Freakin’ poodles!
Great stuff, ES!

Look Ma, no collar!

I love the Byrne piece. I do not know where that creativity comes from.

New Morrissey!

Aloha, ES and newt…! ;-)

He’s like Yosemite “creativity” falls.

Hola CT

Is it just me, or has things been getting a little slow around here lately?

You celebrating the anniversary…? ;-)

Ha! You must be on dialup. *s* Hey drouse.

Oh yeah… this whole day/week reminds me of the lunacy in the run up to that horrible day.

You are a very clever man ES.

I got it on the “birdshit” thing the other night and this one is just brilliant!

3rd go round on the Morrissey

Amen, serious ‘Shock and Awe’ redux…! 8-(

Why thank you, sir. No higher praise.

Here are the Byrne w/Fatboy Slim lyrics.

Actually I am. But that wasn’t what I was talking about.

I just hate watching friends jump off a cliff.

*heh* Ya caught my Lemming remark earlier, eh…? ;-)

What a day. Thank the stars above you all are here.

Evening pups.

No, must have missed it.

Evening Margot… backatcha. What a day!

OFG! How the heck are you?

Got your wire hangers ready to sell on ebay?

Aloha, OFG…! It’s been quite some time…!

Hello, you guys.
I worked all day, no surfing, while many of you dueled the urchins… for which I am eternally grateful.

Modem took a dump. Me thinks one wild party nite someone stepped on it. Drinking was probably involved. Been limited to surfing the net on motel nights.

Wire hangers? For the Stupak amendment?

Haven’t gotten to Morissey.

Please Don’t…. they look so young. At the time they looked so old.

Imelda Marcos and her shoes! The Catholic Church presiding over populations in poverty. Oh well.

Yes indeed.

Byrne wrote:

use news and archival footage to, well, show that every word of the song is true! Most of the lyrics on this one are lifted gently from interviews and quotations — the “please don’t” chorus especially. At some point as first lady, Imelda began to feel that she could help Philippine interests by charming world leaders into seeing things her way. “Handbag diplomacy” she called it — as she liked to imply that to solve a problem, she could bypass President Marcos and just grab a handbag and hop on a plane with some of her assistants. It sometimes worked! There was, for example, an Islamic-backed insurgency rising in the south of the Philippine archipelago, and she thought that a leader in that part of the world, Qaddafi in this case, might help pull the plug on that support if he saw things her way. Apparently he did — the funding stopped and the insurrection lost momentum, and she later described him as a pushover, a mama’s boy.”

I was able to keep my kool until Loo Hoo did her Obama dance again. It has gotten heated as they get ready to throw us under their corporate ship (Titanic).
I had a conversation with a neighbor who works in the environmental recovery industry (oil and other pollution) has no work the last two years. Wife a teacher two girls to raise. They are middle class he defends Obama yet agrees with all the issues like torture, jobs, accountability and on. he is starting to get it. A month ago he was a long way from the FDL positions but seems to have picked up some of the BS the administration is pulling. The wars against Muslims/Middle East he is against. Torture.

evening, firegods

What’s on my mind is how the childfree in this country are ignored and reviled by almost everyone. I’m pissed off about that tonight. I have not a shred of doubt that whatever healthcare “reform” legislation passes, the LAST to be served by it will be the childfree. We only count if we make it to 65.

It’s really hard to have a good argument when facts don’t matter. Even harder when folks really have close personal or family medical needs they must have addressed… even if the bill won’t help them.

Bless their hearts.

Evening PPDCUS

It’s only a wee bit out there, but I suggest a companion piece:

Ich lieb dich nicht, du liebst mich nicht “I don’t love you, you don’t love me.”

It’s all punk and old, but, yanno…

The Dems just keep on getting wierder. They will be catching the republican neocons very soon. Mt neighbor agreed that America is dumbed down by the media. I think it is our lifestyle of waste and consumption. One commenter said on Huff Post it was religion that was the problem. So the eight anti abortionists are religious folks putting politics in religion is a recipe for big trouble. Is the DEMented leadership so skilless that they cannot steer a good bill through congress? Sell out women’s right to chose a party plank? WTF are they thinking?

