Fitz!
and Billmon has a good post about the “withdrawal” http://billmon.org/archives/002479.html

Birds!

Almost EPU’d

Good morning all! I’ve been following this story last night and this coffeeless morning. I don’t know if it was posted here yet but General Casey has drafted a ’secret’ plan for a phased troop pull-out starting in… (insert drum roll here) September! (insert cymbal crash here). Just in time for the mid-terms. Will any Dem call them out on this? I doubt it.

My guess is that BussCo won’t be calling the pull-out operation ‘Cut-and-Run’ or ‘Operation Pull and Pray’. Nice to see that they are still playing politics with the lives of our troops.

and a cute dachshund picture : http://www.dsng.net/images/dachshundwmustard.jpg

tweety!

and ones that aren’t painful to listen to as well

here’s the pull-out story from NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06…..itary.html

House Sparrow. Female. I just hand raised one and let it go yesterday. I’m gonna miss the little thing.

What’s on my mind is global warming. It’s awfully annoying to really take it seriously, but it dwarfs our other concerns. I note that none of the news shows have any reference to it. I think in future books like “Collapse” our civilazation will be in the loser category. Too stupid to live. I’m concerned about the war on drugs, the war on terror, the war on our civil rights, etc. But all these issues will probably be inconsequential in about 10 years. Sorry about that.

My Rose of Sharon are in full bloom, the honeysuckle hangs heavy in the air, and the blueberries are almost ready to pick.

Good morning, Christy and all you other birds. Indigo buntings are quite the lookers. Glad they’re on our team.

Rather than repost all the morning headlines I left at Late Nite 269, I’ll just refer you there. The WaPo story on McLaughlin’s role in the Curveball saga is particularly intriguing — raises more questions than it answers, but at least a new step along the path.

Also see 279 there for a link to Paul Kiel’s pursuit of the question Mary raised yesterday: how can Norquist conceivably escape prosecution. (Answer: eh, not so much.)

The neighbors were on vacation so, during a rare moment of quiet, i decided to stop working, haul the camera out back and take some pictures of the birds on one of my feeders. If you’re interested, take a look:
http://www.wolfblog.net/images…../index.htm

Christy,

I think that’s a fox sparrow. (double checking in both Sibley’s AND Petersen’s Field Guides) I used to get those cuties at my place in upstate NY.

Kos has made the front page of Newsweek’s Monday edition.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13…../newsweek/

Big time for the little guy. Hope he handles it right. Ya never know what fame comes with.

Correction: white throated sparrow. Only 1/2 cup of coffee thus far.

Good Morning.

So the traditional media is beginning to awake to blogroots. Good. We can expect the meme to be repeated: “fever swamp,” “rabid lambs,” etc. This is to our advantage. It’s never good to underestimate your opponent, and we have a much more realistic assesment of the strengths and weaknesses of ours.

It’s going to get personal, as it already has. It will be described (through the lens of the winger sites) as a cult of personality; a headless chicken. There’s no need for us to get upset, as it’s as clear a sign as I’ve seen of the foundation beginning to crack.

Hi there, OFG, howzyer morning?

CHS,

The comment I posted yesterday about you contained a Scooter Libby reference. I did’t know if you caught it or not:

I need to watch my attempts at prose, it might come out some day sounding like%u2026

Out west, where you vacation, the Aspen leaves will all be turning. They turn together, because their roots connect them.

Nah, I’ll never suck that hard.

it’s 5:30pm in sunny downtown Baghdad and the temperature is 111ºF — do you know where your militia is?

Lotus,

Just downed java #2. I think I have a post coming up here soon and I’m really stoked. My meteoric rise to Koslake infamy!

You can rate the Newsweek story. So far 57% voted low giving it a 2. The funny thing is, the story puts down Dkos for wanting to pull out some troops…the story doesn’t mention that Bush and his brain agrees with him.

twolf1 @ 10 – Those are some great shots. When I got to the second to last shot, with all of the birds on the one feeder, all I could think of was BUFFET!

Thanks for posting your pics.

Last week a chipmunk was getting ready to climb up and raid my bird feeder. He looked around cautiously before climbing up, and my niece said that he had likely been chased away from someone’s bird feeder recently. I said “Well, then he know’s it’s wrong.”

Don’t fall for the conventional wisdom that these rodents are too dumb to know right from wrong– they know what they’re doing!

I’m thinking about the Frontline special, since I finally watched it last night. It even inspired poetry:

Oh Cheneyfeld, oh Cheneyfeld,
We see your cold eyes gleaming
Oh Cheneyfeld, oh Cheneyfeld,
From all your endless scheming.
You fought that internecine feud
And now you’ve won, the world is screwed
Oh Cheneyfeld, oh Cheneyfeld,
Of your defeat we’re dreaming.

Whoa, OFG, shall I find something to duck behind?

Say, before things rev up too much, could somebody teach me that search trick again (the one for locating something on here)? I tried it when John Casper first told me about it, but just got a “search completed” box, without any other apparent result anywhere. And now I’ve forgotten what I did to get that far . . .

lisadawn82 22 – it IS a buffet, and I’m payin’ the bill! ;)

orange at 13:

what goes with it is David Brooks’ column in the NYT this a.m., comparing Kos to a corrupt old time political boss. (i’d provide a link, but it is behind their force field that keeps out the unwashed masses).

In the same Newsweek article I linked to in #13, Lieberman whines:

If it were not for my position on the war in Iraq,” Lieberman tells NEWSWEEK, “I don’t believe there would be a primary against me.”

Is there no end to this man’s whining?

Good morning. The weekend threads full of love and caring filled my heart. And with each sorrow there comes a new day, a new sunrise, and new promises.

I am new to the ‘bird feeding’ business but several weeks ago a put out a bird bath and have hung a bird feeder. Early this spring I saw many different kinds of birds but now it seems a pair of doves (grey, with brownish wings) have taken over my front yard and their cooing can be heard almost any time.

My granddaughter can whistle quite well and she can sit at my front window and whistle at them 4 feet away and they stop and listen. Both of them, tilting their heads to get a better listen. It was great early morning theater.

As far as early morning talking heads, I can read the summary later. Today is grandma – granddaughter day for her 10th birthday. Yup, the big 10. Double digits. The big time. :-)

Sort of from the last thread.Love the image of Markos ‘commanding’us,can someone do a pic of Markos as Patton?
Persuade me?Perhaps.Convince me?Shure.
Nobody gives me marching orders.

looking forward to Russ on Press the Meat

orangejumpsuit at 28 — no.

sorry to be redundant (sp?). I missed the late night festivities.

Lotus,

No, I took an entirely different track. And that’s all I have to say about that.

lina, 27: “What goes with it is David Brooks’ column in the NYT this a.m., comparing Kos to a corrupt old time political boss.”

