Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

ahoy, me mateys! ah-woo! ah-hoo!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

craig, in the clip, what was rush scratching? fleas? brushing off the good rush angel on his shoulder? was that a secret code signal to his followers (like the carol burnett ear tug)?

interesting look at the groups freedomworks and americans for prosperity.
also note vivid description of "the new face of the right, snake-tongued Glenn Beck of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News channel"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/18/republicans-internet-barack-obama

Craig - What does your contract require.. Not to appear on FOX?

This seems to be like two Sports Teams.. The GE owned Media vs Fox?

And Rupert plays both ways?

You Looked Pained in this segment.

Very Sad that this time was spent to imply the FRINGE elements as if mainstream thus feeding the Progressive Liberal Socalistic Elements that make up the falling viewership of MSNBC.

Joe Wilson a Clown? That is a real class Journalistic statement.. Opps MSNBC is Entertainment - what was I thinking.

I am surprised the GE owned Media - a Big Capitalitic Company allows this - Ah but Maybe they need to continue to Suck up to Obama for more Billions of our dollars?

Ping
There's a really interesting front page story on who owns the internet, the carriers or the content providers. I side with the consumers and they generally are on the content providers side.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125329467451823485.html#mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Flatus.
Interesting.... Regardless of what the Government does the Market will respond. The Free Market is like an Immune system.
So how will they react? I am sure they have business models already prepared. Maybe my cost of internet goes up if they are forced to allow traffic.
Also their is growing information that the Super Highway is getting outdated - Will this Government action create a situation that puts to much traffic on the highway and the internet starts to act like every interstate at ruch hour in our country?

"If the FCC does force U.S. wireless carriers to open their networks to data-heavy applications like streaming video, it could push them beyond the limited capacity they have. Already, in areas like New York and San Francisco, a high concentration of iPhones has caused many AT&T customers to complain about degrading service."

flatus, the above quote from your wsj link spurs a collateral question, won't there be a need to deal with an accumulation of data backing up in addition to just the crowding of current useage? perhaps xyears storage limitation?

patd... Storage is cheap - it has dropped so fast that what did cost 10.00 15 years ago is like the cost of a paper clip today. The key is management of the storage.
Compression of data, different formats, Internet II is coming - lots of things that a FREE MARKET is developing. So keep the Government out of those aspects - They just need to keep the highway available for ANYONE that wants to jump on - not tell you what color car or where the button needs to be on the radio.

But hey Obama is smarter then all of us together well with Nancy...

Imus said on Friday Craig was stopping by the studio but that's radio :)

As far as the pundits go Imus said it best, all these people hate each other. Imus still has some of the best bs radar in the business.

Ping is right. Joe Wilson isn't a clown. He's a racist pig asshole and a right wing nut.

Bob Herbert on fire:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/opinion/19herbert.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Patsi,
That is a good piece by Bob Herbert. But he is wrong when he says suggests that "we are better than this (racism)." The history of the United States is replete with racism, sexism, ethnic hatred and economic bigotry. The U.S. is not alone in this, but in the U.S. is rubs so against our own self image and our democratic ideals, and now is magnified by cable and the internet.

But, as they say, every dog has it's day. Whites will soon be a demographic minority in this country. Eventually, economics and politics will catch up. The Republican party can not exist in the long term as a party that exploits divisions and champions the narrow minded views of a shrinking segment of the population.

The Dems would do well to solidify their position in the moderate-left middle. Both Obama and Hillary understand this. (And Bill Clinton was the architect of what was derisively termed 'triangulation.')

Finally, a few versus from the 1958 song by Sheldon Harnick:

They're rioting in Africa
They're starving in Spain
There's hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain.

The whole world is festering
With unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans,
The Germans hate the Poles

Italians hate Yugoslavs
South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don't like anybody very much

I did get an invite from the Air Force Times to write a letter for publication. We'll see what they do with it.

They are owned by that national daily that I never look at, so it might have legs.

This lack of bandwidth thing is mostly BS. Actually, it's totally BS when it comes to the major wired ISPs. For the mobile providers, it's BS in the sense that there are technologies available that will solve bandwidth limitations. But, implementing the improvements will cost them, gasp, money.

South Carolina is looking at providing statewide internet using the bandwidth made available from the switch of its educational TV network from analog to digital. The ETV people figure they'll only need 5-pct of the bandwidth they currently own to take care of all their future needs.

ETV here provides PBS plus two discrete digital channels. On one of the secondary channels, on last week's 9/11 anniversary, they played a memorial concert presented on Sep 23d 2001.

It featured the South Carolina Philharmonic accompanied by two large choirs. (The churches here have some magnificent choirs.)

During one of the chorale pieces they panned to a cellist who was singing her heart out as she played her instrument. It was very emotional.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091803739_pf.html

Good morning all,very good piece on Hillary.

"A Team Player Who Stands Apart"

"By all accounts, she is the consummate team player and is often the best-briefed, most prepared person in the room. President Obama's aides say he values her advice and appreciates her dedication, dampening speculation that he and his erstwhile rival would not work well together.

But after eight months in office, Clinton, 61, sometimes seems torn between her inclination to lead and her need to function effectively within the administration, creating a certain tension between her aspirations and her status."

CJ,

Thank you for putting this in the way that you did. I have been saying the same things, but in a very awkward way. What I would like to add tho, is that the only, and fastest way is thru education that should start at the primary schools. We never seem to teach the real history of our country...I don't think that any country does...

The people that actually hate others, are not that large imo. 20-25% and they are not nut cases, they are intelligent people the manipulate the stupid people, that just repeat what they hear often enough to believe the bs.. and are too lazy to find out the truth. Also just imo, this comes from religion, and the one united theme that they all share....the right to life issue, and it won't go away until we educate them about it...but how do we do this if the school system is just part of the struggle between the two party's?

way...http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/09/playing-tag-with-violence.html#comment-261286

Fox Business News to Imus Have Gun No Travel.

http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2009/09/fox-business-news-to-imus-have-gun-no.html

Craig,

Hope that you don't mind me posting a thread that I put up at Carols Blog, as a guest. I think that this is why there is so much hate...it is taught from one generation to another. It is ..TAUGHT..
The only to fight it is by finding out how to reach these little ones and to teach them the truths.....

