A Bad Situationist

Detourneent

Detourneent

What's knew???

I remember we were blogging about this law suit a while ago...Apparently this Dr. was directly involved and was let off the hook by the courts a few weeks before he was killed ...

Arkansas Doctor Car Bomb Investigation Turns to Tire, Lawsuits

[...]

Agents were investigating lawsuits involving the family physician, an asthma specialist.

Until a few weeks ago, Pierce was a co-defendant with a nursing home operator dogged by dozens of allegations of abuse and neglect in a wrongful death case that last month made its way to the Arkansas State Supreme Court.

The lawsuit was brought by the estate of a deceased woman, Norma Louise Ramsey, against Pierce, the nursing home company formerly known as Beverly Enterprises — now called Golden Living — and other defendants.

Pierce served as medical director of the West Memphis nursing home run by the former Beverly Enterprises until 2004, when the facility was sold, company spokesman Blair Jackson told FOXNews.com.

Ramsey, 92, died in July 2004, according to her obituary in The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. There was no cause of death given.

On Jan. 22, Pierce was dropped as a co-defendant after a judge granted his motion to dismiss an appeal in the case.

In 2005, the state of Arkansas paid $1.5 million to settle 26 lawsuits brought against Beverly Enterprises. The suits stemmed from allegations of mistreatment and neglect of residents at 12 of its nursing homes.

[...]

Link

Please excuse the source.

I need some.

Any help?

(I can think of plenty of negative reasons. I was hoping for some positive ones, inspiration, funny etc.)

Glad you could stay out of the bathroom long enough to join us tD.

go take a nice dump in a warm, sunny bathroom. I hate to take my dump in the bed itself. It kind of ruins the day.

Play bird sounds in the winter and it makes it even nicer.

It's the permanent with which I am having more trouble.

A for effort though. :)

to take a walk by the river. Do you live near a river? Go there and listen to the river very carefully. You will get a lot of answers to your questions from your local river.

why is it 60?

about the river thing. It is true.

Because Reid is too chicken shit to force the Reps to filibuster.

He really needs to get gone....

Dan, only 51 votes are needed to pass legislation in the US Senate.

However any legislation can be held up/blocked by filibuster unless there is enough votes to invoke cloture. Therefore the minimum Senate votes needed to be filibuster proof is 60.

Democrats have 58(Franken is not seated yet until the court case votes are counted) plus there is 3 moderate republican senators that will vote for the stimulus. That totals 61 Senate votes for a filibuster proof passage of the economic stimulus.

that I am heading out to do that very thing. We are having a lot of snowmelt. It was almost sixty yesterday in NE Ohio and with all this snow on the ground....the river will have a lot to say today. When I get back, I'll have a few answers to my questions.

PS...

Lebron vs. Kobe at 3:30 PM.

Submitted by Regnad Kcin on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 12:34pm.
...You will get a lot of answers to your questions from your local river.
------
If you live in a minivan, should it be parked down by the creek?

The "Stimulus" bill is an extra appropriations bill and, since it is deficit spending, it violates the 1974 Budget Act and is automatically subject to a "point of order" under that bill. That point of order needs 60 votes to override and pass the bill.

So, filibuster or not, we would have had to have gotten 60 votes in the end anyway. It allowed the centrists in each party to hold a large amount of leverage over the rest.

So it really wasn't a question of ramming it through and forcing Republicans to debate. Unlimited debate is built into the Senate rules, which is the reason "cloture" was created: to end debate with 60 votes. We didn't have the 60 until the "job gang" (or whatever the frak it is they are calling themselves) made the "compromise" we have now. Cloture ends the debate and allows the bill to move on to a vote.

"this machine kills fascists"

I heard that Crankbait is a motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river.

Personally I'm still waiting for pictures to prove that. ;)

.

http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2009/2/7/161443/9275/436/583

Why will the stimulus require 60 votes to pass?
by David Waldman aka Kagro X
Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 04:55:03 PM PDT

To expand on the information provided earlier about why the stimulus package will require 60 votes to pass in the Senate, when I last left it, I'd provided only this: The bill will be subject to a point of order due to its deficit spending, but the point of order can be waived by a 3/5 vote of the Senate. So that means passage would ultimately have required 60 votes whether Republicans filibustered or not.

h/t t Sue P, MSist. Perhaps SJ will nick some of her pics post later.

http://www.palemale.com/

Goof morning to some, good afternoon to others, you know which group you fit into...

I hop you get better soon, Tonid.

about the only good thing about being sick like that is you end up sleeping through most of it. At least early on, until you become over-rested and can't sleep.

get well soon!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

I am not making this up.
----------
"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen has ridden quite the wave of popularity in the past few years, from cheeky instruction manuals to Keira Knightley films. And now, perhaps inevitably, we see the blessed union of two beloved trends in Seth Grahame-Smith's "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." To be released by Quirk Books later this year, the book promises to update the comedy of manners "with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action."...

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2009/01/29/pride_prejudice_zombies/i...

>>Crankbait is a motivational speaker who lives in a van by river?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_YK9wVK6IQ (23 seconds)
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Official: Sebelius near
top for health post

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was near the top of President Barack Obama's list of candidates to head the Health and Human Services Department, a senior administration official said Saturday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090208/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/hhs_sebelius

Texas evangelicals helped effort
to stop Palin 'troopergate' probe

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New state gift disclosures show it cost Liberty Legal Institute and the two law firms working with it $185,000 to represent six Alaska legislators in an unsuccessful lawsuit to halt their colleagues' "troopergate" investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin acted improperly in firing the state's public safety director.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/3162967;_ylt=AkIpKQDCyhnr8oq13VwR3cEDW...

NATO commander: Afghanistan
drug raids imminent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an effort to strike at a key income source for Taliban militants, the top NATO commander said Sunday that operations to attack drug lords and labs in Afghanistan will begin within the "next several days."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090208/ap_on_re_eu/nato_afghanistan

US says new Afghanistan
strategy needed by April

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan must be agreed by the NATO summit in April, U.S. national security adviser and retired Gen. James Jones told a German newspaper.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090207/ts_nm/us_security_afghanistan_jones;...

The rise and (almost) fall
of America's banks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right now, the federal government -- working without a road map, and without a net -- is putting together a plan to keep U.S. banks from collapsing. Not just to get the banks lending again. To keep them alive

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090207/ap_on_bi_ge/banks_on_the_brink;_ylt=...

Obama reverses Bush
effort in pollution case

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
President Barack Obama is abandoning a Bush administration appeal of an air pollution case, signaling that the government will embrace tougher rules to cut mercury emissions from power plants.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_go_su_co/obama_environment;_yl...

Submitted by toniD on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 1:55pm.
Official: Sebelius near
top for health post
------
Sam Brownback's evil plan to become Governor of Kansas is slowly falling into place.

US Jewish leader sees
'pandemic of anti-Semitism'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel's recent war in Gaza has unleashed the worst outbreaks of anti-Semitism in decades, the U.S. head of the Anti-Defamation League said on Friday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090206/us_nm/us_usa_jews_attacks;_ylt=Ap7s9...

Study: Climate change may
reshuffle western weeds

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SALT LAKE CITY -- Climate change will likely shuffle some of the West's most troublesome invasive weeds, adding to the burden faced by farms and ranchers in some areas and providing opportunities for native plant restoration in others, according to a new study.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_bi_ge/farm_scene_western_weeds...

I recommend that you shoot some new scenes, reedit and re-release your film with this title:

A Bad Situationist And Zombies

Maybe you oughta change Break Room Live to Break Room Live And Zombies Undead, while you're at it.

>>change Break Room Live to Break Room Live And Zombies Undead

this would be a boon to Survival Sam...Imagne all the survival-based zombie tips he could teach us.

fer instance, since everyone knows that zombies love to eat brains. But how many people know how to make protective head gear s out of common household items or items found in the wild??
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

for the explanation of why 60 votes are needed.

Also, what do you think Gaius knows about Gaeta?

I wonder if an orange toque might be the best protective head gear in regards to zombies.

Everyone knows zombies don't like the color orange. Have you ever noticed zombies are almost always wear earth-tones?

Not only that, but in all the zombie movies I've seen, Ive never seen them eat a single orange (or any other kind of citrus). Why is this? Could it be that citric acid is toxic to zombies?

I think that by wearing an orange stocking cap you will trick the zombie into thinking they are seeing a large bipedal orange or tangerine and look elsewhere for sustenance.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

If zombies don't like the color orange through association with not liking the citric acid in oranges, then wearing a toque with pictures of machetes or guilloutines on it should work also. We KNOW they don't like to be beheaded.

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 3:00pm.
I wonder if an orange toque might be the best protective head gear in regards to zombies.
-----
Suggested zombie movie title:

One Toque Over The Line

(no need to thank me)

Are you a BSG nerd? I try not to be, but since you asked, I guess I have no choice.

I'm not sure it was anything. I think the irony of Gaeta staging a mutiny just now after having been a mole for the resistance on New Caprica (as Gaius' chief of staff or adviser, or whatever) wasn't lost on either one of them.

Why did you get that there was something deeper?

do tell!

"this machine kills fascists"

Sponsor Subway sticking by bong-ripped Phelps

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Sponsor_Subway_sticking_by_Phelps_0207.htm...

>>wearing a toque with pictures of machetes or guilloutines on it should work also. We KNOW they don't like to be beheaded.

logically you mke a lot of sense. But, I'm not sure that they make the connection between the machete and the beheading. I've seen too many movies where the zombies keep coming despite a machete being waved around.

I am tempted to think zombies may be attracted to the `swooshing' sound made by machetes while being swung? If so, an electric fan may be hazardous during zombie attacks.

Have you ever noticed that zombies always swarm helicopters? This could be the proof we need.

Unfortunately, all the funds for my zombie research have been cut out of Obama's stimulus package...
*************************

talk about short-sighted priorities...

He could hold a salon for the other undead like Hannity, Limbaugh and Coulter.

Date: February 8, 2009

From: Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel

Subject: Mumia Abu-Jamal, death row - U.S. Supreme Court

Download the document HERE

New case filing in Supreme Court On February 4, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court docketed and accepted for filing the Petition for Writ of Certiorari, with supporting Appendix, that I had submitted December 19, 2008 on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal. (AbuJamal v. Beard, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08-8483.) A copy of the petition is attached. The central issue in this case is racism in jury selection. The prosecution systematically removed people from sitting on the trial jury purely because of the color of their skin, that is, being black. The bigotry that killed Martin Luther King, Jr., so many years ago, has been rampant in the case of my client and is a central part of the state's quest to murder him in the name of the law.

Prosecution's separate Supreme Court petition In an entirely separate case (Beard v. Abu-Jamal, Sup. Ct. No. 08-652), the prosecution is seeking to overturn the victory we achieved last year in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit. (Abu-Jamal v. Horn, 520 F.3d 272 (3rd Cir. 2008).) In that ruling the court ordered a new jury trial on the question of the death penalty. Our Brief In Opposition will be filed in the Supreme Court on February 13, 2009.

Donations for Mumia's Legal Defense The legal defense for Mumia needs help. The costs for our litigation in two case before the Supreme Court are substantial. To help, please make your checks payable to the "National Lawyers Guild Foundation" (indicate "Mumia" on the bottom left). The donations are tax deductible, and should be mailed to:

Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal

P.O. Box 2012

your

New York, NY 10159-2012

Conclusion Mumia remains on Pennsylvania's death row. We are in an epic struggle in which his life hangs in the balance. What occurs now in the Supreme Court will determine whether Mumia will have a new jury trial, or die at the hands of the executioner.

As I have previously pointed out, Mumia is in greater danger than at any time since his 1981 arrest. Your support and activism is needed. This great journalist and author does not belong on death row or in prison. We must not rest until he is free.

Yours very truly,

Robert R. Bryan

Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan

2088 Union Street, Suite 4

San Francisco, California 94123-4117

Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

[E-mail: RobertRBryan@aol.com]

Since we are on the subject of zombies...

