Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

I claim this new land in the name of the Dutch Republic.

"In regard to every problem that arises, there are counselors who say, 'Do nothing'; other counselors who say, 'Do everything.' Common sense dictates an avoidance of both extremes. I say to you: 'Do something'; and when you have done that something, if it works, do it some more; and if it does not work, then do something else."

" Daddy what's that ? "
" Rational thinking son, we don't see much of that anymore around here ."

I'd like to coin a phrase -

" The New Stupid "

I think stupid's new makeover is rather stunning. It's bigger, it's shinier, it's got whiter teeth.

I haven't watched much TV in months. But I spent time to catch the late night repeats of " Deadliest Catch ", which ended it's season this week.

I'd like to spend some time with Capt. Phil.

kgc, see this?

"An April Field Poll found that 56 percent of California’s registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana. State legislator Tom Ammiano has introduced a bill to do just that that. Even Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said it is time to open that debate.

With millions or even billions of potential revenue, perhaps California will once again be a trendsetter."

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003179537

They did a " behind the scenes " episode this week, and Discovery had this very young, and very green producer / cameraman named "Mouse".

"Mouse" was on Capt. Phil's boat. He was sea sick to the point it could have killed him. He was walking under 1.100 lb. crab pots swinging from the crane. He was in everybody's way. So he's in port, and in the wheelhouse talking to Capt. Phil asking about the Bering Sea, and Phil looks him in the eye , and say's. " Have you ever cried because you're so scared ? "

So the whole fleet goes through this very bad storm, and " Mouse " puts in 5 1/2 hours on the deck of " The Cornelia Mari ".
Phil tells " Mouse " he's the bravest guy he's ever seen.

It's pretty good TV.

It's never good to be called " Mouse " when you're doing work that can kill you at any second.

Craig -

I forget where I got this , but you're post this morning reminded me of it.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p51/coloradobob/Picture17.png

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2009) — The world’s ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for June, breaking the previous high mark set in 2005, according to a preliminary analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Additionally, the combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for June was second-warmest on record. The global records began in 1880.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090725120303.htm

I have come to the conclusion that we'll get a terrible health "care' bill -- with no real help for anyone. Smoke and mirrors. And what about this never ending war? The media is obsessed with one woman from Alaska while the Blue Dogs and a LOT of GOPers try to destroy this administration's efforts.

Maxine Waters says Rahm's chickens have come home to roost. God love her for speaking the truth.

GREAT photo, C-Bob.

Bangladeshi capital flooded by record July monsoon

In the six hours after 01:00 am (1800 GMT Monday), 290 millimetres (11.42 inches) of rain fell, according to officials.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090728/wl_sthasia_afp/bangladeshweather

----------------------------
Bangladesh had been in a drought .

The all time high temperature record for Seattle is 100 F degrees .

We're gonna take a run at the number today.
It was 106 in Portland yesterday.

The all time record for Portland is 107 .
Astoria, Ore., at the mouth of the Columbia River reaching 92, busting the city's old record of 82 set in 2003.

http://www.rr.com/news/news/article/rr/9008/8479064/Foxs_Glenn_Beck_says_he_believes_Obama_is_racist/full/

"Fox's Glenn Beck says he believes Obama is racist"

What an A**hole this guy is...

Australia's deadly wildfires worse next year: officials
MELBOURNE, July 29 (AFP) Jul 29, 2009
Australian officials on Wednesday warned the country could be hit by even worse wildfires next summer than the deadly blazes which killed a record 173 people in February.

Victoria state premier John Brumby said the fire season could be the toughest in a decade, after a leaked report warned of a "worst-case" situation prompted by an expected El Nino weather pattern.

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/090729052146.2q3quekb.html

"New York has found a novel, if expensive, way of dealing with its overcrowded shelters – buying one-way tickets for homeless families to leave the city.

Under the initiative, by the administration of the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, hundreds of families have been given plane, rail, and bus tickets and even petrol vouchers to leave the city. One homeless family of five was given $6,332 (nearly £4,000) worth of travel costs to Paris, according to the New York Times."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/29/new-york-homeless-ticket-leave

guess their next idea will be to buy each homeless family a winnebago and then every city they come to can pay for gas to send them on their way to the next stop.

Tony -

One thing I've noticed about the modern right , these are the people nobody liked in high school. And they're here to make us all pay for it.
If we could lock them all on one room, they'd tear each other apart.

Thought for the day :
" Never despair. If you do, you work on in despair. "

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-29/obama-needs-bubba/?cid=hp:mainpromo2

"Obama Needs Bubba"

"Surely it’s the former president who got it wrong once who has spent the most time and lost the most sleep thinking over how he would do it again. More important, wouldn’t Bubba do a better job than the professorial Obama at sweet-talking such obstructive Blue Dogs as Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, who used to run a family drugstore just like the one Bill remembers from his years growing up in Hot Springs? Or North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler, who’s one of that class of moderate Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer promised not to push around too much when Rahm persuaded them to run for a seat in the House?

It looks like Obama would rather live on cheeseburgers than let Clinton get into the act on health care—or on anything else, for that matter. Maybe he thinks there’s no stage big enough for both these two Mount Rushmore megastars and never will be. Despite surface cordiality and self-restraint for Hillary’s sake, the former president’s wounds from the campaign remain deep, and they are not assuaged by the coolly minimal lip service a still mistrustful Obama pays to Bill’s presidential wisdom. “Sure, he calls me every few weeks,” the former president told a person I know. “But it feels as if, you know, he’s just checking a box.”

Isn’t this the reconciliation that should be taking place over a beer at the White House?"

the beer summit indepth:

"As for the choice of libation, Crowley likes Blue Moon, Gates favors Red Stripe or Becks, and Gibbs suggested that Obama will quaff a Budweiser, as he did at the MLB All-Star game."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/letter_from_eve.html

"If we could lock them all on one room, they'd tear each other apart."

Oh god Bob if only we could, I'd pay to watch it!!

blue moon rated
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/1212/?view=beer&sort=latest&start=340

red stripe rated
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/221/689/
and
http://www.rateitall.com/i-7244-red-stripe-lager.aspx

1805 Alexis de Tocqueville France, statesman/writer (Democracy in America)
1883 Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43)
1914 "Professor Irwin Corey comedian (Car Wash)

1588 Attacking Spanish Armada defeated & scattered by English defenders
1715 10 Spanish treasure galleons sunk off Florida coast by hurricane
1874 Major Walter Copton Wingfield patents a portable tennis court
1899 1st motorcycle race, Manhattan Beach, NY
1914 1st transcontinental phone link made between NYC & SF
1920 1st transcontinental airmail flight from NY to SF
1928 Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" is released
1936 RCA shows the 1st real TV program (dancing, film on locomotives, Bonwit Teller fashion show & monologue from Tobacco Road & comedy)
1952 1st nonstop transpacific flight by a jet
1956 Jacques Cousteau's Calypso anchors in 7,500 m of water (record)
1974 2nd impeachment vote against Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee
1987 Ben & Jerry's & Jerry Garcia agree on a new flavor Cherry Garcia

Tony -
Beck is a nose picker.

