He's a genius!

(pant-pant-pant)

Have I caught up yet?

The crime of USURY must be stopped!
new
Submitted by nora on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 8:41pm.
The Senate debated a bill
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 8:56am.
The Senate debated a bill yesterday that would wipe out credit card debt for people in bankruptcy. The bill is “aimed at punishing credit card companies that raise their interest rates to a high level and at giving consumers who may be on the verge of bankruptcy greater leverage to negotiate better deals with those lenders.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/24/AR200903...

» ========================================

Thanks for this, ToniD.

I appreciate that they are trying to fix something as much as permitted but I wish this bill would include from the git-go a protection against usurers' horrendous rates of interest. Giving the consumer a few more days to figure out how to pay at outlandish usurer's bill on time is not enough. USURY that destroys lives and places individuals and families IN FINANCIAL BONDAGE MUST BE STOPPED dead in its tracks. Babysteps aren't good enough when the usurer's scam is afoot!

I'm Frist....

I'm 3rd.

Ha-ha-ha...

It's my lucky day.

Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 9:25pm.
Study: Range of pharmaceuticals in fish across US
By MARTHA MENDOZA Associated Press Writer

Mar 25th, 2009 | Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression, researchers reported Wednesday...
----------------
On a positive note, none of the fish were depressed, hypertensive, sneezy or exhibiting signs of coronary artery disease.

For Survival Sam #10!!!

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

Thank you, SAM!!!

The inadvertent drug fugue in Survival Sam #10 ranks with the vertigo (fear of heights) wonga-boing-boing device in the Alfred Hitchcock film "Vertigo".

Memorable, indeed! Memorable, indeed!

My congratulations to Sam!

Obama news conference slips in Nielsen ratings
Reuters - ‎1 hour ago‎
------
Presidency To Be Cancelled
Bait News Service - 1 minute ago

Human rights advocate named State Department's top lawyer
new
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 9:42pm.
Harold Hongju Koh, dean at the Yale Law School, has been one of the most vocal critics of the Bush administration's approach to the detention and trial of terrorism suspects.

Reporting from Washington -- Harold Hongju Koh, an outspoken advocate of human rights and international law, has been chosen to be the top lawyer at the State Department.

Koh, dean at the Yale Law School, has been one of the most vocal critics of the Bush administration's approach to the detention and trial of terrorism suspects, calling a 2002 memo justifying harsh interrogation methods a "stain on our national reputation."

If confirmed as State Department legal advisor, he would have a key role in dismantling the Bush administration's approach to that issue and others.

...

"He has been a strong voice for both human rights and restoring the rule of law," said Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-justice-koh25-2009m...

House Committee wanted Rove behind closed doors to allow longer questioning, aides say
Larisa Alexandrovna
Published: Wednesday March 25, 2009

The House Judiciary Committee chose to interview former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove behind closed doors to give them more time to question him, not as a concession to Bush Administration representatives, Committee aides say.

“It was our choice,” one House Judiciary aide told Raw Story.

According to two Judiciary Committee aides, the committee opted for the private testimony so that they could depose Rove for an extended period of time. During a public hearing, each committee member would have only a few minutes to ask questions.

“We could question him for 12 hours if we choose to,” said one of the aides.

Both aides confirmed that Rove would not be sworn in before his testimony but explained that testimony before Congress is de facto sworn testimony and any false statements would in fact be perjury regardless.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/House_Committee_wanted_Rove_behind_closed_...

Desert Rose meets Ceramic Frog

Israel accused of indiscriminate phosphorus use in GazaHuman Rights Watch report claims Israel committed war crimes in its use of air-burst white phosphorus artillery shells

Israel's military fired white phosphorus over crowded areas of Gaza repeatedly and indiscriminately in its three-week war, killing and injuring civilians and committing war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today.

In a 71-page report, the rights group said the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus artillery shells in populated areas of Gaza was not incidental or accidental, but revealed "a pattern or policy of conduct".

It said the Israeli military used white phosphorus in a "deliberate or reckless" way. The report says:

• Israel was aware of the dangers of white phosphorus.

• It chose not to use alternative and less dangerous smoke shells.

• In one case, Israel even ignored repeated warnings from UN staff before hitting the main UN compound in Gaza with white phosphorus shells on 15 January.

"In Gaza, the Israeli military didn't just use white phosphorus in open areas as a screen for its troops," said Fred Abrahams, a senior Human Rights Watch researcher. "It fired white phosphorus repeatedly over densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the area and safe smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians needlessly suffered and died." He said senior commanders should be held to account.

Human Rights Watch called on the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, to launch an international commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of violations of international law in the Gaza war by the Israeli military and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls Gaza.

The Israeli military has defended its conduct in Gaza in the face of mounting allegations of serious violations of international law and said its soldiers did not intentionally target civilians. When Israel's use of white phosphorus emerged during the war, the military at first denied using the weapon, then said it only used weapons in accordance with international law. Later it announced an internal inquiry, led by a colonel, would be held. More:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/25/israel-white-phosphorus-gaza

Hmmm, That Was Interesting
Michael Steele just did an interview on CNN. And in addition to speculating about a possible future run for president, he seemed to say that his blow-up with Rush Limbaugh was actually a strategic decision to see, or rather smoke out, who would stand up and criticize him if he did something really stupid.

I guess he got his answer: a lot of people.

Video at link

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/03/hmmm_that_was_interest...

Street To DC: We Got Our Mojo Back
Wall Street may be down, but after laying low during the initial days of the crisis, its hubris is back in full form.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/wall_street_to_washing...

Closer to Rain Man than Brain Man...

but that's just my personal take....

Why wouldn't Steele do something brilliant to see who was going to stan---oh!

Never mind.

honestly. I don't know why Sam is talking about him.

Republicans in Dallas don't know who he is.

Nouriel Roubini, a/k/a “Dr. Doom,” is giving the Obama administration’s new plan to buy toxic assets the thumbs up.

That may be surprising given how critical Mr. Roubini, the bearish economics professor at New York University, has been in the past regarding various government plans to fix the economy. But Mr. Roubini seems to have seen something he likes for a change.

“My take is generally positive, with a couple of caveats,” Mr. Roubini told DealBook about the new plan. He said he liked that the government was finally stepping up to clear the toxic assets off the bank’s balance sheet and that private capital would come in to make a market for it.

“Having five people bid on a toxic asset, rather than a clueless government, will ensure that the government doesn’t overpay,” Mr. Roubini said in a telephone interview. “People say, ‘the government is putting in 95 cents on the dollar, so why not put 100,’ to do it all by itself. It’s because private-sector participants have the incentive to get the best price.”

It wasn’t all positive: Mr. Roubini said he did not like that banks have the option not to sell an asset after the auction concluded, as this would create confusion and frustration on the part of the buyers. He also said he believed the government should use its leverage over the banks to force them to participate, whether they wanted to or not.

In an opinion piece scheduled to be published Wednesday in The Daily News of New York, Mr. Roubini and a fellow N.Y.U. professor, Matthew Richardson, argued that financial institutions should be pressured into participating because “they are the cause of the financial crisis.”

“They took advantage of loopholes to avoid regulatory requirements, taking a huge bet on securities they were never meant to hold in the first place,” the two professors wrote.

But unlike many critics of the plan, like Paul Krugman, a Princeton economic professor and columnist for The New York Times, who prefers full nationalization of the banks now, Mr. Roubini says he believes that the Treasury’s plan does not preclude nationalization. Rather, he said, it will help to clear the way to full government takeover of some troubled institutions.

“I see the option of nationalization” and the one presented by the Obama administration “as being complementary,” Mr. Roubini said. He believes that the stress tests the government plans on conducting on the banks will reveal which are solvent and which are insolvent.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/dr-doom-finds-promise-in-ob...

Obama's presser yesterday was an hour earlier than the last one so that could be why there were slightly less people watching.

MikeMalloy.com

I have therapy and work tomorrow so I need to get some rest.

Not yet used to the hours.

Night all! Later

His take on Geithner is one of the reasons I did not object when Obama picked him.

Geithner vs. Greenspan/Bernanke on Asset Prices and Monetary Policy

Usurper president
9/11 Fear-mongering
Global War on Terrah
Torture reborn as enhanced interrogation
War-for-oil=democratization=American Empire
No-bid war contract profiteering
Afghanistan Opium Explosion
Privatizing the military
Economy run by Plunge Protection Team
Looting
Fraud
Predatory Lending
Too Big To Fail replaces Monopoly Break-Up
Bail-Out Abuse
Derivatives Scam
Cause-a-depression, earn-a-bonus
Government-sponsored gambling
frontdoor $700Billions -- backdoor $3Trillions

-------

Please add to the list

Thanks for the posts...

I always learn more in an hour on this blog than I do in ten everywhere else. You are the main reason for that.

sleep tight.

Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 10:04pm.
Obama's presser yesterday was an hour earlier than the last one so that could be why there were slightly less people watching.
--------
That's a relief!

I was afraid that the presidency would be replaced with reruns of Different Strokes.

OK but that's not really Kim Catrall's underwear...and it's because of a chicken!!

Zizek ;-)

toniD

but then again, neither is blogging...

Good nite all.

Seems true -- our food is always touching plastic--

http://www.webmd.com/health-ehome-9/plastics-food-safety?ecd=wnl_lbt_032...

[excerpt]

Recent health controversies have spawned new discussions about the safety of plastics in the food industry. In particular, research that's found potential health risks from bisphenol A (BPA), a common chemical in food packaging, has many concerned.

"For many years, the plastics incorporating BPA were believed to be safe," says Anila Jacob, MD, senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization. Now that there are many questions about BPA, "that does raise broader questions about the safety of plastics in general," Jacob tells WebMD.

Plastics make getting, eating, and storing food more efficient. But are they also making us sick?

Plastic in Food: Inevitable Transfer
It's long been known that infinitesimal bits of plastic get into our food from containers. The process is called "leaching" or "migration." The chemical industry acknowledges that you can't avoid this transfer, noting on its web site that "[v]irtually all food packaging materials contain substances that can migrate into the food they contact."

The amounts are small, says Laura Vandenberg, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in biology at Tufts University in Boston. "But almost any plastic container can be expected to leach trace amounts of plastics into food," she says.

Heating food in plastic seems to increase the amount that's transferred to food. Migration also increases when plastic touches fatty, salty, or acidic foods. How much actually gets into our bodies? Vandenberg says that to her knowledge, there's no research that can answer that question.

Although most of the chemicals making the culinary crossing are considered "safe," Jacob tells WebMD that's generally not because they've been proved safe, but rather they haven't been proven to be unsafe.

"There is very little published research on the potential adverse health effects of chemicals that leach from plastic food containers, so it's difficult to say they're safe with any degree of certainty, especially with long-term use," says Jacob.

Two suspects are under active investigation: bisphenol A and a class of chemicals called phthalates.

[end excerpt]

send...,r u nearby now?

I hope you feel better tomorrow.

The following is from the Dallas Morning News opinion blog.
They grow some of 'em real dumb down in Fernando territory.
--------
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/03/let-bush-r...

Let Bush retire in peace
6:00 PM Wed, Mar 25, 2009
Letter to the Editor

Re: "Waiting for a proud moment," by Bill James, Monday Letters.
My only hope is that President Barack Obama's supporters will not continue to blame George W. Bush for the country's woes once Obama's agenda begins to take hold.

I did support Bush and would do so again were he running for president. Did he do some things I did not like? Absolutely. Did he do some things right? Yes. Could some of his errors in judgment be attributed to human frailty? Yes, I think so.

I am one American who is naive enough to believe that most, if not all, our presidents have done what they think is good for the country.

Ernest Leon Morrison, Frisco
------------------------------------------------
The signature should be Earnest Moron Leoson. Anybody who would put Bush back in the White House AFTER seeing how it worked out the first two times is a dumb sumbitch.

{i use to be able to spell "ribbet" (sp) :( }

http://warcrimestimes.org/

[excerpt]

In America
We’re locking up mothers
While the war criminals walk free

The U.S. imprisons more persons than any other nation in the world—a staggering 2.3 million. Most of the people sentenced to prison are Black. African-American women are the fastest growing and least violent segment of the prison population, sentenced most often for non-violent drug, property- related and public order crimes.

Under federal conspiracy law, women who don’t sell drugs but merely have the bad luck or poor judgment to be associated with people who do often receive the same, or even longer, sentences than the actual drug dealer.

As of June 2006, according to the Correctional Association of New York, at least 203,100 women were locked up in state or federal prisons or local jails. Of these women, as many as seventy percent are mothers who were forced leave behind an estimated 200,000 children.

In the War on Drugs, like the War on Terror, most of the victims are women and children of color.

Researchers attribute the explosion of the prison population and its racial disparity to the aggressive street-level enforcement of drug laws and harsh sentencing of drug offenders. Nonviolent prisoners are locked away for five- ten- twenty-years or more in over-crowded jails and prisons where their labor is exploited, their health needs neglected, their distant families unable to afford a visit, and their dignity and human rights systematically violated. Imprisoned parents also face potential loss of parental rights. Upon release drug felons are denied access to educational assistance, subsidized housing and welfare benefits—for life.

[end excerpt]

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/entertainment/n...

you shouldn't make fun of Texans.

