Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Good article Craig....and it makes me hate to immediately go off topic. But I will anyway. Here's an on-target op/ed about the dangers of electing these conservative Democrats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/opinion/12michelman.html?ref=opinion

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/remembering-pattons-liberators.html#comment-270580

xr, you left out a probable c. fox's new poster boy or there's a fox in his future.

Gut Artikle - Great History!
We can always learn from other great nations.

Now lets look at what is going on still in Germany as they continue to move towards more Freedom. We can still learn - even young non experienced Presidents should take notice

"walls within the mind" must crumble

craig, our time sure could use some of this crumbling.

btw, was lard at the sentinel during the time you were experiencing all this and writing these terrific articles?

"Despite declining drug use in the country, in January the British government changed marijuana's classification from a "Class C" to a "Class B" drug; possession now carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, while dealing can get you 14 years in jail.

Professor David Nutt, formerly a member of the UK's independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, was fired for publicly disputing the decision; five other members of the 31-person Council have since resigned in protest of the politically-motivated firing."

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/11/11/marijuana_policy_controversy_continues_in_uk

Craig - Great article. It does make me wonder how Iran will play out and how we will look back on it in twenty years. Will all of their tweets be lost to the ages?

patsi - True dat. "The Democratic majority has abandoned its platform and subordinated women’s health to short-term political success. In doing so, these so-called friends of women’s rights have arguably done more to undermine reproductive rights than some of abortion’s staunchest foes."

Wouldn't they just poop if women took over?

War -- Galbraith is making 100 million from it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/world/middleeast/12galbraith.html

Blue -- I can't get past this "greater good" argument. If this was a civil rights issue, you wouldn't be hearing that. They wouldn't screw with the African American vote....but they just count on women returning meekly to the fold.

Craig, having been present for those incredible changes must have been exciting at least and profound more likely.

I wish there were a glimmer of a chance that something similar might happen in the ME, but there are stronger forces at work there than mere political/economic ones - and to be clear, I'm talking about religion, not to mention the fact that in Europe the countries that became freer after the fall of Soviet centric rule were returning to a state of relative freedom that existed in the memory of the countries' elders - a circumstance that does not exist in the Middle East - where a return to the past would be a return to a past that is not all that much unlike the present in most ways. The drumbeat of the would be militarist liberators in the West ignore the distinctions when they attempt to compare Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. to the fall of Eurocommunism.

Patsi, I believe that this is nothing more than the party leadership discounting the needs and votes of poor women - those insured not on Meidcaid and not looking to buy insurance ffom the "public option" or exchanges ar enot affected. It's a political calculation that I doubt they, including Stupid and Piss, would ever acknowledge, but that is clearly in play. It's a stupid political calculation - bringing back the idiotic position that as a matter of principle, government would rather pay to support unplanned poor kids whose mothers would have aborted had they had the money to do so than pay for the abortion. The fact that the Democratic leadership vetted the language of the Stupid-Piss amendment with CATHOLIC BISHOPS (gimmeeafugginbreak) should be evidence enough about the origin of this "principled" stand. It makes me mad as hell.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/business/media/12dobbs.html?hp

Lou Dobbs takes his Mexican immigrant hate off CNN - can the announcement aboutt his new show at Fox be far behind?

"government would rather pay to support unplanned poor kids whose mothers would have aborted had they had the money to do so than pay for the abortion"

pogo, wonder if this projected cost has been factored into the gao figures?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270600

He's married to a Mexican-American. It's hatred to advocate the enforcement of immigration laws?

He's as anti-immigrant as anyone on the planet - marrying a Mexican American sports anchor 25 years ago doesn't change his xenophobic "close the border" screed. If all he was urging was a uniform application of immigration laws, he wouldn't have his well earned reputation as a xenophobe. My bro-in-law has married 3 South Korean women, and he hates Asians (and Mexicans) coming into the LA area where he lives and "stealing jobs" and the like. But then if you think consistency is something you'd like to find, don't look for it in Dobbs.

http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/741

Wonder how his purchase of foreign vehicles is advancing the war on the middle class?

Pat, I can't answer that - although I doubt that the CBO has developed figures on increased Medicaid, SCHIP, etc. costs as a result of anticipated enrollment increases - and I doubt that those figures are readily available at this point anyway.

Lazy gangsters! Love that phrase as it applies to so many in the US, too.

I thought Tuchman's book on Stilwell and China during and after the War was really good. And reading it now (it was from the 70s) adds context to a very complex dynamic:

http://www.amazon.com/Stilwell-American-Experience-China-1911-45/dp/0802138527

My dad fixed Stillwell's telephone in san francisco oncet.

Tuchman's THE PROUD TOWER is another great book on life leading up to the first WW........

Lou Dobbs takes his Mexican immigrant hate off CNN - can the announcement aboutt his new show at Fox be far behind?

Posted by: newpogo.myopenid.com | November 12, 2009 8:27 AM

Yes, and it will have Dobbs, Beck and Rove in a program called The JOWL HOUR. That is a vibrating visual I can do without!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270599

Agreed, Pogo...makes me mad as hell too.

If Lou Dobbs's wife is from a long established Mexican/American family, she may be as big a zealot as he is. In my home area, the established Mexican families really distanced themselves from the migrant workers who came each season.

Blondie, that show would have the same appeal for me as the current Hannity offerings - IOW none.

OK, the ACORN thing begins to get interesting. I believe someone mentioned bill of attainder here when the funding block for ACORN was put in place. Well, it's come to pass.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/nyregion/13acorn.html?hp

I don't give them much chance of prevailing, but it does make for interesting legal wrangling.