*chuckling* Wayback machine.

Heh. I’m surfing me some Devo too, so look out!

I just sat there, moderating myself. I couldn’t type hardly a word. Very very frustrating.

hello dear
i chew pencils when it gets that way. bleeds off the urge to… you know. type.

Was tough indeed.

Where are all the pro choice people? Where have they been for years? Are they afraid?

So now there will be secret deals to get the “Oh so close bill” passed so that the dems can get up on the podium and brag. What will the Rs be doing for fun? The destruction has moved from Wall Street to Washington. Our infrastructure and Institutions are no longer adequate and have disintegrated. All the positive talk pre election about meaningful programs to repair this and get people back to work are just not in the works.
Another friend has 4 kids two in middle school on in first grade on to young. At 45 her she is full time law school on the web. Her husband had to go out of town for a weeks work. It really sucks with 11% unemployment here, foreclosures, huge equity losses, businesses closing. Hollywood Video is closing here. I went in and asked why. Not making enough to keep it open was the answer.
The politicos need to open their eyes the denial is palpative.

I felt your frustration which you expressed pretty well.

Before abortion was legal I had some nurse friends that used a lead filled catheter to try to abort with. I did not stay to find what eventually happened but dialating the uterus won’t get that done. They were in the medical industry and were putting themselves at great risk. The insanity is over whelming.

I must’ve lead a sheltered life, despite being in Germany during the later ’80s I’ve never heard of the Trio…! ;-)

Da Da Da!

Was either a radio pop song or a tune on a TV commercial in the US back in the day.

The sound of silence. I read most of the comments today on most of the post and saw the frustration. I also saw the trolls. More tomorrow no doubt. I will be at the beach for a girls surf contests sponsored by Surfrider. I am on the 7am set up crew. Nite.

A VW ad series.

I had a friend who had an illegal abortion and all we knew was she was in the hospital for several weeks. Another friend had one with the same result…
Very bad times for teens, for all women. I don’t want those times again. But I guess that is the barrel of the gun we’re looking into.

Aloha, bb…!

Sounds like a blast… even if way too early in the morning.

Nite bigbrother.

Was for Volkswagens.

What they never played was “drei mann in doppelbett” LOL!

I seem to recall that…! ;-)

Owe you a cocktail newtie!
What’ll ya have?

Maybe we should just pass a bill… give men vasectomies at birth, instead of or with circumcision.

Root beer. The hard stuff. Please.

Dood…! Yer on yer own on that…! 8-P

*slides one over*

I’ve developed my own system this week. I read the story, the first 20 posts, and the last 20 posts. If I can, I’ll stay with the new posts. But with the combination of 350 + replies, the trolls, and the enmity around the emotional issue of health care and its unraveling, it’s just not healthy or worthwhile to plunge myself into that particular black hole.

On the other hand, when we’re ready to put ourselves on the line out in the streets, it may not be healthy, but it will be worthwhile. Then, I’m all in.

Beats the soy milk I have been chugging.
Much obliged.

Why there ain’t nothing to it, CT…)

Wow, Jane Goodall is on Moyers tonite, eh…? ;-)

I’ve been thinking I need to take a special course/training in organizing demonstrations. Should have done it in CA long ago. Guess I will have to head back out there to get the training.

I thought Moyers quit?

I just hate watching friends jump off a cliff.

And response to CT @ 18:

*heh* Ya caught my Lemming remark earlier, eh…? ;-)

Especially when the little fuckers a) don’t see the cliff; b) tell you to shut the fuck up about the “look out for the cliff;” and c) bite you on their way down.

[I hope you can tell this refers to "lemmings," not "friends."]

Where’d ya hear that…? That would be a true loss, indeed…! 8-(

Jane Goodall came to speak at my daughter’s high school in 2002. She was magical.

While doing a bit of poking around the tubes to make a post for the Saturday Art thing, I found a video of which I’m so fond…

Here it is.

I’ll put the rest of the post behind it tomorrow, but really, this bunraku is stunning.

A nominee for post of the year. Just this morning. Absolutely not to be missed.

371 and counting.

I think he’s done in May.

