Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Hmm, if it was a woman clown, there would undoubtedly be a least one safety pin.

Gotta agree with you on all counts, Poobah. Must be sump'in in the' water.

craig,

On Number One... nothing quite induces obsessing as someone who's obsessed. Also... maybe this endless directionless tug of war of torture studies/torture briefings/torture methods and torture results is never going to benefit from ANYTHING the CIA releases. (Or doesn't release.)

jamie,

It is??? It HAS??? Miss Birdies will be momentarily thrilled by the promise and soured more lastingly by missing it.

Some people will say anything to be first.

I think Howard Dean adds a lot to the party and he certainly has a constituency. The inner sanctum shouldn't be so sanctimonious when it comes to the good doctor.

There's conservative and then there's conservative. I'm a fiscal conservative but most definitely a social liberal. A lot depends on the context in which Gallup asked the question.

As for Dr. Dean...

One of the things that struck me is that of all the 2004 candidates (and all the Democratic party leaders)... the man just isn't any kind of narcissist on any level.

Unlike say... at least two out of the three Emanuel brothers... the Vice-President... a lot of the WH staff... certain members of the Cabinet...

Maybe The Leader finds a greater personal comfort level with Rahm's type than he finds with the pretty damn good Doctor.

Musical things I didn't know had happened. Paul Williams was elected Chairman of ASCAP with Jimmy Webb as Vice Chairman

http://www.ascap.com/press/2009/0416_williams.aspx

Golly, Jamie, if it pertains to music, it better be cleared with James C Petrillo.

Craig....
really?!... it surprises you that Obama has thrown Dean under the bus?!

I know all politicians use people.... but Obama seems to have honed it into a fine art....

jamie,

I just heard back from someone who should know -- the rights are being held in a death grip by the production company: it has been shown only at a handful of west coast film festivals.

Broadcast, cablecast and DVD rights are off the table.

It's nuts.

20 foot fence, 21 foot ladder.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/06/15/us/politics/AP-US-Supreme-Court-Border-Fence.html

Dean is good at stepping on toes to get things done, and commits the further crime of being right also. That would be tough on the egos around the Whitehouse.

I think liberal has an image of the aging Berkeley hippies. My guess would be that most people would describe themselves as fiscally careful but socially liberal or libertarian. Inhofe vs. Boxer is extreme at both ends, but people would think of Barbara as a standard liberal and Inhofe as a nutty conservative.

Jamie, re: hospice. I've known several hospice volunteers and God bless them, I couldn't do it. I can work with crazy people but not terminal patients. It's a fantastic system, and will be needed even more as baby boomers age. With huge numbers of baby boomers retiring there are also many new arguments to get through a comprehensive immigration bill to legalize current residents.

dick cheney was probably instrumental in the bush/cheney White House decision against hardening the cockpits of jetliners. little bush said that this recommendation by the Rudman/Hart committe would have cost the airlines $200,000,000. As a result, the alqaeda terror teams got into the cockpits of 4 US jetliners, and destroyed the World Trade Center towers. This was the little bush White House policy of making government cheap, and I presume that Vice Usurper dick cheney had a big say in the matter.

Re Gallup : I haven't put much stock in Gallup for years. The differences between the numbers Gallup reports and the numbers Rasmussen and Zogby report are pretty big. I don't know what accounts for it, but the latter two come much closer to the end results when election day comes around. If Gallup can't poll people who use cels and blackberries almost exclusively, they are missing a quarter or more of Americans over the age of 18. Perhaps a generational difference in attitude changes remains unrecorded by Gallup.

Anyway, most people in the US want to conserve something or other, and almost everyone wants to preserve the Constitution, they merely disagree on what that means. I think the meanings of 'liberal' and 'conservative' became blurred during TR's and Wilson's administrations, when 'conservative' took on a new anti-big government meaning, and 'liberal' took on a new anti-trust/monopoly meaning. These new meanings were complete flip-flops of the ways those terms had been interpreted in Revolutionary times. Hence the terms 'paleo-liberal', and 'paleo-conservative'. william f. buckley, lyndon johnson, richard nixon, and the neo-cons, each added new meanings to these terms.

Nowadays, 'conservative' and 'liberal' mean anything any charlatan wants them to mean. Barry Goldwater, who wrote "The Conscience of a Conservative" became too 'liberal' to retain membership in the republican party, whereas gay marriage activist dick cheney is a conservative's 'conservative'.

Is there any wonder that Gallop is confused ?

That last word is supposed to be 'Gallup', not 'Gallop'. I'd shoot the proof-reader, but then Sweetie'd have to hire someone to mow the lawn.

Hmm, if it was a woman clown, there would undoubtedly be a least one safety pin.--flatus

Right. And a lip gloss. :)

Meanwhile non sequiter: I'm glad Craig tweets the new threads are up.

and so it begins

"TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Gunfire from a pro-government militia killed one man and wounded several others Monday after hundreds of thousands of chanting opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marched in central Tehran to support their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since disputed elections."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGSJEAPs_r2T2wxsL5G3t4z-jajQD98R9CR80

Between Iran and Pakistan, we can look forward to some serious internal upheavals in the coming months.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/three-stories-for-the-weirdnes.html#comment-236463

9/11

I know I saw it once. Maybe it was a one time release.
Brain could be temporarily on the fritz and I'm remembering the You Tube cuts, but I don't think so.

Just found a page where it is for sale? Pirate?

http://www.lslproductions.com/wihn_home.html

Take it back. That is the one who has the stranglehold. Very Weird.

Making it's way around twitterworld.

"MSM (mainstream media) died today. Welcome to the dawn of TSM (tweetstream media)" #IranElection.

They're quite proud of getting the news out while CNN et al were asleep at the switch. With all the news agencies shutting down foreign bureaus I doubt there are a lot of journalists in the area.

Juan Cole (yeah, I know Max) makes an interesting point. Shooting someone in Iran just draws everything out, as there will be a big public funeral, memorial, and grieving time. The leaders probably want this issue to go away as quickly as possible, so shooting people isn't in their best interest.

Jamie -- I need your eagle research eye and knowledge...am trying to find some recent stats on how much money is spent on cosmetics, plastic surgery or altertatives....I've googled and no definitive stuff comes up...suggestions?

maxtrue on 6/14/9 @ 6:06 pm : "Xrepblican-my point was that innocent people died when we protected Muslims from Serbian agression. Innocent people die in Afghanistan trying to stop the Taliban. The defense of liberty has costs in blood and treasure. Instead, Warren compared Bush to the worst of our adversaries. Even now, the majority of Iraqis thank the US for liberating them from Saddam. Is this not right?"