I think I should bring up the subject of zombie prejudice. First off, the term `zombie' is loaded with negative implications. I think `undead-Americans' or even `zombie-Americans' would be better for their image.

secondly, we MUST address the stereotypical treatment of zombies in the media. For far too long they have been portrayed (usually by second-rate actors or extras) as slow, clumsy creatures with limited intelligence. What kind of message does this send zombie-American children?
*************************

zombie-Americans won't truly be equal until we have a zombie-president.

..of course

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 3:15pm.
Unfortunately, all the funds for my zombie research have been cut out of Obama's stimulus package...
--------
The funding was cut because the dead don't have a vote (except in Chicago).

[toniD--Sorry. I didn't make the cheap "dead Chicago voters" joke into a comedy standard. I just use it.]

It was enough of a secret that, even when Adama saved everyone on New Caprica, and Gaius was sitting in Galactica's brig, just the whisper of what Gaius knew about Gaeta was enough for Gaeta to try to kill him. It ENRAGED him. Never saw Gaeta flip like that.

Then... later (last friday) Gaeta's only regret was that now no one would know who he really was.

Who he really was? Then, who was he really? And how is it Gaius knows, and how is it it was worth trying to kill Gaius about two seasons ago?

It's my current obsession.

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 3:27pm.
...I think `undead-Americans' or even `zombie-Americans' would be better for their image...
------
Perhaps "Voodoo Fundamentalists" would be more in keeping with their religious beliefs?

for SOME parts of the show. ;)

Resume speed.

It is also important that we all understand zombie-americans are not that way because of choice. this is not a `lifestyle choice' as many would have you believe. They are as they were created by God, undead. Some prefer to think of them as `dying-impaired' or `death-challenged', but I think that infers they are suffering some sort of disability.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

I used Star Vox's comment to me about Costco's partisan contributions to the Democratic party to help me get out of bed today.

I walked in resolved to upgrade my membership to Executive level. Then I renewed the membership to May 2010. Their partisan donations earned them an immediate charge to my bank account just for membership.

After getting my new card I took to the shelves and filled my cart to overflow with crap I don't need. Ok, I did need the New York Strips. But other than that I didn't really need anything else. The microwave exchange was done as a result of being too lazy to clean out the old one with the broken spin platter but it still functioned.

Membership upgrade/renew: $100

Shopping spree of crap I don't need: $460

Knowing I am trading with a company that contributes to competent government rather than a criminal regime: Priceless

Fuck Mastercard, this is stimulus you can believe in. I paid in cash.

I'll stop nerding the place up with my BSG obsessions.

Sorry to barge in during Liberal Zombie Talk. Carry on.

;-)

Stimulus battle not over yet
Summers predicts state funding struggle; bill set to pass Senate Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090208/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 3:38pm.
...they are suffering some sort of disability.
-----
Have you noticed how slowly they walk? If the dying-impaired are not deserving of a parking spot near the front door, who is? Maybe zombies should qualify for Rascal scooters under the Medidead plan?

(If a wheelchair-bound person becomes a zombie, does the wheelchair automatically become rusty and tattered?)

Obama delays Afghan surge
Concerned about lack of strategy before sending 17,000 more troops.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article56836...

is it that overwhelming desire to eat finger sandwiches with grapes and feta while drinking pink champagne? I get that feeling every time I'm above the cloud line when I visit the mesa over the Sierra Madre? If the sun is not yet up, the desire switches to plain brute champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Trust me, preparing for a trip to the Sierra is no picnic.

Any of us can succumb to the inner rage to turn against the living.

Stay here and enjoy the warm blood rushing. Look away and it could turn on you too.

Crank, since you brought up the link between voodoo and zombies, I'd like to postulate that the Republicans have evolved from voodoo economics to zombie economics.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Black?

Question: What's scarier than ten zombies slowly coming after you?

Answer: Ten zombies in electric wheelchairs quickly coming after you.

Rajah---This is B-movie screenplay material that can't go wrong. Trust me on this. If you fund it, direct it and shoot it, I'll write a scene with a zombie cat part for Rusty.

Well, it's not a secret for the audience, it's a secret for the characters of the show. Gaeta lied on the stand about Gaius being forced to sign the execution orders of the prisoners on NC when they both know he was forced. Behind it are the execution orders for the killings of the people in the resistance and how Gatea aided that.

"this machine kills fascists"

Worst Commercial Placement Ever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW2_2ihIuzI

Catsea and 60th Street,

Are there any characters in the storyline who have more consonants than vowels in their names?

I like the tart green ones.

I can't blame Cathy for her mistrust of zombie-americans. Her neighborhood borders a predominately zombie neighborhood and there is an unfortunately large amount of zombie-related crime (missing paper-boys, etc.). A couple important things to keep in mind, Cathy: 1st, without economic opportunity zombies will resort to crime simply to put brains on their family's dinner table. 2nd, most of zombie-related crime is zombie on zombie crime, one zombie-american stealing another zombie-american's food, etc.

We need not fear Zombie-Americans (aside from the obvious part where they eat our brains), we need to reach out with understanding in the spirit of brotherhood.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Better Zombies Through Physics comic
Index here:
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=story&id=5444

...you might wanna rephrase that, Fernando, cuz it sure sounds like one to me...could just be the munchies, though...

(you didn't help glory!)

"this machine kills fascists"

http://liquidx.deadgod.net/normalized/Photos/Cats/ZombieCat.jpg

I guess the Cuisnart Griddler can just stay in the box so I can store it in the garage along with the Tiger Steam Mop I bought just because Seder gave it a tacit approval last year.*

*comment sarcasm an attempt to poke these people in their eye.

I don't appreciate that...politics is depressing enough without having to inject zombies into the discussion.

"this machine kills fascists"

alas, I even saw one once in Austin.

Most of my neighbors ~70% of them are zombies.

linked to infamous mutant cyborg blogger aquarium fetishist "Rubba Dubba Bubba" and his two cat accomplices "Morton" and "Psycho Russell" according to reports from the Seattle NSA Internet Surveillance Office.

are you still having problems with zombies breaking into your truck?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

"Are there any characters in the storyline who have more consonants than vowels in their names"

yes - Six.

That's her name - "Six".

a skank?

she's another character with more consonants...

"this machine kills fascists"

bloggers, whereever you are

i know what gaius is, and gaia is female

The scene above with Isiah follows immediately after a scene where Sam's ole flame blows Jon.

Laura and Dualla

...and a bi one at that!

For a while, I thought "gay-ta" was the most annnoyingly inappropriate name anyone could give to a homosexual television show character. It turns out he's bi!

(At some point, infinite plot twists causes a show to lose its allure)

"this machine kills fascists"

Gaeta:

won't leave up.

You can constrain the size of that image...just type the following after your image URL in the code:

height="300" />

put a space between the quotation mark at the end of your image's URL and the "he" in the word "height".

"this machine kills fascists"

guest says she does want to run in 2012, losing
popularity...says at govs conference, even Rethugs are wary of her...

Just another day in paradise for you, you lucky bastards.

Ahoy!

dark hair dark skin people

I was writing "width=150/>, not height, and not leaving the space.

that Palin runs, I really do. It would be the best thing possible.

Actually, I was hoping that Palin HAD the runs. That would be even better.

Dave Marsh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950, Detroit, Michigan) is an American music critic who briefly attended Wayne State University, became a co-founder of Creem magazine, wrote for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and also edited Rock and Roll Confidential, a newsletter about rock music and social issues. Marsh is also a member of the National Advisory Board of PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children.

XM put this guy on this afternoon, and I though he was great. Not as good as Sam, but a hella of lot better than a rerun of Rachael. Mostly, he talking about Phelps and our stupid drug laws. He really wanted callers. Was easy to talk to. And never pulled a Randi. Anyway, I don't know anything about him, but so far I'm glad I'm hearing him.
XM 167

go to Hulu.com and type "Face of the Enemy" and watch the BSG webisodes, I believe there are 10

all will be revealed :)

"this machine kills fascists"

Gaeta, six eight?

Like his bio above, he's been a rock critic mostly. I listen to him on Sirius for his 2 hour Kick out the Jams show on The Loft Sundays at 10a.m. EDT. He can be very poignant, but he can be a royal ass sometimes too being very opinionated. Overall I like the guy especially when he gets on his civil rights rants.

What channel is XM167?

I watched 1 - 7, then stopped. Finishing was on my list of things to do today... thanks for reminding me.

...Palin runs, I really do. It would be the best thing possible.

Obama is stimulating gun sales

If gun owners are like wooly worms -- they instinctively fatten up ahead of a harsh winter -- then the Second Amendment is in for a rough spell.

Since Barack Obama's election in November, gun and ammunition sales have soared, as have requests for concealed carry permits, on fears that the new president will clamp down on gun rights.

Business has been so brisk that one California store hung a poster of Obama with the words, "Salesman of the Year."

"Our sales are up 15 to 20 percent since October," says Roger Little, owner of Shooter's Service in Livonia. "It's not the 40 percent other stores are reporting, but it's good business.

Little says his shoppers are snapping up the so-called assault rifles -- semi-automatics made to look like a machine gun -- and pistols.

"We saw the same thing happen after Bill Clinton was elected," Little says. "Whenever a liberal Democrat is in office, it gets people in a panic about their guns."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090208/OPINION03/902...

WASHINGTON - Republicans are making another run at overturning a ban on unlimited "soft money" contributions. Their Democratic rivals say it is an attempt to bring big money back to politics because the GOP can't keep up with President Barack Obama's fundraising machine.

The Republican National Committee is suing to overturn part of a ban on unlimited contributions passed by Congress in 2002 and upheld by the Supreme Court a year later.

The suit is against the Federal Elections Commission, which enforces the law, but the Democratic National Committee and House Democrats campaign chief Rep. Chris Van Hollen have asked the court to let them defend the law as well. The GOP is fighting to keep the Democrats out of the courtroom dispute.

The party positions are ironic, given how the law got its start. The law, known as McCain-Feingold after the senators who sponsored it, restricts donations by individuals to $28,500 per year to the political parties and prohibits the parties from accepting any corporate or labor union contributions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29084885

What channel is XM167?

Called now "American Left." Used to be the Air America XM channel, but then they added some Jones Radio plus some Nova M.

Anyway, I'll bite-- XM167 is XM167.

When's the damn Pro Bowl on?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Leading Republicans warned Sunday that the Obama administration's $800 billion-plus economic stimulus effort will lead to what one called a "financial disaster."

The country will "pay dearly" if it executes the president's stimulus plans, Sen. Richard Shelby says.

"Everybody on the street in America understands that," said Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee. "This is not the right road to go. We'll pay dearly."

Shelby, of Alabama, told CNN's "State of the Union" that the package and efforts to shore up the struggling banking system will put the United States on "a road to financial disaster."

But Lawrence Summers, the head of the administration's National Economic Council, said Republicans have lost their credibility on the issue.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/08/congress.economy/index.html

ole Klansman....to even mention "bipartisanship" makes me cringe.

That's why I didn't know. The only reason I went with Sirius was, in the beginning, they played all the AAR programming while XM cut 'n pasted. Still I got hooked on a couple of the music channels and stayed with them after AAR dropped Sirius. You can catch Dave's show as The Loft plays on both systems, but it'll be mostly music talk unless something significant happened that week.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Regulators shut two banks in California and one in the Atlanta area on Friday, bringing the number of U.S. failures this year to nine, while marking the 34th collapse since the recession began.

I hope Ono doesn't live near this..
I don't think so but,not sure..
**
HEALESVILLE, Australia – Entire towns have been razed by wildfires raging through southeastern Australia, burning people in their homes and cars in the deadliest blaze in the country's history. The number of dead Monday stood at 108, a grim toll that rose almost by the hour as officials reached further into the fire zone.

Searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across a swath of the country's Victoria state, where at least 750 homes were destroyed and all of the victims died.

"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said. "It's an appalling tragedy for the nation."