Texans have guns and are crazy. Wear kevlar if you dare.

Ms_A - I don't know how to say this without it sounding stupid. Frog and Rose sat near each other for 2 years in the yard and never noticed each other.

Now Frog figures it out and Rose is all about how she felt for him last year and he ignored her. The whole thing is absurd. There's no talking to either of them. It's like they live in their own bubble or something.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7962656.stm

[excerpt]

Japan's exports saw a record plunge in February, falling by nearly half compared with a year earlier, according to the country's finance ministry.

Exports fell 49.4% year-on-year to 3.526tn yen ($36bn; £24.6bn), though this was in line with forecasts.

The latest data comes after figures for January showed year-on-year exports nearly halved that month as well.

The world's second-largest economy is suffering in the downturn as demand for its products has collapsed.

[end excerpt]

tonight - how Chertoff (Skelator)
wants to use AGENT ORANGE down by
the Rio Grande River to eliminate
all plant life so that the illegal's
don't or wont hide.... or some
crazy ass thing.
Ya all should of heard me here @ work
talking to myself, yelling, cursing ,
What in the hell is he thinking.?
Oh yeah... he aint

I didn't hear it from Jeff.

What a nightmare. I can't believe they think this a good idea. Are they planning on putting up free clinics/hospitals for the deformed people that will be born there?

Tea Cheers WHAT WAS WRITTEN...
DeAR cRANK bAIT,I am honoured when you talk to me...just because...
re:
Perhaps I Misunderstand?
Submitted by Crank Bait on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 3:40pm.
Submitted by Ms_Anthrope on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 3:11pm.
I am amazed and thrilled someone spoke in a true manner of awareness... I just figured that awareness was made more aware in late '60s to early '70s to basically peak mostly in '80s.
------
Awareness of unselfish ethics peaked in the 1980's?

******

I "speak" to some with innuendo...some will get some will not...
I will decipher...
"...I just figured that awareness (i.e. about "why to not have children"} was made more aware... in late...{etc...} )"
...now re: what You wrote...
Awareness of unselfish ethics peaked in the 1980's?

Ah i.e. C. Dickens(sp) "It was the best of times - It was the worst of times.
i.e. The '80s = Greed is good - also such goodness occured to mostly peak in '80s to wane since...to cycle ALL Again, or so it seems...
??? Kewl?

I was on a girlscout trip with my daughter. We stopped at a McDonalds in a small town about an hour outside of Columbia, Missouri. I think we were on our way to St. Louis. Anyway, I noticed a disturbing trend about the 'natives'. Out of the 20 or so that were there, about half of them appeared to be mentally retarded in some way or another.

I wouldn't let my kid drink a fountain drink. I got her a bottle of Powerade instead, and prayed that whatever touched the food had been cooked out.

Is that a lifetime post he has at (Nazi)Homeland(Heil)Security???

Is Paraquat a Monsanto product?

See when the poison corporations get a government contract to apply(dump) tons of that poison (like they get through the state governments to spray herbicides along roadsides), it is like unlimited money -- they charge anything they want and the contracts go on forever. IT IS a Corporate Industrial Government Complex SCAM!

Disgusting at EVERY level. Destroying the environment for a phony reason like immigration when the real reason is PROFIT.

I'll pray for you.....

Once the kids see how they live they figure they don't need to go to college and can just be the king of the hood there. It's a false argument of course. Mutants are very clickish. Your children wouldn't fit in because I'm sure your kids know how to use a fork.

What I'm saying is don't let your kids look at them. It will sap their energy and ambition.

could you post the site u saw it @??
Have to leave here in a bit, will
look it up either when I get home or
tomorrow a.m.
Safe Travels for me...

:-)

And my kids are too hyper for that. The middle child/girl and I are camping this weekend. Forecast: Snow.

The boy and his dad are camping April 10th.

Meanwhile, little league baseball's in full swing (for the boy) and volleyball (for the middle child/girl)...and let's not forget the teenager, who is revvin' up for prom and Senior Trip (Florida). Can you believe they won't let anyone under 25 drive a rental car? I am NOT paying $875 for no stinkin' limo...

twenties ...when NOTHING else was on, especially re "things that bump in the night" -- enough -- I do not LIVE in past - especially when I went back to school. I do visit, but I do not live there. Bah HumBug. HugHug KissKiss
;)

tux ... hang a drap, so YOU can't see (or have a friend drive, also. (...just a different idea, to get the thought proccess moving again ... MA -- I as a wee teen was a Girl Scout (with Me Mother, at times eek) AND I WAS A Middle Child born on The Day Woe ...mwah HaHa) :D

past my bed time.

I should collapse now.

B-Gentle when answering, and I did not answer everything, but just enough...
Remember "MIDDLEChild born on Day of Woe, Here. B-Sweet.
"I know (eye-roll), I "baited" the Bait -- eek" :D

I was afraid I was sending toooooo Late...:(....well time to "get active" ..."Cuz I Can".
;)
I did have an accident :):( but GREAT for a different art thing. I have one pix, now another "...of that type...but when ALL Leaves tomorrow :):(...")

NBC Nightly News ignores Goolsbee rebuttal in reporting GOP "power grab" attack
Reporting that Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke appeared before a House committee hearing "with a request for more authority that some critics are already calling a power grab," NBC's Kelly O'Donnell did not note White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee's response that had "we had resolution authority now, we could have dealt with the issue of bonuses." Read More

Media find Obama news conference insufficiently entertaining
Several media outlets echoed the assertion of a Drudge Report headline that President Obama's March 24 press conference was "boring." Read More

Fox's Carlson repeated executive pay claim that Gibbs told her was false the day before
Fox & Friends' Gretchen Carlson falsely claimed that the Obama administration advocates regulating "executive pay at any financial institution." In fact, restrictions on employee compensation would be placed only on "financial institutions that are receiving government assistance." Read More

Suggesting inconsistency on Obama's part, Todd expands on his flawed "sacrifice" analogy
Referring to a question he asked at President Obama's press conference, on Morning Joe, Chuck Todd suggested Obama was being inconsistent in not asking the American people for sacrifice -- during a recession, with millions recently unemployed -- after having criticized President Bush for failing to ask for sacrifice following 9-11. Read More

Fox's Cavuto, Baier repeat falsehood that Employee Free Choice Act would eliminate secret ballot
Neil Cavuto and Bret Baier falsely claimed that the Employee Free Choice Act would, in Baier's words, "do away with the secret ballot in votes to unionize." In fact, as The Christian Science Monitor noted, EFCA would give "workers a choice of forming a union through majority sign-up ... or an election by secret ballot." Read More

LA Times erased word "torture" in describing Obama nominee's criticism of Bush administration

The Los Angeles Times reported that State Department general counsel nominee Harold Koh "call[ed] a 2002 [Bush administration] memo justifying harsh interrogation methods a 'stain on our national reputation.' " But Koh has repeatedly referred to the conduct sanctioned in the memo as "torture" -- a word the Times did not use. Read More

Conservative media run with dubious SkyNews claim of Obama "teleprompt blunder"
Conservative media figures uncritically highlighted a SkyNews.com report that a "teleprompt blunder has led to Barack Obama thanking himself in a speech at the White House in a St Patrick's Day celebration." In fact, a pool report of the event released at the time indicates Obama was, in the words of the Telegraph's Toby Harnden, making "a good-natured and well-received joke" at the expense of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who earlier in the event had mistakenly read from the teleprompter displaying Obama's speech. Read More

Free Democracy

“One Step Ahead” by Split Enz
=
the vidy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NduGJ0F5sdI
=

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

WASHINGTON, DC—After nearly nine years of construction, the Mexi-Canadian Overpass, the controversial $4.3 trillion highway overpass linking Guadalupe and Winnipeg, was finally completed last week, drawing harsh criticism from U.S. citizens and officials alike."

If you're a Mexican who regularly commutes to Canada, or vice-versa, this is great. But what about all of us poor Americans caught in the middle?" said Dallas resident Tom Hitchner, one of an estimated 850,000 U.S. citizens forced to evacuate their homes to make room for concrete supports for the 1,600-mile, 18-lane overpass. "For Mexico and Canada to do this without any concern for all the Americans whose lives this affects, well, the arrogance is just unbelievable."

"We just recently installed beautiful picture windows in our home," said Fargo, ND, resident Judy Renata, whose house is situated beneath the overpass. "Now, instead of sunlight, we have to look at that monstrosity. We'd sell our place and move elsewhere, but property values have plummeted. I don't know what we're going to do."

In addition to facilitating trade between Mexico and Canada, the overpass is expected to increase tourism in both nations by as much as 60 percent. Boasting hundreds of restaurants, gas stations, and hotels, the state-of-the-art overpass will render it unnecessary for Mexicans or Canadians ever to touch U.S. soil when traveling to and from their respective homelands.

"It would be one thing if we somehow benefited," said Junction City, KS, business owner Neil Grandy. "But because of the way stations, we don't get anything out of it and have to deal with people tossing garbage out of their windows at 80 mph. You wouldn't believe what we've found some mornings. Everything from tamale husks to broken hockey sticks. The people on that bridge are animals."

Americans' hostility toward the overpass only intensified when it officially opened to traffic Monday.

"The noise and dirt of the construction was one thing," said San Antonio, TX, resident Floyd Paymer. "But now, with all the traffic, it's just unbearable. The honking, the chickens, the sound of thousands of cars going back and forth to Canada and Mexico is more than I can take. I can hear those goddamn radios blaring Mariachi music and Rush all day and night."

Despite the public uproar, U.S. leaders say they are helpless to do anything to stop the international project.............

glad that overpass is finally done.

g'night
fading...

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

;)

(shame on you, nora)

VALERIE PLAME

but that's ok, i forgot to add Jeffrey Lee Pierce to my r'n'r honour roll on the previous thread

(shame on me)
(there goes another life)

- 1:52 AM
;)

Heh.

oh, just minding my own business
and growing old...

or is the malloy program becoming more erratic
AND SHRILL!!!
damn, i had to switch him off

btw, the sun here has had a long day
and is getting ready to leave me
to shine on you

footy!
footy!!
FOOTY!!!

it's the 1st game tonight

(here i am in the huddle, rousing the blokes up)
(we were playing a team composed of amputees)

if the democrats had any brains, they'd hire me to inspire them

"pelosi, i want more of an effort from you in this quarter, i want you to stop scratching your snatch and tear some fucking ears off"

footy!
footy!!
FOOTY!!!

here's some highlights

;)

you screama

we all scream

for rock'n'roll ice-scream

(and footy!)

What colour of rose?
I love real and non-real frogs in garden... Ribbet{sp}
When in mountains and the frogs would sing their song...
I wrote a stupid frog lil "ditty", sang {or croak} with love), but I forget it, yet now you remind me to remember...
;)

Great Vid.. air-ono.

My image for the same type of heralding...

...teehee
Sea-Ya

GRRR

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

so what is ircask.org. is that some commie virus site?

got 0 plans

I Emailed Sam & Inc..
That's all Sam needs,with jury duty & trying to put on a show..

Probably a Bot..
This turd posts too fast to be human ?

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

was the other side telling him: checkmate

I did not mean to just "assume" ... :( ;)

MMRules on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 5:01am.
I Emailed Sam & Inc..

It was just a guess..

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

Couldn't sleep (again) my mind just
keeps on going. My cold is fading,
which is good - it only lasted about
a week. They usually last 2 or 3 weeks.
But I haven't had one for @ least 3/4
yrs.

going to see whats up with the world... be back
in a bit :)

we have a spammer??

Jindal speaks while Limbaugh pulls the string.

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

from slate magazine:

The New York Times leads with word that operatives from a secretive wing of Pakistan's military intelligence agency is providing direct support--including money, supplies, and strategic planning--to the Taliban as well as other militant groups in Afghanistan.

which would indicate that pakistan is no longer an ally. how long till we get nuked because of failed bush cheney policy. too bad that pelosi didn't understand that impeachment has consequences, things like keeping us safe.

It/him/her spammed a whole bunch of Open Mic's..

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

that slum dog governor site is pretty good. you have to admit they have a lot of material to work with.

It Hurts Us In So Many Ways !

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

When Nimu and Volker reported a dugong caught in a net at the south coast of Kenya, we thought it was a one off occurance. But now the true damage caused by nets has been revealed in this shocking story about how US aid is destroying marine life in Kenya has gone totally viral on the internet
“In 2003, USAID began a four-year project worth $575,000 to improve the lives of coastal communities. It worked on a project with a Kenyan government agency that included providing freezers for the fishermen to store their catch, along with boats and nets.

But the plastic nets are destroying the very ecosystems that the fishermen depend on and the tourists come to see, said Daniel Floren, who runs a local diving school.

Officials, experts and even the fishermen themselves acknowledge the nets are killing wildlife and coral.

“Without the reefs, there will be no diving. If we have nothing to show, I’ll have to shut up shop,” Floren said.

The aim of the U.S. project was to help lift local people out of poverty, said Robert Buzzard, a USAID official involved in the initiative. But there were no studies to show how the kind of equipment supplied might affect the marine life”.