"I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory as a danger, every innovation as a toilsome trouble, every social advance as a first step toward revolution, and that they may absolutely refuse to move at all."
Alexis de Tocqueville

congress has already reached that point, alex.

Do something? Pretty sure they will---but I put that
in the category of be careful what you wish for.

And while I am certainly a cynic or maybe just a realist, found an even more cynical view of the entire health care reform agenda from Matt Taibbi.

"The Health Care Bill Dies?"

http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/

LMAO! Bloomberg offers the homeless population airline tickets out of town....wonder if you can get on First Class....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/nyregion/29oneway.html?hp

RE ;
The Beer Summit

Too bad there's no " Old Flatus #7 " there.

HA! Should have read the thread -- patd -- you were way ahead of me!

Tony -- glad you posted the Bubba piece -- that was a good one!

coreen, thanks for the taibbi link. and thanks, matt, for telling it like it is, to wit:

"The reason a real health-care bill is not going to get passed is simple: because nobody in Washington really wants it. There is insufficient political will to get it done. It doesn’t matter that it’s an urgent national calamity, that it is plainly obvious to anyone with an IQ over 8 that our system could not possibly be worse and needs to be fixed very soon, and that, moreover, the only people opposing a real reform bill are a pitifully small number of executives in the insurance industry who stand to lose the chance for a fifth summer house if this thing passes."

Thanks, Coreen -- for Matt's piece! God I LOVED this comment

"Who among us did not know this would happen? It’s been clear from the start that the Democrats would make a great show of doing something real, then they would fold prematurely, ram through some piece-of-shit bill with some incremental/worthless change in it, and then in the end blame everything on Max Baucus and Bill Nelson, saying, “By golly, we tried our best!”

patd.... IMO, this is the money quote from that Taibbi piece...

"Our government doesn’t exist to protect voters from interests, it exists to protect interests from voters. "

that pretty much sums it up no matter what topic we want to discuss concerning our government and what they'll get done.... and no matter which party is in control....

I'm listening to Mary Landrieu right now...spin, spin, spin....she worries me far worse than Sarah Palin's BS. Maxine Waters is right -- the dogs are in the house now...and the senate...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sarah-in-charge.html#comment-247675

Carol, if he's in pretrial confinement, there's probably a pretty good chance that even a public defender could get the judge to let him be transferred to the VA for evaluation and treatment. I suspect a lot would hinge on how artfully you massage his chart.

I believe that it is after conviction that the problems with the VA start.

It is refreshing to know that the collective "we" are not the only skeptics out there.

Clearly, when it comes to our nation's legislative branch, the Age of Pragmatism is dead.

Maybe I'm too hard on Speaker Pelosi; but, I simply can't recall any single time when she got her troops to circle the wagons and prevail in a trying situation.

It's more like Gov Chiles' circular firing squads.

mornin'

That's Nasenborer to you CB.

Renee -- your 8:20 post nailed it....

Joe Ward, UK; drawings:

http://joewardillustration.blogspot.com/

Sturg -
No grass growing under young Mr. Ward's pencil is there .

Great drawings, sturge...

Turns out that Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. may actually be related through Irish ancestry to the police officer who arrested him in his own house earlier this month, according to ABC News. No, really!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/07/with-the-recent-steady-drip-drip-of-discourse-from-the-white-house-on-police-and-racial-profiling-we-hope-that-the-obama-cla.html

Shares of U.S. health insurers rose broadly on Tuesday on hopes a health reform bill would not include a government-run option, which has drawn strong opposition from insurers who fear it would destroy the private marketplace.

The S&P Managed Health Care index of large U.S. health insurers closed 6.5 percent higher.

Aetna rose 12.6 percent, Coventry was up 12.7 percent and Cigna was 7.7 percent higher, all on the New York Stock Exchange. Centene rose 7.9 percent.

http://firedoglake.com/

can't remember if I've put this one up before, but this is one of my favorite photo pages......a photo a day.........from the bulgaria

http://sofiadailyphoto.blogspot.com/

certain pictures sometimes bernie madoff looks just like george washington

wo........somebody was way ahead of me..........

http://playhappy.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/george-washington-bernie-madoff.jpg

This afternoon, Bill Shine, SVP of Programming told TVNewser, "During Fox & Friends this morning, Glenn Beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own views, not those of the Fox News Channel. And as with all commentators in the cable news arena, he is given the freedom to express his opinions."

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/fnc_responds_to_glenn_beck_calling_pres_obama_a_racist_122881.asp

C-bob...Upton Sinclair quote on your photo! We need an Upton Sinclair to muckrake the insurance industry.

the health care thing........it has any number of opponents among the greatest of whom is our congress.........and none of the opponents give a rat's patoot about the un-insured..........and there don't seem to be any FDR's on the scene..................

the un-insured (and most of the insured) are screwed....plain and simple.

I want to be a canadian when i grow up.

c-bob...Beck is one of my favorite pinatas. In the dark corners of my mind, I have a batting arena filled with repug pinatas.

I want to be Australian, Sturg. They have a great health care system with a good rural delivery and the allowance for private insurance.

most of those insured will come to find out that their "coverage" is roughly equivalent to dog poop in a paper sack.....they may as well put it on the Insurance companies' front porch, light it on fire, ring the doorbell and run.

the companies do not care.

the aussies are great......went there oncet......it's just too far away...........lol

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247712

CBob, Tony

Make it Pay Per View and we might wipe out the deficit

Did anyone really expect Mr. Prez to challenge the insurance industry in earnest? Could he if he wanted to?

In the dark corners of my mind, ...........

Don't get me started. BW

Obama having Budweiser? Someone should tell him that the President shouldn't be caught in a canoe.

(If you know the joke ... giggle here)

Watch the next dog leg down kick in when this thing staggers to it's logical conclusion.

yep, sturg, bad news is you can get a blood clot sitting on a plane for 20+ hours...happened to Cheney when he flew to Austrailia. : )

BTW, the mules are beautiful. Blue Belle has a wonderful face.

Current Weather
07/29/2009
14:01:00 GMT
Temperature
-60.5°C -76.9°F
WindChill
-77.2°C -107.0°F

----------
Amundsen - Scott South Pole Station
http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/spwebcam.cfm

Sturg....
for years I have thanked my parents for having the courage to be the only people from both their Canadian families to come to this country and thereby making me an American born citizen....

I'm beginning to rethink that thanks....

Temperature 58.9°F
Wind 15.5 mph
Direction 237° (SW)

Mount Washington

http://www.mountwashington.org/

Welcome to the Mount St. Helens VolcanoCams
Mount St. Helens Now In High Definition!