Con't

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

Correa, who enjoys a 70 per cent popularity rating, will run for a second term as president in April polls [AFP]

The president of Ecuador has ordered a US embassy official to leave after accusing him of meddling in local police projects, a move likely to fray ties with Washington.

Correa said Astorga suspended $340,000 in annual aid to Ecuador's anti-contraband police and demanded in a January 8 letter that the police return all vehicles, furniture, cameras and phones donated by Washington.

"Mr Astorga keep your dirty money. We don't need it. We have dignity in this country," he said.

"Ecuador doesn't need charity from anyone."

Fred Lash, a US State Department spokesman, said that Washington was aware of the announcement and was checking into it.

Anti-US sentiment

Correa also said that he would allow US coast guard airplanes to land on Ecuadorean soil, a request made earlier by Heather Hodges, the US ambassador, only "on one condition: that we be allowed to vet the pilots of those planes, so that they don't sneak criminals into the country."

There has been tension with Washington since Correa vowed not to renew a lease ending this year on a coastal air base used by US troops for counter-narcotics missions.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/02/200927222225200418.ht...

Ah..Now.. ;)

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

my angst and wailing -
Calmed: Webisodes 8-10....
All now is Revealed.

"Whenever a liberal Democrat is in office, it gets people in a panic about their guns."
*******

Oh..That's reassuring !

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

This is their Alamo. They know if this bill half way works, their out of power for 15 years. They have to block the bill or make it worthless. BO should have been on the road from day having town halls. This bill is vital. Or, at least it was, until the Rethugs ruined it.

I'm taking my laptop out for a spin..

2 days ago it sounded like it was gonna blow up..

Need to replace fan..So far so good..

But,if I disappear for a couple days,you'll know why..

Just saying..

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

Submitted by MMRules on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 6:07pm.
"Whenever a liberal Democrat is in office, it gets people in a panic about their guns."
*******
Oh..That's reassuring !
-----------------------
By sheer coincidence, whenever conservative hawks are in office, it gets me in a panic about their guns.

Reporting from Atlanta and Las Vegas -- They have plundered reserves, enacted hiring freezes and engaged in all manner of budgetary voodoo to shield us from the pain.

But now state governments -- reeling from a historic free fall in tax revenue -- have run out of tricks. And Americans are about to feel it.

In some cases, they already have.

Nevada resident Margaret Frye-Jackman, 71, was diagnosed in August with ovarian cancer. She had two rounds of chemotherapy at University Medical Center, the only public hospital in the Las Vegas area.

Soon after, she and her daughter heard the news on TV: The hospital's outpatient oncology services were closing because of state Medicaid cuts. Treatment for Frye-Jackman and hundreds of other cancer patients was eliminated.

"The cuts are incredible. They absolutely shred our healthcare system. I think you'll instantaneously see 60,000 more uninsured in our state," said Cassie Sauer, spokeswoman for the Washington State Hospital Assn. "They'll probably get sicker, and some of them will die."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-statecuts8-2009feb0...

Jesus, I thought I missed it.

(When have we ever had a "liberal" president?)

In Our Dreams.. :)

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

Submitted by MMRules on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 6:12pm.
But,if I disappear for a couple days,you'll know why..
-----
Possibilities for disappearance (pick one):

A.) Laptop is down

B.) Cloaking device is stuck on "high"

C.) Lost house key

D.) Cats are dining on corpse

E.) Won lottery

It was funny when you said you had stopped at #7...I was trying to remember when they recall the jail scene...

"this machine kills fascists"

will the next one have whats needed or will it be watered down by idiots and morons like shelby (i know thats not fair to idiots and morons)?

after reading krugmans column, it really scares me that what we have lacks a critical mass to succeed and yet the failure will be blamed on obama and the dems, not on the fact that it was watered down to satisfy the criminal element that still holds sway over the land.

By Steven Mufson and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, February 8, 2009; Page A01

With Congress moving closer to adopting a $820 billion stimulus package and the Obama administration poised to unveil a new bank bailout plan, economists say that the federal government is taking its biggest role in the economy in a generation.

States that once aspired to blaze trails independent from Washington are turning to it for money, banks and businesses that once decried regulation now are seeking federal capital, grants or tax cuts and individuals are looking for tax relief.

"This is a seismic shift in the role of government in our society," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist for Decision Economics. "Those who believe the government can be an effective, positive instrument for good will have another chance to try it," said Sinai, a political independent.

While economists remain divided on the role of government generally, an overwhelming number from both parties are saying that a government stimulus package -- even a flawed one -- is urgently needed to help prevent a steeper slide in the economy.

Many economists say the precise size and shape of the package developing in Congress matter less than the timing, and that any delay is damaging.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/07/AR200902...

however if you see a group of rather fat cats cashing in a lottery ticket, it might be time to call for help...

You take a nice, thick cut pork chop and fry it golden brown in pure Amish butter. You put the fully cooked chop on a stick and then flash freeze that puppy and ship it to the supermarket freezer. They grab those nuggets and pop them in the microwave and, SHAZAM!

Pork chop heaven...on the spot.

Patent pending.

Operator standing by.

Do ya want a plane ride to The Bahamas ? :)

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

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090208/NEWS/902080400/1350?Title=...

THIS is a great story which folks should read.

Also gives a description of the FDR Civilian Conservation Corps "that put 3 million young men to work between 1933 to 1942. They called it Roosevelt's Tree Army or Soil Soldiers. They planted more than two billion trees, restored eroding soils in Dustbowl states, developed 800 new state parks, erected one million miles of fences, and built bridges, roads, and 13,000 miles of hiking trails in places like Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks. "This was without a doubt the most popular New Deal program; it radically transformed the landscape of this country," said Neil Maher, associate professor of history at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University...."

AND ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER WANTS TO DESTROY WHAT IS LEFT OF IT IN CALIFORNIA, which Gov. Jerry Brown reinstituted!!!

Schwarzenegger is in the tailend of his term -- and it's too late to recall him -- and he's coming in for the kill California. LOOK OUT. Ahnold is a filthy Corporatist creep.

>>I hope Ono doesn't live near this (wildfire)..

I just checked the map and see that Air Ono lives about 600km (370 miles) from there. about an 8 hour drive.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

His Airness lives in the middle of a small city, so he should not have too much trouble. If so, he only has to run 3 blocks to get to a river.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Thanks Chubbs.. :)

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

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 6:48pm.
I just checked the map and see that Air Ono lives about 600km (370 miles) from there. about an 8 hour drive.
-------------------
(Or a 67 hour hop.)

My new invention...The Chopsicle! I will be rich!!
Submitted by Regnad Kcin on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 6:29pm.
------
My latest invention is Grease Gum.

We should talk.

now that I think about it, Ono may not be as safe as I thought...there's always the chance he may run to the fire and try to stamp it out like a rhinoceros.

His temperament makes this a distinct possibility.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

>>(Or a 67 hour hop.)

According to google maps:

Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.
Walking directions to Aironosville VIC
569 km – about 4 days 19 hours

so by walking you'll shave close to 20 miles off of the route!

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

hopping is roughly twice as fast as walking.

Shit. I knew my Grease Gum idea was a winner. The first flavor on my list was bacon.

hence my view on the stimulus bill - yummy Beggin' Strips.

The decades-old National Security Council will undergo sweeping changes under President Obama, who is expected this week to issue a directive increasing its membership and broadening its authority, the Washington Post reports. The move is part of a strategy to modernize the agency and integrate supervision to cover a wide variety of domestic and international issues.

New directorates in the NSC, which traditionally has only addressed foreign policy concerns, will deal with such issues as cyber security, energy, climate change, nation-building, and infrastructure. Many duties of the Homeland Security Council will likely be absorbed into the NSC, and changes will be supervised by national security adviser James Jones.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/07/AR200902...

..pass the Kleenex. sniff sniff

Ben and Jerry created the "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for Obama. They
then asked people to fill in the blank to the following:

For George W. the best Ben and Jerry's flavor would be "__________________".

Here are some of the responses:

- Grape Depression

- Abu Grape

- Cluster Fudge

- Nut'n Accomplished

- Iraqi Road

- Chock 'n Awe

- WireTapioca

- Impeach Cobbler

- Guantanmallow

- imPeachmint

- Good Riddance You Lousy Motherf**ker... Swirl

- Heck of a Job, Brownie!

- Neocon Politan

- RockyRoad to Fascism

- The Reese's-cession

- Cookie D'oh!

- The Housing Crunch

- Nougular Proliferation

- Death by Chocolate... and Torture

- Credit Crunch

- Country Pumpkin

- Chunky Monkey in Chief

- George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate

- WM Delicious

- Chocolate Chimp

- Bloody Sundae

- Caramel Preemptive Stripe

I've been looking around Air Ono's neighborhood.

checking out the photos of his street...one of the pics has a pedestrian that looks not unlike him or maybe his mom? hard totell. anyway, it is a heavy white person w/ dark hair

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

only known photo

The Treasury Department will wait until Tuesday to unveil the next bank bailout while lawmakers and President Obama debate their multibillion-dollar stimulus plan, the New York Times reports. “With record high job losses, and weakening economic forecasts, we’re focused on working with Congress to pass an economic recovery bill,” the Department said in a statement.

The bank plan—using $350 billion from last year’s bailout—may not force banks to lend the money, despite criticism that the first plan failed to spur lending. Obama says he will loosen credit by expanding a lending facility started by Timothy Geithner before he became treasury secretary. Of the new bailout, $50 billion will be spent on stopping foreclosures, the White House said today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/us/politics/09talkshows.html?hp

that Session's or Sen. Richard Shelby were talking about that

the Rethugs need to be like the Taliban/insurgents ?

Sam & Marc were talking about it on Thursdays show..

Thanks.. :)

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

Sessions' call for GOP 'insurgency' draws fire

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-se...

WASHINGTON – The Republicans are taking a page from the Taliban's book. So says one of their own leaders.

Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions, the leader of the GOP's House campaign arm, compared the party to the terrorist-supporting Afghan group in an interview with the Hotline, a Washington political newsletter. He was trying to describe the Republicans' strategy for the 2010 midterm elections.

"Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban," Sessions said during the 60-minute sitdown. "And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes."

He continued: "I'm not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. ... I'm saying an example of how you go about [it] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with."

Neither Sessions' congressional office or the GOP House campaign committee offered any immediate comment. Sessions' Democratic counterpart called the comments "shocking."

"Sessions should put partisanship aside and join our fight to urgently turn our economy around and get Americans working again," Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said in a written statement.

In the past, comparisons of conservative Republicans to the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban have sparked outrage. It may be a first, though, for a politician to invoke the comparison on his own colleagues.

But Sessions has been known to get a little carried away in taking on the other party, too. Last fall at a GOP rally, the congressman taunted a noisy Democratic interloper: "Aren't you glad your mommy and daddy take care of you? You couldn't hold a job if you had to."
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

That 180 people at Windsor Manor had the stomach virus, and, so far, 20 people in this building. Not to mention the EMTs that were being called in to take these people to the hospital. Quite en epidemic!

What city does Ono live near ?

Or,post the Google map..Thanks.. :)

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

What,Are you living on a Cruise Ship ? ;)

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

hope you get better soon!

spell DIARRHEA...the hard way!

Film at eleven.

will have to look for it online later

did anyone post the indispensable sunday read yet?

Slumdogs Unite by Frank Rich

SOMEDAY historians may look back at Tom Daschle’s flameout as a minor one-car (and chauffeur) accident. But that will depend on whether or not it’s followed by a multi-vehicle pileup that still could come. Even as President Obama refreshingly took responsibility for having “screwed up,” it’s not clear that he fully understands the huge forces that hit his young administration last week.

The tsunami of populist rage coursing through America is bigger than Daschle’s overdue tax bill, bigger than John Thain’s trash can, bigger than any bailed-out C.E.O.’s bonus. It’s even bigger than the Obama phenomenon itself. It could maim the president’s best-laid plans and what remains of our economy if he doesn’t get in front of the mounting public anger.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/opinion/08rich.html?_r=2

if there were some liberals involved. The absence of liberals makes it boring as hell.

