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(Lovely photo of flowering quince via Kathryn in MA.)
It feels like fall outside this morning. Yesterday afternoon, we got a slow, steady rain, that sort of precipitation somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour. This morning, the cool front behind the rain has moved in, and it’s sweatshirt weather.
I spent a lot of the afternoon sitting in our sunroom, all the windows open, with a cup of hot tea and my journal, and track sixteen of the Spirited Away soundtrack playing on repeat on the CD player. (It’s the scene where Chihiro is riding on the train [YouTube here]…this particular track is instant calm for me.)
Had some blueberries that needed to be eaten, and fast, so I threw together a batch of lemon poppyseed muffins and added the cup and a half of blueberries to the batter. With a little lemon juice mixed in with some powdered sugar as a bit of a glaze, drizzled along the tops of the just cooled muffins, they were nummy. Mr. ReddHedd gives them a thumbs up, anyway.
I was doing a little research yesterday afternoon, and ran across a quote from Martin Luther King, from Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution – included in this book of sermons – which I wanted to throw out for some discussion this morning. Here it is:
Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God’s universe is made; this is the way it is structured.
John Donne caught it years ago and placed it in graphic terms: “No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” And he goes on toward the end to say, “Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” We must see this, believe this, and live by it if we are to remain awake through a great revolution.
Let’s talk a bit this morning about building more ties that bind. I’m going to grab myself a muffin and a fresh cuppa coffee. Pull up a chair…
PS: So he doesn’t think he’s both gone and forgotten, here’s a song for Gonzo…enjoy.
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Zed head here.
Good morning Christy!
Morning all. Having one of those grateful for coffee mornings. *g* We’re taking The Peanut to swimming lessons later this morning. How fun is that?
We’ve had a hummingbird feeder up most of the summer, and several of the little critters live in the copse that borders our back yard. They compete for the feeder, swooping in when they see a fellow sitting at or flying toward the feeder. Last night, while we were eating supper, two of them were dancing around the feeder, hanging suspended in the air, darting at each other, and trying to land at the same time. After two minutes, they reached a stasis point, one on either side of the feeder, gradually sinking towards the perch, and each got a brief drink before speeding off. Reverend King would have made this a telling analogy, I can only report.
Good morning Christy! Sounds like a fun day for the family. I still remember going for swimming lessons when I was kid at this local lake.
It was at that point that I discovered I was part fish and loved the water.
And I have goldfinchs!!! You don’t know how happy they make me. They are so fun and gregarious.
Morning Christy,
Great MLK Post. He could be talking about the here and now. We’ve built the neighborhoods closer together yet shun humanitarianism.
Good morning all.
Woke up early. Still pondering and trying to piece together my sermon for tomorrow. There’s a responsive reading taken from the Reform High Holiday prayer book Gates of Repentance written over 30 years ago. It pains me that it was so prescient:
emphasis mine.
Will we ever be able to put these words aside because we are no longer guilty of them? I’m not optimistic.
Mornin’ all
I really truly believe this. A society can’t be great until it embraces this concept and boy howdy are we off that track.
A great sentiment to start the day with Christy-thanks.
“Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have seen tyranny, dishonesty, corruption and depravity of types I never thought possible,” Gonzales said Friday morning. We have too, Gonzo…
http://www.latimes.com/news/pr…..-a_section
nonplussed @ 9
And any Democrat involved was prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and sometimes even more.
G’morning. Getting ready to go to The March here in DeeCee.
When I woke up it looked overcast, but now it’s looking glorious. Not too hot, either.
We’re going over to some friends for a pre-march snack, and then all of us are heading out to the WH.
There’s been NO publicity re the march in the venal WaPo. It will be interesting to see how many turn out.
The front page of the Guardian has news of the upcoming US/Iran war. I was thinking there might be some bombs exchanged, but it probably wouldn’t get out of hand. Guess the experts, and a lot of people here, are telling me to wake up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran…..98,00.html
Mauimom @ 11
w00t, give a shout for me!
Well, yes, but some of us are peninsulas. Or, at least, we feel that way with the neos in charge.
Christy, thanks for this quote. I share a birthday with MLK, born just two years after his death, and my family made sure I knew and appreciated from an early age the prophecy he brought us and which was taken from us too soon.
Although I didn’t know this quote, it resonates with my view of the world–and in an era when we’re surrounded by presidents, politicians and pundits spouting self-serving babble on every cable channel, we could do worse than to go back and reread some of Dr. King’s sermons and other writings. We remember the fight for civil rights: Montgomery, Selma and the March on Washington, but his anti-poverty and anti-war voice of his final years is no less powerful and prophetic.
BTW–I seldom have a chance to comment while sneaking peeks from the office or catching up on posts long after the discussion’s over–I finally remembered to check into PUAC real-time! I am the guy who remarked earlier this year that I knew you back in our NMUN days. Mind if I drop you an e-mail to identify myself?
Christy, What a nice start. I love poppyseed treats. Ummm. Just finished reading On the Road, the longing for community and experience. Then heard early commentary on the week’s events: the lies of the W claims of success and the destruction of Iraq so the folks who remain are basically contained in ghettos. Success? What sad days in our country when we do not demand the truth: the lies about the war, reason, progress, and more; lies to the 9/11 Commission; lies about Gonzo, FISA, and on. Impeachment could be an initial step to disclosure and truth; a national lesson that to our spoiled brat Pres. that he sits where the buck stops but has never had that lesson. The truth will set you free: therein lies our hope, I think. Enjoy your family outing. Thanks for getting us up.
Already, there is lots of talk out there about the draw down of different troop levels from Iraq, with Secretary Gates coming out with a figure today. What this says to me is that the Dems. are once again losing the Iraq issue. When they had a chance to end this war, they did not. I wonder if this time around the Dem. leadership will be counting on progressives to help dig them out of this pending political mess.
Mauimom @ 11
My son and I are visiting DC from sunny Cal. We’ll be headed downtown soon.
We’ve got to show those in power that we care that our military is being misused as a foreign policy tool.
rar3 — Please do. Try ReddHedd AT aol DOT com. I’ve been having a hiccup in my FDL mail the last coupla days, and I’m getting e-mails sporadically from there for some reason.
The march will be shown on C-span tomorrow at 0930, they just announced.
A powerful quote Christy, thank you for that today. I am at a loss when I hear wingnuts talk about self reliance, responsibility, the free market or any of the other bullshit they spout. I simply provide them with example after example of contradictions to chip away at their cognitive dissonance.
Michigan-Notre Dame is being called the battle of the Titanics-a race to see who can hit the iceberg first!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 3
Your rain came to Long Island over night.
Coffee is heaven today.
Littleprop has her very first soccer refereeing gig this afternoon. (Ex-Mr. Prop and I met inthe NY Rugby Referees Society, to the “whistle” is in her DNA)–I hope her game doesn’t get rained out
From an op-ed piece Harvey Fierstein wrote for the NYT earlier this year (alas, now requiring login on their website):
I urge you to look around, or better yet, listen around and become aware of the prejudice in everyday life. We are so surrounded by expressions of intolerance that I am in shock and awe that anyone noticed all these recent high-profile instances. Still, I’m gladdened because our no longer being deaf to them may signal their eventual eradication.