Ah yes, the soon-to-be famous:

“…squadrons of rabid lambs unleashing their venom..”

Destined to be in future anthologies of journalistic hyperventilation.

Good one, Leslie!

GrandmaJ at 29 — ooooh, big plans for the birthday girl today? The feeder and birdbath sound lovely.

If it were not for my position on the war in Iraq,” Lieberman tells NEWSWEEK, “I don’t believe there would be a primary against me.”
—
Let that be a lesson for the rest of them.

You can almost see Brooks clutching his pearls.

lotus, do you mean searching a comments thread? Click your cursor anywhere in the comments area and then do Control-F and type in what you want to search for (for a PC; on a Mac, it’s the Command key or whatever it’s called).

“You can almost see Brooks clutching his pearls.”

Or his Perles.

Bobo=putz…Plain and simple

my apolitical husband just read the headline in today’s L.A. Times that reads: “War’s Iraqi Death Toll Tops 50,000″ and said “and Saddam’s on trial for war crimes? Isn’t this war a crime?”

The Newsweek article has all sorts of, um, interesting turns of phrase in it. Markos’ “allies” were trading emails “with the paranoia of revolutionaries who’ve gained power too fast”? For pete’s sake. And of course, as per usual, no distinction is made between Markos and the netroots or the progressive movement in general.

CHS–Birthday plans? I have taken some sage advice from my Aunt who is now 91 (she was my mother’s youngest sister and one with whom she was closest) who advised me to spend one complete day with the child for their birthday, doing whatever they wanted to do (within reason).

Beach? We can do that. Shopping? O.K., within reason. Movie? You got it. Dinner? That too. It is time spent getting to know them, where they can be the most important thing to me in the universe for that day. There are 4 kids in my daughter’s house and one-on-one time is rare.

That is their gift — Being the one and only one for just a little while.

Ah, thanks, Leslie. Works on just one location at a time, right?

Well, I got out my “Birds of North America” field guide, and the only bird that comes close to looking like this one that is in Massachusetts (where I am) is the Indigo Bunting.

Does anyone concur?

*ilson46201 says: “it’s 5:30pm in sunny downtown Baghdad and the temperature is 111F”
June 25th, 2006 at 6:33 am

What weather Web site are you using, please? I just checked the Weather Channel’s forecast for Baghdad through early next week, the maximum temperature will range from about 113 to 115 degrees, and the minimum temperature will range from about 84 to 87 degrees.

Danbury — the blue bird is definitely an indigo bunting. Good spot! It’s the brown and cream one on the right that is a little more tricky…

lotus, one comment thread at a time, yes. And I don’t believe the Search field in the left-hand sidebar does the comment threads.

Off to the store. Be back soon.

Here. An image to accompany each and every comment about Bobo Brooks.

Courtesy NYMary.

On Bobo: rabid lambs unleashing venom is one of the worst mixed metaphors I have heard in years, and I grade loads of undergrad papers for a job. That is saying something. Besides, I can’t even imagine what that would look like. Rabid lamb is hard enough, but with fangs or a stinger or something? Do rabid lambs suck the biotic jelly our to their victims after they have been “envenomed”?

P.S. to my birthday plans with my Alicia, my granddaughter. What did she pick? Overnight at my house and Sunday dinner with Grandpa.

I have been divorced for many years. We dated for 4 years, married for 10 (3 kids), divorced for 28 years — best friends since 1990. He lives alone and seeing his grandkids is a great gift to him too. And they do love to see him. That is what she wanted to do, and so in the next hour we are off. As far as buying something, she only requested something for her horse. Ummmm — thinking about that.

John Stossel, he’s one of them notoriously librul members of the mainstream media, right?

P.S.

The Sadly, Nosians! are working on an expose of the Clownhouse list (developing, or devolving, even), the super secretive mailing list that powers the WingNet.

Joey bag o’ donuts complaining because he backed a primary commodity (see oil) Sounds like he’s got his primary feathers all ruffled. Poor Joe. Hey, it could be worse Joe. You could be running your primary colors in Iraq.

Some Guy,

I think Brooks got a little tipsy on sparkling cider and sat down in front of the computer.

Hmm, I seem to be getting only one spot in a comment thread at a time. And only “down” even when I ask for “up.” Hmm.

Riesz,23: Don’t fall for the conventional wisdom that these rodents are too dumb to know right from wrong – they know what they’re doing!

Rodents were here before us, and they will be here after we’re gone. “Smart” really doesn’t describe their talent for survival. I think the evolulionary secret of rodents is that they have learned to survive on marginal assets, where humans are inclined to maximize their satisfaction way beyond their needs for survival. That is the difference between rodents and us: we’re greedier.

I use CNN for the Baghdad temperature http://weather.cnn.com/weather…..cCode=ORBB

it’s gone up to 113ºF by now

Christy,

Ah! I thought you were inquiring as to the blue bird.

Back to my field guide.

Conversation overheard on Capitol Hill:

Repug: You guys have no ideas, no plans
Dem: Yes we do, you just won’t listen
Repug: i’m listening now
Dem: Well, I think we should pull the troops out, maybe a phased redeployment to reduce the number of troops to zero over the next six months.
Repug: HA! You’re not an American. You want the terrorists to win with your liberal cut and run plan. Murtha is a coward, you are a coward. Now go back to watching the world Cup you communist. America won’t back down, we will stay the course.
Dem: but…
Repug: I have a better idea. We will begin a phased pull-out from Iraq in September.
Dem: ???

Interesting article here (apparently based on Susskind’s book):

Information from U.S. companies helped Israel locate terror cells

Items from the article:

- Not just “SWIFT”. Includes Western Union, First Data… Rolling disclosure…

- “…intelligence agencies eventually realized that the information supplied by the company could be used not only to locate and freeze the assets of terror groups, but also to track them in real time…[my emphasis]” – odd word, ‘eventually’.

- “American intelligence agents and company officials cooperated in tracking the data trail and in monitoring security cameras installed in Western Union branches in order to see who was picking up the funds.” – Wouldn’t you just love to see that TIA wish list…

- “In early April, 2003, an Islamic Jihad activist went to a Western Union office in Lebanon and ordered a money transfer to Hebron. The Justice Department authorized Western Union to release this information to the FBI and the CIA, and eventually to the Shin Bet. According to Suskind, all this took just minutes, enabling Israeli intelligence to track the person who collected the transfer in Hebron and to uncover the terror cell.” – Lots of questions here about how the initiation of this transaction was identified, and the mechanics of the request.

Lots of interesting things in the article (and presumably the book).

OJS,58:

Having said that, I still prefer being human. What I should do with my good fortune is something I have yet to figure out.

