Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

gee! haw!
whoa, mule!
these may be more fitting for our mix than woohoo or yeehaw when we or our gracious host go to the political extreme....

"gee" = move to the right
"haw"= move to the left
and "whoa" when we get too far out

not saying either we or craig are mulish.... no offense intended... just that now and then....

"neither side is worthy of American support"
craig, isn't that statement a tad arrogant?

Craig, And once we conclude that neither side is worthy of American support, what next? Do we save some money?

Great speech Obama gave. Ya gotta give it to that man, he can give speeches.

C-Bob says "Her and Carol are the two sides to the Experiment. One has snapping turtles. , the other has road runners. It's pretty cool." Nope C- Bob, that's both BW with the road runners and the snapping turtles, I had the wascally wabbits who, so far, have not figured a way into my corn enclosure.

I had to take some time off to get prepared for the work party I'm having Saturday. I have been doing some Spring cleaning....and Winter cleaning, and Fall cleaning.... I was a little behind because I spent much of my spare time here. I hope I can still move when it is time for the party. I'm taking today off to kill myself trying to get ready.

My river rat neighbors did get it together and get the pontoon boat up and running. Now back to my 14 lists of what I still have left to do.

good morning, carol.... good news that your corn cages are still working.

Morning Pat,

There's a race between the weeds and the corn but I don't want to undo the enclosure to get the weeds out because the wabbits might be watching.

"Jimmy Carter's conciliations"

craig, hope you are not using that word in the appeasement sense, but more in the merriam-webster's etymology sense:

"Latin conciliatus, past participle of conciliare to assemble, unite, win over,......"

bethy:

"I don't think you understand what real depression is. It's not feeling sad."

I think it is about feeling apathetic. I call it "the funk." And I believe we all have our battles with depression. But of course some more than others - and the spectrum is wide-ranging

craig:

"It is time for each side to step up and lead their peoples to the place that Obama described. If they don't, we can rightly conclude that neither side is worthy of American support."

I take your point if it is designed to place pressure on people to get to work and make progress in the here and now.

But like I mentioned last night - this is not a situation we can ever simply walk away from and never look back.

I heard Pat railing on MoJo - "What does Obama do if Bebe says is he is not backing down!"

Answer - we wait him out. He will not be in power forever. And I suspect the negative consequences from his decision to reject peace would cause the next leader (or the next) to pursue a different course.

A "ridiculous conflict " of Biblical terms!
On the Macro overview an outstanding message, and he only redefined a few issues.

It was like the campaign all over again with some of the respones from the Mid East - "gosh he is a good speaker - but will the words translate to action"

Well Mid East - If the approach is like here hold on

Patsi:

"The one question I have that never seems to be addressed is this: what exactly was it in the firefighter test that was unfair to black firefighters. What were the questions? How were they slanted against the black test-takers? I want to see the test and decide myself what I think."

Here is a link to the D. Ct. decision. Not sure if it answers you question - as I haven't read it myself - but it is a good place to start.

http://cir-usa.org/cases/ricci_v_destefano.html

(there is a link to it, among other docs, at the bottom of the page)

Patsi,

As to the content of the Ricci test questions--while they are certainly exhibits in the Court file---it is my
understanding that to date they have not been made public.

Thanks, Warren. No, it doesn'tget to "what" in the test would have been more easily answered by a non-black. That's what I want to know. For example: once years back I knew a teacher who was unhappy because her new student in Colorado, a Louisiana Cajun, said the answer for what is a moccasin wasn't on the test. Because in his world it was a snake not a kind of shoe. The teacher backed the child's decision and said the test was unfair to him. That's the kind of answer I want about this test.

coreen - unless someone requested that they be sealed - and I can't see any reason why they would be - all documents submitted to the district court are public.

Patsi:

Who knows if anyone really dug down that deep. More likely the decision to throw out the test was made by a bunch of lazy state pols trying to cover their own ass...

Warren,

I am fully aware--as an attorney who does practice in Connecitcut, that in most cases exhibits to a court
file may be public--however---it is still my understanding that they have not been released to the public.

I wasn't trying to be an ass... But I would be curious re: what kind of justification would be used not to release them.

I guess there could be proprietary issues (especially since Ricci had to spend $1000 studying for the test.)

Like a lot of government - it sounds like a racket, i.e., you have to spend money to get promoted...

warren, some of the questions on the licensing/qualifying test might still be viable and used to current tests....

Wonder how difficult/expensive it would be to 'regionalize' tests to eliminate the type of bias Patsi cited in her:
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233525

I'm not suggesting that the thrust of such efforts should be an adjustment in scoring because of the inherent stupidity of children living in regions other than our own. The thrust should be elimination of the regional northeastern bias caused by the tests being written in Princeton, NJ.

I'm not a morning person. I should probably keep my mouth shut till noon.

Standardized tests are inherently imperfect.

(And I mean - just listening to Hannity - I would think someone who is a great firefighter - but who doesn't have a bunch of money to shell out for preparation - would be at a severe disadvantage.)

Hmm, Warren, when I was in the military, their was a classification caveat called 'ProPIn', the acronym for 'Proprietary Information'. The material so categorized was required to be handled in ways that would minimize the possibility of 'leaking' to the competition.

"The thrust should be elimination of the regional northeastern bias caused by the tests being written in Princeton, NJ."

I think you are right, Flatus. Also, a professor in my college history dept. was let go for incompetence....he ended up working for the people who put together those tests!

And Warren's right -- they are imperfect. I well remember taking my GREs and instead of the section on history addressing my field, European history -- it was a test about Chinese history. I had never taken a Chinese history class in my life. Unbelievable. Somehow I passed but probably only because the other verbal tests made up for my lack of very specific knowledge about the Dynasties!

"I'm not a morning person. I should probably keep my mouth shut till noon."

warren, my fingers should never touch the keys ever. i am a morning person, but it goes downhill fast as the sun moves west... by 4, rational tho't is non-existent. synapes' batteries run down and the neurons stop transmitting or do so irratically.

agree with you that "standardized tests are inherently imperfect" and do not test what many jobs dependant on physical and spatial prowess require.

debris not from lost plane
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/05/air-france-crash-debris-atlantic

As to the economy---jobless rate up to 9.4%, but
the pace of layoffs eased, with 345,000 jobs cut, the
lowest since September---and the 4th month that the pace of layoffs slowed

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-06-05-jobs-may_N.htm

Craig....
if ever there was a topic akin to a hamster on steroids going round and round on a giant wheel.... the Israeli/Palestinian thing is it....
when this topic recently came up on Diane Rehm.... both sides screaming past each other.... I lasted 10 minutes... I found The Munsters on tvland far more interesting....

I'm sure I've never experienced depression.... but it seems to me that telling someone to go take a walk is like telling an addict to just stop..... it's a lot more complicated....

Warren,
You don't understand what clinical depression is.

I still say if the Israeli's and Palestinians insist on killing each other let's just pull all of our aid out of the area and let them do it but without our tax dollars. I'm tired of my money paying for weapons to kill children.

I bet it would take less than a day for them to reach an agreement.

mornin'

Religion and technology has screwed up royally what could have been a pretty nice place to live.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233515

Carol, I believe there is a corallary to the theory of special relativity that has to do with dirt - it's neither created nor destroyed, and moving it to other places or changing it into other forms saps all energy out of humans doing the moving, but it will be naturally redistributed into its original place and state by nature's ebbs and flows with no net lossof energy to nature. Bottom line, cleaning is no more than trying to push water uphill.

Don, Warren

One of my daughters has intractable, unrelenting depression. From her misery, I understand something of depression. Not much, just something.