Can't we all just get along....

I'ts so easy to hate others, and so easy to go to war with the ones that you hate....but do we really hate them?? or are we doing what our religion tell us to do...conquer the other false religions?

On 9/11. I asked my family that are mainly Catholic if I could share something that I thought was truly hateful: not that the bombing of the twin towers wasn't a hateful act...but I believe that they were doing what they ( these particular individuals) were taught to do, nothing more and nothing less, by the people on power. Not for hate but for greed.

When you truly hate someone or something: This hatred can not be satisfied by sending others to do it..it can only be quenches when you can take part in this hatred.!

I told them, asked them if the following was the same, more , or not at all.

There was a true story, and a movie called the "White Dog"

It started with a great looking grandfather playing with his little granddaughter in the yard. She was asking him all of the questions, that little girls will ask....the way that he talked, held, and answered every question with patience was the perfect picture......they had a little white German Sheppard puppy that they were playing with also....

They were in the front yard of a very large mansion, when one of his workers answered the voice at the front gate. He went to the grandfather and told him that everything was ready. The G. F. took his little G. D. by the hand and walked outside of the property. On the out side there was one of his workers pointing to an old blk man, that was sitting on the ground, leaning against the brick wall-that very high, and thick.

This older blk man was a wino, and alcoholic, and was homeless. He was asked if he wanted some money to get wine, or whatever he wanted...he said “yes”. The little girl was asked to bring the whit puppy around and let the wino see it. What he had to do to earn his money was to beat that puppy until it bled...right in front of the little girl.

This went on for at least three years....the little girl seeing a blk man beating the white dog, and the dog hating the smell of a blk man. When this dog was 165 lbs they let it loose in a blk neighborhood, and he was furious, and chased a blk man right into a church, where they showed him killing this man in the pew.

I told-asked my family that this was real hatred, this was real terror, even more so, or as evil as what they did on 9/11....I was told by my brother the Decon....that this was absurd.......a few weeks later he called me, and said that he could not get that story out of his mind...that I was right....I don't want to be right...I want things to be understood...thats what drives me....in all things

Now I have told everyone that I know, that if you really want to make someone happy.....make your self happy first....not in a selfish way, but happy in the way that will make you grow as a person.....if that other person truly loves you, that will make them happy...no?

later, lot of work to do on this nice cool day.

Morning Craig. I thought I'd slip this in under the radar before I do some Saturday reno.

You didn't challenge several things such as the Democratic claim LaRoach posters were in fact Republican posters or what evidence Pelosi had to compare healthcare protests to anti-gay violence that lead to murder. Nor did you ask why DNC leadership didn't have much to say about the Hitler posters carried by DEMOCRATS in NY when they angrily denounced Bush and Cheney as early as 2003 *I was there). In short, not too fair and balanced but I'm glad you had that suit replaced.

Forgive the length below, but I wondered if Obama had seen my posts over the last year and a half. He has pulled Clinton out of a hat at the last moment and replaced his strategy with Iran.

He appears to be moving missile defense to Israel as I have repeatedly suggested.

He has come to realize Syria is a duplicitious drag.

He is finally taking the steps to create Hillary's regional defense alliance and is talking about moving mobile missile defense into closer ring around Iran using assets in the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan while beefing up our big stick coupled with new tough sanctions.

He is trying a final squeeze on Iran challenging Russia to play along while ordering up new super bunker busters earmarked for Iran.

This is certainly a major shift if true and not simply rhetoric. This is pretty much the Hillary plan with additional plans to ring Iran with missile defense bases in Israel, Turkey the Gulf and Russian facility in Azerjaban with NATO (seeking partnership with Russia) playing a major role.

Given the strategic similarity to suggestions I have painfully pushed hear, I must give praise where praise is due and commend the President's thinking. I do hope this is really an honest declaration and not a bluff for some Grand Bargain or face saving measure.

http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article/rr/9000/8970614/Russia_says_it_wont_deploy_missiles_near_Poland

Problems: will we really get those assets in place and create a new defensive structure or even reach unify in opposing Iran? Will Iran simply escalate weaknesses in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon to undermine our position? Will Iran move towards secret production of weapons to overwhelm a never-been-tested-in-combat defense system or move closer in their relationship with AQ and the Taliban, perhaps deploying false flag operations? Of course Russia is also a big unknown.

In anycase, Obama improved my scorecard from last night, but I rather doubt August was still a good month for Democrats as you note above. You seem to overlook Dems have clear majorities and have gotten little done to date. Wilson and company might be pathetic, but Pelosi and company is equally nauseating.......(excuse the typos)

You all have a great day and keep your eyes open.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hW8dpLYUJaUlUu1VlIAHXXdO8J-wD9AQ8FGO0

That's just beautiful, isn't it?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/09/playing-tag-with-violence.html#comment-261286

Joe, I kept wanting to quote things on your post, so I could comment that I agree with them. But as I kept reading, I agreed with it all, every word. Perfectly said.

advice to the evangelical sub-culture:

"Shut up and pray."

Chloe,

Thank you for your comment. But as I re-read my post I must say that either my fingers or my brain were not yet fully engaged as I count at least three typos or mis-spellings. But, again, thanks.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/09/playing-tag-with-violence.html#comment-261286

Joe -- My oldest sister used to sing that song all the time! I love it and hadn't thought og it for a while...thanks!

"Craig - What does your contract require.. Not to appear on FOX? -- posted by Ping Pong"

Fair question, Ping. Yes, for several years my MSNBC contract (just like contributor contracts with any news channel) has excluded me from competitors such as CNN and FOX News (tho i've not yet take advantage of the discount on GE appliances). Unclear what happens when Imus radio show is simulcast on FOX Business, hoping that'll be OK, but it might get dicey.

Three things that do not go together

Computer Keyboard
Bottle of Water
Leaping Cat

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Sake is darned lucky she is adorable or we would be dining on feline tonight.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/09/playing-tag-with-violence.html#comment-261278

Ping

The Republican party as a whole and FOX as a legitimate news outlet would be much more believable if they didn't constantly lprevaricate and exagerate and just once broadcast that racist or violent signs were not welcome at protests.