The real point is that you cannot harbor malice toward others and then cry foul when someone displays intolerance against you. Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged. Rise up in righteousness when you witness the words and deeds of hate, but only if you are willing to rise up against them all, including your own. Otherwise suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect silently.
nonplussed @ 9
You left out the best part:
Later, Gonzales was feted at a standing-room-only Justice Department ceremony attended by, among others, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. Outside, protesters who had dogged him for months blew party horns and shook tambourines.
wooooohoooooooo
nonplussed @ 9
My God! Do you think he even has a clue about the irony that he is talking about himself, and about the decent folks at DOJ who tried to stand up to him?
Un-freakin’-believable
g’morning firedogs!
builing ties that bind, bridges that unite and interests that require inclusion
right there christy, an incredible platform for the next democratic candidat
they would then back it up with their policies;
“both republicans and democrats want a smaller tax load, the republicans have been promising that lower load but all they have done is raise taxes for everyone but the very wealthy
they have stolen the assets our working class have been aquiring over generations, they have given those assets to the wealthiest people on the planet by eliminating successful programs that we have invested, by raising tax on the working class and by taking away those investments we have set aside for our retirement, our kids education and our parents health care
the democrats intend on ACTUALLY lowering taxes, and the method is simple, AND IT IS SURE TO LOWER TAXES
we will RE AQUIRE the working class assets that were given to the wealthy friends of politicians.
we will rescind personhood for corporations
we will RE ESTABLISH the formula that BUILT the middle class.”
wow, talk about ties that bind, that would bring quite a few of the republicans over to the democratic side I am sure
I’m gonna vote for me if I run…if I don’t run for president then I am happy to lend that bit if writing to whichever candidate stops by to read it
off to work
Mauimom @ 11
Jonathan is there also. He told us last night.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 19
Will do–but first, the pancakes are warm, so I’m going to step away for a bite o’ breakfast! Enjoy the swimming lessons…
Mauimom @ 11
You made arrangements with someone to be you “one phone call” and they know what to do to bail you out of jail? If not, make those arrangements before you leave for the march.
ccmask @ 27
kathryn in ma also.
Twisted at 21 — There’s an intriguing article in the NYTimes this morning about Greenspan and his relationship with Ayn Rand. At least, that’s how it starts, but it’s more a love letter to Rand and her influence on business leaders who are successful. I say intriguing because more of them reference her emphasis on excellence in Atlas Shrugged as a precursor to success — which was the point that I chose to take from my reading of it as well when I was in junior high — and to de-emphasize the more selfish aspects of the book, which apparently are to just be ignored and discarded, or brushed under a rug from public discussion altogether.
But the Greenspan quote was priceless from a letter to the editor he sent into the NYTimes in Rand’s defense from a bad review:
Telling on so many levels, isn’t it?
Kiddie swim lessons. There’s a lovely memory. I hope you and the wee lassie have a great time, Christy.
Alecia @ 17
It sounds like they are after a “symbolic” victory that will give them at least a little influence over Bush’s policy and then they hope for Republican help. It’s lame, but that’s what it looks like. But, seriously, unless they were going to impeach Bush, he’s just not going to listen.
Good Morning !
Hi selise ;)
Twisted, I’m rooting for Michigan this week!
It is, and it fails to take into account that her ideal system is executed by flawed, shortsighted greedy human beings. Of course they would take the parts they liked and use them, and discard the rest, just like they do with the Bible.
Greenspan is a fool and a coward, just like Powell, for criticizing the Gambinos now instead of standing up to them when he could have made a difference.
looseheadprop @ 29
i really don’t see this march as being any kind of problem but it’s not a bad idea to have a phone number in your head (or written on arm).
the NLG will be there with legal observers… the call in number if you are arrested is: 202-544-3496 (for today only, and only if you are actually arrested)
Thanks Elliot, we need all the love we can get!
Here’s some Michigan-ND humor for you this morning…
Go Blue!
hi elliott.
pardon my rudeness. should have started with – good morning all!
need more coffee this morning. i make a lousy insomniac.
Don’t know if I enjoyed the song or the hair and clothes more…
But would like some of those muffins!!!!
Yesterday was our wonderful day, today rainy.
Indoor projects instead of closing the pool, a job I hate.
Have a good day everyone.
Did anyone read John Dean’s knew book yet? Good review via an article in Salon.
He strongly suggests not voting for ANY REPUBLICAN
stating the party in BROKEN.
selise at 38 — I went through a massive bout with insomnia the last few weeks until just this week. I started journaling again, because it helped to dump all the fretting on the page before I went to sleep. And I found that a mug of warmed milk, with a pinch of nutmeg and a little sugar was a good relaxer as well. Hope you get back on your sleep track — it really sucked for me while I was having trouble. (Too much in the brain, too little ability to shut it off. SIGH)
ardens @ 18
Good on all of you!
Have a great day.
My wife and I recently took our kids to NYC, their first experience flying on an airplane. There is really no way to adequately explain the pride I feel for my country, when I find myself surrounded by people of every corner of the planet, who’ve come to New York to have a life.
It’s so obvious, this is the glow of civilization, I sit on the train, the glow lights up the subway tunnels and I see it reflected in my children’s eyes.
New York City never fails to rekindle my optimism that we can do this, we are doing this.
Christy,
This is pre-coffee, and perhaps a bit grouchy therefore
A very very small carp, goldfish-in-a-bowl- sized one:
re: “Scandal” as a good bye song. Patti remembers “the good times too.”
Did Gonzo gives us any? In Texas, in Washington? At least we are alive, which is more than can be said the death row inmates whose cases he presented, the tortured, the imprisoned on evidence “less than thin.”
Until we see him or one of his co-conspirators brought to justice, until we see the constitution repaired and restored, the word good should not be used in his company.
No, there is one good that I can stomach, the “long good bye” of Chandler’s novel/movie.
The good bye, in fact should be long, a long impeachment trial, a long special prosecutors investigation, and although this may shock some, even a long “perp walk” for those indicted on crimical charges.
“any notions of friendship and loyalty are meaningless” from below. Add truth and truth under oath, and he’s our man.
from wiki:
The film is “a study of a moral and decent man cast adrift in a selfish, self-obsessed society where lives can be thrown away without a backward glance…and any notions of friendship and loyalty are meaningless” (Daniel O’Brien, “Robert Altman: Hollywood Survivor”).
nonplussed @ 9
At first I kept reading this as “I have seen tranny…” and I thought he was talking about Rudy.
Mornin’ Christy!
I must admit that I have a racial bias; I’m biased towards the human race.
The Rev. Dr. King’s presence among us was much too short.
on topic – jane smiley’s review of naomi klein’s “shock doctrine”
Gosh, I’m glad I won’t have to go OT to talk about this one I just heard from that idiot Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN.
Bush is proposing a 145million dollar cut to the WIC (food vouchers for low income women with children). I guess this has come up because the program heads wanted to add veggies to the voucher program which funds more fatty stuff )cheese, bread, cereal, crackers).
But here’s how Gupta put it: (I wrote it quick verbatim)
“If Congress doesn’t cut WIC, and if the veggie vouchers are OK’d, that’s good news!”