1. I prerfer the term 'not guilty' to the term 'innocent'. It's a religious distinction having to do w/Salvation. I just want clarity. My thing.

2. Iraqis may be happy to have saddam out of their lives, but that doesn't mean that they are grateful to us. As Determinists, Muslims deny gratitude to humans, in favor of expressing gratitude to God for sending those humans. Thus, the US does not get credit.

3. I know that this concept will be hard to believe, but Iraqis may be even more fickle than Americans.

4. Besides, the value of overthrowing saddam is diluted by the senile bush Administration selling him poison gas technology, and then supplying political cover FOR YEARS while he used it to slay 100,000 people. This, and the fact that the junkie bush's Administration failed to protect the people you call 'innocent' from gangs of marauders for 5 years, diminishes us rather than enhancing us in the eyes of Iraqis.

5. All polls indicate that the vast majority of Iraqis want us out now.

6. The present government of Iraq is just as committed to the extinction of Israel as the ba'ath government was. So, wtf difference did the crazy republican/likud "bash Iraq" fiasco accomplish for Israel ? I mean, besides raising great heaps of campaign money for republican and/or likud candidates from among the unsophisticated and aged Jews of Brooklyn and Miami ?

Patsi,

I came up with a pay for the report site

http://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/retail.aspx?indid=1055&chid=1&rcid=1

I'll look around some more and see if a government agency puts out the same information. It looks as if cosmetics are about a 10 billion dollar business, but I'll see if I can confirm that. and find some stats about cosmetic surgery.

Patsi,

Found this info in Slate magazine putting surgery at 12 to 20 billion. When you combine the two you are talking about 20 - 40 billion dollars. I think I will just go somewhre and sag.

http://www.slate.com/id/2188419/

"Depending on how you count it, on an annual basis, the cosmetic-surgery industry—subset of the "luxury healthcare sector" and parent of the "facial aesthetics market"—is now worth $12 billion to $20 billion a year. Two weeks ago, the New York Times reported that last year, among 18 medical specialty fields, the three that attracted med-school seniors with the highest medical-board test scores were the most cosmetically oriented: plastic surgery, dermatology, and otolaryngology."

Here you have some cosmetic surgery stats about who is doing what

http://www.cosmeticsurgery.com/articles/archive/an~82/

Someone thinks that Dean is out in the cold because he has stepped on toes. Presumably, Immanuel never did.

Did I understand that correctly ?

I think Dean was away making hay while the sun still shone. Now the book is out, he'll make his bundle, and the Doc can go back to not doctoring.

re-post from the last thread as it appears Dooty can't read.

"Shooter Jennings (tatted up singer son of Waylon) has proposed to his long time girl friend Drea de Matteo. This was on stage after a gig. She is an actress that played Christopher's love interest Adriana La Cerva.

(more about her here) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriana_La_Cerva

They evidently have a daughter (toddler) together. Well wishes from the Casa Dooty clan."

And here are some dollar breakouts for various procedures and products with projections to 2010 such as

Cosmeceuticals Market Leaps Past $13 Billion in 2005
Cosmeceuticals Market to Surpass $17.2 Billion in 2010

http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1194585&xs=r&g=1&kw=&view=toc&curr=USD

CNN just gave the totals for "wounded" in

Iraq 31,342 and Afghanistan 2,979

That;s over 34,000 men and women with varying degrees of injuries who will be needing very expensive medical care, many for life. since the signature wound of this war is brain injury.

Weird and politics, is that being redundant? I thought that was why we liked discussing politics so much because it's all weird and so are we. Ok I will only speak for myself and I like being weird. Ya'll can be normal is you so wish.

And I can see why maybe conservative is moving up in popularity. I do think of myself as somewhat conservative but not by any definition that the Republicans use. By the real definition.

I like what Flatus, 911, and Don said about Howard. I agree. Maybe even others but I haven't read that far down yet.

And Cheney is way past weird. Weird would be way too good a word to describe him.

Happy afternoon peeps.

KT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeN8yFmL5iA

Jack

Xrepublican, I can't address everything now. Are you suggesting the US is responsible for Saddam's slaughter of 100,000? (he killed more than that) And I love the way you pass by my assertion and redirect to another nuance.

"Not Guilty"? If "innocents are giving cover to terrorists, are they really innocents? Children are always innocents, well, in Iraq a 15 year old recently murdered some people. Anyway, later for that debate.

Craig, you missed the most glaring weirdness. THE PRESIDENT OF THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT says that a Jewish State is not acceptable. Even weirder is the silence in the media over the "ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, or the many Muslim countries purging themselves of Jews and Christians. Think the NYT would address this weirdness? Hell no.

I agree that Panetta seems wild on that claim. Democrats WILL blame Cheney if we are attacked. Panetta ought to be figuring out why the CIA can't get election predictions right. Maybe Panetta can tell us all if the Iranian election was fair. And how many Democrats prayed the economy would fail, that we would get hit or Iraq would be really lost while Bush was President. So much for memories.

Dean helped Obama win. I keep telling Liberals not to gloat over the number people say are Republicans. It is the number who say they are conservative that count. And God forbid anyone say they are a conservative Liberal like many said Hillary was.

According to a Boston Celtics fan on the internet, the Laker fans are terrorists. LOL! I talked to a Facebook friend this morning who lives in Ontario. She is also a registered nurse. She had nothing but praise for Canada's healthcare system. Renee, the trick is to use people without them even being aware you are using them. LOL!

Corey

From what I understand the canadian system is a bit like medicare. Which is a very workable system imo.

What I fear with all the obama blather on health care is he is going to turn medicare into an underfunded system like the British system.
So I think Obama's first challenge is , "Do no harm"
That would be a true conservative position.

Jack

AIG exec plundered billions from retirement fund

http://www.examiner.com/a-2069769~AIG_lawyer__Ex_top_exec_plundered_retirement_plan.html

Corey...
that's not true..... only Jack Nicholson is a terrorist.... :0)

and I'm so sorry about your Red Wings... hope you enjoyed the season anyways.... hey... but next year it's the Bruin's turn.... that might even get me to watch hockey again....

well.... my Canadian relatives praise and sometimes curse it.... same as anything else... it's not perfect.... but I think it's a hell of a lot better than our system....