I realize the base is uneducated, fearful, and easily led. That is no reason to tell us obviously provable untruths and it certainly doesn't aid if the goal is to attract independents for a return to power.

The latest story of woe brought to you by your oh so caring health insurance corporation

http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/rescissions_of_health_insurance_need_to_be_illegal

CJ Here's The Merry Minuet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47TrXmUDz-k

In the inbox this am. Sorry if it's a little loud for Sat morn.

We're number 37

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVgOl3cETb4

murdoch's newsCrap (nwsa) is capitalized at 22 Billion; newsCrap (nws) is capitalized at 11.4 Billion.

GE is capitalized at 175 Billion, and nbc is probably just a small division.

Jamie,

Most excellent! Thank you for the youtube link. Should be required viewing for trailmixers.

Phone companies rely on statistical multiplexing, deploying the least infrastructure for the maximum profit. They're going to kick and scream about any increase in bandwidth because they have to spend more on equipment.

I was in Japan talking to telecoms in 1998. At that time they had fully deployed 3G network and the salesmen I was with all had wireless netbooks. They now have 50 MB internet access for $50 a month. We need to goad US companies into upgrading the networks. It's just amazing how far behind the rest of the world we are.

I was laid off from Cisco during the 2001 layoffs because they couldn't imagine a market for a 9.6 terabyte switch (about 1 trillion characters per second). Now that wouldn't be anything.

"It's just amazing how far behind the rest of the world we are."

One

I've got a couple of ISDN terminals--think there would be any museums interested?

don1one -
Here's yer "Atta Boy".
Monday is the premier of "The Age of Stupid".

PARIS — Could we, the human race, really miss an ever-narrowing chance to save the planet from the ravages of global warming? "The Age of Stupid," which will be screened in hundreds of venues around the world next week, contemplates this grim scenario with the open aim of galvanising a collective effort to prevent it.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g4HWL8ZGwhZzaX12zth2D73KXU3Q

Amazingly it's showing here in Lubbock.
Pretty niffy web site -

http://www.ageofstupid.net/

LOL. ISDN is still used a lot for business phones. It allows companies to channelize I think 23 lines (+1 for signalling) over a T1. Copper was once a friend, now it's a boat anchor.

When I was in Turkey it took 10 years to get a phone line. They'd individually run each line. Now wireless lets them put cheap phones everywhere.

Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Is the Internet melting our brains?

No! The author of "A Better Pencil" explains why such hysterical hand-wringing is as old as communication itself

http://www.salon.com/books/int/2009/09/19/better_pencil/

Posted by: Colorado Bob Author Profile Page | September 19, 2009 3:40 PM

Ummm... prohibitive costs, innovation suppression by corporate interests, a consumer-centered economy, disposable products, and ultimately: individual selfishness (sometimes needed to survive in the short-term).

C-Bob,
If the Internet is not melting our brains it must be something else then.

"http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/09/playing-tag-with-violence.html#comment-261301"

Jamie, you'll have to agree that water is much better than coffee with cream and sugar :)

"Three things that do not go together

Computer Keyboard
Bottle of Water
Leaping Cat"

A recipe for disaster.
(I assume the water was open)

Chloe

It was one of those plastic water bottles and I hadn't locked down the little flip opener. Saki went flying. Bottle went flying. I frantically grabbed .... Keyboard drowned.

Sake immediately came to dead stop. Posed in her prettiest cat god position and looked up innocently with a pruup chirp. Couldn't kill her.

Clinton: ‘Time Running Out for Iran’
Warns of 'Profound Consequences' if Iran Can't Prove Intentions Are Peaceful

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today warned of ‘profound consequences’ if Iran is unable to convince the United States that their civilian nuclear program “is intended exclusively for peaceful purposes.”

Iran has agreed to enter into talks with the six parties (the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) which are planned for early next month. The US has said it doesn’t expect anything positive to come of the talks, and has been pressing the other five negotiating nations to support “crippling” sanctions against Iran.

Though Secretary Clinton insisted that Iran isn’t living up to its obligations, the IAEA yesterday reiterated that there was no proof that Iran was doing anything untoward in its civilian program, and Russia has said it firmly opposes any new sanctions.

The IAEA has continued to confirm that Iran isn’t diverting any of its low-enriched uranium to any military purpose, and the US intelligence community says it has confidence Iran doesn’t have an active nuclear weapons program. It remains unclear how Iran can possibly “prove” what the administration doesn’t want to believe, particularly when it is something international inspectors and US spies already know.

Israel ‘Deplores’ IAEA Call to Join NPT
US Rejects Vote, Canada Tries to Block Resolution

The Israeli government has officially said that it “deplores” the vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member states to call on Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and submit their nuclear facilities to the same oversight as the rest of the world does.

The vote narrowly passed, 49-45, and was generally opposed by Western nations while being supported by UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China, as well as most of the nations in the Middle East.

The United States ambassador Glyn Davies publicly rejected the resolution, calling it “redundant” and claiming that calling on Israel to join the NPT as every other nation in the Middle East has unfairly singled them out.

Canada went one step further, trying to block the vote entirely and condemning it as “unbalanced.” Votes on similar resolutions had been successfully blocked in 2007 and 2008, but this year’s attempt at blocking it failed.

The issue of Israel as a nuclear power and a non-signatory of the NPT has been controversial, and when a US State Department official said in May that the US wanted everyone to join the NPT Israel reacted with shock and outrage.

I like that last paragraph Solar.

I remember seeing an article a while back about Dimona leaking into the water supply. It would be nice if there were an outside agency keeping an eye on the facility.

I wonder if part of the refusal isn't related to the nuclear materials that the US and Europe have given to Israel. Bush made certain Saddam's report on western sales of weapons material to Iraq never saw the light of day.

John Edwards is the Daddy after all?

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

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

I missed my chance to talk like a pirate all day. Oh well there is always next year:)

Don,

Good to see you posting. Yeah, the Isreali's know how to get away with ignoring the NPT. But demand that Iran, and others adhere to it.