…just kidding…

I used to love trying to see that bird. He’d only come around at dusk when he was hard to see and was very very skittish. If he could sense us anywhere, away he would fly. Getting the picture was, for me, a triumph. It remains on my fridge to this day, 10 years later.

Gotta go work.

Deb

Stossel is a serious lying tool, and David Sirota has begun to take it to him:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..23264.html

Someone should do Bobo a favor and kneecap him.

You KNOW he wants it.

Al Gore was magnificent on Dave Thursday night. I’ve come to believe that he really isn’t going to run for POTUS and I don’t blame him. The political system in this country is dysfunctional beyond repair.

Has anyone ever seen John Stossel and Geraldo in the same room? Didn’t think so.

lotus, you’re getting beyond my tech skills now, but what OS/browser are you using? Have you tried clearing your cache? Rebooting?

How does Joe Kline get on tweety’s show every week?
I’m on the verge of making a nasty personal comment,but will refrain.

Whoa, Les, we’re past my tech skills too. Browser is IE (updates automatically, but thass all I know). How do I clear the cache?

OT but on a subject dear to all our hearts:
NYT’s paean to rhubarb pie (recipe included, natch)

OT — but for all of you, dear Firepups.

Once again, I pop in for just a spare moment — this time, after being up all night with pressing family matters, and seeing the sunrise, now off for a couple hours sleep.

I hate this “pop-in-and-out at FDL” time limitation I operate under these days –

because I miss all of you, especially in those warm moments of recipe swaps and FDL-family “virtual kitchen chats” — bless you all for nurturing this community!

And what a wonderful post by Pam! My belated but heartfelt hug goes out to her! [Thank you so much for the beautiful pic of your mom - her spirit and humor shines through.]

To Jane — wishing that I were “back with the folks at home” (which happens to be on your travel route — I would be on the side of the road, flagging your car down, with an armful of flowers for you), but trust that if God or the fates allow, some day in the future we’ll meet — and I’ll finally give you that hug of gratitude in person for what you’ve created here with your openness and spirit.

And Christy, big hugs to you too — You’ve done wonders during Jane’s sorrowful time, not just continuing to bring the amazing posts we all admire you for, but holding down the fort here with such inner grace and style.

For Pach — I totally LOVED your piece tonight (uh, I mean last night), which brought to mind a rush of memories, emotions, and IDEAS percolating in me for a long time now, too, about the renewal of deep cultural roots. For me it’s not just my boomer sixties roots tugging at me, but also my sense of the sixties drawing from the THIRTIES before that — garnered from family stories and our shared heritage from that resurrection out of the depths of the Depression to make real the social contract. Wish there were more time to discuss that with you!

And to all of you, my dear friends here — Simultaneously I’m so joyful at the bonds of friendship I see deepening here, through shared activism and support and laughter — and also SAD that my “real” life and its struggles at the moment make time online here so (unavoidably) sporadic and disjointed. Wishing for nothing more than to be able to contribute more, in a real way, with my time and effort and real-time sharing.

But alas! [Maybe this is the time to learn REAL spiritual patience, eh?]

Until things work out better, and I can offer something *concrete* to all of you — please know this whole FDL community is still held in my heart and my prayers. I think of you all and hope that these small prayers for your ongoing efforts, and for the deepening of community here, reach you through this wonderful sparkling chain of computer-linked electrons.

Have a wonderful day!
Off to bed now. Will be back just as soon as circumstance allows.

Jerome has posted a note on mydd:

Let me just state for the record that any payola allegations or some quid pro quo deal involving Markos and myself are complete fabrications. Perhaps they are obsessed because they represent a party that has shown it’s complete inability to govern in this country, and they recognize that a people-powered movement is happening in this country that is going to oust them into the bin of history. No one person is the leader of this movement, but as it grows, the fight from the opposition that resists the change that must happen in this nation will arise. Let them fight, we will still win.

Has anyone heard about this? Does not sound good. Comments begin July…

FWIW, I find parts of I35 to be beautiful- particularly the Arbuckles in Oklahoma and the Flint Hills of Kansas. Would hate to see all that destroyed.

Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway
by Jerome R. Corsi
Posted Jun 12, 2006
Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn.

Once complete, the new road will allow containers from the Far East to enter the United States through the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, bypassing the Longshoreman’s Union in the process. The Mexican trucks, without the involvement of the Teamsters Union, will drive on what will be the nation’s most modern highway straight into the heart of America. The Mexican trucks will cross border in FAST lanes, checked only electronically by the new “SENTRI” system. The first customs stop will be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City.

As incredible as this plan may seem to some readers, the first Trans-Texas Corridor segment of the NAFTA Super Highway is ready to begin construction next year. Various U.S. government agencies, dozens of state agencies, and scores of private NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have been working behind the scenes to create the NAFTA Super Highway, despite the lack of comment on the plan by President Bush. The American public is largely asleep to this key piece of the coming “North American Union” that government planners in the new trilateral region of United States, Canada and Mexico are about to drive into reality.

Just examine the following websites to get a feel for the magnitude of NAFTA Super Highway planning that has been going on without any new congressional legislation directly authorizing the construction of the planned international corridor through the center of the country.
NASCO, the North America SuperCorridor Coalition Inc., is a “non-profit organization dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade and Transportation Corridor to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.” Where does that sentence say anything about the USA? Still, NASCO has received $2.5 million in earmarks from the U.S. Department of Transportation to plan the NAFTA Super Highway as a 10-lane limited-access road (five lanes in each direction) plus passenger and freight rail lines running alongside pipelines laid for oil and natural gas. One glance at the map of the NAFTA Super Highway on the front page of the NASCO website will make clear that the design is to connect Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. into one transportation system.
Kansas City SmartPort Inc. is an “investor based organization supported by the public and private sector” to create the key hub on the NAFTA Super Highway. At the Kansas City SmartPort, the containers from the Far East can be transferred to trucks going east and west, dramatically reducing the ground transportation time dropping the containers off in Los Angeles or Long Beach involves for most of the country. A brochure on the SmartPort website describes the plan in glowing terms: “For those who live in Kansas City, the idea of receiving containers nonstop from the Far East by way of Mexico may sound unlikely, but later this month that seemingly far-fetched notion will become a reality.”
The U.S. government has housed within the Department of Commerce (DOC) an “SPP office” that is dedicated to organizing the many working groups laboring within the executive branches of the U.S., Mexico and Canada to create the regulatory reality for the Security and Prosperity Partnership. The SPP agreement was signed by Bush, President Vicente Fox, and then-Prime Minister Paul Martin in Waco, Tex., on March 23, 2005. According to the DOC website, a U.S.-Mexico Joint Working Committee on Transportation Planning has finalized a plan such that “(m)ethods for detecting bottlenecks on the U.S.-Mexico border will be developed and low cost/high impact projects identified in bottleneck studies will be constructed or implemented.” The report notes that new SENTRI travel lanes on the Mexican border will be constructed this year. The border at Laredo should be reduced to an electronic speed bump for the Mexican trucks containing goods from the Far East to enter the U.S. on their way to the Kansas City SmartPort.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is overseeing the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) as the first leg of the NAFTA Super Highway. A 4,000-page environmental impact statement has already been completed and public hearings are scheduled for five weeks, beginning next month, in July 2006. The billions involved will be provided by a foreign company, Cintra Concessions de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. of Spain. As a consequence, the TTC will be privately operated, leased to the Cintra consortium to be operated as a toll-road.
The details of the NAFTA Super Highway are hidden in plan view. Still, Bush has not given speeches to bring the NAFTA Super Highway plans to the full attention of the American public. Missing in the move toward creating a North American Union is the robust public debate that preceded the decision to form the European Union. All this may be for calculated political reasons on the part of the Bush Administration.