Jack.... it's great to see you...I miss your crotchety argumentativeness... :0)

Cleft palate, chins for the chinless, and other such surgeries are cosmetic, right ? Surgeries for extradigitation and excess nipples are cosmetic, too, right ? A fellow I know had his eyelids lifted, because he was having difficulty seeing the rearview mirror. Cosmetic, right ? A former sis-in-law had her nose shoved over to just below her right ear in a car accident. Other folks are born with noses under their right ears. Wanting to look normal is all just vanity, right ?

To me, rhinoplasty is rhinoplasty. I am not inclined to view any of the surgeries I just mentioned as solely cosmetic, but I assume that penny-pinchers will.

By far, the biggest costs, and therefore the biggest savings in medical care, are to be found in the bills run up during the last 24 months of John and Jane Doe's lives. Of course, one never knows when the end is at hand. However, spending vast sums of money to delay hospice is a waste, and in most cases the medical industry knows what symptoms of what diseases indicate that there is no longer a remedy.

We can also gain enormous savings by eliminating inactivity and the worst environmental hazards : chemical pollutants, addictions, lack of seat belts and helmets, and bad diets. A head injury will eat up a million bucks worth of insurance in a few years. Multiply the cost of a crippling head injury by the number of people living "on the county" in our 3,000 plus counties, and think that you'll generate a number to rival our national cosmetic surgery bill. Just a guess.

Jamie -- those stats are great! Thanks....

KT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeN8yFmL5iA

Jack

LOL Thanks, Jack! LOVE Bob WIlls! (In fact, will hopefully be using one of his songs for liveblogging Olbermann tonight)

Renee

I guess what they say about you New Hampshire folks is true, but it did take me a while to realize that "crotchety argumentativeness" meant "reasoned and intelligent".

I've been busy, summer is here and people are needing things fixed. Also, I took on this neighborhood thing and silly me I can't do something half way.

I do try top look in once in a while and keep the blue corn stuff posted once in a great while. But my blog is suffering I have a camera full of pictures and several posts I want to write but I don't seem to find the time to do it.
I do try to check in once in a while here but being "reasoned and intellegent" takes time.
( crotchety argumentativeness???? me ???)
};-)

The wife just came home so it is her turn.
Later
Jack

@ 5:02 pm, maxtrue wrote :
"Xrepublican, I can't address everything now. Are you suggesting the US is responsible for Saddam's slaughter of 100,000? (he killed more than that) And I love the way you pass by my assertion and redirect to another nuance."

I did not mention the United States, and I'll thank you not to make up bullshit and then suggest that I wrote it.

The figure of 100,000 deaths was just for the poison gas saddam used. The actual number of poison gas deaths may have been might have been much higher.

saddam acquired the technology for that poison gas from the senile bush's administration.

The rest of America is NOT implicated, because we were not told about the bush administration's criminal operation to transfer banned technology. When reports came out about saddam using poison gas, the bush administration lied about saddam's use of poison gas and about the bush war crime family's complicity. In fact, I was asserting that the first bush, his Special Envoy to the Mideast, rumsfeld, SOD dick cheney, and SOS jim baker, are all accesories before, during, and after the fact, of genocide and war crimes.

If anything, Warren UNDERestimates the depth of the bush war crime family's evil.

Renee -- you asked about the trip. It was great. My old pal picked me up at the airport, driving his pickup....his wife fixed a great spaghetti casserole that night (one that will be in her next cookbook), and we sat around talking about old times plus hearing about the three daughters' sports events. Very normal, great household. Signing and tv stuff all went well.

(Except on one show there was a strange woman who charges women $25 bucks to post their particulars on her website, and men $50,000 apiece to pick a woman. She said she was looking for Oklahoma woman to showcase. DAMN! Sounded like a pimp operation to me!)

8 on the Weirdness Scale.

that Gallup reports a plurality of Americans calling themselves conservative?

Missing Persons - Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IasCZL072fQ

----------------------
Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?

My lips are moving but no sounds coming out
The words are audible but i have my doubts
That you realise what has been said

You look at me as if you're in a daze
It's like the feeling at the end of the page when you realise
You don't know what you just read.

What are words for
When noone listens anymore
What are words for
When noone listens what are words for
When noone listens
There's no use talking at all.

I might as well go up and talk to a wall
Coz all the words are having no effect at all
It's a funny thing.. am i all alone?

Something has to happen to change the direction
What little filters though is giving you the wrong impression
"it's a sorry state" I say to myself

What are words for
When noone listens anymore
What are words for
When noone listens what are words for
When noone listens
There's no use talking at all.

Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?

Let me get by over your dead body
Hope to see you soon
When will i know?
Doors three feet wide with no locks open
Walking always backwards in faces of strangers
Time could be my friend
But it's less then nowhere now....

Pursue it any further and another thing you'll find
Not only are they deaf and dumb they could be going blind
noone notices
I think i'll dye my hair blue.

Media overload bombarding you with action
It's getting near impossible to cause distraction
someone answer me.. before i pull the plug.

What are words for
When noone listens anymore
What are words for
When noone listens what are words for
When noone listens
There's no use talking at all.

Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?
Do you hear me?
Do you care?

I think i'll dye my hair blue.

Tonight's download theater is brought to you by blue hair dye.

maxtrue,

The number who say they are 'conservative' means zilch. Being 'conservative' may only mean that one likes to dress in basic black or that one prefers beer to flavored vodka. At least the words republican and Democrat mean something.

Regarding 'innocence' :

1. I assume you use the word 'innocent' to denominate those who are not parties in a conflict. I understand that sometimes civilians will get caught and killed in a war. However, I have no respect for people who wink and nod at such occurences, much les for those who celebrate them.

2. In the Criminal Law, one does not plead a client 'innocent'. One pleads him (usually an him, unless it's shoplifting) 'not guilty'.

3. For the Christians on the trail, the word 'innocence' is reserved for only One Person, allegedly born w/o sin.
To avoid confusion on this topic in other areas of my life, I make a point of beig very careful with the word. When I use it, it is usually to hammer a stuffed-surplice pro-lifer who heretically blubbers about the loss of "innocent lives."

4. the 'age of innocence'. The first multiple murderer I knew was a 13 year old boy. I was 11. We had attended the same kindergarten 6 years before. Even way back then, everyone knew that Curtis was destined to have his picture on the front page.

Come on image browser load you slow ass program.

maxtrue,

The number who say they are 'conservative' means zilch. Being 'conservative' may only mean that one likes to dress in basic black or that one prefers beer to flavored vodka. At least the words republican and Democrat mean something.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It would also mean that a whole crapload of "conservatives" voted for barack obama....