What have you been up to?

Renee,

It's baseball season is over, but not everywhere...just for you:

BASE BALL in HEAVEN
Two old men, Abe and Sol, sit on a park bench feeding pigeons and talking about baseball. Abe turns to Sol and asks, "Do you think there's baseball in Heaven?"

Sol thinks about it for a minute and replies, "I dunno. But let's make a deal -- if I die first, I'll come back and tell you if there's baseball in Heaven, and if you die first, you do the same."

They shake on it and sadly, a few months later, poor Abe passes on. Soon afterward, Sol sits in the park feeding the pigeons by himself and hears a voice whisper, "Sol... Sol...."

Sol responds, "Abe! Is that you?"

"Yes it is, Sol," whispers Abe's ghost.

Sol, still amazed, asks, "So, is there baseball in Heaven?"

"Well," says Abe, "I've got good news and bad news."

"Gimme the good news first," says Sol.

Abe says, "Well, there is baseball in Heaven."

Sol says, "That's great! What news could be bad enough to ruin that?"

Abe sighs and whispers, "You're pitching on Friday."

Jamie,

I think that this was the same lady in your joke...now we know why she knew exactly what to do....

10 Husbands, Still a Virgin
A lawyer married a woman who had previously divorced ten husbands.

On their wedding night, she told her new husband, "Please be gentle, I'm still a virgin."

"What?" said the puzzled groom.

"How can that be if you've been married ten times?"

"Well, Husband #1 was a sales representative: he kept telling me how great it was going to be.

Husband #2 was in software services: he was never really sure how it was supposed to function, but he said he'd look into it and get back to me.

Husband #3 was from field services: he said everything checked out diagnostically but he just couldn't get the system up.

Husband #4 was in telemarketing: even though he knew he had the order, he didn't know when he would be able to deliver.

Husband #5 was an engineer: he understood the basic process but wanted three years to research, implement, and design a new state-of-the-art method.

Husband #6 was from finance and administration: he thought he knew how, but he wasn't sure whether it was his job or not.

Husband #7 was in marketing: although he had a nice product, he was never sure how to position it.

Husband #8 was a psychologist: all he ever did was talk about it.

Husband #9 was a gynecologist: all he did was look at it.

Husband #10 was a stamp collector: all he ever did was... God! I miss him! But now that I've married you, I'm really excited!"

"Good," said the new husband, "but, why?"

"You're a lawyer. This time I know I'm gonna get screwed!"

Is one supposed to speak Somalian on "Talk Like a Pirate Day"? The "arrgghh" stuff is passe, at this point.

tout passe, tout lasse, tout casse.........

South Florida 59 Charleston Southern 0

Our local HS team lost 70 - 0 last night, Flatus.

The technologies which have had the most profound effects on human life are usually simple.
A good example of a simple technology with profound historical consequences is hay.
Nobody knows who invented hay, the idea of cutting grass in the autumn and storing
it in large enough quantities to keep horses and cows alive through the winter. All we
know is that the technology of hay was unknown to the Roman Empire but was
known to every village of medieval Europe. Like many other crucially important
technologies, hay emerged anonymously during the so-called Dark Ages.
- Freeman Dyson, Infinite in All Directions, 1988

If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.
Lowery's Law

If nobody uses it, there's a reason.
Rule of Reason

Laird, when I played HS football, we had an unblemished record; never won a game.

USF is my team. They play Florida State next Saturday. Florida State was tearing BYU limb-from-limb tonight. So, next week should be a high-scoring game.

As I said during the primary, there was always something that bothered me about Edwards. I actually posted some biting rants. His supporters were in denial. LOL, I said the same about Obama supporters, but that is different. Obama IS different and not the sleaz Edwards prove to be. He makes Billy Boy look genteele. His run hurt Hillary, his comments and behavior critical to the outcome, yet how was it others saw in him such sincere passion? It makes the sting in Michigan more biting....

Anyway, this next beaut iinvolves another concern uttered about Obama by some Hillary supporters.

Saturday NIght Fever.....

or "its a bad idea to mess with Bill Clinton's Material Support Bill" --short version of the long following:

What exactly are the links between the various domestic Islamic charity groups, community groups, religious action groups and "designated terror groups and individuals? The importance of this question should be self-evident.

You know, groups like some of those advertizing their causes in the Trinity Newsletter that Obama claimed were really moderate groups with balanced views on issues. These groups and associates, some even recipients of funds from "boards" which Obama sat , were suspected or indicted for links to Hamas, Brotherhood or some other terror group. More than a few Hillary supporters suggested Obama's friendship with people associated to these "watch-listed" charities, foundations, action and community organizational groups would protect them down the road to victory. Obama supporters said this was witch hunting, like McCarty did in the fifites. They said Hillary was McCarthy to bring of such linkage or associations which said nothing of the claims these groups were in fact giving material support to the enemy. To many supporters WE WERE THE ENEMY.

Though the majority of people involved with these groups were and are doing nothing in violation of law and have often done positive and charitable things, there was/is concern of elements nad sub groups that are clearly indictable for criminality as the record shows. People have been put in jail and financing impounded. This is in part because Hillary's husband had put into place the Material Support BIll for good reason. In fact, Bill had good vision to sign the law before 9/11 and Clarke agreed. This criminality in particula involves the domestic support of groups who have, can and might very well conduct activities that kill Americans and America's allies. Remember that, and remember Clarke agreed.

Some ISM charities associated with Wright at Trinity and Woods Fund etc. (places Obama supported) are presently under fire from the consequence of the Material Support Bill. These and others mingled with politican and community groups with strong political ties.

Some O-team players in the executive are associated with this ISM network and the question Hillary supporters brought up (and was warned with flashes of the race card) was/is whether Obama would direct his future attornet general to go easy on these groups. I asked the question here a year ago. Under existing law, the FBI and other agencies have been cracking down on many charities. Many want Obama to help.

If the following Material Support Is Okay Bill is passed, then Holder has all he needs to look the other way and in fact NOT investigate the flow of money between ISMs and such notables as CAIRS and ACORN, to name just two, with political leadership. This would then be what Hillary supporters suspected might happen.