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

rebren..........I've always thanked my parents for escaping from alabama........lol

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247738

Well their profits have risen 400% in the last seven years. You would want to upset the management bonuses and stockholders just to help sick people.

The funny thing is that there will be an excellent supplemental insurance market with few payouts if they would stop fighting the public option.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247757

Renee,

Mom probably got pregnant in Canada. They couldn't have stayed for a few months? Then I would have had the choice of three countries. Can't afford Scotland, but Canada would be a nice option.

An infrared web cam of the Stromboli volcano near Mount Etna .

http://www.ct.ingv.it/Ufso/Default.asp?Pagina=vulcano.asp&Vulcano=Spi&Refresh=900

...mmmm, Stromboli.

Mount Etna -

http://www.ct.ingv.it/Ufso/Default.asp?Pagina=vulcano.asp&Vulcano=Env&Refresh=180

Off to work for me...be careful out there, not only getting screwed by congress (unsafe sex), but also paying for their health insurance while you have none!

The Santorini Caldera -

http://www.santorini.net/caldera.html

I'm really starting to get into Morning Meeting. The panel discussions sort of mirror what goes on here. Maybe they could book us one by one for the show? :-)

The Old Faithful WebCam

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm

the great Stromboli Stove:

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burning_stoves/Romotop-stoves.html

Villarrca in Chile

http://www2.sernageomin.cl/ovdas/ovdas7/webcam_villarrica.html

Strug -
That thing looks like robot that runs on wood.

Volcano Webcams- John Seach

http://www.volcanolive.com/volcanocams.html

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

It's good to look at volcanoes , because they don't give a shit if health care reform gets passed or not.

Puny humans.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247773

CBob

Take us all out with one good hiccough

Some Who:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G11oIadJfhI

The Terrorist Next Door

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbs8eF4mEjQO_mLonuaCb1GKDFJgD99NV9AO0

Craig,

The President gave a pretty good speech at the AARP. Now if he could help replace Reid in the Senate so that some strong talk could happen there, maybe "Do Something" would have a chance.

Unfortunately, Caspar Milquetoast scared of a big bad Republican shadow isn't about to get anything useful passed.

nice who, dak lawd............makes me want to run out and get me a pirate shirt..........

Piece about the "Obama wants you to kill ypurself" email:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/debunking_the_gops_phony_euthanasia_myth_--_since.php?ref=fpa

today's CC post sounds as if it may have something to do with a certain book that is coming out.........like something having to do with CC and ms Helen Thomas...........and maybe some things which mr Obama could utilize in his desire to be a great president...............

i gotta erupt on outa here............like the magma carta i go now to work towards freedom for the little noble people from the chains wrapped in which they toil..........

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247781

Sturge, Craig should send Obama an advance copy. Great publicity!

"Whenever you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship."

Craig, I love your blog today. What a guy FDR was.
What he said those young Democrats was amazing. We could sure use some of that common sense today.

I wish I knew one tenth the history you know.

jerry lee shows his cousin jimmy lee how it's done........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPmMRliLu0A

"Common sense dictates an avoidance of both extremes. I say to you: 'Do something'; and when you have done that something, if it works, do it some more; and if it does not work, then do something else."

.... love it Craig.

The two: Good Cop......Bad Cop Party System is why we won't get H C Pelosi and gang know exactly what they are doing!!!

More results from the two party system, and their corp buddies over seas.......wonder where Cheney's blk water killers will go now that they raped us for all that they could.( They are no longer needed in Iraq- no more easy $ )....think that they have that 9 bill. that is lost? How many more B's lost, and will be lost over at the Pak, countries?

We are creating people like this, and does not look like your every day Muslim's!

http://www.comcast.net/slideshow/news-general/news-general-20090729-US.American.Bred.Terrorists/

On Monday, the FBI arrested Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, charging he was the ringleader of a group of aspiring international terrorists.

The Boyds lived at an unassuming lakeside home in a rural area south of Raleigh and had a family-operated drywall business.

In 1991, Boyd and his brother were convicted of bank robbery in Pakistan. They were also accused of carrying identification showing they belonged to the radical Afghan guerrilla group, Hezb-e-Islami, or Party of Islam. Each was sentenced to have a foot and a hand cut off for the robbery, but the decision was later overturned.

Their wives told The Associated Press in an interview at the time that the couples had U.S. roots but the United States was a country of "kafirs" — Arabic for heathens.

David, was the first Religious terrorist.? The end of Religion: is the end of war and terrorism....and most greed since the religious are forgiven with a few our fathers , and a few holy Mary's on the Lords day....and on Monday it's back to work doing it all over again until they get absolution from some guy in a robe.

Pogo,.......just finished an addition to our little club house just in time to go to..... Lunch....

What addition?....glad that you asked-- why, we needed more space. The room that I added is an extra bathroom.....the new one will be marked.....Hombres....the old one .....all cleaned up and a new paint job on it ( pink) is marked ....Others....I hope that the new members can get it right.

Oh, no here they come .....outta here!

Great song Sturge. He's the best on that piano -- so good, it drives me nuts.

"Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often."
Mark Twain

"The two: Good Cop......Bad Cop "

Don't say that word: cop. You're going to piss off a lot of people. :)

".all cleaned up and a new paint job on it ( pink) is marked ....Others.."

Ha, ha, ha Solar. I'm sure we'll figure it out, SA!

S_ _ _ t A_ s_

Common sense says make sure you don't make matters worse. If something is too complex and has no overwhelming support that it will improve the situation, common sense says to avoid the dangerous political move of appearing to pull a fast one. The Democrats have to stop laughing when asked if they have read the bill. Pelosi has shown herself to be awful at her job and Dodd still stands by his mortgage...LOL.

Tony, this one's for you: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/hazony/74712

XRepublican, since there have been many reports about the growing rift between the US and Pakistan, I won't waste my time, other than to say that Pakistan refuses to take out the militants who are anti-Indian. Security experts understand that as long as the militants are a tool against India and Afghanistan, they will be spared.

I guess Pakistan wasn't asking the US to talk to the Taliban, they were actually demanding it.

Solar, you begin with a rant about Blk Water and Cheney as the cause of jihadist growth. Unsupported.

You draw attention to Boyd and make the claim that religion causes all the terror and war, or Cheney. Really? The vast populations of the religious are not at war. Religion is an excuse as the real culprit is more likely power and greed. Once again you bash Christianity and promote a head-in-the-sand strategy.

Terror is far way? Chavez gets caught giving weapons to FARC, so he threatens confrontation. The struggle is not so far way. And speaking abiut FDR, he had the difficult task of defeating the anti-war movement and saving Liberty. Today China warns Obama over his economic policies.