But on to something really important - ballon boy's parents look like they will plead guilty.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/12/us/AP-US-BalloonBoy.html?hp

Here is what a CiC should do IMHO. Demand an exit strategy before giving the militarists what they are requesting to "win".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/11/official-obama-does-not-a_n_354784.html

"Administration officials said Wednesday that Obama wants to make it clear that the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended. The war is now in its ninth year and is claiming U.S. lives at a record pace as military leaders say the Taliban has the upper hand in many parts of the country."

This is the face of dithering I suppose - too bad DICK and DUMYA never figured out how to dither.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270604

Pogo

That particular issue created a storm when the book Freakonomics came out. Due to the drop in birthrate among poor women, the crime rate went down. It's a great book for "unintended or surprise consequences". and one the Stupak amendment and anti sex education/birth control people might want to read.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111116943.html?nav=hcmodule

So, poor people can go to hell if the church has to provide health insurance benefits to partners. That's Christ-like, no?

Jamie - it ain't being referred to as the Stupid amendment for nothing. The paleosexuals deny the big brain-small brain dichotomy, having forgotten that from about age 11 or 12 to about the mid 20s, their big brain had little or no control over decisions that had to do with sexual activity, and having forgotten that, now deny the connection between the small brain and all decisions sexual during that period of insanity.

If I was to say, stay in Afghanistan, I would follow this strategy:

Place _all_ domestic security in Afghan hands. Make them absolutely responsible for security of isolated villages. Recognize that it may take years before the central government can provide widespread security.

We should absolutely concentrate on the border area with Pakistan and Taliban strongholds. We should run a Phoenix-like program in which we actively target and eliminate every visible Taliban/al Qaeda leader.

Use our air forces to hammer suspected enemy strongholds. Hit them again and again; give them no rest. Force them to the battlefield where we can efficiently kill them--without remorse.
--
Stinky says come to eat my lunch. Later

Thought for the day :
" Only the doctor can suffer from good health. "

Great article Craig, and what a cool job you had. I appreciate the net, but sad to see think of the newspaper industry now.

Gotta go, just heard a friend and coven member died. Off to see her husband.

"He's as anti-immigrant as anyone on the planet".

Typical exaggeration New Pogo. Don't you really mean anti-illegal immigrant or don't you see any difference? And before you sound off, I have just sponsored all the way to her permanent green card, someone who was an illegal immigrant. Want to top that? It took a bit over three years.

Facinating article Craig. What Oldseahag said.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270604

LOL... google-searched "Debi Lee Segura", huh? Yeah, me too.

Eco-Friendly Snow Thrower Is An Alternative To Belching Snow Blowers

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Eco_Friendly_Snow_Thrower_Is_An_Alternative_To_Belching_Snow_Blowers_999.html

CJ

That logic always stuns me. There are always things in a particular policy that you will never use. They are there to provide the most care for the largest number of policy holders.

I can absolutely guarantee without fear of contradiction that I will never never need a vasectomy or penile implant.

Inventions we need:

If science were to be really useful, we would have firefly genes implanted in Blue Spruce Trees, providing self-lighting Christmas trees.

Mr. Pogo,

A decision on what constitutes victory precedes any exit strategy, if they intend to be effective. These decisions ought to have been made last Spring. At this point, we are long overdue for an exit strategy from Western Europe.

I'm in favor of enforcing the immigration laws until they are changed.

It annoys me that some people refer to the illegal aliens as immigrants. Under present law, one is not an immigrant until the documents are filled in and signed.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270620

Max,

He got in trouble by backing some of these "let me see your papers" kind of programs. Hispanics who had been in the southwest 500 years before reitrees moved to Mexico were more than a little upset not to mention the millennial descendants of Indians being mistaken for Mexicans.

He always couched it in anti-illegal immigration, but it always hinted at absolute racial prejudice. Then there was the political stupidity of backing the "where's your birth certificate" crowd opposed to Obama. All in all a first class example of someone who thinks they aren't prejudiced while constantly giving examples that they are.

moved to New Mexico - sheesh ( know we have 50 states.

Was the Mexican gal dobbs married White, Mestizo-pass-for-White, or Indian ?

I suspect that dobbs feels some Mexicans are more equal than others. Just a suspicion.

Mr. Cajunjoe, you are a genius.

Someone give this man a Nobel Prize.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270629

...some MEXICANS feel some Mexicans are more equal than others, but you that. The middle one.

xr

To achieve that kind of enforcement we would need national identity cards. Guess who's opposed to those? The same people opposed to hiring illegal aliens.

Who uses illegal aliens most? Big corporations in any industry still requiring heavy labor. Without those non union, low wage, employees whose salaries are supplemented by benefits courtesy of the American taxpayer, would ship overseas other than hotels restaurants and agribusiness.

It's another one of those damned if you do damned if you don't situations.

^know

Lou Dobbs with wife

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9cSQx6NYzrU/Rj7BPj7RkZI/AAAAAAAABOg/PTMDpgzGrjc/s400/ld7.JPG

Movies: Dogs Welcoming Home Soldiers

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/40324

America has Lou Dobbs fever!

...who saw that comin'?

Was the Mexican gal dobbs married White, Mestizo-pass-for-White, or Indian ?

I suspect that dobbs feels some Mexicans are more equal than others. Just a suspicion.

Posted by: xrepublican | November 12, 2009 11:09 AM

XR...spot on. It is the history of our area...the catholic church has had a hand in this racism. Pure Spaniards were always deemed superior to the indigenous population of "Indians."

My suspicion is that this Health Care Coverage Reform will prevent more abortions than it will enable.

More than 44,000 Americans die annually from Health Coverage Deficiency.

In this case, the bishops are clearly, if inadvertantly, pro-"culture of death".

America has Lou Dobbs fever!