Drug traffic and illegal exportation of banned materials all create fronts and diversions. Islamic terror, besides these secular tactics, turns to associates with more acceptable and religiously shielded faces to raise capital and organize strategic information and assets. Bill Clinton's Material Support BIll employed by Bush and now Obama is what has this network worried. WIthout finance and unfettered operations, terror would be seriously limited. But will Obama keep it that way?

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/09/print/feingold_moves_to_strike_mater.php

Time to Party.....Happy New Year

i was quarterback on the "second" junior varsity team at this school......we never won a game, three quarters of the way thru the season........until the day Bessinger, a tackle, recovered a fumble and ran down the field for a touchdown with 4 or 5 kids hanging off him.........Bessinger was a BIG kid.....

so we took Bessinger from tackle and made him the fullback and from then on it was Bessinger up the middle, Bessinger roll-out, Bessinger of liberty, and we never lost another game.

Maurice's family?

yup......piggie park.......charleston

That explains the avoirdupois.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/61/660541/restaurant/Charleston/Joe-Bessingers-Barbeque-Summerville

that's funny.......i havent seen joe since that school year which would have been 61 or 2........and i remember that fumble recovery and subsequent run for the goal as if it were a movie I've watched a couple of thousand times......makes me wanna drive to summerville and have a big joe barbecue...........

i'd have to make some tater salad for the trip, though........

Hell, Sturg, do it!

I made a really good lobster salad from Wednesday's leftovers. Wish we could afford eating that way more often?

Last time we had lobster was about ten years ago. Piggly Wiggly had a great special that Stinky and I took advantage of. It was in the Spring so we had a lobster and champagne feast out on the back porch. Memorable!

well i lobster and never flounder.....

---pinckard and bowden

lobster and champipple......yowza......

Stan and Ollie sing the blues........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AATtz__l9S8&feature=rec-HM-r2

XR, The Litani river cont.

These statements accent old and new realities. They strongly underscore an Israeli feeling of great dependence on the water resources of the West Bank not only for everyday use by Israel but also for its continued national existence. The advertisement also gives credibility to previous reports arguing that, although territorial physical security was a concern for Israel in 1967, the water resources were at least one, and perhaps the prominent, factor in Israeli strategic calculations. Moreover, this advertisement amounts to an official policy shift that binds territorial and resource security. Relinquishing the water-rich western slopes of the West Bank would be perceived by Israel as surrender of its water sovereignty and a threat to its national existence. This position could seriously complicate the peace process and set resource security as the new context for the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Because they ( the Israeli ) utilises of all its renewable water resources and the predictes water deficit huge amounts of water, Israeli occupation of the water rich area in southern Lebanon raises questions about Israeli's water needs,,,,,. Israel has had historical interest in the Litani River, whose entire flow is within the borders of Lebanon. The river rises in the northern Biqa'a Valley and runs southward to Beaufort Castle, where it turns westward to the Mediterranean Sea. Diverting the Litani's water southward is an old proposal, first suggested in 1905 by an engineer who concluded that the waters of the Jordan basin would be insufficient for the future needs of Palestine (Saleh 1988). He recommended that waters from the Litani River be diverted into the Hasbani River, a tributary of the Jordan.
Prestatehood Jewish interests in the Litani River were made explicit in letters from Chaim Weizmann, head of the World Zionist Organization (wzo), to various British governmental officials in 1919 and 1920 (Weisgal 1977). In a letter to Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Weizmann argued that Lebanon was "well watered" and that the river was "valueless to the territory north of the proposed frontiers. They can be used beneficially in the country much further south." Weizmann concluded that the WZO considered the Litani valley "for a distance of 25 miles above the bend" of the river essential to the future of the Jewish "national home" (Weisgal 1977, 267). Nevertheless, the British and the French mandate powers retained the Litani basin entirely in Lebanon. David Ben-Gurion, a leading Zionist and the first prime minister of Israel, suggested to a 1941 international commission on the question of Palestine that the Litani be included in the borders of the future Jewish state. The commission recommended that seven-eighths of the river's waters be leased to Israel (Saleh 1988).
Access to the Litani River was a concern during Israel's formative years. The diaries of Moshe Sharett, an Israeli prime minister during the mid-1950s, reveal that Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan, chief of staff and defense minister, were strong advocates of Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon to the Litani River (Rabinovich 1985). In the wake of the 1967 war and in view of Israeli territorial gains from three of its four neighbors, Dayan reiterated his long-standing opinion that Israel had achieved "provisionally satisfying frontiers, with the exception of those with Lebanon" (Hof 1985, 36).
Decision makers who perceive scarcities in their own state will meet demands by using their specialized capabilities to control territory and people farther and farther from its boundaries (Choucri and North 1972, 90). Specialized capabilities, including political influence, economic performance, and military skill and hardware, tend to determine the type of peaceful or coercive pressure that a resource-deficient but capability-rich state can apply to improve its access to foreign resources. Israel's water scarcity is leading to high-risk strategies that it can use with confidence because its military, economic, and political capabilities are superior to those of Lebanon.
The hyrdostrategic significance of southern Lebanon is rarely considered as an explanation of current Israeli occupation of the security zone there. The zone stretches along the northern border of Israel and straddles the westward bend of the Litani River. Israel unilaterally established the zone in 1978, after Israeli troops invaded and remained as a hegemonic occupier.
Shortly after establishing the zone, the Israeli army prohibited drilling of wells there (al-Bargouthi 1986). Moreover, after the 1982 invasion, Israeli army engineers carried out seismic soundings and surveys near the westward bend of the river, probably to determine the optimum place for a diversion tunnel, and confiscated hydrographical charts and technical documents of the river and its installations from the Litani Water Authority offices in the Biqa'a and Beirut (Cooley 1984, 22). Israel also controlled most or all of the waters from the Hasbani and Wazzani rivers, which rise in Lebanon. Over the years, there have been reports of water siphoning from the Litani into the Jordan River basin, a distance of less than ten kilometers (Cooley 1984; al-Bargouthi 1986; Saleh 1988; Abu Fadil and Harrison 1992; Gemayel 1992). one or two more left.....