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD246009

So Sudan thinks Obama should return to his roots? How ironic as Sudan murders black Africans and ignores the history of Islam in Africa. More than 100 million blacks died in the Islamic slave trade so telling Obama to remember his roots is not a very smart idea.

Sill, how does Cheney figure into this recruitment by Sudan? Did Cheney create Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Gazan violence? Did he create HIzb'Allah or the Muslim Brotherhood? How does Bush figure into the daily vilification of Jews and the US, or is objection to human right abuses something America should refrain from?

Posted by: sturgeone Author Profile Page | July 29, 2009 11:11 AM

...you'll have to bang a mean drum to get away with that.

Bang the Drum Slowly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The article is about the 1956 novel. For the 1973 film adaptation, see Bang the Drum Slowly (film)

Bang the Drum Slowly
Author Mark Harris
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publication date 1956
Media type print (hardback & paperback)
ISBN NA

Bang the Drum Slowly was Mark Harris's most celebrated baseball novel, a sequel to The Southpaw (1953). It was first published in 1956, and was later made famous by a 1956 U.S. Steel Hour television adaptation starring Paul Newman and a later film adaptation in 1973.

Harris's narrator Henry "Author" Wiggen, a star pitcher, tells the story of a baseball season with the New York Mammoths (a fictional team based on the New York Yankees) -- a season notable for the team's success but blighted by the Hodgkin's Disease of catcher Bruce Pearson. Wiggen tries to be supportive of Pearson while concealing his illness.

The title comes from the song The Streets of Laredo, sung by one of the ballplayers (Piney Woods, a back-up catcher recently recalled from the minors) at a team gathering. The version of the song that he sings contains the lyrics, "O bang the drum slowly, and play the fife lowly...."

The novel is written in the vernacular, with idiosyncratic awkward writing by the "author" that Harris has "employed," pitcher Henry Wiggen.

eruption postponed.......well-timed phone call has triggered my work avoidance mechanisms.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14UKBjC5Is

said streets........of said Laredo.....by the caruso of western ballads.

seems like marty was always smilin'

ok......back to the discussion over which path, exactly, they will end up taking the first step on to reach the eventual and inevitable destination of: "Shut up... and your premium is due......"

don't wanna get there, just wanna ride..............

premium? isnt that what they call insurance payments? I know i heard that somewhere..........

rats, solar - I was in such a hurry I forgot to claim lunch.

Nice day here - rain (desperately needed), low 70s, and I actually cut the grass the day BEFORE it rained - for a welcome change. I hear it's hot in Seattle, but TWC predicts a topout at 97 - just shy of a new record. Still, without A/C in many of the houses there, 97 can seem pretty damned hot, no?

Pogo, You can say that again! We have a small window unit (9K) I put up every year. It keeps most of the important rooms cool and the dogs do fine laying on the areas of linoleum covered concrete floor. It gets down in the 55-65 degree range most every night and a window fan actually requires the use of a blanket.
AZ and the southwest has got to be the worst even being prepared. I read Phoenix was 114 (indexed) yesterday.

What does one say?
(email exchange)

Her; Read the last paragragh! Makes ya proud!
"Just one Republican, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, joined Democrats in voting for President Barack Obama's...."

Me; Actually the senator has been acting pretty nice as of late!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Her; He still voted for someone whom he believes has unconstitutional beliefs and will negatively reshape our laws. Scary!

Me; I am curious which ones of her beliefs he has publicly stated that he thought to be unconstitutional. What did I not hear?

Her; First of all, her stance(based on prior rulings) on the 2nd amendment right to bear arms is frightening. Her ruling on the white firefighter case was crazy, and racist. And overturned. Thank God! And based on the huge number of other overturned cases she has ruled, she apparently doesn't have a grasp of our Constitution. Thank Gog the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn her activist views. Now what are we going to do?

(they are really good at ignoring questions and on-the-fly changing of subjects! lol)

"Me; I am curious which ones of her beliefs he has publicly stated that he thought to be unconstitutional. What did I not hear?"

Study: Tanning beds definitely cause cancer

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gD9RMlc1GQNjyJTQK3XkV7cdW5lQD99O79K80
---------------
Does the House Minority Leader use spray or a bed to get his rosy glow ?

...hmmm...did he leave that part out of this?
http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=139938

McCain's solution to the oil crisis; check the air in your tires...
(which i do on every break)....

Boehner's health care plan; stay away from tanning beds...

Rez, My BiL lives in a little house off a nice little lake in north Seattle - I suspect he and his are stewing. We used the window AC approach until I was essentially forced to replace our furnaces last year, and we installed central AC then - I gotta say the homestead's much more comfortable now, although the ductwork wasn't very well designed, well, retrofitted, so we use a couple of fans to move air from there to here.

crow man, what a bunch of nonsense. The New Haven case sidestepped the constitutional issue and established a new standard by which to evaluate reverse racism claims. The 2nd Circuit had followed existing precedent in the circuit (courts do that) - which was based on the existing precent of the Supreme Court. The only 2nd amendment case Sotomayor joined in the decision of - Cuomo - did not address gun ownership per se, but whether the 2nd amendment applied to state and local government. She was in the majority, but it wasn't her opinion. The ninth circuit took the view that the 2nd did apply to the states and local governments, setting up the split in circuits that brings cases to the supreme court. Huge number of overturned cases? Her reversal rate is 50%, the reversal rate overall for the court in the past 2 terms is clse to 75%. You do the math. RW BS.

Thank you!

glad to hear that lard is ok, but how are his dogs doing without him? bet they miss him as much as we do.

Ah -- polls show 32% of the pop thinks Palin should be a homemaker. Thanks, progressives.

Ah -- polls show 32% of the pop thinks Palin should be a homemaker. Thanks, progressives.

Not sorry for the double post because I mean it doubled. PUKE.

Hmmm, Patsi, i wonder if and how Todd responded when he was polled.

It's my belief that Boner uses the old style self tanning lotion - you know, the kind that turned your hands orange if you forgot to wash them after smearing it on - and lots of it. No way that color is the skin's natural reaction to any level of UV rays. If it's stuff he sprays on, I hope he kept the receipt - he'll need it to get his money back.

Enough already about the 11 caller in the Gates case. SHE is the ONE person involved who doesn't appear to have said or done anything that could be questioned as racist.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072902253.html?hpid=topnews

People should leave this poor woman alone IMHO. Vilify Crowley, vilify Gates, but fuhchrissakes leave alone the woman who saw what she thought was a breakin and called 911 (it's what I hope someone didn't know me who saw me breaking into my house would do).

pogo.......unless, of course......she really knew it was gates......domm da dumm dumm, dahhhhhhh........(Em9)

I really don't read enough Harold Meyrson

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/28/AR2009072802115.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

I should correct that.

sturg, could be - in fact Patsi & I tossed that around a few days ago. But it appears that she is just another Hahvahd office worker who happens to work down the street from his house. So should we expect Jack Webb or Dan Akroyd to show up and get to the bottom of this?

well......if it's ackroyd we'd get to see him dance again...........