Patsi

$50,000?

Reminds me of a story, may have happened in Oklahoma.

There was a pretty young lady riding the train and a sales man set down beside her and started talking to her, the conversation went down hill until the saleman ask the young thing if she would go for a roll in the hay for $50. Now while all this was going on across the isle was an old Oklahoma cowboy the more he listened to sales man the madder he got. When the salesman said $50 the cowboy pulled out his pistol and shot the salesman dead
The young lady gratefully thanked the cowboy for defending her honour.
The cow boy replyed
"Shucks mam, I was glad to, Can't have them easterners come around and start running up the price of women in Oklahoma."

Pistol packin" mama, with Bing and the Andrews girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMDsV_lurd8

Jack

BBC America has a wonderful human interest/economic story on China tonight. If you can't see it, check out the website tomorrow as theire will be features all week as the reporter travels the old British supply road

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/default.stm

Pistol packin" mama, with Bing and the Andrews girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMDsV_lurd8

Jack

At the risk of looking like a showoff (and being thrown off the board) I'll see your Bing and the Andrews Sisters and raise you an Al Dexter. . .;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uESJlJAj7g

CAN I get thrown off the board for this? If so, I'll try to behave from now on.

If you haven't seen some of these on You Tube, they are lots of fun. During WW II there were "soundies" - 3 minute mini movie musicals played on a coin operated machine. Lots of great songs There are about 60 of them to look through, though for some reason my favorite "She Killed Nobody But Her Husband" is missing.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%221944+soundies+1940s%22+%22official+films%22&search=related&v=vkHL89xyfgs&page=1

Patsi....
a female pimp..... I LOVE it!

Jack.... you're incorrigible too...... ROFL....

KT..... the only thing that will get you kicked off is if you start calling your fellow bloggers names.... but celebrities and politicians are fair game....

time to watch the rerun of Bill Maher....

I went to the Disabled American Veterans Thrift Store today to buy some crutches for my oven. ( Adjustable Kick stands.)

Stan has one of my shirts from 23 years ago . Buddy Holly's 50th birthday shirt. 1986

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/810/img0851.jpg

It's in mint condition I might add.

This is interesting development on Twitter.

Twitter has rescheduled planned downtime for tonight to mid day tomorrow as the service is used by Iranians to communicate during the crisis.

Jack -
I got some Black Hollyhock seeds yesterday.

Sturg

1. Obama didn't win by that much and yes, some conservatives did vote for him. Despite how much most here hated Reagan, he was a New Deal Democrat.

2. While it is nice you dismiss all the people that have "some conservative" views as still really Liberal, God Forbid anyone state those cnservative views here and suffer the LIBERAL WRATH.

3. Try as you will, the data shows that while Liberals tout their commanding political power, under the surface are numbers that can shift as fast as a California fault line.

4. Despite the blasts I get here, polls indicate more than 66% of Americans feels Obama has not been tough enough on the bad guys in the Middle East. Let's be honest Sturg. By the measure used here to label such views NEOCONSERVATIVE, Trailmix criteria would then be forced to place the number of conservatives MUCH HIGHER than the polls quoted.

5. The further Left the Democratic Party goes, the more conservatives are created. Do you understand that logic? For example several Liberals I know in the banking world have told me that if Obama thinks his economic policies are Liberal, then they must reconsider what their views are. Some joke and say "Obama's making me a conservative". Of course, they are not the nasty ones lamented here like Rush, but they wonder if being slightly Left of center now qualifies them as conservatives.

6. Obama once called Hillary a Republican Lite. What did he mean? That she was really a moderate Conservative?

7. And I suppose Europe just moved where? To the less Liberal side, or the more conservative side? Semantics, Sturg. You can play it however you want.

KT

It's pretty free form around here. Such rules as there are can be found under "Trail Mix Links" on the left in the "Commenting Guide". Basically don't attack the other people personally (their opinions are another matter). Snarky is okay and try to be pithy rather than extensively verbose. Keep the swearing to a minimum. With the full understanding that we have all at one time or another fallen short and had to promise to sin no more. :-)

Prairie dogs immediately escape from $500k escape-proof habitat

The Maryland Zoo spent $500,000 to make an escape-proof prairie dog habitat, called Prairie Dog Town. The prairie dogs escaped within 10 minutes of being introduced to their new habitat. Zookeepers caught the escaped prairie dogs with nets.

http://boingboing.hexten.net/2009/06/15/prairie-dogs-immedia.html

Iran: Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime
Posted by Xeni Jardin, June 15, 2009 4:21 PM | permalink
More on the web-fueled uprising in Iran, where many are expressing outrage over presumed electoral fraud in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmmedinajad. From Noah Shachtman at Wired:

While demonstrators gather in the streets to contest Iran’s rigged election, online backers of the so-called “Green Revolution” are looking to strike back at the Tehran regime — by attacking the government’s websites.

http://boingboing.hexten.net/2009/06/15/iran-activists-launc.html

Oh and KT, if you have a blog, Craig is kind enough to link to the trailmixer blogs under the blogroll in the same location on the left.

"4. Besides, the value of overthrowing saddam is diluted by the senile bush Administration selling him poison gas technology, and then supplying political cover FOR YEARS while he used it to slay 100,000 people." x republican

"I did not mention the United States, and I'll thank you not to make up bullshit and then suggest that I wrote it.

The figure of 100,000 deaths was just for the poison gas saddam used. The actual number of poison gas deaths may have been might have been much higher.

saddam acquired the technology for that poison gas from the senile bush's administration." Xrepublican

I am having serious problems figuring out who is senile, you or Bush.

If you want to play that game xrep, who the hell armed OBL? Who said nothing as militants plastered the landscape with banners calling the people to torture all captured Soviet military in violation of the GC? Who said nothing to the Shah until Iranians protested and then pulled the rug from under him ushering in a new era of violoence and torture surpassing the Shah? You plead innocence as you were a Republican then. Perhaps you did not look deep enough. I remember as a young guy reading the posters the Mujhadeen put up in Afghanistan and I remember that instead of negotiating a peace so the Soviets could withdraw ( after Zbig baited them in), we let them bleed.

Did you protest the attack by Reagan on Gaddafi? I remember my fellow Liberals claiming the world's largest under ground tunnels were irrigation pipes. They cried WMD facilities were a NEOCON scare tactic. Were they right?

It is easy to arm chair. We all make fine Monday morning quarterbacks.