Hi Solar,
Hope you see this, I'm on late now that I'm in the west. Contracting on another web site. This one gets around 150k visitors a day and is for education. Academia is certainly an interesting culture. I'm having fun though.

How are you doing?

Towed in a Hole! Funny stuff, Sturge!

flatus, you will appreciate this letter. sorry for length.

September 17, 2009
Dear PNHP members and friends,
"Start from scratch!"
That's PNHP National Coordinator Dr. Quentin Young's advice to President Obama now that the whittled-down Senate Finance Committee plan has been released without a single GOP supporter. That plan would leave tens of millions uninsured and tens of thousands dying annually because of lack of care. Even the most liberal version of the House bill would leave 17 million uninsured in 2019 (and tens of millions more until then), according to the Congressional Budget Office.
"Obama has said repeatedly that he would favor single payer if he were starting from scratch," says Dr. Young. "Well, now's the time. The Republicans have struck out with their irrational right-wing attacks on the administration's proposals. Mr. Obama, for his part, has managed to have zero converts to the mediocre plans that have emerged. This puts the ball in our court."
We agree, and write with four action alerts for single payer supporters at this critical time.
Forward the following press release to local media with a note that you are a local physician who is willing (if you are) to be interviewed about this study and the need for Medicare for all. According to new study by PNHP co-founders Drs. Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein, and Dr. Andrew Wilper, nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with a lack of health insurance, up from the 18,000 estimated by the Institute of Medicine in 2002. One American now dies every 12 minutes from lack of health insurance. A copy of the study, along with a state-by-state breakout of excess deaths from lack of insurance, is available at http://www.pnhp.org/excessdeaths
Write to your legislators in support of two amendments and two bills for single payer: Rep. Anthony Weiner's amendment to substitute single payer legislation (H.R. 676) for House bill 3200; Kucinich's amendment for a state single payer option/ERISA waiver; Rep. Conyers' single payer bill in the House (H.R. 676); and Sen. Sanders' single payer bill in the Senate (S. 703). Additional supporting materials are located at www.pnhp.org/change andwww.pnhp.org/amendment.
Reserve your hotel room today (or before September 23) for the PNHP Annual Meeting on Saturday, October 24 in Cambridge, MA at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Guest speakers include Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine; Harvard health economist William Hsiao Ph.D.; former CIGNA executive Wendell Potter; journalist TR Reid; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (tentative), and more. Reservations (617) 806-4200 (group code 860904 - $209 before Sept. 23) or here www.pnhp.org/meeting.
The Mad as Hell Doctors' tour for single payer will be arriving in D.C. on September 30th for a rally in Lafayette Square Park from 4 to 7 p.m. Media coverage from the Montana portion of their trip was excellent. Follow or join the inspiring efforts of these Oregon PNHPers at www.madashelldoctors.com.
Yesterday, insurance industry whistleblowers Dr. Linda Peeno and Wendell Potter testified before Congress about the myriad devious ways the insurance industry maximizes profit at the expense of patients, including funding front groups to shape health care reform to their own ends. Their testimony should dispel any remaining illusions that the private insurance industry is providing any positive benefit to the American people.
Time to "start from scratch" as Dr. Young says!
Cordially,

Ida Hellander, MD
Executive Director Mark Almberg
Director of Communications

here"s the press release mentioned in above letter:

Harvard study finds nearly 45,000 excess deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage

Lack of health insurance now more lethal

A study published online today estimates nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.

The new study, "Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults," appears in today's online edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

The Harvard-based researchers found that uninsured, working-age Americans have a 40 percent higher risk of death than their privately insured counterparts, up from a 25 percent excess death rate found in 1993.

Lead author Dr. Andrew Wilper, who worked at Harvard Medical School when the study was done and who now teaches at the University of Washington Medical School, said, "The uninsured have a higher risk of death when compared to the privately insured, even after taking into account socioeconomics, health behaviors and baseline health. We doctors have many new ways to prevent deaths from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease - but only if patients can get into our offices and afford their medications."

The study, which analyzed data from national surveys carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), assessed death rates after taking education, income and many other factors including smoking, drinking and obesity into account. It estimated that lack of health insurance causes 44,789 excess deaths annually.

Previous estimates from the IOM and others had put that figure near 18,000. The methods used in the current study were similar to those employed by the IOM in 2002, which in turn were based on a pioneering 1993 study of health insurance and mortality.

Deaths associated with lack of health insurance now exceed those caused by many common killers such as kidney disease.

An increase in the number of uninsured and an eroding medical safety net for the disadvantaged likely explain the substantial increase in the number of deaths associated with lack of insurance. The uninsured are more likely to go without needed care.

Another factor contributing to the widening gap in the risk of death between those who have insurance and those who don't is the improved quality of care for those who can get it.

The research, carried out at the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, analyzed U.S. adults under age 65 who participated in the annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) between 1986 and 1994. Respondents first answered detailed questions about their socioeconomic status and health and were then examined by physicians. The CDC tracked study participants to see who died by 2000.

The study found a 40 percent increased risk of death among the uninsured. As expected, death rates were also higher for males (37 percent increase), current or former smokers (102 percent and 42 percent increases), people who said that their health was fair or poor (126 percent increase), and those that examining physicians said were in fair or poor health (222 percent increase).

Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, study co-author, professor of medicine at Harvard and a primary care physician in Cambridge, Mass., noted: "Historically, every other developed nation has achieved universal health care through some form of nonprofit national health insurance. Our failure to do so means that all Americans pay higher health care costs, and 45,000 pay with their lives."

She added: "Even the most liberal version of the House bill would have left 17 million uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The whittled down Senate bill will be worse - leaving tens of millions uninsured, and tens of thousands dying because of lack of care. Without the administrative savings only attainable through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer reform - real universal coverage will remain unaffordable. Politicians are protecting insurance industry profits by sacrificing American lives."

Dr. David Himmelstein, study co-author and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard, remarked, "The Institute of Medicine, using older studies, estimated that one American dies every 30 minutes from lack of health insurance. Even this grim figure is an underestimate - now one dies every 12 minutes."

"Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults," Andrew P. Wilper, M.D., M.P.H., Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H., Karen E. Lasser, M.D., M.P.H., Danny McCormick, M.D., M.P.H., David H. Bor, M.D., and David U. Himmelstein, M.D. American Journal of Public Health, Sept. 17, 2009 (online); print edition Vol. 99, Issue 12, December 2009.

A copy of the study, along with a state-by-state breakout of excess deaths from lack of insurance, is available athttp://www.pnhp.org/excessdeaths

Physicians for a National Health Program (www.pnhp.org) is a research and educational organization of 17,000 doctors who support single-payer national health insurance. To speak with a physician/spokesperson in your area, visitwww.pnhp.org/stateactions or call (312) 782-6006.

Good Morning. Time to wat the President do the Gingsburg

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LISTEN HUNGRY ONES!
Look! See what Vanity Fair says about the
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(Or do you still consider the subway after midnight good
enough?)

ROOMERS
Take a room at the new Waldorf, you down-and-outers--
sleepers in charity's flop-houses where God pulls a
long face, and you have to pray to get a bed.
They serve swell board at the Waldorf-Astoria. Look at the menu, will
you:

GUMBO CREOLE
CRABMEAT IN CASSOLETTE
BOILED BRISKET OF BEEF
SMALL ONIONS IN CREAM
WATERCRESS SALAD
PEACH MELBA

Have luncheon there this afternoon, all you jobless.
Why not?
Dine with some of the men and women who got rich off of
your labor, who clip coupons with clean white fingers
because your hands dug coal, drilled stone, sewed gar-
ments, poured steel to let other people draw dividends
and live easy.
(Or haven't you had enough yet of the soup-lines and the bit-
ter bread of charity?)
Walk through Peacock Alley tonight before dinner, and get
warm, anyway. You've got nothing else to do.

Langston Hughes

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/20rich.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Good morning all.Good Frank Rich piece..

"Even Glenn Beck Is Right Twice a Day"

"Beck has notoriously defamed Obama as a “racist,” but the race card is just one in his deck. His ideology, if it can be called that, mixes idolatrous Ayn Rand libertarianism with bumper-sticker slogans about “freedom,” self-help homilies and lunatic conspiracy theories. (He fanned Internet rumors that FEMA was establishing concentration camps before tardily beating a retreat.) It’s the same crazy-quilt cosmology that could be found in last weekend’s Washington protest, where the marchers variously called Obama a fascist, a communist and a socialist, likening him to Hitler, Stalin, Castro and Pol Pot. They may not know that some of these libels are mutually exclusive. But what they do know is that they need a scapegoat for what ails them, and there is no one handier than a liberal, all-powerful president (who just happens to be black)."

I Sit and Think

I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.

I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall never see.

For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.

I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago,
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.

But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

http://www.tnr.com/article/madison-weeps

"Madison Weeps
How healthcare revealed the sickness of our political system."

"The Republican reception of Baucus's bill doesn't so much represent a crisis for health care reform as it does a crisis for our system. The GOP is no longer representing interest groups; rather, it has become an interest group itself--and an implacable one. So that a compromise piece of legislation that achieves a rough consensus among the various factions in the debate fails to get even one vote from one of the two major parties."

Sometimes I sits and thinks... and sometimes I just sits.
---Satchel Paige
US baseball player (1906 - 1982)

The Pig

In England once there lived a big
And wonderfully clever pig.
To everybody it was plain
That Piggy had a massive brain.
He worked out sums inside his head,
There was no book he hadn't read.
He knew what made an airplane fly,
He knew how engines worked and why.
He knew all this, but in the end
One question drove him round the bend:
He simply couldn't puzzle out
What LIFE was really all about.
What was the reason for his birth?
Why was he placed upon this earth?
His giant brain went round and round.
Alas, no answer could be found.
Till suddenly one wondrous night.
All in a flash he saw the light.
He jumped up like a ballet dancer
And yelled, "By gum, I've got the answer!"
"They want my bacon slice by slice
"To sell at a tremendous price!
"They want my tender juicy chops
"To put in all the butcher's shops!
"They want my pork to make a roast
"And that's the part'll cost the most!
"They want my sausages in strings!
"They even want my chitterlings!
"The butcher's shop! The carving knife!
"That is the reason for my life!"
Such thoughts as these are not designed
To give a pig great piece of mind.
Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland,
A pail of pigswill in his hand,
And piggy with a mighty roar,
Bashes the farmer to the floor…
Now comes the rather grizzly bit
So let's not make too much of it,
Except that you must understand
That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland,
He ate him up from head to toe,
Chewing the pieces nice and slow.
It took an hour to reach the feet,
Because there was so much to eat,
And when he finished, Pig, of course,
Felt absolutely no remorse.
Slowly he scratched his brainy head
And with a little smile he said,
"I had a fairly powerful hunch
"That he might have me for his lunch.
"And so, because I feared the worst,
"I thought I'd better eat him first."

Roald Dahl

Solar...... HA!.... thanks for the baseball joke....
I'm still prayin' my beloved Red Sox make the playoffs.... so far it looks good...

Flatus.... glad you and Stinky enjoyed your lobster feast...
my brother is a lobsterman off the coast of Massachusetts.... whenever he comes to NH to see me and our parents he always brings lots of lobsters....

Jamie.... I know how you feel about cats looking cute.... the other day Peanut got one of my balls of silk (worth $50) ... took it to our bed and then wrapped herself in it's luxury..... but how the hell do you kill a cat that's chirping while laying so sweetly on her back.... BRAT!

http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/

"Will Obama listen to ex-Fed chief Paul Volcker’s warnings?"

"There is a larger story to be done about how Obama did a bit of a bait-and-switch, hiring progressives to run his campaign and jettisoning them once he got into office. I hear about this phenomenon from different corners of the policymaking universe, from health care to defense and intelligence spending. But my sense is that the switch was most violent in the realm of economic policy, which means stuff like this bears particular attention. Will Obama act on Volcker’s recommendations? We should probably wait and see, but I’m not holding my breath."

Don 1

"Hi Solar,
Hope you see this, I'm on late now that I'm in the west. Contracting on another web site. This one gets around 150k visitors a day and is for education. Academia is certainly an interesting culture. I'm having fun though.