Oh, crow_man, you might mention to your e-mail partner that Alito was reversed at least 5 times by the Supreme Court, and Roberts had one of his decisions as a Circuit judge overturned WHILE he was chief justice, you may have heard of it - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

"Hmmm, Patsi, i wonder if and how Todd responded when he was polled."

???? I'll not respond to that one....

And really, how often do we get to see Dan Ackroyd and tom Hanks dance together? Not enough, just about right, way too much? How about every time Dragnet comes on TNT?

Not taking the cheap and easy shots today Patsi? Good for you. As for me ...

Interesting take on the health care reform fight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/weekinreview/26leonhardt.html?hpw

NP, I agree. Nitchens has a good article at Slate. This was an issue about rights, not race. How did a Constitutional Scholar (Obama) miss that?

Economy, climate, energy, healthcare and even foreign policy are not showing positive signs for Obama. He took on everything which did not strike me as smart. He does not show a detailed grasp on facts that Bill showed. He relied on suspect Democratic leadership and moved quickly to appease the Left and then backed off without bringng in any Republicans. Come the fall, the election cycle kicks in. I would have suggested knocking issues out one at a time. Now with so many fires burning, Obama will be stretched.

FDR? Not really sure how that applies.

Hitchens that is....

Care to contribute?

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08hcdollar

Max, it took Bill a while to get his feet on the ground, and if you'll recall, he had a famously disastrous run at reforming healthcare as well. Obama is hamstrung by very weak leadership in the Senate and to a slightly lesser extent, the House. I think Obama will be seen as having accomplished incremental change in most of the areas he tries by proposing huge changes that never had a chance instead of proposing incremental changes that would never have gotten by unscathed, either. The Fed's report from today seems to suggest that the recession has bottomed out and the economy may begin the long uphill climb it needs to get back to prosperity for the US. The Dow is at least back above 9000, although that is certainly subject to change. Even so, the economy is going to be a millstone around his neck for some time yet, as is Afghanistan, but hey, he didn't choose that either. His goal in getting legislation passed does not depend on attracting Republicans (sell, other than those from Maine) - his challenge is to get the Blue Dogs on board - if he can get them. And whether the Gates incident was about rights or race - which is arguable, and whether Obama missed that or not, the Cambridge cops did act stupidly, particularly if the issue was about rights.

Hitchens' article is typical of one man telling everyone else what they should have done. There's some truth in his article, but it could have done without the preachy punchlines.

But now I have a kid to go retrieve and get regaled by tales of his exploits at the latest basketball camp.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247818

Pogo

Here reversal rate is much lower. 50% is only the reversal rate for those cases that were appealed and actually accepted by the supreme court. As you mentioned a low rate even for that level.

She has hundreds of cases over seven years that were never appealed much less sent all the way to the top. So her true reversal rate is somewhere around 1%. That "Well Qualified" from the ABA was definitely earned.

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08hcdollar

Patsi,

A dollar a day? It could be five or six months before the thing gets signed. That's more than $150.00.

If they were smart, they would make it a dime a day billed once a month and sign up millions of people.

Here you go Patsi ! :-)

"Whalen's attorney, Wendy Murphy, said the three men — Gates, Crowley and Obama — all overreacted, while Whalen kept her cool.

"The three highly trained guys who reacted badly are getting together for a beer," Murphy said. "The one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge."

http://tinyurl.com/kvls2f

Weak leadership in the Senate and less so in the House? That's funny. Bill at least tried to change gay policy over at the DOD, but yes, he had some road blocks but his picks ran into less embarrassment than Obama's. Hillcare was a flop as a result of bad tact, but Bill learned. I do not see an O-team learning curve here. Gates about race? About profiling? Guess again. No the cops did not act stupidly. They acted like cops. Try giving lip to an officer and playing the race card, or any card you want. Hitchens was closer to the truth. If anything, it was about rights and the Cambridge cops are typical in that regard. Ya mamma? Give me a break. The stupidity award goes to Barak Obama.

Climate--nothing
Energy--nothing
Stimulus--umemployement over estimates. Deficits over estimates. Stocks, fluctuating and the systemic problems do not seem fixed. In fact, the deficits are mind-numbing and go way past all previous administrations. The pork is amazing and the bills passed unread.
Healthcare--nothing yet and likely a bad pill.
Foreign Policy--

Afghanistan--confused
Lebanon--deteriroating after a surpising election
Iran--confused
Israel--confused and changing
China--LOL
Russia--LOL
Sudan and Africa--?
Pakistan--anti-Indian militants are protected
Gitmo--not a great result
Improved Intelligence sharing--not great
Getting our allies to shoulder responsibility--not much
Gestures--a big slap inthe US face

Defense spending down
Space Program down

So I do not see how Mr. Change taking on EVERYTHING has much to show. It didn't have to be this way and perhaps Obama will do what JFK did-throw everyone under the bus. He has managed to alienate many on the Left and has shown little interest in forming the bipartisan approach of Bill Clinton. Without Hillary, his foreign policy would be floating like a drifing balloon.

At this point the Clinton Referendum has shown how to get some things done and improve the economy. The Obama Referendum has shown little that is positive. Democrats will likely blame this all on Bush though controlling Congress for more than two years.

I have no doubt however, Democrats will run against Bush/Cheney in 2010. The only posotive note is the State of the Republicans. And what a measure that is.

Flatus, in reference to your response today, I don't want to transfer my guy to the VA, I just want to use the hospital to provide the follow up medical care for his cancer and the $6000 month chemo meds he needs. He doesn't need hospital confinement. He would never be released anyway.

He was scheduled to go to the hospital across the state today for a follow up and he refused before I even got to work today. It's a 4 hour trip one way and he said he just couldn't handle sitting in a vehicle that long. The hospital is in the LSU system/charity but is one of the best in the state. People with private insurance in the area use it.

I told him what I was thinking of trying to do and he was very appreciative of my efforts and after a lot of begging he did agree that if I set up another appointment at the state hospital he would go.

He says he was Navy, not a Seal but some subcategory. Said it was source code 0000 or something like that. Did classified work. Does any of that make sense. I don't know if it is real or part of a delusion. He is not on any service related disability yet.

He said his pay lawyer is working on something but if he wants to wait for that he will be dead before anything will get resolved there. He has a type of bone cancer. We're both between a rock and a hard place.

