Jehovah's Witness - Knock Knock, "Crap Happens"
Unitarian - Whoa! What's This Crap???
Mormon - We Have Records Of All This Crap Happening
Judaism - Why Does This Crap Always Happen To Me?
Rastafarianism - Hey, Lets Smoke This Crap
Evangelism - Crap Is Going To Happen, Big Time, Very Soon
Pentecostal - Every Time Crap Happens Start Babbling
Shamanism - This Crap Didn't Happen Before Columbus
Amish - Crap Happens Whenever We Drive Anywhere
Agnosticism - Are You Sure About This Crap?
Atheism - I Don't Believe This Crap Is Happening!

www.bartcop.com

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Know your past...