I find this story highly disturbing because US aid disown responsibility for conducting an environmental impact assessment before issuing out these nets. I hope that the relevant government authorities take swift action

If you would like to help us save Kenya’s marine life, support the Whale Shark project.

http://wildlifedirect.org/?version=fresh

photo - I really like the
oxy cup.

do NOT understand why people do the
weird ass things that they do i.e. spamming
on an open mic???

maybe they get paid something for each post they make. or maybe its just robot software thats walking across the site basec on its knowledge of how the application works (assuming that underneath all this is a commercial app that sam, incubus, et.al. set up).

New York Governor David Paterson announced Thursday a deal has been reached with state legislators to repeal and revise much of the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws.

The deal would repeal many of the mandatory minimum prison sentences now in place for lower-level drug felons, giving judges the authority to send first-time nonviolent offenders to treatment instead of prison.

The plan would also expand drug treatment programs and widen the reach of drug courts at a cost of at least $50 million.

It's not clear how many of those currently serving sentences will be able to apply for relief. Apparently, the legislators are willing to be more expansive in this regard than is Paterson. [More...]

http://www.talkleft.com/

weird ass things
new
Submitted by dan on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 6:41am.

I wanted to say - LOVE it -

new definition for gop
Submitted by dan on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 4:55am.

got 0 plans

i had forgotten about those. does texas still have laws that you can be thrown in prison for life if you are caught with a joint?

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III urged lawmakers yesterday to renew intelligence-gathering measures in the USA Patriot Act that are set to expire in December, calling them "exceptional" tools to help protect national security.

The law, passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, created divisions between proponents, who said it was necessary to deter terrorism, and privacy advocates warning that it tramples on Americans' civil liberties. Portions of the law are up for reauthorization this year.

Mueller told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee he hopes that the reauthorization of two provisions would be far less controversial than in previous years. One of those provisions, which helps authorities secure access to business records, "has been exceptionally helpful in our national security investigations," he said.

In response to a question from Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Mueller said that his agents had used the provision about 220 times between 2004 and 2007. Data for last year were not yet available, he said.

The measure allows investigators probing terrorism to seek a suspect's records from third parties such as financial services and travel and telephone companies without notifying the suspect. The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the provision, saying it violates the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens.

Another provision, permitting roving wiretaps of terrorism suspects, was used 147 times and has helped eliminate "an awful lot of paperwork," Mueller said. In the past, authorities had to seek court approval for each electronic device carried by a suspect, from a cellphone and a BlackBerry to a home computer. But under the provision, one warrant can cover all of those machines.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR200903...

I'm gonna say that Obama is gonna go along with it. I hope I'm wrong.

2 oz or less* class B misdemeanor 180 days $2,000
2 to 4 oz* class A misdemeanor 1 year $4,000
4 oz to 1 lb* state jail felony 180 days - 2 years $10,000
1 to 5 lbs state jail felony 180 days - 2 years $10,000
5 to 50 lbs felony of the third degree 2 - 10 years $10,000
50 to 2,000 lbs felony of the second degree 2 - 20 years $10,000
More than 2,000 lbs felony 5 - 99 years $50,000

Sale
Gift of 1/4 oz or less class B misdemeanor 180 days $2,000
Sale of 1/4 oz or less class A misdemeanor
1 year
$4,000
1/4 oz to 5 lbs state jail felony
180 days - 2 years
$10,000
5 to 50 lbs felony of the second degree 2 - 20 years $10,000
50 to 2,000 lbs felony of the first degree 5 - 99 years $10,000
2,000 lbs or more felony MMS 10 - 99 years $100,000
To a minor felony 2 - 20 years $10,000
Within 1,000 feet of a school or within 300 feet of specified areas misdemeanor or felony increased penalty increased penalty
Miscellaneous (paraphernalia, license suspensions, drug tax stamps, etc...)
Paraphernalia possession class C misdemeanor none $500
Paraphernalia sale class A misdemeanor 1 year $4,000**
Details

* With no prior felony convictions, if convicted of possession of less than one pound of marijuana a judge must impose a sentence of probation with mandatory drug treatment. If no treatment center exists within the jurisdiction, the judge may waive the treatment requirement. They judge can also waive all fines.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4566

First of all Mr Steele, the word is "strategery" (strategeric).
and second of all: chest puffing, boastful, self indulgent strategic game playing only pays off when you're an ego-driven radiotalker. it looks kind of pitiful when you're a politician who wants to be taken seriously.

i'm not beyond shameless self-promotion. visit punditfight.com to see Sam battle it out with the rest of the pundits. left and right!

Director of FBI Urges Renewal of Patriot Act
-----

Fire his ass!

U got that right girlfriend!

Have you notice that Michael Steele's physique is very much like that character in Beetlejuice? You know, the one that was in the afterlife welfare office?

This guy:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heavylift/306680859/

I do think u have it edna ellen poe
good photo

Tracked by spies and informers
By Julia A. Shearson
Online Journal Guest Writer

Mar 26, 2009,

The February 26 revelation in the Los Angeles Times that FBI domestic intelligence informant and ex-convict Craig Monteilh and others were paid handsomely to spy on Muslim Americans in their houses of worship in Southern California should come as no surprise. Such domestic intelligence gathering has a history in the United States.

The annals of modern domestic surveillance in America are contained in the massive 1976 Church Committee Reports of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The reports, drafted by the Senate in the wake of the Watergate scandal, should have ended domestic intelligence abuses, but in the post-9/11 climate, their warnings and descriptions of crimes against liberty go unheeded.

The chapter entitled “The Use of Informants in FBI Domestic Intelligence Investigations” begins: “Men may be without restraints upon their liberty; they may pass to and fro at pleasure: but if their steps are tracked by spies and informers, their words noted down for crimination, their associates watched as conspirators -- who shall say that they are free?”

Con't

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4507.shtml

{edit :}

...we then can go back to our ambivalalent selves.
Your mock-curmudegeon-type caustic nature makes me laugh. LOL
{I know (eye-roll) I know - it is not mock!} teehee.
Gotta *fly* & brew more tea...
Tea Cheers ;)

Smcgee43,

did you know that Michael Steele's sister Monica Turner was married to Mike Tyson? Their engagement & marriage occurred after Tyson was convicted of rape. Wow! Is that a smart women or what?

I was on Obama's web site for questions and every third question was asking him to legalize and tax drugs mostly marijuana.

Is that a smart women or what?

Oh yeah baby..... what is she or was she thinking???
She wasn't / isn't

Women have been ridiculed about rape for how long?? She deserved it
by the way she dressed (just some of the LAME excuses for why women get raped).... come on Monica - is your brain in your
ass?? Yes I tink it is.. Fucking moron - maybe she should go on over to Sudan or the DR Congo & talk
to some of the gals over there about being raped.

Now that's what I like to see - legalizing marijuana.
Do u know how much money could be made off of that
just in taxing it? Ton's O' Money.
I have been up since 5:00 a.m. - will go back to
bed for a rest before I have to go into work.
Hope your feeling okay today. :)

Morning Ms Anthrope

THE NATION

Dreaming Obama in North Carolina By Tom Hayden

April 23, 2008

John Hope Franklin, the legendary historian and author of From Slavery to Freedom, has passed away at age 94. In this powerful speech, he celebrates the importance of peacemaking throughout history.

----

Excerpt:

Dr. John Hope Franklin, at 94, remains a formidable progressive historian, having lived through two world wars, five decades of segregation, the sixties civil rights movement and now Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Since there is no comparable or greater authority alive, I was eager to ask him to evaluate this long history. I ventured to North Carolina for meetings and dinner with Dr. Franklin in Raleigh, where he keeps office hours at Duke's John Hope Franklin Center. It was April 16, and Barack Obama was rolling through North Carolina that week, the state where the student sit-in movement began three years before Obama's birth. I was especially wondering where Dr. Franklin placed Obama in African-American history.

Excerpt:

This is a man who volunteered to fight in World War II, but was rejected for military service on grounds of race, a man who became a PhD while having to personally integrate segregated libraries, a defender of W.E.B. Dubois during McCarthyism, a key social researcher behind Brown v. Board of Education, the first black chairman of a major history department (Brooklyn College, 1956), and a man who lived the bitter decades even before the Rev. Jeremiah Wright came along. His wife, Aurelia, died in 1999 after fifty-nine years of marriage.

con't
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080505/hayden2

And we had another jump in unemployment...

Jobless Rolls in U.S. Jump to Record 5.56 Million in Week;

New Claims Rise The number of people collecting U.S. jobless benefits rose to a record 5.56 million, indicating more Americans are spending longer periods out of work. Initial claims topped 600,000 for an eighth straight time.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aplaPENME4lE&refer=n...

I was on Obama's web site for questions and every third question was asking him to legalize and tax drugs mostly marijuana.

----

You've got to be kidding? Foreclosures! Tent Cities! Job Losses! Living Wage! Health Care! And of course- TWO WARS!

What Happened? Did a bunch of right-wingers get on and sabotage the conversation?

Geithner to launch regulation & oversight plan

by Chris in Paris on 3/26/2009 08:55:00 AM

Sounds good in theory but in practice may be another story. Overall it's a decent start to add in what needs to be in place but the problem still remains, it's led by Geithner. Wall Street and friends will surely re-start the cries of "socialism" but isn't that what they always do? It's critical for the bulk of Americans that the financial system is healthy and growing but it's equally critical that the system avoids the excesses of the past. Wall Street bragged about the growth in recent years but as we all know today, it was a mirage. The growth wasn't growth for anyone except those who pocketed commissions pushing deals that were hot air. (Again, nobody in power has asked for any of that to be re-paid so AIG et al can go Cheney themselves.) This also means the retirement system is going to need to be updated unless Washington would like more problems ahead.

Looking at how pro-Wall Street Geithner/Obama - not to mention Congress - have been so far, having confidence in this plan is a real challenge. It's a start, but until I see otherwise I will remain skeptical. Geithner has cowered to Wall Street so what's going to be different this time? Just as with the market, we need confidence and at the moment it is severely lacking.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to propose today a sweeping expansion of federal authority over the financial system, breaking from an era in which the government stood back from financial markets and allowed participants to decide how much risk to take in the pursuit of profit.

The Obama administration's plan, described by several sources, would extend federal regulation for the first time to all trading in financial derivatives and to companies including large hedge funds and major insurers such as American International Group. The administration also will seek to impose uniform standards on all large financial firms, including banks, an unprecedented step that would place significant limits on the scope and risk of their activities.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/03/geithner-to-launch-regulation-oversig...

while its the right thing to do, i guess i wonder how much revenue that would actually produce. there is some portion of what is paid in todays market simply because it is illegal. if you want to eliminate the competion that comes from illegal sales, doesn't that mean the price comes down?

Fed Seeks Power to Sell Own Debt When Financial Crisis Eases, Yellen Says Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said the central bank wants authority to issue its own debt, a move that would bolster its efforts to raise interest rates as the credit crisis abates.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a7SvA7m.nd78&refer=n...

Emerging-Market Stocks Rise, Head for Record Monthly Rally on Aid, Bailout Emerging-market stocks rallied, heading for the biggest monthly gain on record, after rising commodity prices and U.S. efforts to safeguard the banking system spurred optimism for a revival of economic growth.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aAl9hGhYRVlE&refer=n...

Power Market to Shrink in Europe for First Time Since Enron as Banks Exit The power market in Germany, Europe’s biggest, probably will shrink for the first time since Enron Corp. failed in 2001 as utilities reduce risks and fewer banks trade energy, raising concerns about exaggerated prices

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ao4Tfw8pzjtQ&refer=n...

Geithner Seeks Power to Regulate Big U.S. Hedge Funds, Derivative Markets Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will ask Congress to bring large hedge funds, private-equity firms and derivatives markets under federal supervision for the first time as part of a revamp of U.S. financial rules.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a0V_8UoPk2A0&refer=e...

Jindal Spurns Obama's Louisiana Jobless Aid as Mayor Pleads `Help Me Now'

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican, cited fiscal responsibility when he turned down about $98 million in unemployment aid that was part of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion federal stimulus package.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=ap7ygcV_fnXo&refer=p...

He may have been born here, but he was raised by people from a different culture. The lady that helps me is from India and tells me how they treat people in her country.

That culture had to rub off on Jindal and it shows in the way he rules as Governor.

GM Aid by U.S. Wins Wildlife Federation's Backing as Plus for Environment The National Wildlife Federation, one of the largest U.S. environmental groups, has asked President Barack Obama to aid General Motors Corp.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aONYu8h1AmGQ&refer=p...

Officer Calls Obama 'Usurper' President

February 25, 2009

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

Using words such as "impostor" and "usurper," an active-duty Army officer in Iraq has joined a California lawyer's lawsuit intended to force President Barack Obama to prove he is a legal U.S. citizen, and therefore able to legally serve as the commander in chief.

"Until Mr. Obama releases a 'vault copy' of his original birth certificate for public review, I will consider him neither my Commander in Chief nor my President, but rather, a usurper to the Office -- an impostor," 1st Lt. Scott R. Easterling states in his letter published at Defendourfreedoms.com.

An Army spokesman told Military.com today that officials are aware of Easterling's letter.

http://www.military.com/news/article/February-2009/officer-calls-obama-u...