Jamie:

"And here are some dollar breakouts for various procedures and products with projections to 2010 such as

Cosmeceuticals Market Leaps Past $13 Billion in 2005
Cosmeceuticals Market to Surpass $17.2 Billion in 2010"

I am someone who is personally very anti-cosmetic surgery and prescription drugs. I think "elective surgery" is an oxymoron. (with an exception for tattoos : )

But I am all for it in the capitialist sense. It is a good way to funnel in money from the wealthy into the healthcare system. And the more money, means to more opportunities for hospitals, nurses, pa's. And the better their balances sheets are - the less they have to charge for common, routine procedures.

It is like a voluntary tax - which is of course the best kind.

(I don't think it should be encouraged - and I think pharmaceutical companies should focus on making pills for diseases like malaria rather than doping up America and giving old guys boners...but I don't begrudge them make a buck where they can.)

K. Sebs is pretty good on Hardball.

In short:

Q. Who is going to set the proper standards and protocol?

A. Doctors.

Q. Who is doing that now?

A. Insurance companies are dictating what treatments patients can or cannot have.

Jamie, I do have a blog--actually I have two, one strictly about books--but I don't know, the other one's way quirky--

Warren,

I'm all for some of the newer discoveries such as Retinol that help keep skin firmer than otherwise, but the whole idea of slicing up my face for the sake of looking "refreshed" just gives me the creeps. Whatever someone else wants to do, go for it.

On a societal basis, the idea that young and pretty equals employable bothers me. The whole idea of a culture that values youth above wisdom, talent and experience is disturbing.

x-repub:

"By far, the biggest costs, and therefore the biggest savings in medical care, are to be found in the bills run up during the last 24 months of John and Jane Doe's lives."

The point isn't to tell people they can't have treatments.

The point is to get costs in line - and people insured so they can actually pay for the treatment they receive.

And if someone or their family wants to keep a person on life support for years - and they can keep paying their bills - so be it.

Couldn't agree more Jamie.

Patsi, I'm still trying to figure out what that woman is charging men $50,000 for and does anyone pay it?? I guess there would only have to be a few fools for her to make out like a bandit.

And Jamie, pithy? The first time I heard that word was on Bill-Os show. I had to look it up. Don't want anyone to think I watch that guy often but I did when I was protesting everyone else for the way they were treating Hillary.

C-Bob we want a pic when you dye your hair blue.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/three-stories-for-the-weirdnes.html#comment-236543

How do you define "quirky"? If it doesn't involve more that two XX's you should be okay. I write about everything under the sun. You can take a look at some that are there and see if it fits in or just post the addresses and whoever wants to will drop in.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/three-stories-for-the-weirdnes.html#comment-236516

Yes X-R. But saying I underestimate it is probably and understatement. I like Baker.

KT:

You can't get thrown off this board!

The only person who maybe did was an ass of epic proportions.

(Most people leave voluntarily ; )

Welcome,

max:

"Liberal" is a term for Democrats you either don't like, don't respect, or at the best . . . are misguided.

"Conservative" is a term for Democrats you either like or respect.

I'm off to the gym.

ass of epic proportions. ............

That would be an understatement of epic proportions.

What can I say,

Its Hard To Be Humble

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWCRBSz1zY4

Jack

"I think pharmaceutical companies should focus on making pills for diseases like malaria rather than doping up America and giving old guys boners"

Ya know Warren, There was a time when I would have agreed with you. But "giving old guys boners" seems to be moving up on my list of medically necessary research for some reason, not sure why.

;-0

Jack

Cbob

Black Hollyhocks eh,
I'll not tell the wife, no need to upset her. I believe the only reason she wants the house next door is because she can plant hollyhocks over there.

Jack

Jamie, I took a look and thought what the heck--take a chance--so I sent my blog URL in. Can't hurt--thanks for telling me about the list.:)

KT:

You can't get thrown off this board!

The only person who maybe did was an ass of epic proportions.

(Most people leave voluntarily ; )

Welcome,

Thanks, Warren! I don't think I can be an ass of epic proportions--although I have at various times in my life been told I HAVE an ass of epic proportions--:D

My favorite Mac Davis song, "Texas In My Rear View Mirror"

http://www.last.fm/music/Mac+Davis/_/Texas+in+My+Rear+View+Mirror?autostart

Buddy Holly and the Crickets

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

Texas Tornados - Anybody Goin' to San Antone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6MdYSSjpkk

Sacaton lol

" them easterners "

ROFL, Jack -- this woman was definitely an Easterner! She even managed to insult the state of Oklahoma while she was asking for their 25-bucks!

Gee, I have been educated by Warren on the use of the term Liberal. Warren says that Liberal is a term I don't like, don't respect or at BEST misguided about. Gee Warren, I get it now.

I am glad he is off to the gym as Wiki would have bitch slapped him.

Conservative is a term for Democrats I either like or respect? Now who is smoking pot? And I'm an ass of epic proportions? You makin ovens Bob or stills?

Today's weird Craig? Besides the comments here? I s it weird that CQ ran a headline about Obama's talk with doctors and it didn't mention he was booed? How about what is going on up in Albany? How about the Taliban attacking muscians at a wedding or that the US doesn't want the detainees? Europe can have them. Is it weird that Obama is looking into his McChyrstal ball for a better result in Afghanistan?

Even weirder Craig, is that for all the brilliance Obama showed in his Cairo Speech (and I think he showed some), he never asked Arabs if they accept a Jewish State's right to exist. It may come as a shock, but much of the unspoken acceptance of Israel by Muslims is conditional on the eventual influx of future Muslims AND a Democracy in Israel that would ensure Muslim control of Israel. All the Muslim leaders including Fatah denounced the idea of a Jewish State as the West seemed confused. Why would an Arab Republic reject a Jewish one?

We see hundreds of thousands in the streets of Iran and we seemed confused. We see South Koreans wondering what will blow their way and we seemed confused. Our confusion strikes me as pretty weird.

To top it off, I feel a bit sad for Obama. The Parties are locked in opposition, our allies have feet of clay, the globe would love to see us stumble as pernicious ideologies grasp for world destroying power. Everything is made a caricature of itself in the reflection of the Press and public. Everybody wants for themselves, dancing around their own little fires.

Yeah, I feel badly for Obama. He's damned if he does and damned if he don't. He called Netanyahu's speech a step forward and was bitterly attacked for doing so. His job sucks. His options tough. He has Party leaders that are embarrassing and policy wonks that are questionable. His opposition has trouble tying their own shoelaces while his adversaries steal his slogans.