I think many people confuse the 'blues' with depression. Warren is probably right when it comes to the blues--get your body chemistry right and get a respite from whatever is pulling you down.

But depression is really DEPRESSION, not the blues, not "oh, that is _so_ depressing!" and, not getting overtired and becoming testy because of it.

It is a crushing condition.

Water for The World petition to Congress. Act being backed by Sen. Paul Simon

http://www.one.org/us/waterfortheworld/signed.html?id=-2272074-lAsPfDx

OK peeps - I surrender!! I readily admit my igorance as I have never been close to someone with clinical depression.

(I don't want you all thinking I am Tom Cruise ; )

Jamie,

the other day there was a discussion about the play called "Joe Turner"

here is the song I was referencing. "Joe Turner Blues"
by Big Bill Broonzy Great singer and old style blues guitar player.

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

Re: Ricci.

The organization that represents Industrial and Occupational Psychologists, and these are the people who do employment testing, filed an Amicus brief on Ricci saying the underlying test was not valid, notwithstanding any results. I'm guessing they have an agenda, but it does raise the question of whether a jurisdiction should be forced by the courts to follow the results of an invalid test that also yielded results that seem to have a bias.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233522

Warren,

The question before the appellate judges wasn't whether or not the test contents were fair. That wasn't the issue. This is where bad reporting and allowing a voice for demogougery can really create a false issue.

The city was under a Federal directive to get more diversity into the Fire department and they were allowed to test in order to do this rather than be subject to a quota style mandate. The city designed and administered the test. There were several minorities that passed it, but not high enough for the number of vacancies open.

The city withdrew the test in order to design another to try to get more variety in the questions to more accurately reflect the capabilities of the applicants and to try to comply with the Federal mandate.

The court had to decide if the City had the right to withdraw its own test in order to rewrite and give again. The court ruled that they had that right even if as a by product those who passed the first were not employed and would have to wait for another test.

Ricci filings.

http://www.scotuswiki.comindex.php?title=Ricci%2C_et_al._v._DeStefano%2C_et_al.#Briefs_and_Documents

Thanks Pogo, I'll keep what you said in mind just in case I miss cleaning something. And as for the pushing water uphill, I've done that too.

Mowed, weedeated, pressure washed, cleaned windows, cleaned pontoon boat, fertilized plants, (no drunks better damage my container veggies or they are walking the plank),cleaned me and off the Sams for a major meat run then to Wally World for the rest. Whew! Getting all this food prepared will be a real challenge for owl camp.

Standardized tests - oh god. Having taken a slew of them and administered them as well, I completely agree that they are deeply flawed. Coreen and Warren, like me, have taken (I hope I'm not wrong about this - if so, sue me :) the LSAT to get into law school and their state's Bar Exam ( half or more of which was probably the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam) and MBE (Multistate Bar Exam) to get their law licenses after enduring 3 years of law school, both of which exams people pay about $1000 (it may be more now) to take a course that lasts from one to two months to prepare to take those exams. Really smart and good students routinely do poorly on them, often taking several tries to pass while middling and worse students do well and pass with relative ease. I'm sure the same thing happens with just about every other standardized test.

As a personal example (yeah, I know about overgeneralizing from individual cases) I, a middling and indifferent student, am one of the fortunate ones to whom standardized tests have never been difficult - Mrs. P on the other hand, an A student who is certainly smarter and a MUCH more diligent student than I, has always struggled with them.

Oh, and I do agree with Craig - neither Israel nor the Arab states or would-be states have demonstrated sufficient will for peace to be worthy of our support, and if they don't step up and stop the craziness, we should not continue to support their wars for existence (particularly once we've developed a practical alternative to oil as our primary energy source).

Carol, I thought Saturdays were lawn days, absent, um, inclement weather. Does this mean that I must change my schedule??

Jamie, et al.,

Was a neat article about jockeys in this morning's Journal. Let's see if I can find a link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204456604574207760991807936.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233563

Horsedooty,

I put up some links to scenes from the play. They are on You Tube. One of the characters in the play sings the song and provides the title for the play.

August Wilson was a remarkable writer.

"but it does raise the question of whether a jurisdiction should be forced by the courts to follow the results of an invalid test that also yielded results that seem to have a bias."

Might be called an "activist court" if the Right had not co-opted that term to exclusively define Liberal judges...

Sorry, I'll get this link right yet.

http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=Ricci%2C_et_al._v._DeStefano%2C_et_al.#Briefs_and_Documents

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/in-cairo-obama-knocks-it-out-o.html#comment-233467

Hey Max,

I see that your 'Yes, will likely win" went to a "I do not know with high confidence if he will win" thus giving yourself a little wiggle room. To me, getting the wiggle room is the true power of a good soothsayer.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233556

Flatus, I have to confess to having been somewhat insensitive in the past simply because of a lack of understanding. I've always said you couldn't depress me with a sledge hammer and despite a life filled with challenges, the times that I have been "sad" usually involved death.

So someone being depressed seeminly without any real cause always struck me as odd. Coming to the point of understanding that it was chemical and nothing they could really control now allows me to be sympathetic even if still somewhat ignorant of what they are feeling.

Another issue in Ricci was whether the motive for withdrawing the test was impermissibly race-based because it prevented white guys who passed from moving up into positions the court had ordered the department to put more minorities into, and the Circuit Court adopted the reasoning of the District court that the decision was permissible evevn if it was motivated by a desire to avoid a lawsuit for failing to effectuate the court's prior diversification directive - or something like that.

Had the test NOT been withdrawn, it is quite possible that the minorities would have filed a complaint, and given the fact that the test had not been properly validated, the results would likely have been voided by the courts.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233564

Joe,
It would bear checking into whether the party involved in reviewing the test, who said it was not valid and that they could create a better, valid one, is a member of that organization.

Never suffered clinical depression, but have had a family member (Mom) who did - she essentially became a hermit for 10 years or so whose only friends were her cigarettes. The meds helped - when she took them - but even they were limited. The combo of meds and forced human interaction (we had to move her to a nursing home before she starved herself to death) did wonders.

Bethy ,,,is the closest,,to describing depression,,,,before I enlisted into the Marines,,,I did hide it very well,,,,,I was always happy around my friends,,,and faked it around my family,,,,,I was given,,a 45 to go and collect rent (we took the bus),,to the neighborhood,that AP used to live in on a Saturday,,and we met the oil company truck there to deliver that months oil for heating,,,,the whole neighborhood new we had cash,,that was the only thing that they would accept,,because of my being depressed most of the time,,,there were many times that I considered suicide,while having that gun in my hands,,I know what real depression is like,,,,it is stifling,,in an emotional way,,,the confusion, and guilt,the feeling ,being inadequate ,,,,but mostly is the feeling about not being loved,,,,(and don't go analyzing me now,,,it has been over 45 years since those feeling,,,,) sports ,,,and the military saved my life,,and my 2 younger brothers,,cos I protected them,,from anything,( I had to be around for them),,,they love me as much as they do the catholic god,,,they say,,,,,,and Don 1 is exactly right,,,,,,when I forgave myself,,,not just in words,,,and the people that did harm to me,,,,,,but most importantly,,,,I forgave my self,,,,,I was able to look in the mirror,,,not just for a shave,,,,but look at the person that was looking back at me,,,,it was very liberating,,,,,
This is why I went a mission to understand religion,,and it's harmful effects on families,,,it steals them away from each other,,,when religion is the more important factor in their lives,,,,,,,.they think that they will live forever,,,in heaves,,,,72 wives,,,,or 72 angels,,what is the diff,

PS,,,on this thread,,,,,,,,,,We should pull out of all those areas period,,,,,,it took years and year to f-- k up that area,,,but it doesn't have to take long to get out,,,,,,,we can keep watch from our bases,,,with modern tech,,,and with the leaders of those countries,,,we can give $,,,but in the form of food,,,vouchers for them,and medical supplies,,,,very little in cash,,,,,and no $ for weapons,,if it is up to the Islamic and Israeli leader,,,,,we can give t hem a Huge push in that direction no?,,,

Beth,,,,,,,,,how I got that impression,,,is that U once said that you did not get jokes sometimes,,,sorry,,,,,,,but now u owe me a joke to convince me,,,:-)) later,,, going golfing,,,only nine holes with a friend

Pogo,

I refer you to the link I cited above with all the briefs attached. My reading is that the Organization itself (and I cannot vouch for the Organization) filed the brief saying the test lacked validity on several aspects.