MARGARET CARLSON

Geithner Deals Wall Street a Can’t-Lose Hand
I feel like Rush Limbaugh now, because I really want certain people to fail: George W. Bush’s former economic adviser, Lawrence Lindsey, Nobel Prize-winning economists Paul Krugman and Columbia University Professor Joseph Stiglitz. All of them say the U.S. Treasury’s plan to buy troubled bank assets will lead to rack and ruin. And when the trillion dollars to pay for it is gone, we won’t be able to afford the printing press to make more.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_carlson&...

I think we can add Ravi Batra to those economists.

AIG execs now crying "blackmail"

by Chris in Paris on 3/26/2009 06:20:00 AM
Fine. Shut the damned company down and let it go under. The more I listen to these people complain the more it becomes obvious they need to go completely under and restart. Quite frankly I don't care what those in London or NY find offensive or not because the entire country finds them offensive. Let us know how "offensive" the unemployment line is and get back to us. If possible, please send to the NY Times for publication.
AIG Financial Products unit head Gerald Pasciucco told a staff meeting for UK and Paris employees on Monday that he thought a demand for repayments was to a certain extent "blackmail," said a London-based recipient of one of the retention bonuses from the bailed-out insurer.

"The vast majority of people in London have made the decision that the request is pretty offensive," the employee said. "It effectively constitutes blackmail whether it is criminal or not. There is no moral reason to give it back."

A company spokesman, however, said American International Group had no concerns as to the legality of any repayments.
Morals? Are they really talking about morals at AIG? What next? A lecture on business ethics?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29890568

CNN's Ed Henry tries to explain his "interaction" with Obama (because only 40 million people saw it)

by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 3/25/2009 10:33:00 PM
Beyond pathetic:
The most amazing part of the exchange to me is that I didn't go into the East Room intending to ask President Obama about AIG.

After frantic preparation for the prime-time newser with several colleagues, especially lead CNN White House producer Tim McCaughan, I had several provocative questions in my pocket.
The most amazing part is that Henry doesn't know what a putz he is for writing this diatribe. He should know the press conference was televised, right? Nielsen reports 40 million people watched. So, we don't need his spin. We saw it for ourselves.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/25/henry.obama/index.html

Krugman is still at it

by John Aravosis (DC) on 3/25/2009 11:55:00 PM
I give the guy points for persistence. And to those who say he should be in the administration, first, he'd slit his wrists working in a bureaucracy, and second, he's far more helpful on the outside where his opinions won't be neutered. Here's his latest, via ABC:
"For people who felt that Obama was going to bring change, a real difference, it somehow feels quite a lot as if we've got the same old gang still making the policy decisions, despite how discredited they are in the eyes of the public..."

"We've got the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and we've got a set of half-measures in terms of economic policy and a general sense that the Treasury Department and Obama think if they can do a little more on the technical side, we'd wake up and realize it's two years ago all over again."...

"The buck stops with Obama. He makes the decisions. In a way, I think I've got as much input as anyone can reasonably hope to have," Krugman said. "I'm rooting for him. I hope I'm wrong in being pessimistic about this plan."

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7161203&page=1

Why is this guy still in the military?
new
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 8:32am.

Officer Calls Obama 'Usurper' President

i don't recall criticism of bush cheney being tolerated. why is it now?

Submitted by Annette on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 11:04pm.
I was on a girlscout trip with my daughter. We stopped at a McDonalds..
-----------
Roughing it in the wild, eh? Ooooh, scary.

Why did financial experts so spectacularly fail to warn us about the economic crisis? Mostly because “so-called experts turn out to be, in many situations, a stunningly poor source of expertise,” writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. Experts of all stripes are enormously influential, but their prognostications are just a hair better than random guesses, found one study that tracked 82,000 predictions by 284 of them.

It barely mattered if the experts had doctorates, or what field they came from, or how much experience they had. All that mattered was fame: the more famous a pundit, the less reliable. That’s because pundits earn air-time—and hence fame—by providing strong opinions and ideologies. Far more accurate were those who took nuanced, complex views. “What matters,” concludes Kristof, “isn’t so much knowledge or experience as good judgment.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/opinion/26Kristof.html

"Talent bookers for television shows and reporters tended to call up experts who provided strong, coherent points of view, who saw things in blacks and whites. People who shouted—like, yes, Jim Cramer!"

Pelosi: We don't need
GOP on budget

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Senate Democrats continued to wrangle over their version of the budget, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted swift passage in her chamber -- with or without GOP support.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20502.html

For troops in Iraq,
shower may be fatal

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The military is racing to inspect more than 90,000 U.S.-run facilities across Iraq to reduce a deadly threat troops face far off the battlefield: electrocution or shock while showering or using appliances.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_electrocution...

States consider drug tests
for welfare recipients

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_bi_ge/states_welfare_with_stri...

Watchdog says billions
of US aid wasted in Iraq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About $3 billion to $5 billion in U.S. aid for rebuilding Iraq has been wasted since 2003, and similar problems will likely haunt development in Afghanistan, a top U.S. watchdog said on Wednesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_iraq_afghanistan;_ylt=Al5erINoxqSXS3WS...

sounds like their new subscription service will be up and running next week.

good show last night. nice complement to the sounds of silence.

legalize and tax it
Submitted by dan on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 8:19am.
while its the right thing to do, i guess i wonder how much revenue that would actually produce...
------
Me too. I've been reading the projections by both sides for years. I also wonder how the entire scope of production and distribution would be legislated, if it ever happened.

I am convinced that growing it for personal use (like brewing beer and fermenting booze) would be legalized along with any other changes in the laws, which would make pot available through an underground network (again/still)...which would place any regulated and taxed dope in competition with homegrown dope.

On the other hand, nearly anyone can grow tomatoes but most people buy them at a store instead.

That would be a deal breaker for me...

Obama is a Constitutional Scholar, with credentials enough to get a Federal Bench if he wanted one. He has the expertise to craft a law, or tweak the current Patriot Act to be less destructive to constitutionally protect freedoms. This is not an issue for him to rely on the recommendations of a subordinate. He needs to take this bull by the horns himself and roll back some of the freedoms stolen by the NeoCons in the name of GWOT.

Pledging to close Gitmo and denouncing torture were excellent starts, and no-brainers IMO, but the Patriot Act is where the domestic Law Enforcement rubber meets the Constitutional road. Obama has made many statements paraphrasing Franklin's quote of not giving up freedom for security, and not compromising our national values in the face of fear. The current version of the patriot act does both. It would be a huge mistake for him to just rubber stamps it without significant modifications. A lot of civil libertarians will turn on him, permanently, I will be one of them.

No Justice, No Peace.

Reid open to fast-tracking
health overhaul

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated Wednesday he's willing to move sweeping health care legislation through the Senate with a procedural maneuver that would block a GOP filibuster. The prospect of the controversial tactic has already ignited Republicans' ire, and key Senate Democratic chairmen have said they don't want to do it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/health_overhaul_reid;_ylt=AlDaAKXG2Cw2xFlNWJ2...

NBC News' Chuck Todd
is choking

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before taking over the White House beat from the insufferable David Gregory in December, Todd was the Internet's favorite guy on TV.

http://gawker.com/5183933/chuck-todd-is-choking

Octuplet Mom Loves Fame
More Than Babies: Nurses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Octuplet mom Nadya Suleman is more interested in media attention than in her babies, charged a spokeswoman for the free nursing staff axed this week by the multiple mom.

http://www.newser.com/story/54413/octuplet-mom-loves-fame-more-than-babi...

Tent Cities Sprout
Across US

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cities across the country are struggling to deal with mushrooming shantytowns, reports the New York Times.

http://www.newser.com/story/54388/tent-cities-sprout-across-us.html

this just seems wrong to me. your ability to soft land and get supported by a safety net should be unrelated to personal behaviour.

as a thought experiment, perhaps we should tell people getting benefits that they can't give money to church.

Watchdog says billions
of US aid wasted in Iraq

Jindal Spurns Obama's
Submitted by toniD on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 8:30am.
------

Oh don't let the dark skin fool you. Hell, they wrote the book on prejudice. India's caste system is discrimination by birth. Those who immigrate to this country are privileged in India. They bring their racial & class discrimination with them. Jindal probably thinks that people are poor- because they weren't born rich, end of story!

Here's are the class divisions:

The Brahmins -- those engaged in sacrifices, and priestly functions

The Kshtriyas -- Rulers and warriors

The Vaishyas -- Merchants, farmers, and tradesmen

The Shudras -- Laborers, craftsmen, service professions

http://www.kamat.com/indica/caste/

drug tests for welfare recipients
Submitted by dan on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 9:06am
------

Excellent idea- only if the same test is required for white men in a business suit. I stand corrected! That would be for those who receive government bailouts.

by my boss, that Dick Durbin & our
wonderful politicians put through a
little piece of legislation last October
here in IL. It was very hush, hush,
come this June (I think) people who sell their
homes have to be fingerprinted - so as to
cut down on mortgage fraud. That to me is going
a little to far.
toniD - have u heard anything about that??

There u go again...... making sense :)

http://mediamatters.org/items/200903260005

During the March 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Gretchen Carlson hosted Michael Franzese, the former caporegime of La Cosa Nostra's Colombo crime family, to discuss similarities in the way Democratic leaders and progressive figures are "operating" and "the way we used to operate on the street." Kilmeade began the segment by asking, "So, is this a big stretch to think that, all of a sudden, the Washington, D.C., has become our Godfather?" Asked by Carlson what he would "call" Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Franzese replied that Geithner is "like an underboss to me. I mean, he's doing the work of, you know, the whole family, and he's kind of the guy out front, and looking to exercise control." When Kilmeade later asked how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) would fit "in the mob," Franzese replied that Pelosi and Frank are like "the lady and the guy that [President] Obama is kind of stuck with to appease the rest of the family," and also referred to Obama as "the boss." Carlson also asked Franzese about financier George Soros, whom Carlson described as "a very wealthy man who's made his political views very well known to the left." Franzese replied that Soros is "[t]he guy in the shadows that's kind of, you know, pulling the strings on the whole party. I think this guy maintains a lot more control than we may think."

During the segment, Kilmeade and Carlson aired on-screen graphics featuring an image of the iconic puppet strings from The Godfather along with photos of Geithner, Pelosi, Frank, and Soros:

Submitted by toniD on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 9:02am.
Octuplet Mom Loves Fame
More Than Babies: Nurses
-------------
toniD,

What I am about to say might destroy any comedy credibility I have remaining.

Last night I saw Gilbert Gottfried in drag, playing the Octomom.

There is nothing new about his shtick but, so long as a period of time passes between doses of Gottfried, his over-the-top delivery always makes me laugh.

Especially in drag. Wearing giant lips and pigtails. All while throwing dolls around the stage.

and the assholes who have already proven their judgment is impaired.

Threatening drug testing for people on public assistance is a sure way to create a huge homeless population an is a perfect example of the type of totalitarianism the anti-government fundis warn us about.

Sen. Abel Maldonado, the Republican legislator who broke party ranks and was the deciding vote to break the state's budget stalemate, said some GOP leaders had urged him to "let California go bankrupt... let it fall of a cliff" in order to score partisan political points against Democrats.

...

But for the first time, Maldonado spoke out to CBS 5 on Wednesday about what some Republicans wanted him to do.

"Members within my caucus, in essence, were making the point 'Why vote for this? Why not make a point? Why not let the state just off a cliff?' In essence bankruptcy... just to prove a point," said Maldonado, of Santa Maria, in an interview at the statehouse.

Maldonado indicated he was in disbelief at the suggestion from his GOP colleagues to put the state into bankruptcy.

"I just couldn't believe that was coming out of the voices of some of my Republican caucus members within the party," he explained.

Maldonado said his fellow Republicans thought the state going into bankruptcy would embarrass the Democrats, who controlled the majority in the California Legislature.
...

You'd be a good online English tutor...I think you need a teaching cred., but if you have one, tutor.com would probably hire you...

aren't they overplaying the "majority" part of this. if it were true, the dems would be able to pass the budget without the republicans.

sounds like more of the same crap you hear from rethuglicans about the democrats controlling congress since 2006.

Submitted by dan on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 9:06am.
this just seems wrong to me. your ability to soft land and get supported by a safety net should be unrelated to personal behaviour.

as a thought experiment, perhaps we should tell people getting benefits that they can't give money to church.
----------
Or have mandatory drug tests for anyone claiming a tax deduction. We wouldn't want to be giving credits to a guy who will spend the money on dope, right?

They have... I don't think they've been doing
what "their" constituents want.
^^^^^^^^^
Did I spell that right?

time -

"breaking news" - Obama at ASU commencement

This is just me, here in AZ and having some contacts on the inside. Here are some observations.
The event usually takes place in the basketball arena, Wells Fargo Arena. Now that the president is coming, there is talk of moving the event next door to the football stadium so 70k can attend.

The university is reeling from massive budget cuts and an event like this can easily run $500,000 to a million.

I say do this type of event Mr. Pres., just don't tell anybody before hand. Would make security and the cost less of a headache. Let the event proceed normally until you show up. The point is the speech right? Not the hype leading up to it.

=
Just sayin'
=
msnbc going in the background. Reporter reading threatening emails that have been sent to AIG;
"and this one is from 'Jack the Killer' -- some of the people use their real names..."
~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

Thanks for the reply on grey/gray...
Submitted by Alice on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 9:23am.
--------
So-o-o-o...are you going with the thundering herd's favorite spelling or are you going to buck the trend?