Now I’m headed over to CNN to give they guy a piece of my mind!
masaccio @ 4
For anyone who’s into feeding hummers, try googling David Perlmutt & McClatchy & “Hummingbird feeder made by Carolina doc flying off the shelves”. Haven’t bought one yet but according to the article, the Dr. is supposed to have developed an especially good one. Sorry no linky; taking info from dead tree copy.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 40 -
oh wow… i’m so glad you are back to sleeping better.
mine hasn’t been so bad, until last night… hopefully it was just a one off.
today, after drinking some more coffee *g*, i’m going to make tomato sauce for freezing. yesterday, i got an extra 10 lbs of tomatoes from the organic farm where i get my CSA share. if it works out ok, i’ll do a bigger batch next weekend.
Oopsy, here’s the inventor’s website:
http://www.drjbs.com
Ratz, the video from Spirited Away is no longer available
You’re both inspiring me – I’m staring at the clean canning jars, pears, peaches…off to the market this AM for tomatoes.
And dang it I’ll need a lot of coffee to get this done…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 40
I know that feeling too. Drugs got me through YKos and the move but the sleep wasn’t good sleep. It took a while to get back to natural sleep and even at that it seems that I can only get 5-6 hours/night. Not good. But when I wake up in the middle of the night I have an under pillow speaker hooked up to either a small radio or my ipod and I listen to NPR which is BBC late night or a podcast. That usually works to get me back to sleep quickly.
I fear that some of the sleeplessness comes with aging and hormonal stuff but sadly the state of the world isn’t helping one bit.
I hear that napping is a good thing. Wish I could do it but my body won’t let me.
Waccamaw @ 48
Feeder here
Thanks Waccamaw. It must be good because they are sold out. I have never seen a hummingbird where I am but I have had lots of other birds. If I buy one and hang it, will I see one do you think? I’ve always wanted to get one.
RevDeb @ 53
what kind of exercise to you do?
ccmask @ 55
IANABE (I am not a bird expert) but lots of people here are. If they know your approx. geographical location, am sure they could tell you if hummingbird country.
looseheadprop @ 29
Wow! I’ve haven’t needed my mom to bail me out of jail for more than 30 years! ;^)
if anybody didn’t read Digby yesterday be sure and get over there. She had two “rock ‘n fire” posts.
fahrender @ 56
packing and moving has been the most intense exercise I’ve had in a while. Exhausting work. Didn’t matter.
I do plead guilty. I’m not a physical doer.
breakfast calls. Then back to work.
See you all later.
selise @ 36
Selise, good for you for finding this. I was looking on Answer’s site and they don’t even have the NLG number in their legal section.
But good news – along with the great folks at the NLG, the DC- based Partnership for Civil Justice will provide legal services.
In addition to doing great work, PCJ’s co-founder Mara Verheyden-Hilliard is a legal goddess. They can always use support for their great work (as can the NLG).
Once again, I don’t expect any significant problems for the permitted demo today.
The permitted demo is separate from today’s 4,000 person “die-in” civil disobedience action, where the participants are expecting arrest risks.
And congratualtions to today’s marchers on their incredible good fortune: despite ANSWER’s participation, the march opening is “rally-free”.
No loud harangues! Woo-hoo! Y’all lucked out.
Alan come lately: He skewers Bush in his new book, praises Clinton. This should help HRC a little, I imagine. Funny how they all save it for their books. Selfish lot they are:
Alan Greenspan, who served as Federal Reserve chairman for 18 years and was the leading Republican economist for the past three decades, levels unusually harsh criticism at President Bush and the Republican Party in his new book, arguing that Bush abandoned the central conservative principle of fiscal restraint.
What took him so long, I wonder?
Good morning Christy! Have fun teaching your tadpoles to swim today. How cute. ;-)
RevDeb @ 7
RevDeb, I was thinking about how progress is often made, at least in the Western world. Most of the time, it is gradual and incremental and not terribly glamourous. Sometimes, it occurs as a reaction to the excesses of evil taken to their illogical conclusions. Sometimes, it occurs when the people get out in front of their leaders and rulers and say: “Enough”.
For this last to happen, there must be a) a widespread understanding of what is wrong, and b) a knowledge of the root causes. (Whenever you hear people talk about “not wanting to ‘play the blame game’”, you can bet your boots that they are the ones to blame.)
How many people are expected at the march?
Mauimom @ 11
Just remember for every one person at the march there are at least a thousand of us who cannot be there. I understand there will be a group of Viet Nam vets who support the war on the sidelines. When you see them remember that you know one hard-assed Viet Nam vet who is with you in spirit. Give ‘em a thousand yard stare and they’ll know you’re not alone. Oh, and don’t forget to have a good time in my home town.
Rev Deb (at #60):
the body responds to rhythms and patterns. i do best when i keep a schedule that is pretty regular. i’m NOT an athlete but i do find that jogging (30 minutes, five days a week) makes a big difference. i don’t mean running, just the easiest possible jog. i might push it a little bit after i slow jog for twenty but not every day. i started out only doing 10 minute jogs (runners world magazine will tell you how for free, on line). i’m sure swimming or any other aerobic would work. anyway, at 70 i can vouch that it works.
kirk murphy @ 62 –
i am on the NLG’S email list for legal observers… that’s where i got the phone number. i’ve volunteered with them several times, and it’s a good way to keep in touch and know if there is any need for legal observers i can help with.
with i was in DC today… blessing to all who are.
St. Greenspan speakes:
In a withering critique of his fellow Republicans, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says in his memoir that the party to which he has belonged all his life deserved to lose power last year for forsaking its small-government principles.
“Small government” is the same old mean and vicious propangandized diatribe that Norquist and the rest of his bathtub drowner cronies promote. Greenspan: Fuck you.
Your sun room with the music sounds very calming. I often sit in my one bedroom apartment wondering why I don’t make enough money to have a place with a sun room. This activity is also calming…actually, more mind-numbing.
fahrender @ 68
here’s the ultimate alarm clock, making the most of your body rhythms
Oklahoma kiddo @ 70
Without elaborating, he writes, “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”–Greenspan
Oh Christy, What a good issue here and sorry I haven’t read all the comments.
The world consists of many very distinct groups which are all interested in maintaining their own purity or integrity… be it religious or ethnic. It would be wonderful if they could get along together, but many of them are somewhat “predatory” to say the least. They either want to convert others to their ways, or destroy the heathens as being “sub par” for some reason.
Add to that that economies seem to run through all groups, and international communications as time advances there is more and more interactions which seems to fuel the animosity not abate it.
We were taught about the great melting pot where differences blended into something new. Next came the alloy of stew concept.. all the groups mixed up without losing individual identity.
This is not working out as hoped, because of the predatory nature of some groups. Gays, for example are thought of as blasphemers and so on by the Xtian right.
I don’t see this getting better, I see more entrenchment and hardening and return to fundamentalism in all groups.
Really who cares? Well we all do… because it is ripping the magnificent quilt apart.
Most of my family is ‘drilling’ (planting) winter wheat today. Hundreds of acres.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 70
he’s also a lying sob. do you read the excellent blog calculated risk? they have great analysis and snark… and greenspan is regularly held up to be the toady that he is. here’s a recent example (be sure to check the comments for more)
The idealist in me can’t help but to think how great it would be if we all did something to help out in some way everyday.