A good reason Bush does not want to secure the border with Mexico may be that the administration is trying to create express lanes for Mexican trucks to bring containers with cheap Far East goods into the heart of the U.S., all without the involvement of any U.S. union workers on the docks or in the trucks.

OK gang. Ready to pounce on me over this one?
Here goes.

Agreed, the blue beauty is an Indigo Bunting. What a perfect blue-state bird!

The other . . . . . . . . . .

How about Chipping Sparrow?!

Notice how much smaller it is than the bunting. I think both White-throated Sparrow & House Sparrow would be bigger that that. And his tiny little schnoz seals the deal for me — more delicate-looking beak than most sparrows.

They do come to feeders here in OH too, but are kinda shy, prefering to skulk around and feed on the ground from things the others drop, & they like feeding kinda late in the day.

Run get yer books, birders, & see what you think — c’mon, the eyestripe, the wingbars, the cute little bill & tail, the pale unspotted breast, the size, Yea or Nay. But, lo! wait for commercials. Feingold’s on!!! ;->

GrandmaJ -

Your Alicia is so fortunate to have you. Happy Birthday to her ! My two 10 year old girls are running around the house shouting spells at each other, after having read through the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time.

Their grandmother, my mother is in a nursing home in Ireland – too far away, and they rarely see her.

Haven’t seen many birds here this morning. I can hear a cardinal, chickadees, and that noisy woodpecker. A couple of red squirrels are making a racket, one chattering the other squeaking. Our native sheep laurel is blooming and it’s plentiful and deep fuschia gorgeous.

ilson, thanks for reminding us about the temperature in Bagdhad. This morning on my walk, delighting in the tranquility here, I couldn’t help comparing this peace with what our brothers and sisters there are experiencing. It’s too sad.

Made Jay’s recipe @ 133 from yesterday for dinner last night. Shrimp, creme, and vodka, over pasta, surprisingly light and yum yum goodness.

I feel rather raw and laid open after the outporing of emotions and caring here. Thinking of my dad, gone now for three long years, and my mother so far away.

It’s almost 7:30 in Seattle, and I have been up reading my college alma mater rag (Macalester College, St. Paul MN) It features alumnus, Kofi Annan, on its cover and top story, and I am grateful that he is part of the Macalester community.

Nancy: anything coming from Jerome Corsi, SwiftBoat Slimemeister, I find suspicious…

OT – Dumbo from belowthread 260 – that made me laugh out loud. I also think I may have flunked the quiz. *g*

The Newsweek piece actually suffers from the same basic journalistic disease that the Brooks’ piece does. It’s all about Markos. But this movement, while its roots lie in Markos’ innovation in creating collaborative blogs, does not depend on Markos. He makes this pretty clear in the quotations in the article–he almost always says “We” rather than “I.” He points out that “I’m the flavor of the month; it could be someone else in five months or a year.”

This is very hard for the traditional media to cover. For them, it always has to be about an individual. They need to take a picture of somebody. Slapping Markos’ image onto the netroots is missing the point in a fundamental way.

Don’t feel bad, Mary, I did too.

lotus, I’m on a Mac right now, but for a PC I believe you go to Tools, and under that Internet Options, and then there should be a button you can click to clear “temporary internet files.”

The bird on the right? It’s what my dear aunt and uncle refer to as an “LBB” (little brown bird). Hard to tell them one species from another, yep.

I’d fully agree. That’s a Chipping Sparrow — in fact, I’d venture to say there’s no doubt whatsoever.

The small size is a start. The tiny beak is a good field mark, too — and you can very clearly see the eye-stripe and the hint of a rufous skullpatch.

We get the little chirpers in my workplace at OSU all the time. They set up a small nesting colony and every year we get a bumper crop of new Chipping Sparrows. (Had to rescue one of the fledglings from a mower once — I wish I had a camera, the fledglings are priceless).

Wish you guys were here this morning — just put a batch of cinnamon apple pecan streusel muffins into the oven. Nummy!

Mary, lotus, what quiz? where? (gawsh, I sound like one of hubby’s former students!?!)

Seriously — we’ve had a lot of outside work to do the last few days, so I missed a lot.

Can you tell me what thread, so I can fail it too?
THANKS! ;->

Leslie, I’m being such a pill. When I get to that point, if I hit “Delete files,” what will happen? I’s skeered.

Christy 84, I wish we were there too! Yummm.

Adie, last night’s Late Nite at 260.

“Pulldown” is good. “Pullout” is bad — think “combatus interruptus.”

lotus, the computer stores copies of sites you visit so that they’ll reload more quickly when you visit them again. Sometimes the “old” versions in the cache interfere with the current versions. The files don’t have anything to do with your applications or the core operations of the computer. Does that help?

lotus –

The Ctrl F keys bring up the search function — in a PC, anyway.

Yessum, and thanks again.

I’m not convinced on the chirping sparrow, but my kids are hungry for thier elevensies, so I’ll check in after.

Wonder if Billy is a member of a venomous squadron of rabid goats! ROTFL. I’m all in favor of head- butting!!!!!!!!!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>

LONDON – A British army regiment’s ceremonial pet goat was demoted in disgrace after it marched out of line before a host of dignitaries during a parade to mark
Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, a military spokesman said Saturday.

The military mascot, a 6-year-old male goat called Billy, was downgraded from the rank of lance corporal to fusilier – the same status as a private – after army chiefs ruled his poor display had ruined the ceremony earlier this month at a British army base in Episkopi, western Cyprus.

Lance Cpl. Dai Davies, 22, the goat’s handler, was unable to keep control during the June 16 march. The mascot darted from side to side, throwing soldiers off their stride, Capt. Crispian Coates, a spokesman, said by telephone from the base in Cyprus.