I'm not a lawyer (thank god.)

Hey Solar,

If you don't mind, I'm curious, english or spanish, your first language?

Joe, precisely. The city was faced with a no-win situation and decided to try and do what they had been court ordered to do. But this is the nutty part - because the 2nd Circuit panel, including Sotomayor, adopted the reasoning of the District Court, which thought that was not unreasonable, and a majority of the court's judges did not think the decision needed to be reviewed by the entire court en banc, Sotomayor has been accused of reverse racism because she authored the summary opinion affirming and adopting the district court's decision. Just goes to show that fat drug addicted millionaire college dropouts may not be the best folks to determine the meaning of court decisions with respect to the judges who author them.

solar .... (you know)

Solar,

Nothing personal. My question is really responding to CC comments about "all the commas". I was wondering if they are a result of your thinking process, ESL maybe, or just transcribing conservation to the written word. I use ". . ." a lot cause I'm having to think hard as I convert my spoken word to writing and it a pausing, thought gathering thing with me.

Joe, there was a witness in the case before the District Court who criticized the test's validity, and on whose testimony in part the District's court's decision relied. That witness said something to the effect that his organization could write a valid test. It would not surprise me to find out that the witness' company was a member of the IOP.

New "jellyfish" crop circle. Someone really put a lot of work into this one or they had a very oddly shaped space ship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyp5zpAaf6E

Hey Patsi,

You better be on your best behavior the next time you decide to go have a beer and shoot pool. :-)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Handguns will soon be allowed in bars and restaurants in Tennessee under a new law passed by state legislators who voted to override the governor's veto.

Jamie...
perhaps this link explains that crop circle....
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/ufos/2462720/Twenty-UFOs-fly-in-formation.html

Carol.... please don't forget to watch the Belmont race tomorrow.... it might be fun to make it part of your party....

"Throw down the gauntlet."

Am I just old-fashioned? I've always thought it was gantlet, not gauntlet--gantlet being a glove or something like a glove. With a gauntlet being something entirely different.

Post time is 18:47 EDT

Oops, make that 18:27

LOL. Flatus, we are of the same generation. I looked it up when I saw it and came to the conclusion that either is acceptable.

CJ, do you think, between the two of us, we can change it back? :)

Probably not, Flatus.

My ear still gets annoyed when I hear reporters pronounce the word "hostile" with three syllables. I always thought of that as the British version -- same with 'fragile.'

The secret is out.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090605/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_colbert_in_iraq

"Colbert arrived at the former Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory on Friday. For weeks, he's promoted the trip on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," but because the military urged caution, he has only trumpeted a vague trip to "the Persian Gulf."

At first, the idea of accepting loans from the government sounds very appealing. Then only after the ink has dried do you learn the hard truth. Student loans are a great example of this, only death will shield you from satisfying this obligation.

But here is another example

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124416737421887739.html

Belmont tomorrow. Only news is that Charitable Man won the Peter Pan which frequently indicates winner of Belmont. Here is everyone's picks so far. Let me know of changes and additions:

1 Chocolate Candy Garrett Gomez
2 patd, Jamie Dunkirk Rene Velazquez
3 Mr. Hot Stuff Edgar Prado
4 Renee, Ivy Summer Bird Kent Desormeaux
5 Luv Gov Miguel Mena
6 Solar, Chloe Charitable Man Alan Garcia
7 Flatus, BW, Carol Mine That Bird Calvin Borel
8 Flying Private Julien Leparoux
9 Miner's Escape Jose Lezcano
10 Brave Victory Rajiv Maragh

flatus/cajo
depends on the verb, whether you're running the gauntlet or throwing one..... same spelling, different derivations and different meanings.

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

ain't english fun? no wonder we're so messed up and the rest of the world isn't sure if we mean what we say....

I've got to admit Solar, I've wondered what it's like actually talking to you.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233602

Why do you need to be shielded from paying back a SL obligation?

Jamie,

Since no one has em put me with Miner's escape.

This should clear it up.

Word History: The spelling gauntlet is acceptable for both gauntlet meaning "glove" or "challenge" and gauntlet meaning "a form of punishment in which lines of men beat a person forced to run between them"; but this has not always been the case. The story of the gauntlet used in to throw down the gauntlet is linguistically unexciting: it comes from the Old French word gantelet, a diminutive of gant, "glove." From the time of its appearance in Middle English (in a work composed in 1449), the word has been spelled with an au as well as an a, still a possible spelling. But the gauntlet used in to run the gauntlet is an alteration of the earlier English form gantlope, which came from the Swedish word gatlopp, a compound of gata, "lane," and lopp, "course." The earliest recorded form of the English word, found in 1646, is gantelope, showing that alteration of the Swedish word had already occurred. The English word was then influenced by the spelling of the word gauntlet, "glove," and in 1676 we find the first recorded instance of the spelling gauntlet for this word, although gantelope is found as late as 1836. From then on spellings with au and a are both found, but the au seems to have won out.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233600

caj, there are some words tho' like la-bor-a-tory vs lab-ra-tory that are more fun to say in uk-english rather than amer-english cause they roll deliciously around one's mouth and you can savor every syllable.

gantlet - gauntlet

http://www.bartleby.com/68/8/2708.html

Flatus, That was a wonderful story about Borel and the schooling of the Louisiana jockeys. There are times when I think civilization may be vastly overrated.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233610

patd

I've always though al u min i um was more fun than aluminum

shall we take bets on what the topic craig will be quizzed on tonight by ko?

Got you Rez

pat,
I agree with you, but I still reserve the right to be annoyed by seeming pretension of those who basically I don't like.
CJ

will it be slam islam or impale israel or both?

will ko's topic be repubs run amok?

(And, no matter how you say it, my Alcoa stock sure sucks.)

Gauntlets typically extend up the fore-arm to prevent one's wrist from being broken in a sword fight, and sometimes are separate from the actual glove itself. Batman wears gauntlets with cool hook-type extensions that allow him to grab his opponents' weapons.

patd

You might like the two blog articles I did about word creation and Shakespeare

http://jdurward.blogspot.com/2007/08/in-good-company.html

http://jdurward.blogspot.com/2007/04/happy-birthday-will.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233618

cj, absolutely fundamental and constitutionally mandated!

jamie, yeah, that's a good one.... must agree with cj on the pretensions tho' when it comes to saying shed-u-al instead of sked-yul for schedule.

CJ

One of my favorite movies is 84 Charing Cross Road and there is a line in it:

"Just imagine, a whole country where everyone says Rahzberries, Rahzberries, Rahzberries"

jamie,
Yes! That's a great movie and book. And, I just checked out your blog -- well done!

Gross... turns out David Carradine was...uh....well he, um...

...auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Flatus, BW, Carol,
Mine That Bird sure looks like a winner. If this photo is any indication.... well, it looks like he's flying.

“Bird” Has His First Gallop at Belmont
http://nyra.com/belmont/stories/June042009b.shtml

Aluminium indeed. Instead of a silent e they pronounce an invisible i. Silly brits.

yep
Carradine death 'erotic asphyxiation'
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/145219/carradine-likely-died-from-erotic-asphyxiation

More info and speculation on that tight VA gubernatorial primary

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23394.html

Ya know, I like sex as much as the next guy, and if I don't have female cooperation, self gratification is just fine, but I really have never seen the appeal of near axphixiation whether associated with masturbation or not. Talk about dying to get a hard on. I really don't get it. But maybe I'm just old fashioned that way.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233631

Slightly backwards. The i was there and the Yanks decided it was unnecessary to their pronounciation so they threw it out. :-)

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

Pogo

That story comes under the heading of "More kinks than a slinky"

...gives new meaning to the term, "choking the chicken", eh?

All jokes aside, restricting blood and therefore oxygen to the brain produces a high (or so I've heard), which accentuates the climax. Some people just get bored.

jamie, HA! WHO KNEW? Silly Webster.

Mine That Bird is the kind of horse people fall in love with and then get addicted to racing for life. My horse was Secretariat. I had always liked racing, but watching Big Red run was just such a beautiful feeling. There was a joy about him that I didn't see again until Barbaro came along. He just loved winning.

Here he is winning the triple crown by 25 lengths in record breaking time in the 1973 Belmont

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un-nt9O_MNg

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama

The stories about pollutants become more tragic every day. Discarded computers killing African children. More trash from the developed nations dumped in someone else's backyard.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/06/waste.pollution

Know of a young teenager that recently died from the choking game. It wasn't sex related, just a terrible way to die.

Harassing is another word that has lost its proper pronunciation. Along with cache.

Jamie....
thanks for that utube of Secretariat..... there's never been any "perhaps" in my mind that he is racing's greatest horse...

I fell in love with horse racing before I ever saw a race.... I received a copy of Walter Farely's "Man O War" at Xmas at the age of 9.... I was hooked...

I had a wonderful Spanish teacher back in high school....
he used to always say that language was alive..... and that meant there would be new words and new pronunciations for what he was teaching us at the time...
he taught us to not be afraid of change.... but to expect and embrace it....

Urban Dictionary (overlooking the x rated) is showing constant changes in language. There are already new definitions for Tarp and Bailout among other things.

Lexicographers keep files of new words, new forms and new usages with a record of where and when they were first used as well as when it started to pass into common language. This is why they can tell you when a word first appeared and who did it.

Once there are enough citations that a word hits a "tipping point" into general use, then it will be put into a huge standardized dictionary such as the Oxford or full Websters. Words will be removed or marked as "obsolete" when they fall out of usage and no longer appear in new writings.

At least it's not a Hallmark Holiday
http://www.nowpublic.com/style/enjoy-national-doughnut-day-also-known-donut-day

Indeed, new words and usages are formed every day and often enrich our language.

There are still, though, rules of grammar and accepted pronunciation and vocabulary. While the language is 'living,' it is not a free-for-all, at least if you are to be regarded as an educated individual.

Just looked. Some of these new ones are hilarious. For those who travel for busines - checkout "deflating the doll"

Might help if you had the link

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Conforming to the usage standards of English allows for a level of expression not possible with any other language. When proper grammar is utilized, the contrast provided by deviations and mutations are that much more powerful.

See how powerful that grammatical error is?

National doughnut Day. Free doughnuts at Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts.

cajunjoe....
you do have a point..... but you have to be the one that tells Obama that he doesn't sound like a Harvard graduate when he says "gonna".... :0)

He also uses "I" when he should say "me." He is challenged by the subjunctive case. But, overall, he doesn't make me cringe like the last feller.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233669

renee, maybe that's affectation on his part like those cute little mispronunciations by shrub, the yalie.

"You better be on your best behavior the next time you decide to go have a beer and shoot pool. :-)"

Ha -- no kidding Rez! This is such BS I wouldn't even know where to start. The strangest thinggis that I know so any Repubs here who hate this idea...and they are gun owners!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233670

cj, wonder if he does that in the other languages in which he's fluent. at least he doesn't use the royal "we"

yet

I think he's lazy when he speaks. It's not that much harder articulating one's words properly. He should do that. He's not our friend nor our hang-out buddy.

Obama's just "keeping it real". He doesn't want to come off sounding like John Kerry.

Pat,

I was being interviewed when the reporter stopped me and asked why I used 'we'. I explained that when something good was done, I wanted everyone owning the success. Likewise, when we did something bad, 'I' would accept the responsibility.

He looked at me like I was crazy.

DLB, there's a difference between speaking as an educated person speaks, and putting on patrician airs through affected speech.

Rez,,,,I don't mind any question,,,,as long as you don't mind the need to answer in a long post,,,a need to be understood.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233582

Back from a so-so golf game,,shot a 47 for nine holes,,,actually that's not that bad considering ,,I golf only a few times a year,,,used to break 90,,and into the middle 80's a lot,,some times low 80's,,,and that's when the bs started to fly,,at the 19th hole,,,like fish stories,,,I did this right,,,If I had my lucky jock strap,,I woulda broke 80,,,,lots of fun,,,,,when in advertising, most of my client liked to golf,,or hang out at the gym,,,,lots of bs HA!

Rez,,,,Spanish is my first language,I became a U S citizen in 1980,,,we weren't allowed to speak English at home,,my parents figured that we would pick up English on the streets,,,,,they were right,,,,,,but ,,,the problem comes from thinking in Spanish,,,and writing ,,and speaking it,
And Spanish is mostly what we speak at work,,with my workers.
,,,
Additional problems are that I never finished high school,,and that's why my grammar and spelling sucks,,,I love to learn,,,but that is another long story,,,,I learned from library books,and anything that I could get my hands on,,,,,I can read all blue prints,,,and have built a roof top restaurant at Cubs Park,.,,,,there are only about 15-20 contractors that have done so,,from hundreds of contractors,up until I dropped out,,was a pretty good student,,,mostly A's,,,and B's
I do think of not posting cos of it,,,and Craigs comment is right on the money,,,,he should not waste his time trying to decipher chicken scratch,,,but I will say this,,,I love being able to understand both,,and a lot of Italian,,it is similar,,,and little Polish,,,lots of Polish contractors,,and workers.

Don 1

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233607

Don,,,speaking with me,,,would be a trip as they say,,,,,I do have a good working verbal vocabulary,,,and diction,,,,a little slow in responding to questions,,,cos I like to think about them,,,,and like to mainly listen,,,,,,unless U give my a cold Bud,,and a shot of rut gut,,,like Jacks,,tekill-u,,anything,,then I love to talk just about anything that involves,,,,concrete,,,,,building,,,,then sciences,,,all of them,,,I do stutter a little,,cos of my meds,,,,,but that is better than the pain I get due to Arthur,,I,t's I won't listen to gossip,,,if someone has something to say,,say it straight out,,,,and have the guts to tell the person that you are talking about,,,I don't want to hear it,,,,there are only a hand full of people that can talk,,,,have the attention span,,,,and take the time that we need,to do a good job of it,,,I have a friend ,,that calls me to go to a restaurant,,,that I know,,,we order lunch,,,and some time dinner,,,,,,the owners are my friends,,,and they are just amazed that two people could talk for so long,,with out hitting each other,,,,we do disagree a lot,,,and get hot under the collar,,but it goes just as fast as it comes,,,,he is---used to be very religious,, college mba in biz,,,,,and we cover it all,,,we always wind it up with talk about family, and a last drink of coffee ,,or sometime booze,,,and a big hug,,,about once ,,,or twice a month,,,my wife,,nor his like to sit and talk that long,,,I pick up a lot of knowledge from him,,,and he once told me that I had depth,,,,what more can one ask for?,,,and I am a very enthusiastic person,,around friends (,I can tell you this,,cos I make sure of it, and was told,,,Im a better friend to friends,,,than they have been towards me,,,and will always be,),, but very quiet if some stranger is around,,,,that is why this joint surprises me very very much,,,I can't shut up,,,but thinking about ,,,learning the proper grammar,,,and spelling,,,how to put a cohesive sentence together,,,I have a nephew that wants to teach me.