As far as sleeping goes, I found giving myself a half hour before I go to sleep to let go of the day or life events before I try to sleep helps. This includes getting a handle back on the fear or anxiety that I have allowed to take hold.
For me it helps me to remain aware of having control of my emotions.
Also, I don’t eat anything after 7pm, so my digestion is at rest for the most part while I’m trying to sleep.
ccmask @ 63
But, but, our conservative policies really do work, it’s Bush’s fault for not implementing them correctly…. /snark
ccmask notes and it is sooo true:
Greenspan: “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”–Greenspan
Your a little late Alan. Just like Colin.
Morning Christy! Quick note before I read the comments. Love love blueberries. I’ll eat ‘em straight with a wee bit of creme fraiche mixed in. YUM.
It really is appalling how many people we relied on to guide and govern us were absolutely silent when it mattered the most but then tell all when they get paid the most.
Let me guess, Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell will be guests on Meet The Press
Matthew Continetti’s take on the Rudy/Move On extravaganza, called (wait for it….) “Rudy Hits the Trifecta!!”
snip
More, Giuliani upped the ante. He called upon the Times to sell him ad space at MoveOn’s discount rate, which would allow him to run an ad of similar size praising Petraeus’s efforts in Iraq. “We are going to ask the New York Times to allow us tomorrow to print an ad that will obviously take the opposite view,” Giuliani said. “We believe, unlike Hillary Clinton, that General Petraeus is telling the truth.”
This bold move is classic Giuliani. Hizzoner practices the politics of confrontation, in which he chooses a position and relentlessly pursues those who hold the opposite view. In this case, Giuliani’s position is support for the war in Iraq and General Petraeus’s counterinsurgency strategy. And his opponents make up a trifecta of liberal bogeymen: MoveOn, the Times, and Clinton. By raising the stakes, Giuliani emphasizes to conservatives that he is on their side–something many are not quite ready to believe.
It’s unclear whether the New York Times will sell the space to Giuliani as requested. But one thing is clear. Giuliani has reminded his opponents, Democratic and Republican alike, that he remains a wily and combative contender for president.
Well it seems like the big craft show in town is on, despite the rain, (and they have a rain date) which means I will getting wet this afternoon on my volunteer shift at the local theater’s booth. I doubt I’ll melt.
Elliott @ 81
“Appalling”. Isn’t!
Linky to Rudy hitting the Trifecta.
How many times have you heard the exclamation:
“We can put a man on the moon, but look how we can’t do ‘X’”.
Usually, “X” is some sort of social problem, or organizational problem, rather than one of technology or engineering. King’s statement is one such observation.
While technology (especially energy technology) has made these huge leaps, human societies have not changed their structure–changed how they organize themselves–since the invention of agriculture.
I’d suggest that making social change is much, much more complex, difficult, and disruptive than technological change. One reason for this is that changing society in any significant way is like trying to build a boat from the inside, while you’re at sea.
Because everyone has an interest in the ship holding water, the occasional genius who appears on the scene with a radically new idea regarding human organization has a tough sell. His new idea about how the boat should be designed or managed might put everyone in the drink, being circled by sharks. So we either end up throwing such folks in jail or we kill them. Nail them to crosses, etc. etc.
An engineer inventing new ways to collect solar power doesn’t quite face that kind of reality.
Guess everyone has already seen Greenwald’s take-down of the media (9-14):
http://www.salon.com/opinion/g…..index.html
Apologies if already linked in prior posts/threads but I was in too much of a funk yesterday to keep up.
Millineryman @ 83
have a fun day, MM, hope you find something interesting to bring home.
Not only did Ghouliani get the “Standby” rate, while the Moveon ad appeared on page 24A, Rudy’s ad was on Page 9A.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 84
That should read “isn’t it!”
Waccamaw @ 48
Goddamn, I’m impressed. I just googled up “Hummingbird feeder made by Carolina doc flying off the shelves” and got this very blog entry. How fast is google anyway?
o.O
I was wondering about Andrew Johnson and his impeachment by radical Republicans and if he had maybe been victim to a situation like Clinton. Upon reading about Andrew Johnson, he was far more like George Bush (King Andrew)and deserved impeachment as much. It’s been over a hundred forty years from the Civil War, Lincoln/ Andrew Johnson to Bush and Blacks still live unequal in the U.S.
and.. Times has a good article this morning about Greenspan “Former Fed Chief Attacks Bush on Fiscal Role”
and.. I got rid of the band of urban rooftop garden ravaging raccoons when I discovered their tree branch bridge and cut it off. I have so many tomatoes now I’m wondering about freezing them for later, caning seems a little to Grandma for me at this point.
Christy: If the peanut is not used to swimming in pool, you might want to pick up a little ear wax for her. Keeps those bugs from getting into her head. She has had problems all along just like my son had with his ear problems. I think it even comes in groovy colors now too. I swear it is a godsend.
Proxy war could soon turn to direct conflict, analysts warn
US strikes on Iran predicted as tension rises over arms smuggling and nuclear fears
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran…..98,00.html
OK, tracked the humming bird feeder down: http://www.drjbs.com/
Oklahoma kiddo @ 90
I thought maybe you meant to say appalling isn’t a strong enough word.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 70
Greenspan rates a double fuck-you for giving his seal of approval to Bush’s tax cuts during wartime in 2003 — even though he and everyone else knew they would create huge deficits.
He’s just as complicit in BushCo’s crimes as Bush himself. And he left Ben Bernanke a hell of a mess.
peanutbutter @ 5:56 -
Goddamn, I’m impressed. I just googled up “Hummingbird feeder made by Carolina doc flying off the shelves” and got this very blog entry. How fast is google anyway?
Well, that’s just unfreaking scary!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 94
Bush & Cheney have their fingers crossed!
Elliott @ 81
It’s actually worse than that. Greenspan, in a complete turnabout from everything for which he allegedly stood, backed Bush’s 2003 tax cuts even though he knew they’d run up huge deficits. A lot of his fellow deficit hawks actually wondered if Bush was blackmailing him to get him to back the tax cuts for the rich.
I do hope all Firedoggies have been keeping up with what’s been going on over at Mike Signorile’s blog. If you’re looking for the next Gay Republican scandal, there’s a lavish buffet to choose from. And it’s even money as to whether Patrick McHenry or Condi Rice is going to be the one to blow (to mix a metaphor) first.
Condi of course has all the glamour. High on the list of the Most Powerful Women on Earth (though her demeanor is more suggestive of an I-HOP hostess than anything else) she has been living for the past 8 years with a woman named Randy Bean.
Yes, Rice and Bean.
(I’ll give y’all a few minutes to giggle and settle over that one.)
She also has a close gay friend who’s a Democrat.
Undoubtedly a Liberman Democrat.
Yes friends, Condi is Roy Cohn in a dress.
With nicer manner. In fact they’re so nice as to discourge far more senstive souls than your truly from ripping her a new one.
Well those days are OVAH!!!!!
As for Patrick McHenry, his escapades have been well covered by Pam’s House Blend and the intrepid Mike Rogers.
So dive on in and follow all the links.
Bring a barf bag.
Waccamaw @ 98
I remember when Google and the other search engines only updated their caches once every three months. And the Web was a lot smaller then.
peanutbutter @ 91
That is so neat PB, isn’t it amazing! Good work. Maybe get some Newbies today from it.