I hope he finds that jacket he needs in some White House closet. He's tstill he best hope the world has at the moment. Now how weird is that?

"got some Black Hollyhock seeds yesterday. "

Wow -- post some pics of those when they bloom!

Conservative is a term for Democrats I either like or respect? Now who is smoking pot? And I'm an ass of epic proportions? You makin ovens Bob or stills?

Max....the "ass of epic proportions" was not directed at you.......that was for someone else.......

" I'm still trying to figure out what that woman is charging men $50,000 for and does anyone pay it?? I guess there would only have to be a few fools for her to make out like a bandit. "

Yes....the way I took it is that she is some kind of marriage broker -- and she said $50,000 was a LOW end price, that some pay much more. (Wonder what they get? California girls instead of Okies?) She said these men want to get married. But in her laundry list of what the woman look like etc, they can't have had children because the men want them to bear their own kids....of course, it was hard for me to carefully follow what she was saying because my jaw had dropped to the floor.

My humble apology Bob. Now I was an ass. Following right behind Warren's, I thought you were piling on. Thanks Sturg for pulling a log out of my fire......

In a Jim Reeves mood all of a sudden:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbAKe5m9Sew

OMG! Carol -- I checked the web site of Good Day Tulsa and they still had her name up...here's the woman's website

WWW.JANISSPINDELMATCHMAKER.COM

Holy Shit.....talk about weird....

Bravo ye Liberal, ye are weirder still to speak the truth......

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/14-5

Jack:

I am not saying we need to limit those pills. But I can just imagine the amount of advertising dollars these types of drugs? Imagine if they spent that exporting live-saving drugs (on which they also make a profit).

Plus, wouldn't you agree those types of pills sell themselves...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/three-stories-for-the-weirdnes.html#comment-236510

XR -- you struck a chord, semi-related to your point.

"It is the divine right of man to appear human."

Inscription found on a 16th century Italian church. Inspiration to a plastic surgeon (Dr. Timothy A. Miller) who rebuilds the shattered faces of Iraq War veterans.

There is something about that inscription that resonates deeply, and I'm not sure what or why that is. No one would debate the rationale for the soldiers' surgery, but doesn't everyone have that right on some level? Who pays for it is another matter.

Here's a link to Dr. Miller:

http://operationmend.ucla.edu/

P.S. These are the beautiful faces I want to see on TV, not the ugly mug of Mr. Cheney.

max:

I was not referring to you the "ass" in question.

And I did not say that you were misguided about liberals - I said you think liberals are misguided.

The point is that for many people - liberal has become a pejorative term. (Even some on the left.)

Conservative sounds thoughtful and reasoned. The GOP was always better at branding.

Warren, you're quite right. That's while I'll answer to Blue Dog before either conservative or liberal.

"though chances are Iran's fraud is less obvious than that of Bush v. Gore)." from CommonDreams

And of course the weird suggestion that Obama send Ahmahdinejad a congratulatory note. I guess the writer overlooks that fact that Iran just had the foremost Sunni anti-AQ leader in Iraq murdered. The realism almost fooled me until the writer professed the great will of the Iranian PEOPLE was behind their despotic regime.

Now that's not weird at all for Common Dreams...

Not referring to you [as] the "ass" in question. Thanks sturg!

What up Dog?!

Flatus - are you going hip-hop on us?

Warren, when the hell did conservative start sounding thoughtful or reasoned?

Warren, name something about me that is conservative and please don't give me that crap about thoughtful and reasoned. Liberals can be very thoughtful and reasoned though they are often branded as conservative for doing so.

And remember Obama is a Liberal and he doesn't support gay marriage. Obama is Liberal and he doesn't support third term abortion unless it is to save the health of the mother or eject a damaged fetus (to save the health of the mother).

Obama is Liberal and he agreed with the recent ruling on the 2nd, the Jewish State to exist, victory in Afghanistan and the rejection of Iranian nuclear weapons.

And if you can't label me a conservative, who are you to tell me how I am misguide about my own values?

Flatus

There is no such thing as a conservative any more.
I was tring to explain this to the BIL after the 94 election when the Republicans ran on a revolutionary theme.
Conservatives ain't revolutionary.
The conservative mantra is "If it ain't broke don't fix it" "and if it is broke just tinker with it a bit"
His reply"Well, wouldn't win an election with that"

From my point of view almost all politicians are some for of misguided liberal There hasn't been a true conservative around in years.

Jack

"The revolution will not be [tweeted]."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/media/

not a probleemo, fellers......

and as for Blue Dogs........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNrxxtR1plk

Neat, Sturg. Do you bark with the Dogs/

some more of them Blue Dogs, Theyre not bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hal6_se4eIo

Jack

max:

I was talking about the term conservative.

marked by moderation or caution c: marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conservative

(And I chose to leave the joke out . . . that "thoughtful and reasoned" are not the hallmarks of the modern conservative movement.)

Jack, the neoLiberal ideal is Statism. The revolution is only how we get there. The Most perfect and relativisitcally adjust Union is without change.

Are you saying Jefferson wasn't a conservative? (or LIberal in the classical sense) Is a libertarian Liberal or Conservative?

Hamilton was an abolitionist. How revolutionary. Was Federalism conservativism?

The more misguided we become, returning to classical dynamics like State v Federal might actually appear as revolutionary. That the law is color blind might become ground breaking. Newt was suggesting breaking the welfare cycle was realtively revolutionary. He was saying challenging failed schools and bad teachers was realtively revolutionary. His injection of SOCON ideas was revolutionary in the sense our Founders rejected such notions.

For most of the sheep Republicans you are right on domestic issues. Still, as Liberals move beyond their normal, conservatism might become seen as a revolutionary return to our classical dynamics.

As far as modernity, Reagan was a New Deal Democrat. So there's nothing wrong with many Liberal values, nor is there anything pernicious about staying close to Constitutional dynamics, if that is what you think Conservatism is.

Jack, I kind of suspect our governor here in SC may have genuine conservative leanings. But, it's kind of hard to tell because everybody keeps trying to beat him up and he's always in reactive mode.

I see what you are doing in your neighborhood. How do you characterize that effort? It certainly has characteristics of both conservative and liberal from my point of view.

And, the clock tolls 11. Nite.

http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservative

Okay Warren, here is my joke of the night above. As I said, Reagan was a New Deal Democrat in conservative clothing. And he is the standard bearer however of the Conservative movement. Now how reasoned is that?

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

we were talking political values so that divertion into Webster won't work. Today's conservatives are a wandering fusion between classical liberals (many who advocated internationalism of sorts) and social conservatives. Of course like Liberals, there are many sub groups.