Just so's you know, when I think "grey" I always think grey spelled with an "e".

It might be due to the many Greyhound commercials during my youth, or it might be because the with-an-e spelling was more popular when I was taught to read and write.

I wonder which spelling was on the Crayola box in 1960?

His parents Raj Gupta and Amar Gindel

Excerpt:

Raj was the daughter of a bank manager. She first came to America on a scholarship to study for her doctorate in nuclear physics at Louisiana State University. She brought along her husband, a love match named Amar Jindal, himself the son of a shopkeep from the bania caste, the only one of the nine children in his family to attend school past fifth grade. At the time the couple immigrated, Raj was three months pregnant with their first son, Piyush. Though the university health plan denied coverage for the birth (it was ruled a "preexisting condition"), the one-month paid maternity leave was awarded as promised — that was the perk that had tipped the scales for Amar, who'd been hesitant to leave home, having worked his way up through the ranks to the respected position of assistant professor of engineering at Punjab University in Chandigarh, the newly dedicated capital city of their home state. At the age of four, according to family lore, precocious little Piyush Jindal would announce to his teacher and all of his friends in school in Baton Rouge — a town of politics and industry on the banks of the muddy Mississippi River — that he would heretofore be known as Bobby, after his favorite character on The Brady Bunch.

con't

http://www.esquire.com/features/bobby-jindal-all-american-1008

obama was invited to speak at the notre dame commencement also. of course the right wing kooks are going to town because obama doesn't take orders from the pope.

what i don't understand is why they didn't simply decline so that this wouldn't become a distraction?

New York to Roll Back
Strict '70s Drug Laws

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York's governor and legislative leaders have agreed to repeal some of the nation's most draconian drug laws, the New York Times reports.

http://www.newser.com/story/54393/new-york-to-roll-back-strict-70s-drug-...

Sandy, I hadn't heard that about fingerprints. Have you done a search on it? What a waste of time and money!

It wasn't MY idea to stop at McDonald's..

The only reason we ever go there is to get me a Frappe.

:-)

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/03/16/want-to-sell-your-house-youll-n...

Cook County, Illinois homeowners looking to sell their homes will need to provide fingerprints starting on June 1st.

Just for selling a house, you'll have to provide a thumbprint from your right hand, and some consumers are complaining that the new law is intrusive. The cost is minimal in the grand scheme of a real estate transaction: $25.

The argument in favor of the policy is the massive amount of mortgage fraud, and efforts to hold people more accountable are worth pursuing. What's puzzling to me is why the law also doesn't require the signatures of buyers who, because they're the ones taking out the loans, are more likely to be involved in fraud.

HousingDoom.com also comments on the uselessness of the law: "Clearly, mortgage fraud has been a big problem, but the fraud I have seen would not have been prevented by providing a fingerprint. Rather, the fraud has involved misstating the value of the property, or misstating the assets and income of the buyer. Why invade the privacy of home sellers with a law that is unlikely to reduce fraud?"

There's definitely a need for more safeguards to prevent mortgage fraud, but this one seems like barking up the wrong tree.

====

sounds more like tsa theatre (i have always felt that the tsa is to create the illusion of security)

Rush Limbaugh wins 'unsexiest' man of the year award
John Byrne

The man who touted 'Barack the Magic Negro' and mocked Michael J. Fox for allegedly faking Parkinson's disease has beaten out the man who stole nearly $65 billion for a dubious accolade.

Rush Limbaugh, mocked as "Jabba the Nut" by free weekly Boston Phoenix, has been selected as the ugliest man of the year by the paper. The 99 runner-up unsexiest men of the year can be viewed at this link.

"America’s ugliest moment of 2009? Rush Limbaugh, his man-boobs a-jiggle, bouncing at the CPAC podium to bask in the sickly glow of conservatism’s orgy of greed, avarice, and arrogance," the paper writes. "Here, at last, was the shining image of the 21st century Republican Party: a leeringly rich Baby Boomer squatting at the top of the mountain, reaping his jollies from the suffering of those at the bottom, praying for the failure of hope.

"If this hypocritical and morally repugnant reformed Oxy junkie wants to discuss “failure,” maybe we should talk about his career as an NFL commentator — or the last time he detoxed off prescription smack," they add.

Number two? Chris Brown who they say is imitating "Ike Turner's worst traits" and brings "new meazning to the phrase 'hit record,' citing his recent spat with star Rihanna. Number three: Bernie Madoff, the man who mounted the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Also notable is the Phoenix's #4: Jim Cramer, of CNBC, who was recently lambasted by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart for his histrionics and history in pushing stocks.

"CNBC's Jim Cramer is the Jenna Jameson of financial reporting: the more the economy took it in the rear, the louder his screams of ecstasy became," the Phoenix says. "We had this loudmouthed, prop-wielding financial Gallagher on our list a full year before he got pwned by Jon Stewart — but in 2009, Cramer wins our most-devolved award, streaking up the list from his 91st-place showing in 2008 to now land inside the top 10. How’d we figure it? Simple calculation: we moved him up a spot every time the market went down like a porn star — and added bonuses every time he whimpered 'I should’ve done better.'"

They dub Cramer "Crock Broker."
More here:

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Rush_Limbaugh_wins_unsexiest_man_of_0326.h...

If he is going to Notre Dame to speak, he probably has a good reason he feels is worth taking the flak he is bound to receive for doing it.

Or maybe he is just a secret member of Opus Dei and a servant of the Jesuit "Black Pope". <8)

To steal a movie line..The way his head works is god's own private mystery.

“Change” by Tears for Fears
[ button from http://www.playlist.com/
project playlist ]
=
off-bye
~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

you're right.

i guess my thinking is that any mainstream college (i.e. not liberty college) would relish having obama as the commencement speaker, not only because he is president but because he is historic (although to his credit he said the honeymoon was over the day after the innauguaration).

given that, why chum the right wing waters?

"If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

------

Um...because...YOU JACKASS...even if you agree with those tests for jobs, which I don't (not random ones for truly life-or-death type jobs, and not any ones to work at Walmart), that is about your ability TO DO YOUR JOB unimpaired, not about how you spend the money that ya' get.

Jesusgod where do they find these people!!!

the better question is how do we get them to crawl back under the rock they crawled out from under. they offer society nothing, nada, zip.

Do they still have that kind of tea? I don't know how much longer I will be able to afford soda as a means of caffeine delivery. ;}

Maybe Ms_A knows.

Oh no "Morning Thunder" is what it's called. Much more new-agey that way.

Dean smacks down Scarborough: Budget criticism 'total nonsense'
David Edwards

Two days after joining CNBC as a contributor, former DNC chair Howard Dean tangoed with the conservative leaning host of a morning show on a sister network.

On his Morning Joe show, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough criticized President Obama's budget proposal Wednesday morning, claiming that it was similar to what the GOP did during "eight years of recklessness."

"Did we choose this? He always talks about moving this in a new direction. Fiscally, this is going down the same path that George Bush and Republicans took us down eight years," Scarborough asserted.

Dean interrupted, "Joe, that's total nonsense."

"In your heart that the spending proposed in this budget, what we are bailing out Wall Street, is unsustainable," argued Scarborough.

Dean disagreed.

"First of all, there's -- there's no federal balance sheet affected by the Geithner proposal to deal with getting the toxic assets off," explained Dean. "They very wisely put a lot of private money into that and that's guaranteed by the federal government and we are going to end up making money off that.".

"Second of all, we are not nationalizing health care," Dean added. "We are giving the American people a choice of what they want to do. Which is a lot better than not giving them the choice."

This video is from MSNBC's Morning Joe, broadcast Mar. 25, 2009.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Dean_smacks_down_Scarborough_Budget_critic...

not quite what you would call a fair fight even if howard ties one hand behind his back.

Thundering Herd is an expression we use in networking to describe a problem that causes device systems to become overwhelmed and crash...

Better lay hands on your laptop and say 5 hail marys....

yes i have been left behind and am still catching up

Stephen Kinzer, smcgee mentioned him. He's one of my favorite authors, read all his books, my favorites are All the SHAh's men about the overthrow of Mossadegh in 1953 and Blood of Brothers about Nicaragua in the 80s. This is a great book; he lived in Nicaragua in those yearsas a foreign correspondent for some major magazine (I think it was Time, but I don' remember exactly), he was very young at the time, i think it was his first assignment as a journalist.

Obama: No need for a 'global currency'
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster

Australian PM voices support for the dollar, says new currency not on G20's agenda

During a live, prime-time press conference at which reporters focused almost exclusively on economic matters, President Barack Obama gave his first public opposition to Russia and China's proposal of a world currency to supplant the dollar.

Mere hours earlier, both Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that they would not allow the dollar to be stripped of the premier status, as suggested by the head of China's central bank.

"... The dollar is extraordinarily strong right now," said the president during his prime-time press conference. "The reason the dollar is strong right now is because investors consider the United States the strongest economy in the world, with the most stable political system in the world. So, you don't have to take my word for it.

"I think there is a great deal of confidence that ultimately, although we are going through a rough patch, that the prospects for a world economy are very, very strong."

Obama also linked his administration's popularity around the world to a growing "confidence" in America's "ability to assert global leadership."

Off mic a reporter asked, "What about a global currency?"

"No, I don't believe there's a need for a global currency," said Obama flatly.

"China has long been uneasy about relying on the dollar for the bulk of its trade and to store foreign reserves," noted the Associated Press. "Premier Wen Jiabao publicly appealed to Washington this month to avoid any response to the crisis that might weaken the dollar and the value of Beijing's estimated $1 trillion in Treasuries and other U.S. government debt.

"For decades, the dollar has been the world's most widely used currency. Many governments hold a large portion of their reserves in dollars. Crude oil and many commodities are priced in dollars. Business deals around the world are done in dollars."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_I_dont_support_global_currency_0324....

The thundering herd problem occurs when a large number of processes waiting for an event are awoken when that event occurs, but only one process is able to proceed at a time. After the processes wake up, they all demand the resource and a decision must be made as to which process can continue. After the decision is made the remaining processes are put back to sleep, only to wake up again to request access to the resource.

This occurs repeatedly, until there are no more processes to be woken up. Because all the processes use system resources upon waking, it is more efficient if only one process is woken up at a time.

This may render the computer unusable, but it can also be used as a technique if there is no other way to decide which process should continue (for example when programming with semaphores).

Though the phrase is mostly used in computer science, it could be an abstraction of the observation seen when cattle are released from a shed or when wildebeest are crossing the Mara River. In both instances, the movement is suboptimal.

====

which of course reminds me of the far side cartoon where the cattle are all in line at the slaughterhouse and one cow says to another, "hey, no cutting in line"

I got a regular gig on the Corey Farley radio show here in
reno! I will be on every other Wednesday at 5. I am so excited.....

My lecture went well. About 25 people showed up which filled the room to capacity. It was fun and I got real good feedback

Great night.

om mani padme hum

on the live stream yet.

Anybody see different?

best wishes in your new journey

whats going on?

the guy sez now.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/OpenForQuestions/

I have to leave in about 10 minutes for therapy so if anyone is watching this...please comment re his answers and what you think so I can catch up later. Thanks

ya'll

tonight at 6pm eastern, go out in your backyard or if you do not have a back yard go in the street or shoot from the window, take a snapshot of your backyard or your local outdoors

then get back in and download it into your computer and post here on the current seder thread so we can all share our springtime images in real time

why 6pm? I wish i could do it now; but this is all i am getting right now, i am at work and it's grey and rainy out there, outta window

(the white building on the right is Charity Hospital, I am not sure what's going on in there exactly, I think it's been closed since Katrina, supposed to come down and projecting to build some modern hospital which probably won't be "charity" but rather for profit enterprise, but who knows, i think they're still fighting over it; it was built in the Huey PLong days in the thirties and blah blah)

I'm excited for you!!

What great news for a change. Wish you much luck and luv!

needs to dial back the Jindal bigtime.

A radio gig...how cool is that???

Do they stream to the web? I would love to listen in.

Good for you !

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

I will do it if it's nicer. GrAy here too and pretty cold.

don't know if the feed is available via cklan or not

Prez is on MSNBC and CNN also.

Later

Online Townhall....

92,925 people have submitted 104,127 questions...

Somehow I don't think he has the time to get to them all....

Submitted by cent on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 10:25am.
Better lay hands on your laptop and say 5 hail marys....
---------
http://www.scborromeo.org/saints/isidores.htm

Isidore of Seville
Born: c.560 in Cartagena, Spain
Died: April 4, 636
Feast Day: April 4
Patron Saint of: computers, computer users, computer programmers, Internet

[Last paragraph following a long and interesting--really!-- biography]:

...So, how does Saint Isidore of Seville become the patron saint for the Internet? The Observation Service for Internet, who drew it's mission from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, researched the Internet and related technologies to select a patron saint that best reflects the concerns and ideals of computer designers, programmers and users. The saint chosen by the Observation Service for Internet was Saint Isidore. "The saint who wrote the well-known 'Etymologies' (a type of dictionary), gave his work a structure akin to that of the database. He began a system of thought known today as 'flashes;' it is very modern, notwithstanding the fact it was discovered in the sixth century. Saint Isidore accomplished his work with great coherence: it is complete and its features are complementary in themselves.

wow. a leader who can coherently talk about things. who would have thought.