Coulter Faces Voter Fraud Investigation

Officials are probing whether Ann Coulter committed voter fraud by casting ballots in Connecticut while keeping a residence in New York City, the New York Daily News reports. A blogger prodded the Connecticut election commission over the possible wrongdoing after a private eye brought it to light. “For over 10 years, Ann Coulter has gotten away with illegal, immoral, and unethical behavior," claims the conservative blogger on Coulterwatch.com.

"There are only two possible conclusions here," Owen Thomas writes on Gawker. "Either Coulter is innocently pathetic, a fortysomething woman living with her parents. Or she is a liberal—you know, the people who she claimed share 'the absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.'"

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/02/08/2009-02-08_celebrity_side_d...

toniD defines the proverbial shit storm during a financial crap storm.

ah the sweet smell of synchronicity.

Brian Lamb is giving her the Q&A

and depressing as hell, makes you wanna turn the whole thing off

Iran: Khatami declares he will run for president
Agence France-Presse

TEHRAN – Iran's reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami on Sunday announced he will stand in June presidential elections in a challenge that could see the ouster of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline government.

"I strongly announce my candidacy in the elections," Khatami told reporters after he held talks with an association of moderate clerics.

"I never had doubt. Is it possible to remain indifferent toward the revolution's fate and shy away from running in the elections?" he asked.

"I consider this as a right to run ... This candidacy doesn't deprive others and the path is open. What should be stressed is that the elections must be held freely."

Khatami, 65, was president of Iran between 1997 and 2005.

He was succeeded by President Ahmadinejad, a hardliner who is set to stand again and has reportedly received the blessing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khatami said it was important "to think about the fate of the nation and its long-time desire to be proud, free and to progress and reach justice."

"I hope I can take steps to remove the people's problems and also enhance their position in the world."

In his previous presidential term, Khatami inspired the Iranian youth with promises of social and political reforms while Iran's relations with the West were less confrontational than they are now under Ahmadinejad.

If he emerges victorious, expectations are that these ties, now frosty over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, could begin to thaw.

Western nations accuse Tehran of seeking to make atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme. Iran says its atomic ambitions are entirely peaceful.

A close aide of Khatami warned that results of elections in Iran are always of "serious concern", referring to claims in the past of vote rigging.

"But if the voter participation is high, we can easily win the election," said Mohammad Ali Abtahi.

Another close aide, Abdol Vahed Mousavi Lari said the presence of reformist candidates increased the "options" of the people.

"Based on the opinion polls of both supporters and opponents, Mr. Khatami has the biggest chance (to win)," said Lari, a former interior minister under Khatami.

Reacting to Khatami's bid, Ahmadinejad's media advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr said the government was more concerned that there is a strong voter turnout than in who will be contesting the ballot.

"We look beyond who is running in the presidential race. What is important for the government is the massive participation of people at the ballot boxes and (Iran) having glorious presidential elections," he told AFP.

Several critics said that Khatami in his previous term was not firm enough against hardline establishments in the Islamic republic, leaving his mostly youthful supporters disillusioned and disappointed.

In one of many setbacks to his reform programme, leading nationalists and liberal writers were assassinated in late 1998 in a series of brutal killings blamed on "rogue" intelligence service agents.

Perhaps anticipating he would again challenge for the presidency, in the past two years the cleric has made a number of bold statements targetting not only Ahmadinejad but also the 12-member Guardians Council, one of the pillars of Iran's Islamic system.

Ahmadinejad came under fire from the cleric for his expansionary economic policies and confrontational international rhetoric while the Guardians Council was criticised for having the power to veto parliamentary bills and stop candidates from standing in elections.

"What right do we have to decide in the place of the electorate and prevent the candidature of people who have the confidence of the people only because six or 12 people do not approve them?" he asked.

Hardliners were enraged last year when he made a speech at a university which was interpreted as accusing Iran's clerical leaders of supporting insurgents in the Middle East.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Iran_Khatami_declares_he_will_run_0208.htm...

By MATTHEW PERRONE - AP

WASHINGTON – Two drugmakers spent hundreds of millions of dollars last year to raise awareness of a murky illness, helping boost sales of pills recently approved as treatments and drowning out unresolved questions — including whether it's a real disease at all.

Key components of the industry-funded buzz over the pain-and-fatigue ailment fibromyalgia are grants — more than $6 million donated by drugmakers Eli Lilly and Pfizer in the first three quarters of 2008 — to nonprofit groups for medical conferences and educational campaigns, an Associated Press analysis found.

That's more than they gave for more accepted ailments such as diabetes and Alzheimer's. Among grants tied to specific diseases, fibromyalgia ranked third for each company, behind only cancer and AIDS for Pfizer and cancer and depression for Lilly.

Fibromyalgia draws skepticism for several reasons. The cause is unknown. There are no tests to confirm a diagnosis. Many patients also fit the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome and other pain ailments.

Experts don't doubt the patients are in pain. They differ on what to call it and how to treat it.

Many doctors and patients say the drugmakers are educating the medical establishment about a misunderstood illness, much as they did with depression in the 1980s. Those with fibromyalgia have often had to fight perceptions that they are hypochondriacs, or even faking their pain.

But critics say the companies are hyping fibromyalgia along with their treatments, and that the grantmaking is a textbook example of how drugmakers unduly influence doctors and patients.

Con't

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

fcousins posted on February 5, 2009 13:37

By Mike Papantonio

There are at least 177 reasons why President Obama should not waste energy trying to be a president of compromise. Last week, every Republican in the House tried desperately to prevent a much-needed stimulus package from moving onto the Senate floor. Not one Republican could force themself to acknowledge that 10 million Americans are unemployed. Not one of those 177 lockstep congressmen seemed to notice that 8 million homeowners have been through bank foreclosure. America’s banking industry is barely standing. Factory doors are being chained closed. Commercial businesses of every kind are folding at a pace that seems irreversible. But yet 177 Republican Congressmen still want to further promote their failures by refusing to support an economic stimulus package.

I will add to the list of 177 reasons Obama should end his attempts to compromise with Republican leadership that put us here to begin with. Reason number 178 would be that Obama was sent to Washington with a mandate to change failed policy rather than compromise with the architects of those policies.

I would also add reason 179 to the list of why Obama should abandon his attempts at bipartisan compromise. The Republican Party is in a total freefall. They have no common ground with Xers, Millennial voters, Latinos, African American voters, moderate Democrats, or Independents. Do the electoral math and it is clear that the Republicans have morphed into something resembling an historical artifact. With a party whose leadership today seems to be comprised of Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, Exxon, Rush Limbaugh, and Rev. John Hagee, is it really that important to reach across the aisle to that peculiar crowd?

The 180th reason I would give for no need to compromise is this: Bill Clinton almost destroyed the Democratic Party because of his need to be loved. In his effort to be loved, he abandoned many of the fundamentals that, fortunately for Americans, distinguished Democrats from Republicans. He compromised on those fundamentals to the point that the Democrats lost their 1994 midterm elections.

Obama has an unequivocal mandate that allows him to be less like Bill and more like Franklin Roosevelt. FDR often said that he was flattered when the out-of-touch elite of his time expressed their disdain for him and his policies. Obama should feel flattered as well.

I’ll add another reason why Obama should not feel compelled to make nice with Republican leadership. A recent ABC poll showed that around 70% of Americans are so fed up with the party and policies of disaster that they want what they characterize as major new programs of change as soon as possible. It doesn’t appear that voters are really concerned about a need for compromise to get there.

In an effort to get along, Obama met with GOP leadership several times in closed-door sessions where he listened to them whine, cajole, and threaten to derail this much-needed stimulus package. Which brings me to reason 181 for why Obama should end his compromise posture. It is this: An opponent without any foreseeable chance to wield power looks desperate and almost comical when they make threats. Obama should simply let that ridiculous picture play itself out.

Source: Pap-Attack-Compromise-is-Not-an-Option

Thanks Toni..Mancoulter just still thinks she is above the law..
Like most Repubs..

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

repeats at 11 ET

your sick,Toni..
Get well soon.. :)
Just kidding of course, with the Cruise Ship joke..

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

Brian Lamb is giving her the Q&A

====

i never heard it called that before.

helpful. Wish I'd known some of this sooner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i4bq5WlC_Y

The Will To Whatevs Tip #72: How To Nab A Husband
(Mirman)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5gOfiU2jr4
Cookie Monster Rap vs. Jay Z "99 Problems" (Blue Album)

(You might want to watch this. I did, although I really don't know why...)

I posted this link here a long time ago. http://www.rockrap.com/

He has a couple of newsletters that you can subscribe to that are pretty good.

Quickie and Adios?

I'm glad and suprised.

Please Read the Letter

..well funny as in filthy dirty. His "Kick Out The Jams" show on Sirius got moved from a channel that was cancelled on Sirius to one that's on both Sirius and XM (post merger).

Apparently there was a missed engineering memo because on the second or 3rd week of the show on the new channel, that is supposed to air 10-noon Sundays, at 10:00 a.m. there was no show. You could tell they were filling because there was no talent covering the music being played.

Finally at 10:40 you hear the start of the show which is Nugent screaming "Kick out the jams muther phuccers", but Marsh cuts it off and goes into a 3 minute tirade where he yelled M-F'r repeatedly at the engineering staff who didn't know he had a live show. There was some confusion after the merger because Sirius is HQ'd in NY and XM in DC so there were some techie issues to be sure. He was so pissed he said he was still gonna do a 2 hour show and he did.

Not something you'd ever hear on terrestrial radio.

I saw they won some earlier award. Doubly sweet because of the T-Bone and Buddy Miller and Rounder connections. Also the guy who wrote Killing the Blues (Roland Salley) is a real nice guy who plays bass with Chris Isaak. I think that song won something. Nice how a little song like that can set you up for a long time. Smither did a nice version, too.

My friend up for a classical Grammy lost but my Cajun pals won their second even though I have never seen their album and still don't think it exists.

Are you sure it is Nugent and not the MC5? I remember the kerfuffle when that record came out and Elektra edited out the 'motherfuckers' and dropped in 'brothers and sister' so obviously it was comical.

..guess cuz I heard it first.

Sorry about your loss but congrats on the Cajun win.

...I'll always defer to your call. Dave's a motorhead so it all gets muddled in my mind.

Damn McCartney hasn't lost a thing.

Maybe as many as 20 years ago NPR did a feature on that song on All Things Considered which was classic NPR. They talked to Smither and others and then tracked the song back to Woodstock Mountains: Music from Mud Acres which had been languishing around for a number of years. It moved a few units after that story. It is fun to see the song resurge through the years.

*something tells me Dave wouldn't touch the Nuge.

Killin' the Blues X 2

Smither
Plant and Krauss

Roly's version is on Mud Acres.

These guys were on the revolutionary side of things, working with the great John Sinclair.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

>>Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

I wouldn't worry about it.

people do it all the time
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

MB, did you get my email?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Growing up in an Antipodean society proud of its rich variety of expletives, I never heard the word bollocks. It was only on arrival in England that I understood its majesterial power. All classes used it. Judges grunted it; an editor of the Daily Mirror used it as noun, adjective and verb. Certainly, the resonance of a double vowel saw off its closest American contender. It had authority.

A high official with the Gilbertian title of Lord West of Spithead used it to great effect on 27 January. The former admiral, who is security adviser to Gordon Brown, was referring to Tony Blair’s famous assertion that invading countries and killing innocent people did not increase the threat of terrorism at home.

“That was clearly bollocks,” said his lordship, who warned of the perceived “linkage between the US, Israel and the UK” in the horrors inflicted on Gaza and the effect on the recruitment of terrorists in Britain. In other words, he was stating the obvious: that state terrorism begets individual or group terrorism at source. Just as Blair was the prime mover of the London bombings of 7 July 2005, so Brown, having pursued the same cynical crusades in Muslim countries and having armed and disported himself before the criminal regime in Tel Aviv, will share responsibility for related atrocities at home.

http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=522

You should read this, but you may not like what it has to say.