“The goat, which has been the regiment’s mascot since 2001, was supposed to be leading the march, but would not stay in line,” Coates said. “After consideration, the commanding officer decided he had no option but to demote Billy.”

(snip)

Since the goat’s demotion, soldiers of a lower rank are no longer expected to salute Billy as a sign of respect, Coates said.

Capt. William Rose, a soldier present at the parade, said the goat “was trying to head-butt the waist and nether regions of the drummers.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..at_demoted

Thanks AirportCat AND ArchTeryx!

You both win the prize. Had to laugh. In grad school, hubby’s student/veterinarian-to-be roommate always razzed us about LBBs.

And, I take it as a supreme compliment to have someone with ArchTeryx as a pseudonym agree on the Chipper. Should I? That’s quite a nifty moniker in birdland ;->

lotus THANKS!

maybe there were trolls lurking under the bridge, trying to scare poor innocent Fusillier Billy?

Wilson: I wonder why the Preznut doesn’t use Amtrak and American workers to move foreign goods? I have been using Amtrak for several months to get a family member back and forth on a two hour trip. The service is so bad that it seems they are trying to keep ridership down….The train is always hours late and then an announcement says it will be there in 5 minutes and it becomes 40! Fire on the track, train hit a truck, etc etc etc. How is it possible (in the voice of Lewis Black) that a business runs two trains a day to my town and cannot do it on time ever. I mean hours…

I think Jeb named Sebring Airport to be a part of this if I’m not mistaken….supposed to connect shipping with Cuba or something as part of the corrider. It will probably kick into gear the day after Castro’s wake.

Much love to Mrs. K8

xo

Pach

Po’ Billy. Po’ drummers.

Rodriguez!

I don’t usually get up before 0600 on Sunday to watch inane (mostly male) whores spin talking points, so I’ve only been up for this thread 2x now. But, I’m hoping to see Ecuador do their best against the UK. And to feed more alder into my smokehouse. And to be serenaded by the loons out on the lake. And to compile the help people here gave me last night in the revisions to my Anchorage Daily News letter to the editor about Ann Coulter, now two weeks in the making…..

One really fine article on James Dobson in 5280, a Denver monthly…sigh…

Morning all, Just watched MTP you will be soooooo Proud of Russ. I personally haven’t seen or heard from many men,strengh,intelligence,humity,(charm,goodlooks,heh heh,any way) above love of his country than Russ Feingold,and my man Bill Clinton, I never voted for Bill, I didn’t feel he needed it. Bush Sr. had to go. It was at a time when Pres.Bush took us to Iraq,at that to me their was no reason not to. ( but to show you how cluless I liked ah, ah,…” Dick the I’m Offened Chaney”.

normally you would expect people with the political inclinations of Bush/Cheney to boast that they got the trains to run on time … but not this crowd!

OK. Ecuador vs England.

lotus says:
June 25th, 2006 at 7:43 am

If you hit “Delete files”, the only files that will be deleted will be your temporary Internet files stored in the Internet Explorer cache.

Thanks, ck. My prob is, the thang won’t play by the rules, even after I cleared the cache. Ah well, I’m tired of bugging y’all and myself with it.

I can’t believe that her tightly bounded rantings hit #1 on the NYT. Maybe that’s why they’re building those shipping lanes…to help move Coulter’s book. Her big day will come.

lotus: a basic trick when using a Windows machine — always do a total cold reboot !

Okay, *ilson, back in a minute.

Peanut creative activity: if she can use little scissors, have her cut out colorful things from magazines to paste or tape into a collage “for her bird friends.”

Make a family out of play dough. Pets too.

Go thru your song book, share the old ones and teach her a couple new ones.

Write a letter to Grandma or an aunt/uncle in big colorful letters.

Unless there’s lightning, why not a walk in the rain? Get out the boots and have fun. Even better, barefoot.

Three is such a delight but I know what you mean about being the entertainment director!

I’m still LOL! The story is priceless, *ilson!

Nice job on Lieberman, Russ– I will support the democrat. I am not getting involved in the primary. Ned Lamont is much closer to my views.

Re: Newsweek article on DailyKos.

In truth, Markos is important as a beacon, mirror, rallying point, or whatever you want to call him. He is not the whole story, certainly not the whole movement, but he certainly represents the potential power of the Internet and the blogosphere to influence politics “the way she is played” in this here Newnited States.

Whatever the flaws of the Newsweek piece, they at least have recognized the potential of people like Markos to influence politics (and by extension sites like FDL). And face it, they scooped the other print media, though Markos has already appeared on the Tube several times.

So when do we start calling Markos the “Karl Rove of the far left?”

I’m reading the great comments here at FDL. The toad strangler reference in Christy post really made me laugh. Around here, there’s mayham amounst the feathered folks this morning. My guess is the torrential rain last night caused quite a stir.

I lost a borgae, vebiscum and a lily from the pounding of the rain. One thing to keep in mind, if you live around a storm drain, keep an eye on it, and keep it clear.

I always shovel the fire hydrant out in a snow storm but never gave second thought to cleaning the grate on a storm drain. That was until last night as I watched the storm runoff puddle up into a small pond. I cleaned off the leaves and trash in about a foot of water that had accumulated in a span of ten minutes.

As far as chipmunks go, I’d love to have TRex’s cat here and introduce him/her to the little one that has set up shop under my shed.

orangejumpsuit: Didn’t you get the memo?

Feingold was great with Russert. Dead straight, completely clear. Said he’d support the Democrat nominee in CT, that he stands by his vote for John Roberts because he was the best we are gonna get from Bush, very strong in support of a timetable for withdrawal and in opposition to an open-ended miltary commitment in Iraq.

Am I the only one who wondered what kinds of movies the Brits had been showing Bill? I have a goat and he usually aims higher than the nether regions for his head butts.

OTOH, I’m not usually marching through the barn with drums.

Helen Thomas on Book TV 11:30 AM C-span2

I’m gonna go get me a bass out of the lake. L8tr

Newsweek — Markos’ “allies” were trading emails “with the paranoia of revolutionaries who’ve gained power too fast”

There is some truth in this — although ‘paranoia’ and ‘revolutionaries’ are used as pejoratives, and the author needs to hear about it.

The truth is, this whole netroots blog power thingy has grown so big so fast, even the uber bloggers don’t know how to direct the passion into the most productive channels.

Some of it is growing pains, but some of it is a natural product of a revolutionary medium (blogs) being introduced into a decrepit system (the DC intersection of politics and cocktail weenie journalism).

We have our work cut out for us — but the number one challenge is to persuade the Beltway Democrats that we are resource to counterbalance the Right Wing Media Echo Chamber.

One last thought — the corollary counter quote: “Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay staffers traded emails loaded with the invective and casual corruption one would expect from a crime syndicate that thinks it is above the law.”