As far as caution, too much can be dangerous. When the tried and true seems broken, we must change how we are tinkering with policy and law -not necessarily by subverting the governing principles.

Did you find something that marks me as politically conservative? Just because I attack what I see as questionable positions regardless of label, doesn't mean I support the opposite and often equally questionable view.

I hate cheer leading though.

Warren, name something about me that is conservative

Fan and cheerleader for Fox News, definitely a conservative view point.

max:

Unfortunately - it has become revolutionary for someone to break with conventional wisdom...

Cbob, You have a ?? on your Saturday Corn thread.

I'm off to finish watching Weeds...

Patsi, It would seem that women who met Janis's criteria wouldn't need her to help them find a man but then again the women who meet her criteria probably are a little intimidating to many men.

I guess if a man is willing to fork out $50,000 he might feel a little less intimidated?? I dunno. Does she keep all the money or does she split it with the women? So many questions. The answers might be on that site but I feel a little icky even looking thought it.

And then again, maybe the $50,000 is to help women look like they meet Janis's criteria, ie make over, boob job, a little charm school, a fake college degree, etc, like My Fair Lady. I think I've got it.

Nite all.

Flatus

Before I go to bed.

Most of what we do as a neighborhood group is embedded in solid conservative principles of property and community. It is home owners who will get involved in block clubs and neighborhood groups. Renters rarely do. I've tried several ways to get renters to take ownership of their community but so far I've not found one that works very well. In this country I believe that renters view themselves as transient on their way to home ownership somewhere else. So my goal is to keep civilization going in my little part of the world and it doesn't get any more conservative than that.

True we are organizing poor people into community (some would say that is liberal) but people coming together and forming a community has been happening for as long as there have been human beings, There is evidence that our society may be older than we as a species are.

To me conservative and liberal labels today are mostly a bunch of cafeteria issues by which political parties are able to organise a voting plurality and have no relationship to the traditional definitions.

That is all my brain can do tonight so good night all

Jack

Carol

theanswers may be on that site but I think it is way more fun to speculate about it all.
but you know if I had $50,000 to throw away I don't think finding a woman would be a problem.
But having a $50,000 roll in my pocket wouldn't have got me my wife. She has a picture of me working with some kids at a neighborhood event, she liked the way I handled myself.

Jack

The Band - The Weight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-xQoNDFwlE

I wouldn't want a man with $50,000 to throw away either. Just a beat up bass boat will do and the $50,000 in the savings.

nite all.

Carol
Thats why you and I never got together.
btw are you the person that put the ad in a singles classified, "wanted good looking tall man with a bass boat, send picture of the boat"?

It is after eleven and the storms are rolling in off the kansas prarie tonight. I hadn't emptied my rain gauge for a week and we had 5 inches of rain in it. It is coming down out there right now with a little thunder and lightning. Not much, it is quiet for a summer storm.

Jack
Jack

My sister just got back from backpacking in Yosemite, very tired, partly because her pack weighed 34 lbs, and she weighs maybe 110. She's kinda experienced, but.......?

One of her first questions was who'd won the election in Iran. I said, "Have I got a story for your!"
Apparently they all talked about it a lot during the four days.

Posted by: maxtrue | June 15, 2009 8:28 PM : "I am having serious problems figuring out who is senile, you or Bush."

(Then maybe you ought to get some professional help for your figuring apparatus.)

If you want to play that game xrep, who the hell armed OBL?

(1. Where does 'that game' come from ? This isn't a game, it is a conversation.
2. The reagan/bush team trained and armed alqaeda and the taliban, against the advise of the Northern Alliance. Once trained and armed, alqaeda and the taliban spent more time and energy attacking the Shi'ite Hazara, and the Sufis than attacking the russians.)

Who said nothing as militants plastered the landscape with banners calling the people to torture all captured Soviet military in violation of the GC?

(I wasn't there, presuming that you mean Afghanistan. However, the soviets had no business going into Afghanistan, and should not have been surprised to receive the same treatment that russians meted out to the peoples they conquered, eg the Jews of the Pale, the Chechens, the Balts, the Poles, the Kyrgyz, ad nauseum.)

Who said nothing to the Shah until Iranians protested and then pulled the rug from under him ushering in a new era of violoence and torture surpassing the Shah?

(Well, whoever it was that said nothing to the Shah, it wasn't me. The Shah through his secret police knew about the danger of the Ayatollahs' revolutionary activities going back to 1969 and probably even earlier. If what you are asking means that US intelligence didn't warn the Shah against continuing to act like a tyrannous czar, and alienating his people thereby, then you are mistaken. US intelligence gave him the Shah an abundance of info.)

You plead innocence as you were a Republican then.

(There you go again. I never called my self innocent. I may be many things, but innocent is not one of them. However, I am not guilty of supporting the Ayatollah or the 'revolutioary guard'. Please stop making shit up about me. It isn't good for your soul.)

Perhaps you did not look deep enough. I remember as a young guy reading the posters the Mujhadeen put up in Afghanistan and I remember that instead of negotiating a peace so the Soviets could withdraw (after Zbig baited them in), we let them bleed.

(So, what is your point ? That I made the russians lose the war in Afghanistan; lose the people's confidence in the leadership and red army; lose their horrid bloody empire ? Dam', I'd love to take the credit for that, but I'm afraid that I wasn't there. After the russians gassed entire Afghan towns {yellow rain} and turned mosques into anti-Muslim museums, they should have known that the mujahedin would show them no mercy.)

Did you protest the attack by Reagan on Gaddafi? (What do you mean by protest ? Do you mean standing in the street like an idiot, waving a placard smeared with a stupid jingle ? No. If you mean to ask whether or not I approved of shooting down Libyan aircraft that acted aggressively against ships and planes of the 6th fleet, yes I approved of that action. However if you mean the attack on Khaddafy's home, I thought that it was a diplomatic and global PR blunder, besides being a fiasco. It was less embarrassing than the Pentagon's attempt to rescue the embassy hostages, and less embarrassing than reagan and that idiot f. x. kelly allowing the Lebanese to guard the perimeter of the Marine barracks. However, as stupid stunts go, it was still embarrassing.)

I remember my fellow Liberals claiming the world's largest under ground tunnels were irrigation pipes. They cried WMD facilities were a NEOCON scare tactic. Were they right?

(To what are you refering ?)

It is easy to arm chair. We all make fine Monday morning quarterbacks.

(You seem to be training to become a renowned armchair quarterback.