Thanks to Christy for great quotes, old favorites, from MLK and Donne, pointing toward what we’re for, not just what we’re against (and also muffin recipe).
And thanks to Selise also for the link to the review of “Shock Doctrine” which very carefully, with 60 pages of notes, delineates an ideology and practice which opposes what we want. I hope Naomi Klein’s book will soon be the focus of an FDL book club session.
selise @ 46
Getting closer and closer to the wishes of Cheney, the neo-cons, Joe Lieberman and some others: Bombing Iran.
Phoenix Woman @ 97
a triple fuck-you because before approving bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, he advocated a big tax increase in ss payroll taxes (a regressive tax) in the early ’80s.
increase taxes on the working poor, then decrease taxes on the wealthy (without saving the ss tax receipts for ss). i hate greenspan.
David Ehrenstein @ 101
We were all over that story last night. Someone wrote a really funny one-liner. I had several tequila’s last night so I don’t know where it was posted or I’d bring it here.
I’d be shocked to find BushCo wasn’t blackmailing half of Washington.
btw there were 2 network anchors on the DC madam’s list. I wonder who?
aside to ccmask
you’ve got ruby throated hummingbirds down there, just at the edge of year round.
David 101
Love this quote from the book
Condi’s “Closest Female Friend”
http://signorile2003.blogspot……how-i.html
Well one can say she does come off as a tight ass.
David Ehrenstein @ 101
Hello, David! Up early or late?
Glad to hear we think along similar lines WRT La Giocondi. Elsewhere on the Net, someone was attacking outing in general and outing her in particular, as she’d done so very, very much for gay ambassadors and some such. My reply to this was along the lines of “Hitler used to worry about the most humane way to cook lobsters. And his office staff said he was a really great and considerate boss.”
Of course I am confident that my party will start screaming about not attacking Iran.
Just a brief comment on the “gay scandals” and such. While I’m as amused at the peurile humor of “Rice and Bean” as anyone else, does Rice really fall into the “Gay Scandal” category? She’s utterly silent on any sort of family issues stuff (in fact, she’s pretty much utterly silent on everything). There’s quite a good deal about what she does as Secretary of State (and other positions she’s had) to pick apart without ever going here.
Craig makes sense because of his fatuous stumping over family values. Vitter makes sense for the same reason. But Rice? Where have I heard her rail against the evils of “homersexuality”? Where has she had a hand in lovingly crafting Man and Woman Only marriage legislation?
Honestly. Someone help me out here on why we should go after her on this aspect and not on all the things she’s actually done which are utterly reprehensible?
re the poppy seed
i wonder if averyone is aware of the need to avoid eating even just a smidgeon if there is to be a blood or urine test for drugs?
the seed is the pap*ver variety (rendered infertile)and will cause any test to come up positive.
forewarned=forearmed
also the Iran business is a big con.
Corrente has the story–fraudulent reporter and all the usual suspects.
peanutbutter @ 113
I think it’s called guilt by association.
raven @ 115
Although she has not said anything trashing gay rights and such, she has also been totally silent in all areas in support of same. And has been quite supportive of those who DO trash gays. So by being silent and supporting those who trash gays, the crime is by omission rather than commission.
hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hello good morning howdy hi hi hello hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hello good morning howdy hi hi hello hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hello good morning howdy hi hi hello hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hello good morning howdy hi hi hello hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hello good morning howdy hi hi hello
Christy, we are learning about John Donne in history class. I think this part means we are all important:
SnarKassandra @ 117
feeling better this morning?!
peanutbutter @ 113
Al Capone was busted for tax evasion. Sometimes you go with what you got.
Condi’s just yet another example of the utter hypocrisy of the GOP and anti-gay “values conservatives”. Her keeping her mouth shut – on gayness and on blackness – enables her bosses to keep power (which they gained by picking on gays and blacks).
Look at Arthur Finkelstein. He’s the biggest fundraiser for the Christian Right. He lives in a mansion near Fire Island with his husband and their adopted kids.
peanutbutter 113
For the same reason Chenney or Bush are not being pursued for war crimes. What that reason is I don’t know.
As afar as Condi and whatever her lifestyle is, she’s a power player in a party that uses whatever means is necessary to gain power and privelage for their own gain.
If shes is a lesbian, and she’s been along for the ride to power and privleage for herself that made people like myself, a gay man the enemy, then if this is a way to take it down, I’m all for it.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 112
What party would that be? Are you in a parallel dimension where President Gore is working together with the Congress to build a workable peace in the Middle east?
‘Cause I’m not real confident in any of the parties here in this dimension.
Hiya Elliott
Yep! Temp is normal but I am still coughing. Almost feel like me again!
I even posted a blog post about Gonzo being Gone-Zo.
For those who missed it, here is the video of Sen. Hagel on Bill Maher last night. Says we are bogged down in Iraq, this country is off-balance….
She has been utterly silent about the MASSIVE number of state sponsored executions of gays and lesbians performed around the globe by our (ahem)friends.
And we all know what silence equals, right folks?
peanutbutter @ 113
because you are in a world wide battle for ordinary people to live their lives free of a self described elite feeding on the future of our children.this battle is centered on the integrity of your constitution and the validity of the rule of law.
the respect shown to the proponants of the rule of the self-described elite,shall be precisely the respect shown by the self-described elite.
she is fair game.
Elliott @ 7:10 -
“just at the edge of year round”
What a lovely piece of wordsmithing!
Phoenix Woman @ 100
I read that the whole first half of the book is about his respect for Clinton. Wall Street must be reading it with a fine-tooth comb this weekend. I agree, too little, too late Alan traitor Greenspan.
Elliott @ 109
Thanks Elliott. I am getting one verysoon then…I’ll keep it in my favorites. Thanks.
SnarKassandra @ 122
“Wouldn’t it be nice if Bush would nominate some honest lawyers who respect the constitution to head up the justice department?”
indeed it would, Cassie
Bartcop has the latest in Big Daddy fluffing from the obsequious Mike Allen of Politic-ho:
“Fred Thompson — from his calm manner to his teddy-bear-like physique — cuts a
soothing persona at a time when polls show that voters are extremely worried
about security. ‘He’s the biggest daddy bear around,’ chortled one longtime friend.”
— Mike Allen, wishing he was in a Mens Room stall with Fraud Thompson
-GSD
dakine01 @ 116
And of all the things she’s done, this is the one to go after her on?
I’m still not convinced. Foley, he was targeting underaged interns. You have any number of adulterers (while publicly spouting Teh Family line), rapists (doesn’t matter what you spout here). Solicitations of sex in public places. Probable use of public monies to run prostitution rings — all of these with the adultery excepted, actual crimes.
But the one woman, who has a private life, who is not otherwise married, who has not made any kind of public fetish about Teh Family is getting lumped in here?
I mean, this is the woman who could have the PERFECT Ward’n’June marriage who could still be hauled up for questioning in a war crimes tribunal for her actions. Or be proven complicit in a gross neglect of national security in ignoring the August 2001 warnings about terrorist activity. And it’s her (possible) sex life that will get the legs?
Sorry, I ain’t buying it.
SnarKassandra @ 117
Or that we all need each other.
Hi hi hi yourself! Hope you’re feeling better. You certainly are bouncing in with more Hi’s than in the last few days!