Aloha, M’dear…! Are you as soggy tonite as I am…? ;-)

Times like these are really tough, especially when one thought that 2008 would be relief from paddling upstream against alligators.

This is brutal.

That sux…! 8-(

No, our rain finished off yesterday. I guess we sent it to you. But we had several good days of it. Hard to convince the pups that they should go outside in that wet stuff. They neither like it raining down on their lovely coats nor like getting their dainty toes wet. [These are chow chows we're talking about, so the "dainty toes" is a snark.]

This is brutal.

yep. no rest at all.

It was sunny, near 70 here today… and now 90 percent chance of sleet and snow tomorrow and Sunday…(

Out of the garden and back to cutting firewood.

That WAS amazing research and analysis. I bet quite a few pups helped on that one. Read about 50 responses.

Hi Mauimom.. it really is.

Bless their hearts?

Funny: several comments in, a troll appeared and demanded sources, implied that the table was an unproved fiction.

Downright scary. The only real TV journalist left on any kind of regular basis is Amy Goodman, which is beyond outrageous.

Yeah, bless their hearts. It’s too bad that facts don’t matter to them.

yes. I was thinking of our conversation a couple of nights back.. and what you hoped for your daughters. I’ve had other conversations with people who need help for themselves or loved ones… and have projected this bill will help them. When I am not at all convinced it will.

And at best… ten years from now, perhaps half of the currently uninsured will have coverage… at best 30 percent of those folks would be able to use it.

So a twenty to thirty percent improvement leaving tens of millions in the same old tight spot… is not something i am willing to benefit from while so many others are as bad or worse off.

But fuck these politicians for pitting us against each other instead of doing the right thing.

For the rest of us… bless our hearts.

Dude, how’s your caffeine level this time of night?

Yet he lives and dies with Fox news…

Gotta lurves that climate change thingy, eh…? ;-)

El Nino has really messed up our ‘wet’ season and I think it’s gonna be a real scorcher for Summer…! 8-(

I can’t complain.. it’s pretty normal for this time of year. The very earliest we should plant a garden (last frost) is April 15.

But still… more snow!

I’ve been amazed, and not just at the crap flying around the internet [although some time ago I stopped reading my usual line-up of blogs].

I sent the “chart” out to about 20 of my friends — the ones I’m frequently sending political stuff to [although I've tried to moderate of late]. I thought it was especially good at doing what I’d been requesting for some time: listing the “claims” made by proponents of the Crap Bill, and pointing out how those claims weren’t true.

I was motivated both to make the request and to do the sending by the fact that, as far as i could see, proponents made all these wild claims, but never backed them up with specifics in the bill. Then, of course, the FDL researchers would write a diary dissecting these claims and showing that they were full of shit. But the proponents would just keep making them, getting more and more cliched and hysterical at the same time.

My analytical mind so appreciated the “black and white” presentation of the chart, and I foolishly assumed my friends would too. I really thought I’d presented it as “here are some facts for you to consider as you think about this issue.”

Well, stupid ME!! I got one reply saying he was sorry to hear I’d gone over to the Tea Baggers.” Another supported the bill because they thought the good outweighed the bad and that [paraphrasing] “it would be bad for Obama to lose.”

I’ve always thought my friends were smart, even if they weren’t as crazily political and inquisitive as I. As a matter of fact, several in the past have said thanks for the various FDL diaries I’ve sent to help them learn about issues.

But i was just blown away to see how effective Obama’s bullshit campaign has been, and how reluctant those who voted for him are to see the truth. Of course 18 months ago I was filling these guys’ mailboxes with Obama promos, so perhaps I have only myself to blame.

Anyway, just more loneliness to add to the isolation and disappointment.

Heh. I’m a bit wound up, but whatever!

I am as well.

I seriously wonder whether politicians are simply offered a lifetime of riches to vote the “right” way or could their lives be threatened? Their families lives? In times when dems are being mailed anthrax packages, why would that be off the table?

Well, I guess I was using my daughters more of an example of what it’s like for folks than is reality for me. I can pay. (It cost $120 for my daughter’s bronchitis between doc and med through Kaiser…reasonable. I love Kaiser)

Beyond that, I really don’t understand your point about ten years from now and the 20% improvements.