I mentored a bright young kid a few years ago who came from the inner city. He had two separate and distinct speech patterns, one inner-city urban and one that he used in school. We talked about that for awhile and came to the conclusion that, while that was fine, he had to take care, especially when meeting people for the first time, say for a job interview, because, like it or not, that person was going to sum him up in the first 30 seconds of conversation, and those first impressions would be hard to change for the better. He agreed, but also made an interesting point, that sometimes it was useful to let people underestimate him.

If you give me your email, I can help you fix your English quickly, if you'd like, Solar. You're not that far-off at all. Your punctuation just needs work.

Solar....
you're doing an excellent job.... I don't have any trouble understanding what you're trying to say.... you are actually a shining example of the fact that someone doesn't have to have a formal education in order to appear to be bright.... your curiosity makes up for it...

curiosity.... something that "feller" cajunjoe mentioned didn't have....

i know a Russian girl who came the U.S. as a foreign
exchange student several years ago'' she studied
english in Russia but learned to speak it here''
goes to alcorn univ.' a historic black college in Mississippi' she's whiter than white '' blond hair and
freckles'' talks like a sista with a russian accent'
its funny as heck'' but she doesn't see humour in it

OK, Solar, I just corrected half of your 4:41 post for punctuation and it's fine. I changed very few words. You could just compare this to that. Like you said, your vocabulary and diction are good. Your "train-of-thought" compositional style lends itself to run-on sentences, which aren't a big deal if you use proper punctuation.

"Don,

Speaking with me would be a trip, as they say... I do have a good working verbal vocabulary and diction, ALTHOUGH I'M a little slow in responding to questions BECAUSE I like to think about them and like to mainly listen.

...unless YOU give me a cold Bud, and a shot of rut gut like Jack's... tekill-u, anything; then I love to talk just about anything that involves... concrete, building, the sciences- all of them. I do stutter a little BECAUSE of my meds, but that is better than the pain I get due to (arthritis).

I won't listen to gossip. If someone has something to say, say it straight out and have the guts to tell the person that you are talking about. I don't want to hear it. There are only a hand full of people that can talk, have the attention span, and take the time that we need to do a good job of it.

I have a friend that calls me to go to a restaurant that I know. We order lunch and some time dinner. The owners are my friends and they are just amazed that two people could talk for so long without hitting each other. We do disagree a lot and get hot under the collar, but it goes just as fast as it comes. He is/was very religious, with a college MBA in 'biz'.

We cover it all. We always wind it up with talk about family, and a last drink of coffee or sometime booze (and a big hug). (We only meet) about once or twice a month because neither my wife nor his like(s) to sit and talk that long. I pick up a lot of knowledge from him, and he once told me that I 'had depth'... what more can one ask for?

I am a very enthusiastic person around friends. I can tell you this 'cause I make sure of it, and was told THAT I'm a 'better friend to friends than they have been towards me' (and I always will be). I'm very quiet if some stranger is around: that is why this joint surprises me very very much. I can't shut up, but thinking about... learning the proper grammar, spelling, and how to put a cohesive sentence together...

I have a nephew that wants to teach me."

There's my good deed for the day.

Thanks,,,DL,,(Champ),,,I hope that in the near future,,,I won't have the time for it,,,as I need to get, some work,,,been a little slow still,,,and I have a hard time of letting someone helping,,I think it comes from having to always have been on my own,,,and if you think that you can spare some of your time,,,Solarcreteatcomcast.net..but please don't feel that U have to do this....thanks.,,,I still like calling you Champ,,

Renee,,,thanks,,,and you are one of the reasons that I stuck around, cos you told me something similar at a diff time,,and everyone has been great about it,,im afraid that the next step,,is to study,,and practice a British accent,,,,,and then how the hell will you guys know who is talking to you,,,you think Im pushy now,,,just wait HA!,,,but I will always talk to Tony Baloney,,,he already talks Australian,,and thats almost Brit no?

My favorite twitter person doing commentary on White House photographs.

http://www.theawl.com/2009/06/the-annotated-white-house-flickr-pool

Funny

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233673

patd

As long as he doesn't start with the "Bob Dole knows" silliness. Hate that affectation.

Thanks, Champ. For taking the time, that's awfully kind of you.I know how you feel about proper grammar and all.

Rez,,,see what U started? :-) will talk to you, or anyone about anything,nothing is off the table with me.I threw too much junk and personal information for all to see,when I was arguing with B. from NY.It was a pretty emotional time, and too late to take it back,so I have to explain it in the best way that I can.

Chloe you thought that "Mine" was flying? He wasn't even close to full throddle in that pic. They better not poop him out before the big day.

Jamie I do plan on trying to catch the race tomorrow. I gotta help my team get the boy across the finish line.

Whew. I'm taking a little breather after the supply leg of my party venture. After running around Sam's Club, Wally World and another grocery store, I feel a little asphyxiated but it isn't quite erotic. Maybe if I hit just one more grocery store. Nah, not worth it.

Unfortunately I'm not even close to be through my list of stuff to do today.

If, Hilary Clinton is successful, getting thr U.S. journalists on trial in NK,she is definitely running for POTUS, and should win easily, IMO. It won't matter how old she is.

I revel in not talking like a lawyer. Even though I can write like one.

(Upon first meeting me, people would probably peg me as a mentally-challenged Spicoli rather than Oliver Wendell Holmes ; )

On the whole, I think people find it refreshing. Espeically when they figure out I may just have a head on my shoulders. But then again "educated, articulate people" do not have the reputation that lawyers suffer from...

"Your "train-of-thought" compositional style lends itself to run-on sentences, which aren't a big deal if you use proper punctuation."

Never was, until I started taking medication for my arthritis.I used to write like my atty friend told me too, the shorter the letter, the better. I do keep my business correspondence short.

she'll be younger than McCain was.

MG Solar, You're perfect!

Carol, You're worry about them waring out your horse, but you should be worried about not getting yourself worn out. But regardless, I'm sure your party will be a big success. Take lots of pictures to show us.

I am somewhat like a chamelion and will adapt my speech to my crowd.

I also stammer and pause - cause like Solar and Obama - I usually like to think about what I am saying.

Although I did notice that when I was blogging a lot during the campaign - my speaking manner became very sharp and staccato like - with less stuttering. Which I dont necessarily think was a good thing....

I like your style Solar. It cuts out a lot of the BS.

"It won't matter how old she is. "

That's what I've been wondering about Solar. I think she said she's not interested in running, but I hope she does.

"It cuts out a lot of the BS."

Clean and to the point.

Warren, I remember when you came on the scene,it was before my time, but I thought that you were smart,,but a pain in the ass. You left that on vacation somewhere. Now just plain spoken,,and good to read

Chlo,,,don't drink anything tonight. were racing tomorrow remember,,,and you have to stay in the saddle,crossing the finish line.