From the bio of St. Isadore of Spain:

...The first three of these books are taken up with the trivium and quadrivium. The entire first book is devoted to grammar, including metre. Imitating the example of Cassiodorus and Boethius he preserves the logical tradition of the schools by reserving the second book for rhetoric and dialectic.

Book four, treats of medicine and libraries; book five, of law and chronology; book six, of ecclesiastical books and offices; book seven, of God and of the heavenly and earthly hierarchies; book eight, of the Church and of the sects, of which latter he numbers no less than sixty-eight; book nine, of languages, peoples, kingdoms, and official titles; book ten, of etymology: book eleven, of man; book twelve, of beasts and birds; book thirteen, of the world and its parts; book fourteen, of physical geography; book fifteen, of public buildings and roadmaking; book sixteen, of stones and metals; book seventeen, of agriculture; book eighteen, of the terminology of war, of jurisprudence, and public games; book nineteen, of ships, houses, and clothes; book twenty, of victuals, domestic and agricultural tools, and furniture.
---------------------
And St. Isadore did all of that in his spare time.

I'm still polishing my trivium. It's unlikely that my quadrivium will improve at this point.

Reno is lucky to have you on the radio mhappenow! . I know this spring time project will grow fast and high.It is a new moon today I think that says it all>>>

and reading backwards

just read michele's post about her radio gig

congrats! good for ya! glad to know things are looking up and it's not all gloom and doom in the economic outlook out there

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20127001.300-space-storm-alert-90-...

you are all like my support group...."samanon"...

om mani padme hum

(Because I sure won't.)

-----

Well...I stand corrected (sort of).

____

I'd be super-interested in his definition of "works" and "a lot..."

Saint Database, whoda thunk it.

They have come a long way...not too long ago the church would have condemned something like the internet as a "tool of Satan". We can't have all that information floating around out there without the proper Papal spin you know...

An actual Prayer Service for the Internet too...outstanding....

Okay Sederville, let us pray....

Bullshit. You're not gonna tell me those girls are a day over fifteen. "Where does the time go, huh?" :}

obama townhall is discussing student loan reform.

i guess we have the rethuglicans to thank for this. is there anything those bastards touched that they didn't ruin out of greed or malice?

Courts have convicted more than 1,800 federal, state and local government officials on corruption charges in the last two years alone. Included in that number: 170 federal officials, 158 on the state level, 360 local officials and more than 365 police officers. - ABC

What's Here?
MissingMoney.com is a database of governmental unclaimed property records.
The governmental safeguard your money and return your lost funds. Common types of unclaimed property include:

* Bank accounts and safe deposit box contents
* Stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and dividends
* Uncashed checks and wages
* Insurance policies, CD's, trust funds
* Utility deposits, escrow accounts

http://www.missingmoney.com/Main/Index.cfm

States and Provincial Direct Contact Information
& Websites (with a clickable map) here:
http://www.missingmoney.com/Main/StateSites.cfm

Grey skies are gonna clear up....

...

Gray skies are gonna clear up....

54 Gray #8B8680 1949 created. 2004 limited edition equivalent: Missouri, Archway Grey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors

*

Speaking of Isidore...one of my all time favorite websites...

http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/

Our friends at EDAR (Everyone Deserves A Roof) provide unique mobile shelters to people living on the streets. An alternative to cardboard boxes, alleys and underpasses, each EDAR is a four-wheeled mobile unit that resembles a reinforced shopping cart. It can carry belongings and facilitate recycling during the day and it unfolds into a special, framed tent-like sleeping enclosure with a bed at night. They are waterproof, very durable, and have much better wheels that the standard shopping cart which allows for increased mobility and an easier time recycling. TakePart had a chance to meet Peter Samuelson, the founder of EDAR, last Fall. Since Peter’s visit to our offices, EDAR has been gaining national attention with help from the LA Times, CBS, ABC and others.

While Peter fully recognizes the importance of more permanent living solutions for the homeless, we need a solution on how to serve the the more than 70,000 in Los Angeles County alone. In fact, EDAR units are often being used as a “first step” into the homeless shelters for those that are typically reluctant to enter a traditional shelter system.

EDAR’s are given free of charge- when funds permit- to homeless people directly and through EDAR’s shelter partners. And they track the progress of the EDAR units through each of these partners

http://www.takepart.com/blog/tag/edar/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCtn_F4JCig

...until we, as a nation, develop a social conscience, it's better than a cardboard box.

i am not so sure. Won't these edar owners be regarded as elitist from their peers and ridiculed?

now I know 2?

We are all in the monestary of the Internet, so speak softly:

The Order of Saint Isidore of Seville is an Internet-based organisation. The Order was formed on 1st January 2000 to celebrate the beginning of Christ's Third Millennium, to honour Saint Isidore of Seville and to promote the ideals of Christian chivalry through the medium of the Internet. In short, they pledge to use the Internet only for good and to encourage others to do so. It is perhaps best said in the prayer to Saint Isidore which is on its website.
----
Here is the latter portion of the prayer to Saint Isidore:

...grant we beseech Thee that,
through the example of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor,
during our journeys through the Internet
we will direct our hands and eyes
only to that which is pleasing to Thee [no S&M!]
and treat with charity and patience
all those souls whom we encounter... [no snarking!]
---------------
Excerpts taken from:

http://catholic-saints.suite101.com/article.cfm/patron_saint_of_the_inte...

and

http://www.st-isidore.org/main.html

because St. Isidore helps those who give attribution to others.

Every one of the first five or six hits has "gray."

Of course, we have no idea where they get their info--they might just be ruled by a common "thundering herd" instinct. We'd really have to find some kind of sheet music etc. that was produced by the songwriter's licensing company, or whatever to know for sure. But I betcha it's grAy, when all's said and dooed.

this word makes me chuckle

the italian word for undies is "mutande"
latin for "to change" mutare
latin expression mutatis mutandis means "after having changed what was to be changed"

and every time we heard that in our Latin class we little girls we laughed (after we had changed our underwear? LOL)

Nation
Idaho Teacher Sells Advertising Space On Tests
by The Associated Press
Bill Schaefer

At the bottom of each handout in Jeb Harrison's economics class at Pocatello High School in Idaho is an advertisement for Molto Caldo Pizzeria. AP

NPR.org, March 25, 2009 · Good morning, class, and welcome to U.S. history, brought to you by Molto Caldo Pizzeria.

In a cash-strapped Idaho high school, where signs taped near every light switch remind the staff to save electricity, an enterprising teacher has struck a sponsorship deal with a local pizza shop: Every test, handout and work sheet he passes out to his students reads MOLTO'S PIZZA 14" 1 TOPPING JUST $5 in bright red, inch-high letters printed along the bottom of each page.

"I just wanted to find a way to save money," said Jeb Harrison, who teaches history and economics. "We have to sell ads for our yearbook, for our school newspaper. I don't think this small amount of advertising will change my classroom."

School officials were not wild about the idea, but Pocatello High School Principal Don Cotant relented after Harrison explained the advertisements could help illuminate such topics as the Great Depression.

"I had concerns. I didn't know what this would open up for us," Cotant said. "But we've let this happen because it makes a point about what economic hard times can force people to do."

As school districts across the country face the worst economic outlook in decades, educators who have long reached into their own pockets to buy classroom supplies are finding creative ways to cover expenses. But selling ads on schoolwork is practically unheard of.

The 12,000-student school district in and around Pocatello — an old railroad town of about 55,000, where Idaho State University and a semiconductor plant are among the biggest employers —- is looking at a shortfall of up to $10 million next year because of expected cuts in state aid. A tax increase was voted down last month, and school officials have frozen spending on field trips, teacher training and basic supplies such as paper.

Molto Caldo Pizzeria, about a mile from the high school, agreed to supply paper for Harrison's five classes — 10,000 sheets, valued at $315 and imprinted with a pizza ad. That should be enough paper for the rest of this school year and all of the next one.

On a recent day, Harrison handed out photocopies of Dust Bowl images, emblazoned with the pizza ad. The ad also appeared on a test he gave last week on the Depression.

"I thought it was a great idea. I mean, the levy didn't pass. We can't get enough money from the state. We've got to find some way to get it," said one of Harrison's students, 17-year-old Benjamin Simms.

Marianne Donnelly, chairwoman of the school board, said the ad apparently violates a district policy barring schools from directly promoting businesses. But she said the board considers the ad harmless and is not making an issue out of it.

"Give the teacher credit for creativity," Donnelly said. "There's no question we're in desperate financial straits."

Elsewhere, nonprofit organizations are helping teachers obtain free or discounted classroom supplies, and Web sites match educators with benefactors willing to buy materials. But Harrison's approach has at least one critic worried the idea will spread.

"It crosses a line," said Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist and director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

"When teachers start becoming pitchmen for products, children suffer and their education suffers as well."

Earlier this school year in San Diego, Rancho Bernardo High School math instructor Tom Farber allowed students' parents and local businesses to pay $10 to print messages on quizzes, $20 for space on tests and $30 for final exams. Most parents printed inspirational messages; some started plugging their businesses. Farber raised $625 in one semester.

District administrators expressed concern that the practice could lead to legal problems if an ad were ever rejected, but Farber ended the practice before they could intervene. He sold his last ad in January, after making enough to get through the rest of the year.

"If the district says I can't do it, then they need to provide the money necessary for me to do my job," Farber said.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102372154

it is an act of god...?

Or when I am on a service call, I am an angel?

I wonder...if I place an ad in the personals praising St. Isadore, will my upstream bandwidth improve? It's worth a shot....

At this rate I will be Re-Catholicised in no time. :)

no, but i bet its worth an indulgence especially if i'm at the other end.

Tom Hartmann had this fellow on and this fits into the Codex Allimentarius issue

http://biotechempire.com/

Submitted by gloryoski on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 12:01pm.
...But I betcha it's grAy, when all's said and dooed.
-------
Au contraire, grammar breath. When it's all said and dooed, it's etymology time.

[Middle English grei, from Old English grǣg.]

Lost and found
Submitted by Cat Chew on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 12:01pm.
What's Here?
*******

I've been needing that site ever since my last laptop fried.. :)

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

preferred US spelling could be indicated in part by usage in all-'murcan types-o-stuff, such as Crayola crayons and the Broadway musical.

It was a tentative folk-lexicography thesis about MURCAN standard English (i.e, the RELEVANT corpus).

:p

Does that mean when my cable modem goes down
Submitted by cent on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 12:18pm.
it is an act of god...?
-----
It DOES raise questions.

Does the installation of a UPS reveal a lack of faith?

What if the magnet in the base of my plastic St. Isidore icon wipes my hard drive?

I just discovered that St. Gabriel the Archangel is the patron saint of telecommunications, so you need to know something about the problem before you go praying to patron saints willy-nilly.

AMA sues WellPoint over reimbursements
Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:18pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A group of doctors and medical societies led by the American Medical Association sued WellPoint Inc on Wednesday, accusing it of fixing patient reimbursement rates for out-of-network medical services artificially low.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, follows similar claims led by the AMA against Cigna Corp and Aetna Inc in federal court in New Jersey, and against UnitedHealth Group Inc in New York federal court.

WellPoint said on Wednesday in response to the lawsuit that it was "committed to providing appropriate reimbursement for out of network services."

"We are in the process of reviewing the complaint and are unable to comment further at this time," WellPoint spokeswoman Krisin Binns said in a statement.

The AMA's lawsuit accuses WellPoint of overcharging patients for out-of-network services by relying on faulty data provided by a database run by UnitedHealth.

In January, UnitedHealth agreed to pay $350 million to resolve class action litigation and $50 million to settle an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo into the database.

Cuomo accused UnitedHealth of skewing patient reimbursement rates so that as many as 100 million people paid more than they should have for out-of-network medical services.

In the settlement with the attorney general, UnitedHealth shuttered the Ingenix medical billing information service, which was used by most major health insurers to set rates, and paid $10 million to help finance a new independent database to determine market rates for health-care procedures.

WellPoint has already contributed $10 million and Aetna $20 million toward the cost of the new system.

A U.S. Senate Committee has scheduled hearings on Thursday in Washington to examine allegations of insurer price fixing. AMA President Nancy Nielsen is scheduled to testify, an AMA spokesman said.

Interesting..Only 1:44 long..Please veiw till the end..You will see why.. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

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

Submitted by gloryoski on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 12:40pm.
I was referring specifically to the (implied) idea that preferred US spelling could be indicated in part by usage in all-'murcan types-o-stuff, such as Crayola crayons and the Broadway musical...
--------
...which could definitely apply to definately.

The prosecution rests. You loose.

"The most amazing part of the exchange to me is that I didn't go into the East Room intending to ask President Obama about AIG.

After frantic preparation for the prime-time newser with several colleagues, especially lead CNN White House producer Tim McCaughan, I had several provocative questions in my pocket."

Maybe you should have taken some time to think about what you were going to say before you spoke?

And that type of "legal" maneuver only works with military commissions...or if you are the wrong color, gender etc. in the wrong place at the wrong time...but anywaySSSS (are you writhing in pain?) it's bullshit.