FLANDERS, LUX, LaMARCHE & PARISER, FEB 10 in NYC

Creating Big Change Moments

On Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at The Tank in New York City, join Mike Lux, author & president of Progressive Strategies LLC; Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org; and Gara LaMarche, President and CEO of Atlantic Philanthropies, for an evening discussion of Big Change Moments, how they happen, and what it will take to get to the next one.

Moderated by renowned journalist, author and host of GRITtv, Laura Flanders. Sponsored by Living Liberally and Progressive Book Club.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, OR $25 for a ticket and a copy of Mike’s book.

354 W. 45th St., b/w 8th & 9th Aves (Take the A, C or E train to 42nd St.)

For more information on GRITtv and to see this week's programs -- with DEAN BAKER and TERESA GHILARDUCCI on creating jobs., DANNY SCHECHTER and JANEANE GARAFALO on crooks on Wall St., and PATRICK COCKBURN on Iraq's elections, go to GRITtv.org. www.GRITtv.org

Is Chub Bub the only person who commented about Sed's video?

Check this out:

http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa68/DrStrangelove2007/?action=view&c...

^ truly inspired filmmaking that will cause you to say..

w...t...f?

"If I had even a QUARTER of Dick Clark's money I would quit TODAY, and I would do NOTHING."
-Maron.
www.sigzone.blogspot.com

the news is never good. Those with needs go ignored. Politicians gasp short of breath for the spot lights. Police are furloughed as we look at each other, waiting for the inner cities to implode.

Go Meat moments make cartoon survivalists of us all in the bomb shelter that is our ability to perceive.

actually I didn't comment on the video Sam posted today...I did go on at length about Survuival Sam and zombies, but that doesn't really count.

since we are on the subject, I did enjoy the clip from Bad Situationist. I really wish I could afford to buy the DVD becasue everything I've seen of it looks funny. Besides, I am always looking for a minority group to join and owners of Bad Situationist would certainly be a prestigious, yet small, group.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Whistling Past the Afghan Graveyard
Where Empires Go to Die
By Tom Engelhardt

Hand it to the Bush administration, in the last seven-plus years the U.S. has essentially inflicted a version of the Soviets' "Afghanistan" on itself. Now the Obama team is attempting to remedy this disaster, but what new thinking there is remains, as far as we can tell, essentially tactical. Whether the new team's plans are more or less "successful" in Afghanistan and on the Pakistani border may, in the end, prove somewhat beside the point. The term Pyrrhic victory, meaning a triumph more costly than a loss, was made for just such moments.

After all, more than a trillion dollars later, with essentially nothing to show except an unbroken record of destruction, corruption, and an inability to build anything of value, the U.S. is only slowly drawing down its 140,000-plus troops in Iraq to a "mere" 40,000 or so, while surging yet more troops into Afghanistan to fight a counterinsurgency war, possibly for years to come. At the same time, the U.S. continues to expand its armed forces and to garrison the globe, even as it attempts to bail out an economy and banking system evidently at the edge of collapse. This is a sure-fire formula for further disaster -- unless the new administration took the unlikely decision to downsize the U.S. global mission in a major way.

Right now, Washington is whistling past the graveyard. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the question is no longer whether the U.S. is in command, but whether it can get out in time. If not, when the moment for a bailout comes, don't expect the other pressed powers of the planet to do for Washington what it has been willing to do for the John Thains of our world. The Europeans are already itching to get out of town. The Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, the Indians… who exactly will ride to our rescue?

Perhaps it would be more prudent to stop hanging out in graveyards. They are, after all, meant for burials, not resurrections.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175030/the_empire_v_the_graveyard

also:

Obama May Postpone Afghan Surge;
Severe Problems in Supply Routes Afflict Aghanistan War Effort

While the attention of the US public and the news media here has been consumed (understandably enough) by the congressional debate over the economic stimulus plan, America's war in Afghanistan has nearly collapsed because of logistical problems.

http://www.juancole.com/

and:

The Graveyard of Empires: America's New Asian Quagmire
With the situation on the ground rapidly deteriorating, U.S. imperialism's South Asian adventure is going off the rails.

http://antifascist-calling.blogspot.com/2009/02/graveyard-of-empires-ame...

by accident. Do you want one of them?

You have my email address. Send a snail mail addy and I'll send it.

I'll try again...haven't I sent it 2 or 3 times already?

no matter...
*************************

Did you know that experts agree that cubes of frozen chorizo sealed in ziplock bags are the best packing materials for DVDs? A surprizingly high percent of people don't know... ;)

I sent you an email, Fernando. Let me know if it doesn't show up.

I'm wondering if I might be sending to the wrong address?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

John Pilger - The politics of bollocks
Submitted by dada on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 11:25pm.

http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=522

You should read this, but you may not like what it has to say.

===========================

You're right. Pilger pulls no punches--

[excerpt]
Bush’s open support for torture, and Donald Rumsfeld’s extraordinary personal overseeing of certain torture techniques, upset many in America’s “secret army” of subversive military and intelligence operators as it exposed how the system worked. Obama’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, has said the Army Field Manual may include new forms of “harsh interrogation”, which will be kept secret.

Obama has chosen not to stop any of this. Neither do his ballyhooed executive orders put an end to Bush’s assault on constitutional and international law. He has retained Bush’s “right” to imprison anyone, without trial or charges. No “ghost prisoners” are being released or are due to be tried before a civilian court. His nominee for attorney-general, Eric Holder, has endorsed an extension of Bush’s totalitarian USA Patriot Act, which allows federal agents to demand Americans’ library and bookshop records. The man of “change”, is changing little. That ought to be front page news from Washington.
[end excerpt]

John Sinclair: You talked about the American radio system, which was responsible for all that shit being popular, and it wouldn't let people know what was really going on in jazz at that time - Cecil Taylor, Ornette, Eric Dolphy, and all that beautiful music....

Robin Tyner: Right! Radio stations ought to be bombed, right off the face of the earth. They're a malignancy on our growth. Phew. I mean there are some parts of this cancerous corruption, man, that are OK. But then... then there's radio stations. Any part of a cancer is still a malignancy, and you can't sacrifice for just one part that isn't so corrupt. But the AM radio scene is just ridiculous.

John Sinclair: It'll change, though....

Robin Tyner: Oh, sure it'll change. It's got to change. If it doesn't, then nobody'll believe it. We just won't stand for it.

More here:
http://makemyday.free.fr/sunint.htm

Dave Marsh on the MC5:
http://makemyday.free.fr/davemarsh.htm

Outline to 50 Ways to Fight Censorship by Dave Marsh (PDF)

R-E-F-O-R-M spells 21st Century Change!

Repeal the Military Commissions, Patriot, Telecom Immunity Acts
Establish MEDICARE for all
Fortify the Infrastructure
Originate Green Solutions to energy, industry, agriculture
Reverse U.S. Militarist Imperialism
Master the Corporations for they must be our servants, not our masters -- regulate, tax, trust-bust them down to size

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

{my time ;) West Coast}
Tea Cheers All -- BUT I NEED MORE TEA eek It keeps running out. Oh to have a constant refilling Tea.
;)

pretty soon it adds up to real unemployment

NY Times reports Nissan Motor (NSANY) on Monday forecasted a loss for the current financial year, and announced it was cutting 20,000 workers in one of the most aggressive cutbacks so far by a Japanese co since the start of the global downturn.

Wonderful ... Now.

from clive corcoran's trade with form newsletter:

There is a very interesting article in The New York Times dated February 6th by Floyd Norris.

The author takes a long term look at the S&P 500 and considers some of the least rewarding time periods to have been invested in the market - including the 1930’s and also the 1970’s and comes to the following rather startling conclusion

There has never seen a 10-year stretch as bad as the one that ended last month. Over the 10 years through January, an investor holding the stocks in the S.& P.’s 500-stock index, and reinvesting the dividends, would have lost about 5.1 percent a year after adjusting for inflation.

For years the supposedly smart investment gurus - the wise men of finance - along with the large mutual fund companies like Fidelity as well as the Personal Finance pages of the broadsheets were telling us that the right way to approach investment was Buy and Hold.

Now, more than ever one should shun the advice of most of the investment "professionals" and while you're at it you might as well forget the SEC, FSA, government regulators etc. The stark truth is that more than ever we are all on our own and need to retrain our instincts in order to survive and successfully navigate through the financial labyrinth of smoke and mirrors that can easily separate you from whatever wealth you still have.

overseas... AND FEED & WORK ON HOUSING THE HOMELESS ... HERE IN THE United States.

Wall Street Journal reporting that the Senate passed an amendment Friday aimed at barring the use of stimulus spending on wasteful projects — and specifically, to stop the use of federal funds for a museum devoted to the history of organized crime.
The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) prohibits the use of funds from the roughly $935 billion Senate stimulus bill for a range of projects. But it was inspired by the remarks of Las Vegas, Nev., Mayor Oscar Goodman, who in a speech proposed the use of federal stimulus funds for $50 million “mob museum.”

The amendment passed by a 73-24 vote.

====

why would anyone propose using stimulus money to build a museum about the mob? they're just asking for a ton of crap to be dumped on them.

was it just a cheap publicity stunt?

Three Republican Senators who support recovery bill are heroes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Until Friday, President Obama's plea for bipartisanship support of his costly plan for stimulating the economy mostly had fallen on deaf GOP ears, but that changed when three Republican moderates pledged their support.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/07/gop-senators-risk-political-b...

Senate expected to cut-off debate
on recovery bill later today

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Senate is expected to vote at about 5:30 p.m. EST on Monday to limit the debate on the stimulus package. Democrats, who control the Senate with 58 seats, need 60 votes to end debate and they have picked up support from at least three Republican senators.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-CreditCrisis/idUSTRE51712O20090208

Official: 4 Gitmo prisoners
transferred to Iraq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A senior Iraqi security official says that four prisoners have been transferred from the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay to Iraqi custody.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

Obama to visit job-starved
Elkhart, Indiana

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the past eight months, as gas prices soared and credit dried up, "the market just went away," Bontrager says. He and his brother have had to lay off half their workforce, more than 1,000 employees, including 250 last week.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-08-elkhart_N.htm

Nissan to slash 20,000 jobs
and sees annual loss

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nissan is slashing 20,000 jobs, or 8.5 percent of its global work force, to cope with what Japan's third-largest automaker expects will be its first annual loss in nine years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090209/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earns_nissan

65,000 gallons of oil sludge
spills near Chicago

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A holding tank at a Caterpillar facility in a Chicago suburb broke Sunday, spilling about 65,000 gallons of oil sludge and contaminating a 3-mile section of the Des Plaines River, officials said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090209/ap_on_re_us/oil_spill;_ylt=Aj_LHye.7...

Geithner Delays Financial-Rescue Plan as Aides Grapple With Toxic Assets
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner delayed the announcement of the Obama administration’s financial-recovery plan as officials debated proposals aimed at addressing the toxic debt clogging banks’ balance sheets.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a7g9LIzUPd5w&refer=n...

Central Bankers Surrender Independence as Global Crisis Defeats Rate Cuts

The global financial crisis is forcing the world’s central bankers to surrender some of their prized independence. Regaining it won’t be easy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a0n9HXRAM61g&refer=n...

Bollocks.

I'm not an open-borders absolutist, but this statement has so much wrong with it I had to say something. Even though I absolutely do not have time to have the argument so it's not really "fair."

Oh well. I'm a big unfair unfairnick, I guess.

Fed Backs Away From Plan to Start Lending Under TALF Program

This Month The Federal Reserve stepped back from plans to start lending this month under a $200 billion program to prop up consumer and small-business credit, saying it will announce a start date later in February.

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

Frank Says Obama Will Commit `Substantial' Funds to Stemming Foreclosures House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said President Barack Obama will steer “substantial” funds to stem foreclosures as the administration prepares to unveil its plan for stabilizing the economy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aGHgs66MsUqw&refer=p...