To the rest of our fellow Trail Mixers, I tender my apology for this overly overlong, long, long post.)

No apologies necessary, XR, but perhaps congratulations for posting such a well-crafted response covering all your bases. I sympathize.

And, if you're trying to break MY record for length, you have a lot more work to do!

And so to bed.

THREE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL...DONG < DONG< DONG

Cheney runs his mouth constantly to try to tear down Obama while Bush43 just aw-shuckses it as Daddy Bush41 jumps out of yet another airplane...any doubt who ran the Iraq war presidency the past 7 years before Obama took over?

Iran kicked Richard Engel out -d-country...man, what a mess we have over there...revolution looms, Ahmadinejad ruling with iron fist...where will it end?

And Italia beat USA 3-1 in the Confederations Cup game , opening round , Monday.

My NBC ladies:
Michelle Kosinski, Campbell Brown, or Norah O'Donnell?
Which one will I dream of tonight? (Bet on Michelle!)

The frankest and freest product of the human mind and heart is a love letter; the writer gets his limitless freedom of statement and expression from his sense that no stranger is going to see what he is writing.
- Mark Twain's Autobiography,

Hey Dex,

Are you still on duty?

The cat woke me up, so I thought I'd say hello and talk about Iowa umpires.

I think that maxtrue's weird tossings around of the terms 'conservative' and 'liberal' from 8:12 pm to 11:04 pm, abundantly demonstrates my earlier comment that neither word has political meaning or value anymore.

re reagan : reagan may have said that he was a New Dealer, but the LA FBI office had him pegged as spokesperson for a commie front organization. That isn't my observation, it was the statement typed by an FBI agent who investigated the young actor. Much more than a New Dealer, ronald reagan was an unengaged intellect. He fell asleep during cabinet meetings. He needed someone to stand next to him and feed him the answers. He couldn't remember that he sold weapons to Iran, in order to fund a terrorist gang in rural Nicaragua. He "didn't know" that ali north actually brought the Ayatollah's agents into the White House.

Much more than a New Dealer, reagan was victim of delusions. Dan Quayle only bickered (and lost) with a fictional character. ronald reagan went so far as to believe he was a fictional character, claiming that he'd stood beside the Admiral at the end of Boule's Korean War novel "The Bridges of Toko Ri." reagan also claimed that he'd liberated the death camps. Actually, he laid a wreath to honor the ss soldiers who'd played rugby with the heads of black US servicemen. Parenthetically, ss soldiers ran those death camps that reagan claimed to have liberated.

Much more than a supporter of the New Deal, a flurry of 1933 programs in which he had no role, reagan was the head of the republican party for the 12 years following America's rejection of gerry ford/leslie king. In fact, it is much more reasonable to call reagan a republican than to call him anything, Democrat, liberal, conservative, liberator, or New Dealer.

Thank you for your generosity, Ms Bethyboo. Your repeated kindnesses to me have been gratifying.

Goodnight all.

If you haven't heard the story, a guy at a high school game in Iowa threw out the whole crowd.

The newscast I heard Monday morning added that he instantly became a hero to referees and umpires everywhere. While that may have the ring of truth, I also saw some umpires, who submitted blog entries, rushing to judgment and castigating the guy even though they had no idea of the circumstances. My research wasn't thorough, but I saw no umpires who jumped to defend the guy's actions. (Only one official was named in the accounts I read, but since this was a high school game, I expect at least two umpires were assigned to cover it. Perhaps only one showed up.)

Maybe he lost control and over-reacted, or maybe he took prudent action and prevented a heated situation from getting further out of hand. I'd never want an assignor I work for to judge me based on the flimsy information given in the Huffington Post and Fox News items I found on the internet.

The one quote I saw that stands out in my mind, was the home team's School Superintendent, who was called to the scene, stating that he didn't see any unusual behavior from the fans. In that statement, he may have identified the entire problem. Namely, that loutish behavior has become accepted as normal/usual at athletic events and elsewhere.

I can't say the umpire was right, but without more evidence I can't say he was wrong either. At this point, I'm willing to nominate him for a Neil Armstrong Award. One small step for Iowa Baseball. One giant step for mankind.

Okay, no Dex, I'm heading back to bed for another hour or so.

Jack said: "But having a $50,000 roll in my pocket wouldn't have got me my wife. She has a picture of me working with some kids at a neighborhood event, she liked the way I handled myself."

Carol said: "I wouldn't want a man with $50,000 to throw away either. Just a beat up bass boat will do and the $50,000 in the savings. "

Two reasons I LOVE Trail Mix!!!!! Killer comments!

And Trailmix loves you too Patsi. I'm glad your back.

wonder if taking away business expense tax incentives for pharmaceutical co's ads would help reduce some health care costs.

another stray tho't this morning:
when it comes to staying on the topic of the day, we tmrs are a lot like those prairie dogs escaping the md zoo's escapeproof habitat. no matter how compelling the subject, we take off on our flights of fancy and escape these earthly bounds.

And Patsi, it wasn't easy to try to channel you from all the way across the country. I was straining but I might have had some extraterrestrial interference and screwed it up.

I'm staying home from work today because Maggie is sick. She has this awful cough like something is stuck in her throat. It started yesterday.

She has always had this problem with her trachea. She can't wear a collar or she chokes. I've been up most of the early morning keeping an eye on her. She has been quiet for a while now but if this continues I will bring her to the Vet.

I don't want to bring her in unless it doesn't get better. I'm afraid they might start digging around and make things worse. Even doggie health care can be dangerous.

I never call in sick but fortunately I work with many dog lovers and they understand. Most rank their dogs equal to their children in importance.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/06/three-stories-for-the-weirdnes.html#comment-236602

Jack, I think you are absolutely correct in your sorting out of the label nonsense.

I bet you and I would be standing side-by-side 'encouraging' King John's signing of the Magna Carta

Another thought, what should we do in celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta's signing? Only five years to get things right.

Carol, since you're staying at home today, let's share yard chores. I'll take care of the cutting, etc., while you keep Maggie out of the way.

Oh thanks Flatus. I needed help. Is Stinky coming too? I'm too sleepy to keep you from falling off of something.

Actually we are having a drought. I can't remember the last rain. It has been almost a month or so. The grass isn't growing, it's dying. With all I have to do I'm not watering it. Just keeping water in the pool and watering the container plants.

Even Maggie would welcome a little thunderstorm. Nature's giant air conditioner.

btw, folks, craig slipped in a NEW THREAD at 6