Warren, some stuttering and pausing, just show you're thinking out loud, and therefore being honest. We repeated ourselves so much during the campaign, I think we had some of it memorized.

That's one way of looking at it Craig. If only the matter was between moderate Arabs and Israelis. Then the issue would have already been solved.

While Obama took some shots at Ahmadinejad today, I couldn't help to note this:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/altruism/

And speaking of selfless altruism, how freaky is that CQ headline picture of Pelosi and Cheney? You couldn't photo shop that stuff up....

Colberts going to Bagdhad. He'll probably confiscate everyones shoes.

You're driving Solar, I'm just along for the ride.

"I thought that you were smart,,but a pain in the ass."

Warren, Do you remember that I asked you once if you were schizophrenic?

Chlo,,,,don't even listen when some Politician says that they won't do this or will do that, I wait till they don't, or didn't.Not only that, they will be keeping that door open for their daughter,,,just in case that she wants to go thru it, I think.

Solar, You know I rarely tell a joke, but saw one this morning that I just have print here.

"I took my dad to the mall the other day to buy some new shoes (he is 92). We decided to grab a bite at the food court.

I noticed he was watching a teenager sitting next to him. The teenager had spiked hair in all different colors: green, red, orange, and blue.

My dad kept staring at him. The teenager would look and find dad staring at him every time.

When the teenager had had enough, he sarcastically asked, 'What's the matter old man, never done anything wild in your life?'

Knowing my Dad, I quickly swallowed my food so that I would not choke on his response, knowing he would have a good one, and in classic style he did not bat an eye in his response.

"Got drunk once, and had sex with a peacock. I was just wondering if you were my son. ""

"You're driving Solar, I'm just along for the ride."

Ok. Hic, hic, just push me to one side or the other, duck,if I get sick.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233710

I'm sure you're right Solar.

Ha! You'll be having too much fun to get sick. And if you win, you'll be a rich man.

NO,,,NO,,,don't tell jokes,,,I saw what U did to one of mine,,,ok Ill go back and take a peek!

chloe

you asked somebody else that

I wasn't talking about your grammar Solar. I will never comment on grammar unless I can't guess your intent or it's going up on a website. You seem to have so many ideas rush out at once they all just compress together.

Obama and George Schulz both have that slow, Jimmy Stewart speech style. You can tell they're looking over and choosing each word to fit just perfectly.

We'll have to elbow bend some day and solve all the world's problems.

I like the new Warren much better than the old, the one that was insufferable. :)

Chloe,,,,I love that joke,,,nice one,,,I stand,,sit corrected.

Solar

"on vacation somewhere" . . . Costa Rica - Pura Vida!

And I've always been plain-spoken, and I will always be a pain in the ass.

Now, what we really need is an appearance by our scholar last reading for his PhD in the Netherlands.

No Warren, It was you.

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=3065

As per topic, HIzb'Allah bases next door to Israel. As, I said, if it were only up to Palestinians and Israelis.

I think that was something Obama left out.......

"You can tell they're looking over and choosing each word to fit just perfectly"

Don, I think that's because he always knew he'd be President someday, and knew, and knows, everything he say is so important.

"We'll have to elbow bend some day and solve all the world's problems."

I would an honor,and I would rather do that with you,and anyone here at TM before I sat next to sports personality.,,Maybe one day.

It would be an honor that is,,,,oops

Warren,

,it was Costa Rica,,,thats one thing I remember,,,and the other, is the way U drool at the site of N.O ,,wipe your chin off,,,embarrassing .hahaha

Flatus, said.

"I like the new Warren much better than the old, the one that was insufferable. :)"

See, Warren. You left a good impression on everybody. HA!

Flatus:

No doubt.

But it was pretty hot and bothered in here at times. And i didn't always light the match. (But I do apologize for when I first came around here - and just started throwing rocks through people's windows - that was all my fault.)

It was a great knock-down-drag-out fight between two formidable, historical candidates. It was a passionately-political atmosphere that was good for the Country, and good for the World.

We recognized the stakes of this election, and I think we did a good job. On both sides. We took it serioulsy and got involved. Everyone was engaged.

It sure was a lot of fun spending a whole bunch of that time in here. Plus - there's a record of it all. How great is that? (for better or worse)

But I like the new warren too and am enjoying a much fuller experience in here than during the primary battle.

(Told you I don't make a good first impression.)

"You seem to have so many ideas rush out at once they all just compress together."

I hate that. It's the meds,,,it's the med, I TELL YOU,,,what do you know? U just turned 50,,wait a few more years,and they will do some funny shit to you also HA! Plus I think that Im, in diff dimensions at the same time,,,and can only speak in one. Thats why it comes out like that,,,,,got a problem with that?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Go see Chloe,,,she is the one with the gun.

I'm stuck by what an interesting group hangs out here. We should all get together for a crawfish boil.

Warren, I agree. It was really knock-down-drag-out back then, You have nothing to apologize for. It was the norm. Just about all of us did it.

When I asked you about the schizophrenic thing, it was actually a compliment. Things calmed down around here, and you were so nice. But we were all changing.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. (There were many D-Days during WWII). It is hard to imagine the courage it took to storm a defended beach head, especially in the first few waves when the chance of death was high, and everyone knew that many in their group would be cut down.

"she is the one with the gun"

Ha, You're just saying that 'cause I'm the one in Texas Solar.

My comment on your ideas certainly isn't a criticism solar. A compliment and an observation. You certainly ponder many things. I'm sure you've noticed how I jump around, I think I debuted to string theory and religion. We always seem to have a good conversation about everything and anything.

This is a very good place to park. And it isn't the fighting, it's knowing you can fight about an idea and still be welcome, or at least allowed and treated with respect.

How about some jambalaya cajun? Had a boss who's small town Louisiana wife cooked up some mean gumbo and jambalaya, though i think I like jambalaya better. I make beer, I can bring a couple 5 gallon kegs. That should last the first hour with this group.

"she is the one with the gun"

"Ha, You're just saying that 'cause I'm the one in Texas Solar."

Hell no! Im saying that ,just in case that Don uno,is packing a gun,,I don't want to be in the cross fire,,,,ahahaha,,

We had jambalaya for our son's wedding rehearsal dinner. Invited a big crowd and it was a terrific event. Two families, part cajun on both sides.

P.S. Don,

Donno if two five gallon kegs will be sufficient.

Don

"My comment on your ideas certainly isn't a criticism solar. A compliment and an observation. You certainly ponder many things. I'm sure you've noticed how I jump around, I think I debuted to string theory and religion. We always seem to have a good conversation about everything and anything.

This is a very good place to park."

Don, son, as Carol would say,,,I did not take it as criticism,,and am very proud that you think this of me,,,thanks,,just playing on your words,,,,,,,,,,and please pay the parking attendant when You leave.

A few kegs of local stuff and some Zydeco and we'd be good to go.

There was a club in Alameda, CA that had zydeco once a week. Bring a rag to wipe off the sweat and plan on having a good time.

C, Joe,

,I haven't commented on your post,,or tried to talk to you ,,cos you obviously are very learned,,and still a little shy about talking to you,,,,but ,what the hell,,,Cajun food and beer,,with all of the TM crowd,,count me in,,and 5 kegs definitely won;t do it,,but,,,Pogo,,,Jack,,,and myself like Budweiser,,,if you don't mind.Renee like wine,,,and none of that cheap stuff iether,,she's special,,,same with Patd,,,and Ivy,,you guys pick up the rest of the gals,,,im all full,,,after I stop for Chlo,,Sea,,and Carol,,or if they are closer to you,,you can pick them up,,,,and Don't forget about Patsi,,if U know whats good for you!,,or maybe they can get thier brooms out of storage,,,they are the sister hood of ____something I forgot,,but they all had funny hats,,and motorized brooms.