103 degrees again today; it's downright Venusian.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247792

"And whatever you do, don’t call them gay. It really makes them mad."
Max
Ha Ha,i love it!! I went and saw Bruno and it had some funny moments..But was mostly just stereotypical slapstick..I had the pleasure of being in the Cocoa Beach theater with 3 so-called straight young guys..Oh what fun...They were the show really...Looking at me wondering could he be one of those gays....Oh Max glad you showed up I was just thinking of e-mailing you to give you a shout...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247823

Pat
I asked Lard about the dogs and he said they were good.I told him I bet they miss him...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247863

Champ
Where are you now? It was 97 here today in sunny humid Central Florida...

Ha, Rez -- only mistake the woman made was hiring Wendy Murphy....:)

Patsi
That Tina Brown bubba article this morning was spot on..I bet Bill could whip them blue dogs into shape...I wish the President would use President Clinton in some constructive way regarding healthcare.It was really important to President Clinton and I think he could be helpful....

Hi Tony. Lot's of work. I can't complain given the economy. I sat in a theater next to a gay couple and they hooted. Yep, so over the top, especially the first ten minutes. And now terror leaders want Bruno's head. That is too funny.

I wonder why people like Sasha make more than a gay guy would, playing the same part.

I took leave when Obama gave his healthcare speech. Craig offered a bite the next day, but what's the point? Right now, the O-team has several new tactics in play. Time to let them play out as most serious foreign policy, unlike what Obama said to Hillary, is done in secret. It is one thing to make objections clear during a debate. It is another to rail all the time and not give this President time to pivot and learn.

We shall see.

Hope things are well. Electric cars are coming. The brighest designs seem diesel generators charging up batteries. 2010 will see if certain technologies have the right stuff. If Healthcare is like JFK's promise to reach the moon, we are having problems just lifitng off. And the race to the moon was really a strategic race for military technology.

It's time for "Guess That Famous Battle"..........

Burnside had anticipated this attack on the right would be merely supportive of his main effort on the left, but Franklin had stalled and resisted entreaties to continue, so Burnside shifted his emphasis. After French's division was repulsed with heavy losses, Burnside sent in the divisions of Hancock and Howard, which met a similar fate. By this time, Pickett's division and one of Hood's brigades had marched north to reinforce Marye's Heights. Griffin's division renewed the attack at 3:30 p.m., followed by Humphrey's division at 4 p.m. At dusk, Getty's division assaulted from the east and was also repulsed.

Six Union divisions had been sent in, generally one brigade at a time, for a total of sixteen individual charges, all of which failed, costing them from 6,000 to 8,000 casualties.[7] Watching the carnage from the center of his line, a position now known as Lee's Hill, General Lee was quoted as saying, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." The action on the heights also included the charge of the Irish Brigade, which lost 50% of its strength in the battle but advanced further up the heights than any other Union Brigade. Confederate losses at Marye's Heights totaled around 1,200.[8] The falling of darkness and the pleas of Burnside's subordinates were enough to put an end to the attacks. Longstreet later wrote, "The charges had been desperate and bloody, but utterly hopeless."[8] Thousands of Union soldiers spent the cold December night on the fields leading to the Heights, unable to move or assist the wounded because of Confederate fire.

The armies remained in position throughout the day on December 14, when Burnside briefly considered leading his old IX Corps in one final attack on Marye's Heights, but he reconsidered. That afternoon, Burnside asked Lee for a truce to attend to his wounded, which Lee graciously granted. The next day the Federal forces retreated across the river, and the campaign came to an end.

"I wonder why people like Sasha make more than a gay guy would, playing the same part."

Max
I think its because in being straight he can just go with it and not have any concern on how he's portraying himself to the gay community..I think a gay actor would give a shit and maybe not pull it off as well....IMO

Carol,

Just a thought. Here's a website that may offer some additional help in your efforts to assist the Vietnam veteran you have been talking to Flatus about.

You mentioned he may have PTSD. Don't know his status but in recent years, as you probably know better than I do, PTSD has finally been recognized (in particular with the Vietnam era vets) & he may be eligible for veteran's disability benefits, particularly
since you mention he has cancer as well.

From my personal knowledge, it took more than (30+)
years for a very close friend who was a Vietnam vet
who came home with many behavioral/drug related
problems to finally be diagnosed with PTSD & subsequently he received Veterans' disablity benefits.

http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/veterans-benefits#PTSD

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247865

thanks tony. i know lard needs our positive tho'ts, hopes and wishes right now; but so do his fourfooted pals. i keep remembering posts about those dogs and the joy they seem to bring him. maybe they can be the medicine he needs to pull thru the chemo days.

Group of 6 leading the way for health care reform --

Senator Lifetime contributions from Insurance/Pharma
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) $1,203,205
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $206,297
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) $442,165
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-NV) $342,228
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) $702,595
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) $161,706
TOTAL: $3,058,256

"The American health-care system is bloated, wasteful, and cruel. Under the health-insurance-reform package now being bludgeoned into misshapen shape on Capitol Hill, it will still be bloated, wasteful, and cruel—but markedly less so."

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/08/03/090803taco_talk_hertzberg

very timely comments on the current legislative turmoil.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247879

Pat
Agreed.I think animals help especially in tough times....

nice pictures.......a sweet little blog

http://blomsterpikenpareisefot.blogspot.com/

"I think animals help especially in tough times...."

tony, yeah and maybe a little pot between pets.

Posted by: sturgeone | July 29, 2009 6:28 PM

Fredericksburg, Dec. 1862.

medicinal of course

Olbermann's show featured Martha's Vinyard and the area close to where Sea lives that he and the family will be renting.

Tony

Could you please repost lard's email.
Gracias

new yorker article this week on the males among us being deprived.
"....architect Andrés Duany identified a budding crisis in American life: the decline of “male space,” which he defined as zones “where the enthusiasms of Super Bowl day are unchecked year-round,” and where “the men are not factually corrected when they exaggerate.”

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/08/03/090803ta_talk_mcgrath

also found a neat old victorian word in that article
"growlery: a room in which to grouch and put your feet up"

Thanks Pat. I had to run go mow the hay at my house. Between the rain and the procrastination I almost needed a bushhog to cut it. So much grass, so little time.

You know Pat that the guy seems like he's really a decent guy. He's been in jail so often I'm almost thinking of him as one of the family. Never gave me a bit of trouble and always appreciative.

My heart goes out to the victims of war. We seem to use them and throw them away. Yesterday I saw a kid who served in Iraq. Three tours. Can't remember what he needed, I think he just came in to see a friendly face.

He was telling me about some of his fellow soldiers who asked him to kill them. I asked why and he said they just couldn't take it anymore. Isn't that a shame that that is the only option a soldier sees available.

They don't like to talk about their experiences. You have to drag it out of them. I think that they need to get the pain out. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't be doing things to get them in jail.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247903

Hey KGC
Here you go...(seanholton@bellsouth.net)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247862

Carol, Coreen

Getting the VA to acknowledge one's existence sans documentation of said fact is unlikely. It's also unlikely that they'll accept responsibility for a specific disability unless there is substantial documentation, or witness corroboration, that the disability or its precursors existed while the individual was in service.