Posted by: dark-lord-bloggingham.myopenid.com | November 12, 2009 11:19 AM

The Swine Lou Fever

I'm enjoying Craig's march down memory lane.
I love living history.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270627

Dobbs is a wind bag no doubt Jamie, but please distinguish between anti-immigrant and anti-illegal immigrant. Inuendo is not fact whether suspicions seem justified or not. After all there is ample conjecture that Obama didn't write Dream of My Father. I could go down the list of suspicions from the Michigan Democratic primary to the recent Texas shooter's motives. What I do notice is that conjecture often is fine here if involves non Democratic slams but Right Wing drivel if it involves questioning Democrats. Now that isn't a fair measure, is it? Dobb has said repeatedly immigrants have made America and he supports immigration to America. And Obama has said his healthcare will lower costs and not raise the deficit by one dime without taxing wage earners who make less than $250,000 a year.

That said, I am glad to see Dobbs leave and I will hardly watch him team up with Beck. Still, I am sure many Democrats are glad to see a pundit that fired weekly shots at Democrats leave his seat at CNN, rather than what he really thinks about "immigrants".

I note an earlier comment by Patsi about women. It is unfair their rights are pokers chips in the political power play, but I rather doubt the logic of not exchanging political power for prinicple after Democrats welcomed in the Left in their effort to unseat Bush and company. Would it be better their were no Democratic Pro-Lifers and a Republican for President? Is that what Patsi is implying? Gays have obviously been pushed aside in the State of Maine no less. I do agree with Patsi about her comment regarding Afro-Americans, but then we saw this bias during the primary.

As an "gender" aside I see the following trend quite disturbing added to the increasing number of women seeking breats implants. I would argue that women themselves share some of the responsibility for the BBC article below. I wonder whether women here object to this trend or rather see any judgment by men objecting to this trend, an infringment on a women's right to seek whatever cosmetic surgery they want.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8352711.stm

sorry this is so long, but it relates to xr's comment:

"Originally racial designators, the terms mestizo and Indian have lost almost all of their previous racial connotation and are now used entirely to designate cultural groups. Historically, the term mestizo described someone with mixed European and indigenous heritage. Mestizos occupied a middle social stratum between whites and pure-blooded indigenous people (see Socieconomic Structures, ch. 1). Whites themselves were divided into criollo (those born in the New World) and peninsular (those born in Spain) subgroups. In contemporary usage, however, the word mestizo refers to anyone who has adopted Mexican Hispanic culture. Seen in this cultural context, both those with a solely European background and those with a mixed European-indigenous background are automatically referred to as mestizos. Mestizo , then, has become a synonym for culturally Mexican, much as ladino is used in many Latin American countries for those who are culturally Hispanic. Members of indigenous groups also may be called (and may call themselves) mestizos if they have the dominant Hispanic societal cultural values.

If an indigenous person can become a mestizo, who, then, is an Indian? Anthropologist Alan Sandstorm lists minimum criteria that compose a definition of Indian ethnicity. According to Sandstorm, an Indian is someone who identifies himself as such; chooses to use an indigenous language in daily speech; remains actively involved in village communal affairs; participates in religious ceremonies rooted in native American traditions; and attempts to achieve a harmony with, rather than control over, the social and natural worlds. Should one or more criteria become absent over time, the individual probably has begun the transition to becoming a mestizo."

http://countrystudies.us/mexico/54.htm

From Patsi's link about Galbraiths's

"He says his actions were proper because he was at the time a private citizen deeply involved in Kurdish causes, both in business and policy.

When drillers struck oil in a rich new field called Tawke in December 2005, no one but a handful of government and business officials and members of Mr. Galbraith’s inner circle knew that the constitutional provisions he had pushed through only months earlier could enrich him so handsomely.

As the scope of Mr. Galbraith’s financial interests in Kurdistan become clear, they have the potential to inflame some of Iraqis’ deepest fears, including conspiracy theories that the true reason for the American invasion of their country was to take its oil. It may not help that outside Kurdistan, Mr. Galbraith’s influential view that Iraq should be broken up along ethnic lines is considered offensive to many Iraqis’ nationalism. Mr. Biden and Mr. Kerry, who have been influenced by Mr. Galbraith’s thinking but do not advocate such a partitioning of the country, were not aware of Mr. Galbraith’s oil dealings in Iraq, aides to both politicians say."

Thats' what it' all about...Oil...you can add a mixture of other reasons..but getting the oil for ourselves, or preventing the ones that we don't want them to have it; from getting it.

Add to that the war vehicles; and weapons that are made daily, the ammo, etc, etc. with the shits that we have in congress; and Senators like Feinstein and others that own defense corps, that rake in the $, we will not get out from these wars anytime soon; unless we can get people like R. P. and others like him; from the right; or the left.

Pogo, going out to install a cpl of Satellite dishes for a friend..said that I should not eat..that he will buy... Lunch...I have taste for a Riccobene's Italian steak sandwich; with red sauce; hot peppers, and fries.....there is one near him that has some cool cars from the 50's and 60's ..they change it (one) every now and then....a juke box that plays the oldies....

Oh about those Bishops....I wonder if we could ask them..that if they are so worried about the gay's and the right to live people..why do they have so many Pediphile priest; and bishops, that are gay in their organization???

"The Swine Lou Fever"

bw, love it!

(here it comes, BW...)

Hey-O!

"It was a tense videoconference this morning at the White House, as Ambassador Karl Eikenberry addressed the National Security Council from Kabul just hours after the media got hold of his dissent on the crucial question of sending more troops to Afghanistan. "He is very unpopular here," said a National Security Council staffer."