___

I never denied being loose. ;P

and all the bloggerati on land and at sea...
interesting discussion on "payday lending" on today's Democracy Now (www.democracy.org)
It's really a form of usury. Stores located in mostly black or latino communities let people write a "bad check" with the understanding htey will repay on payday. Say, for example, the car breaks down and you are strapped...so, when you are ready to pay - - zing!!!!Interest and phone calls...

even if it is an AARP thing.

A touch of Grey...

1 Gray = 1 joule of radiation absorbed per 1 kg of matter = 100 rads...

...I was traveling I-70 in Maryland when I saw a truck parked in a field with a banner, "ObamaCrimes.com," draped on it.

I guess if it's good for anything, it serves as a marker that crazy lives in the vicinity.

THIS is a Grey.

Submitted by nightbird on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 1:00pm.
...It's really a form of usury...
------
A FORM of usury?

Next to "usury" in the dictionary are pictures of a payday loan shop and a big Italian guy.

Even the cast-out moneychangers from the temple wouldn't break bread with those people.

I've heard and read the defense from small payday shop owners. They claim that they are filling a niche for people who cannot obtain a loan through other means.

Right.

I could be filling a niche for lepers by selling them hoods. I should be able to feel all warm and fuzzy about that, shouldn't I?

How 'bout that junky niche? The smack trade is filled with compassionate do-gooders.
-------------------
Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home.
And when he died
All he left us was a loan.

Health department investigating source of Shigellosis bacteria - MSNBC

Revenge of the Neocon bacteria?

ObamaCrimes.com is that kook phillip berg who knows beyond reasonable doubt that obama is not a u.s. citizen.

based on the quality of governance that we got from those famous u.s. citizens raygun, bush, and shrub, i'm not sure that being a u.s. citizen should be given so much credence.

So how did the big O do with the online questions? Any Comments?

So how did the big O do with the online questions? Any Comments?

i know i know - - i understate

it was boring :)

he answered all questions exhaustively and intelligently and the questions were all quite sensible and above average (compared to the press corps stupid questions the other nights)

it was not entertaining enough :) (drudge)

Geithner urges dramatic six-part overhaul of financial system

The Treasury secretary, addressing Congress, calls for 'new rules of the game,' including giving the government broader power over large institutions.

Reporting from Washington -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today called on Congress to enact sweeping financial regulatory reforms, warning that tighter and tougher scrutiny of the entire system was needed to repair a "great loss of confidence."

"To address this will require comprehensive reform. Not modest repairs at the margin but new rules of the game," he told the House Financial Services Committee. "And the new rules must be simpler and more effectively enforced. They must produce a more stable system, one that protects consumers and investors, that rewards innovation and that is able to adapt and evolve with changes in the financial market. "

"We have an opportunity we have not had in generations to put in place a stronger and more resilient system," Geithner said.

The key elements of the Obama administration's proposals are:

• Give a single government entity, possibly the Federal Reserve, the power and authority to oversee the entire economy for signs of "systemic risk."

• Establish a government mechanism to seize and dismantle large institutions whose failure threatens the nation's financial stability.

• Enact tougher requirements for the amount of money and assets financial institutions need to have on hand so they can withstand economic troubles.

• Require large private investment funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Set up a new, comprehensive framework of regulation of the complex financial instruments known as derivatives, including a central clearinghouse for trades in that market.

• Develop new, stronger requirements for money market funds so increased withdrawals won't threaten the broader financial system.

"What we need is better, smarter, tougher regulation," Geithner said.

The Obama administration has been pushing for major regulatory changes, arguing that government officials lack the power and tools needed to respond to the crisis or prevent it in the first place. They particularly cite the problem of dealing with large financial institutions that are not banks.

Although the federal government has the ability to take over failed banks and sell their assets, it has no such power with other financial institutions, such as insurance giant American International Group. The Federal Reserve had to step in last September with $85 billion in emergency loans to keep AIG from failing, the first installment of a bailout that has led the government to commit a total of $182.5 billion so far.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-geithner-regulate27-2009mar27,0,321481...

pfft - you guys don't know what a grey is?
Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 1:20pm.
THIS is a Grey.
--------------------

ya mean we actually have someone who's articulate and thoughtful talking to real people instead of isolating from them like bubble boy W?

involved teachers were going to get to be in defining "charter school" and "performance" (or "merit" or some such concept).

He said teachers had to be very involved in the process because if they didn't like it, it wouldn't work.

He said everybody should be paid more and new teachers should get a lot more mentoring and support.

It was one of the most respectful and helpful answers, I thought.

Personally, I guess I'm OK with merit pay if a whole team of teachers gets it or doesn't, or all the teachers at a school. I don't see how it's going work vis a vis politics if you pit one teacher against the other.

He actually acknowledged that the single payer "option" existed but it would just be too complicated to bring it in now blah blah blah. He emphasized that under his "universal" coverage "everyone who works" would be able to afford insurance.

announcing that the GOPers have their own stimulus package.

Austan GoLsbee(sp) said it's the same plan we've had for the last eight years that put us into this bad recession we have today!

They came up with this plan very fast because they didn't think about it, they just presented the same ole same ole!

Are you trying to get abducted? You know they land on the roof of the house when they snatch you right? You better hope they don't read your nasty comment, that's all I have to say.

that's all they can do - - I believe in loyal opposition, but - "party of no..."

Submitted by toniD on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 1:31pm.
So how did the big O do with the online questions?
------
I'm not entirely comfortable with that nickname.

Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 1:43pm.
Are you trying to get abducted?
-----
I have Liza Minnelli to protect me. She's sorta like a tin foil hat in heels.

Still, CeeCee, you gotta admit, that's an excellent price for a 14 inch pizza. That particular ad is a public service really. ;)

Maybe I better not ask why.

Never mind!

did you report it to the fcc. you saw what they did to janet jackson.

...they can switch hands and change rhythm all they want...but in the end, they are still stuck with the same old Boner...

“Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like Nascar drivers, so we could identify their corporate sponsors.” - Bloomberg

wasn't that a bumper sticker?

ToniD - get away from the news you addict. You need an intervention.

House GOP Unveils Its Budget Shiny Packet of Goals
By Elana Schor - March 26, 2009, 1:22PM

Stung by their stereotyping as the "party of no," House Republicans eagerly promoted the unveiling of their alternative to President Obama's budget today -- but when they finished speaking, reporters had one big question: Where's the actual budget? You know, the numbers that show deficit projections and discretionary spending?

There certainly was no hard budgetary data in the attractively designed 18-page packet that the House GOP handed out today, its blue cover emblazoned with an ambitious title: "The Republican Road to Recovery." When Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was asked what his goal for deficit reduction would be -- President Obama aims to halve the nation's spending imbalance within five years -- Boehner responded simply: "To do better [than Obama]."

When pressed further by reporters, Boehner promised that Republicans would release their actual budget within the next few days and pointed a finger back at the president.

After Obama delivered a prime-time speech previewing his budget, Boehner said, "he didn't offer his details until days later."

The lack of any statistical heft in their packet left the House GOP stumbling out of the gate as it worked to re-dub itself as the "party of yes," in the words of No. 3-ranked leader Mike Pence (R-IN). House Republicans unveiled an alternative plan for the foreclosure crisis yesterday, and they are continuing to tout their economic stimulus proposal (along with an erroneous claim that it creates more jobs than Obama's).

The GOP's "Road to Recovery" packet, divided into sections on spending limits, job creation/tax reduction, and debt control, is certainly replete with big promises. The plan commits Republicans "to ensur[ing] that the federal budget cannot grow faster than families' ability to pay the bill" ... though it doesn't explain what metric the party would use to measure the "average" family's debt burden.

Another section of the GOP budget packet describes "a new tax deduction that allows businesses with less than 500 employees to take a tax deduction equal to 20% of their income" ... though it doesn't explain how much the new tax change would cost, nor whether it would be offset to help avoid increasing the deficit.

Cap-and-trade limits on carbon emissions make an appearance in the budget packet, complete with its GOP re-branding as an "energy tax" -- which TPMDC first noted last week. Republicans predictably would make no attempt to combat climate change, but they do propose immediately opening the Arctic and Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.

If you were wondering how much money the GOP believes that could raise for the taxpayers ... sorry, you'll have to wait a few more days.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/house-gop-unveils-its-budget-...

- NS

... what could make them nervous about this?

me worry?? (about missles)???

What could possibly go wrong?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/26/gop-budget-proposal-massi_n_179...

"Two nights ago, the president said, 'We haven't seen a budget yet out of Republicans.' Well, it's just not true, because here it is, Mr. President," said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), waving a blue document in the air.
----------
Even if this were not political grandstanding, and bad political grandstanding at that, Boehner is playing fast and loose with tenses.

If the President said two nights ago that the Republicans had not produced a budget and today the Republicans produce a budget (not-quite-a-budget, but we'll overlook that detail for now), then it WAS true.

Boehner cannot say, "Well, it's just not true..." because (drum roll, please) it WAS TRUE. It still IS true. It will never stop being true because the Obama administration had not seen a Republican budget as of two nights ago.

It's this kind of crappy political rhetoric that makes a mere liar look like an idiot. We expect political lies but we expect better conceived and executed lies; lies that have a few layers of obfuscation between themselves and the truth or that leave some room for differing interpretations.

Boehner might as well be a four-year-old who denies hitting his brother seconds after hitting his brother in front of his mother. "I didn't do it!"

Mom: "Yes you did. I was standing right here when you did it."

I hate the theater and the grandstanding of politics but we deserve, at the least, to have people in office who are good at it instead of just going through the motions.

it's totally safe...

A Harvard dean gets call from Washington
Obama taps Koh for a health post
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | March 26, 2009

President Obama last night nominated Dr. Howard Koh, an associate dean at the Harvard School of Public Health and former Massachusetts public health commissioner, to a top health position in his administration.

If confirmed by the Senate as assistant secretary for health, Koh would be responsible for establishing the nation's public health agenda, handling a vast portfolio that includes the US surgeon general and programs that coordinate vaccines, AIDS policy, minority health, and blood safety.

"We at Harvard School of Public Health feel proud that a member of our community has been entrusted with this important mission," said the school's dean, Dr. Julio Frenk.

Koh is the second member of his family to be nominated to a top Obama administration post this week: On Monday his brother, Yale Law School dean Harold Koh, was picked to be the State Department's legal adviser, a post also requiring Senate approval.

Howard Koh served as the public health commissioner in Massachusetts from 1997 to 2003, first being appointed by Governor William Weld and continuing in the office through the administrations of Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift before resigning in the early days of the Mitt Romney administration.

As public health commissioner, Koh spread a gospel of prevention that was both personal and passionate. He had established his bona fides in the world of disease prevention as a young physician at the hospital that was the forerunner of Boston Medical Center. From that base, he helped direct the successful 1992 campaign to raise the state tobacco tax, with the money spent on launching Massachusetts' widely emulated Tobacco Control Program.

In the waning days of his tenure, swooning budget conditions forced Koh to largely dismantle the tobacco program.

After leaving the state post, Koh joined the Harvard School of Public Health as associate dean, with his work focusing on cancer prevention, health disparities, tobacco control, and emergency preparations.

The state's current public health commissioner, John Auerbach, said Koh's varied experiences treating patients, running a large government agency, and overseeing academic research provide him with an unusually broad view of the nation's healthcare system.

"Those many different types of professions will give him useful insights in addressing the many different challenges that the country is facing," Auerbach said.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/03/26/a_harvard_dean_get...

Japan should take an Ambien and buy some BoA stock an hour before lift off. That's all. Ambien is safe too. Nothing to look at. Move along...

Submitted by toniD on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 1:54pm.
Maybe I better not ask why.
---------
Let's just say that the subject might come up at a Tupperware-like party featuring small personal appliances.

members of our congress and senate. They make a lot of money, draw heavy duty benefits and make important decisions. Nobody in America should be forced to take a drug test before these people do.

Maron is talking about Larry Fine of the 3 Stooges. I caught the tail end but someone wrote a book about the Three Stooges. He used to visit Larry Fine in the hospital with a great grand daughter. Larry had had a stroke and at first couldn't talk clearly but this man visited him quite often and Larry's speech improved. This man's favorite was Moe and Moe used to visit Larry but this man always missed him.

If you didn't watch the show, you might want to cath the replay later today.

at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building - Wapo

Looks like a total loss.

Yes? And? I'm waiting to hear how that makes it inappropriate.

I'm looking forward to some good political make-up sexing with the Big O any year now....

Regulator Who Regrets "Silence" About Derivatives Told To Shut Up
By Moe Tkacik - March 26, 2009, 2:55PM

Yesterday Christopher "Kit" Taylor, the former executive director of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, became one of the few regulators to publicly apologize for his role in the crisis. Like many public officials, he worried for years about the explosion in the unregulated derivatives market. At the MSRB Taylor was in the unique position of seeing bankers pawn off derivatives on slightly less sophisticated investors than the usual hedge funds and chief financial officers: school districts, park authorities and power companies -- and today Detroit, Jefferson County, Alabama and various towns in California alone are out more than a billion dollars after investing in interest rate "swaptions" that left them on the hook in a national conspiracy through which banks, lawyers, consultants and corrupt politicos bilked as much as $4 billion a year from state and local government coffers. But "the big firms, he told Bloomberg yesterday, "didn't want us touching derivatives...they said, 'Don't talk about it, Kit.'"