First step would be having someone come-up with a copy of his DD-214. If he doesn't know what that is, then you're probably wasting your time on the veteran angle of things.

Calling the local Disabled American Veterans (DAV) rep at the local veterans hospital may be a decent resource for you/him.

If you know of a 'resident' veteran who has gone through the VA process, he may be willing to help by doing the phone work, if that's permissible.

The chances of him getting a rating for PTSD unless he had his boots on the ground in Vietnam are virtually nil. Same for the cancer angle unless it's something specific to shipboard life. (There are some types of malignancies that are connected to Agent Orange. Once again, that's a moving target that the DAV can help with.)

I wish I had words of cheer, but I simply don't.

Damn, I just watched A.Hastings congressman from Florida on Rachael .He was to introduce legislation to end funding to expel presumed gay service people under Don't Ask Don't Tell but he says the Administration pressured him to withdraw it...Unbelievable to me!! What the hell!! This isn't the change I voted for...Where's your courage President Obama???? If the same type of discrimination was perpetrated against Black folks people would be taking to the streets....Hell, Obama couldn't even keep mum regarding Gates but he seems perfectly happy to continue discrimination against gays..Shameful Mr. President...

Capitol Eye Blog on Open Secrets dot org. Everything horrible you believed is true.

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/07/capital-eye-opener-monday-july.html

'I wish I had words of cheer, but I simply don't."

Flatus, unfortunately I'm real used to hearing those words.

tony

thanks

Amen Tony!

Tony, I just talked to a friend tonight who said she was really proud to have voted for Obama but every day recently she is feeling more and more sorry about it.

How do I link to a particular post like I see ya'll doing all the time?

I would remind everybody that our other choice last fall was the old man and the crazy lady.

And Flatus, did I mention that when he was arrested, my inmate was already being seen and in the process of being treated by the VA in Houston for his cancer and, I think, his PTSD.

Also, have you ever heard of anything like someone being classified as code source zero, zero, zero, zero?

Carol, To link a particular post, place your clicker (cursor) over the blue part of the date time stamp, right click (I'm pretty sure you have Vista), go down the drop menu that comes up and left click on copy link location.

Then to put it in the comments box, click your cursor into place to start typing, right click, and click on paste. It'll turn blue when you either preview or submit.

Thanks Chloe.

AnnaMolly just reminded me that on July 29th, 1890, Vincent van Gogh died, two days after shooting himself in the chest. He was 37.

La tristesse durera toujours. RIP Vincent.

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

You're welcome. Night.

Anyone heard from Ivy lately? I wanted to tell her that the lightening/cookie trick she told me about has kind of backfired on me.

At first I gave Maggie a cookie to keep her from running under the bed when it started lightening. Then when the lightening was bad, we were sharing cookies under the bed. Then when the guys started on the wharf, the noise scared her and she had to have a cookie to get out from under the bed.

Then she started staying under the bed until she got a cookie. Then the cookie wasn't good enough, she wanted a weenie. Now she pretty much lives under the bed unless I give her or do exactly what she wants me to do. I've lost my companion.

A libertarian, free speech thought on the professor Gates arrest.

"There is a serious problem in this country: Police are overly sensitive to insults from those they confront. And one can hardly blame the confronted citizen, especially if the citizen is doing nothing wrong when confronted by official power. This is, after all, a free country, and if "free" means anything meaningful, it means being left alone--especially in one's own home--when one is not breaking the law. "

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/gates-crowley-arrest-first-amendment-free-speech-harvard-opinions-contributors-harvey-a-silverglate.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247861

Your making sense Max.

The time has come the Walrus said to speak of many things, of Sailing ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings.

One wonderful site with speakers on just about any subject

http://www.ted.com/

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247933

Good things to keep in mind max.

But it's been six months peeps.

We''re still a nation filled with racial tension in the middle of a deep recession fighting at least two major wars (that we know of).

(So look on the bright side. It could be worse ; )

Jack:

Just remember socialists hate freedom.

(But it is the facists that over promise freedom only to under deliver it)

Jack,

I've always agreed with you contempt of cop rationale. Been there, done that, it's real and pervasive.

Hey Craig

The Taoist Way - Do Nothing!!

Craig, thank you so much for your article. i've been saying the same thing for a long time, and can't imagine why FDR said it better.

The one thing that simply must not happen is for nothing to get done. I'm really afraid of that.

Sturgeone, Thanks for 4 great links today. The illustrations were out-of-this world! I would love to own some. The blog - was it of Iceland?

While roaming around, I looked up Michael Jackson's docs...Dr. Kelin and Dr. Murray. There's nothing negative about either at the state med board info sites.

tt

Bethy.........from one of the signs in the pictures, I google-mapped Karhamn, Hammerfest, Norway.......at least that's where they were taking pictures......pretty much off the beaten path............

"very timely comments on the current legislative turmoil. "

Good piece from the New Yorker-- thanks, patd.

philosophy quiz.....epicureanism.........from N.S.Gill's blog.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/vincequiz/bl_epicureanismquiz.htm

ack......turned on WABC just a minute too soon and caught the dreaded Huckabee................not a good sign...........

rez.......powerful medicine............your Hank III post brought on a real frog-strangler over here...........

for those who liked the Matt Taibbi piece linked yesterday, he's coming up on WABC radio with Imus..........

love dat voinovich........lol................."Errrrrrr...Errrrrrrr"

"Where in the World is Lawd Bloggington-diego?"

Clue #1: On the beach.
Clue #2: 103 degrees F.
Clue #3: "venusian".

"And Flatus, did I mention that when he was arrested, my inmate was already being seen and in the process of being treated by the VA in Houston for his cancer and, I think, his PTSD"

ct, then he's on record with that agency and has the## that flatus mentioned. his victims may have a case against the docs for releasing him from treatment if there's documention at the houston facility that he was a clear threat to others. altho, it's a gov agency and the docs, even if on contract, may be immune from such claims. but it still could be used to help get him back into va treatment.

ct, pogo/coreen or warren will have better legal advice on this from that standpoint. however, flatus is probably the real expert in a case like this as he seems to have seen that world in action.

phelps goes topless and wins. why don't they go the full monty and compete like the ancient greeks?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/29/world-championships-michael-phelps

the point of the fredricksburg battle wasnt so much to guess which one it was, which actually came about because I noticed after a certain point in the narrative the word "Fredricksburg" never appeared again.......but it's a great bit of chance for observation of the carnage which can ensue when humans disagree about stuff like some folks starting off a country by saying "all men are created equal" and at the same time "uh....except for you slaves"......i read somewhere that the confederate riflemen had blisters on every finger from firing repeatedly from up on the heights down into the Union forces charging repeatedly at them uphill all the way.....not sure about whose eyes the sun was in yet, gotta look into that, but I'm sure it wasnt good for the Union forces...........

poor old burnside......"Take that hill, men!"

of course, underwater swim shots will no doubt be banned

Rankism: The Elephant in Professor Gates's House

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-fuller/rankism-the-elephant-in-p_b_245111.html

Interesting perspective on the incident. I agree that rank was more the issue than race in this case.