Waccamaw @ 126
gee, thanks Waccamaw,
Glad you’re out of your funk.
cleter @ 121
This was a sarcastic remark directed at my party. I am a Gore fan. ;0)
David Ehrenstein @ 124
complicity
peanutbutter @ 131
any port in a storm
and the gale is howling through the ri
SnarKassandra @ 117
Somebody broke your code last night Cassie. You give a hi hello for the number of unique users on the thread. I love it. Hope you feel better this morning.
GSD @ 130
Anybody got a spare barf bag?
Phoenix Woman @ 100
I distinctly remember that. It was a complete departure of everything he’d done up to then.
If you look back now, it seems there’s plenty in hindsight to show where he could go given the right conditions, but at the time I was stunned, too.
ccmask @ 137
I feel pretty good.
Nope. I just look at how many comments there are and then guess how many people.
ccmask @ 123
If he was the Republican nominee, he would beat Hillary. He scares me a little. I’m glad he’s not going to be their nominee.
I think Fred Thompson is even less intellectually curious than Bush. And, I don’t think the press is covering it up. I give him till January.
peanutbutter @ 113
can’t remember which one right now, but someone linked yesterday to a blog which pointed out that as SecState, she failed to condemn the killing of two Muslim boys for engaging in homosexual sex; and other similar examples. I think it’s appropriate to criticize someone in her position for being silent when she should have spoken. I’ll try to find the link. (raw story, perhaps?)
Condi was in favor of the war in Iraq and she is 100% pro oil and not pro-US. That is much worse than hiding who she lives with.
may @ 136
What does it mean that you are not buying it?
yeah, here it is
http://rawstory.com//news/2007….._0914.html
peanutbutter @ 131
That is more my take on it. There are far more serious issues. But… it is after all a big tent, so if you want to fry her for her sex, by all means, I don’t mind.
ccmask @ 123
But he didn’t say directly that Bush can’t bomb Iran w/o Congressional approval. I need, badly, to know that they will prevent a strike.
GSD @ 130
See, I don’t see it. When I look at Thompson, I don’t see “comforting teddy bear physique.” I see “wow, that ugly, addled old guy looks unhealthy.”
SnarKassandra @ 144
And Al Capone committed all kinds of crimes including murder and they got him for tax evasion.
“”Condi was in favor of the war in Iraq and she is 100% pro oil and not pro-US”"
I think you meant to say Hillary. I do not believe we have heard Condi’s personal views on the war.
Peanutbutter: Sometimes a rice & bean scandal can be an unhappy Dem’s best friend.
I say go for it.
Kathryn of MA, that is a beautiful picture!
raven @ 150
But being gay or lesbian is not a crime.
cleter @ 149
lmao, same here.
solai @ 142
He’s Dick Cheney’s body with George Bush’s brain.
That’s not an improvement, even if you add some “Matlock” mannerisms.
SnarKassandra @ 153
I think we are talking about exposing hypocrisy and I was using an analogy. If the analogy doesn’t work for you that’s ok.
twȝk @ 154
When I hear him talk, I think, “why is Matlock’s voice coming out of Grandpa Munster?”
Hi, Cassie!
John Donne’s an fascinating case. His later writings are interesting, but to me somewhat forced, as the main impetus for his conversion was not moral or faith-based, but a father’s and husband’s desperate desire to keep his starving family alive (he was a Catholic at a time when English Catholics were being stripped of their rights and a good chunk of their money). His earlier love-lyrics sound more honest to me, though I can feel the pain of these lines come through with shockingly modern clarity:
A Hymn to God the Father
WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done; 5
For I have more.
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sins their door?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow’d in a score? 10
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done;
For I have more.
I have a sin of fear, that when I’ve spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by Thyself that at my death Thy Son 15
Shall shine as He shines now and heretofore:
And having done that, Thou hast done;
I fear no more.
SnarKassandra @ 153
None of us here are saying she should be arrested for being gay. What we are saying is that she shouldn’t be acting as a Kapo or a “house servant”, working for those who would use fear of gays and blacks to keep power.
Just bought Savage’s Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency yesterday.
Anybody read it yet?
cleter @ 149
agreed. He is, as they say, ugly as sin. He reminds me of the Picture of Dorian Gray — the one in the attic. His appeal to any sentient being of any species completely eludes me.
twȝk @ 154
Agree. He is as lazy as I am since he needs a golf cart to move his butt around and visit people. I do the same thing. I wish I could just go out for a walk but it is just too boring for me. I love getting in my cart, and driving to the grocery store or just thru the neighborhood. But he is just a pampered ass.
may @ 136
I’ll be more blunt, then. I think this is happening in no small part becasue she is female and she is black.
Show me a man, with a similar degree of public wrong doings that one coudl go after, a similar quiet private life, a similar lack of public hypocritical spouting on Teh Family, who is getting targeted for possibly being gay, and I’ll shut up. No illegalities may be involved in the private life (eg, public solicitation, misuse of taxpayer money, underage partners, forced sex, etc).
Who?
oddmommy @ 143
Why all this stretching when there’s SO MUCH MATERIAL right now you don’t even have to bug hunt for.
I don’t like it. I dno’t have a problem in general with outing hypocrits and lawbreakers. But this one is bugging me, and believe you me, I despise Rice.
Remember how folks (including me) were pointing out how hypocritical it was of the Repubs to throw Craig under the train but not Vitter, even tho they had both done similar (argubly Vitter’s is worse) stuff? There’s a similar level of meta-hypocrisy here that I’m whiffing.
Getting someone on a lesser criminal charge is all well and good (the Capone reference). But being gay or lesbian IS NOT A CRIME.
Public solicitation: crime.
Public monies on sex rings: crime.
Predation on minors: crime.
Rape: crime.
cleter @ 149
In the beginning, they were trying to sell how good-looking he was. When there was a massive response of “Whaaat???”, they seemed to back off. Now they’re into Thompson being a big old bear who will protect you with his massive embrace. We’ll see if that sells better.
Personally, I don’t think it will.
A headline about Mike McConnell yesterday read Spy Master Admits Error. Heh.
Oh man…protesters…no buses allowed to enter DC district without a permit – new rule..:
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/15/95825/4948
peanutbutter @ 162
So that’s the way you see it. I still don’t understand what you are getting at. Are you trying to sway other’s to you point of view? I can’t buy Jim Webb because of his stance on Vietnam and I comment on it all the time. . .and no one else cares.
I have to stop reading the first posts on Saturday mornings. I am on a diet and your description of the wonderful breakfasts you make are just too much! I have to get something (that’s really fattening) … quick! LOL
LS @ 165
Is that legal?
SnarKassandra @ 153
given their official and very public position?
raven: actually I AM interested in your point of view about Webb, though I don’t quite understand it.
Shell @ 167
I am still not hungry cause I have a cold. I didn’t even eat breakfast yet. Just juice.
LS @ 165
Geez. It never stops, does it? And you can’t even purchase one and print it out immediately like you can with fishing licenses. What a bummer. Is it walkable at that point, I wonder?
raven @ 166
I should say that’s pretty much the point of any comment or indeed post by anyone here. Not sure what you’re saying here? I should shut up because I won’t convince anyone or get anyone to think a bit more about something?