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/11/12/eikenberrys_awkward_white_house_call

Solar, I do believe Biden did advocate splitting up Iraq in the early days of 2003 - 2005. His nuance was triffling. As far as oil, we did not get any exclusive deal with Iraq as recent oil contracts have shown. Again, it is interesting what other countries like China and Russia are doing regarding energy contracts. Before we invaded Iraq, the Kurds were forced by Saddam to pump oil to Syria. It is also interesting to note that under Clinton, Russia, India and the US gave an ultimatum to the Taliban to either allow for a new pipeline through Afghanistan or face removal. This was before the location of AQ was clear. You can find that on the internet if you look.

If it was all about oil, then we would hardly be watching as China takes aim at nearby sources in the Gulf. It is also odd that while Obama defends Iranian rights to nuclear power, he has not advanced nuclear in America or more drilling as he promised during the campaign.

I had no idea you were a Marine Solar. Had I known that, I would a debated your comments another day. I hope you found some solace yesterday and took no personal offense with my words. If you missed my closing remarks yesterday, thank you Solar for your service.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270642

Max,

I'm torn on the cosmetic surgery question simply because I like "lived in" faces. Surgery for genetic flaws or injury is understandable but to conform to some articial standard of beauty? Still it's their body. As with anything it can become an addiction. Better to develop the inside and then see if there is anything you still want to "fix" on the outside.

"Then neighboring Hungary opened its border to the West, punching a hole in the Iron Curtain that drew tens of thousands from Leipzig." -Craig's report, supra

Actually, Hungary is not 'neighboring'. The Germans had to cross then Czechoslovakia to get to Hungary. Hungarians living near the Austrian border made a killing, by retrieving the abandoned vehicles of fleeing Germans. Soon, Czechoslovakia opened its border also, and that is when the stream of self-exiling Germans became an avalanche.

Max,

I sided with Biden at the time. Those advocating "nationalism" are the ones who will be carrying out the ethnic cleansing when we finally depart. Iraq is a totally artificial British construct. We probably missed an opportunity to at least turn those ethnic areas in to "states" if not independent countries.

It doesn't help that half the soldiers are mercenaries. You can't maintain discipline when the Iraqi officials are being bribed by US Companies not under the control of the military.

craig, any news on you and helen in leather? the book that is.

i think tiptoe was also inquiring the other day. seems publisher info unavailable. any suggestions? good gift item and holidays are coming up fast. hanukkah, muharram, christmas, kwanzaa

The only good Mexican, is dead one. The only good White is a dead one..that goes for all of the definitions that were put on us by the politicians; and the NewsPapers that helped them do this; with the $ that they recieved from the Corps that.......THEY....owned thru out time.....Nothing has CHANGED; and we are the dummies that keep doing the same things over and over...we are the ones to blame...

There are no "Races" there are cultures that have all come from the migration of the Aborigines that migrated and left people, along the way to to establish different parts of the world.!!

On the way to inhabiting the rest of the world...evolution, Weather temps where they lived, and the foods that they ate...took care of the rest....we are all the same, and continue to be just as tribal now as we were when we came out of Africa...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270649

Of course I agree with you Jamie, but before I voice any objection to "perfect vaginas", I understand that women no matter how conditioned by idiot men, have a right to do whatever. It is sad to see many women stay silent. I think Pelosi has had so much Botox, her face is frozen....ahhhh...maybe they injected a bit too much into her head.

Okay, back to the point. My observation is that women seem even more conditioned today than during the seventies and eighties. I just wonder what you women here think about this counter-intuitive trend. We can laugh at the sanitary napkin ads from the fifites I have seen in repos from Life Mag as manipulative, but judging from what I see today, not all that much has changed for the vast majority. In fact, the daily outrages against women abroad would have drawn bitter threats from the feminist movement. I guess my general question regards progress and what lessons we set for our children. This runs exactly into what Patsi mentioned in her opening post regardless of the political aspect "abortion" plays in this question.

Thanks for the clarification, Patd. I meant to use the term 'Mestizo' as it was used in antiquity, as I am an antiquarian, and am personally antiquainted.

When Veterans die from lack of health insurance

http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/politics/2009/11/11/veterans_day/index.html?source=newsletter

It is interesting to me that the collapse took as long as it did. When the trade illegally free trade union Solidarity struck the Gdansk shipyard, the Warsaw Pact began maneuvres to practice an invasion of Poland. The commie armies in East Germany got lost, at least in part because they used russian maps, that bore little resemblance to the geography, as it had changed in 50 years, and russians were always suspicious that true geographical renderings might help the counter-revolutionary armies of the West.

As it happened, a russian army patrol stopped a tourist, took him to see a general. The general wanted to know where he was and where Poland lay. The tourist kindly helped the general find just where he was on the map. The tourist was also a US Army Intelligence agent enjoying a super-cheap vacation, and was glad to be able to report the incident and its implications to his superiors.

Lunge time. Green tea for aperitif, Dark turkey w/yellow mustard and spin blend on hot dog buns, with a nice big shot of insulin for desert. I'm willing to share, but bring your own unopened needles.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270653

Not as much tribal Solar, but still pretty tribal nevertheless.

I wonder if you celebrate our differences as a homogenous world would be pretty dull. There would be only one type of women to pick from........

I was serious when I said I have no racist bones in my body. I was also serious when I said that unfortunately we do not live in an age of peace. The way forward may be revealed in what we know of anthopological rules that have shaped cooperation over the centuries going back 50,000 years. Given the depth of our genetic behavior, disregarding the owner's guide might be a huge mistake, no matter our worthy goals.

Interestingly also, the near universal post puberty emotion of prefering light skins to dark - probably a cultural effect :

1. The Moon people of Nigeria are treated as extra-beautiful and special

2. The unusually high incidence of albinos among the San Blas Indians & their special treatment by other Indians

3. Expressians of this preference in both art and literature of Medieval Europe (especially Froissart), T'ang Dynasty China , 17th Century Japan (geishas), and 17th Century India.