67 percent of Americans approve of how President Obama “has handled the government’s efforts to pass an economic stimulus bill,” according to a new Gallup poll. Forty-eight percent approve of how congressional Democrats have acted while only 31 percent approve the performance by congressional Republicans. Fifty-eight percent disapprove of the GOP’s actions.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/114202/Obama-Upper-Hand-Stimulus-Fight.aspx

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government’s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation’s home mortgages. - Bloomberg

Health care will be a “‘central focus’ of Obama’s first budget proposal,” reports Jonathan Cohn. Despite recent rumors that health care reform would be put on hold, “administration officials have said repeatedly that…Obama himself has indicated health care is a top priority, to be pursued shortly after the debate over the economic stimulus package is over.”

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_treatment/archive/2009/02/08/obama-ad...

Submitted by dan on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 6:38am.

from clive corcoran's trade with form newsletter:

There has never seen a 10-year stretch as bad as the one that ended last month. Over the 10 years through January, an investor holding the stocks in the S.& P.’s 500-stock index, and reinvesting the dividends, would have lost about 5.1 percent a year after adjusting for inflation.

-------------
That's one to share with hubby.

(Good Morning, SederHaven)

the traffic problems in America's cities. The expressways will be empty. If everybody stays home, we can try that experiment of everybody flushing their toilet at the same time.

In a Washington Post op-ed this morning, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says that he is “supporting the economic stimulus package” because “the country cannot afford not to take action. “Failure to act will leave the United States facing a far deeper crisis in three or six months,” writes Specter. “By then the cost of action will be much greater — or it may be too late.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR200902...

Experts say that the Senate’s “proposed $15,000 tax credit for home buyers would boost the ailing housing market but do little to help low-income people who need it most.” The provision focuses on high-income households rather than “on the lowest-income people and people really teetering on the edge of homelessness,” said Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-housing-tax-cred...

sweet stats Toni...I hope you are feeling better. When I hear about such a localized outbreak I begin to wonder if it is a virus or a toxin of some kind that is poisoning. It is a weird world now.

We saw "he is just not that into you"...cute movie for the girls. educational too. the message was right on the money.

om mani padme hum

The New Deal “planted three billion trees, constructed 46,000 bridges, and restored 360 Civil War battlefields. … More than 65,000 buildings…rose from the hands of previously unemployed Americans.” But hundreds of these structures are now “being demolished or threatened with destruction, mourned or fought over by small groups of citizens in a new national movement to save the architecture of the New Deal.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/us/09wpa.html

FEMA has denied nearly 90 percent of the “730,000 applications for money to help with home repairs, mobile homes or other housing services needed after” Hurricane Ike hit Texas last year. The agency has denied 650,000 aid applications, saying the claimants are ineligible for aid.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/us/09hurricane.html?ref=us

In his new book “The Gamble,” Thomas Ricks recounts an example of the “loathing” Donald Rumsfeld generated. Shortly after he left the Pentagon, Rumsfeld visited the upscale D.C. restaurant Buck’s Fishing and Camping. Chef-owner Carole Greenwood told her co-owner, James Alefantis, that she wanted Rumsfeld kicked out: “I’m not serving a war criminal in my restaurant.” Greenwood eventually relented, “but only on the condition that someone else cook Rumsfeld’s meal.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR200902...

Except for Bush, who must somehow be convinced to take a hot shower at that exact moment.

i read the article and it really didn't say much. are people trying to rip the government off or is the bush era fema simply incompetent?

if bush had succeeded in privatizing social security
Submitted by dan on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 6:38am.

from clive corcoran's trade with form newsletter:
There is a very interesting article in The New York Times dated February 6th by Floyd Norris.

Now, more than ever one should shun the advice of most of the investment "professionals" and while you're at it you might as well forget the SEC, FSA, government regulators etc. The stark truth is that more than ever we are all on our own and need to retrain our instincts in order to survive and successfully navigate through the financial labyrinth of smoke and mirrors that can easily separate you from whatever wealth you still have.
--------------

We need to retrain our instincts, do we? That's easy to say, Corcoran and Norris. We need some specifics here!
(I guess he's saying, buy his newsletter. Is he/they investment "professionals?")

My own instinct has always been to save cash, an instinct which has been punished most of my lifetime by the market, by the tax code, by inflation, then by low savings interest rates, now by banking monopolies, and legislated theft.

I don't know how much punishment I can "retrain" myself to accept.

At first I thought it was a dessert my friend brought over, Trs Leches, but after I heard about the many people in my building that had the same thing, and the paramedics told me that their was another Senior area that was hit, I didnt know what to think.

I called the store she bought the desserts from and gave them the info, lot numbers, distributer and such, all before I learned about the outbreak in my building.

I was even thinking about our water here. For awhile I'd fill a glass from the tap and saw little bubbles in the water. I don't think that's normal, do you?

Now will you ever be able to eat that again?

I still can't eat butter pecan ice cream since I was about ten because I ate a bunch right before getting the stomach flu.

Tres Leches not a huge loss as far as desserts go. No chocolate.

Right-Wing Senators Praised ‘Humane’ Conditions At Gitmo During 50-Detainee ‘Mass Hunger Strike’»
Recently, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) went on a fact-finding mission to Guantanamo Bay to rally opposition to President Obama’s executive order demanding the closure of the prison within one year. Upon his return, Inhofe unsurprisingly argued to keep the prison open. In a Senate floor speech, he specifically praised the conditions at the prison:

INHOFE: The detainee complex at GTMO is the only complex in the world that can safely and humanely hold these individuals who pose such a grave security risk to the US.

Several other of Inhofe’s colleagues have been singing Gitmo’s praises. House Minority John Boehner (R-OH) remarked last month, “I don’t know that there’s a terrorist treated better anywhere in the world than what has happened at Guantanamo.” “Well, I agree that its gotten an image. I don’t know that that’s all completely deserved,” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) told MSNBC on Jan 22.

But according to a Guantanamo military lawyer, detainees are still being “beaten” and are living in horrific conditions. The Guardian reports today that Lt. Col. Yvonne Bradley is demanding the release of her client, who is “dying” because of his treatment:

But first, Bradley, a US military attorney for 20 years, will reveal that Mohamed, 31, is dying in his Guantánamo cell and that conditions inside the Cuban prison camp have deteriorated badly since Barack Obama took office. Fifty of its 260 detainees are on hunger strike and, say witnesses, are being strapped to chairs and force-fed, with those who resist being beaten. At least 20 are described as being so unhealthy they are on a “critical list”, according to Bradley.

The detainee told Bradley that “he is ‘very scared’ of being attacked by guards, after witnessing a savage beating for a detainee who refused to be strapped down and have a feeding tube forced into his mouth.” “Guantánamo Bay is in the grip of a mass hunger strike and the numbers are growing; things are worsening, she said.

Sens. David Vitter (R-LA), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Pat Roberts (R-KS) were also on Inhofe’s delegation, but none are speaking about these disturbing conditions. In fact, Burr blogged that the conditions are “well thought out and in keeping with our Nation’s highest ideals.” Burr also had this puzzling assessment:

If anyone receives mistreatment at Guantanamo, it is the guard force. They must endure frequent verbal and physical attacks from detainees while maintaining the highest standard of care for those same individuals.

It is unclear how Inhofe and his conservative colleagues failed to see 50 detainees on hunger strike, some near death, while touring the prison. Conveniently, none of the senators alerted the public to these facts upon their return.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/08/guantanamo-torture-inhofe/

sam seder misprounced "derive" in the movie (either that or he mispelled it); with the spelling as is (sic) the accent is on the "i" not on the final "e"

No, I won't ever be able to eat Tres Leches again. I haven't been able to eat Lentils for the same reason.

Actually, I wasn't crazy about the Tres Leches but I didn't want to insult my friend who brought it over.

prized by who? if it got us where we are (high water) what's it prized for? so sick of these slanted and pandering headlines

his basic newsletter is free. he is a european based swing trader (swing trading involves trades over a short period of time. he is willing to take your money for a more in depth newsletter but his free one is full of good analysis.

my favorite dessert!

yuck. That's a good one to never be able to eat again.

I wouldn't suffer at all if they told me I would die if liver ever touched my lips.

I hope you get better toniD.

giving them the key to the City.

My nephews told me they trained with the co-pilot on that flight and my one nephew also is a pilot for US Airways.

They said he is a great guy and also a very good pilot.

one can only wonder how they would have described conditions at concentration camps in wwii if they were part of the german government.

a lot of Amaericans are getting murdered while visiting Mexico. Mexico is unsafe for Americans.

it depends; could be just the water pressure: when it's too low some air may get in the pipes and that's not damaging, but if that never happened before it's a little unusual, could be something else

my wife says she was on a us airways flight last fall where sully was the pilot. she remembers the face because he is one of those pilots who comes out of the cockpit and says goodbye and thanks for flying.

Sen. Ensign: It’s ‘Fearmongering’ To Suggest That Any Teachers Would Lose Their Jobs»
On Meet the Press this morning, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) slammed proposed cuts in aid to the states in the stimulus bill, explaining that states are slashing their funding for vital public needs. “That’s the wasteful spending that my colleagues are talking about,” Frank said. “Money to go to the states to stop them from laying off cops and firefighters, money to help keep teachers going. Those are jobs.”

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) — who began the show by saying that doing nothing would be better than passing this stimulus plan — insisted that states’ budgets are “bloated” and derided Frank’s concerns as “fearmongering,” denying that any teachers, cops, or firefighters would lose their jobs:

To get back to what Congressman Frank said, is that we’re going to be laying off teachers and firefighters. You know, that’s just fearmongering. We’re not going to be doing that in any of the states. … [The states’] budgets are bloated, the federal government’s budget is bloated. What we should be doing is cutting back.

Watch it: at link

The idea that states’ budgets are “bloated” would certainty be news to them. Forty-three of the 50 states are facing budget shortfalls, adding up to a $47.4 billion gap as of January. And with most states required to balance their budgets, they are slashing spending in, among other areas, education, as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reported:

Thirty-Four states have cut education or proposed such cuts because they face massive, devastating budget deficits in this recession. […]

Nearly all states are required to balance their general fund budgets. When large budget deficits develop, education often is cut deeply.

Some examples from the report:

Florida has cut aid to local school districts for the current year by $140 per pupil. South Carolina has cut per-pupil funding by $95 in the current year. Maine has cut K-12 funding about $140 per pupil; this comes on top of education cuts earlier this year that were targeted to reduce specific programs. Georgia’s governor has proposed cutting aid to local school districts for the current year by $115 per pupil, and for the coming fiscal year by $189 per pupil.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a $6 billion cut in education funding. These budget cuts will force districts to halt new teacher hiring, delay new school construction, and shut down other schools — meaning job cuts across the education spectrum. Obama’s pick to head the Department of Educuation, Arne Duncan, recently warned that stimulus dollars were needed immediately to “avert literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs.”

What’s more, as Frank pointed out, it’s not just teachers who need federal stimulus dollars to be pumped into states. States are also cutting their public safety budgets, meaning police and firefighters across the country are losing their jobs.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/08/ensign-denies-teacher-layoffs/

is there a water advisory in the area from a water main break. around cinci the only way you find out is by reading about it in the paper a few days after the fact unless you are directly impacted by it.

one more reason to drink bottled water.

our infrastructure is broke and getting broker thanks to tax cuts for the rich.

it. I bet it is the water. You can get a Britta filter for cheap. I even filter my well water out here in the country. You never know.

om mani padme hum

bullshit. its happening in hamilton county (cincinnati) as we speak. they just laid off 70 sheriffs because there is no money. this has been coupled with hysterical pleas by the head sheriff that criminals are coming to your neighborhood soon. he fails to mention how much money he blew on high tech toys like helicopters and hovercraft but thats another story.

we lived in the country long time ago on a cistern and we had some sort of filter based on diatamaceous earth and a membrane that was supposed to make rain water safe to drink.

om mani padme hum

you kidding me. Time to switch to bottled water.

om mani padme hum

Glad to see you up and around again, Toni!