SnarKassandra @ 168
unfortunately, it probably is. The city gov’t can require a permit to do just about anything.
SnarKassandra @ 168
It was supposedly a permit required for “tour” buses in DC to get revenue, but it will apply to any buses that will arrive there today. If they go into DC without the permit, they get a $500 fine.
Surely the tour bus companies that regular run trips into Washington are aware of it since it went into effect in August.
Until Lawrence vs. Texas overturned the sodomy laws nationwide just a few short years go being gay or lesbian WAS a crime.
And what is gay/lesbia life like in “Free Iraq”?
Don’t ask cause I’ll tell.
cleter @ 157
lol, I’ve never had the sound on when he speaks but he looks, to me, like a caricature of one those paintings of dogs playing p*k*r. I just see him with a cigar, whiskey and half a deck.
Edited and released by Mods
Did the Bushies put pressure on the city to do that and then keep it a secret so none of the buses would get the permit in time?
I’m off to the march (never one to be an early bird.) I’ll keep an eye out and see if I cross paths with any pups; oddly, though I mentioned several times this week I was going, I never happened to be on the same thread with anyone else who was.
oops, i forgot the dread word p*ker!
David Ehrenstein @ 177
I understand that what gay men do is called sodomy, but what do lesbians do that can be called a crime in any way?
oddmommy @ 170
If you read his books “Fields of Fire and A Country Such as This” or his comments about the VVAW and Kerry
Kerry and his VVAW compatriots portrayed their fellow veterans as unwilling soldiers, morally debased and haunted by their service. While this might have fit a small minority, the most accurate survey, done by the Harris Poll in 1980, showed that 91% of those who went to Vietnam were “glad they served their country,” 74% “enjoyed their time in the military” and 89% agreed with the statement that “our troops were asked to fight in a war which our political leaders in Washington would not let them win.”
You will see that he agrees with Bush’s idea that Vietnam was a noble cause and that we should have stuck it out. This is very personal to me. We came home and, because of our experience, saw that the war in Vietnam was wrong and set out to try to stop it. The Vietnam War was predicated on lies and a lack of understanding of the Vietnamese. How he can justify one and oppose the other is beyond me.
ccmask @ 172
defending the privacy of a high official at the centre of the regime that is responsible for even this curtailment of your right to free assembly?
race,gender and sexuality can be shields as well as weapons.
peanutbutter @ 173
So PB — to make sure I understand what you are saying — is it that we shouldn’t attack Rice for being a hypocrite and an enabler of the anti-gay agenda because no one would bother to attack her for that if she was a white gay man?
Elliott @ 176
I would think so.
peanutbutter @ 173
Not at all, I find your perspective interesting.
Today my husband and I will be attending a fundraiser for the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, a grassroots organization working for progressive social change. Ned Lamont, Chris Murphy (CT-5) and other distinguished guests wil be there. There is so much work to be done, to undo the devastation of the Bush reign of terror; the focus right now is to make sure that targeted voters are not purged from the registrars’ offices. Lots of work awaits, but with high principled men such as Lamont we will succeed.
Redshift @ 179
be safe!
and thank you.
SnarKassandra @ 181
That was a problem the military had in WWII. They wanted to weed out the gays and lesbians. They could boot out gay men for sodomy, which they could broadly define as a man monkeying around with another man’s wee-wee. But there was not a comparable illegal act on the books for lesbians.
SnarKassandra @ 178
Honestly, I doubt it; DC government tends to hate Republican federal government because they get screwed by the feds constantly whenever the Republicans are in power.
I wish I could go with you Redshift.
oddmommy @ 184
I am saying that it looks like a double standard here. And yes, I’m thinking if she were exactly the same only white & male (hell, just male), this likely wouldn’t be coming up at all.
In every case, in the males that I cited, their behavior went on until something criminal emerged and couldn’t be stuffed back down.
I tend to get annoyed at double standards.
Redshift @ 180
hey Redshift — can you give me a quick lowdown on what the schedule is? I have kids’ soccer games this afternoon but I might try to make it in later.
SnarKassandra @ 153
No – and it never should be. [Nevertheless, GLBT youths’ sexual acts may be prosecutable in ways that M/F youths’ acts may not - which is awful.]
Condi has ridden to power with those who very deliberately use sexual orientation as a tool for political destruction.
Her sexual orientation makes her a target for destruction by the Rethugs fundy wing….the same people who use their White House ties to cut funding for GLBT youth mental health programs.
The most prominent gay
memberfemale Bushie kept silent while her admin’s political shock troops – the fundie preachers – used sexual orientation (and race) as wedge issues for Bush’s political gain.Condi’s sexual orientation is no problem.
Condi’s hypocrisy about the Bushites’ hateful GLBT propaganda is problem – tying that to the public/media’s reflexive appetite for “sex stories” keeps the focus on Condi’s lust for power and devouring ambition.
Making her a target for Rethug fundies also damages this war criminal’s chances be politically exhumed and sent back to power.
fair’s fair.
how much respect does this regime have for the “little people”
off to farmers’ mkt -
have fun at the march, redshift!
may @ 195
zero %
Good Morning Christy and pups.
Our morning is definitely in full Autumn Mode today. Feels invigorating, with beautiful bright sun. Our kitties are stretched out in their favorite sunny spot indoors, lazily watching the bird feeders in tw’ naps.
Christy. I thank you for this topic. We need to remember the giants and what they attempted, against long long odds and very great danger. I think back to what Martin Luther King accomplished through his eloquence, his pure courage, his vision. There are precious few today who could stand as tall.
The whole boosh administration is a raw wound, a hideous obscenity compared to MLK’s legacy.
Mind you, if this Rice and Beans brings her down, I won’t exactly mourn. I’d love to see her go. I’d still, however, be shaking my head at the fact that you can ignore terrorist attack warnings and not lose your job; you can be one of the architects over the complete disintegration of the Middle East and not lose your job; you can be a probable war criminal in helping set up the stage for preemptive attacks on at least one country and not lose your job. But you co-own a house with another woman and *bam* you’re gone.
We’ll see what happens, I suppose…
And raven, I’ve found your comments on Webb of interest. I haven’t said anything, mostly because I simply don’t have the background on much of it to add or question further on it. Most of my experiences with the fallout from Vietnam are in dealing with abusive adults who were themselves traumatized by their untreated-PTSD veteran fathers. Which isn’t exactly indepth knowledge and I know it.
Sounds like Webb is incremental progress: He’s better than Allen whom he defeated; and a progressive in his place would be better than him. So I suppose that’s something to work on for 2012?
RevDeb’s prayer at #7 blew me away! 30 years ago!
Mornind, everyone. Day two of putting up more food from the summer and getting ready to smoke 100 pounds of Silver salmon my bodyguard is bringing over this afternoon.
Ed*ard Teller @ 200
OH HAI. IZ HERE TO HELP U WIT FISHIES. KTHXPLZBAI
Perfectly on topic. Just saw this from Canada:
There’s more at the link. Made my day. :)
oh – quick check on DC bus diary – you can still come in today by tour bus: here’s how -
(omg – I quoted the whole thing! I have to leave the house before the orange
copyright nanniesanti-fair use bores get wind of this…)LS @ 166
That’s one to prevent any popular dissent where the ruling class might see it, create our very own “Forbidden City”. To use one of my favorite FDLisms, “What sort of fuckery is this?”