Flatus:

I wouldn't say I have a problem with authority. But I take issue with elitisim and aristocracy. I do respect my elders. As everyone should - but its particularly stressed in much of the Eastern Philosophy I studied in college - and still try to read every once and awhile.

And I am a better follower than a leader . . .

I did have a chip on my shoulder in college. Coming from a lower-middle-class neighborhood with its own crack-town tends to make you look down your nose at some of the rich idiots I came across at college. But I made some good friends and realized their are assholes in all walks of life. (Law school it was the same thing - only wealth was replace by intelligence.)

I am irrevent. And can be vulgar and vengeful. But I am not insensitive. Even though I have my blinds spots (must less than I used to ; )

And I carry with me the insecurities that all humans deal with. But what makes us weak, fearful, and all the things that we can't know - leads to the mystery, passion and poetry that makes us the envy of the gods.

nice post Warren.

"I do think of not posting cos of it,,,and Craigs comment is right on the money,,,,he should not waste his time trying to decipher chicken scratch,,,but I will say this,,,I love being able to understand both,,and a lot of Italian,,it is similar,,,and little Polish,,,lots of Polish contractors,,and workers."

SolarMan
OMG,your post's are great!! Don't change anything,not even the comma's.I love your personality as it is conveyed through your written word's.I was initially put off by posting because of all the smarter folks here but I got over it because it really isn't necessary for us to be perfect.I've said it before I'm a lunch bucket type GM assembly line worker who now cleans for a living,yes toilets too...Damn proud also...Oops gay too..HA

Hey Bethy,,, C Joe,,,and Don 1 ,,are throwing a party,,Cajun style,,U coming ,,,or r u just gonna lay up and read all those books,,lets go,,Teach!

I was kidding chloe - I was confusing schizophrenia - with muliple-personalities.

"I am irreverent."

You're also introspective, empathetic and intelligent. As well as honest. A nice combination.

gracias chloe and solar - I am off the get ready for the evening - even though I should be off to bed.

Jamie - put me down for Mine That Bird, will ya, huh?

I am bemused by most of the comments lately, and have to figure out what responses I might be able to make. This really IS a great place to talk.

I'm delighted with reactions to Obama's speech, from everyone. I'm quite happy that the repubs can say only the same ole same ole - nothing new.

A prosecutor who is on Nancy Grace all the time (I can't stand her but will watch to see news, esp if she's not there) came out with a shrill comment re how tired she is of all the stuff being done to kids etc. (Now she's one who needs a rest or she can be in bad shape.) But I agree with her completely, She said if the little girls had died from swine flu, the pres and media would be screaming. She's right - we do have to stop this.

Talked a lot after saying I wouldn't, didn't I? You should be used to it by now.

You also might remember I used to say someone that's not here anymore was a sociopath.

When I kiddingly asked you about schizophrenia, I was was just pointing out that you were completely different than I thought you were. I kept checking the name to see if I was matching it to the right post. I must say, you've put me in my place more than once. :)

Hell, yes, Soalr - I'll be there esp if there's plenty of zydeco. Can we invite Dennis Quaid too?

Hello , just sat down , put in 15 hours today- getting ready for my first board of health inspection and farmer's market. Am going to my beloved couch.
Solar- I"ll bring the witches brew (miller) and a couple bottles of wine too!
Miss you all, will be back soon!

I like Coors Light. Goes down like water - and I don't drink to get a buzz.

Sea, Good luck on that inspection! And take care... we miss you too.

NO,,,NO Dennis Quaid of any kind,,or any other distractions,,,just the T M r's ,,,and Rachel Welch,,,Kim Bassinger,,,,and a red head,to be named later,,,but no one else,,it's a private party!

Good appearance by Craig tonight. I like it when he is on and Olbermann is gone. He gets to say a few sentences in a row.

D-Day anniversary tomorrow. There should be some good history presentations. Just learned of one story that looks fascinating that I will have to run down: Operation Jedburgh.

That and watching one of my all time favorite movies: The Man Who Never Was

Man charged with threatening Sotomayor. Can we get Limp Balls and O' Really as accessories?

http://wcbstv.com/national/sonia.sotomayor.threat.2.1033396.html

Jamie:

That reminds me to tell Craig that I put Keith-O on the DVR tonight. I had my fill of KO after the campaign. And he is now becoming the Hannity of the Left. Just with better fact checkers. (Do they even have those over at Fox.)

I have decided Fox is "balanced" - in that its spends equal time touting the party line and trashing "liberals." I mean O'Reilly is becoming the voice of reason over there.

Solar - are you nuts????? No Dennis, but a coupla
babes - and one of them is a first-rate nut job - and a red-head with no name???????????????????

You need to re-think this, pal. Carol - You're with me on this, aren't you?

I can escort the first-rate nut job. I'm very experienced. (Which one would that be?)

I can't watch anything on FOX. If all they were was right wing apologists, I could handle it every once in a while, but the people are eighter so overwhelmingly stupid or the stuff they are expected to say so often in not just error but screaming ignorance, that it is impossible to view.

Olbermann is okay. He just gets to over th top stentorian and the channeling of Edward R Murrow is a little hard to take, but at least he is intelligent and informative.

On MSNBC I like David Gregory, Schuster, and my favorite Rachel.

CNN - Rick Sanchez is becoming a favorite.

I like Gregory.

See'yall lata

I thought that they were both a couple of nut jobs,,,should get rid of the one that isn't,,,and get a couple of bolts to replace them with,(altho I did like K B in some movies),,,Carol,,who's Carol.? she the one jumping out of the chocolate cake that Sea made?,

,Don I invited a first rate nut job,,that would be Rachel,,,and Kim B is not a nut job,,,,but I have a serious problem in deciding which is better,brains,or beauty,,I used to ask this women bar tender,,,this question,,,,,when does sex start, mentally or physically?,,,so you see that you need a nut job,,,and a not a nut job around,,the red head,,is for spice HA!,,,Patsi,,,is a gonna kill me,,,

Tony,,,Hello,,,what's new,,,and thanks.

Jamie,,Like I said, Rick Sanchez is starting to be a must see,,,he controls the speakers that he has on, and really is giving the news,with some good commentary.

Bethy,,,all invitations to people other than TM'rs,,are canceled,,,we don't need them,,we can have fun on our own,,no babes,,and studs!,,that is if it is ok with Don,,,ok Don its all yours,,and C. Joe again.Im out if it whew!,,,later

Chloe, was right.Im a trouble maker. And it is so much fun sometimes. :-)))

OK starting at the bottom and trying to catch up. I have to sit for a minute before starting on my dips. I am starting to remember that I had those three compression fractures. They are singing to me right now.

Jamie, you ever watch Shep Smith? I like Shep. I can get lost in his dreamy eyes. Actually I haven't seen cable since moving to owl camp just before Easter. Can't say I miss it at all. I have you guys and the Net to keep me informed. And you don't have to listen to the same crap over and over and over.....

Back to catching up.

Isn't Kim the agoraphobic?

I'm kind of an anyone welcome type of person. The more the better. If we excluded the nuts we might not have many show up.

I like Shepard Smith, but since he's not really a talking head I'm not sure he counts. I am getting tired of KO and Rachel is awful naive though I like her questions.

More and more it's just Charlie Rose and Alton Brown.

Warren, funny observation. I was just thinking that days ago. O'Reilly is about the sanest of the lot.