I think it all has to do with the lower classes getting both tan and dirty working in the fields, whereas, the liesure (professional killer or priest) class got to bathe, and sit in the nice clean shade. IOW, racism, as perpetrated against darker souls,originated in class warfare.

Lou Dobbs: The Obama Administration conspired with the Center for America Progress and others to "carry out constant and absolutely insidious and sordid attacks on me."

As a multiple mutt myself, I put no creedance in racial stereotypes, let alone superiority/inferiority theories.

Levy-Strauss's big (and nearly impenetrable to a non-anthro major) work shoots all that crap down, although he is most famous for his '50s pop-social science memoir, Tristes Tropiques. L-S has recently been drafted to make appearences in the oeuvre of maxtrue, where he served with distinction.

XR, Don't recall ever seeing an albino San Blas. Interesting culture. The women owned everything. Productive coconut trees were highly valued. Relations with mainlanders were often fractious. Typically had very short life spans. I thought they were always very pleasant when I talked with them.

Paranoia is a distinguishing mark of reds. I mean, just look at nixon and hugo chavez, rush and fellow rushan, joe stalin. If anyone ever had a right to be paranoid it was George McGovern, and he wasn't in the least red or paranoid.

That argument ought to be QED enough to satisfy the brains of any reds lying along this Trail.

Every year around this time I start looking longingly at the 20-volume OED. This year when I looked at it on Amazon, they had that little button to push if you want the title on Kindle. It gave me a good chuckle pushing that button.

Mr. Flatus,

Ya, I remember reading in old National Geographics that the Sam Blas had a high % of albinos, who were treated as having some special relationship with the heaven, and who lived very short lives, even compared to the rest of the people.

I wonder if all those albinos died out ? I also wonder if the relationship w/mainlanders was strained by the fact that anthropologists preferred to study, and spend money, among the San Blas.

We have some West African Moon People living in the neighborhood.

Flatus,

Pardon my ignorance of Kindle, but how much does their OED cost ?

XR, I laughed because getting the OED on a kindle is only a really silly pipe dream.

The cheapest shipped price for the set is around $900. Then I'd have to get Sturg to build cabinets for them.

I guess I'm cured until next year. Hmm, maybe CraigsList.

I ask, because I depend on a huge 1909 Merriam Webster, and a slightly smaller 1960 vintage Oxford Collegiate - both somewhat out of date. Perhaps a quarter of the usages today didn't exist in 1960; maybe half didn't exist in 1909.

Oh poop. I was ready to run out and get kindled.

Ha! Somebody needs a new acronym!

“[My abductors] are not the MILF..."

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091113-235902/Freed-Irish-priest-clears-MILF-rebels

MILF rebels. Ha-ha-ha!

They've stopped publishing the print version--I think the latest edition is '89 or something like that. They have three volumes of updates to it ( a couple of $100 bucks there).

The CD version is good in that it has a search feature, but I'd hate having to shuffle all those disks.

The online edition is expensive--a couple of hundred bucks a year.

So, I just stick with my Webster's Third International which is an excellent dictionary--seldom lets me done. And, it really is a fine dictionary--but dated.

I liked the old Random House unabridged because it included French and Spanish sections along with an Atlas.

The smouldering passion for the OED long warmed my soul. I was burning for kindle; aflame w/desire for that most winsome dick&geri. The smoke got in my eyes.

Alas, now I am burnt out, a mere cinder of my former self.

done = down

x - Now do a re-write in Haiku form, please.

Ratz!! Hope yours was as good as mine - Sopa Azteca (damn good, too).

Testing, testing - seeing if tethered BB connectionis workable.

The Dutch Irises are starting to sprout.

Are they naturalized?

The verdict - workable but slow (not on 3G network, so I guess that's to be expected.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/john-king-to-replace-lou-dobbs/?hp

So CNN is going to move toward more political news. Be interesting to see how John King works out in the time slot.

"Are they naturalized?"

flatus, would there ever be anything unnatural in texas? are you referring to the iris or to workers in the fields of iris?

The Iris, dummy. :)

Max, I'm not going to get into a tit for tat with you over Dobbs. His passion against immigration that happens to come only from the southern border suggests much to me about his views of the folks coming over that border. And there is nothing wrong with enforcing immigration laws - and there is everything wrong with blaming every problem from unemployment to the collapse of the middle class on undocumented workers. Luckily, in my absence (sometimes I have to actually go to meetings and such) Jamie admirably set forth a pretty good summary of Lou's immigration shortcomings.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270627

"dummy. :)"

flatus, i have you know i'm not as dumb as i look.

Speaking of dumb, here we are taking Bob at face value; they may be tulips that are coming up--as if they looked anything like irises.

"With President Obama scheduled to visit Beijing on Monday, city authorities have banned souvenir vendors from selling a popular t-shirt depicting the president as a Mao-era red guard"

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/11/12/commie_obama_t_shirts_banned_in_beijing

Flatus

That same little bit of lust for the OED strikes at me on regular occasions. That and Landor's Imaginary Conversations plus a full set of Harvard Classics

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

It would be so neat just to see them on the bookshelves where you could reach out and touch. I have most of the pieces, but just the idea of matched bindings makes me drool. :-)

Goodness, Jamie, there're a bunch of them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Landor%27s_Imaginary_Conversations

I started thinking they were something like the tall tales I tell my kids and grandkids--total fantasies into which they are drawn hook, line and sinker. But they are much more.

We had the Harvard Classics--very, very musty volumes of things I should have read it I was more self disciplined.

My 'library' is very eclectic. I have Bale-Cox next to Churchill next to some tome on an obscure programming language.

flatus, you're right. shouldn't assume anything when it comes to cbob. heck, with his eclectic tastes he probably means the iris otherwise known as the
incorporated research institutions for seismology
http://www.iris.edu/hq/

or the epa's
"IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) is a compilation of electronic reports on specific substances found in the environment and their potential to cause human health effects"
http://www.epa.gov/iris/

Oh, and Jamie, you could always get them rebound. There must be folks doing that craft in your area.