One of the things I loved about TM was having a forum to discuss and develop my feelings about what’s going on in our world today. I don’t have much, if any opportunity, to do that within my current life circumstances. Many people I’m around just don’t care about some of the issues I care about.

I have mentioned before that when I debate, I am often just trying to determine how I feel about a particular subject. I enjoy and appreciate other people’s opinions. Sometimes I’m even influenced by them as I ponder what has been written here throughout the day.

I haven’t discussed this particular subject again because I was still licking my wounds from last weekend. Like the 911 lady, I was accused of writting things I didn't write but like her what I wrote has been documented even though some will still just remember what someone else said you said or wrote, not what you actually said or wrote.

It has been interesting to watch some of the debate unfold in the media. I have seen the same thing happen to others that, I felt, happened to me. When some expresses an opposing opinion, they have been pounced on also.

I think it is far better to give people the opportunity to change their minds by showing them that their ideas don’t seem to hold water, not by bullying them into it. Bullying seems to be another factor involved in the Cambridge incident.

good morning sturge, patsy... forgot my manners contemplating swimmeets au natural.

good morning, ct. did you see my post to you earlier re va?

Pat, I just want to guy to get the treatment he needs and I thought that the VA would have been the fastest and most effective way to get it. To start all over in another health care facility is time consuming, costly and wasteful. May even end up costing him his life.

Isn't that what our current health care delimina is all about?

in the new shatner/o'brien production of palin's twitters poetically read the light has been turned up a bit on the bassist and the bongo-monger.........evolution of a bit.

Carol...
I agree with you about the bullying in the Gates situation.... and on this blog...
it doesn't work with me either....

hey all.... I'm off to build my booth.... I might post here in the next 11-12 days... or I might not.... but either way..... everyone stay healthy, get wealthy, and have a good time....

Renee, I hope you have a wonderfully successful experience. Send us pics since we can't go.

if they hold the beer summit without asking the lady they accomplish nothing. it's a 4 way street...........

Hope you have great success at the fair, Renee!

If I were Crowley Sturge, I would want to already have a few six packs in me before attending the beer bash. He will certainly be out ranked at that meeting.

I don't know c.....that's one place i'd hate to be turning over tables and such.......lol.......but i think somebody should jump on it and begin efforting a ticket to ride for the lady..........cinderella needs to go to the ball..........

Your right Sturge

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247962

Renee
Have a good one!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#32211830

Good morning all

The video is up from Rachael and Congressman Hastings of Florida.Unbelievable how the Obama administration is blocking the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell...Where's the outrage???

tony......can only hope they're saving up to hit it full bore..........after health care etc.......

Tony -- I think we'll see the outrage when the media starts hitting on that story the same way they pound on complete BS....

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247971

sturg
That's what I keep telling myself,maybe after healthcare.I just can't help but look at these polls of Obama's decreasing popularity and realize after the first year,generally nothing major happens...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247972

Oh god Patsi, so true....I won't hold my breath..

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247952

Carol,

You simply must get in touch with the VA hospital where he's being treated. As I said earlier, the DAV is usually a good interface between the vet and the 'govt'.

I'm confused about his current status. Are you a prison or a jail? Is he in pretrial confinement? Are you a state or county institution?

All those questions are heading towards forcing the issue of having a court order issued removing him from custody contingent on his continuing VA treatment.

And, it's unclear whether he's receiving evaluation of his conditions,or treatment for them. And, if he's receiving treatment is it because of a service connection, or because he is essentially impoverished?

Honestly, Carol, you simply must find another vet amongst your inmates who is willing to help build a chronology of everything about the guy and his conditions. Included in the chronology there must be documentation of every visit he's made to the VA, and every letter or notification of service connected status.

I know you don't have the time to do this personally. And I understand your frustration. But, getting into active treatment is essentially an adversarial proceeding where the vet has the burden of establishing his eligibility and entitlement for the treatment.

I hesitate to say this, but sometimes the newspapers, if the facts can really be established, can light a fire under a bureaucracy's butt. But, if it's not handled proactively, then it can backfire.

Pat, thanks very much for jumping in!

Renee, I just had a vision of you, busy over your loom--it was as if you were Madame Defarge busy with her knitting! :)

Have a great sale!

one last on fredricksburg: a depiction ...........part V, the 20th Maine brigade's charge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii0bCxnwYW0

Ha! Flatus, see if Renee will knit a few names like Beck and Limbaugh into a shawl.....

NEW THREAD.. http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/congress-needs-staycation-to-p.html

pretty good line-up tomorrow on WABC Imusville, USA.........first up Craig Crawford........then Dick Gregory...........and then Kinky Friedman.............

nothing like great radio in the morning........

ha ha ha.........advertising to the walls and fishheads and butternut coffee grounds.......

Renee
It may be bullying to you but when something needs to be said It needs to be said.
So if we are going to call out names, if I'm a bully then you are a coward.
The individuals comments got progressively worse as the week went on until something needed saying.
Notice that those type of comments have stopped.

So I don't mind wearing the label bully.

"all it takes for evil to exist is for good men to say nothing"

And no I don't think the person was evil but I think that the brain was definitely not engaged.

Jack

More on these insane emails that are going around...this is the one about Obama wanting old people to kill themselves:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/republicans-lying-to-old_b_247400.html

it's simply mindboggling that something as smart as planning to make a living will is turned into an evil plot to murder Granny.

mornin'

We still doin' sumpin? Shouldn't we be doin' sumpin' else by now?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247858

Jamie, yes, I know that the reversal rate overall is lower than 50%. That is only the cases that went on appeal to the Supreme court and werre accepted. That's the same type case I was mentioning for Alito, whose ratio of overturned cses is difficult to find with any certainty, but according to what reports I reviewed on the subject, approaches 100%. My point is that her reversal rate is not high, as the RW would have you believe.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/the-fdr-way-do-something.html#comment-247861

Max, as usual, our world views diverge. Not surprising. And yes weak leadership in the Senate and slightly less so in the House. And finally, if arresting someone in their own home after you have confirmed it's their home because they said things you did not like is just the way cops act (it is not) then cops act stupidly. Gates acted stupidly as well, btw. "The only posotive note is the State of the Republicans. " If you are referring to the chaos and resounding crescendo of "NO, STOP, WAIT" coming from them, and the diminished prospects for a rebound in 2010 and 2012,, then there is one thing we agree on.

NEW THREAD
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/congress-needs-staycation-to-p.html#comments