Fox's value however isn't zero because of the cheerleaders. They are often the first to push stories the other media tries to cover. Can you imagine NBC with a pro ISrael documentary about the Muslims moving into Gaza that aren't Palestinians or the History of HIzb'Allah. How about a profile of the four candidates running in Iran so we can glimpse what may come. Not all the stuff that Fox pushes is really newsworthy, but some stories have actually started several news cycles rolling. They certainly have shown us the wonderful sides of Pelosi, Murtha, Durbin, Reid, Dodd, Edwards and other stars. The filtering by others is just as sad as the partisanizing on Fox and MSNBC,

I posted a link today (not from Fox) that highlights the wonderful things Hizb'Allah been up to. This is the Party Carter thinks we can work with? How does peace come without recognizing the players and their actions? Does any media dare to push a story that could get Americans angry? Sometimes CQ here is more bold than the NYT and WAPO put together given the headlines it is willing to run. Kudos.

that other media won't cover.....that is

This blog can be kinda confusing when you read from bottom up. As pooped as I am it might be confusing the other way also.

Bethy, I don't know what I'm supposed to be with you on but knowing you I'll take a chance and say yep, I'm with you.

Now if Solar asked, you with me Carol? I'd have to read the contract carefully first.

Carol.
What contract? It's simple. A yes or a no.

Start doing this immediately: 10-4.

Carol - I wanted Dennis Quaid there, but Solar said no, but he was inviting Raquesl and Kim Basinger and a redhead - s0 I let 'im have it and invoked you as well.

So he backed down, but he thinks Raquel was the nut job i meant, when everybody knows Kim is bezerk (sp?).

No, I'm not drunk - no alcohol in a day - just in a hurry to go pick up chinese for our old ladies' club saturday night.

I like Sheperd Smith mostly, also. Gregory is fine and a lot smarter than the others. I'm very disappointed with Wolfe - have been since he went gaga over Obama, and even more so now.

Nitey nite.

Wolf Blitzer or Richard Wolfe Bethy? Wolf Blitzer is kind of a square. Don't like Richard Wolfe either, especially since he made real light of Timmy's tax fraud. Said it was an accident. Yea, like jumping off a bridge is an accident.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233774

Shep Smith - Dreamy Eyes? I thought that was a bad face lift.

Carol.

I don't know what Bethy is talking about. All I did was to name a couple of would be guests. That's all.

I think that she must have been talking to that Solar Illusion guy. I had nothing to do with it.

So You see. It was just a case of mistaken Identity. Yeah. Thats what it was. A case of mistaken I D.

I'll buy that Solar. Not!

You know I had every noisy piece of yard equipment going shortly after 6A this morning. I felt a little bad about it. I told my river rats/boat fixing neighbors this afternoon that I hope I didn't startle them from their respectives drunk wearing off stupors this morning. They said no, I inspired them and they cleaned up their back yard and under their camp. I invited them to the party.

Shep's too young for a face lift, isn't he Jamie? Maybe false eyelashes and contact lens? From what I have been reading Anderson Cooper needs to do something. His numbers are falling off.

I still miss Aaron Brown. I liked him much better than what's his name.

You know Don I liked Aaron also. No artificial frills. Anyone know where he is? He's the only news anchor who I wrote a comment to who wrote back instead of the auto response.

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

Looks like he's still working, though I haven't run across him.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233793

Hey Carol --

Believe it or not, Keith Olbermann once sent me a reply that wasn't an auto reply. So did the late Jerry Nachman - I complained about MSNBC moving his time slot, and he told me to get a TIVO!

Yeah Ivy, like he's worth spending money to watch. If your gonna spend money, get a camp and leave them all at home.

CaJoe --

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/its-up-to-you-israel-and-islam.html#comment-233609

"The story of the gauntlet used in to throw down the gauntlet is linguistically unexciting." Au contraire...word origins and permutations are endlessly fascinating.

Here's another gauntlet relative:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-gan1.htm

This is my D-Day dedication to my Uncle Vic who told us little about his war experience except, "I guess I could say I was in the invasion of France on D-Day." He will be 93 this month.

"He will be 93 this month."

Hi Ivy,

If my calc are correct he was in his late 20s in 44. My dad was 30 when he went in the Army in 42. It surprising sometimes when we see in some of the movies they depict the all the young guys. I guess their stories seem more compelling.

My father was 32 and an MP who was behind the liberators to guard the prisoners. He was with 18 year olds.

As always, Craig, you were great tonight.

tt

Solar - I hope you're not counting on Carol believing you. Ya got so much noive.

We watched an old pbs Murder shpw tonight called
The Heat of the Sun, starring Trevor Eve (sigh).
It's about a scotland yard detective who ends up in Kenya in the '30's. It was very nicely done and wakens all my old puzzlements re the Brits. My god, there is a group of them that likes to dare strange places. As someone said, they like to be ex-pats and be jaded. I think that's true for some, but man, they transplant well.

Then the Dr Livingstone stuff came up and Louise, our 91 year old pistol brought up the show they just started re Africa. She thought it was terrible and I seem to remember several here saying the same. Glad I didn't watch it.

In case the big-news events kicked this off your radar screens:

birth of Max Armstrong, son of Lance Armstrong. A report:
http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/video/aspen-avi/5c 1ddde6-e4fd-4b98-93f5-d21d155a13c3/

D-Day, 65 years ago...this man still lives in Seattle, says he remembers D-Day and the red sea water like it was yesterday.
ttp://images.artnet.com/artwork_images_141083_437993_robert-capa.jpg

http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images_141083_437993_robert-capa.jpg

dex.....imagine some guy standing around with a camera while that chaos is going down.........incroyable

my old man, being the youngest, born in '17.......he got in late because he moved to charleston to weld in the shipyard in 42....but he did go in and made it thru Camp Crowder and was in LA ready to ship out in 45 to japan and they shut down the war and turned him loose......he said he was hitching a ride back to alabama on a plane with an officer in a Scarlet Satin flight jacket and was looking at the jacket as a big bright blue stain began to expand around his heart area........his pen got a leak and spread in a big circle and all he could do (being a character much like Andy Griffith's in "No Time For Sergeants" ) was laugh and point at it cause of the noise of the plane and the officer didnt see it......my old man laughed at that story till the day he died......

a friend of mine in denver used to tell me about his uncle dick.......he came back from the war in europe and went thru the motions for a year or two.......finally he put his helmet on and sat in his room in a rocking chair and laughed.......all day long, every day for the rest of his life........sitting, rocking, laughing.........

we had us a Full Moon Crabfest tonight.........bunch of ladies came in from Charlotte and did the Conga line, the Soul Train, and the Electric Slide........it was fun watching them, but most fun of all was the 8 minute polka into which we worked the marine hymn, the anchors aweigh, the Off we go into the wild blue yawnder, the Caissons go rolling along and the ever popular and stupendous "Semper Paratus"..................whadda night, whadda night.......

i got home, and my cat did not care about it........

"The world little cares what storms you encountered along the way.......but did you bring in the cargo?"

No, cat was not concerned about anything except the fancy feast......"Did you bring my food?"

Yes, Cat......I have your food.

he said that when he was hitching a ride back to alabama on a plane with an officer in a Scarlet Satin flight jacket and was looking at the jacket...... a big bright blue stain began to expand around the officer's heart area........his pen got a leak and spread in a big circle and all my dad could do (being a character much like Andy Griffith's in "No Time For Sergeants" ) was laugh and point at it because of the noise of the plane and the officer didnt see it......my old man laughed at that story till the day he died......

grammar, you know.........english major has to stay in tune

Spinal Tarp?

my old man fixed Gen. Joseph Stillwell's telephone in san francisco........