"Thank You

Thank you for requesting The Oxford English Dictionary (20 Volume Set) (Vols 1-20) by E. S. C. Weiner, and J. A. Simpson in Kindle Edition. Our goal is to make every title available for Kindle. We will pass your specific request on to the publisher.
'

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270688

Flatus by "pieces" I mean individual books that are in the set, but all different sizes and conditions. Much is already in Great Books of the Western World and I do have a set of those. As to the rest of the bookshelves ... Eclectic R Us - Everything from music scores to cheesy novels.

Every time I move, the nearest library gets anything I don't think will be read a second time. I know I've been in one place too long when overflow starts demanding another book case. I'm up to five floor to ceiling and it is time for the lottery so that I can buy a library with a house wrapped around it.

Flatus

I don't know if you ever saw it, but the conversations were the root idea for Steve Allen's "Meeting of the Minds" on public television. Each show would be actors portraying famous people sitting around a table discussing various ideas. The women were played by Jayne Meadows and Allen was the moderator introducing the panel of "guests".

My favorite was the one with Ulysses Grant, Marie Antoinette, Thomas More and Karl Marx

Now that's quite a group. Two lost their heads, one was an alcoholic, and Marx...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270693

Mel Brooks', History of the World 1&2 are pretty good. . .And cheap on DVD. :-)

Well, it's been a long, semi-boring day, and I think I'm off to take LP to BB practice. Mnana, if I can.

http://www.libertiesalliance.org/conferences/vienna-osce-supplementary-human-dimension-meeting-on-gender-equality-5-6-november-2009/

For Patsi......(the video is a bit hard to hear)

For New Pogo, it is clear that the most vocal groups that want open borders and do not like Dobb's view on ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS are the happiest to see him go. I love how the Left thinks Dobb's departure is their victory while others like Dunne simply left on their own. In any case, you were wrong in stating Dobb's public view of which a correction to you seems like going tit for tat. Hey, we are all free to speculate, but I would advise caution when accusing a man with a Mexican wife of being anti-immigrant. Dobb's first cause was working people who were losing their jobs to out sourcing and illegal immigration, that is, it was an economic popularism he was supporting and not some zenophobic right wing core. When Dobbs was defending the Boeing fuss over awarding the tanker refueling contract to a French firm, Democrats praised his opinion and they did his many stabs at Bush as well as his blasts at Wall Street.

I'm sure everyone will find something wrong with his replacement too........

Raw Deal? http://www.slate.com/id/2235360/

Patsi, the woman in the video (see link above) was accused of hate speech in bringing up the omission of wife beating in a review of human right problems to adress. You can see more at the link below video call Hate accusations v Women rights......

As one commentator said, common sense trumps PC, certainly in regard to women's rights. It is hard to imagine Europe would be debating these subjects. Haven't you long ago considered this matter closed? Sharia or not, men and women are equal under the law we recognize.

John King to replace Lou Dobbs -

Mush rises to the the top.

Star Trek-like Replicator? Electron Beam Device Makes Metal Parts, One Layer At A Time

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110071535.htm

----------------
"Beam me up Scotty"

Jamie, re your post of 11:13.

I don't blame people for wanting to jump the line to get here. I just won't celebrate them when they do.

I don't think we need National IDs, either. But we can mandate difficult to fake state IDs that need replacement every 3 years.

I think the employers, eg, the execs and BoDs, the upper managers involved, should all be picked up, and held w/o bail until trial. Just like we do with illegal aliens. These are human traffickers and way too dangerous to be allowed to run around loose.

For the Corps that recruit illegal aliens, or knowingly hire recruiters to break the law, fines should begin at $1B!LL!ON for the first offense, and escalate to 10Xs that on the second offense, etc. on the 3d offense. No criminal corp should be considered too big & poor to fail. If they can't find the Money for the fine, Seize and auction, just as they do w/poor people's cars and refridgerators.

In lieu of mandatory Federal prison terms w/o computer or tv access, convicted execs and boards can serve in the Peace Corps in Darfur, Eastern Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, or the highlands of Papua New Guinea for 10 years w/o computer or tv access. Haiti, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe are both way too close to the US and places where Western tourists might show up. Howzat for a plan ?

Call me Draco the Tough Guy.

Jamie, re your post of 11:15 :

dobb's wife looks like what the South African government used to call a Grade B White.

I wonder how Mr. Bloggingham knows that she is a Mestizo who passes for White. Also, I wonder how many wives dobbs has collected.

I think the link below is interesting because it does reveal how the Democrats often exaggerate reality (yes, Republicans do it too). While I am in the group that supports legal abortion except in the third trimester unless authorized by the mother's DOCTOR, polling does show far more opposition to more liberal abortion views than Democrats would like to admit. Some were stung by Maine's vote on gay marriage and polls discussing gun rights to pre-empting Iran.

I participated in this abortion debate elsewhere many months ago warning of the problems abortion would present to "public option". Then I heard Obama tell a full Congress that his healthcare reform would not provide federally funded abortion in violation of Hyde or healthcare for illegals. We all heard Wilson interject but months later these two items are still in contention with the prime directive of lowering costs on dubious grounds.....Again, I'm not a pro-lifer though without some pro-lifers on the Democratic side, the distribution of political power might very well be different. Personally, by the way, I have no problem with federally funded first and second trimester abortion. In any case I would never allow the life of the mother to be put at serious risk so no slams please....

http://stubbornfacts.us/domestic_policy/life_issues/dangers_argumentum_ad_populum

blueINdallas,

That's prolly too tall an order for an old Blue doggeralist of my caliper. To be a real Haiku, I'd have to include an allusion to a season, and write in Japanese.