As far as having some people seek benefits while others would qualify as well, again, as always, it gets down to education.

Pisses me off too, ES, that politicians can pit us against each other. **but only temporarily!**

I can relate.

There’s hardly any solace in being right, until later, and even then “I Told You So” is crap compared to being popular.

*heh* Take heart in the fact that it’s now officially the first day of Spring…! At least for you, I’ve got another three hours to go…! ;-)

I know.. i quit so many blogs, email lists, group affiliations, watching even msnbc.

Just catching a bit of NPR in the truck this week reminded me of the run up to the wars.

I don’t mind losing a battle if it is at all fought with reason. They only won when they abandoned all fact and reason.

WOuld you so much as buy a vacuum cleaner if the first thing the salesman said is … we will fix it later?

I’m sorry you feel like that…that’s how I feel, too.

great comment

I’m getting to tired to stay with it tonight, but do read the fact sheet posted early this a.m. if you find some time.

Of course 18 months ago I was filling these guys’ mailboxes with Obama promos, so perhaps I have only myself to blame.

Anyway, just more loneliness to add to the isolation and disappointment.

I fully empathize with ya, M’dear… I caucused for Obama, and, I’m ruing the effort…! 8-(

This is my worry about Obama and Holder. Leahy and Whitehouse…dangerous times, for sure.

Varm könn wir nicht havn, vas vir brauchn?

Alright, give it up…

Well … time for me to call it a night.

Good night firedogs.

((((Loo Hoo)))

Aloha, ES…! Sleep tight…!

Today I had coffee with a man who opened the conversation by saying the US has the best health care system in the world, followed immediately by saying Obama is a communist.

Printed out some world health stats for him tonight. Can’t think of anything to say in response to the second allegation…. but I did LOL when he said it.

Can’t think of anything to say in response to the second allegation…

How about, “Can’t be. Communists are pro-jobs.”

And that’s some coffee klatch you go to.

Nite all.

We’ll always have the Lake. ((()))

…Communists are pro-jobs.

*heh* Nice one, newt…! ;-)

Aloha, MM…!

[...] Can’t think of anything to say in response to the second allegation…. but I did LOL when he said it.

How ’bout: “We should be so lucky.”

And possibly pro-environmental protection, and pro-hurricane preparedness.

But definitely pro-jobs.

Good comeback!

Just the thing, thanks.

Most entertaining company available. Beats the hell out of the church ladies.

*heh* Some choices there, Sunny…! ;-)

Aloha, wigwam…! How’s your neck of the woods…?

i’m outa here you guys. sleep demands.

nite all

Aloha, newt…!

True. I’m considering taking up daytime tv and contemporary culture. I’ve no idea who branjolina is/are.

Nite newt and all.

hey wigwam!

I’ve no idea who branjolina is/are.

Nor do you want to…! ;-)

“No, that’s a bad comparison. The Bush administration would be a much better fit.

For instance, the Tass News Agency in the USSR was virtually identical to Bush’ Fox News. Both were mouthpieces for their leaders rather than national journalistic operations. Both denied torturing. Both sought to destroy the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Both (would have) hated having a black head of state. Are you sure you didn’t mean Bush?”

nite all. Thanks for the grins.

Aloha, Sunny…!

Good morning, pups. It’s Collins, Blow and Herbert this morning. Ms. Collins, in “Saints Preserve Us,” says in the protracted battle over the health care bill, this weekend may finally provide the critical moment for which President Obama has fought. Mr. Blow has a question: “Could Obama Be Invicible?” He says the empty-headed chattering class has speculated that the president’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest yet. Silly pundits. Mr. Herbert addresses “A Ruinous Meltdown,” and says as the states face fiscal ruin, severe budget cuts across the country are undermining economic recovery.

Here they are.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We had a nice enough day yesterday that I got all the herbs planted out. Today it’s time for the tomatoes and the patio planters. I’m also going to try an experiment with planting lettuce seeds in the most shaded beds next to the house in hopes that they won’t bolt as fast as the ones in the sun. Have a great day.

Good morning all.