"Every time I talked to the board about swaps, I made it clear that the MSRB had no authority to take action," said Taylor, in an e-mail. "My 'regret' is that MSRB would not speak out loudly that swaps were going to cost taxpayers a bundle if issuers did not clearly understand what they were doing."

Perhaps as penance, Taylor has been a main source for most of the media coverage of municipal finance corruption, currently the subject of a federal probe, and his candor has been hailed by his former colleagues in financial regulation -- not.

More:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/ex_bond_overseer_says_...

Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 2:25pm.
...Ambien is safe too...
------
Thanks for reminding me. A few nights ago I was channel-surfing during the Leno/Letterman/Fallon/Ferguson hours before giving up to go to sleep.

I switch channels when a commercial begins on the off chance that another station will not have a commercial airing at the same moment, which rarely works, as it didn't the other night.

I caught the middle of an Ambien commercial. The voice-over narrator was giving the disclaimers, "Tell your doctor if you experience night walking or strange behavior..."

The screen was showing a Rhode Island Red rooster hopping down the front steps and wandering around on a dark and abandoned city street. One shot is from the tarmac, making the rooster appear bigger than a German Shepherd. The rooster seems to be looking for his apartment. I was certain that Kafka was involved somehow.

Later I learned (after seeing the entire ad) that the wandering rooster is supposed to express the idea that his crowing won't be waking any Ambien users up until tomorrow morning, or something like that.

Even so, if I was an advertising employee who viewed a proposed commercial for Ambien with warnings of strange behavior backed-up by a chicken wandering aimlessly on a dark street, I would have nipped it in the bud.

Here's the advertisement video. You can decide for yourself. The good part is half way through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzK6MqVG_PM

Looking For A New Career? Try Fraud Investigator.
By Zachary Roth - March 26, 2009, 11:14AM
One of the few growth industries in the current economic climate? Fraud investigators.

Allegations of fraud are increasing, as the financial crisis drags on. As a result, reports the New York Times, people who are skilled at following the money have rarely been more in demand.

The FBI is recruiting new hires to work on a glut of cases -- it had more than 1600 open mortgage-fraud investigations at the end of fiscal 2008, almost twice as many as two years earlier.

Read more »

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/looking_for_a_new_care...

A judge froze the assets of Peter Madoff Wednesday in connection to his brother's multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Peter Madoff is being sued by Andrew Ross Samuels, who alleges that he invested almost half a million dollars in a trust administered by Bernard Madoff. Andrew Ross Samuels, a 22-year-old law student, received the money from his grandfather to help pay for his education and entrusted Madoff to manage it. Peter Madoff has not been charged in connection to his brother's scheme, but Samuels' lawyer said that it was his legal responsibility to protect the money. (Associated Press)

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/25/ap6214472.html

The Government Wants Your Take on Geithner's New Bank Plan
By Elana Schor - March 26, 2009, 2:47PM
Nouriel Roubini has weighed in. So have Simon Johnson, Brad DeLong, and Paul Krugman.

Now you, the taxpayers, are being asked for your comments on the government's new bank rescue plan -- not by the Treasury Department, but by the FDIC. Are you disturbed by the re-branding of toxic mortgage-backed securities as "legacy assets"? Are you ready to get past this bonuses business and put your trust in the Obama administration? Here's the link to submit your reaction in detail.

http://www.fdic.gov/llp/progdesc.html

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced the opening of the public comment period for the Legacy Loans Program (LLP). The FDIC and the Department of the Treasury recently announced the LLP, which will remove troubled loans and other assets from FDIC-insured institutions and attract private capital to purchase the loans. The FDIC is requesting comment from interested parties on the critical aspects of the proposed LLP.
The program is intended to boost private demand for distressed assets that are currently held by banks and facilitate market-priced sales of troubled assets. It is necessary because uncertainty about the value of these assets makes it difficult for banks to raise capital and secure stable funding to support lending to households and businesses.

The LLP, announced by the Administration on Monday, will combine an FDIC guarantee of debt financing with equity capital from the private sector and the Treasury. The partnerships will purchase assets from banks and place them into what will be known as Public-Private Investment Funds (PPIF).

Institutions of all sizes will be eligible to participate in the LLP to sell assets. It is expected that a range of investors will participate. The program will particularly encourage the participation of individuals, mutual funds, pension plans, insurance companies and other long-term investors. Investors will be pre-qualified by the FDIC to participate in auctions.

For providing a guarantee, the FDIC will be paid a fee, a portion of which will be allocated to the Deposit Insurance Fund. The FDIC will be protected against losses by the equity in the pool, the newly established value of the pool's assets and the fees collected.

The FDIC will play an ongoing reporting, oversight and accounting role. In addition, the FDIC will structure the debt that the selling bank will take back when the legacy loans are sold. Participant banks may then resell the debt into the market.

The FDIC is seeking public comment from interested parties on the critical aspects of the LLP. Comments are requested no later than April 10.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/the-government-wants-your-tak...

and Sam's not around today. I think he has Jury Duty. So we better get prepared with a less used thread to move to.

I will be leaving for work at 4PM CDT so it may not effect me, but just wanted to warn.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service announced new steps on Thursday aimed at getting taxpayers hiding money in offshore accounts to pay up, promising not to file criminal charges for those who voluntarily fess up to hiding money overseas.

"This is a chance for people to come clean on their own," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman told reporters.

While promising not to prosecute criminal charges, the IRS would impose penalties and interest on past due taxes, he said.

Switzerland agreed earlier this month to relax its strict bank secrecy rules and cooperate more on tax evasion to fend off a global crackdown on tax havens. The country has been under pressure because of an IRS tax fraud investigation targeting UBS AG

IRS memos sent to agency examination staff said offshore tax cases should "receive priority treatment."

"Offshore cases sent to the field are work of the highest priority," said one document, which was made public by the IRS. "Examiners should utilize the full range of information gathering tools in properly developing offshore issues with special emphasis on detecting unreported income. This includes interviewing taxpayers, making third-party contacts and timely issuing summonses to taxpayers and third parties."

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52P58M20090326

(CNN) -- Erik Roberts, an Army sergeant who was wounded in Iraq, underwent his 13th surgery recently to save his right leg from amputation. Imagine his shock when he got a bill for $3,000 for his treatment.

"I just thought it was bull---- that I'm getting billed for being wounded in Iraq doing my job. I always put the mission first, and now that I was wounded in Iraq, they're sending me bills," he said.

"I put my life on the line and I was wounded in combat, and I came back and they're not going to take care of my medical bills?"

It's a level of outrage shared by his mother, as well as the doctor who performed the surgery.

...

CNN on Wednesday contacted the office of Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Roberts' home state of Ohio who serves on the Senate's VA committee. Brown's office had not heard of Roberts' case, but immediately reached out to the soldier and alerted the VA about his situation.

In less than 24 hours, the VA got back to CNN. "The VA will be paying the bill," said VA spokesman Sean Nelson.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/26/wounded.warrior/index.html

Controversial measure fails preliminary vote

Proponents of an amendment that would mandate teachers explain the “strengths and weaknesses” of the theory of evolution to Texas high school students suffered a blowing defeat Thursday morning, when the measure failed during a preliminary vote. The vote was 7-7 and the amendment needed a simple majority in order to pass.

The Texas Freedom Network, an organization that has been fighting against teaching the “strengths and weaknesses” evolution called the vote “a victory for sound science in the state of Texas,” on its blog just minutes after the vote.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/scientists_win_Texas_evolution_debate

Submitted by toniD on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 9:50am.
Rush Limbaugh, mocked as "Jabba the Nut" by free weekly Boston Phoenix, has been selected as the ugliest man of the year by the paper.
--------

Bah ha ha ha ha !

On Thursday, the opposing side followed suit, bringing out Joe the Plumber (among others) to urge Specter to vote against the union-backed legislation. - HuffPo

I wonder what the United Association Of Plumbers and Pipe fitters thinks about JTP?

If you experience sleep walking or strange behavior while taking Ambien, consult with your physician.

Obama Backs Banks, Seeks to Block State Fair-Lending Crackdown

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration’s call for greater financial regulation may have its limits.

The administration late yesterday urged the Supreme Court to bar New York and other states from enforcing their fair- lending and other consumer-protection laws against federally chartered banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

The legal brief, which adopts the Bush administration’s position, is a setback for consumer and civil-rights groups that had urged President Barack Obama’s team to switch positions. The filing puts the administration at odds with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over the respective roles of state and federal regulators. The high court will hear arguments April 28.

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

The only thing I can think of that he hopefully is doing is making a Federal Law to cover this so all states will have to follow. Not all states have Fair Lending. I'm hoping that's the reason.

i was parroting what drudge said about obama's press conference of a couple days ago :)

yeah boring, not entertaining, you know, like the prez supposed to be a clown, like we been accustomed to the last 8 years

Submitted by mire on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 3:44pm.
...yeah boring, not entertaining, you know...
-----
No chase scenes, no guns, no explosions, not even one cyborg. It's, like, snooze city.

They're not even trying.

the obama banks protection against consumer move

probably listening to all the banklovers in his administration or his advisors, who knows, maybe he is in their pocket; there's been so much about Obama not to like recently

Geithner wants to 'regulate' the HEDGE FUNDS???

NO!

KILL THEM.

AND get another Silver Stake to use on the derivative peddlers too.

Gag inducing revolting idea of food. Yuck! Gross! Nasty!

.... eck .... eck

Still having electro shock therapy?

Therapist told me it will still be pretty sore before it starts getting better.

Got to go back tomorrow for another treatment. Hopefully I will be off the flexarils soon. I can't stand being muddleheaded all day everyday.

Heh, I remember a time when that's all I wanted...now it's just boring.

it is an audio.

5 hours tonight.
Have a great evening!

Later

http://samsedershow.com/node/4564

KENYAS MARINE WILDLIFE PERISHES IN US AID NETS

Submitted by smcgee43 on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 6:35am.

When Nimu and Volker reported a dugong caught in a net at the south coast of Kenya, we thought it was a one off occurance. But now the true damage caused by nets has been revealed in this shocking story about how US aid is destroying marine life in Kenya has gone totally viral on the internet
“In 2003, USAID began a four-year project worth $575,000 to improve the lives of coastal communities. It worked on a project with a Kenyan government agency that included providing freezers for the fishermen to store their catch, along with boats and nets.

But the plastic nets are destroying the very ecosystems that the fishermen depend on and the tourists come to see, said Daniel Floren, who runs a local diving school.

Officials, experts and even the fishermen themselves acknowledge the nets are killing wildlife and coral.

“Without the reefs, there will be no diving. If we have nothing to show, I’ll have to shut up shop,” Floren said.

The aim of the U.S. project was to help lift local people out of poverty, said Robert Buzzard, a USAID official involved in the initiative. But there were no studies to show how the kind of equipment supplied might affect the marine life”.

I find this story highly disturbing because US aid disown responsibility for conducting an environmental impact assessment before issuing out these nets. I hope that the relevant government authorities take swift action

If you would like to help us save Kenya’s marine life, support the Whale Shark project.

http://wildlifedirect.org/?version=fresh

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

I think programs like this are created/devised to serve a particular product or service. I know that seems cynical, but what else could it be? Somebody's brother-in-law or crony makes that plastic stuff and the program was developed to use that specific product and that relative or crony got the contract for the program. (Why didn't USAid help locals create a cottage industry to weave ecologically safe nets or something?!)

I say its financial nepotism or the like because that is what it looks like here in the U.S. too, and I think they are just transferring this sick methodology to foreign aid programs.

For example, in California, all over the state there is a massive deforestation of giant eucalyptus trees on the reasoning that they are not native trees. It does not matter that -- since the destruction of the open river systems and the undergrounding of most seasonal creeks that the natural cottonwood and oak tree populations were killed, or that the redwoods and pine have been all but decimated -- someone decided this "non-native" excuse was the winner to sell a massive deforestation project of eucalyptus groves (most well over 100 years old). It doesn't matter that these groves are the last big TALL trees of choice for habitat for larger birds like owls, buzzards, eagles, hawks, and herons! It doesn't matter that eucalyptus are a main food source for migrating and local hummingbirds! No, it doen't matter, because somebody's brother-in-law or crony owns "tree-trimming" equipment that has too much downtime and they slimed through this bill, even fooling conservation types, and won contracts galore to decimate the last big windbreaks and tall groves of eucalyptus. (You may know the eucalyptus from the paintings of the California Impressionist painters -- it was one of their favorite subjects!) And is there a flip-side to the non-native tree scam? Like maybe planting native trees? Hardly! Most of the time the animal habitat and landscape is left denuded and windswept and dry, dry, dry. If an attempt is made to plant native trees in the same place, they are sunburned and windburned, sickly, without vigor, or dead hanging on their tree stakes. If there had been a genuine desire to introduce native trees, it should have been a step-by-step process, planting the young trees on the protected side of the eucalyptus groves until the young trees were established. But ecological solutions are not wanted nor genuinely pursued; ONLY CONTRACTS and PROFITS and lining the pockets of one's pals.

I see no other explanation for the destruction of mature habitat and windbreaks in Caifornia or the destruction of reefs and coastal habitat off Kenya; only capitalist profit motivates greedy individuals to set in motion these terrible schemes. Mike Malloy is right; capitalism is a curse.