Poor men view Autumn's
Flame, and mourn the price of a
Kindle O E D.

Priceless O E D,
Only nine hundred bright green leaves
Will bring you to me.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbxo2Woz_Bn0ZQL3dUDACHmRKVdQD9BU8F5O2

Feds seize 36 story building in NYC which was a front for the Iranian government along with 4 mosques as Hans Blix calls for Iran to come clean.......

Hello, my book arrived in the mail today! Looking forward to sitting by the fire and reading. Thank you Craig for signing it and dear Ed for all the bother getting us the books.

Sorry if this has been linked already.... I haven't been online too much and am behind on the posts:

Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets of the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front company." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091112/ap_on_re_us/us_mosque_forfeiture

Bleak as these drifts, my
life rushes past without
Kindle's O E D.

y'all get more interesting every day.......

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270708

Beat you by two posts Chloe.....lol

No doubt there are people in the administration and at Justice/FBI fuming over Iran's obvious bullshit. Ahmadinejad recently tested a mock warhead suggesting their nuclear warhead designs will leap frog to "deliverable" and once again make the US Intelligence community look foolish. Obama rightly responded by seizing a money stream that experts say goes right towards their ballistic missile program. Holder has his hands full with Material Support accusations against charities and groups supporting Sunni militants and of course an ongoing operation against Iran's attempt to break sanctions and weapon bans in the US spearheaded at times by NY special prosecutors. I can already see the duplicitous outrage by groups defending the mosques and calling for Bill of Right protection. As we see in the link I left for Patsi, common sense (and common security) trumps PC, though many Liberals don't buy into that arguement.

Iris bend over like,
scholars reading volumes
Of the O E D.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270701

Add all the citizens who exploit illegals under the table as well as a national ID (takes corruption away from the States) and your tough plan would do the trick. I rather doubt the Democrats would buy it X.

Lou Dobbs would have been proud of your answer. My experiance tells me small business often exploits illegals too. Of course I am in favor of amnesty, a qualified amnesty so I guess I'm not as hard as on this issue as you.....

Gotta run. A film tonight about the Ritchie Boys.

I've always liked CNN much more than the two political advocacy cable networks. John King is very good.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/fort_hood_suspect_to_be_charged_DlFZFynj7Db2jTqjbuiLQO

Two interesting things about Hasan's prosecution.

1. Will Democrats support the claim that Hasan's 14th murder victim is the unborn child of the murdered mother?

2. Pre-meditation suggests Hasan wasn't so crazy. The various pieces of his puzzle like his business card's "soldier of Allah" and even his power point presentations does seem to support the notion his act was more influenced by jihadist ideas than pre-stress syndrome, money problems or treatment by the military.

Adding my voice 13 Charges of murder should be 14 charges of Murder. Who is going to speak up for Baby Velez? 12 Soldiers 1 civilian and one unborn baby. That’s 14 counts.

http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2009/11/ft-hood-massacre-13-charges-of-murder.html

Ree,

" Adding my voice 13 Charges of murder should be 14 charges of Murder. Who is going to speak up for Baby Velez? 12 Soldiers 1 civilian and one unborn baby. That’s 14 counts".

I agree 100%.!!! How many un-borns do you think that we killed in the religious wars that we are in??

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270648

Hi Max,
Very good posts today!! Love what you bring to this place...I like diversity of opinion...THANKYOU

1. Will Democrats support the claim that Hasan's 14th murder victim is the unborn child of the murdered mother?

I wouldn't venture a guess but I 'm sure there's a ton of case law and precedent to guide the prosecutor. Although I doubt none of it turns on the perp being a converted Muslim.

"I agree 100%.!!! How many un-borns do you think that we killed in the religious wars that we are in??"

Hi Solar,
What a good point!! I wish more people would ask themselves what would Jesus do?? Would Jesus want reproductive healthcare provided for women or the back alleys??

they usually only charge them with one murder? perhaps, im not sure.......none-the-less........the man is an american citizen and soldier, and allegedly guilty of pre-meditated murder....if he's found guilty by the court system he goes up against he will face the death penalty...........enough knit-picking.....if he's guilty of pre-meditated murder then let the american justice system, military or civilian, extract its due and ice the little feller forthwith.......and if there is sentiment to not have the deaf penalty for him, then let him go to an american prison for years and years......or life........

all there is for mr army muslim psychologist from americans is REVENGE.......ain't one damn thing which could be "set aright" so if all there is is revenge then revenge is a dish best served cold........so the system should dispassionately administer justice.

or else the system is a ass.......

Tony,

Hello. That's one of the things the pro-lifers don't like to hear. Lot of Women and Children are killed every day, and we make more enemy's all of the time.!! every women, and child killed has relatives that become insurgents.

The other thing about what would Jesus do. Nothing much.!!

Did anyone else hear the news this afternoon talking about the Catholic bishops now saying if Washing DC okays same sex marriage they will shut down the Catholic Charities' homeless shelters? It was on CNN. Just amazing. Pull their tax exempt status. We do NOT live in a theocracy.

for various great delvings into the nature and ramifications of REVENGE please see Euripides, Aristophanes, Sophocles, and Aeschylus........

The other thing about what would Jesus do. Nothing much.!!

HA,you have me laughing,you so funny!! I love saying that to many of the god fearing Republicans I run into!! So many of them tell me healthcare isn't a right its a privilege..Most seem to be in favor of all the wars, yet preach undying devotion to the unborn..Kinda makes me sick!!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/11/bearing-witness-to-freedom.html#comment-270726

Patsi,
I saw that earlier!! Its sad that they feel so threatened by gays,yet don't seem threatened by pedophiles in their ranks..

for myself......it just pleases me somehow that for once......one of these jackassed wretched rat gut sucking shreds of dreck has survived his deed.........

tony......forgive them for they know not what they do...........?

what kind of goofy painted set is that behind mr grosch?