Which quote is closer to the truth?

President Al Gore will be on CSpan2 at 7pm

YaHOOski — DID IT! Thanks to all for your patient help.

ccmask,115: Sorry, bu what memo?

Sully talking about Warrior Queens on tweety……I guess he is projecting again….someone tell him it is too late for him at this stage…GEEEezzzz

Well for heaven’s sakes, Mary, get you a drum and go find out for us — this could be an important clue re Bobo an’ them! (What movies has your goat been watching?)

Revised quote:

“Jack Abramoff and Rebublican staffers traded emails loaded with the casual corruption one would expect from a crime syndicate that thinks it is above the law.”

There is probably a better phrase than “Republican staffers” — but that’s good enuf for blogtopia.

Adie – let us know if you passed the quiz. Just when you think – 280 comments are too many to read – you realize what you miss if you skip them. THere’s no way to mention all the ones that make you smile or think.

E.g., combatus interruptus *g* I thought they quit using that tactic after the Trojan wars.

TommyY has made me nostalgic for my old Rose of Sharon. It had achieved “is that a tree or a bush” status. Gorgeous thing.

I’m not a birder, but I’ve become one particular bird devotee. Down the hill from my barn and house is a pond, circled by trees. In the summer,early, there is always fog hanging, sometimes in distinct layers, around the pond. When a solitary muscovy duck took up residence for awhile, a blue heron (??) formed some kind of friendshi with him and every morning when I would go down to feed the duck, as I neared the pond, the heron would slowly take flight – a seemingly huge wingspread – silently through the mist. Even with the duck is gone, the heron returns.

When I found the duck last year dead on the far side of the pond, the heron appeared and circled over me, carrying the duck, until I got up to the barn.

I love those great blue herons. Lots of them around here. So stately.

lotus –

What OS do you have? Win98 is notorious for memory muck problems, which are best cleared by rebooting. WinXP is supposedly better, but rebooting is always a good housekeeping thingy.

*ilson46201 #2 and #4

The rumored US draw down in Iraq seems to be another attempt to transition from the current counter-insurgency effort to the neocon goal of permanent basing.

In the NYT piece, there are 3 phases to this plan.

1. To summer 2007: Stabilization
2. To summer 2008: Restoration of government authority
3. To summer 2009: Increasing self-reliance

These steps are essentially a restatement of “stand up, stand down” and are supposed to cover the “consolidating” of American forces to what are the permanent bases.

What is important to understand is that this represents “more of the same” and indicates that the Bush policy remains unchanged. What also remains unchanged is the problems that confront this strategy. There is no indication that the insurgency is going away, security improving, or the current civil war ending. The militias are still the parties which are still the government which is still weak and riddled with corruption. The logic that any side which attains a dominant position will demand a complete US withdrawal also remains.

In other words, this new plan is not new and is unlikely to have any real effect, except perhaps on the November elections.

Pouring Rain in Rhode Island, following a saturday of Pouring Rain in Rhode Island
My weatherbug thingy resets itself at midnight so it’s only showing .27″ so far, but as it showed .13″ about an hour ago, I expect it to rise, rise, rise. So do the weeds, so I can sympathize with Christy Hardin. Some of you may be old enough to remember the comic strip Miss Peach, the trials and tribulations of a teacher at Kelly School. http://www.toonopedia.com/ms-peach.htm

One of her star(??) pupils, Arthur Strim, had a brillinat idea… Arthur’s Weed Garden. I’m thinking of emulating him, in fact taking him one step further with my brilliant get rich scheme. I’m going to market little brass garden markers with the latin names of common and uncommon weeds on them. Place these by the clumps of vegetation and they’re miraculously transformed from intruders into specimen plants. Brilliant huh?

Actually, this is no more than what republicans do with when they call the estate tax the death tax. hmmm… maybe I had better not stoop to their ethics and stoop to pull the darn weeds, instead.

Helen Thomas coming up on C-Span 2 about her book…

D. Ehrenstein at 66 Someone should do Bobo a favor and

I strongly object to anyone here threatening an opponent with physical violence. Let’s not sink to this level. Statements like this can be picked up and used against our community.

Make it clear that you are using a metaphor, or use different language. Thank you, /rant.

Christy — those muffins sound great. Let’s see, from Minnesota to West Virginia — ya, I can do that. And I am sure everyone in West Virginia knows you, so …

Mary,

WRT Rose of Sharon, perhaps you could tell me if the color of the bloom is dependent on soil acidity.

I love mine. They sucker like privet but bloom almost all summer. I loves me some mimosa tree too, and most people regard them as weeds.

ck, it’s XP, I’m pretty sure. I usually reboot only when forced to (reboot = close and restart, right?). How often should I be doing it?

(Sheez, this is embarrassing.)

In the Press the Meat correspondents round table, it was remarkable how many of the issues discussed involved the blogosphere. Broder remarked that he got “hammered” for his Hillary and Bill piece. Lamont was discussed in the context of blog support, including a discussion of a move-on straw poll. Some of our narratives are making their way through, although they are still being treated with derision.

I had hoped that YKos would be a tipping point, and it looks like it may have been one.

Unlurking from the NC mountains to comment on this thread and yesterday’s thread by Howie Klein on Shuler and Kissell.
While our B&B guests were enjoying fresh raspberries from our garden and watching our bluebirds feed their young in the yard (Does that prove I’ve read the comments on this thread?) I took half an hour to watch Sen Finegold on MTP. Wow! He managed to throw down the gauntlet for both Cheney/Bush and Hillary. My dream ticket is Gore/Finegold but I’d settle for Finegold/Obamba.

Howie, you missed a key point about Shuler. Not only is he an ex-Washington Redskins QB, he is more importantly for the local crowd, the UT Vols ex-QB. And, believe me, a pick-up bumper sticker/rear window survey of the 11th district will show you what a big deal that is. UT is just across the mountains from us, they recruit heavily in this area, and the win consistently at football, which is more than you can say for any NC schools. Meanwhile, I’ll be holding my nose when I campaign and vote for Shuler.

Jay #116
Russ was good wasn’t he?

Russ Feingold is why I haven’t completely given up on the Dems

Excellent Job Feingold

A vote for Russ would never be one that could be considered “wasted”, and is one anybody can cast enthusiastically

CHS @ 84 – You are a cruel, cruel woman.

I’d love to see a Feingold-Edwards ticket, in no particular name order.