I have to agree, not a big fan of (most) tres leches cakes and I'm half Mexican. They're just too soggy and that is a word I don't associate with good cake. On rare occasion, however, I have had examples of these cakes that were not soggy and they were pretty good.

My take: most people don't know how to make them

"this machine kills fascists"

Summers: Mitch not in "strong position" to lecture Dems

George Stephanopoulos just showed Obama economic adviser Larry Summers a tape of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell questioning the efficacy of the New Deal.

Summers: "The people who presided over the last eight years... [don't] seem to be in a strong position to lecture on history."

[He also didn't rule out the possibility we're already in a depression, albeit one considerably less severe that the the Great One.]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0209/Summers_Mitch_not_in_stro...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29095730/

This is mainly along the border.

Not that there is not danger there, for everyone.

The Wall Street Madam and her pleasure fund
By Jerry Mazza
Online Journal Associate Editor

Feb 9, 2009,

Her name is Kristin Davis and her pleasure fund was Davis Investments. The pleasures, i.e., hookers at various price points, were “investments in your pleasure,” that is, if you could afford the $400 to $2,000 an hour. But then this was “a pleasure fund” designed for Wall Street CEOs, bankers, lawyers, even media major execs, who often used their corporate credit cards to pay. Hey, no problem. The boss feels good, everybody feels good.

As a fired hedge fund employee, you could say Kristen had a feeling for the business. The still attractive 40-something blond explained how the same girls could be offered in different wrappings at various price-points, highlighting the illusionary quality of savvy marketing, and how beauty remains in the eyes of the beholders. They included some 9,800 Johns stashed in a black book that was a black laptop. How’s that for updating the oldest profession known to man?

In fact, the ultimate irony is that her “high end” escort service was aptly called The Carlyle Trust, after GHW Bush and friends’ Carlyle Fund, catering to the needs of defense suppliers, billionaires, the Bin Laden family, and other financial wizards pursuing the pleasures of getting access to government contracts and money. You could say Kristen has a terrific sense of irony. Of course, her tell-all book “The Manhattan Madam” will be released February 20. The sequel will be the born-again Christian version (just kidding).

Her “best little whorehouse on Wall Street,” was shown on Friday night’s 20/20 (as nearly as sleazy), a show on ABC television. Only a hip, skip and a jump into the sack from the Stock Exchange, it was located at apartment 3A at 136 William Street, which appeared to be not very large, a sheet-like curtain drawn before the pleasure tent itself. In fact, Kristen lived there when it wasn’t being invested in, though certain investors would prefer to meet their “escorts’ in “high-end” midtown hotels.

Davis claims she was busted not too long after then-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was client #9 at the VIP Escort Services. He was banned, bad boy that he is, for his “aggressive behavior,” trying to get girls to have unprotected sex with him. Call him “Mr. Natural” (after Crumb’s famous 60s cartoon character) who the Feds originally claimed might have been using government funds for his exploits. Subsequently, they found no fandangoing in public funds and dropped all charges against Spitzer, except some residue idiocy from the Mann Act.

con't

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4338.shtml

we have an example here in New Orleans

city park; a jewel and a gem, fountains, little stone bridges, greek revival style pavilions... just beautiful

i looked for some fotos, i have a bunch at home i thought they were uploaded to picasa but they're not, so these are not mine, just to give you a taste

soggy, sloppy, juicy and messy is my definition of a good cake (or good food in general for that matter)

de gustibus (it's a matter of taste!)

speaking of which, already looking forward to my traditional monday lunch of messy beans and rice

BEIJING -- A massive fire engulfed one of Beijing's biggest new buildings, apparently destroying the tower, which is part of the soon-to-be completed headquarters complex of China's national television broadcaster.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the inferno, which took place late Monday evening as residents of the Chinese capital set off fireworks across the city to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the last day of the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.

i would do some more extensive checking before changing. i just did a google and am getting conflicting results on what brita does and doesn't do.

There's no way. Don't ya know if a big building catches fire it falls on it's own footprint within just a couple of hours.

That story has to be fake or maybe they lied about the WTC 7.

has anyone seen dick cheney around in the past few days?

do you think obama / the dem majority will actually have the brass to re-open the investigation of what really happened that day?

Obama to Repubs: Do you really want me to campaign against you again? OK, then!

Not Even Close!

So Obama succeeded in conveying the perception to the general public that he has handled the stimulus well and by at least trying to work with Republicans and with that wind in his sails he goes out on the stump in areas hit hard by the recession.

It looks to me like, despite all the hubbub about him losing his message, he's in a pretty good spot.

Should be an interesting week because the media is still falling all over itself trying to make this yet another battle royale and puffing up Republican claims on the bill.

"this machine kills fascists"

but that lion needs Wellbutrin.

(Or maybe some cannoli.)

Bankrupt
On Friday we interviewed Nobel prize-winning economist Joe Stiglitz for an upcoming episode of TPMtv. It was very clarifying on a numbers of topics. And it confirmed for me everything I'd thought to this point about the first and now (soon-to-be-announced) second bank bailouts. It now seems like we're going to go the 'bad bank' route. Only instead of buying the crappy assets at inflated values (to absorb the bank's loses for them), we're going insure the assets so we can absorb the losses dribbled out over time.

Many, perhaps most, of these big banks are insolvent. But they refuse to recognize it. They insist that these 'toxic assets' are worth much more than anyone is willing to pay for them. Stiglitz's argument is that this is really a zero sum game over who picks up this tab -- the banks, their shareholders and bondholders or the taxpayers. A far better approach is take these banks through some sort of structured reorganization, something like bankruptcy, though probably it would need to be customized in some ways given the scale of the institutions and the larger issues involved. Feds take over the bank (just like they routinely do when little banks fail), run it until things stabilize, then sell it to new investors.

That's 'nationalization', I guess. But it's really not any different from what we did with IndyMac. And that worked out okay. We even found some people to sell it to.

Taxpayers are already providing these banks with far more dollars than the markets say they're worth. So there's really no way to get a good deal for the taxpayers without owning the institutions more or less outright. The math just doesn't work. So we get more and more convoluted ways of structuring bad deals for the taxpayer to avoid temporary public ownership. As Krugman put it a few days ago, "the Obama administration appears to be tying itself in knots to avoid this outcome."

What's as troubling as the big rip-off of taxpayer money is that what Obama's attempting on the side of rebuilding the real economy could founder on the public backlash against what looks like a very misguided way to get a handle on the banking crisis.

We'll be bringing you the Stiglitz interview soon.

--Josh Marshall

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/02/on_friday_we_interview...

No, it seems most believe it to be unpatriotic to discover what actually happened. I believe there is a national subconsciousness that is fact hostile on the subject like hearing a rumor that your mother was turning tricks 9 months before you were born.

Prosecutors filed new charges against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's chief fundraiser. Prosecutors allege in the new indictment that Christopher Kelly used $1.1 million in fraudulently obtained proceeds to pay personal debt expenses, including $383,000 in gambling debts. Kelly is already facing 11 counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering related to a bid-rigging scheme for an $8.5 million dollar contract at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. (Associated Press)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_re_us/illinois_governor_fundra...

President Obama's selection for Deputy Attorney General is a supporter of whistleblowers. David Ogden said in Senate confirmation hearings last Thursday that he believes people must feel comfortable coming forward with complaints and may work with Attorney General Eric Holder to "fashion an appropriate process" to encourage whistleblowing and make sure that people who come forward are protected from negative repercussions. (Federation of American Scientists)

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/02/big_believer.html

i didn't realize that i had graduated from tin foil hat territory to being unpatriotic for wanting to know what really happened on 9/11.

one of the things that really bugs me is that the administration refused to testify under oath. try doing that in a court of law and see how far you get.

Published: February 8, 2009

By PAUL KRUGMAN

What do you call someone who eliminates hundreds of thousands of American jobs, deprives millions of adequate health care and nutrition, undermines schools, but offers a $15,000 bonus to affluent people who flip their houses?

Even if the original Obama plan — around $800 billion in stimulus, with a substantial fraction of that total given over to ineffective tax cuts — had been enacted, it wouldn’t have been enough to fill the looming hole in the U.S. economy, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will amount to $2.9 trillion over the next three years.

Yet the centrists did their best to make the plan weaker and worse.

One of the best features of the original plan was aid to cash-strapped state governments, which would have provided a quick boost to the economy while preserving essential services. But the centrists insisted on a $40 billion cut in that spending.

The original plan also included badly needed spending on school construction; $16 billion of that spending was cut. It included aid to the unemployed, especially help in maintaining health care — cut. Food stamps — cut. All in all, more than $80 billion was cut from the plan, with the great bulk of those cuts falling on precisely the measures that would do the most to reduce the depth and pain of this slump.

On the other hand, the centrists were apparently just fine with one of the worst provisions in the Senate bill, a tax credit for home buyers. Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy Research calls this the “flip your house to your brother” provision: it will cost a lot of money while doing nothing to help the economy.

All in all, the centrists’ insistence on comforting the comfortable while afflicting the afflicted will, if reflected in the final bill, lead to substantially lower employment and substantially more suffering.

But how did this happen? I blame President Obama’s belief that he can transcend the partisan divide — a belief that warped his economic strategy

con't

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/4397#comment-306100

right at this minute. One of them is a big fella. They are hungry and scared, for sure.

Catching up:

Chubbs, I did not get your email. When did you send it? Did you send it through BlueRoots?

Michele, bottled water is often times tap water anyway.

and how the republicans are committed to destroying america.

I bet it's a new thread that like other times didn't get posted right. This one is about to go page 2 and it won't matter. Sam will probably come by and move it over when he notices what he did.

Bottled Water Isn't Healthier Than Tap, Report RevealsJames Owen
for National Geographic News

February 24, 2006
A bottle of spring or mineral water has become the lifestyle accessory of the health-conscious. No longer a luxury item, the beverage has become a common sight worldwide.

But according to campaigners, the planet's health may be suffering as a result.

The report, released earlier this month by the Earth Policy Institute (EPI), says global consumption of bottled water doubled between 1999 and 2004, reaching 41 billion gallons (154 billion liters) annually.

Bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, but it can be 10,000 times more expensive, says Emily Arnold, a researcher with the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit.

"At as much as $2.50 [U.S.] per liter [$10 U.S. a gallon], bottled water costs more than gasoline," she said.

Most of this extra cost is driven by transportation and packaging.

"Nearly a quarter of all bottled water crosses national borders to reach consumers," Arnold said.

The report gives the example of one company in Helsinki, Finland, that in 2004 shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water to Saudi Arabia—2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers) away.

Well-known French brands Evian and Volvic export between 50 and 60 percent of their water to destinations across the globe.

The report lists the U.S. as the world's biggest drinker of bottled water, consuming 7 billion gallons (26 billion liters) annually. Mexico has the second highest consumption, followed by China and Brazil.

Italians drink the most per person, equivalent to about two glasses a day.

As long as Mainstream Media leads with the Republican narrative, we're phucked.

I use Brita just for the cleansing effect cuz it makes my coffee taste a lot better. I can justify the cost based on that alone. I know it doesn't get all the crap out but my city water is good and everyone's should be now Bush is gone but it may take a while.

..yeah CAT 5 is an Open Mic not a thread.

He is preaching to the converted. Why isn't he using this platform to target the thugs, even individually, to embarrass them and asking those who support him to pressure these fools?

More friggin pattycake....tick...tock...tick...tock.

May well pass by end of February

"That's the so-called "cramdown" legislation designed to keep financially-distressed owners out of foreclosure. Cramdown means a court can tell a lender: Your borrower may owe you $200,000 on the house, but the property is only worth $100,000 in today's real estate market, so that's all you're owed from here on in.

Take it or leave it. You can't foreclose. "

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090209_washingtonreport.htm

Less than what we need, but better than what we have?