"tony......forgive them for they know not what they do...........?"

Sturge,

Ha ha good idea, because they sure are clueless about what they do..The hurt they cause...If you believe in karma, it all works out..

yall talk'n bout the OED.......the sheer numbers are amazing to me........the money and the pages, that is.........way back when, I used to look at the big books which happened to have found themselves winding up somewhere near me.......most of my life intervened and when i came to, i found myself sitting before a magic typewriter which raced around the world on magic slippers carrying the myriad answers from delphi at any time then proffered to me as if I were the king.

can the internet's quick grab stack against the OED's big picture fascinato?

If anyone wants to see my daughter, granddaughter, and misc. others. i've got some pictures on the blog that my daughter brought up with her.

http://jdurward.blogspot.com

Oh and we have two new orcas in Washington waters one in J pod and one in L pod

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010258840_webbabyorca12m.html

I have a tootheache........i must now become one with the percocet........

Max,

As usual; you don't get the point..you just go off into your idea of what you think someone said.

"I wonder if you celebrate our differences as a homogenous world would be pretty dull. There would be only one type of women to pick from........"

I said nothing of the sort..I was saying that there is no difference in the biology from one person to the next. there is one but minuscule...the richness of the women, aside from all of the bumps...is the varied personalities that they have.....not one of them is identical....

"I was serious when I said I have no racist bones in my body. I was also serious when I said that unfortunately we do not live in an age of peace. The way forward may be revealed in what we know of anthopological rules that have shaped cooperation over the centuries going back 50,000 years. Given the depth of our genetic behavior, disregarding the owner's guide might be a huge mistake, no matter our worthy goals."

Max,

I never said that you were racist...but you do sound like it sometimes..specially when you defend that Pig L. Dobbs. I don't give a shit if he married a Mexican...If she doesn't protest the things that her husband say's ....that makes her a stupid person, and not a Mexican..its ok to want to secure the boarders; but for economic reasons that exist now..not the bs that is spread around...this should apply to all visas..work or sports.

No special treatment for any one,,,just like the Bankers did..when they imported workers that were paid tens of thousands dollars less than they would have; if they hired an American.....and that is after we gave them bail out money....we should have let them all fail imo....we are going to pay a great sum of $ anyway...a fresh start with out the pigs t hat were at fault in the first place...what are they doing in charge of the purse again?

Max,

The only illegals that i consider that are reallly here illigally are the ones west of Texas......and don't worry about me being a Marine or not..that was not the point. You did not offend me personally. Wish that you would slow down, and concentrate; the bases for some of the things that you say are founded in some truth..but them you go and twist it to where its hard to see t hat point...

The bottom line to why we are fighting t hese wars to me...is oil...and correcting the past mistakes that both the R's and the D's have made..they passed these laws; that's a fact....we are also there cos we looked the other way when Pakistan was getting the BOMB, just like we have been doing since the French gave Israel the bomb for starting a war for the m..they owed it to them..

.and came thru...but the point is that when Pakistan was helping us with Russia..we looked the other way; while they were building there bomb (we keep creating future problems. Saddam Hussein )...India was not to happy about it huh.....now we are worried that they might fall into the wrong hands....DUHHH...so in the long run..this started under Reagan, and Bush 41...and it is a fkn mess....no amount of spin; or bs that you can come up with will change this fact....As I said before....there should be a nuclear bank...it will work.!!!

Patsi,

The Catholics have been making big moves lately: Not too long ago they acquired (just like a company take over) of the religion that did not want their gay Bishop..they were quite a few of them with a high average income; then they have in place the right people in congress in order to pass that law about restricting women ability to abortion...and now this......they are feeling very powerful lately.....

if the catho-licks wanna be poli-ticks then they can pay the damn TAXES........

you wanna play you gotta pay

no representation without taxation, ya buncha goddam buzzards.......

I'm writing a book.....the working title of it is

I Pee'd on my own Petard

Premeditation is only a tiny piece of the puzzle that we call guilt. Much more important are whether or not the perp knew that 'the act was wrong', and knew what he (usually he) was doing.

For example, if John Perp didn't know that it was wrong to shoot Jim Victim in the head, there is a likelihood that Mr. Perp will be found to have diminished capacity, and therefore diminished responsibility. He might even be found to be a 44 magnum nutter, possibly a criminally insane one.

Jack Trigger may not have known that Elsa Corpse was hiding in the cardboard box when he shot it, and that could change the decision to a death by accident acquittal, or a verdict of negligent homicide. If Jack was hunting Elsa and took a shot at the box, just in case she might be hiding inside, it could still be a murder 1 conviction.

If Joe Shooter was convinced that the well-lit and undisguised Debbie Cadaver was actually a vase full of dahlias when he pumped a bullet into her, the court would probably find him to be not guilty, either by reason of diminished capacity or insanity.

The language varies somewhat from state to state in such cases, but you get the picture.

Btw, one clinical definition of insanity is, an inability to successfully manipulate the environment in such a way as to thrive.

Mr Sturgeone,

It used to be the case that tax exempt status was forfeit if more than a certain % of the ( 2%, I think) annual revenue was spent in lobbying.

Does anyone know if the bishops spent more than 2% politics ?

It is doubtful that one could use the anti-abortion politicking to tax the entire church, as every diocese is a separate Corporate Sole. One could hardly believe that any individual churches spent as much as 2% on politics, let alone a diocese.

However, the US Council of Bishops is a different kettle of fisheaters. They might have spent a good deal mor on politics and may not even be a tax exempt org.

I'm going to bed now. Carry on, if you must, w/o me.
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