EW at 138 — You have a B&B in the NC mountains? Wow — that’s one area of the country I’ve always wanted to visit. Some day, maybe…

ck 120, it’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you. It would be nice if the Establishment Dems could see us as that resource, as you say; but then a lot of them realize that we are a two-edged sword, and that any of them could potentially get the Lieberman treatment. We talk about the administration not wanting any accountability, but many of those Beltway Dems don’t want the accountability we provide either. So while we’re not out to get them in any Rovian sense, we are a threat to the status quo. Of course, they would have nothing to fear if they would just be honest, Feingold-style, about their positions and views; but they don’t seem willing or able to grasp that.

lisadawn at 141 — I’ll make it worse. They are out of the oven and seriously tasty. *g*

New thread — from Oilfieldguy. :)

*ilson 77. Thanks for the info on Corsi. I’d heard the name but couldn’t recall how or why.
I’ll take the tale of I35 to be b.s. until further notice.

I’ve just gotten ahold of a interesting suvey.The Republican Senate Majority Leader’s Survey,given to me this morning,with a request for ME to fill it out.Hahahahaha!My response was “Are you shure?You may be on a list by the time I’m done”.Keep in mind this guy is a Republican.His next question;”Where do I go to regester as a Democrat?”My friend,welcome to the fold.
Keep the faith,firedogs

I have plenty of goat problems without drumming up anymore.

Thanks for the round up below of new bites lotus. WaPo really is getting more and more like a newspaper worth reading again. I noticed from CHS’s listings above that even some of the talking head programs are almost putting together lists worth watching – now if they could get rid of Biden and- well, the current “panelists” – I might take some of them back up.

The Drumheller revelation is pretty big IMO. Doesn’t it make you wonder that much more what was really in the CIA internal investigation that Goss deep sixed and which purportedly suggested some kind of reprimand or other action re: Tenet?

Esp with Tenet and McLaughlin both claiming they “didn’t remember” meeting with Drumheller and yet:

Portions of Drumheller’s account of his meetings with McLaughlin and Tenet appear in the final report of the Silberman-Robb commission, which was appointed by Bush to investigate prewar U.S. intelligence failures on Iraq’s weapons programs. The report cites e-mails and interviews with other CIA officials who were aware of the meetings.

Libby forgets, Rove forgets, Tenet forgets, McLaughlin forgets. They’re like a miniseries, with a C&W Theme Song

I Forgot to Remember to Forget.

I wish I had taken notes on a BBC interview I caught via internet yesterday (thanks BBC for NOT making me install WMP…) Anyway, I think the guy has a book soon. Brit For. Off. was app’t ‘Gov. Gen.’ of a Kurdish province. Name is ? ‘Rory Stewart’ (Stuart?) maybe. He had done stuff to recreate civil society in Bosnia and somewhere else, so he’s no crony. Knows a bit about these situations. His thrust of comments about the way things are in Iraq can be summed up with the word ‘absurd’. A word used at least once. He got monthly shipments of plastic sealed $20 million/month to setup the ‘new gov’t’ or whatever the mission was. Cash. The image in my head is a pallette of $100 bills. Struggled to spend it all; returned some back to HQ in Bagdhad; got chewed out for doing so. He debunked just about everything coming out as ‘the plan’. About the ‘insurgency’ he says don’t belevieve it when they say it comes as a result of no jobs, etc. It IS about overthrowing the OCCUPATION.

Just thought I’d throw that out there in view of the non-withdrawal-withdrawal we’re fixing to implement.
—–
Thanks FDL for keeping a light shining.
GrandmaJ – Best Birthday Ever for Alicia, I’ll bet.

oh, and Ed*ward Teller – you gotta turn that story of the ‘preacher’s son’ into a post, somehow. It was harrowing, to say the least.

…and double ‘Oh’ … I’m watching World Cup w/o cable. Univision OTA. Track that you bastards. Makes me sick; using that crap to excuse wholesale surveillance.

At least virtual birding brings some piece of mind this morning. Thanks Christy.

So……..

Dick Durbin refused to say he would support the winner of the CT Democratic primary.

He would only say that he supported Joe Lieberman in the primary.

How can the Senate Democrats’ Second-in-Command not support his party’s nominee?

Leslie in CA –

That’s the point — we are out to get them; more accurately, we want to get out the backstabbing Lieberman DINOS. Joe Lieberman is a decent guy — but he is out of touch, and his time has passed.

We want to get rid of the Vichy collaborator attitude in the Democratic Party. We do not demand ideological purity, but we do expect courage and the guts to stand up to the Right Wing Thugs.

When the DC Dems understand that we will be their best friends or worst enemies, then we will have made some progress.

NPR Sunday Edition:

Host Liane Hansen talks with Republican consultant Whit Ayres and Democratic consultant Donna Brazile about how the war and other issues might influence this fall’s Congressional elections. Brazile, IMHO, got wiped. Ayres repeated all the cut and run garbage Brazile didn’t fight back. Once again, the Washington democratic consultants cabal, chooses to attack or at least not defend the democratic/progressive wing of the democratic party. Listening to Brazile I, I understand why gore lost.

I normally warble with my quite good church choir and am thereby absolved from hearing MSM talking heads. Listening makes me wish the choir wasn’t on holiday. Had I not left my umbrella at the education factory on Friday, I could have escaped by seeking sanctuary (literally). Oh well. Firedoglake is here, and I’ve got a few good books to probe later… the first of which is the short book War is a Force which Gives us Meaning, by Chris Hedges. From what I’ve seen, this needs wider exposure. Anyone here read it yet? http://www.powells.com/review/2002_11_02.html and http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin…..00034639-2

While I’m at it, let me put in a plug for making your online purchases from either Powells books or Barnes and Noble. Both support preogressive political and social causes. Amazon does the opposite.

Glad to hear Russ did us proud this morning.

On the brown bird at the feeder.

I’m not entirely convinced that it’s a sparrow. It lacks the pudginess of body that so endears us to sparrows. Also, it’s got a rather long body and flattish head, although that could be it’s posture – looking a bit intimidated by the bunting. It has more the body shape of an oriole than a sparrow.

I’m going to go long and say an American Pipit.

Headsup to FDL’ers for future viewers. C-Span 1 just had Tester/Burns debate live so I am sure they will replay. Tester was impressive but just caught the last 25 minutes with my two year old who thinks Daddy yelling bulls%$t is normal discourse. 11 AM CST

Feingold was amazing on MTP. At this point, there is no potential Dem nominee who is as right on all the issues, isn’t compromised by his voting record, AND has the ability to speak directly and effectively. He’s the anti-Kerry: when you ask him a question, you get a straight answer, delivered in a manner that anyone can understand. And he stands beside his voting record.

Seriously: is there anyone better on our side right now?