Audrey @ 202
Woot! That’s wonderful!
oddmommy @ 193
I actually can’t find a lot of details, but the basic schedule is “gather at noon at the White House and march to the Capitol, followed by a rally on the West Lawn of the Capitol.” (Though there were other events by various groups in the morning.) The march itself will probably start later than noon and will take at least a couple of hours, and as for how long the rally runs, your guess is as good as mine.
peanututter
I appreciate your point of view, however to be honest he race and gender has nothing to do with it for me. I look at the person and what their intent and actions are.
I respect people’s privacy when they respect mine. When they support in an invasion into who I am, and my life, then they deserve the same scrutiny.
Audrey that is SO COOL!
I think we will do something at youthinkleft.com about that.
Adie @ 200
The idea of non-violent action has in the back of my mind all week. It is a proven method of effecting change upon a superior force.
I wonder if an analogous method could be used against GOP media. That has been on the back of mind without any true clarity.
Millineryman @ 207
That’s fine. I’ll wait till I see a man in the same position as Rice, then. If you have examples, I’d love to know.
Since when is a grumpy old man considered ’soothing’?
I don’t get these big daddy worshippers one bit.
-GSD
Congratualtions to today’s marchers on their incredible good fortune: despite ANSWER’s participation, the march opening is “rally-free”.
No loud harangues! Woo-hoo! Y’all lucked out.
die-in is acting, right? pretend?
SnarKassandra @ 215
Yes. God willing, no one will die.
peanutbutter @ 200
One can hope! Have a good one, I’m off to take a 8 year old to her first Georgia football game!
SnarKassandra @ 213
Yes:
“…the leadership of a mass die-in symbolizing the deaths of an estimated 4,000 U.S. servicemembers…”
“symbolizing” tells you that what will happen here is the same number of people as have been killed will lay down or otherwise represent those killed to give a visual depiction of the cost and magnitude of all these deaths.
peanutbutter @ 203
lol, 1 c4n h4z 5ish?
raven @ 215
You too! I’m off to work on the house now, it’s been a fun morning, but I gots things to do, too :-)
ccmask @ 215
Not if you were one of the buddhist monks in Saigon or the guy that lit himself on fire at the Pentagon years ago.
Thanks PB. I was a tiny bit worried for a minute.
SnarKassandra @ 215
It isn’t a new term. There have been others protesting the Iraq Wars, and protesting last summer’s Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
be of good heart.
it is excellent that this concern is out in the open and does you credit.
in a perfect world the crimes of this regime would never have arisen.
and an individuals private life never enter into the political arena.
Looks like some geeks are infesting the smokehouse…
Ed*ard Teller @ 222
Goes back a little further than that, but you knew that. :)
Ed*ard Teller @ 221
I have only been to protests, marches and memorials. Never to a die-in.
Bye Bye, Sen. Ted Stevens!
Former Veco chairman Bill Allen might have been on the witness stand to present bribery evidence against a state legislator, but the biggest shock of the day — perhaps the entire trial — was his assertion Friday that he or his company financed a substantial portion of the remodeling of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens’ Girdwood home.
As he testified for the third day in the bribery, extortion and conspiracy trial of former House Speaker Pete Kott, R-Eagle River, gasps emerged around the crowded courtroom when Allen admitted he provided workers and some material for the 2000 building project that doubled the size of Stevens’ official residence.
BTW – Allen wasn’t reimbursed by Sen. Stevens. At least in any legal sense of the word “reimburse…”
They still call it sodomy.
As for the military getting rid of lesbians, that has always been an easy call for the male officer class. Proposition her and if she own’t fuck you she’s a dyke.
That also served to get rid of recalcitrant females who weren’t of the lesbianic persuasion.
PW upstairs with OBL
SnarKassandra @ 210
If you’re still here, I love it. Post a link when you do, please. :)
SnarKassandra @ 227
Here’s where the term came from
News from OH:
This past Tuesday was primary day for the mayoral race in Akron OH. 200 absentee ballots failed to arrive in time to be counted, reportedly “due to a mixup in the U.S. Postal Service.”…
The Ohio Secy of State’s Office has “instructed the Summit County Board of Elections not to count those ballots that were delivered late through no fault of the voters.”…
The Postal Service “has apologized for the mishap. Some of the ballots were postmarked before Tuesday (primary election day), and some were not postmarked at all.
“Nearly all of the ballots were mailed over the weekend or Monday and failed to be processed through the main Akron post office”…
http://www.ohio.com/news/9797752.html
We’re still not there, folks.
Keep marching…
Beans and rice have also been called “Christians & Moors”, I hear. I had never heard of that before.
ET, if you’re still here -
Can you give me your recipe for making and freezing pesto……hopefully with fairly specific quantities of ingredients?
Have four plants in pots and no idea whether that will produce anywhere near enough leaves.
Also, any nut possibilities other than pinenuts or walnuts?
peanutbutter @ 194
Closeted gay male white Republicans are betraying gay men. Condi’s betraying gays, women and blacks by working for people who’ve come to political power largely by attacking those three groups.
Christy,
Thanks for the link to the CD. It is hauntingly beautiful. I would not have normally found this CD. I ordered it. Thanks again!
SanderO @ 74
Come up to Vancouver some time. We usually manage to avoid killing each other.
I frankly think that the real poison is nationalism/patriotism, which remains thankfully rather muted in Canada (partly because any too vulgar a display makes you look like an American). You can’t have a harmonious pluralistic society if you are going to worship a state that has any more function and “meaning” than quietly making life better for everyone in it. Instead, you do stupid things like swear oaths to pieces of cloth, or become hysterical if someone decides their religion demands they cover their face or their head (this last example from France; the problem isn’t limited to the US).
Frankly, I think that if you think you “love” your country, you’re part of the problem. Countries are entirely human constructions that must be approached with reason, not emotion. Love has a notorious tendency to paper over faults and to excite the emotions. It’s a tricky enough emotion to handle on an individual level. On a mass level, it’s usually nothing more than an excuse for stupidity and blindness.
There are good, solid, pragmatic reasons to support society and work to improve it without indulging in the drug of “love.” Seriously, too, how do you love something as abstract and multifaceted as a country? Whenever one sees an American trying to explain why he or she “loves” his or her country, it usually consists of a highly selective listing of good things that are by no means unique to America, coated with emotion like treacle. If the speaker is doing something to make his or her society better, the display is superfluous; if he or she is not, it is pointless and (usually deliberately) dishonest. Either way, it is dispensable.
Save your love for your partners and children. Your country doesn’t need it, or deserve it. All it does is set you up to be suckered. With a country, it’s performance that counts — if it isn’t performing to your satisfaction, fix it, put up with it, or leave it, but in all cases follow reason, not emotion.
at T=3:16 in “Song for Gonzo”, love the move
Mr. Paul at 71 — I have so been there, in a studio apartment for a lot of my college and law school life. Having a house with a sunroom is the result of a lifetime of living within our budget and saving like crazy. We’ve only had our house three years, but I love it…it was worth all the sacrifices along the way through the years and the buttload of hard work it took to get here. But sometimes, I miss our tiny little apartment when we were first married — we called it our “doll house.” *g*
TA- DAH!