How are you doing?"

Thanks for the shout-out Don. Im doing ok, thanks, and glad that you are busy and doing fine. Im reading about the evolution of emotions, and subsequently ' feelings' that we all have: I have known for a long time now that we only have one real sense (touch) that make the 5 that are said that we have. We touch the vibrations in the air with our eyes, ears, etc. The neural mappings that we have are very intricate, and hard to understand for me...I keep taking the wrong road, and have to re-read what I read before...it does help me understand how we arrive at them tho...very interesting.!!

About where you are working at the present time.... Academia , and furthering shier education......get some of them once in awhile to figure out how to educate the masses...will ya? We need to educate the little people about the truth's in evolution, about the myth of religion ( I feel strongly that they both should be taught side by side, and compared), and about our political failed two party system, true history....

"150k visitors a day, plus the academia".( just like the top % of rich, the top % ignores the bottom %, us dummies)..if they are so intelligent: Get them share what they k now, if not they are just selfish , and are intelligent but not so smart....thanks Don good to hear from you, get busy on my request will you.!!

Thanks for those two articles, Tony. YES!

Now we are going into a tough time. OBama get your suit on. It starts today but becareful of the news you read. It is filter, manipulated with an agenda of its own:

"The key disputes are over Israeli settlement expansion and whether peace talks should begin where they left off under Netanyahu's predecessors." -----AP commenting on what Obama would like to discuss with Abbas and Netanyahu. Gee, now I know what the real dispute is about. ANd what is not.

1. Most CIA chiefs step forward and ask Obama to do what he said he would do. This isn't a little thing nor is the action to end the Material Support BIll. There are several present indictments the Justice Department has not acted on.

2. Taliban leader: Omar issues a declaration that Obama is a liar and doomed to fail in Afghanistan. Some Liberals agree.

3. And what's up with Iran? Iran ran laughs at outcry over Ahmadinejad's comments about gas chambers and Israel's right to exist. They know the UN show is coming up. More opposition leaders are detained in Iran as the three year prediction some advanced back in 2006 is supported by the IAEA's new judgements. RItter and others were wrong as well as the famous Bush bashing NEI Report.

Much disinformation still clouds this issue as 1. the US already has a tested defense system against ballistic missiles and 2. the Iranians are not far off from lifting 1 ton payloads into space accurately. The more immediate issue is however as Obama describes it, as many have noted for some time, the increasing prolifieration of crusie missiles and short and medium range missiles engineered for minimum fingerprints, greater mobility and remote launch capability. This would require a full spectrum missile defence response. to do this I rather suspect by moving in naval assets into the gulf has additional risks.

4. As a note to the article Pat posted, we lose how many in hospitals each year? We lose how many on highways? The point is that there are other statistics as well as other consequences to consider. The 17 million? I'm not exactly sure who they were.

Maybe the Democrats can improve government programs, change the regulatory enforcement. Yoda says: $200 per person per year for all does not great, available coverage make.

shier= their

That is $200 x 12 = $2400, but yes, current costs are approaching triple that annual cost. I guess we have the price range.......

Father Solars, Sunday Sermon.

Max,

It's Sunday, and Im glad that you went to church; and received your Sunday morning war sermon....religions always makes great sermons for war no? Why do the teach so much hate.......

Mr. Fish,

You are on a delightful roll. Particularly enjoyed that Langston fella. He sure could write a bit.

New anti human being commercial from the insurance company shills.

"Tell President Obama to drop his "government run" "public option" plan.

Three economy experts just said, " that we need to get liquidity to the small biz man"......no shit Sherlocks....now that the R's and the Ds have fed their big biz bosses, and have bled us dry....now they are going to get us some of the monies needed for us, the small-biz to get things going again.

They will give us just enough to do this, and with the help of their employees in congress ( the D's and the R's) take it away from us again...we are their slaves, and don't know it......

Joe Scarborough was on Twitter raving about the Manchester U and Manchester City game. First he confesses to enjoying opera and now British football. Talk about Southern boy messing with the stereotypes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ax8UEw9RiQ

Well, IM off to do more outside work now, for my nieghbor. I just had to shut off the Geroge S. show, I just can't stand Peggy N. I can watch someone like Pat. B and others, but not her..even her frowns are condescending to me....

NEW THREAD

"They will give us just enough to do this, and with the help of their employees in congress ( the D's and the R's) take it away from us again ...we are their slaves, and don't know it......"

You're right in calling them employees of big business Solar. Although they're our employees too, and we should be making demands. I don't think we're slaves though, because we have choices.

maxtrue,

Re your third point, the 2006 alarmist predictions I remember was that Iran would have a bomb in 10 months to 2 years. More conservative (what you'd call Liberal) analysts predicted 3 years or more.

In the Spring of 2008, the alarmists were prediting that Iran would have the bomb by the end of the year, and therefore Israel (or the US) would launch an attack any minute. newsmax and the feith disinformation machine were pumping out this crap every other day - alternating with news of the immanent US invasion of Venezuela - resulting in panic buying in the oil market, and $4/gal gasoline.

The Iran alarmists were all wrong, but they did manage to create $4/gal gasoline, which dried up sales of gashogs, destroying the remnants of GM and Chrysler, and accelerating foreclosures on over-extended mortgage holders in exurbia and outer ring suburbs. The wave of foreclosures drove down real estate values, a condition that triggered banks into stopping and even recalling loans. Falling realestate values killed the mortgage insurance market, which in turn toppled the bankswho had stupidly invested in it. This avalanche of events brought on this latest republican depression. Iran still doesn't have the Abomb, but all the fear-mongering has set the US economy back a decade.

I am not saying that the right wing crazies planned and achieved this republican Depression; I think the consequences are unintended. After all, these guys, for all their smarts are just mcnamara/laird-style idjits. Also, the republican Depression was far from a direct result of all those chicken little-isms spouted by newsmax, et al. The results were very indirect. However, the false predictions about Iran's nuclear threat, and the possibility of yet another, possibly nuclear, war in Oil Gulf triggered the avalanche of negative events.