Feingold was great — and really slyly stuck it to Joe and Chuck Shumer: “I will support the winner of the Democratic primary in Connecticut, whether Lamonot or Lieberman” — just beautiful. Timmeh tried to make it a loyalty test whether he would go campaign for Joe — and Russ just said he’d stay out of the primary and let the voters decide. He was so great sticking up for his votes and positions — whether Iraq or censure. And it was wonderful to hear him say that what Bush has done is more impeachable, more serious, than Nixon’s crimes . . . Timmeh was a bit shocked, but Russ kept referring to the Founding Fathers and getting away from the monarch — he even quoted George Will to support his point! Brilliant.

lina 27, here’s link to the Brooks article

http://www.trueblueliberal.com…..#more-7748

If someone beat me to it, sorry for the repeat

This post, with the image of birds peacefully sharing their food supply, produced the following reflections.

Out here in the Pacific Northwest (Eugene, OR), the war between the crows and squirrels seems never-ending. In yards all over town crows scout out lone squirrels, then mass for deadly suprise attacks. Squirrels also find strength in numbers, gathering in trees to deny the crows safe havens, and to attack them, verbally and with various types of projectile weapons (acorns, flower bulbs, twigs, etc.).

What could these seemingly implacable enemies be fighting over? Access to a limited, essential resource — the concentrated food supplies found in bird feeders all over town.

These animals form a metaphor of our involvement in the Middle East, but they don’t attempt to disguise their motives with the trappings of religion, jingoism, or other lies, it’s a straight-up battle for resources. If only humans could be so honest…

Adie 95:

I’m one of those “evil furries” so take my nickname as you will. ;) ArchTeryx has a very long history as a nickname, and if you want more info sometime I’d be happy to provide.

I’ve been birding since about 1984, but because of physical problems I’ve been “out of the field” for about 10 years. That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the birds I do see, though…and Chipping Sparrows are among my favorite local birds. If it had been anything but a Chipper I probably would have missed it cold.

susan 154

Might be safer to split the difference and call it a LBB, if you’d rather — a time-honored custom among birders & those who study them.

morehints: Chipping Sparrows are indeed tiny, with slim bodies, heads and bills, & are extremely endearing little chaps without appearing “pudgy” like “real” sparrows. They’re easily intimidated by just about everything else they meet, except other chipping sparrows. Appearing intimidated, rather than inciting an attack, might con the bigger bird into allowing them to eat together, eh?

-uh- re: “going long” with the American Pipit — check out size (even larger than the bunting), habitat (tundra, beaches, fields), and that lovely streaking on the pipit’s breast.

Sorry folks. I’ll let it rest for today. ;->
————–

Oh, and Mary, thanks for asking. Yeah I flunked with flying colours, and it felt good.

HEY ArchTeryx! 160

I started out in the dark ages, studying Peromyscus on Cape Cod & MV.

There ARE no evil furries in my book, ‘cept for a few faux-conservative humanoids.

I’m looking forward to seeing Russ tonight. Also just caught the tail end of the Burns/Tester debate. I’m actually liking campaign ads like one this morning from Tester, also Lamont. They have a different tone and rather appealing. Can’t wait for the revolution that “will not be televised.”

Hope you all are enjoying your day!

Right now, I would be far happier voting for Feingold in ‘08 than anybody else.

Any word on Boxer’s performance (another Dem I wouldn’t mind seeing in at least a cabinet post)?

Thanks Adie your 161,

I did consider its territory when considering the American Pipit, its within its migratory range. But definitely hard to tell here on a 15″ laptop.

I will graciously defer to your and ArchTeryx’s expertise.

LBB indeed!

ck…at 120

Exactly.

“…..you do not know the power of the darkside..”

Amike #153, thanks for the heads up about Amazon. It seems to me making choices about where we spend our money is an important kind of activism.

egregious at #133.

As a black gay man I have faced more than enough actual violence in my 59 years be able to navigate both metaphor AND metonmy.

Remember the last line of Body and Soul where John Garfied says “What are you gonna do, kill me? Everybody dies.”

Biden, Yea I know Biden dealt with a Cheney clip on Blitzer the way all dems should deal with repugs dismiss as inconsequential see Atrios. Sorry don’t know how to link.

For creative indoor activities (for the next rainy Sunday), google “montessori preschool homeschool” and you’ll get something like this: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfsjy/mts/life/_link.htm

Susan 165

You are indeed gracious, & I apologize. Rereading my own comment, I’m embarrassed at sounding like such a know-it-all. Hardly. We just have a pretty handy library of bird books here, so I quickly took a closer look at Amer. Pipit than I had in a long time.

I know our sweet little Chipping Sparrows really well, as they nest in our yard every year. But I’ve never actually seen any of the pipits in the wild, but just had a ‘gut feeling’ about them from hearing of them over the years.

So I joined the ranks of “5-minute experts” — i.e., people who simply go and look it up in a book/on the net/wherever and report what they found. Yes, the range shows it could be possible for them to be there, but some other things about them all seemed to point elsewhere. I’d had the impression that pipits were very unlikely to come around feeders much, & preferred open country. The books confirmed that. . . .

One last thing: the picture did make it hard to tell the species, and that would be especially true on a laptop. I’m sitting here with a pretty large monitor, and even then I had to peer closely at it.

In case you’re interested:
2 wonderful books we really like (tho lighter, smaller guides are much handier in the field!):

Nat. Audubon Soc. The Sibley Guide to Birds, by D.A. Sibley, Knopf
and
Nat. Audubon Soc. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. (same author & publisher)

Our favorite lightweight, handy reference for in the field is the old reliable Peterson series, Field Guide to the Birds.

If you really want to get into it with behavior, habitat, conservation concerns, etc.:
The Birder’s Handbook, by Ehrlich, Dobkin & Wheye, Simon & Schuster (Fireside Book series)

Nuts like us?: http://www.thayerbirding.com/
plus all the links you’ll come across that way.

Thanks Adie !

Apology accepted, but I took no offense. I love the give, take – and snark here at FDL, and feel privileged to have the ear of so many bright people.

Thank you so much for the references. I have the Sibley and Peterson guides, but have mostly been an armchair birder (woe is me), checking out what’s unusual at the feeders. Here on the coast of Maine we get lots of interesting migrants, especially warblers in the spring and raptors in the fall.

One of my favorite occasional visitors to our yard are a pair of pileated woodpeckers. They circle round and round and up and down our pines.

See ya round

Who the f gives a crap about Markos. Hey, I have a 3 digit DailyKos registration # so you know I’ve been there since before he went Scoop and I have no idea where these fools get off thinking that Markos is some kind of OReilly/Limbaugh kind of character? I don’t go to DailyKos for Markos’ opinions much less marching orders. I go there for the variety and quality of commentary.

Christy, If you ever get to western N.C. and are in the Ashville area, be sure to go to Madison county. It is one county over from Ashville. Driving around in the mountains, you see Rhododendron growing wild and early in the morning, the dew on the evergreen trees sparkle. It’s breathtaking.