(Or not? Still all the big disadvantages, old and new school, of going bankrupt, and that's the only way homeowners can get this help.)

that `new thread' Fernando told us about turns out to be an open mic of Sam's about RJ-45 connectors...

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

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

"Cramdown" (not the most attractive title) mortgage legislation
Submitted by gloryoski on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 1:06pm.
--------
I recommend that the following icon be used to sell the policy.

Ralph Cramdown

Another overused Thom expression.

Is there something about Louise that we "should" know? ;}

>>Chubbs, I did not get your email. When did you send it? Did you send it through BlueRoots?

Sorry, my bad. I must have typed `MB' when I meant `MMR'.... sorry again. for the confusion
*************************

"All you bloggers look alike to me"

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 1:19pm.
Sorry, my bad. I must have typed `MB' when I meant `MMR'.... sorry again. for the confusion
--------
[Rotate sarcasm dial to "11"]

A typo? You? Surely not!

[Return sarcasm setting to "0"]

>>A typo? You? Surely not!

A typo is an unintentional mistake.

A misspelling can be due to inability to correctly recall.

Calling someone by the wrong name means I'm going senile....
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Chubby Bubba, the once or future (can't remember for certain) Rajah of Dementia.

I had a college friend who moved to Italy and for a while worked for a canister company. He told me he sold canisters to Perrier which they used to pump bubbles into Rhone River water to bottle their vaunted product.

Saturday, February 07, 2009
RNC Statement On Obama’s Pro-Union Executive Order

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele today released the following statement concerning the executive order quietly signed by President Barack Obama on Friday ordering the use of union labor for federal construction projects:

“President Obama’s executive order will drive up the cost of government at a time when we should be doing everything possible to save taxpayer dollars. Federal contracts should go to the businesses that can offer taxpayers the best value – not just the unions who supported the Democrats’ campaigns last year. Quietly signing executive orders to payback campaign backers undermines Obama promise to change Washington. It is a disappointment for Americans hoping for more transparency and less politics as usual in Washington.

http://www.gop.com/news/NewsRead.aspx?Guid=1a19aba7-f84c-4a3a-aba0-60ab8...

to the Rajah of Stereotyping

;-)

Crank, are you still at the centurytel.net address?

I forwarded you some perplexing (at least to me) spam.
*************************

How do I get on these lists?

CQ: Moderate Republicans See No Benefit In Helping Obama
CQ reports that moderate House Republicans may have a special reason to vote against the White House's stimulus plan: A fear of primary challenges from the right-wing Republican Study Committee. In addition, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) pointed out that there is a certain political freedom that comes now: "We no longer have to worry about being blamed for all of the problems of the president and his administration. Now, it's the moderate Democrats who have to worry about that."

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003026985

something tells me that you aren't buying the idea that the rnc is the party of divesity.

>>Federal contracts should go to the businesses that can offer taxpayers the best value

this is quite a reversal to the `no bid' policies of the last 8 years!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

commemorative cigars?

http://www.georgewbushstore.com/home.htm
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Doesn't even need the hat. His pointy little head does the job just as well.

Is this is some sort of Bill Clinton joke?

Feingold Asking Appointed Senators To Help Abolish Appointment Process
Russ Feingold is so far not having much luck in picking up support for his proposed constitutional amendment to abolish gubernatorial appointment of Senators. Feingold is specifically looking for backing from the current crop of appointed Senators, and so far has gotten a No from both Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Ted Kaufman (D-DE), and a "maybe" from Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=weeklyreport-000003027309

Breaking Ranks
Gov. Crist (R-FL) is joining Obama at his Stimulus Bill event in Florida tomorrow.

--Josh Marshall

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/charlie-crist-joining-obama-a...

3 women try to deport jezebel from Whatcom County

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_odd_vigilante_border_agent...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Three women believed a 28-year-old Lynden woman was having an affair with one of their boyfriends and came up with a plan to get rid of her by having her deported.

A Bellingham police spokesman, Lt. Steve Felmley, says two of the women shoved the victim in a car Friday and took her to a Border Patrol station.

A Border Patrol agent, Michael Bermudez, said Monday they took no one into custody and called police to deal with the women.

The police spokesman says they don't ask crime victims whether they are in the country legally, so the 28-year-old is free.

Meanwhile, the three women are being investigated for unlawful imprisonment.

Felmley says, "I don't think this plan is working out the way they thought it would."

(with information from Bellingham Herald)
*************************

breaking news in our continuing Jezebel coverage

Swimmer Phelps' punishment way out of proportion

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/399253_Joel09.html?source=mypi

By JOEL CONNELLY
P-I COLUMNIST

A box of Kellogg's cereal sits in my Dumpster, part of a vow not to patronize the cereal maker's products after it dumped Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps as a product endorser.

Phelps has gotten a raw deal for doing what more than 90 million Americans, including President Barack Obama, have done. He apparently took a puff of marijuana at a party, as reported in Star Magazine.

The dumping by Kellogg, and the three-month suspension of Phelps by USA Swimming, is -- to borrow the title of a 1930s movie -- a case of Reefer Madness.

Olympic athletes are young. They follow, over a period of years, an incredibly disciplined workout regimen.

"It's you against yourself," speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, once a mischief-making Seattle-area teenager, said of a workout trail at the base of Colorado's Pikes Peak, which gains 2,000 vertical feet in a mile.

Phelps cut loose in a kind of post-Olympic victory lap. At a University of South Carolina house party, he fell victim to a cell phone containing a camera. The rodent who snapped the picture scored a pile of cash from a British tabloid.

"I guarantee, even with that one bong hit, Phelps is 100 percent healthier than the average human being," Canadian Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati told The Vancouver (B.C.) Sun.

Rebagliati, of Whistler, B.C., was briefly stripped of his gold medal after the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. He got it back because the drug was not then a forbidden Olympic substance.

A crowd of thousands welcomed him home to Whistler, with a sweet smell hanging over the celebration. (Rebagliati denied lighting up, saying he likely inhaled marijuana as secondhand smoke at a Whistler party.)

Writing of Phelps' punishment for the Reason Foundation, Nick Gillespie opined: "The only regrettable behavior and bad judgment the incident highlights is the stupidity of the ongoing war on drugs, which criminalizes a plant that almost half of Americans 12 years and older have tried at one point or another in their lives."

Let's dwell on that point.

In 1992, we elected a president who confessed to smoking cannabis, although Bill Clinton added the famous qualification: "I didn't inhale." Vice President (and Nobel laureate) Al Gore fessed up to lighting up for several years in the 1970s while writing for the Nashville Tennessean.

Obama has written about smoking marijuana while a student at Honolulu's prestigious Punahoe School.

On the Republican side of the fence, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman pungently recalled her experience with the forbidden weed: "I turned on. I tuned in. And I threw up."

Rebagliati told The Sun that it is a "shame" to see the media focus on one photo taken months ago at a private college party, adding: "It would be a different situation if Phelps were smoking a bong at Disneyland in front of children, or promoting it out in public: That is not what happened."

The severity of Phelps' punishment raises question as well.

Thrice-divorced, pill-popping public moralist Rush Limbaugh was charged with "doctor shopping," obtaining painkillers from physicians who were not aware he was getting the drugs from other physicians.

Limbaugh had advocated sending drug offenders "up the river." He got off with no punishment other than voluntarily entering treatment -- a diversion described by a Palm Beach County, Fla., prosecutor as "a diversion specifically for first-time offenders with no prior criminal history or arrest."

Rush stayed on the air.

Bank brass, whose greed and bad judgment depleted ordinary Americans' retirement accounts, remain in their office suites. The prince of Ponzi schemes, Bernie Madoff, is confined to his penthouse awaiting trial.

An honest marijuana smoker gets no such breaks.

I know a part-time park ranger, an Eagle Scout with two masters' degrees and extensive experience and training in mountain rescue. Seeking a full-time National Park Service job, he was required to take a firearms course up at Skagit Valley College.

The guy acknowledged taking a puff of the forbidden weed at a party back in 2005. An act of honesty derailed his career path. He was told that he could not take the course for a year.

Phelps has apologized for setting a bad example. He should have understood that winning eight gold medals, and 14 Olympic medals in total, automatically makes you a role model.

A stuffy statement from Battle Creek, Mich., said that Phelps' behavior "was not consistent with the image of Kellogg."

Well, it IS consistent with the behavior of millions of young Americans. After concentrating to meet a challenge, and meeting it, the urge is to party -- however briefly -- and even take a puff.

Michael Phelps has never failed a drug test in his career, as the Los Angeles Times pointed out, and volunteered to undergo more testing to dispel any suspicions he might have used performance-enhancing drugs.

Here's hoping he'll be back in the pool soon and will take a lesson from baby boomers elders: Get beyond the bong and become a wine snob.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Senate Stimulus Compromise Deals a Blow to Cash-Strapped States
By Elana Schor - February 9, 2009, 1:37PM
Washington has a way of blurring the human impact of a major policy debate -- such as the one going on right now over the stimulus -- by using vague and dense terminology to describe certain programs. Take, for instance, this talk of "state stabilization funds" that were cut back by $40 billion this weekend in the deal cut by Senate centrists.

The term sounds bone-dry, but the stabilization funds are a crucial bulwark against budget deficits that are already forcing layoffs, cutbacks, and higher taxes and fees in 39 states, 21 of which have at least one GOP senator. You heard right: Senate Republicans are insisting on cutting federal aid to their own states in the name of fiscal responsibility -- while some of these state governments are actually pulling back on tax breaks in response.

"If you take a combination of the [budget] gaps for the rest of the current fiscal year, the gaps for the next fiscal year, and the gaps for 2011, [when] unemployment is still going to be high ... we estimate that the [total state budget] gap is $350 billion to $370 billion," Nick Johnson, director of the state fiscal project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), told me.

Compare that two-year deficit to the $79 billion in state stabilization funding that was included in both the House and Senate's original stimulus bills; then consider that the Senate's compromise left states with only $39 billion to close their budget gaps. Better yet, consider the plights of Maine and Arizona ...

Arizona, where Sen. John McCain (R) is touting his dogged opposition to the stimulus, is facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall that could double in size by next year -- a gap representing nearly one-third of the state's general fund, according to the CBPP.

The state already has eliminated temporary health benefits for the disabled, hiked public university tuition by 9.5%, and instituted a hiring freeze. Meanwhile, McCain and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) are almost certain to vote against even the compromise cuts to state stabilization aid, with McCain thundering that the stimulus will "mortgage the future of our children [with] fiscally profligate spending."

Let's not even mention Nevada, where Sen. John Ensign (R) is opposing state stabilization aid despite a budget deficit that swallows 38% of the general fund. A provision in the stimulus says that states may lose out on money if they do not increase education spending to 2006 levels -- a requirement that Nevada is finding difficult to meet. The state already has delayed a promised kindergarten expansion, cut money for gifted and disabled education, and sliced public university aid, according to the CBPP's analysis.

Which brings us to Maine, the home of lead centrist negotiator Sen. Susan Collins (R). The state budget chief says Maine is hoping for as much as $1 billion in federal aid to help close a deficit that is already forcing layoffs and fee increases. So why did Collins work so hard to trim the estimated $250 million in state stabilization aid that would have gone to her own constituents? If she knows, she's not telling.

And these Republicans are just the tip of the iceberg.

One suspects Georgia's GOP senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, won't want to talk about the homeowners' property tax benefit that's being cut in order to close their state budget gap.

Also, Kansas GOPers Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts would be loath to admit that their opposition to the stimulus will help keep the estate tax alive in their state.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/senate-stimulus-compromise-de...

Obsolete technology newer thread:
http://www.samsedershow.com/node/4397

Hiya, toniD. I hope you're feeling much better today.
Miss you a bunch when you're away!

It turns out that the CAT-5 cabling blog was meant to be a new thread!

Everybody garb your crimpers and RJ-45 connectors and meet me at:

http://samsedershow.com/node/4397#comments
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

ircask.com
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